Hockaday_Fourcast_Oct2025

Pledge for change

Non-profits fight gun violence related to domestic violence

By Aria Knepler-Pearl & Savannah Simon Staff Writers

When gunshots rang out in a California home, Lesley Hu found purpose during heartbreak in activism. Hu founded Pierce’s Pledge, a non-profit organization with a mission to protect children during custody disputes by facilitating temporary third-party firearm storage. After the tragic loss of her young son Pierce, Hu vowed to protect the most at-risk demographic for gun violence: children.

“I will stand in front of any single person to protect any child, because children deserve better than that,” Hu said.

In the US, firearms are the leading cause of death for kids ages 1 to 17.

Hu and her ex-husband divorced five years before he killed both Pierce and himself. Hu fought legal battles with her ex-husband over vaccinating their son until a judge ruled in Hu’s favor, sending her ex-husband deeper into a spiral of conspiracy theories.

On Jan. 13, 2021, Pierce spent a weekend with his father, unknowingly walking into devastation. The nineyear-old boy who adored traveling with his mom, watching “Top Gun,” playing with toy robots and making his friends laugh, died at the hands of his father. Pierce was shot directly through the heart before his killer ended his own life.

Pierce’s sudden death shattered Hu.

“I didn’t leave the house for a month,” she said. “I went from choosing what to cook Pierce for dinner to deciding if I bury him or if I cremate him.”

Hu’s significant other at the time kept her going, encouraging her to travel.

“It was really hard to move around a lot because everywhere I went I didn’t have Pierce, but being home was even harder,” Hu said. “At home, with the trauma and the pain, I was reliving Pierce’s murder over and over and over again.”

An essential part of Hu’s healing journey was channeling her pain into making a difference. When her close friend, family law attorney Monica Mazzei, began asking her clients to lock away their firearms during divorce, Hu was inspired to create Pierce’s Pledge.

“Advocating and building this pledge actually got me through a lot of the sadness,” Hu said.

She does not aim to infringe upon the Second Amendment; rather, she promotes temporarily relinquishing firearms during periods of distress.

The website for Pierce’s Pledge features a petition for family law attorneys to sign, requiring their clients to declare and store their semiautomatic weapons during trial. The website also includes a map where users can find gun storage facilities

locally, as well as resources and toolkits for families and professionals involved with child custody disputes.

“The campaign is about talking to people about when they are in a moment of crisis and knowing when it is safer to have the gun out of the home, than in the home.” Hu said.

The organization began in California, but with each individual signature, it grows nationally.

Hu holds seminars all over the country to educate others on her story and her mission. She wants young people to know that everybody can make a difference regardless of age.

Hu encourages high school students to check in with their friends who may be experiencing difficulties at home.

“Don’t be afraid to ask,” Hu said. “Don’t be afraid to be that person, because that person could be the one that could have saved Pierce’s life or given him a chance.”

Jenna Severson, Director of Communications at Genesis, dispels myths surrounding domestic abuse. She explains that contrary to popular belief, domestic abuse extends beyond physical violence.

“The core tenet of domestic violence is around power and control, and that can be exerted in a lot of ways,” Severson said, highlighting the financial abuse experienced by 99 percent of women that Genesis serves.

Severson says focusing on the little wins can make the difficult work at Genesis feel less disheartening.

“When you engage with your direct community, whether that is making a donation of clothes to our thrift store, joining one of our groups or just learning more about what we do, it helps things feel a little less overwhelming,” Severson said, referring to the Genesis Benefit Thrift Store. Its proceeds support Genesis

Hockaday students hear Hu’s plea and understand the importance of engaging with issues of violence in their own communities.

For the past 35 years, Hockaday students have partnered with the local Genesis Women’s Shelter.

Senior Sara Gupta felt motivated to take action after learning that her grandmother’s nurse experienced intimate partner abuse. As president of the Hockaday-Genesis program since her sophomore year, Gupta reflects on the experience.

“I think the most meaningful part of leading the program has been seeing how many more people get interested in it every year,” Gupta said. “People care about this cause, even if they haven’t had personal experience with it.”

The issue of family violence is especially relevant in Texas: one in three Texans will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, which is more than the national average for both men (one in seven) and women (one in four). Genesis works to combat domestic violence, providing both immediate help and long-term support at no cost for women and children experiencing abuse.

programs and families, who can also shop for free there.

From its origins as a seven-bedroom shelter in 1985, Genesis has grown to encompass multiple locations, including an emergency shelter and two non-residential locations offering counseling and legal services.

Teachers drive Hockaday students to the shelter’s undisclosed location, an additional safety precaution. During their bimonthly visits, students work with the children’s department of Genesis, entertaining the youth at the shelter while their mothers receive counseling.

“It’s nice to be able to make [the children] happy even if it’s just for that short amount of time,” Gupta said.

Gupta notes that children at Genesis’s emergency shelter have little interaction with the outside world during their eight-week stay. Spending time with volunteers is a highlight for them.

“All of them come to the gate to say hi to you,” Gupta said.

At the gate, the constant police presence and strict security requirements remind every visitor of the shelter’s purpose: to protect women and children facing violence.

Genesis professionals approach every family’s situation with the knowledge that each is unique.

“We work individually with every woman to determine what a safety plan could look like,” Severson said.

A safety plan may involve helping a woman identify support networks or working on action steps to exit the relationship, a process which often imperils the woman. This danger is worsened by the presence of firearms.

“It’s a pretty clear correlation that when there are firearms present in an abusive household, the woman’s risk for lethality increases,” Severson said.

Both Severson and Gupta emphasize how intimate partner violence can also occur within adolescent relationships. Genesis also runs an auxiliary program, Students Tackle Abusive Relationships (STAR), to educate teenagers about dating violence.

Gupta feels a duty to spread the word about all community violence. She encourages others to approach volunteer programs with a willingness to help.

“It’s part of our responsibility to raise awareness whenever we can,” Gupta said. “No one’s ever shaming you for not doing anything, but everyone’s always appreciating if you do something.”

Apart from engaging in Genesis programs, simply learning about the different types of family violence is important.

“Another way to get involved is just to get aware,” Severson said, directing people to explore the Genesis website, which contains educational resources and information.

When facing challenges, Severson maintains positivity by focusing on why her work is meaningful.

“Every single woman and child who comes to Genesis is so deserving of a healthy and safe relationship,” Severson said. “They’re deserving of joy, and to be able to be in the position where we can help bring them that is really special.”

Severson reminds high schoolers that they are entitled to the same safety and happiness.

“You deserve to be in a relationship that feels healthy,” Severson said. If it does not, Severson has a message for you: “There is help and there is hope.”

If you or someone you know may be an abusive relationship, call or text Genesis 24-Hour Helpline for more information or to access services: 214-946-HELP

Pierce and his mother Lesley on the beach

PHOTO COURTESY OF LESLEY HU

SCAN HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PIERCE'S PLEDGE

Muted by power

Talk show host critical of conservatives faces censorship

By Anika Shah Multimedia Editor

Jimmy Kimmel’s job is to make people laugh. Every weeknight, the longtime host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! stands under the bright lights of ABC’s Los Angeles studio, delivering jokes about the day’s biggest headlines. But when a recent joke about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk aired, the laughter quickly turned into outrage.

On the Sept. 15 episode, Kimmel quipped that the “MAGA gang” was rushing to reclassify the man who allegedly assassinated Charlie Kirk so he wouldn’t seem like one of them. The line drew swift backlash online, with critics calling it insensitive and politically charged.

After the episode aired, conservative backlash exploded. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Brendan Carr called the comments divisive and hinted that ABC could face consequences. Political allies of President Trump echoed the outrage. Within a day, ABC suspended Kimmel, and affiliates stopped airing the show.

Upper School Foreign Policy teacher Lucio Benedetto saw the move as a deliberate overreach.

“It’s the FCC’s job to lease the airwaves and regulate decency, not to decide which jokes the president finds funny,” he said. “When government pressure is used to silence satire, that’s not just censorship, it’s dangerous.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) responded to

Kimmel’s suspension, calling it part of “the Trump administration’s unconstitutional plan to silence its critics and control what American people watch and read.”

When Kimmel returned to the show five days later, he used his opening monologue to address the controversy.

Junior Vittoria Sofia Testa, who follows late-night political commentary closely, is deeply engaged in political debates. She follows a wide range of sources from progressive voices like Stephen Colbert and John Oliver to conservative outlets, including Fox News and Charlie Kirk himself.

“Political satire is one of the oldest and most important forms of free speech,” he said in his return episode. “It challenges those in power while using humor to draw more people into the discussion. That’s why people in influential positions have always targeted it for censorship.”

Senior Rabel McNutt believes the decision to stop airing Kimmel was justified, emphasizing the balance between rights and responsibility.

“Free speech is important,” she said. “But so is understanding how your words affect others.”

Farewell free fare

Testa was surprised by the scale of outrage around Kimmel's comments.

“Kimmel was respectful and even apologized,” she said. “His comments didn’t mock the tragedy.”

Benedetto believes that economic factors influenced the decision to take Kimmel off air.

“Late night shows have been losing viewers for years as audiences move to streaming and podcasts,” he said. “Networks see controversies as opportunities to cut losses. However, when it is government officials pressuring media to censor content, it crosses a dangerous line.”

He pointed to the broader implications for democracy and America’s image abroad.

“We criticize countries like China and Russia for propaganda and censorship,” Benedetto said. “If

the U.S. starts doing the same, it undermines our credibility as a global defender of free speech.”

However, McNutt pointed out that in an age of social media, where clips circulate instantly and public reaction spreads fast, networks are under greater pressure to act decisively.

“When you have millions of people sharing their opinions online, companies have to think about their image,” McNutt said. “They’re not just reacting to what was said, but to how people feel about it.”

It’s not the first time cases like this have happened. Benedetto points to the Sedition Acts, first passed in 1798 under President John Adams, and again during World War I under Woodrow Wilson; both times they were used to silence political critics and jail newspaper editors.

“We've seen presidents use federal agencies to silence critics before,” Benedetto said. “But the First Amendment was written for a reason. The government doesn't get to decide which jokes, opinions or political views are allowed.”

McNutt also believes political polarization played a role.

“Today’s political polarization can often cloud our judgment,” she said. “But at the end of the day, joking about someone being shot and children losing their father is not right, regardless of whether you believe everything he said.”

Texas State Fair discontinues free tickets for high school students

By Sara Vijay Staff Writer

For decades, students across Texas have eagerly looked forward to one of fall’s most long-standing traditions: receiving a free ticket to the State Fair of Texas. However, this year, high school students were surprised to learn the fair would no longer provide free tickets for them. Tickets are currently discounted to $12 per ticket

for all high schoolers.

“The State Fair is such a staple of what it means to be a kid in Texas,” senior Gray Damonte said. “I really enjoy going. It’s only here for so long, so you want to see it while you can.”

Officials of the State Fair cited rising costs, low redemption rates and safety concerns in press releases.

Students in grades K-8 and teachers still receive a complimentary ticket.

Damonte said the State Fair has long been woven into school culture in Texas.

“I went to public middle school,” she said. “We had a fair day where they gave us a day off from school for it.”

She offered a possible solution to ensure that free tickets are used and are not a cost issue.

“Why wouldn’t you give it to the high schoolers that live close by?”

Damonte said. “If you are going to give away tickets, pick a radius of people who are within driving distance of the State Fair.”

