Issue 5 v.36 by Eagle Edition

the WEALTH in health

splurging

pages 12-13

photobyRileyBreauxandGraceKnudson

Fresh

A behind-the-scenes dive into the lives of the Dining Commons workers out the

kitchen...

BY | AVA BRENNAN

JayJones

Howlonghaveyoubeenhere? Oneyearandthreemonths.Whatdoyoudo? themIamthecateringlead.Isetupthetablesandmake prettywithflowers. WhatdoyouenjoymostaboutSAGE? atmosphere.Imostenjoythechildrenandthestaff—justtheWhydidyouchoosetoworkhere? privateIcameherebecauseIworkedinalotofdifferent schools.[ESD]ismyabsolutefavorite.The tokitchenisverymodern,andtheschoolisreallyclose myhouse,sothat’snice.Whatisyourdreamjob? Iwouldliketoownmyownclothingstore.

Whatdoyoudo?I’mtheseniorfoodservicedirector,soIoverlookthe UpperandLowerSchool.Whatisyourdreamjob?Thisismydreamjob—IreallyenjoywhatIdohere. WhatisSAGEworkingon?Wearealwayscontinuallyworkingonimprovingthe diningexperienceforthestudentsatESD.Ihave recentlyjoinedtheSchoologypage,andIplanto updateitwithnextweek’smenusanddifferentpolls. Currently,weareworkingonthemenuthatwillbe implementedafterSpringBreak.Weactuallybuild themenubasedontheclient’sneedsandwhatthe communitylikes/dislikes.Afterthat,wewillbegetting readyforourLowerSchoolteamtojoinus,whichwe areveryexcitedabout.Inthenextfewweeks,wewill begintoplanthemenuandworkoutthelogisticsof addinganother250+studentsandfaculty.

Whydidyouchosetoworkhere? becauseWell,Icamehereforseveralreasons.Icamehere mypassionispeople.IcameherebecauseIknowthisisaplaceIcanreallygrowandadvance.WhatdoyouenjoymostaboutSAGE?Thechildrenarevery professional.Theyhaveheart,soulandcharacter.Ialsolovemyco-workers. here?Whatisyourfavoritememoryfromworking haveIlikeseeingthechildren.[With]someofthekids,we acertainhandshakeanddance,andwhenIseethem,it’salwaysfun.

Whatdoyoudo?Iworkthesaladbar,andIhelpwithbreakfast. WhatdoyouenjoymostaboutSAGE? Givingfreshfoodtostudentsbecausetheyouthis ourfuture.Whatisyourfavoritememoryfromworking here?AttheLowerSchool,thereisthisgirlnamedMary Claire,andshetoldmeIcouldcallherMC,likeMC Hammer.Whatisyourdreamjob?Idon’tknowifit’sapublicistorlikeamanager,butI liketomanage,andIreadcreativethingssomaybea creativedirectororsomethinglikethat.

AzariaCharleston

RebeccaCompton

DionMiller

Political clubs provide safe space for discussion

BY | LIESL SMALL

With the rising interest in politics throughout the student body, two clubs were created to provide a place to talk about variant perspectives in politics— the Conservative Club and Progressive Student Union.

Sponsored by economics teacher Amy Livingston, seniors Garrett Johnson and Patrick Phillips and junior José Portela organized the Conservative Club to provide a place for students with conservative views to discuss their opinions. In response, juniors Kate Flanagan, Nick Harapanahalli and Zan Haq founded the Progressive Student Union to provide students with an arena to discuss left-leaning views.

“Because it was a pretty bold move to organize [this club], it took several meetings with our sponsor, Ms. Livingston, to work out the details,” Johnson said. “It eventually all worked out, but it was a process.”

Johnson, Phillips and Portela, formed the club with hopes to continue discussions related to conservative opinions.

“I thought it would be cool for people to talk about political topics from a conservative perspective,” Johnson said. “Also, I think [our nation’s] educational system as a whole is fairly liberal, so I wanted to see if I would be able to start [the club].”

Flanagan and her co-founders, juniors Nick Harapanahalli and Zan Haq, decided to organize a Progressive Student Union with the help of their club sponsor, biology teacher, Max Augé.

“We noticed that there was a Conservative Club, and we thought it would be nice to have a club for the opposite side of the spectrum,” Flanagan said. “We wanted to balance the scales a little bit and educate students with as little bias as possible.”

Flanagan and her co-founders hope to put various political ideas into perspective for the student body as well as provide informative discussions.

“With the upcoming election season and campaign cycle, it’ll be interesting to talk about those different dynamics,” Flanagan said. “We are also hoping to do a little bit of activism, campaigning and money raising for different social causes.”

Both Flanagan and Johnson have heard students complain about their clubs.

“We had a lot of backlash when we first started,” Johnson said. “It’s calmed down now, but

I didn’t let their opinions phase me.”

Government teacher Mark Oglesby believes in empowering students to listen to both sides of the spectrum with open ears.

“I definitely am for students talking about politics openly,”

Oglesby said. “I just hope that they can engage in civil discourse. That would be my biggest concern. If these organizations are giving students the opportunity to come together and express their views, that’s good. However, if those are the only views that they’re listening to, I have a concern with that. That’s one of the problems that we have in our society today. Neither side is listening to the other side. They are shutting themselves off. They are not even trying to acknowledge what the other side is saying. Instead of separate clubs, I would love to see a club like Junior Statesmen of America, which is one club that allows all sides to come together.”

Oglesby believes the current political climate polarizes divisions, and he hopes the students do not continue this trend through their groups.

“Those in power right now have not led by example and have not given our students the best example of civil discourse,”

Oglesby said. “In our political system [right now], we have close-minded politicians, and I don’t want our students to follow their example.”

As Oglesby suggested, sophomores Lily Yandell, Anna Strohmeyer and Zander Knight organized American Issues Club to provide a space where all views are considered and talked about.

“We thought that there should be a club that discusses both sides of an issue from all standpoints, rather than a club that discusses it from one political viewpoint,” Yandell said. “We wanted a place where everyone could come together and focus specifically on issues in American politics and culture.”

The formation of bipartisan clubs, such as American Issue Club, gives Oglesby hope for the future of politics.

“[The students] are our future, so hopefully they can discuss their differences peacefully, find out their common ground and work out their solutions that both see beneficial,” Oglesby said.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION Preparing for a dress rehearsal on Feb. 26, seniors Lilly French and Alexandra Everbach apply makeup to get into character. French and Everbach both played a March sister, with French as Jo and Everbach as Meg. “I admire my character Jo for being so unapologetically driven to pursue her passions,” French said.

“‘Little Women’ sends a powerful message, which becomes clear through the beautiful words in each song.” photo by Melissa Rivera

Age-old classic takes the stage

Previous ensemble members attain lead roles, senior seizes opportunity to participate in last show

BY | AVA BRENNAN

After taking on roles in the ensemble, some seniors were promoted to major roles in the spring musical, “Little Women” with seniors joining in a last hurrah of Upper School.

This spring’s musical, “Little Women,” was based on the 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott. “Little Women” tells the story of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy—as they deal with financial hardship in New England and live with their mother.

“My friend Allison told me to go for it and trained me on how to sing the audition song even though I wasn’t that great,” senior Katelin Gildersleeve said. “When I walked on stage I was nervous and my heart was racing.”

and winter townsperson in the musical.

“I knew I would likely never be in another musical in my life,” Gildersleeve said. “I don’t have much musical talent, so I wanted to do another [musical] because I enjoy them so much and wanted to do one while I still had the chance.”

Although the musical was a new adventure for some, it wasn’t easy.

“I joined because I really enjoyed being in musicals in the past,” Boyd said. “The people are great, and it [was] fun to be in this production. I really enjoyed practicing the ballroom scene in a hoop skirt.”

The change in roles made a big impact.

“We love [seeing new people play big roles],” Theater Production Director, Dusty Davidson, said. “It is always a surprise to see the new talent that comes out and the fearlessness they have to tackle the stage.

THERE’S A LOT MORE WORK THAT GOES INTO A PRINCIPLE CHARACTER THAT I HAD NOT EXPERIENCED BEING IN THE ENSEMBLE. ALLISON HERRING “

Senior Allison Herring played Marmee, the mother of the March sisters. Herring had performed in other musicals in the ensemble, and this year, she was bumped up to a main role.

“There is a lot more work that goes into a principle character that I had not experienced being in the ensemble,” Herring said. “Aside from memorizing lines and songs, you have to decide how you want to portray the character and how your words and actions will carry out that portrayal.”

Gildersleeve, who had not performed in a musical since eighth grade when she was in “The Wizard of Oz,” decided to join the cast. Gildersleeve played a hag, dancer at the ball

Students had rehearsals four times a week for two hours a day, and when getting closer to performances they had all-day rehearsals on Saturdays and late night dress rehearsals. The cast performed on Feb. 28 and twice on March 2.

“This musical has been a lot of work and time commitment, but I [was] very excited for the shows,” Gildersleeve said. “I most enjoyed getting to know lots of kids who I don’t have classes with and learning how to play certain new characters.”

Senior Grace Boyd played Mrs. Kirk, one of Marmee’s friends who runs a boarding house in New York and was part of the ensemble.

ESD has a wealth of talent, and we are always happy to provide the opportunity for students to showcase their talents in the arts.”

“Little Women” was also different in terms of content, along with new faces.

“This show revolved a lot around real emotions, and that really helps you to relate to the characters and helps you understand what they are going through,” junior Gracey Thomas said. “That’s why it is different than other musicals.”

Thomas played Beth, one of the March sisters, in the musical.

Herring read Little Women growing up was thrilled to earn a leading role.

“I loved my role and the opportunity to play Marmee,” Herring said. “I loved delving into the acting and playing off the actions of my castmates.”

IN THE SPOTLIGHT During dress rehearsal on Feb. 25, juniors Gracey Thomas, Cambridge Bender and senior Alexandra Everbach prepare their lines as three of the four March sisters. Performances were held on Feb. 28 and March 2. “I love playing Amy because she is stubborn, but as she grows up, you see her mature,” Bender said. photo by Blair Batson

Engineering program designs aquaponics system

Board of Directors’ approval to begin construction is pending

BY | GRACE KNUDSON

Advanced Engineering students are designing an aquaponics system prototype. Although the prototype is nearly completed, the proposed 30- by 30-foot construction needs the Board of Directors’ approval before being built at 4030 Montwood Lane, a vacant lot parallel to the Wellness Center.

Juniors Cameron Burress and Braden Montgomery created this project alongside engineering and robotics teacher Barton Burnett.

“They’ve been doing a really great job on this project,” Burnett said. “We’ve been doing the

background research but the real challenge is going to be once it is up and running.”

An aquaponics system circulates water from a fish tank through a vegetable garden and back into the fish

tank. The fish produce waste, which in turn nourishes the plants that filter the fish’s water.

The prototype is currently in the robotics room, where Burnett

and his students can monitor it.

The project’s primary goal is to grow produce for the school community as well as families in the neighborhood, but the students must have Board approval before continuing the project outside the classroom.

“This is a chance to start making a difference with some people in our surrounding areas,” Burnett said. “I know we are involved in a lot of community service. This is something extra that will make a difference or two.”

Before starting the project, Burress and Montgomery had to learn the basics of engineering. After a year, they came up with the idea for an aquaponics system

and then set to work on the design with Burnett’s help.

“I’ve really enjoyed the independent aspect of this project,” Burress said. “We’ve been able to build everything on our own and really do the project by ourselves. [The project] is something new that I’ve never done before.”

The Board of Directors will meet on March 21 to decide whether the project will be approved. If approved, construction will begin next school year.

“This is something that I will be able to share with the community,” Montgomery said. “When I graduate, this will be a part of my legacy here.”

DESIGN IN PROGRESS

During Advanced Engineering on March 1, juniors Cameron Burress and Braden Montgomery monitor their aquaponics system prototype with engineering and robotics teacher Barton Burnett. Students thought of the idea after taking Burnett’s course. “To prepare for the upcoming meeting with the Board, we’ve done our background research,” Montgomery said. “Now we are just working on the small-scale production, like getting the water flowing.” photo by Grace Knudson

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Band, Strings attend workshop in Orlando

Band and strings participated in a trip to Universal Studios in Orlando from Feb. 1-3.