Sophomore Ariel Yuan was also disappointed to learn of the change.

“I think it was unexpected because ever since elementary school, I’d get a free ticket for the State Fair,” Yuan said. “And that was the norm.”

Yuan added that without free admission, the fair might see a significant drop in student attendance.

“I’ve gone to the State Fair three times in my life,” Yuan said. “If I hadn’t gotten that ticket, I probably wouldn't have ever gone.”

Head of Upper School Lisa Culbertson expressed disappointment in the decision, explaining that the State Fair has long been an important part of Texas culture and student life.

“I was disappointed in the decision to do that,” Culbertson said. “It was hard for me to see that students would not have the same access to the fair.”

For Culbertson, the State Fair holds deep personal significance.

“I love really everything about the State Fair from games on the midway to the food,” Culbertson said. “When I

Scan here to take a State Fair POLL on the Fourcast website!

was young, I had a photo of my family in front of Big Tex when he first went up, and now I take one of my own family in front of Big Tex.”

Culbertson also highlighted the fair's broader cultural impact on Dallas, noting that it brings together people from all neighborhoods and communities. For high schoolers, attending the fair independently is a meaningful step toward adulthood.

“I think for Dallas culture, it is a time where everybody can get together and celebrate Texas,” she said. “High school students have a different level of freedom, and to experience the fair, not under a parent’s watch, I think, is sort of a rite of passage.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIA PORTERA

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF ANIKA SHAH

Big Tex greets visitors as they enter the State Fair.

Inklings of inspiration

Hockaday teacher-authors build writing community

By Sophie Cho News Editor

Everyone knows that feeling of zoning in to write an English essay, an entry for Vibrato or a history paper. Writing in all shapes and forms is an inherent part of the Hockaday student’s everyday life.

But students aren’t the only members of the Hockaday community who write. Many teachers at Hockaday are writers as well.

Dr. Jennifer Boulanger, Upper School English teacher, said. “All I have to do is write, and that is so freeing, to just have a whole day with nothing scheduled to just think.”

Boulanger has joined Upper School History teacher Wesley Lummus and others at this writer’s retreat for the last two years.

Realizing that most established retreats focus on classes and learning how to write, Hockaday teacherauthors and their friends decided to organize their own yearly writing retreat to Boothbay, Maine—the ideal spot for a getaway: beautiful scenery, little distraction and most importantly, far, far away from the worries of everyday life. Each day, the writers would spend the day working on their projects and then come together to share and give feedback.

“When I go away to Boothbay, I have none of the normal obligations and there’s nothing calling my name,”

Boulanger is working on a novel, which she started during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now five chapters away from finishing the first draft. It is a retelling of an early King Arthur legend originally written in French during the 12th century, specifically focused on Guinevere and Lancelot.

“I love [the legend], and I decided I really wanted to know what’s going on in their heads, you know?”

Boulanger said. “What were their motivations? Their feelings? If you want to know, create it, right?”

The retreat provides a change of scenery as well, which also helped Boulanger write the novel.

“My book is set in Cornwall, England, and the landscape is just like

the Boothbay landscape,” Boulanger said. “I thought, I can look at those cliffs, and I can put them in my book.”

Lummus said that the retreat has helped his writing as well.

“It helps that everyone is doing the same thing, so you have a common community,” Lummus said.

Lummus is working on a novel about an Iranian American’s interactions with political situations and controversies surrounding him, which is in its revision stage at 350 pages. He first became interested in writing fiction through writing about history and went on the retreat in its first year.

This year, the group has decided to develop the retreat into an official writers’ retreat for more authors to participate in, directed by Boulanger. The logistics are still being worked out, but Boulanger is hopeful that Maine local authors will come as well.

“My goal is to get Stephen King to come,” she said.

Outside of the annual retreat, Boulanger, Lummus and other friends continue to support each other’s writing journeys throughout the year. Their writing group, The Inklings, meets every Wednesday, sometimes writing together,

From sources to success Librarians teach students research skills during JRP

By Emily McLeroy Managing Editor

As fall begins, juniors begin writing their Junior Research Paper (JRP), battling through seemingly endless stacks of books and databases to find the perfect facts. With so much information available to them, the most valuable resource in their JRP isn’t actually a book or article; it’s the Hockaday librarians, who guide them through the complicated research process.

Arguably the most well-known Hockaday project, the JRP is a 10-page research paper on any topic related to United States History. Past juniors have written about everything from Jello to sitcoms to Barbie. For many juniors, this is the largest paper they have ever written, and the process of finding enough information to fill ten pages seems daunting. So how do they find all their facts and narrow down their topics? The Hockaday Upper School library certainly helps.

The library provides numerous resources, such as databases, the library catalog and more, but the best resource of all is the librarians themselves.

“JRP season is my favorite time of the year, because I get to see a lot

of the students that I maybe wouldn’t otherwise,” Library Assistant August Rivers said. “I get to learn a lot from the students and the topics that they choose, and it’s a really great way to build community.”

Juniors are encouraged to start by submitting the Book Request Form.

Students define their general topic or just a few key ideas and the librarians find books based on their input.

“The book request form is helpful for students struggling to find books in the catalog related to their topic,” Director of Libraries and Academic Research Corey Lott said. “We pull some books for them and give them tips for further research on their own.”

When fulfilling book requests, Rivers finds the process of breaking nuanced topics into components helpful.

“Sometimes I have to get creative when searching for some topics by searching for things more loosely related to them, because you can usually find more books that way,”

Rivers said.

Lott said she often finds books that she didn’t even know the library contained during the JRP season.

“It’s like a treasure hunt every time,”

sometimes taking turns reading their writing to each other for feedback.

Lummus said that the Inklings have helped him tremendously as a writer by creating a sense of community for him.

“It helps to know that other people have the same goals as I do,” Lummus said. "To be honest, it makes me feel less silly, because other people have this ambition [to write fiction] too.”

Boulanger agrees that writing with others has been beneficial to her writing, as she can receive honest criticism and support.

“It's really nice that I can consult with them,” Boulanger said. "Being able to read my stuff to other people who I know are not going to make fun of me, who are supportive and also know what they're doing and can give me helpful feedback is really great.”

Beyond the classes they teach, Hockaday teachers have created a close-kwnit community of writers who help each other grow.

Lummus said that the group has helped him hone his writing abilities beyond what he could have achieved alone.

“I wouldn’t be where I am without this group and their support,” Lummus said.

Lott said. “I’ve been at Hockaday for 22 years, and sometimes when a topic comes in, I think the catalog doesn’t have anything, and then we do.”

Junior Haley McMahon said she found the book request form and database resources helpful. Her JRP examines how occupational work laws were influenced by radiation poisoning of the “Radium Girls” in the early 1900s.

“I filled out the form with different pieces of my topic and different aspects to look at it from, and I got around 10 books that were super helpful and fit everything I wanted to look at,” McMahon said. “I wanted to look at a variety of books with different authors, different subjects and different styles, which I think will help vary my research.”

Lott and Rivers can also help juniors narrow down topics from broad ideas to specific questions.

“We can help juniors figure out how to take all of their information and distill down their topic and

form that into a research question or thesis,” Rivers said. “I ask them questions that they can shape and form their topic around. At the end of the day, it’s going to be the student’s idea. We’re here as a sounding board.”

Rivers believes that the process of researching for the JRP is important to develop skills that are useful in college and beyond.

“I hope the students I meet with and walk through the process leave with a lot more research tools than they arrived with,” Rivers said.

“Learning how to think critically and be curious with the research process is really helpful because it extends itself to critical thinking later in life.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER BOULANGER

PHOTO COURTESY OF EMILY MCLEROY

Boulanger and Lummus pose at Boothbay.

The books pulled from the library for JRPs

Blending identity

Students discuss what it means to be an American in 2025

By Emilie Illum & Lucy Pigott Castoff Editor & Staff Writer

Most people define their nationality as being born in their country, living their life there, comprehending their language and understanding their culture. In America, a land defined by a diverse population, that task is more challenging.

“I don’t know much about being an American, but I know that you don’t have to be born here to be one,” junior Masha Ivchenko said.

Ivchenko moved to the United States in 2022 from Ukraine.

“Before I came here, I knew that there was an American dream,” Ivchenko said. “Everyone from my city really wanted to go to the United States because they also believed in that dream. I'm really glad that I had an opportunity to come here because I see a lot of opportunities here.”

The “American Dream” is the idea that opportunities await here, and hard work pays off; the idea of being treated fairly based on merit, is what brings so many to America.

“I think the system is definitely a lot more merit-based than most European countries,” junior Vittoria Sofia Testa said. “In Italy, if you know the owner of the cinema and you're late, they won't play the movie until you get there. Other people who paid to get the movie have to wait because you're late. In America, that would never happen.”

However, there is a point of contention on the basis of what created American culture. America is the land of opportunities, drawing many from far and near. Yet instances of prejudice, such as xenophobia, placed against minorities, people of color and certain religious sects, pose the concern of whether or not the American Dream is still available to all.

“I think part of the American dream is a lie,” Testa said. “It's not available to everybody. [My parents] came over here together, they struggled a little bit, but their definition of struggle is definitely different from someone who immigrated here from the Middle East and has a bunch of prejudice against them. I think you [can no longer] come over here with nothing and build something. That part is long gone. It's no longer achievable.”

Part of American culture means aligning with a larger identity regardless of one’s native land or regional culture, according to Dr. Elizabeth Bennett, Upper School history teacher. Bennett taught a course on American Identity last year.

“America is a nation of great diversity, geographically, ethnically and culturally,” Bennett said. “Yet,

American identity transcends and often celebrates these differences.”

The concept of being able to identify as an American has been a consistent part of the American experience, even in periods of turmoil.

Bennett believes history is also a significant factor in American identity, and values outlined in historical documents such as the Constitution are timeless.

“People often think about their First Amendment rights as being what it means to be an American,” Bennett said. “Having those rights, and having access to those rights, is something that is fundamental to American identity”

Testa said the concept of America remaining a “cultural melting pot” has tremendous appeal.

“It differs so much from state to state, area to area,” Testa said. “I would say everyone is able to find their place. No one is ever super out of place in America. That’s what’s really nice about it. And I think the community is welcoming to everybody, but you do have to find your spot.”

probably what I think it means to be an American.”

While adopting the American culture, many also recognize the importance of maintaining connection to their native culture.

“I heard somewhere online if you don't learn the language that your parents speak really [well], then who's going to teach it to your kids?” Treacy said. “It's going to lose a huge part of your culture. I wouldn't want my kid to just have no idea what it was like to be Chinese whatsoever.”

Centuries of immigration from individuals around the world have made America a unique and diverse country in culture and population.

“I think it's definitely a lot easier to be new to America than it is to be new somewhere else,” senior Fiona Treacy, leader and founder of Gen One American Student Association, said. “For example, I used to live in Killarney, Ireland, and my mom was the only Chinese person in the entire neighborhood. America is a lot easier to be new to because it's more multicultural and there's more resources for people who are kind of unfamiliar with the country itself.”

Treacy said it is the blending of cultures that is uniquely American.

“So much of American culture is adopting new ideas and mixing different cultures,” Treacy said. “So, just embracing parts of your own culture while adopting other ones is

Cultural connections are sustained through food, language, art, family tradition or whatever feels most comfortable and unifying.

“I'm in AP Chinese this year in school,” Treacy said. “I visit Ireland sometimes as well. I’m also able to stay connected through my affinity group. We, as Americans, are often told to embrace our cultures, while also being told to assimilate. Staying true to both me and my culture are important to me, especially in my everyday life.”

Senior Anjali Konda, head of the Multiracial Student Association, has found that celebrating multiple cultures is just as important as individually preserving them.

“The idea that we need to honor our cultures and identities by keeping them pure or keeping them protected from being diluted or changed is a dangerous idea,” Konda said. “I think it's very infeasible to retain your cultural identity the same way across generations.”

For Konda, blending cultural identities is a trait of American society that makes her feel more accepted.

“One of the beautiful things about America is it is a country

where it is very common for people from different places to start families together,” Konda said. “So, I would say that it is something that makes me feel more American, being mixed.”

Every American citizen has the ability to celebrate or combine their cultures in any way they desire, which is one of the strongest reflections of the country’s societal value of freedom.

“The idea that you should be able to make a lot of choices for yourself and that those choices shouldn't be restrained by what your family has done previously is very American,” Konda said. “There's a very consistent emphasis on progress and constant innovation. I think you see that in Silicon Valley and that kind of tech innovation side of the U.S.”

Aside from America’s defining values, it remains challenging to identify a specific practice or item that is solely American.

“We don't have special, iconic imagery, but I think it's just because a lot of the things that were iconic and special to the US have now spread more,” Konda said. “[It] is not a bad thing, but I think it makes it harder to distinguish specifically American things. I think constantly redefining [what it means to be American] is something that I think of as being indicative of American culture.”

American culture is a tapestry of colorful narratives that are shared and experienced by everyone.

“Some people think that being American is having citizenship,” Testa said. “Some people think coming over on the Mayflower means you're American. I think being American means living here and attempting to survive in this country, in this community and then really feeling patriotic at the end of it anyway, even if you're suffering.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FIONA TREACY

Fiona Treacy advertises GOASA at club fair.

Jenny Chu makes tanghulu at a GOASA meeting.

Daisies on The Hill

Alumnae make their mark on government and public service

By Aneeka Tansen Features Editor

From Hockaday classrooms to Capitol Hill’s corridors, Hockaday alumnae are shaping policy and leading with purpose. Their paths began with debate rounds and junior research papers and have now led to long nights, fast-paced meetings and active change in Washington D.C.. For Jennifer Dean ‘94, Sophia Friguletto ‘20 and Mary Kate Korinek ‘16, Hockaday’s lessons are more than memories: they are blueprints for their continuing public service.

Dean’s passion for government policy began in her debate class taught by Nancy Walker. Dean attended Hockaday grades 8 through 12 before attending MIT and later working in government.

“I was really involved with debate in high school, and I learned that I loved talking about government and public policy,” Dean said.

Today, Dean works as the Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (New York). Previously, she worked locally with the Texas and Ohio governments. She said her jobs in government required her to speak confidently and carry herself well, skills she attributes to her time in Hockaday debate.

and soul into this campaign," Dean said. "You get the overall verdict that you lose, and that is heartbreaking.”

But this heartbreak is overshadowed by the minute changes Dean makes daily through her job.

“You do it because you love it,” Dean said. “I always tell people: if you’re at a point in your career that you don’t love it, don’t do it anymore.”

Friguletto navigates the fastpaced corridors of Capitol Hill as a legislative aide working with other correspondents across multiple issue areas for U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno (Ohio).

I have in the last nine months intellectually. There’s just a dynamic nature to this job that’s super difficult, but you also feel like you have learned something and contributed.”

Korinek is the deputy press secretary for U.S. Senator John Cornyn (Texas). Her early exposure to politics and her Hockaday experience influenced her interest in public service.

“Growing up, my family was always interested in politics,” Korinek said. “They instilled in me a strong sense of civic duty and responsibility to serve our community and our nation well.”

Friguletto’s interest in public service is rooted in her family, with three of her grandparents serving as lifelong civil servants.

As an upperclassman, Korinek took “Students in Spycraft: Espionage and Diplomatic Policy” taught by former teacher Tracy Walder.

“There were definitely a lot of times I was either the youngest in the room or the youngest female in the room,” Dean said. “While I had imposter syndrome at first, I at least could pretend that I was confident and still do what I needed to do because of what I learned in debate.”

Dean’s typical day consists of coordination with 70 staffers on the senator's team. Dean also directly oversees the scheduling process, manages all outgoing constituent correspondence and handles a wide range of operational tasks. Throughout her tenure, she has been part of significant legislative changes, moments she remembers vividly and with pride.

In 2022, the PACT Act was passed, a law that significantly expanded healthcare provided by the Veterans Administration, including benefits for veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other toxic materials during their service. Senator Gillibrand’s team, including Dean, worked for over a decade to get the act passed.

“Getting to talk to [the veterans] and hear how this was going to make a huge difference in their lives was amazing," Dean said. "That is something that I love to see and get goosebumps when I get to do it every day.”

Working in politics is far from glamorous. In addition to long hours, particularly when campaigning, the job can be mentally taxing.

“You spend weeks and weeks and possibly even years pouring your heart

“I feel like they all set such great examples of how you can have a long and successful career in government and public service that is just as fulfilling as the private sector,” Friguletto said.

Writing plays an important role in her current job, which she believes Hockaday greatly helped her with.

“If I had to narrow my Hockaday experience down, it would be ‘writing, writing, writing,’ and relationship building and conversation,” Friguletto said. “Hockaday’s writing program is insanely good, and I use those skills all day every day in writing briefs, memos, legislation and floor comments. Our experiences and expectations [at Hockaday] were worlds away from other writing education.”

Friguletto also believes that the friendships that she built at Hockaday translated into her work today.

“We had such a rich, academic relationship with our peers, which has made me super comfortable in professional environments, having substantive, interesting conversations,” Friguletto said.

Friguletto’s job differs daily, depending on whether the Senate is in session. The upside of this is that every day is a new opportunity to learn.

“The continuing education every day is one of the most challenging parts of my day, hearing about something I know nothing about or having to prep the boss or hold your own in the meeting,” Friguletto said. “But that also is the most rewarding part. I haven't grown more than

“[The class] really inspired me to pursue government and public policy in college,” Korinek said. “[Ms. Walder] played such a pivotal role in the takedown of Osama bin Laden and joined the counterterrorism efforts in the post 9/11 world, and it really inspired me to want to pursue a similar career— particularly as another woman looking to make her mark in a historically male dominated industry.”

Korinek attended the University of Texas at Austin with a double major in Political Communication and Advertising, as well as a minor in Business. She thought she would end up in a typical corporate communication job, but an internship with a congressional candidate in her senior year of college introduced a new possibility.

As an intern, Korinek handled all

digital work. Later that summer, she joined the campaign full-time.

“That was absolutely when I fell in love with the world of politics,” Korinek said. “Without a shadow of a doubt, that’s what I wanted to do. It was the most incredible, rewarding and life-changing experience.”

Hockaday’s mission followed Korinek after she graduated.

“Hockaday’s mission is to develop resilient, confident women who are

inspired to lead lives of purpose and impact, and that mission statement really resonated with me,” Korinek said. “I think that’s something that I absolutely carry into my job now and a big part of why I chose to pursue a career in government and politics was because I did feel called to lead a life of purpose and impact.”

Korinek’s typical day is at the mercy of the news cycle.

“You never know when breaking news is coming," Korinek said. "I’m usually in the office every weekday, sometimes doing press releases or statements, helping book [Senator Cornyn] for different radio hits and TV hits or working with reporter relations. It’s challenging and dynamic, and you are never bored.”

For Korinek, the emotional demand of her job is a motivating factor in her life.

“I think you should lean into it, because that is what should drive you, and it shows your humanity and what connects and unifies us as the American people."

Dean, Friguletto and Korinek all had the same advice on how to get involved in public service: “Just ask.”

Dean emphasized the importance of following your passions.

“Do some volunteer work for a candidate or campaign that you really care about,” Dean said. “You are smart, you are committed, you are passionate. Those are the kind of people we need more of working in government.”

Friguletto said to get your foot in the door and work your way up from there.

“Be willing to do any job at the onset,” Friguletto said. “A lot of the folks I know here started off answering mail, answering phones or getting coffee.”

Korinek said to meet and talk to as many people as possible.

“The more that you can build your network and hear from other people and what their experiences are the better,” Korinek said.

Dean speaks at a summit.

Friguletto with sister on Ring Day '19

Korinek with family on Ring Day '15

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SOPHIA FRIGULETTO, JENNIFER DEAN AND MARY KATE KORINEK

Purpose through podcast

School leaders launch Education Evolved

By Sarah Moskowitz Copy Editor

An unpredictable workplace. A world of unforeseeable technological developments. A society influenced by developments and factors unknown to us today.

As foreign as this world seems, it is one future graduates will enter. In their podcast “Education Evolved,” Dr. Laura Leathers, Eugene McDermott Head of School, and Laura Day, Director of Innovation and Collaboration, discuss this challenge each month.

“We have kids on campus now who will graduate from Hockaday in 2039,” Leathers said. “The world continues to evolve outside of Hockaday. How do we prepare 1,100 girls to enter that world in the future? That’s where our sights are set.”

The podcast stemmed from their shared passion of exploring the future of education.

“We talk a lot about this stuff all the time with each other,” Day said. “We also talk and think a lot about culture shift and how we get people to keep believing in things and heading in a positive direction educationally.”

As opposed to emails, Leathers and Day have found that the podcast makes the information they share more accessible.

“People will listen to a conversation,” Leathers said. “It just feels different. It’s a different way of reaching people, hopefully to spark some new thoughts and new ideas, to

generate enthusiasm and help people think about things in a new way.”

For the creation process, Leathers and Day keep a running document of topics and decide on a specific theme the week they record a new episode.

“We both read a lot and listen to a lot of podcasts, and we both throw ideas on our document and then we meet fairly regularly,” Leathers said. “We look at it through a lens of how to make our content as broad as possible so that it does apply to parents who have girls at Hockaday, parents who don’t have any students here, teachers here, teachers at other institutions and people just wondering about what is important to us.”

episodes, Leathers and Day received heartwarming support from the Hockaday community.

“I think it’s great to hear from our faculty and staff that they’re listening to it, and I’ve heard from a lot of parents who have listened,” Leathers said. “It’s important to continue to share what we’re doing and what we’re focused on so that who we are as a school can be known to the community, both Dallas and larger.”

Collaborating with Middle School Cross Country coach and Leathers’s husband Kevin Leathers for podcast production, Leathers and Day have gotten into a rhythm with their process.

“We’ve done three episodes all in one take,” Day said. “It flows probably because we talk to each other so much.”

After releasing their first two

Leathers and Day hope that their podcast also finds an audience beyond Hockaday.

“I hope, outside of Hockaday, we get people to think about education differently,” Day said. “I think a lot of times in life, we just go through what we go through, and I think that people have to look differently at education. I’m hoping that this is a catalyst for that.”

In the premiere episode, “How Students Should Learn in the 21st Century,” Leathers focused on the role of language and technology for students.

“I think technology is providing new tools to translate between different languages and make communication

easier between people who don’t speak the same language,” Leathers said. “Technology also continues to shape our word choice, syntax, grammar and size of information that we share.”

Day also shared how synthesis and connection are at the forefront of her mind as she does innovation and collaboration work at Hockaday.