This was the second year that Band and Strings went to Universal Studios. Students participated in bonding activities and workshops and learned how strings could be used in a career. The group plans to return next year.

“Music is a part of everyone, and strings helps me express that,” sophomore Gabe Letcher said. “I liked the film aspect of [the trip] because it combined my two passions. I like filmmaking and I’ve been playing the cello since third grade.”

Students had the opportunity to produce background music and sound effects for a short film. They got to observe the whole animation process and learned how to match the speaking speeds with the image on the screen.

Womens Studies Organization holds drive

Women’s Studies Organization hosted their annual food drive for Genesis Women’s Shelter from March 4-8.

Students, faculty and staff supported Genesis Women’s Shelter by donating snacks and microwavable items, which will be available for children waiting for their mothers in therapy sessions.

On March 1, WSO gave a Chapel talk introducing the project, during which juniors Charlotte Podeszwa and Cameron Hills shared their thoughts about what WSO means to them.

“This is my first year being a part of WSO,” Podeszwa said. “Genesis Women’s Shelter snack drives provide a way to promote our club and donate to the community. I hope talking in chapel persuaded students to donate.”

WSO President and senior Emma Name coordinated this event with fellow club members and sponsor Dr. Catherine Civello. This is the third year the club has held a snack drive for Genesis Women’s Shelter.

“Our overall goal is to have strong participation,” Name said.

“I’m passionate about supporting

Second AP Art Show presents senior work

The AP Art show, “Elysian,” showcased artwork from Upper School students in the Bray Theater on March 21.

There are two AP art shows where students taking 2D Design, Drawing and 3D Design show off their work. The first half of students presented their art on Jan. 31.

“I like seeing how kids, parents, and friends react to seeing their artwork and how much they enjoy talking about their art,” sculpture and design teacher Dane Larsen said. “It’s nice to see all the clapping and laughter after how much work was put into the pieces.”

Seniors enrolled in an AP art class work on their pieces anywhere from weeks to months in advance before they show them off to parents and students. Senior Elizabeth Konradi will present one of her Photoshop paintings named “Oh My Darling.”

“[The artists] wanted the show to be original, so we chose a theme that means paradise and heaven,” Konradi said. “AP Art requires a tremendous amount of hours and being able to show your pieces feels very rewarding. The AP Art

Dedman Lecturer discusses Smart Cities

Jennifer Sanders, co-founder and executive director of the Dallas Innovation Alliance (DIA), spoke to juniors and seniors as part of the semiannual Dedman Lecture Series on Feb. 5.

Sanders presented the idea of converting Dallas into a Smart City—a city that uses developing technology to share information with the public to improve everything from criminal justice to traffic flow.

“I’d heard about what Smart Cities were before, but I didn’t know a lot about them,” senior Grace Boyd said. “It surprised me that Dallas was one of the leading Smart Cities in the United States. The other students in the audience brought up some interesting questions about how Smart Cities would affect the economy and privacy of Dallas communities.”

The DIA’s Smart Cities plan sparked debate in the auditorium as students posed relevant questions during the question-and-answer period.

“[The concept] was interesting and was presented well,” senior Atticus Cabrales said. “I just didn’t

TAKE NOTE During the Sound Design: Music and the Art of Foley Workshop at Universal Studios Orlando on Feb. 2, band and strings students rehearse. This was the second year for students to attend the trip. “It was such an experience to go to Universal and make our own short film,” freshman Annie Heldman said. “I was so excited to work with professional people, and I will never forget it.” photo courtesy of Charlotte Chambliss

WHO RUN THE WORLD? On Feb. 26, Women’s Studies Organization meets with Community Service Director Courtney Phelps to discuss the snack drive. The club focuses on women’s issues within and beyond the school. “Everyone in [WSO] is very friendly,” junior Charlotte Podeszwa said. “I like being in a place where no one judges me for having my own opinions and stating them.” photo by Blair Batson

PICTURE PERFECT In class on Feb. 22, senior Elizabeth Konradi finishes a breadth panel piece in preparation for the AP Art Show. This is the second AP Art Show of the year where seniors in AP Studio Art, Sculpture and Photography present their portfolios. “I’m most excited to see everyone’s presentations and celebrate their artwork,” Konradi said. photo by Blair Batson

INNOVATION STATION For Special Programming Day on Feb. 5, Executive Director and cofounder of Dallas Innovation Alliance, Jennifer Sanders, delivers the Dedman Lecture. Sanders spoke to juniors and

GLOW UP?

Unnatural beauty fad, tanning, poses possible health risks

STORY BY | EVELYN ZHAO GRAPHIC BY | EVELYN ZHAO & VICTORIA WILLOX

B...People always compliment me on my porcelain skin—I see it as something that I don’t like. Older generations see it as something that they value. It just [depends on] how you view [beauty].

Sophia Sinacola Sophomore

“ ”efore a big school dance, one of the main items on a girl’s checklist, other than her dress, is to show up with a sun-kissed, golden-bronze glow. Whether it’s Homecoming, Technotica or Sadies, it seems that the main priority for many girls is to look tanner than they naturally appear.

Through the use of fake tans, such as spray-tanning and other self-tanning methods, many girls attempt to achieve their goal of having an “I-just-went-to-thebeach” glow. The most common tanning methods include using at-home, foam sprays or going to a tanning salon, which includes both automatic or manual tanning options. According to a Feb. 27 poll of 240 students, 37 percent of female students use a variation of fake tanning before going to special school events, and 50 percent of boys find tans more attractive than pale skin. Entering high school, many girls begin the process of fake tanning to accentuate their physical features.

“A lot of older people, like my mom’s friends, will yell at me whenever I get a spray tan, and they’ll tell me, ‘Porcelain skin is really pretty,’ but I feel like having darker skin is pretty,” Sinacola said. “In public places, people always compliment me on my porcelain skin—I see it as something that I don’t like. Older generations see it as something that they value. It just [depends on] how you view [beauty].”

After a friend raved about getting a tan, junior Isabella Pfister decided to try spray tanning for the first time—she hated it.

“I’m naturally tan, but for some reason, I’ve gotten really pale this year, which is also why I wanted to try a spray tan,” Pfister said. “[However], I just looked orange, and it did not go well with my complexion because I turned five different shades darker—it was bad. I’ll

““At the beginning of last year, I started tanning, but I don’t [tan] weekly, and for homecoming and events, I’ll do spray tans with a group of my friends,” sophomore Sophia Sinacola said. “I only get spray tans because if I do get a normal sun tan, it turns into a weird color. I’m also scared of getting wrinkles, so instead of sitting out in the sun and tanning, why not get a spray tan or self-tan without the risk of getting skin cancer?”

While the rest of Sinacola’s family has always had a tan, olive complexion because of their Italian lineage, Sinacola has the fairest skin tone in her family and has always disliked it. Now, she receives organic spray tans regularly and self-tans, which boosts her sense of confidence.

always make a person look their best.

“Spray tans look orange, and they are so unnatural that I can tell immediately if you get one,” sophomore Madison McCoy said. “Pale skin suits me better because I feel like I look weird tanned, especially because of my hair color, which is very blonde.”

McCoy, who has a fair complexion, wanted to appear tanner in middle school, especially after seeing photos of celebrities flaunting tan skin. Although she has never received a spray tan, she tanned in the sun and tried using self-tanner, which she found did not suit her skin tone.

“When I was little, I used to tan in the sun a lot because I wanted to look really tan,” McCoy said. “I just thought that it was something everybody did and that you automatically look prettier and thinner if you were tanner. Also, I was a little chubby when I was 10 or 11, and I had a lot of baby fat, so I was really insecure about that.

IF YOU’RE PALE, I WOULD TRY TO EMBRACE YOUR SKIN MORE BEFORE YOU CHANGE IT, AND IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU LOOK BETTER WITH A TAN, THEN GO FOR IT.

MADISON MCCOY

Everything I read in magazines said, ‘If you want to get slim—tan, you’ll look skinnier.’”

never spray-tan again”

Pfister’s family is Filipino and was surprised by her decision to spray-tan. When she traveled to the Philippines, instead of using self-tanner, girls used whitening spray to appear lighter-skinned.

“There’s a bunch of Filipino models who are on the darker side, and they’re still considered beautiful too, but in the Philippines, they prefer looking pale,” Pfister said.

Some believe tanning in general does not necessarily suit everyone’s skin tone nor does it

With sun-tanning, there are risks. After a family friend was diagnosed with skin cancer, because of his addiction to suntanning and UV tanning beds, McCoy began to appreciate her skin tone and has never selftanned since.

“I would first try to get to know your skin before tanning because I didn’t like my skin until last year,” McCoy said. “It wasn’t until I watched “Game of Thrones,” and I saw Emilia Clarke, who is really pale, and I

was like, ‘Oh, she looks pretty,’ and I realized [pale skin] wasn’t so weird.’ But I try to put on sunscreen every morning, and if I’m at the beach, I slather on sunscreen and put it on all over on my face because I know I just roast.” According to the Centers for Disease Control, any variation of indoor tanning, such as tanning beds, booths or outdoor tanning, exposes users to increased levels of UV radiation. Although students rarely tan through UV radiation or tanning beds, over time, long-term exposure to UV rays can lead to skin cancers, such as melanoma or basal cell carcinoma.

In the end, taking care of your skin and using sunscreen is the most important thing to remember. While spray tans and self tanning is temporary, using UV tanning beds and tanning in the sun is permanent and will damage your skin.

“I don’t think a tan is that important, but if you feel like it boosts your self-confidence, just switch to self tanner, and stay out of the sun,” McCoy said. “If you’re pale, I would try to embrace your skin more before you change it, and if you genuinely feel like you look better with a tan, then go for it.”

tanned*

percent of girls think tan skin is more attractive than fair skin *

Walking into a grocery store, you are bombarded with a variety of options—whole milk, skim milk, almond milk, grass-fed beef, chicken or tofu. Most people believe a healthy diet consists of meat, dairy, grains, fruits and vegetables, with emphasis on dairy and grains. However, there has recently been a significant spike in following a plantbased or vegan diet, which completely cuts out all animal products.

“I hate to say I’m vegan because that has a negative connotation,” history teacher

Amy Livingston said. “People seem to think being vegan is weird and that I go outside and eat grass, which is not true, so I say that I have a plant-based diet. I don’t just eat salads all the time. I make sure I eat a complex meal, so I can get all my nutrients, and it’s so much easier than people think.”

Livingston started following a plant-based diet last summer to help relieve her chronic back pain before taking more invasive measures, such as surgery and injections.

“I was in pain most days, and maybe every two weeks, I would have a day of relief,” Livingston said. “When I saw the documentary “Forks Over Knives,” it made a connection between animal products causing inflammation, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to switch to the plant-based diet to see if [it would improve my back pain]. After one week [of being on the diet] I had more pain-free days than days with pain, and I hadn’t done anything differently besides changing my diet.”

build muscle,” Livingston said. “If you look at some of the biggest animals in the world, like elephants and hippos, they don’t eat animals—they only eat plants.”

A significant concern about adopting a plant-based diet is losing essential vitamins B12 and D, which promote brain and cell health. Without these critical nutrients, people can develop anemia, persistent fatigue, weakness and depression.

“People will argue that from a primal perspective, we have canine

green

Double life

STORY & GRAPHIC BY | EMILY DELGADO

Does she even speak English?”

Standing in the fifth-grade pod, current senior Ale De La Cruz spoke to her cousin in Spanish, the language she felt safest and most comfortable with. As a new student, being in an environment where English was primarily spoken made De La Cruz nervous, so she would hardly speak, and when she did, it was only in Spanish.

According to a 2006 study conducted by Science Direct in the Journal of Research in Personality, bilingual individuals have a tendency to “change their interpretations of the world,” including their personality when going between cultures and switching languages. A person’s tone, attitude and behavior can change when speaking different languages as a result of the environment or culture the person is present in.

Because junior Jesus De Santiago did not learn English until middle school and does not feel as confident speaking it, his attitude changes at school, a predominantly English environment.

“I feel really comfortable in Spanish because it’s what I’ve grown with,” De Santiago said. “Outside of school, you’ll never hear me talk in English except if I’m with my friends. There’s a certain level of comfort that comes with speaking Spanish.”

Speaking multiple languages impacts the brain, changes personality and affects psychological health

Similar to De Santiago, senior Ethan Nghiem altered his speech when speaking his first language, Vietnamese.

“I attended an international school in Vietnam until I was 10,” Nghiem said. “I was one of the first to learn English among my friends, so when my friends learned, I was more fluent. But whenever I talked to them, I’d talk to them in English with a really strong Vietnamese accent on purpose to be on the same level as them.”

Upper School Spanish teacher and Language Department Chair Clayton Chmiel has noticed a difference in the personalities and attitudes of students in his

“

shown that speaking multiple languages has health benefits and advantages, there are also struggles, particularly when speakers have to switch between various languages.

“There are times when I talk with my friends, and I [don’t remember] how to say a word in English, so they laugh at me,” De La Cruz said. “They think it’s funny, but it makes me selfconscious, so I’m always super careful when I speak English to my friends.”

Similar to other activities, if a person does not continue practicing a language, some of their expertise and fluency could be lost.

I’M SCARED THAT IF I SPEAK TOO MUCH ENGLISH, I’LL LOSE MY VIETNAMESE. ETHAN NGHIEM

Spanish classes.

“My AP Literature class is [composed of] all Latinos,” Chmiel said. “Students who are more subdued when I see them in the hallways like to make more jokes in class. I love seeing them show that part of their personality. You can see their joy when they get to express that side of who they are.”

Although studies have

“The biggest thing is keeping value with both languages and continuing to grow in both languages,” Director for Dallas Independent School District Dual Language Program Cloris Rangel said. “Because a bilingual individual never stops learning, you continue to grow in both languages.

Bilingual people need to have to have a way in which they’re going to continue to develop [the languages they speak], or else they will lose [that fluency].”

Nghiem continues to speak Vietnamese at home in order to not lose fluency.

“I’m scared that if I speak too much English, I’ll lose my

Vietnamese,” Nghiem said. “When I was in Vietnam, my family would teach me to always know where I come from. My nationality is really important to me—it’s part of my identity.”

Chmiel believes that it’s tough seeing individuals having to hold back a part of themselves because

of a language barrier.

“[It is a struggle] for our Latino students to not really know,” Chmiel said. “Part of who you are, part of your personality and part of the way you see the world and interact with the world is not seen by the majority of the school.”

culture CRASH

CULTURE CRASH is a compilation of significant pop culture events made by life editors Emily Delgado and Victoria Willox that highlight tech news & other short snippets of info regarding important people and events from around the globe.

AWARD ANGER

(NICK)TORIOUS Junior Nick Harapanahalli chairs a committee of State Affairs delegates at the District Conference on Nov. 10. When not chairing, he debated his original proposal. “I was beyond astounded when my name was called,” Harapahalli said. “The fact stands that I am the first person from ESD to ever hold a position like this.” photo courtesy of Justice Dickson

After Cardi B won the Grammy for best rap album over Ariana Grande’s ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, the singer was quick to show her disapproval. Grande tweeted “trash” along with other explicit tweets before apologizing.

NOT HIS CUP OF TEA

Rapper 21 Savage was arrested on Feb. 3 for living in the U.S. after his visa expired in 2006, which revealed that he was born in the U.K. He avoided deportation by paying a $100,000 bond and was released a week later.

ROYAL DOUBLE STANDARD

Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, was criticized for wearing a black, off-the-shoulder dress in December of 2018, but the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, was recently praised for the white, offthe-shoulder dress she wore to the British Academy Film Awards on Feb. 10. Middleton was not accused of breaking royal protocol as Markle was, showing clear double standards.

CHEATER, CHEATER

Tristan Thompson was once again caught cheating on his girlfriend Khloé Kardashian but this time, with Kylie Jenner’s best friend, Jordyn Woods. Hurt by numerous reports of Thompson cheating, Kardashian claims that the two of them are officially over. Woods, who was living with Jenner at the time, has moved out of Jenner’s home.

BLOOMING LOVE

5 6

After dating on-and-off for three years, Orlando Bloom proposed to Katy Perry on Valentine’s Day. The singer posted a picture of her $5 million, flower-shaped ring with the caption “Full bloom.” Perry plans on focusing on her fiancé and starting a family this year instead of working on music and her career.

THREE WISHES

The official trailer for the live-action “Aladdin” movie was dropped on Feb. 11. The public was shocked by the appearance of Will Smith as the Genie. Despite criticism, many believe that Smith will bring a “hip-hop flavor” to the beloved character. The film will be released on May 24.

Junior elected as state officer

Nick Harapanahalli wins position of Youth and Government Texas Senator for next school year

BY | LAUREN EGGER

Junior Nick Harapanahalli, a natural speaker, enters the Youth and Government conference, and immediately walks up to a group of Spanish-speaking strangers, jumping right in. He explains his platform and his goals to the group, and then moves onto a group of Brazilians and converses in Portuguese.

Harapanahalli’s campaign focused on equity, and to demonstrate this, he spoke in Hindi, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese to students who also spoke these languages to ensure that everyone felt represented.

“For the past couple of years, Youth and Government has allowed me to talk about my sexuality in a way that is constructive,” Harapanahalli said.

“[Youth and Government] has shown me that I have a future, and I am not meant to be just another statistic. I can change things for my people whether I am brown or gay.”

Harapanahalli participates in the State Affairs branch of the program, where students present original proposals that aim to solve an issue affecting Texas. At the January state conference, he proposed the abolishment of gay conversion therapy camps. In these camps, patients can be legally shocked, leading to increased suicide rates.

are voted for almost unanimously—and his State Affairs proposal was the first in school history to advance to General Assembly, the round during which the highest-ranked proposals are presented.

Although advancing to GA was in itself an unprecedented achievement, Harapanahalli had his sights set on another goal: get elected to the Texas’ State Affairs Chair.

“When they announced my name at the end of the entire conference, I was speechless,” Harapanahalli said. “I was in disbelief —I almost started to cry. It was like I made it. I walked up there and shook the governor’s hand. I don’t know if words can describe the experience.”

Harapanahalli must attend training sessions, practice meets and decide what general policies will be debated at the conferences. He will also have to work with the YMCA, who funds the program and sets up the conferences, to establish goals and new policies.

[YOUTH AND GOVERNMENT] HAS SHOWN ME THAT I HAVE A FUTURE, AND I AM NOT MEANT TO BE JUST ANOTHER STATISTIC. NICK HARAPANAHALLI “

“It is a student-run organization, so there are adults who are behind [Harapanahalli], but

gain support for one’s proposal.

“[Harapanahalli] has never met someone he can’t talk to,” assistant Youth and Government sponsor Philip McCarthy said. “He is a born politician, and when we got to the conference, there wasn’t anyone he wasn’t talking to, explaining his platform to or asking questions. He is relatable and makes himself personable. He was just floating around talking to people.”

Freshman Natalie Parker worked with Harapanahalli this year in State Affairs, learning the ins-and-outs of the section and the skills of an effective speaker.

“In State Affairs, you make a proposal about something that you care about, [and] it has to be something that your state can control,” Parker said. “[I’ve watched Harapanahalli] walk up in front of any group of people and be able to talk to them in their language and spend his weekends going to other schools to talk to them before we have tournaments. He always is determined to get connections with people. That is what has always inspired me.”

As the face of the State Affairs program for the entire state, Harapanahalli realizes his new leadership role is time-consuming, but the people that he interacts with motivate him.

“In the past 50 years, about 1.3 million people have killed themselves because of conversion therapy,” Harapanahalli said. “Youth and Government gives me a space where I can explore those realities for a better society and a better world.”

At the January state conference, Harapanahalli was honored as a distinguished delegate—a title given to the top 10 delegates whose proposals

he is the one who makes the decisions,” YMCA Director of Community Outreach and Special Needs Sarah Burr said. “The adults are there to support what he decides, and they will coach him through things occasionally when he doesn’t know the answer, but for the majority of [the State Affairs program], he is the leader.”

Harapanahalli joined Youth and Government in seventh grade and originally participated in the Legislative branch. His sophomore year, he switched to State Affairs, which he enjoys because of the collaborative nature of the section. The section involves forming personal connections with delegates in order to

“I love the people,” Harapanahalli said. “Every single person who does [State Affairs] is interesting and brings something new to the table. Being in Youth and Government has really changed how I see [my peers], especially now that I am the State Affairs Chair. My job now is to make sure they feel like their voice matters.”

Since Harapanahalli first joined Youth and Government, he has waited for the moment to lead his peers on a large scale. “[In middle school], I voted in elections for people, and it was weird to see it come full circle,” Harapanahalli said. “The governor was my best friend in seventh grade. All the kids who are in leadership positions now—we all met each other on the first day of the first committee in seventh grade. We all bonded.”

Tracking apps enable constant supervision

Parent-child relationships put into question because of new high-tech phone technology

BY | LUKE MCCABE

While driving home from school one day, freshman Sam Suarez saw a text message appear on his phone screen.

“SLOW DOWN!” It read. He glanced to his left and realized that he was speeding.

Tracking apps, such as Life360, Find my Friends and MotoSafety, have gained popularity among friends and family. So much so that according to Life360 data, the app has been downloaded over 50 million times. These apps can be used to keep friends close and create unity. However, they have also led to questions about privacy and over protective parents.

“My mom uses Life360 to make sure I am driving safely and within the speed limit since I just recently got my drivers license,” Suarez said. “I was not a fan [of Life360] at first, but I have gotten used to it now and it is not all that bad.”

This free app can be downloaded onto any phone to record driving data, location and

more.

Mainly used by parents, it is seen as useful because it helps parents keep track of their children.

“

“Parents knowing where their kids are 24/7 is overbearing and a little too much,” sophomore Jake Griffin said. “We need to learn how to be independent on our own because parenting should not be done through alerts and boundaries.”

said. “It is for safety reasons.”

After learning about this app from a friend, Wilson found that it could make sure that children

I BEGAN USING LIFE360 AS A CONVENIENT WAY TO CHECK IN ON MY SON, SO HE DIDN’T HAVE TO CHECK IN WITH ME AS HE MOVES FROM ACTIVITY TO ACTIVITY.

DEBBIE WILSON, PARENT

Some parents use Life360 as only an alternative form of texting or calling.

“I began using Life360 as a convenient way to check in on my son, so he didn’t have to check in with me as he moves from activity to activity,” parent Debbie Wilson

are following speed limits and staying on schedule with ease. However, some children would rather check in with their parents than be under constant technological surveillance.

“It is an invasion of privacy that takes away freedoms all kids should have,” Griffin said. “It hurts relationships because

it takes away from the trust that is crucial in every parent-child relationship, and it symbolizes the [parents’] lack of faith.”

Although many kids feel as if the app can get out of hand, according to Life360 data, the average amount of times the app is opened daily is 12 times. According to Wilson, Life360 in moderation is key.

“I probably use [Life360] weekly,” Wilson said. “Some examples of me using the app would be checking to see if [my son] has found a ride home, so I know I do not need to pick him up…. Or if it is his curfew, I check to see if he is close to home.”

Wilson said that even if parents wanted to monitor their kids, they have that intrinsic right as a father or mother. Life360 is not a parent in and of itself; it is simply meant to be a tool to making parenting less stressful.

“[Life360] does not help me be a better parent,” Wilson said. “It is more of a convenience.”

GRAPHIC BY | MADISON WILLOX

BUZZ

GINA MONTAGNA

Drive me crazy

From

cockroaches to court orders, students and faculty share their unique DMV experiences

BY | ALAN BENÍTEZ

freshman SAM CURTIS sophomore SARAH SMITH junior SAMY DAR senior JUAN GONZÁLEZ Spanish teacher

“We were watching a movie [during driving class], and all of a sudden, I saw something move across the floor, and it was this enormous cockroach. There was a girl sitting next to me, and she had a big backpack. The cockroach started climbing into [her] bag, and it went all the way in. I told the girl. She grabbed [it] and flipped it over. The cockroach fell out, and she started stomping on it.”