“I call myself a problem spotter, and I’m always looking for either problem solutions or moments,” Day said. “I’m everywhere talking to people and trying to find those connections."

In the second episode, “The Secret to Shifting Culture,” Leathers outlined culture as a set of shared values and events that shape a group’s identity.

“I always go back to the mission statement, and everything ties to believing in the limitless potential of girls, and everything we do here at Hockaday should be driving in that direction," Leathers said. "We overlay our strategic plan on top of that to do the mission in a rapidly changing world."

For Leathers, the podcast serves as a way to share the incredible work at Hockaday.

"This is a big community, and we're doing fabulous work," Leathers said. "We should be able to tell that story of what our faculty, staff and school are doing in developing the next generation of leaders. This is a pretty amazing place, and we should be able to share what we're doing and what's working with others."

Strength in self advocacy Breast Cancer Awareness Month promotes health literacy

By Claire Gicheru Staff Writer

Cancer. Everyone is terrified of hearing that word. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, "13 percent of women in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer at one point in their life." According to Breastcancer.org "about 16 percent of women with breast cancer are younger than 50 years old." With these statistics, it’s very likely that you know someone who is or will be personally affected by breast cancer.

Dr. Arianne Gallaty, a breast surgeon at The Center for Cancer and Blood Donation in Fort Worth, emphasizes the importance of selfexamination to all her patients, a vital way to catch breast cancer early, "Self-exams are important since you know your body the best,” Gallaty said. “If something has changed, it is important to go to your Primary Doctor and to be evaluated

The standard of care for screening. for breast cancer is a mammogram which essentially provides the doctor with a three-dimensional x-ray of the

breast. Gallaty said her patients who have mammogram screening done typically say that while mammograms can be uncomfortable, they are nothing like what they had anticipated it to be.

"They understand that it's lifesaving,” Gallaty said. “[It’s] the sense of trying to catch things early.”

The process of diagnosing is one thing, but the battle has just begun. Once a breast cancer diagnosis is established, many women feel powerless or hopeless. Dr. Jamie Terry, breast cancer surgeon at Houston's Texas Breast Specialists Office said she focuses on helping women reclaim their power.

“I have been practicing for decades,” Terry said. “[I’m] very focused on helping women take back the power that cancer took away from them."

Helen Bowles founded Brighter Magazine for the same reason, empowering women with cancer by giving them the resources needed to

build their health literacy and advocate for themselves.

"Health literacy is explaining medical treatments and terms in a way that makes women feel more equipped to play and active role in their treatment," Bowles said.

Brighter Magazine was inspired by Bowles’ mother and a close friend, who passed away from pancreatic cancer and ovarian cancer. The magazine publishes quarterly and covers a variety of topics, including mental health in individuals with cancer.

"We also address things like ‘scanxiety', which is the anxiety that exists right before each scan, wondering if the cancer will return." Bowles said.

The cover image of "Education Evolved"

PHOTO COURTESY OF LAURA DAY

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF CLAIRE GICHERU

The price of appropriation Culture is not for sale

By Samara Bhatki Staff Writer

For a topic that evokes such controversy and discomfort, cultural appropriation is surprisingly difficult to avoid, so much so that you may not even realize its prevalence in your life.

Cultural appropriation hides in the most mundane aspects of our lives: our hairstyles, tattoos, team mascots. It lies in the Disney characters we grow up adoring, such as Jim Crow, a crow in Dumbo whose name refers to segregationist laws, or Pocahontas, whose gruesome story was romanticized to fit the “princess” narrative. Additionally, seemingly harmless fashion trends conceal cultural appropriation, like the Scandinavian scarf, which is marketed as a stylish, classy European accessory, but truly stems from the Indian dupatta.

With a long history of costumes with traditional headdresses, offensive symbols, Día de los Muertos skulls and blackface, Halloween has become a time of year rife with appropriation. As you begin to search for your costume this year, it’s important to be mindful and educated about what cultural appropriation is, how it differs from appreciation and how to avoid it.

Turning culture into costume

One of the most difficult aspects of distinguishing cultural appropriation is that its definition varies from person to person. While two people may agree on a definition, whether they view a certain action as appropriation can vary.

“Cultural appropriation is taking pieces of a group's culture, their traditions, their background and their experiences and using them in a way that does not acknowledge that culture or that

scary parties or Halloween trivializes her cultural significance and representation.”

Appropriation appreciation

Most cases of cultural appropriation are entirely unintentional and stem from a place of wmisunderstanding. Cultural ignorance, for example, is an accidental form of appropriation when the offender may be unaware of the impact of their actions.

“The difference between cultural ignorance and cultural appropriation is in the intention,” senior Sara Gupta, co-president of South Asian Student Association, said. “If someone has good intentions and they're trying to appreciate the culture, then it's more excusable than if they're not.”

Appropriation can also commonly be confused with cultural appreciation, which occurs when someone adopts a custom out of admiration for that culture or tradition. However, this can be perceived as appropriation, so it’s important to learn about the history of the culture before practicing it.

“Appreciation is when you are willing to learn about that custom and trying to expand your perspective,” Guevara said. “The way I think about the difference is that appreciating a culture is when you understand the background, learn the history from someone who practices that custom. That makes sure that you're not appropriating it or pushing your view on it but instead getting it from someone who knows about it and can teach

Misinformation from the media

The quick-click nature of social media only amplifies the spread of cultural appropriation and ignorance. In a sea of misinformation and unverified facts, social media diminishes the role of certain cultures in traditions or trends, perpetrating further instances of unintentional appropriation.

“If people are culturally appropriating because they just didn't know due to misinformation, it's social media's fault, not theirs,” Gupta said. “In my opinion, social media definitely makes it worse. It increases appropriation by accident. If someone tells me something about my identity, I would

believe that. My first instinct would be to trust and believe, and, if I trusted and believed more misinformation, that would fully diminish my own cultural identity and what I Guevara claims that misidentifying cultures not only harms the people of this identity but also threatens the future of the culture itself.

“You could erase the history of a culture in a certain society by doing something as simple as changing the name,” Guevara said. “When no one remembers its origins, no one's listening anymore. They pass away, and the history of the culture dies with those people who remember

As Halloween approaches, hundreds of content creators share their most unique costume ideas, and, under pressure to produce a never-seenbefore costume, they may recommend a borderline offensive outfit. While many ideas are harmless, some, such as Native Americans, hula dancers or geishas—all of which are styled to be cute and fashionable, not necessarily respectful—can be blatant appropriation. To avoid this mistake, it’s important to educate yourself on the origins and context of your costume before wearing it.

How to avoid appropriating

Because the definition of cultural appropriation is rather subjective, it can be difficult to detect it in someone’s actions or even your own. To prevent appropriation, Tevis recommends that everyone spends time learning about different cultures and expanding their perspectives.

“One of the best ways is to read and to educate yourself,” Tevis said. “We as individuals have to take it upon ourselves to do the research. Personally, I love a good book recommendation. I love podcasts and have a few that I listen to regularly, and they always cover different topics that grows my perspective on the world around us because things are always changing.”

While misinformation or unawareness do not excuse offensive actions, it is important that everyone gives themselves grace. No one should live in fear of experiencing new cultures but rather embrace cultural experiences with enthusiasm and respect. Guevara emphasizes the importance of forgiveness in teaching others how to appreciate rather than appropriate.

“Sometimes you just have to learn through experience,” Guevara said. “Everyone has aspects of their culture that can be appropriated, and you have to be willing to know that this is where intent comes in. People are going to make mistakes. You need to give people forgiveness here because you'll need it somewhere else.”

GRAPHICS COURTESY OF MADRID GARRETT

Daisy in the spotlight

Alex McAtee '01 wins Emmy award

By Katie Ma News Editor

Alongtime fan of TV film, Alex McAtee ‘01 always watched the Emmys, an annual awards show that recognizes excellence in television. In September, she landed her own Emmy as executive producer of “The Studio.” The series was named Outstanding Comedy Series.

“It's been almost a month, and it still kind of feels surreal,” McAtee said. “It really felt like the work was honored and seen in a way that our work isn’t always.”

“The Studio,” a television show created by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, picked up 40 nominations and 23 wins in its two-season run. On the night of the awards ceremony, three of her Hockaday friends were sending McAtee their support.

“We’re still very close. We've known each other 35 years at this point,” McAtee said. “It was and is surreal, but it's really lovely and it's cool to look at the [Emmy statuette] every now and then and go, ‘my God, I won that thing.’ Maybe it'll be the only one, maybe it'll be joined by others, but it's enough just as it is.”

McAtee attended Hockaday from 1989 to 2001. She said her passion for TV film was born in the strong fine arts program as well as the robust arts community in Dallas. She participated in ceramics and student-run plays and attended movies and shows at theaters around town.

“I tried all sorts of stuff out; a few different

Yes,

and...

things that sort of showed me what I was interested in and helped me figure out what it was I liked about this thing,” McAtee said. “I think there's also an amount of producing that is kind of just organizing and staying on task and process and timeline, which, of course, schoolwork can help teach some of those skills.”

Currently, McAtee is executive vice president for Point Grey Pictures, an independent film production company. However, her journey into the entertainment industry was anything but easy.

“I took jobs that I didn't want to take time and again, and that's not about devaluing yourself,” McAtee said. “I was working jobs where I didn't like the show, but it was a job. I stayed employed. I was able to pay rent, all of the things that sometimes having a job is good for when it isn't everything you wanted it to be. Because that can be just a piece of the ladder, it doesn't have to be the end of it. Sometimes it's just about staying in the mix and continuing to work.”

Every day at her job is different. Her main responsibility is helping the artists complete the production process, such as by giving notes on scripts or on set, and keeping the projects at the highest level possible.

“I was shooting a pilot for a TV show a few weeks

Improv mindset goes beyond the stage

By Leyah Philip Editor-in-Chief

Yes, and.

These two words lay the foundation for improv, a form of live theater based on unscripted comedy. For students and faculty in the improv community, this phrase is not just a guideline to follow, but rather a mindset they apply on and off the stage.

Senior Maddy Oyakawa, co-president of Hockaday and St. Mark’s Improv, has experienced firsthand how improv has helped her gain confidence in public settings.

“I believe it has definitely helped me be able to speak better and think quicker on my feet," Oyakawa said. “Whether in public speaking, or just in normal conversations, when you're not really sure exactly what to say, it can help you stay confident and be able to continue without knowing exactly where you're going.”

Entering her fourth year in the improv troupe, Oyakawa often incorporates the “yes, and” mindset into her performances. Even though improv performers may not literally say the phrase, they use the same adaptive mentality.

“If you're able to just go up there and say things confidently, even if they sound stupid, it will just naturally be funny,” Oyakawa said.

Director of the Institute for Social Impact

Melanie Robinson also performs improv. After a bouldering accident, she was motivated to take up a hobby that was less dangerous but just as exciting, and she instantly fell in love with improv. Robinson now hopes to share the benefits of improv with others.

“In improv, we each bring a brick to the scene and bring that brick to life, which helps turn it into something beautiful and complete,” Robinson said.

Robinson also applies this mindset to her role at Hockaday, from interactions with students to fellow faculty members. She has even begun planning an improv faculty workshop to share the benefits of “yes, and” in professional development.

“When people come to me in my office stuck on this one idea, sometimes we'll take a walk or go talk to somebody else and see if they have any ideas,” Robinson said. “It’s been really refreshing that so many Hockaday students are open to new ideas.”