“When I got to the DMV they said that I was missing my Impact Driver’s Course certification and that I had 30 minutes left of a video to watch before I would be qualified to take the test. For the [remaining time], I sat outside watching the video, and every time an ad came on screen I nearly had a heart attack. Thankfully, I made it back in time and they let me take my test.”

“When I had my driving test, the guy that was evaluating me was so old. I was driving, and he wasn’t moving or saying anything, and I was asking him questions, so I thought he died. But he didn’t die. I thought he was dead because I was asking him questions like ‘Are you OK?’ and he didn’t say anything for a while. I didn’t really look at his eyes because I had to focus on the road, but it was kind of nerve-wracking.”

“I was 15 when I took my dad’s car out to a car show. I got pulled over, ticketed and sent to court. After that, the court judge ordered me to take my driver’s test, so I actually got to take my test a little early. When I [took] my test, I barely passed it, but I still got my license. They were supposed to suspend my license until I was 18, but the police department forgot to report it to the Department of Public Safety.”

“The driving school [in Spain] was a scam. It is actually now closed because they [received] some charges and were sued. They were getting money from students. The teacher that taught me [how to drive] knew my test instructor and the teacher was the one who told [him] to fail me because I didn’t pay for ‘enough classes,’ and they were trying to get more money out of me.”

Fitting

in

STORY BY |JIAYING FU & EVELYN ZHAO GRAPHICS BY |JIAYING FU

At six o’clock, the students pour in.

They come from Ursuline, Greenhill, Hockaday, ESD and Highland Park. Some come in groups; some come alone. The music’s already pumping; the gym is all set up. They crowd the cardio machines and wander to the weights. Others begin the miscellaneous exercises strategically placed along the floor by following the workouts scrawled on the wall. Most hope to become stronger, faster athletes. Some just want to stay fit.

These students make up the majority of personal trainer and former ESD trainer Ray Maldonaldo’s 400 clients at his private gym, Athletes Sports Development, 150 of which go to ESD. For the past 20 years, Maldonado has worked as a personal trainer. Two factors played a pivotal role in the inspiration behind his gym: his experiences as both an athlete and former nutrition store owner.

“People would come into our nutrition store, and they would ask for workouts, and I would just give them advice,” Maldonado said. “Not until later in life did I decide to stop [running track] competitively and deal with nutrition, and I said ‘I’ll do this’ because so many people kept asking me to help them out. Then I stopped teaching and coaching, and I went full time with [personal training].”

According to a Feb. 27 poll of 240 Upper School students, over 30 percent of students have a personal trainer, and 99 percent of students say that eating healthy is important to them. Over 20 percent of the student body spends between $50 to $100 on staying fit and eating healthy per month while 15 percent of Upper School students spend between $10 to $50 dollars per month for the same purpose.

A session with Maldonado typically lasts around an hour and costs $15.

The monthly price is $385. However, other trainers in the Park Cities and Highland Park area usually charge around $70 to $120 per session.

“All these other trainers are rip-offs,” Maldonado said. “They don’t have almost 400 clients so they have to charge a lot. I don’t have to do that. [The students] start coming to me from fifth grade at ESD all the way until college. It just has to do with the fact that I used to be [at ESD] many years ago, so many families know me from there.”

A usual session typically consists of a full body workout with cardio at certain intervals. The last ten minutes are spent doing abs or core workouts. However, Maldonado adapts his workout to fit the individual, depending on his or her athletic ability and age.

“My objective is for my athletes to work on their fast twitch muscles, so that they can be faster and stronger,” Maldonado said. “When I put a regular person into my workouts, I can tone [them] up in about four weeks. I can change [their] body in that short amount of time because I’m working those fast twitch muscles. You’ll need to change [workouts] to challenge them, especially the athletes.”

His clients usually come in anywhere between two to five times per week.

“The more people see the results, the

Pressure to stay in shape prompts less-expensive alternatives provide

more it becomes addicting,” Maldonado said. “It makes [them] feel so much better about [themselves}, and who doesn’t want that? As soon as they start seeing the results, they want to do it more and more. It’s my job to make sure to tell them to back off. Take a day off here and there—that’s important.”

Over the past summer, junior Val Mooty worked with personal trainer Jason Harnden to help him gain weight before football season started. Fourteen percent of the student body hires a personal trainer to become more athletic. In contrast, over 10 percent of students hire a personal trainer to look better.

“A lot of the people I know—at least my sisters and all—hired personal trainers for similar reasons that I did: to improve with sports and have a better physical tone,” Mooty said. “Most people hire a physical trainer for those reasons. Obviously there might be more of an appearance thing with some people, but in my experience that is really rare. For the most part, it’s for performance.”

According to Maldonado, many ESD students hire a personal trainer because of the school’s sports requirement, and their initial drive to improve athleticism eventually results in a healthy lifestyle. According to the same poll, over 10 percent of students hire a personal trainer to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

“Being from ESD, because it’s a small school, the majority of students are required to do a sport,” Maldonado said. “What ends up happening is that once they come to workout for their sport, they end up just wanting to stay fit. At first a high percentage come because they do sports, and they want to see how far they can take it. [There are] limitations to all of us and how much better we can become as an athlete, so [their goal] changes. Once they know they’re not going to [play sports] at the collegiate level, they just want to stay fit, look great, feel good and be healthy.”

Maldonado also believes that many people hire a personal trainer because their friends go to one. However, less than one percent of the student body hires a personal trainer for this reason.

“That’s why I do the group training—because they’re with their friends,” Maldonado said. “They get to stay fit and get to have fun. The majority of the students want to be with their friends, so I put them in small groups.”

The most beneficial part of having a personal trainer, according to Mooty, is the flexibility it provides.

“It’s easier for me to have a schedule where I get to pick when I work out, and I know that for the full time I’m working out, I’ll be the only one that he’s working with,” Mooty said. “I don’t think the [school] coaches have as much one-on-one [time].”

Mooty said that most of the time, the results are worth the price.

“It really depends on the trainer you work with to determine whether the cost is worth the results,” Mooty said. “If you have a good trainer and really want to put that extra work in to improving physically, I believe it’s worth it. My personal

CRUNCH TIME Seniors Kelsey Wittmann and Lauren Marks work on partner exercises together on Feb. 27. “I currently work out to prepare for when I play soccer in college,” Marks said. “The feeling after working out is also so rewarding. You feel good about yourself and the work you put in.” photo by Grace Knudson & Riley Breaux

prompts overspending, provide same results

trainer really knows a lot about the body and about what muscles are useful for what activities, and so when I tell him what sports I’m playing or where I’m trying to get stronger, he knows exactly what workouts to do and how much to do them.”

However, there are many cost-free alternatives to having a personal trainer that also allow you to stay in shape.

“Walking, jogging, biking, all those things are great,”

Maldonado said. “It requires zero money. You don’t need to spend money to be fit. Just go walk, go jog, go bike and you can stay very fit.”

Additionally, assistant strength and conditioning coach Sally Ward believes that the weight room, school gym and school fitness programs are a great resource for students.

“I really hope that students understand what a great system and what a great coaching staff we have,” Ward said. “We can be a huge help if we are utilized. My hope is that more and more people will continue to adopt the idea of making the weight room, exercise and fitness part of their daily lives.”

Sophomore Caleb Ainsworth, who has previously worked with a personal trainer, considers the trainers and facilities provided by the school to be more effective than working with a personal trainer.

Almost 60 percent of the student body try to eat healthy most of the time. However, according to Bass, only one percent of United States farmland is organic. Organic food is much more expensive than nonorganic food, and Bass attributes that to the lengthy process of obtaining an organic certification.

“Someday that won’t be the case,” Bass said. “That’s my goal. I am committed to changing and speaking about [organic food] a lot. At the GEM, I make sure my farmers know we’re committed to growing [organic food]. [Organic items] can’t be mass produced as well. You have to be a little more thoughtful, and government regulations make it hard to be organic.”

Each smoothie, salad, soup and juice is handmade on the spot at the GEM.

““For the majority of what we make here, the [ingredients] arrive in organic boxes,” Bass said. “We inspect it, and it goes straight into a wash. Then, we drain and date them, and they go straight into all of our different areas of our kitchen.

MY HOPE IS THAT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE WILL CONTINUE TO ADOPT THE IDEA OF MAKING THE WEIGHT ROOM, EXERCISE AND FITNESS PART OF THEIR DAILY LIVES.

SALLY WARD, ASSISTANT STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH

“ESD’s facilities are way better than a trainer’s facilities,” Ainsworth said. “[A personal trainer’s] facilities are usually very small, and they don’t have all the nice equipment ESD has because there’s such great funding for the athletics and wellness program at ESD. The coaches write us a workout and help us go through the workout. They teach us how to use the right form. I do not think a personal trainer is worth [the cost] if I can come to ESD and get better training.”

Other factors besides exercise also contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

“Working out is just a small percentage,” Maldonado said. “The biggest factor in wanting to be healthy and fit has to do with food and what you take in.”

Mary Kathryn Bass and Leslie Needleman are the co-owners and co-founders of the GEM, a smoothie bar in Dallas dedicated to being healthy, organic and vegan.

Although the obesity problem in America is real, Bass has observed slow changes in a gradual movement toward a healthy lifestyle.

“A lot of people have an unhealthy lifestyle right now,” Bass said. “It’s called the Standard American Diet, the SAD diet. That acronym just says it all, doesn’t it? Slowly, people are being educated [about food] on the government level, community level and like me, the for-profit level. [Big food companies] are buying small food companies that are doing things the organic and non GMO route. They are making big plans to respond to this. There are lots of people out there helping schools change their school lunches. The energy [for this change] is coming from so many sources.”

With healthier food options, education and various routes to become physically fit, children and adults alike can improve their physical wellbeing, even without paying high costs.

“I’m optimistic about the future of plant-based food [and health] in the United States,” Bass said. “People will take their own health into their own hands and be an advocate for themselves in learning about true health. True good energy comes from a lot of different places you are absolutely able to control.”

The secret is in the sauce

BY | LAUREN WEBER & LUKE MCCABE

& DESIGN BY | EVELYN ZHAO & VICTORIA WILLOX

Fast-food sauce review ranks the best to the worst of signature blends

Popeye’s “sweet heat” sauce is disgusting—that’s all we can say. It’s pungent, repellent smell matches its disgusting flavor. It literally contradicted itself. At first, it tasted like an overly-sweet honey sauce, but the aftertaste left a lingering, nasty and sour flavor in our mouths. Popeye’s describes their sauce as a “Louisiana hot sauce,” but they neglected to mention the overpowering abundance of sugar. It tasted like a watered-down Tabasco sauce with a massive spoonful of honey. It’s not really hot— only sweet. I guess you have to give Popeye’s credit for trying something new because we really have never tasted anything like it before. Still, sweet heat does taste like feet.

Braum’s signature sauce is simply a substandard Raising Cane’s sauce. Its runny composition gives it an unusual texture, inferior to Raising Cane’s. The freezing temperature that it’s served at also does not help the quality. The worst part was definitely the pickle-flavored aftertaste it left us with. The unappetizing tan color complements the dull, cold and pickled taste, and the taste clashes terribly with the fries and burgers served. Braum’s sauce is tied with Popeye’s for last place and belongs in the trash can along with this entire franchise.

Chick-Fil-A’s signature sauce, composed of barbeque sauce and honey mustard, wasn’t much to rave about. ChickFil-A describes their signature condiment as leaving a “smoky tang,” but we thought that the sauce was too sweet to leave any sort of smoky aftertaste. Since we aren’t big mustard fans to begin with, we may be biased here, but this dip was pretty average. However, it does perfectly complement Chick-Fil-A’s chicken nuggets. When the condiment is used on ChickFil-A’s famous waffle fries, the flavors don’t mix well because the sweetness of the sauce smothers the classic, salty taste of the fries.

Spicy ketchup seems like such a simple concept, and yet, Whataburger is the only fast food chain with a classic spicy ketchup dip. Although the flavorful ketchup does have a sharp taste, it retains a very natural spice, resembling salsa. It differs from the generic, spicy flavoring, like Tabasco, that most sauces rely on because it uses a jalapeño pepper seasoning. However, in excess, the keen spice of the ketchup may leave you with a slight stomachache. Nevertheless, it’s simple, but it’s not bland, and we will definitely order it again.

Raising Cane’s is iconic for their unique signature sauce. It’s light orange with a creamy texture and is composed mostly of mayo and ketchup. Although that sounds like an odd combination, the flavors blend perfectly together, creating an ideal balance between sweet and tangy. With a sharp, tart taste, the sauce perfectly complements Raising Cane’s crispy chicken, crinkle fries and even bread.

The Raising Cane’s experience is not complete without the signature sauce that comes with every meal. This sauce is by far our favorite.

PHOTO

Popeye’s Sweet Heat Sauce

Raising Cane’s Sauce

Whataburger’s Spicy Ketchup

Chick-Fil-A Sauce

Braum’s Dipping Sauce

STAFF STANCE | Campus

It’s 7:15 a.m. and you’re pulling into the student parking lot on Merrell. Parking is not a problem; there are only a few other cars in the lot.

It’s 8 a.m. and you’re driving down Merrell. The only spots available in the student lot are in the very back, so you decide to park on the street.

It’s 8:30 a.m. and you’re scrambling to find a spot. If only you were a senior and had a designated one. There aren’t any spots, so you talk to security, and they give you permission to park in the handicapped space.

Although 105 new parking spaces were constructed last summer, parking remains a problem. Because of events that take place during school hours, the junior lot and street are often off limits to students, causing difficulty for many to find a parking space.

According to a poll of 240 students taken on Feb. 27, 22 percent of students have sought help from security or other people to find a parking spot and 35 percent have arrived late to class in the morning because they had trouble finding parking.

It isn’t any better for faculty and staff. While there are 216 permanent employees, only 205 parking spots are available in the main lot, Frank building and Swann Lot. These spots include the handicap spots, visitors spaces and other reserved parking that teachers and other employees cannot use.

With the opening of the new Lower School next year, the creation of additional parking spaces is needed to accommodate all faculty, staff and visitors.

– Erika Batson, freshman

needs more parking for students, faculty and visitors

In preparation for this, the school plans to assign all Upper School students–not just seniors–a parking space in a lot next year. All juniors and seniors will have an assigned space, leaving the rest of the lots to underclassmen drivers. This will leave the street open to guests and visitors.

While that may fix the problem with student parking, the insufficient number of spaces for teachers and faculty will continue to be an issue next year.

We propose building a new parking lot on the area of land across Montwood Lane to accommodate all faculty, staff and visitors when the new Lower School is opened. The school currently owns a permit to use

Five

that land as parking for certain occasions such as graduation. Getting proper zoning from the city of Dallas is needed to convert that land into a permanent parking lot. This should be a top priority of the school. Converting open and unnecessary grassy areas into additional parking spaces on both Merrell and Montwood would also help solve the problem in the meantime. Students and teachers should not have to lose time in the classroom because of difficulty finding a place to park in the morning. It is essential to resolve these parking issues over the summer before new faculty, staff, students and visitors join our community next school year.

52 percent of students think that there should be more parking percent of students who drive were late to a morning class because they had trouble finding parking

*according to a Feb. 27 poll of 240 students

“The movie didn’t have sounds, so basically, it was just a big GIF.” – Ella Henson, sophomore

“What song is this? Passion Fruit? Oh, I was thinking Watermelon.”

– Henry Watson, junior

– Anna Winkeler, senior

“‘What do we want?’ CLUCK. ‘When do we want it?!’ CLUCK.” – Chris Northrup, math teacher

GRAPHIC BY | SUMNER WOOLDRIDGE

letters to the EDITORS

Dear EagleEdition ,

I want to address some of the inaccuracies in the recent article about the President’s Volunteer Service Award updates.

It is incorrect that students who exceed the minimum requirement during the 12 month period will no longer count. All hours earned within 12 months are counted. If you completed 112, 184 or 260 hours within 12 months, you will receive the award designated for those hours.

Rollover hours were not a right. Hours earned within a 12 month period is the rule. How do you justify rolling over hours just because you surpassed the minimum? When taken advantage of, students can earn all the minimum hours needed for one or more years in one summer and never have to do service again, but get the award over and over. Is that honorable? Community service is about bettering the community, and yes, when the service is completed does matter for the purpose of this award.

Also, the 350 hours is just the minimum, not the max. For tracking purposes in x2VOL, 350 is the minimum a student needs to earn to get the award all four years. A student has the potential to earn over 850 hours over the four years you are in high school.

If you enter into service just to receive an award or figure out how we can do it the easy way, you’ve already lost. Maybe if we instead put more value on “improving our communities and gaining greater social awareness and empathy for others,” this wouldn’t be an issue. We should focus on that. It might help some if our students write more thought-provoking reflections in x2VOL and limit the number of questions about earning hours for donating items, driving down the street, or playing video games.

Be aware that changes were made to ensure that ESD is following the national guidelines—guidelines that have always been in place.

Director of Community Service Learning Courtney Phelps

Dear Editors,

I feel that clubs at ESD are not taken seriously. The club committee tried to make them more official with constitution and attendance records, but clubs still don’t seem to be that important to the ESD community. In short, the full potential of the club program is not utilized.

I think that a section of the newspaper (even if it’s a small one) that reports on club activities and events would greatly benefit the community and bring more attention to clubs that are hard at work. For instance, the Asian Council holds bimonthly Asian cuisine tastings and a little section in the newspaper mentioning when the event is, would drive up attendance and expose everyone to other cultures.

Sophomore Mary Cowser

W“The Guardians and the War on Truth” were named TIME Person of the Year 2018. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 54 journalists were killed in 2018— nine from a dangerous assignment, 11 from crossfire and 34 from murder.

e take pride in what we do.

What we don’t take pride in, however, is overhearing rants of “fake news” in reference to an opinions section or TV news commentary segment.

“Fake news” is often used as a jab that generalizes the entire journalist population: Meanwhile, an opinion is not news. An opinion cannot be fake. An opinion is an opinion—an opinion that readers should be capable of thinking about critically

Don’t get us wrong: Opinion pieces—print and digital—are still essential. There’s no doubt that the Eagle Edition would compromise its message of voicing the opinions of the student body if we did not publish a Views section every issue.

But when it comes to writing news, in Journalism I, we learned that each of us have biases and that it’s our job to be aware of such biases. Writers are still humans with unique experiences and unavoidable, inherent preferences.

Though it’s our choice to decide who to interview and what we view as worth covering, while making those decisions, we strive

for balance—to represent the person who offers the counterargument, to tell the story that’s overlooked.

Some journalists do fabricate. Some do manipulate. Some do have agendas—and we’re not denying that in the slightest. We fear that in the mainstream media particularly TV broadcasts news runs the risk of transforming primarily from a source of education into a source of entertainment. It’s a disheartening misuse of power.

But labeling all journalists as the problem is absurd. There are journalists out there risking their lives—some losing them—in the name of a free press.

• • •

“Yes, we’re putting out a d**n paper tomorrow.”

Those were the words tweeted by The Capital Gazette after a gunman entered the newspaper’s offices and killed five staffers.

The next morning, The Capital’s Opinions front page was left intentionally blank, with the words, “Today, we are speechless” followed by a list of the five killed—names that should’ve ran that day as bylines, not obituaries.

Thirty-four murders. Threats, captures, torture—those 34 experienced it all.

Take Jamal Khashoggi, the columnist who covered the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the rise of Osama Bin Laden for Saudi news organizations. Murdered.

Take Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, young Reuters journalists who covered the killing of Muslims by their Myanmar government. Imprisoned.

Take The Capital Gazette

This “us-vs.-them” mentality— that journalists report for only their “us” and neglect to represent the “them,” whether that be a political party or certain group—is the antithesis of what journalism stands for.

As student journalists, the amount of times we’ve heard the phrase “fake news” is incalculable. The names “liar” to “fabricator” to “enemy” are pelted daily. Even

as school reporters, “Shut up, ‘journalist’” is not something we haven’t heard—it was a comment on more than one of our polls, after all.

•

• •

In this cloud of “fakeness,” anger and trust, our future as journalists is a hazy one. Journalist Nick Lawton said it best in a piece entitled “Dear Journalism Students”:

I will never forget when the President of the United States, someone I was taught from childhood to respect, inspired an entire hangar of people to turn and boo me for slights I’d never committed.

I will never forget when a father pushed his stroller past me on the street while I was filming video, and when his son asked who I was, he said: “The media. We hate the media.”

A part of your brain and your heart compels you to cut your losses and run. Run to where it’s safe. Find something else to do. Why journalism, anyway?

“Because,” you’ll find yourself saying back, “I have grown too much to turn back now.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Men must embrace new household dynamics

In the past century, more women are being professionally educated than ever. This means more women can support themselves financially through stable and high-level jobs, changing the dynamic between men and women in a positive way.

In my family, both my mom and dad have been working with their own businesses for

most of my life. My mom has always had an eye for fashion and it wasn’t until about ten years ago that my dad convinced her to start a store in our pool house cabana. She now owns two stores and a website.

Since she started working, she has said that she has never been happier. Not only is she doing what she loves, but her business takes pressure off my dad to be our family’s sole provider.

Until the twentieth century, the stereotypical path of a woman’s life was to marry and raise children while her husband was expected to support the family through a single income. This stereotype has since been abandoned

with over 60 percent of college students being women, according to Inc. Magazine.

The American workforce has also risen from 34 percent to almost 57 percent since 1950, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Now that women are equally—if not more—qualified for many of the jobs that men traditionally held, many younger men may take jobs they enjoy more rather than jobs that offer certain salaries. The benefit of a double income results in both parties doing more of what they enjoy.

Now that the dynamic of some relationships has changed, men can spend more time with their children. In addition to numerous

companies now allowing men paternity leave, the number of stay-at-home fathers has increased from 1.1 million in 1989 to two million as of 2012, according to Pew Research Center.

Because my parents both work, a sort of independence has been instilled in me and my brothers—our family dynamic wouldn’t be the same if they didn’t. Men need to be raised to understand that their wives are just as capable of supporting a family as they are—and with more career choices than ever before. I believe that this new reality opens countless doors for both men and women, both in their professional and personal lives.

Anastasia & Madison, Editors-in-Chief

Gardiner Vose Staff Writer

GRAPHIC BY | SUMNER WOOLDRIDGE

PRO: Milk’s age-old health benefits remain valid

Grace Knudson

Every morning, my kindergarten self would run down the stairs eager to complement my Eggos with, of course, milk. “It makes your bones strong!” my mom always said. Every Disney Channel commercial included the “Got Milk?” promotion. I always drank a tall glass of milk—I was encouraged to.

According to the Dairy Council of California, a glass of milk contains protein, potassium, vitamins B2 and B12—nutrients key to child development. Pediatric allergist and immunologist Karen Robbins’ research concluded that “there is a continuum of risk for deficits in height and weight among kids who are allergic to cow’s milk.”

Though I’m not as devoted to my milk consumption as I was as a child, I continue to drink a glass ever so often and consume products daily that contain cow’s milk.

Remember that the recommended amount of dairy is two cups per day for children ages two to three years old, two and a half cups per day for children ages four to eight years old and three cups a day for people nine years and older.

The American Dietary guidelines state that products such as almond, rice, coconut, hemp milk, etc. may contain calcium, but its overall nutritional content is not similar to dairy from a cow. And while soy milk is a great alternative to cow’s milk, it doesn’t offer as much calcium or as many vitamins as natural cow’s milk. Cow’s milk now comes in lowfat versions, making some cow’s milk lower in saturated fat than commercial soy milk. Although multiple sources state that dairy products “feed” cancer cells, there is no scientific evidence to back up this hypothesis. Multiple studies from the World Cancer Research Fund provide evidence that cancer fails to correlate with an ingestion of dairy. Cow’s milk may create a digestion problem for some, but today, there is lactose-free milk: cow’s milk with an added enzyme that causes no side effects.