Robinson encourages anyone who is interested in trying out the “yes, and” mindset to join improv and try something new.

“I think the thing that makes improv feel scary is the idea that you're supposed to be funny, but we find comedy in everyday life,” Robinson said.

In the athletic realm, Head Varsity Rowing Coach Katelin Gildersleeve uses improv to bring

ago, and I was on set for 14 hours a day for 10 days, so that’s sometimes part of the job, too,” McAtee said. “But how exciting is it to reach the most amount of people possible and maybe impact their lives with TV film the way it did for me?”

McAtee emphasizes the importance of pushing forward in the entertainment industry.

“When you see some sort of opportunity, whether or not it's in any way close to what you want to do or you think it'll work, just be like, ‘I'm going to try’,” McAtee said. “‘I may not know what this show is, and it may not work, and I may not get the job’, all sorts of things, but just be willing to put yourself out there.”

fun into the very stressful environment of the high-intensity sport.

She often incorporates improv exercises into practices to remind rowers not to take life too seriously and to have fun with the sport.

“There's a lot of pressure that they put on themselves, so sometimes just taking a step back and either playing a game or opening up the conversation can help them actually talk about how they’re feeling instead of keeping all of their feelings really close to their chest,” Gildersleeve said.

Gildersleeve began her improv journey in college and currently takes classes at the Dallas Comedy Club. Over the years, she has seen in herself and others how powerful the “yes, and” mindset can be.

“It’s nice to see the power of how much more we can build together when we just say ‘yes’ and lead with curiosity rather than denying or shutting down someone else's claim in a scene,” Gildersleeve said.

Personally, Gildersleeve said improv has helped her grow as a coach and team leader.

“I'm very thankful that improv has allowed me to speak more freely and without hesitation because I think there has to be a sense of confidence or transparency that I have to lead with, and that's how I want to lead,” Gildersleeve said.

Above all, she believes that anyone can join improv and shouldn’t fear saying “yes, and,” as that is the first step to gaining confidence and clarity.

“You just have to get over that little hump,” Gildersleeve said, “but we all have the creativity to be successful.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF MELANIE ROBINSON

“The Studio” team with their Emmys

PHOTO COURTESY OF POINT GREY PICTURES

Robinson performing improv

looking at the busy schedules of takeout

A two-year member of the varsity fencing team and a taekwondo black belt, sophomore Isabella Zhou is a dedicated and seasoned athlete in and out of Hockaday. She practices from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. for fencing and from 7:30 to 8:45 PM for taekwondo every weekday. Despite the demands of her sports, Zhou is grateful for how they have shaped her life so far.

“Sports help me get out of the stress of schoolwork,” Zhou said. “They help me stay active for a few hours every day.”

Yet, this packed schedule comes with less time to eat home-cooked meals, especially after a long day.

“I oftentimes get takeout right after a late taekwondo training, when my parents and I are too tired or busy to cook,” Zhou said. “The Chick-fil-A is really close to my taekwondo center, so I often go there and get some nuggets. It’s not the healthiest, but it’s filling, protein-packed and tastes great.”

However, Zhou is intentional about nutrition before her athletic competitions, citing habits and health benefits as reasons.

“I avoid sugary things because they’ll make you throw up,” Zhou said. “Usually before my competitions, I’ll eat a light snack of fruit.”

Though her mentors often advise healthy meals, they also have a nuanced understanding of the lives of their students.

“My taekwondo coach doesn’t particularly love it when we get fast food, but he understands that it’s not really negotiable for stressed studentathletes,” Zhou said.

In addition to the health aspects of eating out, Zhou shares how food is a big social aspect of high school. Zhou and her friends often go out to eat before events, such as Halloween or Winter Formal, which she believes enhances the experience.

looking at the nutrition of takeout

Jessica Setnick ‘90, a licensed nutrition expert, views eating out with a different lens than a typical teen might.

High schoolers may focus on the unhealthy food that they consume. While that is a valid concern, Setnick emphasizes that the issue with eating out is largely the portion size rather than the nutritional value of the food.

“It's more about eating when you're not hungry and eating a super large portion that you would not normally eat just because that's what they served you at the restaurant,” Setnick said. When restaurants or fast-food places present meals, they give off the impression that they expect customers to eat the full amount presented, skewing customers’ natural indications of when to stop eating due to being full.

“If you're eating for a reason other than hunger, it’s like blow drying your hair when it’s already dry – you don’t have a good gauge of when to stop,” Setnick said.

Convenience culture permeates the TAKEOUT TAKES

“I think enjoying good food together and each other’s company makes the night truly special,” Zhou said. “Also, it makes the later event even more exciting.”

During the school day, Zhou notices her classmates with a variety of takeout drinks and treats.

“A lot of the time I’ll see Starbucks, McDonald’s, La La Land and Fat Straws,” Zhou said.

In regard to the takeout culture of the current era, Zhou believes it can be improved but ultimately shouldn’t be shunned as an option.

“I would try to make it a bit healthier, because a lot of it is fried and can cause health issues if eaten too often,” Zhou said. “But I don’t think it should be outright shunned because some people just don’t have other dining options and it’s the most convenient.”

By Jenny Chu & Elizabeth Farrell

Between school, sports and social lives, students are their eating habits. For many, grabbing takeout become a normal part of daily life. Busy schedules meals, leading students to seek quick and convenient on takeout raises questions about balance, health role in the social scene of highschoolers' lives, so health with socializing. 41 percent of surveyed students dine out by others, and 38 percent say they

This contributes to teens eating when they are already full, just because they are going out with their friends

“A lot of the external pressures like how much is on our plate, how much we spend on food, feeling guilty, not wanting to throw food away or waste food, peer pressure and emotions, all of those can interfere with our internal gauge,” Setnick said.

One way to avoid this pressure is by learning how to hang out with friends while not overeating.

“We have to sometimes break out of our routines when they're not working for us,” Setnick said. “It might feel different, but that doesn't mean it's bad to change.”

Schools can instill this mindset in students by teaching about proper portion size and physical cues that indicate hunger rather than what nutrition labels and dieting statistics say.

“We have more nutrition information

right now in this country about any piece of food we want to eat than anyone in the history of mankind, anywhere in the world, and yet it doesn't make us healthier,” Setnick said.

“What we really should be teaching in school is making your own choices, listening to your inner cues, following your own North Star, and how to express yourself when you want to do something that's different from the crowd.”

Setnick, reflecting on her time at Hockaday, says that the freedom of driving in high school broadens students’ sources of food, yet that also comes with a lot of responsibility.

“We used to love to eat out because some of the freedom you get when you're in high school is you can drive or your friends can drive, so you're not always at the mercy of what your parents are having for dinner or where your parents are going to dinner,” Setnick said. “I understand that some food is more nutritious than others, I mean, that's just a fact, right? But it's not any one meal that's going to make

Features

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ELIZABETH FARRELL

PHOTO

Chick-fil-A carry out bag

Chick-fil-A dining area

Chick-fil-A sign

TAKES OVER

permeates the Hockaday community

lives, students today are constantly on the move and so grabbing takeout after practice or between activities has schedules often leave little time for home-cooked and convenient options. Yet, this growing reliance balance, health and lifestyle. Eating out also plays a big lives, so it is crucial that they learn how to balance surveyed students say they sometimes feel pressured to say they eat out at least three times a week.

looking at the financial impact of takeout

Upper School Financial Literacy and AP Economics teacher Kristen Blevins aims to prepare her students to be financially responsible in an everchanging world, which includes skills from budgeting to debt management. Recently, in Financial Literacy, students were asked to track all their expenses for four weeks.

“With all the seemingly random expenses that were adding up, students really started getting a sense of what kind of money they spend, which can be hard to fathom when most of the money isn’t directly coming from them,” Blevins said. “Afterwards, they do a written reflection, and all that builds up to a budgeting project.”

Blevins believes part of why takeout culture has become more normalized for youth is due to less public spaces for teens to hang out.

“There were once places where you could go where you didn’t need to spend money, but I feel like the presence of those has been on the decline,” Blevins said. “If people want to hang out together without going to someone’s house, they feel like they have to go to a Starbucks or restaurant and then feel pressured to order something there.”

Oftentimes, students will frequently stroll into class with a small morning pick-me-up, but over time, their cost becomes apparent.

looking at the history of takeout

Upper School Latin teacher Amanda Richards discusses takeout food’s long history in human culture.

“It may predate Rome, but it was at least present in Rome in these restaurants called thermopolia,” Richards said. “They were basically takeout restaurants that would have a counter where you could order and then you could eat your food in the street.”

In fact, throughout ancient Europe and even now, the pressures of day-to-day work have influenced the creation and popularity of restaurants.

“Most people have never had the time to feed themselves and do their jobs,” Richards said. “Nowadays, we put this big moral weight on whether or not you cook at home, but shared labor is not a new invention.”

Even during deadly pandemics, humans refined takeout culture to survive and continue feeding each other.

“During the Black Death, they had special little windows that exchanged wine without spreading contagion nor sickness,” Richards said. “It helped everybody stay safe from further transmission.”

In fact, many public spaces were built around the idea of communal food and resources.

“In the past, baking had to be done in big public ovens, and so did most of the cooking for the house,” Richards said.

“You’d go down to the big public oven and either have it done by other people or buy pieces of meat and ask bakers to make it into a pie.”

In Richards’s opinion, the simple idea of takeout is timeless

“I think cooking is a great life skill to have, and avoiding those sorts of things is unwise for the future where finances may be precarious,” Richards said. “But students have a tendency to put so much on their plates, so it’s not surprising that they relegate these tasks to others while balancing a number of other responsibilities.”

However, the act of eating together itself, whether it’s takeout or not, is something that has always intrinsically bonded people.

“Even in animals, such as chimpanzees, they will eat fruits together or harvest together, since food is necessary for survival,” Richards said. “And of course, we have then built our culture around it.”

Social media trends often influence people’s decisions on what to eat and where to eat,

“When you take it transaction by transaction, one $5 coffee doesn’t seem like that much,” Blevins said. “But when you do it consistently every day for a whole month, it does add up to a more significant part of your budget.”

However, Blevins doesn’t believe in condemning these small purchases and deeming them too significant a financial risk.

“I think it’s definitely worth it to spend money on things that bring you joy, albeit mindfully,” Blevins said.

“The big financial decisions matter too, so the important thing is making sure you have a good balance between the major and minor purchases.”

In general, Blevins believes financial literacy and budgeting helps open people’s eyes to a greater understanding of their choices.

“I think the project that we do often helps people fully understand all the costs out on the spreadsheet,” Blevins said. “If they don’t like them, it’s really just about making future changes they’re comfortable with that knowledge in mind.”

especially with how desirable and luxurious the internet makes certain foods seem.

“Certain foods are selected that might otherwise be considered luxury foods due to the influence of social media,” Richards said. “Some people also consider it part of their lifestyle or aesthetic.”

However, Richards disagrees with the notion that all takeout choices should be viewed that way.

“I do think making choices about what you truly do need in the long term is important,” Richards said. “But in general, needing to feed yourself after sports or work is just something you have to do, and it’s completely valid for takeout to alleviate that stress.”