I love milk. I always will. It brings me back to the good old days of childhood—the sweet taste that makes my taste buds dance, the milk mustache that lingers after a sip. Little did I know that one of society’s most basic substances would one day be controversial. A decade later, I still stand by my conviction: milk’s health benefits outweigh any cons.

percent of students believe that milk is a healthy option, according to a Feb. 27 poll of 240 students

BY | ANASTASIA SOTIROPOULOS

CON: Milk proves bland, poses health concerns

Milk is bland. It’s often difficult for people to digest, and it’s not necessarily healthy. Sure, milk can complement a nice bowl of Lucky Charms, but milk in a glass by itself—no thank you.

I realize that simply thinking milk tastes gross is not a statement with enough solidity; however, there is empirical scientific research to further support my argument against milk. The drink’s calcium is associated with building strong, healthy bones, but in a 2011 study by the LA times found that scientists were not able to find any correlation between calcium and strong bones.

Although calcium is important for nutrition, the chair of the Nutrition Department at the Harvard School of Public Health Walter Willett, has discovered that our bodies adapt to the amount of calcium taken in. If we’re low in calcium intake, we absorb a higher percentage.

In a study conducted last fall by professor of medical epidemiology Karl Michaëlsson, there is a sugar in milk known as “lactose” correlated with “inflammation and stress on a cellular level,” possibly resulting in health problems. Milk is also a top source of saturated fat in the American diet, which can increase cholesterol and contribute to heart disease and Type 2 diabetes

It may not be widely known that animal fats are concentrators of dioxin, a carcinogen. This is possibly the most alarming scientific relation to milk because according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the daily dioxin intake from milk and milk products is 30 percent for adults and 50 percent for children. Dioxins enter the environment through paper bleaching, incineration and other industrial processes, and they later fall onto grass, which is eaten by cows. For these reasons, lower intake of animal fats is recommended.

I realize that there are people out there who enjoy milk, but my question is: Why? If the bland taste doesn’t repel you, then maybe some health concerns associated with high consumption will.

percent of students do not believe that milk is a healthy option, according to a Feb. 27 poll of 240 students

Recent rape trial sparks movement, clothing is never an indicator of consent

According to Planned Parenthood, consent is defined as “actively agreeing to be sexual with someone.” Consent is freely given, reversible, informed, enthusiastic and specific. Sexual activity that is done without consent from both parties is considered sexual assault or rape.

BY | EMILY DELGADO

A 17-year-old teenage girl’s thong was used as “evidence” in a court case in Ireland to justify why a 27-year-old man raped her in an alleyway in November of 2018. Because her underwear was lacy, a lawyer claimed that it was a sign of her consent, and therefore, it was her fault that she was sexually assaulted. The judge ruled the perpetrator as not guilty.

This occurrence sparked protests as hundreds of women and men posted pictures of their underwear with the hashtag “#ThisIsNotConsent.”

No article of clothing, whether revealing or not, can replace a person’s voice and signify their consent.

In 2014, the University of Arkansas displayed its first “What Were You Wearing” Survivor Art Installation. The installation included sexual assault survivors’ stories next to a recreation of the clothes they were wearing on the day they were assaulted. The outfits varied from jeans and a t-shirt to running shorts and a workout top to a 6-year-old’s sundress. The installation aimed to prove that there is not one specific outfit that is to blame the sexual assault.

According to a Feb. 27 survey of 240

students, 19 percent of male students believe that clothing and consent go handin-hand, while only five percent of female students believe the two correlate.

Twenty-four percent of male students also believe that consent can be given no matter how intoxicated the individual is, while 35 percent of female students believe that it depends how intoxicated the person is.

As a female student, it is concerning to know that high school students still believe these things about consent.

Consent and respecting personal boundaries should be discussed and fully understood at a young age—before becoming a high school upperclassman.

Although juniors and seniors received a mandatory consent presentation during a special programming day, 52 percent of the student body believe that it was ineffective in discussing consent in depth.

Instead of teaching the younger generations that they shouldn’t wear certain things because it’ll “send out the wrong message,” we should educate children about consent and that rape is not—and will never be—OK.

In 2016, model Amber Rose starred on an episode of “It’s Not You, It’s Men,” where hosts Tyrese and Rev Run stated that fans sexually harassing Rose could be because it’s “a representation of what [she’s] wearing” and the “energy that is sent out.” She was quick to shut them down. “It doesn’t matter how far I take it or what I have on,” she said. “When I say ‘no,’ it means no.”

We have all heard the phrase “no means no.” “No” does not mean “maybe.” “No” does not mean “convince me.” “No” does not need to be followed by further information. “No” means I don’t want to and that needs to be respected.

News Editor

Lauren Weber Sports Editor

GRAPHIC

The best and worst of the month, graded

Socialism proves popular with younger constituents

CALVERT’S CORNER HIGHS LOWS

Double trouble

Students

Senior spiels

This month, a variety of heartfelt Chapel talks were given by several seniors on behalf of their advisory.

Some notable speeches included Danny Kung’s reflection on his ESD “modeling career,” Scott Neuhoff’s life-changing friendship with his Young Life leader and Will Minnis’ tale about why ocean water is salty.

Leading the way

A Hunt scholar at Southern Methodist University created a leadership program and was referred by alumna Emma Cabrales ‘18 to pilot it at ESD. This summer, the rising freshman class will be able to attend a one-day leadership retreat and learn how to become a leader on- and off-campus.

BSpill the tea

Sophomore class officers tricked the Upper School into believing that this year’s Sadie Hawkins dance was “homecoming” themed. Although they managed to momentarily disappoint the entire student body, we’re grateful it was just a set-up.

The switch

Head of School David Baad announced to the senior class that instead of a notable person or an alum giving the commencement speech at graduation, the duty will be passed down to a student’s parent. Although the idea was to make the speech more personal, maybe seniors would be more excited if they could nominate parents and vote.

D+ D

Order up

At the beginning of the month, the Food Service Director at SAGE notified everyone via Schoology that the weekly lunch menu would be posted on there regularly. Now that the month is over, not once has a menu been posted again since the week of Feb. 4.

That’s a cut

The Upper School cheer program has grown tremendously. For this reason, the program director has made the executive decision to start making cuts based on tryout scores, coach evaluation and safety. Additionally, athletes will not be placed on a team if their score and evaluation don’t reach the required level.

F

Dashing through the school zone

Assistant Head of Upper School Jeff Laba informed students that the police officers who direct traffic will have to start writing tickets because students refuse to follow the speed limit. The officers are here to ensure our safety, so it’s understandable that they want to resolve this.

SOCIAL STUDIES |

Millennials, Generation Z are plagued by economic distress, encouraging liberal leanings

BY | JOHN CALVERT

Socialism is one of—if not the—worst economic systems a country can possess.

Nearly every nation that has fully embraced it ended up worse for wear. The few places that—from a distance—appear to do well under socialism, such as Sweden and Denmark, have, in recent years, rolled back many of the system’s component policies.

This shouldn’t be too surprising.

When you can’t earn your own bread or the government makes it hard to do so, you have very little reason to contribute to society. You no longer work as hard and, eventually, cease working altogether. After all, the state gives you everything you need, and success just means more taxes, so why even bother?

Sure, working hard may be fulfilling, and being some sort of professional is a great way to better the lives of those around you, but even the most dedicated laborer wants to reap some reward, and good intentions rarely exist without at least a bit of self-interest. This wouldn’t be too much of an issue if only a few people were afflicted with such a malaise, but a socialist system causes most people to simply stop caring. Productivity takes

a nosedive, production slows down, and the government soon runs out of other people’s money.

However, according to a 2018 Gallup Poll, 51 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 say that they have positive feelings toward socialism. The same poll found that only 45 percent of people in the same age group have positive feelings toward capitalism, down 23 percent from 2010. These startling figures beg the question: Why are so many young people in favor of a system with such an awful track record?

American children are taught that they are miracles— that they are unique bundles of potential with great futures ahead of them. They grow up watching “Star Wars” and “The Kardashians,” envisioning that they will be vanguards of positive change and possessors of limitless wealth. Many parents, teachers and coaches encourage this, doling out participation trophies and constant attention. These kids grow up living more comfortably than the overwhelming majority of people throughout history, and they still want more. When they leave college, they enter one of the most depressing economies

imaginable, $200,000 in debt and floundering to find any niche in a tremendously oversaturated job market. They can barely afford an apartment and suddenly, find themselves having to pay taxes, budget and save. They ask their parents, who entered the world during one of the most optimistic times in human history, for help, but find that they are little—if any—assistance, totally unaware of how to deal with the problems their offspring encounter. And if you dump a bunch of coddled narcissists into a terrible situation, they will inevitably seek to change it.

As a 17-year-old, I don’t have a solution. Even beyond the immense scale of these issues, I lack the experience to know in what specific ways things can be improved. I am not an economist. I am not a scientist. I am not a politician—I haven’t even gotten a job yet. But judging by the fact we are even in this position, I doubt that anyone can. Our leaders are arguing over meaningless trash, topics that mean very little to the average person. They go about wasting time and money on programs and studies that sound nice but have no tangible impact on anything of importance. Something needs to change.

Casting conundrum cultural commentary

BY | SUMNER WOOLDRIDGE

dressed all out for the dynamic-duo theme at the annual Sadie Hawkins dance. Costumes ranged from Dr. Phil and Oprah to Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson. Seniors William Hargrave and Lauren Marks swept the best couple’s costume category as Jeff Laba and his infamous lunch sign.

Just keep swimming

With three swimmers representing the school, the swim team has learned to work around challenges

As the swimmers walk through the door an hour before a meet, they are immediately met with crowds of people sometimes reaching numbers as high as 500. The team all jumps into the pool surrounded by other schools’ teams, warming up for their chance to compete.

BY | GARDINER VOSE

They squeeze into their tech suits, which take about an hour to get on and provide better streamline in the water when swimming. When they are finally prepared and ready to compete, the swimmers line up in groups of eight—called heats—and jump off as the buzzer sounds.

With no formal coach or swimming facility, the three swimmers representing ESD rely on other facilities to practice; some practice with club teams.

Senior Jackson Mechem started on the team his freshman year but has swam since he was eight years old. He practices five days a week for about two hours.

“I have been swimming for most of my life and really have enjoyed it a lot,” Mechem said. “My mom signed me up when I was younger, and I have continued it throughout my life.”

Because the school does not have the required facilities to support a swim team, the athletes must practice separately in order to prepare for their meets. The team has no official coach and usually relies on one of the team moms to coordinate. Mechem practices at the Town North YMCA.

“I enjoy practicing outside of school with my personal coaches from my club team,” Mechem said. “If we did have an official coach at the school, more people would know about the team and maybe a few more would join. There are even people in my grade who are still surprised when they hear that we have a swim team.”

Because upcoming meets and news about the sport are not announced in town hall, many students not on the team are unaware that the school has a swim team.

“I didn’t know about the swim team until recently because I haven’t heard about it during any of the athletic announcements and rarely hear it mentioned,” sophomore Bella Collins said. “If the team was wider known then more students who are interested would join because it adds another option to a small list of sports students can participate in.”

Freshman Stephanie Pfister is also a member of the swim team—she has been swimming since she was 10 years old.

“The reason I enjoy swim meets and swimming so much is because of the community of people that are there with you,” Pfister said. “The swimming community is just so warm-hearted and comforting that it brings out this sense of comfort and happiness.”

The future of the swim team depends on the few other members of the team who will continue throughout high school after Mechem graduates this year.

“I would be sad if the sport ended because there weren’t enough swimmers,” Mechem said.

DIVING IN While swimming laps at the Greenhill pool, senior Jackson

practices his freestyle stroke—one of his main events. “I usually go practice with the YMCA swim team for two hours, five days a week—we practice at the Town

are butterfly and freestyle, which is what I normally work on during practice.”

There are even people in my grade who are still surprised when they hear that we have a swim team. Jackson Mechem Senior “ ”

If we did have an official coach at the school, more people would know about the

Mechem

North YMCA,” Mechem said. “My main two strokes

photo by Riley Breaux

Varsity mens lacrosse finds new head coach

Jay Sothoron prepares the team for the season with rigorous conditioning

BY | LIESL SMALL

Walking to class one morning, senior Carson Raney opened his phone to see an email from his lacrosse coach with the subject line reading, “Detention running.” Accompanied by junior Caden Dundon and sophomore Reed Landin, Raney experienced 45 minutes of the worst conditioning of his time on campus. However, he has not received a community violation since.

After graduating from Division III Greensboro College in North Carolina, new Mens Varsity Lacrosse Head coach, Jay Sothoron, began his career by taking over as Defensive Coordinator at his alma mater. Sothoron has spent the last 11 years coaching lacrosse at Division I and II colleges like Bellarmine University and Jesuit Wheeling University. He transitioned to coaching high school lacrosse for a change in lifestyle.

“[Coaching at the] Division I level changes your quality of life because you’re traveling all the time and recruiting is very hectic,” Sothoron said. “It’s a little unsettling, and sometimes you struggle with the fact that you can never get comfortable living in one spot because you know that you could very easily be fired the next year. The high school [coaching experience] gives you a little more stability and provides a place for you to root somewhere, which is a nicer feeling.”

“Obviously here at ESD, we’re going to have high expectations, and we’re going to push [the players] hard. At the end of the day, it comes down to the relationships you have with your players, and that’s the goal here.”

The varsity team has won four state championships and will work toward a fifth this season.

“At the end of the year, the overall success is playing to the best of our ability,” Sothoron said. “Winning [a fifth state championship] would be the cherry on top, but as long as our kids are staying out of trouble, doing the right things off the field, being positive in the community and leading around campus, I’ll be happy.”

Sothoron has implemented consistent running punishments for the whole team if one player gets a detention. Although he recognizes that everyone makes mistakes, he believes his players must be held accountable.

“I don’t want our guys to be known by every teacher in the school as the guys who are always in detention,” Sothoron said. “We want to

coach, Sothoron has confidence in all of his players.

“Not only is he good with the strategic side of coaching and coming up with good offenses, defenses and other schemes, but he’s also a really good mentor for the players,” Bower said. “Everyone is really trusting him and buying into his process.”

WE WANT TO TRY TO BE RANKED IN THE TOP 25 IN THE COUNTRY. WE’VE BEEN PRETTY CLOSE IN PREVIOUS YEARS, BUT WE CAN BREAK IT THIS

YEAR.

SENIOR CAPTAIN “

DANNY KUNG,

set a good image and example. So far, the kids have not enjoyed the running, so the punishments seem to be working because I haven’t seen many names on the detention list.”

By coaching numerous teams at various levels, Sothoron has used his experience to impact how he coaches at the Upper School.

“I’m hard [on the players], but I’m also fair,” Sothoron said.

Senior captains Scott Bower and Danny Kung welcomed Sothoron and thinks the running consequences will create a driven mindset for the whole team. In addition to being a supportive

Similar to their head coach, Bower and Kung are aiming for more than a ring. They want a brotherhood.

“One of our goals for this season is to bond as a team both emotionally and physically,” Kung said. “We want to try to be ranked in the top 25 in the country. We’ve been pretty close in previous years, but we can break it this year.”

With the season having just started, the varsity team is motivated to practice with its new players.

“The energy [on the field] has been at a really good level because all the guys are excited to be out there,” Bower said. “We’ve done conditioning throughout January, so we haven’t had sticks in our hands. They are just excited to finally be playing.”

Bower, along with senior Carson Raney and junior Henry Watson, have played as a defensive unit for three years. Because the team has two Ohio State commits and a University of Virginia commit on defense, Kung, an attacker, describes the team as “defensive-mighty.”

“On offense, we just have to make sure that we’re scoring with the chances that we get,” Kung said. “Defense will take care of

the rest, as long as the chemistry continues between the three commits.”

With the lacrosse season reaching its peak, Lacrosse Bucket published ten high school teams to watch in 2019. ESD was featured for its new coaching staff and its defense, which is one of the best in the nation. The team beat Southlake 7-4 on March 1.

“We can improve in every aspect of our game especially in our defense and offense, but that will come with time as we learn from the mistakes we made this past weekend,” Bower said. “But there was no lack of hustle and grit, showing signs that once we begin to click as a unit, good things will come.”

NBA must rethink age restriction for players’ benefit

Division I basketball players are playing only one season at the collegiate level before going pro

Smith Cochran Staff Writer

What’s the best part of college basketball? The 68-team tournament? The insane student sections? The upsets? It’s the fake loyalty that all Division I players have for their school.

Division I college basketball players are expected to go to classes, get a degree and become a better person by the experience. That is, of course, if they don’t go to the NBA.

The NBA’s rule is that no

player can enter the league until he turns 19. This leaves one awkward year before players are eligible to enter the draft.

Lebron James, second best basketball player of all time, was the top NBA prospect in 2003. He had the option to go to college and enter the draft in 2004 or make over $4 million sooner. He gave it the old college try and skipped college like any sane person could do if given the choice.

James is a perfect example of what top high school basketball prospects should do.

Let’s be honest, in terms of all sports, loyalty is six-feet-under. This includes college basketball players. Teams like Kentucky and Duke are known to get top basketball talent for one year, and after that one year, their roster is refreshed with new talent.

“One and done” is a popular

term to describe college basketball players that enroll in a college for one year and declare for the NBA draft after their freshman year. The player enrolls at a top basketball college, goes to minimal classes, focuses only on basketball and leaves after nine months.

The latest star that’s set to do this is Duke University’s Zion Williamson. He was famous as a junior in high school for his shattering dunks. There is no doubt that he is a talented basketball player, but he shouldn’t be enrolled at Duke University. He is not there for the education, the campus or the people. He is there because he believes he can play basketball for one season and get drafted into the NBA, which is exactly what will happen.

Playing for Duke is a risk for Williamson. He was recently

injured in a game against the University of North Carolina, and many current NBA players are telling him to sit out the rest of the year—he should. He has nothing to gain from coming back and playing with Duke. Williamson and other players should be eligible to go to the NBA after they graduate high school. One year of higher education does not help them, and there is no reason to stay in college to graduate in three more years if there’s an opportunity to make millions of dollars in a couple of months. In the 2018 NBA Draft, eight of the first 10 draftees were “one and done” players. The other two players, Luka Donĉić and Mikal Bridges, either did not go to college or went for two years.

With all due respect, the NCAA has destroyed college athletes.

They put players in college to bring money and championships, not to give them an education. Athletes are not at the school to receive an education, that’s not why their there. The NCAA sees the “one and done” rule as a way to get players an education in case basketball does not work out. It’s purely naive. Ben Simmons, point guard for the Philadelphia 76ers, did leave Australia to go to Louisiana State University for one year for the education.

The fact of the matter is that Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA, needs to put his foot down and change the age restriction on players from 19 to 18. Star high school basketball players going straight to the NBA would tear college basketball apart, but it makes more sense than them using prestigious public and private colleges as a stepping stool.

LAX ON, LAX OFF Mens varsity lacrosse head coach Jay Sothoron directs from the sideline during a game against Flower Mound High School on Feb. 20. The Eagles won 21-3. “It was great to start off the season with a win,” sophomore Jake Griffin said. “It showed that the work we’ve been putting in is paying off.” photos by Riley Breaux

Softball team aims to increase participation, build unity

New coach added, freshmen help secure the team's future

BY | SYDNEY REZAIE

For the past several years, softball has not been able to create a junior varsity team along with a varsity team because of a lack of players. However, this year, the team has recruited six freshmen, allowing the team to build going forward. With the influx of new players, the team also recruited one new coach to help the players improve in their specialized positions.

"Having a bunch of new girls on the team is exciting and is really helping us out by having more alternates for different positions on the field,” senior captain Chloe Williams said.

“

ALL ABOUT THAT BASE Throwing the ball back to the pitcher's mound, senior Ale De La Cruz warms up her arm for a game. Cruz has played on the womens varsity softball team for all four years of high school. "It is really fun because all of the girls are super sweet," she said. "It's the team and coaches that make it so enjoyable." photo by Katelin Gildersleeve

coach.

“Having three coaches has really helped get our pitchers focused on where they need to be skills-wise,” Najera said. “While the other coaches work with the rest of the girls on their positions, I specialize in pitching. So far, it has made it easier to focus on different aspects of the game.”

With three coaches, the team has been able to focus on each position and develop the players in their specialties.

HAVING A BUNCH OF NEW GIRLS ON THE TEAM IS EXCITING AND IS REALLY HELPING US OUT BY HAVING MORE ALTERNATES FOR DIFFERENT POSITIONS ON THE FIELD.

CHLOE WILLIAMS, CAPTAIN

“For example, we have new pitchers to switch out now. I was the only one last year pitching every game, so it is nice that I can give my arm a break by sharing that position with someone else.”

With six sports options to choose from in the spring, students sometimes choose other athletic activities that have more of a following.

“A lot of people join lacrosse and track, but I have always had a goal of playing varsity softball,” freshman Gina Montagna said. “I have never been much of a lacrosse person, and I am not good at running, so softball just suited me. A lot of the freshmen had the same mentality as me when they joined the team this year.”

The surge of new players in the 2019 season will mean that the team will work on bonding together and improving as a unit.

“Gaining so many new players this season will test our team unity," senior captain Elizabeth Konradi said. "We lost only one graduated senior, and a few others. Having new faces is a great way to spread [awareness of] the program, and I can tell already that it is going to be a great season.”

Along with an increase of players, the team has gained one additional coach this year: Grace Blagg, along with Mindi Ramon, the head coach and Danielle Najera, the pitching

“It is really nice because all of the coaches can help me with different aspects of the game,” Montagna said. “I am a pitcher, so having a coach who specializes in my field of the game really helps me improve, instead of just having a generic coach who teaches the team the same thing at practice.”

Despite the loss of several valuable and experienced players last year, the softball team is progressing and improving with the new, younger additions.

“Emma Cabrales was a key component to our team last year,” Najera said. “Whoever plays shortstop this season has some big shoes to fill. But we are rotating different girls to see who would be best for that position.”

The team's goal this year is to qualify for SPC—the last time the team attended the conference was four years ago.

“We need to just teach the freshmen what we are about as a team and get them on board so that we can win some games and make SPC at the end of this season,” Najera said.

Along with SPC, the team is focusing on ending the season as a unified group of players, both on and off the field.

“I really want our team to be unified and know where the ball is going, where we are throwing the ball and who is throwing, to have that communication between us,” Montagna said.

Fresh faces

New team members describe the softball experience, why they love the sport

Mallory Mahoney Pitcher

Why did you join softball?

"I have two older siblings and I had been playing softball in [middle school]. I found I liked it, and I thought it would be really good if I did what they did and play softball throughout my high school career. I also like it because I pitch, and that's different."

Gina Montagna Second baseman

"I really like [softball] because we have a lot of different coaches, and they are all supportive. Overall, everyone is nice and there is this really encouraging vibe where if you mess up or do bad, no one is going to yell at you for it, instead, [they will] help you get better." Why do you love the team?

Grace Macchia Shortstop

Why did you join softball?

"I have been playing softball for years and I have done club as well. I like the aggression [of the sport] and how when you are up to bat it is a one-man sport and it's all up to you to hit the ball."

Ella Henson Outfielder

Why do you love the team?

"I like being an outfielder because it is a lot of fun and I like being with my friends. I joined because all of my friends do it and they told me how much they loved the sport."

What made you interested in playing golf?

“I got into golf because my dad played it a lot when I was a kid and I’d go to the course with him. I guess I did a lot when I was younger and eventually got good at it and chose it over the other sports that I played, like baseball and football.”

What has your experience been like on the team?

“Last year, we had three seniors on varsity, and they were all awesome. They were great as teammates, and they really treated me like I was a senior. [The six of us on the team] are all great friends because it’s a small team. We all got to know each other very well.”