Farrell Features Editor & Arts & Life Editor

Starbucks display case

Curtains up Theater students take the statewide stage

By Anderson Rhodus Sports Editor

For the first time in school history, Hockaday Theater students will attend the Texas Thespians Conference, a statewide festival that brings thousands of fine arts students together every November. From performing excerpts for judges to participating in workshops, this trip is a significant milestone that marks growth in the Fine Arts department and a long-awaited moment for students.

“It feels really exciting. We’ve wanted to go for years, and now we finally get to represent Hockaday,” senior and member of Hockaday Theater, Ellery Works said. “Thespians really opens you up to more opportunities to learn and meet new people.”

be one of the shorter ones,” Mano said. “I’m really excited to meet teenagers across Texas who are just as passionate about drama as we are.”

The festival, held Nov. 14-17 at the Gaylord Texan, offers a variety of experiences, from collegeaudition opportunities to technical theater sessions. Hockaday will be performing in both group and individual musical theater contests.

Sophomore Ellie Mano is among the Hockaday cast who will perform “Steel Magnolias” at Thespians.

“We don’t know which scene quite yet, but it will

For students like sophomore Caroline Hayes, the festival is a stage to showcase their individual talents through solo performances. Hayes has been hoping to attend Thespians since her freshman year.

“[Thespians] is like theater-kid Disneyland,” Hayes said. “When I found out sophomores could go, I screamed. I was so excited.”

While the festival offers numerous opportunities to engage in workshops and performances, students emphasize how the drama community at Hockaday makes the fine arts that much better.

“I just want it to be a lifechanging experience to improve, but also to have a really good time with people I love,” Hayes said.

For the theater department, this trip represents more than just a contest; it’s a step toward legitimizing and expanding Hockaday’s program on a statewide stage.

“Going to Thespians really elevates our program,” Works said. “It shows other schools who we are and pushes us to take ourselves more seriously.”

By Lang Cooper Editor in Chief

Hockaday is filled with talented, confident and insightful Upper Schoolers, and in my last year, I want to learn about as many students as possible. And the best way to do so is, of course, over a scoop of ice cream. This issue, I took the one and only Lily Vollbrecht—a new member of the USA Debate Development Team—for ice cream, and she had quite the scoop to share.

When I think about debate, pictures of welldressed, articulate high schoolers arguing over a complex topic appear in my mind. And while this vision is true, junior Lily Vollbrecht put the amount of behind-the-scenes preparation into perspective.

“Topics are generally released a couple months before the tournament, and I start preparing around then,” Vollbrecht said. “First, you write the case that’s anywhere from three to 15 pages of writing, and then you prepare response material to what you think the other team is going to say.”

Although 15 pages alone is longer than my JRP, Vollbrecht prepares answers to both sides of a topic, as teams do not learn which side they will debate until the tournament.

Vollbrecht applied to the USA Debate Program last summer, where she submitted three videos of speeches on given topics, multiple essays and signs of competitive success in tournaments. Vollbrecht took over 250 takes per eight-minute video.

“I'm definitely a perfectionist, so as soon as I stumbled over my words, I had to stop it,” Vollbrecht said. “I took 13 hours one day just filming, so I definitely looked a little bit soulless in my videos.”

Vollbrecht’s hard work paid off as she was offered a spot on the USA Development Team in August. From attending the Harvard Debate Council Workshop the past two summers, Vollbrecht had already met the coach and many of her new teammates. In the past two months, she has attended numerous virtual practices and the Greenhill Fall Classic debate tournament.

“It’s so much fun meeting people from all over the country who I look up to,” Vollbrecht said. “But also, because I’m on the development team, obviously I’m there to learn and develop as a speaker.”

Additionally, Vollbrecht recently co-founded an organization, Words for Women, aimed at helping middle school girls build confidence and develop their voices through debate workshops in Dallas.

“Debate helped me so much with my confidence and clarity when speaking,” Vollbrecht said. “I think a lot of women lack access now to grow those skills.”

Vollbrecht is grateful for the many perspectives that debate has given her.

“I have to think about both sides of a topic, so that has been very helpful in putting myself in others’ shoes,” Vollbrecht said. “I’m looking forward to growing as both a debater and as a person this year.”

Hayes rehearses for thespians festival.

FT. LILY VOLLBRECHT

Vollbrecht at Summer Workshop

Watch Vollbrecht's full scoop on YouTube here!

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDERSON RHODUS

A century of spooks

Snapshots show students celebrating Halloween in recent decades

By Gwendolyn Becker Staff Writer

Halloween in the 1980s at Hockaday was full of ghosts, witches and food. The seniors carried on the famous tradition of transforming the hallways into an angelic heaven and a fiery hell. Along with this, Lower School paraded through the dining hall, showing off their creative costumes to the entire school. Lastly, the Community Service Board created and sold trick-or-treat bags to benefit Children’s Medical Center.

In the 1990s, costumes included politicians and cowgirls as well as the traditional ghosts. Seniors haunted the halls that they decorated with their chosen themes, one of which included heaven and hell once again. The lower schoolers participated in their own activities by celebrating with themed parties in each classroom, and even the teachers joined in by dressing up as witches, fairies and other characters.

In 2006, lower schoolers celebrated with costumes and decorated pumpkins to look like Wilbur from “Charlotte’s Web.” Additionally, they decorated their teachers' rooms and played games where they would estimate how many pieces of candy were in a pumpkin jar. Seniors decorated the Upper School hallways, bathrooms and even a few of the teachers' classrooms with the theme “Lab.”

In 2017, fake blood covered the floor of the senior hallway, as seniors spent the entire night transforming the hallway into “Your Worst Childhood Nightmares.” This theme included four separate sections: birthday party, nursery, nightmare, and the haunted forest, each with a scary twist. The seniors claimed to have successfully terrorized the underclassmen and faculty.

In 2024, all grades in the Upper School dressed up for Halloween with lots of spirit. Halloween was celebrated without the typical haunted Hicks and instead with a “Hocus Pocus” watch party. Seniors collectively chose to dress as Vector from the film Despicable Me. The lower schoolers competed in a mummy wrapping competition, participated in a candy drive, and enjoyed hearing scary stories read by their very own parents.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CORNERSTONES '81

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CORNERSTONES '96

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CORNERSTONES '06

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CORNERSTONES '17

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CORNERSTONES '24

Changing the game

College athletes redefine representation in women’s sports with NIL

By Siena Ebert Arts & Life Editor

Since the NCAA’s 2021 decision to allow college athletes to profit from their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), the landscape of college sports has completely transformed. Previously limited to scholarships and team sponsorships, colleges can now offer athletes new opportunities to develop their own brands. From pizza deals to partnerships with major companies, NIL is redefining what it means to be a student-athlete.

For University of Texas at Austin (UT) swimmer Brooke Adams ‘22, opportunities began the moment she arrived at Texas her freshman year. Guided by UT’s NIL staff, Adams decided to build her personal brand around one central theme: health.

“I've done deals with a lot of healthbased things like Aura Rings, Whoops and vitamin brands,” Adams said. “My team focuses on brands that will help us improve as an athlete, so we prioritize deals that align with those morals.”

Beyond the athletic benefits, NIL has also given Adams a window into the business world that most college students don’t encounter until after graduation.

“NIL is a great tool to learn a lot of real-world applications,” Adams said. “You learn how to negotiate, read contracts and prioritize what you want in a deal.”

While Adams’s experience reflects the highly organized NIL programs at large universities, she believes that brand building can start much earlier in high school.

“As a high schooler, you can always think about your brand and how you want to present yourself,” Adams said. “You need to just put yourself out there and start thinking about what brands align with your values that you would want to support.”

On the West Coast, Stanford University soccer player Jaden Thomas ’24 has also found ways to successfully navigate NIL. Thomas partnered with Steph Curry and Michelle Obama’s hydration brand, Plezi, which allowed her to earn money while managing the busy life of a Division I athlete.

“If you don't really have much time to work a job, NIL gives athletes the opportunity to make money simply from your phone when you don't have the time to commute to a workplace,” Thomas said.

NIL doesn’t just affect individual athletes, but it’s also reshaping recruiting and career decisions across college sports.

“If a smaller or less competitive school offers a player more money, it can completely change their decision,” Thomas said. “It’s not necessarily unfair, but it definitely shifts how talent is distributed. Fewer athletes feel the need to go pro right away since they can start earning good money in college.”

For other athletes, NIL has taken shape in smaller but equally meaningful ways. For Olivia Wayne ‘25 and her Duke University volleyball teammates, a partnership with a local restaurant has made managing meals one less thing to worry about.

“We have an NIL deal as a team with a local business called Enzo's Pizza Company, where we get $30 for food each week to eat there,” Wayne said. “It’s really nice to not have to worry about one of your meals for the week.”

Building on her local partnership, Wayne is turning her attention to developing her own brand, using platforms like TikTok to connect with a wider audience. She hopes to grow a following that reflects her authentic personality and consistent online presence.

“The best thing you can do to get NIL deals is to post as much as you can,” Wayne said. “If you could get into the habit of at least posting once or twice a week, maybe even three times, and then building up posting every day, that can really help grow your platform on social media.”

video can take up to an hour of your time each day.”

However, managing a growing platform can be demanding, especially for student-athletes already juggling academic and practice schedules.

“It’s important to build good time management skills, even as a high schooler, and be prepared to balance social media and schoolwork while also being an athlete,” Wayne said. “Social media takes a lot of time, which some people don't realize. To edit one

Fast feet and flying flags Flag Football Club debuts with daring dreams

By Alina Zheng Sports Editor

Junior Anderson Rhodus looks forward to sprinting down a grassy field and dodging players, with a football in hand as part of the inaugural season of flag football.

Rhodus organized the club, which is sponsored by Director of Athletics Melissa Coyne, and she said one of the club’s goals is to join a league.

“In the spring of 2024, I saw a girls’ flag football game broadcasted on TV, and I remember thinking ‘oh, that’s cool – I didn’t know that was a thing,’” Rhodus said. “So, over the summer, I contacted Coach Coyne, and she shared that she also had a strong passion for flag football.”

Coyne recalls flag football as a core experience of her childhood and a vessel that helped her find her passion for lacrosse.

“They’re both field sports, and I think field sports teach you a lot about spatial awareness, and there’s a lot

of lateral agility involved in football,” Coyne said. “I think actually doing [flag football] as a young kid made me more interested in field sports.”

Because of her experiences of playing and watching football while growing up, Coyne values the freedom that the sport grants to its players, which contrasts with many of the athletic games these days that are overlooked by referees and defined by strict rules.

hopes that she can start bringing the excitement that surrounded her memories of flag football to Hockaday.

“One of the things I loved so much was that it was totally disorganized,” Coyne said. “There were no adults involved. We made up our own rules. We didn’t have referees. And we just ran out there with a ball and figured it out on our own.”

By sponsoring the club, Coyne

“We got excited when people scored,” Coyne said. “We made up our own touchdown dances. I remember that very vividly, and I’m hoping to bring some of that back here.”

Coyne said she might explore integrating flag football into the PE curriculum, with her long-term goal of adding it as a sport. She also said her decision to open up campus on the weekends for families will also give them the opportunity to play flag football with their community.

“Where I came from, we had a huge flag football tournament on Thanksgiving Day because

Despite the responsibilities of managing social media and sponsorships, NIL provides an opportunity for female athletes to take control of their careers and narratives.

“Female athletes now have opportunities through NIL that didn’t exist before,” Wayne said. “Collaborations with global brands can give women’s sports the attention they deserve and support their growth through the changing field of college athletics.”

families are all in town,” Coyne said. “Thanksgiving is a lot about football.”

A football fan herself, sophomore Claire Mennel was drawn to the excitement of the opportunity to play this sport.

“It sounded like a lot of fun, and it would be a chance to relax during the school day,” Mennel said.

For girls hesitant about joining or playing, Coyne mentions that no prior background or athletic experience is needed.

“You don’t have to know how to play flag football,” Coyne said. “You just show up, and we’ll show you how to do it. It’s fun. It’s really easy going. It can be competitive, but it’s also hidden fitness. Not everybody wants to go and run on a treadmill, but you will get a good sweat in with this.”

Thomas poses with Plezi hydration drinks for her partnership.

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF ALINA ZHENG

PHOTO COURTESY OF JADEN THOMAS

Mavericks produce mini-MVPs

Armendariz sisters assist in game-night operation

By Juliette Friguletto Opinions Editor

Most young sports fans dream of seeing their favorite team from the inside, a once-ina-lifetime experience. For freshmen sisters Arianna and Natalia Armendariz, that dream becomes a reality multiple times per Dallas Mavericks season, as they work behind the scenes of a professional basketball team’s organization.

The Mavericks host a program called Ballkids, which selects academically strong participants aged 13 to 18 from the Dallas Mavericks Hoop and Elite Camps with a dedicated character, to assist players and media crews during game day. While players warm up, Ballkids set up the courtside seating and greet customers at the doors of the American Airlines Center on game days.

the season, the mentors give advice and motivation to everybody who may need a helping hand.

Through the organization’s support with the Mavericks brand, the Ballkids in turn form unexpected connections with the players and coaches. Although they aren’t supposed to speak with the players directly, members of the team often approach and check in with the Ballkids, drawn to their positive energy and their consistent dedication at games.

Mavericks organization, they may occasionally face backlash for the organization’s doings. In Feb. 2025, they faced verbal criticism associated with the controversial Luka Dončić to the Lakers trade.

“Everything was a bit crazier during the Luka Dončić trade because a lot of fans would have backlash towards us just because we were in a Mavs uniform,” Natalia Armendariz said. “They would ask like ‘Why? Why did we trade Luka?’ I was honestly like; I cannot tell you.”

Although they faced criticism from the fans and media, it taught them to respond in a realistic, respectful manner and understand the world

around them at an early age.

With a full team of around 60 Ballkids, the volunteers work together to support the fan experience and enjoy the energy surrounding the team. All the Ballkids get unique opportunities through the program to network, especially those hoping to pursue a career in the sports world.

“We’ve been able to meet so many people that we admire on and off the court,” Natalia Armendariz said. “It’s truly such a unique opportunity.”

“We have to arrive three hours before the game starts at the arena,” Arianna Armendariz said. “Usually, we’ll help out before the game and then watch the actual gameplay in the press box.”

Although mentorship isn’t the most advertised component of the Ballkid program, the Armendariz sisters find guidance from the Dallas Mavericks staff, who support them and their journeys in the program. Throughout

“I remember O-Max was the best before he got traded,” Arianna Armendariz said. “I was so sad because he was always so nice, and he would always say hello and ask how our day was. He was such a nice player, and I was so sad when he got traded to the Grizzlies.”

The Ballkids’ main role throughout the season is to help whenever possible, whether it’s as small as picking up slipping hazards on the floor or handing out merchandise to excited fans.

Although Ballkids are not tied by a contract nor a paycheck to the

Female athletes face sexist standards in performance and politics

Annabel Hao Guest Writer

Sexualization. The visual inspection. The disappearing act. The effortless illusion. These concepts mirror the immense sexism that still dominates the sports industry today.

Sexualization and self-objectification occur when society values visual presentation over function for women athletes. According to NPR News, beach handball female athletes are required to dress in bikini bottoms with a maximum side width of 10 centimeters. When the Norwegian women’s team showed up in athletic shorts, they were fined $1,500.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NATALIA AND ARIANNA ARMENDARIZ

Armendariz sisters hand out posters.

Routine fuels victory

Superstitions characterize student athletes’ regimes

By Brooklyn Friesen Staff Writer

Before every game, junior volleyball captain Mila Haffar slicks back her hair and secures it with her TIY hair tie. She wears her game day earrings and listens to her pre-game playlist to prepare for her match.

“I definitely think [my superstitions] affect how I play,” Haffar said. “It affects how I’m feeling during the game, because suddenly, my mind goes to ‘oh, I didn’t do this,’ and it affects me mentally.”

Haffar also believes that having a superstition allows her to focus on a game better.

“

The night before, I wear a pair of All in Motion ankle socks. I also lay out my uniform with one of my soccer tournament sweatshirts, my Birkenstocks and my Oakleys.

Ellison Gonzalez ‘28

”

“It grounds me before a game,” Haffar said. “Having some of these superstitions and routines helps me stay calm and get back in the right mindset before I start.”

Like many athletes, Haffar knows her rituals don’t necessarily guarantee a win, but she chooses to stick to her routine.

“I’ve always been super superstitious whenever it comes to volleyball since I started playing club,” Haffar said. “If something goes well, I’ll kind of credit it to whatever I do.”

Wearing her socks and ponytail, freshman cross country runner Virginia Epperson also believes that her superstitions impact her performance.

“I got the socks for the first time and went into practice and ran really fast,” Epperson said. “So, I was like, ‘if I wear these in a meet, I’ll be fast too.’”

If she skips her ritual, Epperson feels as if she will not do as well as if she had done it.

“I think it definitely throws me off a little,” Epperson said. “And it kind of stresses me out.”

“If I’m on my phone, my head is going to hurt, so I always put it away before I play,” Brooks said. Realizing that it shifts her focus,

“

with one of my soccer tournament sweatshirts, my Birkenstocks and my Oakleys.”

Her routine continues when she launches at the start of a regatta.

“I slick back my hair into a ponytail with a green and white hair tie on the top side,” Gonzalez said. “I also have this rainbow toy that my best friend

Having some of these superstitions and routines helps me stay calm and get back in the right mindset before I start.

Mila Haffar ‘27

Brooks likes to turn off her phone to prevent the interruptions from getting to her head before she starts.

“I feel like it lets me be more locked in on the game because I won’t be as distracted by what’s happening on social media,” Brooks said.

Wearing the same outfit the night before a regatta, sophomore rower Ellison Gonzalez undertakes a special routine prior to races.

“The night before, I wear a specific pair of pink PJs and a pair of All in Motion ankle socks,” Gonzalez said. “I also lay out my uniform

”

and I made when we were younger that I hold for five seconds right before I start rowing, and I always call my dad 20 minutes before my launch.”

Gonzalez has soccer rituals, but said her superstitions increased when she began rowing.

“I think all of my superstitions started last spring when I got really into rowing,” Gonzalez said. “I did all of these things and won, so I kept doing all of these throughout the spring season and kept winning.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ELLISON GONZALEZ AND MATT’S PHOTOGRAPHY

Putting her phone down before a game, freshman volleyball player Callie Brooks believes that limiting her screen time will help her play better in a game.

Gonzalez rows a double with teammate.

Haffar hits during a game.

If we may, let us see our grades today

Access to grades can change the trajectory of academic life

By Anya Aggarwal Managing Editor

Imagine not being able to check your bank account. How would you budget or make decisions without knowing where you stand? Or training for a marathon without being allowed to see your progress until race day. Without feedback along the way, how would you know when to push harder, when to rest or even know if your training plan is working?

Real-time grade access works the same way. It allows students to see where they’re excelling, where they’re falling behind and what adjustments they need to make for the future. Just like athletes need performance data to train intelligently, students need academic data to grow strategically. For years, an important question continues to stir debate: should academic growth matter more than grades—or should the two go hand in hand? While students do agonize over whether a B in an honors or AP class is better than an A in a regular course, calculate their GPAs obsessively and fear that a low grade might derail their future, one thing makes this stress even worse: not being able to see grades in real time.

This isn’t about obsessing over every point—it’s about having the tools

to succeed. When we can monitor our own progress in real time, we become more informed, more accountable and more empowered.

Without regular access, students lose valuable time soliciting teachers for feedback when they could have spent that time improving. It’s not just inconvenient—it’s counterproductive. Especially in cumulative subjects like math or language, seeing progress early and throughout the semester is key to staying on track.

grades consistently, so why shouldn’t high school?

More importantly, uncertainty builds anxiety. Providing real-time access to grades helps replace fear with clarity and allows us to take control, identify areas for improvement and feel confident rather than blindsided. Further, we can celebrate progress and develop habits that lead to our future success. Additionally, colleges give access to

PRO Grades Edition

In most universities, students can check their grades for individual assignments the moment they’re uploaded, enhancing student performance. Professors don’t wait until midterms or finals to share progress, so students know where they stand leading up to those exams. Many college preparatory high schools use standard platforms like Blackbaud to post real-time grades, a resource that is underutilized at our school. Part of college readiness is the transparency of using such platforms to allow students to track their grades easily in one place. It’s an empowering way of being trusted with the information you need to manage your education.

Our teachers go the extra mile to curate college-level classes like senior

Less access, less stress

seminars and elective courses, meeting in collaborative, lecture hall-style classes and implementing midterms. If the goal of these formats is to develop college-ready students, then giving us the same academic tools we’ll have in college could propel students to become even better.

As we operate like college students in terms of course rigor and scheduling, we should be trusted with the tools to manage that workload effectively as well. Delaying grade access may hinder that growth.

Although limiting emphasis on grades can foster a love for learning without the constant stress of achievement, it can also cause unnecessary confusion and a sense of disturbing uncertainty.

Hockaday is intentional about preparing us for the next chapter. We’re immersed in a college-like environment long before we receive a diploma. We understand that grades don’t define us. But they do inform us. And the more informed we are, the more confident we can be.

If Hockaday truly champions female leadership and self-advocacy, then trusting us with this level of academic feedback isn’t just an exception to the mission; it’s a missing piece of it.

Students seeing their grades undermines performance

By Bella Portera Staff Writer

If “Niche” website’s recent rankings of Hockaday haven’t made it perfectly clear, students are all under constant academic pressure to be the best of the best and outperform one another in everything, from our final grade in English class to the number of clubs we join. This alone can be extremely overwhelming, driving students into an abyss of self-doubt, burnout and unnecessary stress. When you add constant grade access into the mix, it gets even more difficult to manage. Imagine it’s that final week before winter break and you’re swamped with work, staying up past midnight just to get everything done. Then, as you are scouring OnCampus to make sure you didn’t miss anything, you see a gradebook button looming on your browser menu. Succumbing to your anxiousness and curiosity, you tap it only to find yourself swirling for another hour over your B in English with crushed spirits and confidence. This isn’t just a hypothetical

CON STAFF STANDOFF

situation; it is a real-life scenario that many students with easy grade access may experience.

As someone who attended a school with an on-demand gradebook for most of my life, I know firsthand the detrimental effects of this access on mental health, balance, performance and confidence. Access to grades prompts students to obsess over their academic standing within an environment that is already rigorous and competitive. Rather than focusing on what they need to get done, students spend their time staring anxiously at

their gradebooks, wasting time. With our current system of each grade being available upon request rather than consistently logged, we are able to complete assignments without constantly wondering what our grades will be after it. Programming our brains to take a break from academics after a difficult assignment, this lack of access greatly boosts our mental health. With more sufficient time to decompress, we can maintain a better balance between our school lives and personal lives.