How often do you play golf when you're not in school?

“I generally play three or four times a week when it’s not school season and when I don’t have homework that week.”

What is the most challenging aspect about golf?

“It’s just mentally tough on you because you have to know you’re not going to have a perfect day, and you will never have a perfect day. No matter how hard you try or practice, you have to know that golf is a game of misses. It really comes down to how good your misses are, not how good your good shots are and that’s the hardest part—just knowing that you’re going to fail most of the time.” A Q A Q A Q A Q

What is your best skill as an athlete?

“I’d say my short game is pretty good and better than most for games like chipping and putting. It’s something I definitely practice a lot.” A

Junior reaches top 10 in Texas for tennis

Callaway Clark is amongst the top 100 players in the nation, commits to college

BY | EMILY DELGADO

Standing on an unlit tennis court in Jamaica, junior Callaway Clark squints to see the ball. He and his doubles partner are in the finals of the International Tennis Federation tournament, but because it rained earlier that day, the match is delayed until nighttime. Though the odds are stacked against them, Clark and his partner win the match.

Clark began playing tennis at the age of nine, but at the time, he was still playing a variety of sports such as football, basketball and lacrosse. It wasn’t until his freshman year that he decided to focus only on tennis.

I

“I was best at tennis,” Clark said. “I also really liked the individual aspect of it, so it was just something I gravitated toward. I thought I could have a future in tennis.”

“One thing with online school is [that] it’s really lonely,” Clark said. “You’re either on the tennis court practicing or in your room doing school. I put in a lot of hours, so I decided it was time to go back to regular school.”

Now, Clark practices for an hour-and-a-half before school and two-and-a-half hours after school with his coach Nick Meister.

“Callaway is one of the most dedicated athletes I’ve ever worked with,” Meister said.

“He is driven to get better each and every day and has developed professional habits that will take

and top 100 in the nation.

“It’s nice to see your results and have a good ranking, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter,” Clark said. “If you aren’t getting better, people are just going to pass you, so I try not to put much weight into it.”

Despite his many accomplishments, Clark believes that tennis has taught him how to deal with adversity and loss.

“In a tournament of 128 people, 127 people will walk out feeling like they failed, so the losses have to motivate you,” he said.

Despite being nationally ranked, Clark does not believe he is as accomplished as people make him out to be.

DON’T SEE MYSELF AS A PARTICULARLY TALENTED PERSON. I AM SKILLED BECAUSE I’VE DEVELOPED IT OVER HOURS...WHEN I WALK ONTO THE COURT, THAT’S THE ONE THING THAT GIVES ME CONFIDENCE.

CALLAWAY CLARK “

him far in both tennis and in life.”

For the first two years of high school, Clark took online classes because being home schooled allowed him more time to play on the court. During this time, he would practice for six hours a day.

During his freshman and sophomore years, Clark was able to quickly climb the ranks, reaching No. 1 in the state of Texas and top 15 in the nation in the category of 16 and under.

“I don’t see myself as a particularly talented person,” Clark said. “I am skilled because I’ve developed it over hours and hours of working on my craft, so when I walk onto the court, that’s the one thing that gives me confidence.”

One of Clark’s long term goals since freshman year has been to become a Division I athlete and play tennis at the collegiate level. In December, Clark verbally committed to play tennis at SMU.

“It was definitely one of the most rewarding days of my life, being able to achieve something that had pretty much been a life-long dream of mine,” Clark said. “[The coaches] made me feel wanted, and it felt like they

really cared about me—not just as a player, but as a student and person as well. While I considered some other schools, the more I thought about it, the more SMU felt like the right choice.”

ACING IT Practicing his serve on Feb. 13, junior Callaway Clark warms up after school. He played in his first tournament when he was 9 years old. “The big thing with tennis is you learn how to take punches really well,” Clark said. “Only one person walks out a winner, so it’s good life preparation.” photo by Riley Breaux

BY | LAUREN WEBER

Finishing off the winter season at the SPC tournament, wrestling placed second, womens soccer placed third, boys basketball placed fifth and mens soccer placed sixth.

All four teams placed in the top six positions at the conference. Womens soccer almost made it to the championship game, losing to St. John’s in the semifinals during penalty kicks.

“The St. John’s game really [showed] what we are capable of,” senior captain Lauren Marks said. “Mike always says we reach our full potential at the end of the season, and I completely agree. We put up an unprecedented fight and achieved uniform dedication from all members, [whether they were] present or not. While I’ll always beat myself up for missing my PK, I know we all played our hearts out and that we wouldn’t have made it as far as we did without the support of each other.”

tenacious, collectively,” Marks said. “Especially after [our last] practice on Thursday, multiple people stayed after to work on individual weaknesses and really uplifted each other. The vibe completely changed on the bus ride to the first game [of the tournament] where the consensus was to be dedicated and hungry.”

Junior Jack Loftus and senior Christopher Talbot helped the wrestling team to achieve

School in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

“We gave that game all we had,” freshman Mac Rodvold said. “We had to fight every single minute. Our seniors didn’t want to get knocked out, knowing we didn’t leave all we had on the field.”

Mens basketball also lost in the quarterfinals to Houston Christian Academy, who went on to win the tournament. The team lost by 15 points while Houston Christian Academy had been beating previous competitors by no less than 30 points.

MIKE ALWAYS SAYS WE REACH OUR FULL POTENTIAL AT THE END OF THE SEASON, AND I COMPLETELY AGREE. WE PUT UP AN UNPRECEDENTED FIGHT AND ACHIEVED UNIFORM DEDICATION FROM ALL MEMBERS.

LAUREN MARKS, SENIOR CAPTAIN

second place. With a small team of three, Loftus and Talbot were the only two who competed because sophomore Judah Powell broke his shoulder.

The team went into the tournament as the second seed in the north zone, having lost only one counter game to Hockaday.

“After the last practice, we felt really determined, motivated and

“Observing the matches, they did really well, and they both fought hard and kept going for a long time,” Powell said. “They won all their matches up until the final. Since we have a small team, any victory is better than no victory.”

Mens soccer placed sixth, losing a game against The Kinkaid

“I felt like it’s not the outcome that we looked for or wanted,” head coach Corey Henderson said. “Year in and year out, I don’t care how young or veteran a team is, the goal is to win SPC. But considering that we were a young team, I felt like the season went better than expected.”

In the week leading up to SPC, three players caught the flu, and one got a concussion. Despite this, the team still managed to go 2-1 in the tournament.

“The flu bug hit three of our [athletes] at the wrong time,” Henderson said. “Of the three, only two were able to come back. The end of the season was not as injury free as we expected.”

by Riley Breaux

JUST KICK IT 1. During a mens varsity soccer game against St. Marks, junior Kevin Jin jumps for the ball. The team placed sixth at SPC. photo by Alan Benítez 2. Senior Story Langston dribbles the ball during a game against Greenhill. The team secured the second seed in the north zone going into SPC and lost in the semi final game on Feb. 16. “I like soccer because I love the team and the sport itself,” Langston said. “We had so much fun as a team [this season] and were happy to win third place overall.” photo by Lauren Egger

Q A Q A

How long will you be in Latvia for?

I will be in Latvia for a week to get acclimated to the timezones and another week for training camp. I then spend two weeks in Prague for the European Championships.

KONRADI INTHEHOTSEAT ALEXANDER

BY | SMITH COCHRAN

What was the try-out process like?

Back in November, I got an email from the American liaison to the Latvian Lacrosse Federation. They were putting together a team for the U-20 European Championships this summer, and I was one of the few Americans that were being considered. I sent them my game film, and the British National team coach [put in a good word for me]. The coaches reviewed the film I sent and took a risk on me.

How did you hear about the Latvian National team?

My sister originally tried out for the womens national team back in 2014. She made the team, but she couldn’t go. I [have] wanted to play on the team since then. I tried to find some information [about the team], but with the Latvian-English language barrier, I couldn’t really find out much. I met the British National team goalie coach my freshman year, and he [sent] me the contact information [for] people who spoke better English.

How does the league work?

Are you the only American on the team?

There is at least one other American on the team. He and I both have dual citizenship in America and in Latvia. Two other Americans were offered spots as well but have yet to accept the offer. Seven American players tried out for the team.

Q A Q A Q A Q A

Each national team goes through a tournament round, and then, the top two teams make it to the playoffs. The U-20 German, Welsh and English national teams are part of my group. The other group has the teams from the Czech Republic, Ireland, Israel and Poland.

What are you most looking forward to?

It will be interesting to see how the language barrier affects the team. I speak almost no Latvian. I just think the experience as a whole will be really cool and unique.

Cultural curiosity

across the field last season during a junior varsity game against Keller High School on March 3. Konradi has played lacrosse since the second grade and now plays swing for both the junior varsity and varsity teams. “Lacrosse has always been a constant in my life,” Konradi said. “It’s pushed me and made me tougher. I’ve also met so many people through it that I would otherwise would not know.”

photo courtesy of Eagle Edition archives

LATINOS UNIDOS VISITS MEXICAN CONSULATE IN DALLAS

BY | EMILY DELGADO

Fourteen members of the Latinos Unidos club visited the Mexican Consulate in Dallas on Feb. 20 to learn more about the center’s function and the services available for Mexican families in North Texas.

The students were able to see the different service areas that help Mexicans in the community, such as financial, healthcare and legal assistance. The students met with Consul Francisco de la Torre Galindo before taking a tour of the consulate.

“Everyone was educated on what the Mexican Consulate does, as well as many other ways to help the Mexican community within the Dallas area,” senior Brenda Baez said. “[The club members] bonded, which we hope will [make the club] stronger when the seniors leave. This year has been the best for Latinos Unidos field trips because we have gone out a lot more into the community.”

THE LEAD Junior Alexander Konradi runs

PHOTOS BY | ALAN BENÍTEZ

Issue 5 v.36

the WEALTH in health

Fresh

kitchen...

Political clubs provide safe space for discussion

Age-old classic takes the stage

Previous ensemble members attain lead roles, senior seizes opportunity to participate in last show

Engineering program designs aquaponics system

Band, Strings attend workshop in Orlando

Womens Studies Organization holds drive

Second AP Art Show presents senior work

Dedman Lecturer discusses Smart Cities

GLOW UP?

green

Popular plant diets raise questions

Double life

Speaking multiple languages impacts the brain, changes personality and affects psychological health

culture CRASH

AWARD ANGER

NOT HIS CUP OF TEA

ROYAL DOUBLE STANDARD

CHEATER, CHEATER

THREE WISHES

Junior elected as state officer

Nick Harapanahalli wins position of Youth and Government Texas Senator for next school year

Tracking apps enable constant supervision

Parent-child relationships put into question because of new high-tech phone technology

DEBBIE WILSON, PARENT

BUZZ

GINA MONTAGNA

Drive me crazy

cockroaches to court orders, students and faculty share their unique DMV experiences

freshman SAM CURTIS sophomore SARAH SMITH junior SAMY DAR senior JUAN GONZÁLEZ Spanish teacher

Fitting

in

prompts overspending, provide same results

SALLY WARD, ASSISTANT STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH

The secret is in the sauce

STAFF STANCE | Campus

letters to the EDITORS

Men must embrace new household dynamics

Socialism proves popular with younger constituents

CALVERT’S CORNER HIGHS LOWS

D+ D

F

SOCIAL STUDIES |

Casting conundrum cultural commentary

Just keep swimming

Varsity mens lacrosse finds new head coach

Jay Sothoron prepares the team for the season with rigorous conditioning

DANNY KUNG,

NBA must rethink age restriction for players’ benefit

Softball team aims to increase participation, build unity

New coach added, freshmen help secure the team's future

“

CHLOE WILLIAMS, CAPTAIN

Fresh faces

Junior reaches top 10 in Texas for tennis

Callaway Clark is amongst the top 100 players in the nation, commits to college

CALLAWAY CLARK “

LAUREN MARKS, SENIOR CAPTAIN

KONRADI INTHEHOTSEAT ALEXANDER

Cultural curiosity

LATINOS UNIDOS VISITS MEXICAN CONSULATE IN DALLAS