Let’s be honest, nobody wants

to spend their weekends stressing about school. Without being able to see your grades in OnCampus, there is a significantly lower chance of that happening, even if your anxiety tries to guide you in that direction. This policy exists for a reason: it encourages us to take more time for ourselves and so that we can perform better.

Our brains crave downtime so we can process, interpret and retain information learned at school. Having less access to grades forces us to moderate our time and have a more balanced lifestyle, allowing us to not only get better test scores, but feel more confident in every assignment.

I completely understand the appeal of having access to our grades, but the pros are highly outweighed by the cons. So, the next time you are annoyed that you can’t see your average in a class, I urge you to think about the consequences of if you had regular grade access. Would it truly make you feel more confident, or would it cause you to spiral?

OPINIONS

Sick of falling behind

Students should mitigate their risk to others while ill

By Aadhya Yanamadala Copy Editor

As fall sets in, another season arrives with pumpkin spice lattes and cozy sweatpants: flu season. Here, the cooler months inevitably bring waves of coughs, sneezes and mountains of empty tissue boxes piling up in classrooms. But every year, one question persists: should students come to school when they’re sick, or is it better to stay home?

For many of us, the answer isn’t as simple as doing what’s best for our recovery and our peers’ health. Missing a day (or sometimes several) can feel catastrophic in our rigorous environment. With tests, quizzes, presentations and homework piling up daily, an absence leads to a mountain of catch-up work that enhances stress and results in a prolonged recovery.

That fear of falling behind pressures us to push through illness and show up to class anyway. It has become very common to see students coughing through an assembly, sneezing repeatedly

during a test or sniffiling in class. And while the dedication to academics is both admirable and relatable, it raises a bigger concern: the health of the community.

Attending school while sick doesn’t just impact that student; it also risks spreading illness to healthy peers and teachers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu virus can spread up to six feet away through coughs, sneezes and even simple conversation. In a school environment where students are physically close to each other for hours every day, germs move quickly. One student’s mild sore throat might become another’s

full-blown fever.

So, what’s the solution? Ideally, sick students should stay home, especially if they have a fever, persistent cough or other flu-like symptoms. Rest not only speeds up recovery but also protects peers from unnecessary exposure.

Once they recover, students should talk to teachers to develop a reasonable plan for missed work. Our teachers are empathetic and more than willing to work with students in unavoidable circumstances.

Still, for students who feel they can’t miss class, there are steps that minimize their risk to others. For example, wearing a mask drastically reduces the spread of

The cost of violence

Media aggression reshapes children's behavior

By Sophia Salem Business Manager

Violence in media, whether it’s TV shows, movies or video games, can plant the seed of aggression in young children. Children don’t watch violent media because they’re aggressive; they may, however, become more aggressive through watching high levels of violent media. While other factors, such as an individual’s genetics, can contribute to an increased level of aggression, environments play a huge role in their behavior. Studies have shown a direct correlation between consumption of violent media and aggression in children. Any medium from films to music and video games poses risks to young individuals whose minds are still malleable.

Violent media, although widely seen as harmless, has the potential to increase aggression and desensitize individuals to violence. Multiple studies, such as those seen in a 1982 report by the National Institute of Mental Health, have proven these destructive impacts. This influence doesn’t necessarily manifest as physical aggression but can additionally be seen in verbal outbursts or a lack of anger management. Children have a

tendency to imitate behaviors they see, which can be extremely harmful when they consistently watch violence. Consequently, later in their lives they may be more inclined to repeat violent acts that they witnessed when they were children.

But increased consumption of violent media at an early age not only poses threats to others: it can also harm the individual’s own wellbeing. When individuals normalize the content that they take in, it alters their perception of the world. If a child watches action movies often or if they closely follow news sources that exaggerate events to attract viewers, they may grow up to think that society is hostile and mistrust others. Research has proven a direct link between these individuals and mental health issues like anxiety and depression,

resulting from a lack of trust. When exposed to a constant stream of violence, especially at an early age, individuals can become desensitized. This is especially detrimental when it comes to crimes or physical violence: when people are desensitized to violence, they are more likely to commit an act of aggression without experiencing remorse or regret.

They believe that it’s normal because they’ve seen so much violence already.

Violence, on a moral level, should never be included in content aimed at children. While it’s not common for an adult who plays Call of Duty to become aggressive, it could have a bigger impact on developing children. Because a young individual’s mind is more susceptible to external influence, it’s therefore unjust to—even inadvertently—harm individuals at such a young age when they’re most vulnerable. There have been various claims that violent media, specifically video games, serve as an outlet for children to express their emotions.

respiratory droplets. Additionally, practicing social distancing is a vital measure. Sitting at the edge of the classroom, skipping crowded lunch tables and avoiding close physical contact help reduce the spread of germs.

Frequent handwashing or hand sanitizer usage are easier protective measures. While not perfect substitutes for staying home, these habits reduce the risk posed to other students.

Ultimately, the decision to attend school sick is more than a personal calculation about falling behind. It’s also about responsibility to the people around you. One student’s choice to power through illness might mean someone else misses an important game, performance or family event because they caught the flu. In a school where our cornerstones value courtesy and character just as much as scholarship, choosing to prioritize health (your own and others’) is not a sign of weakness.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BELLA PORTERA

However, these theories have long been debunked by studies proving the opposite: these video games make a child more prone to aggressive behavior later in life.

Yes, most movies or games contain violence. It’s unavoidable. But if we can’t regulate them as a society, we must take individual steps. First, we need to at least realize that there is harm in letting a young individual consume violent media.

For individuals like high schoolers whose minds are still developing yet are at an age that they can take action, limiting intake of violent media is paramount. But in the case that the child is too young to understand the dangers themselves, parents especially have a responsibility to protect their children, which means regulating their kids’ access to violent music, video games and movies at home. It’s also important to regularly have discussions about the danger of harming others, and to instill kids with a sense of empathy at an early age. The best way to curtail extreme aggression in a child is to stop it before it happens.

FEDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Lang Cooper and Leyah Philip

WEB EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Melinda Hu and Mary Bradley Sutherland

COPY EDITORS

Sarah Moskowitz and Aadhya Yanamadala

MANAGING EDITOR

Emily McLeroy

WEB MANAGING EDITOR

Anya Aggarwal

MULTIMEDIA EDITORS

Audrey Liu and Anika Shah

NEWS EDITORS

Sophie Cho and Katie Ma ARTS & LIFE EDITORS

Siena Ebert and Elizabeth Farrell FEATURES EDITORS

Jenny Chu and Aneeka Tansen SPORTS EDITORS

Anderson Rhodus and Alina Zheng

OPINIONS EDITORS

Mary Elise Estess and Juliette Friguletto

PHOTO, GRAPHICS & CASTOFF EDITOR

Emilie Illum

BUSINESS MANAGER

Sophia Salem

STAFF WRITERS

Gwendolyn Becker, Samara Bhatki, Tanvi Cherukuri, Mia Frary, Brooklyn Friesen, Claire Gicheru, Haniya Khowaja, Aria KneplerPearl, Lucy Pigott, Bella Portera, Savannah Simon, Sara Vijay

FACULTY ADVISER

Kristy Rodgers

EDITORIAL POLICY

The Fourcast is written primarily for students of the Hockaday Upper School, its faculty and staff. The Fourcast has a press run of 500 and is printed by Midway Press. It is distributed free of charge to the Hockaday community. The staff reserves the right to refuse any advertising which is deemed inappropriate for the Hockaday community. Opinions will be clearly marked and/or will appear in the views section. Commentaries are the expressed opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect that of The Fourcast staff, its adviser or any other member of the Hockaday community. The Staff Editorial on the Opinions page reflects the position of The Fourcast staff, but not necessarily the position Hockaday administration or community. The Fourcast staff determines the content of each issue and strives to work as independently as possible in producing the student newspaper, but the content is subject to prior review by the Head of Upper School, the Communications Director and other members of the Hockaday leadership team. Letters to the editor and guest columns are welcome and should be addressed to the editors-in-chief. Only signed pieces will be published. Corrections and clarifications from previous issues will be found in the news section. Questions or concerns should be addressed to Editors-in-Chief Lang Cooper (lcooper26@hockaday.org) or Leyah Philip (lphilip26@hockaday.org).

STAFF EDITORIAL

The staff editorial is an unsigned piece representing a consensus of opinion among members of The Fourcast editorial board regarding a current issue.

It takes two to tango

Hockaday navigates partnership of homecoming dance

He and she grew up just minutes apart. They had their differences, but they shared so much more— fields, friends and countless memories of laughter, rivalry and pride. There was an unspoken bond between them, formed through shared experiences and mutual support. Yet every fall, for one night, that bond dwindles.

Hockaday and St. Mark’s have spent more than a century growing together, performing on the same stages, cheering at each other’s games and celebrating traditions that have shaped both communities. By every practical measure, we’re partners. Yet when it comes to one of the biggest student traditions of the year, the St. Mark’s homecoming dance, that sense of partnership doesn’t extend. Hockaday students can only attend the homecoming dance if they are invited by a St Mark’s student. Of course, homecoming is a St. Mark’s event, and as hosts, they have the right to decide how it’s run. However, the date requirement makes homecoming an event that excludes many students from both schools. Not only does the rule restrict access for dozens of Hockaday students, it also overlooks the diversity of both communities, from religion to sexuality to social networks.

Both Hockaday and St. Mark’s teach respect and courtesy, but this policy sends the opposite message, limiting participation and failing to consider all students equitably.

Beyond exclusion, the rule creates social tension and power dynamics that complicate relationships. Students face pressure to secure a date to attend, worry about leaving friends behind or navigate difficult choices just to participate. Hockaday film students recently documented how some girls felt pressured into compromising situations just for the chance to attend homecoming. When a girl has to ask a boy for a ticket, the balance of power shifts in ways that can be exploited. Raising awareness about these challenging situations our classmates are experiencing perfectly exemplifies how our community supports and stands up for one another.

Tradition is not an excuse for exclusion. Yes, decades ago dances and balls revolved around dates, but times have changed, and homecoming should be about celebrating and dancing with friends, not waiting for an invitation. Other single-sex schools have already modernized. Jesuit and Ursuline, for example, hold a collaborative homecoming where any student can attend, with no date requirement. Their system

works, and it fosters community without the toxicity of gatekeeping tickets.

Hockaday students have also taken initiative. This year, Hockaday seniors nominated classmates without dates for the homecoming court so they could attend. This workaround demonstrates how much students care, but it benefits only a handful of participants. A lasting solution that gives all students equitable access is needed.

Even without the official brothersister school label, the partnership between our schools is undeniable. From Lower School Fun Days to Upper School mixers and co-hosted coffeehouses, students from both schools participate and support one another. Hockaday students perform in St. Mark’s plays, attend football games throughout the season and make up the entire cheer team, dedicating early mornings and countless hours. Homecoming queens are drawn exclusively from Hockaday.

These contributions show that our schools’ communities are deeply intertwined. Like any strong partnership, consistency matters. True partners collaborate fully, not selectively. Homecoming should reflect that same principle.

By

#1 Honor Council

#2 Dr. Hulbert’s Room

#3 MUS Elevator

#4 Bachman Lake

#5 College Counseling (for underclassmen)

Emilie Illum