April 2016 | The Evergreen, Greenhill School

Evergreen the

april 13, 2016

Everything Greenhill

volume 51, issue 5

Inside Advisory

A look into a key Greenhill support system The Upper School advisory program is a well-oiled machine. It is engineered to deal with the emotional, personal, and academic needs of students. Many students view it as a jumpstart to their morning, and as a necessary support system. Advisories are a microcosm of the Greenhill community—a family within a family.

Not only is the system central to Greenhill’s core mission, but it is also recognized as one of the best programs of its type.

“I get calls from other schools asking how we do it,” said Head of Upper School Laura Ross. “It’s the strongest advisory program I’ve ever [worked with.] It has more institutional priority than any other school I’ve ever been to. It’s a big deal – [teachers] plan their retirements when their advising class is going to graduate.”

Despite these efforts, however, every machine needs fine-tuning. On average, 15 percent of students are either late or absent to advisory, (this statistic includes students who have excused absences.) One reason: this year, advisory was moved to 8:40 a.m. Some students said they could use extra sleep. Others said that they aren’t getting much from their advisors, while others, such as seniors, don’t think advisory is necessary as they move onto their final phase at Greenhill.

However, administrators point to many focused steps they take to improve this integral program.

Each incoming freshman is assigned an advisor, who, in most cases, is his or her advisor for the next four years. Advisors serve as advocates for the students, aiding them with scheduling, academic, and emotional issues.

“The point of the advisory program is so that there is someone on campus who gets to know each student—their background, their goals, the kind of person they are, their family, their ambitions, their personality—such that that person can help guide you in decision making,” Mrs. Ross said.

The advisory program has been a part of the Greenhill Upper School for over 20 years and is regarded as a valuable aspect of the community.

“We are the only independent school in Dallas that only has our teachers teach four sections instead of five and then advisory is the fifth class. We prioritize it as a part of the job more than any other school. It is a part of who we are,” Mrs. Ross said.

The importance of being an advisor is addressed before an instructor ever starts working at Greenhill.

Views

Let’s talk about PDA on campus. p.3

News

A glimpse into Brazil’s decade-long crisis. p. 5

Serving Greenhill since 1966

“When I interview prospective teachers, I look at their potential as an advisor as well as a classroom teacher; being an advisor is being a teacher,” said Jack Oros, Dean of Students.

The process of pairing advisors and students, as well as crafting the advisory group as a whole, is strategic. The Upper School administration works with the eighth grade advising team to assess each incoming freshman so that they can match them up with an advisor.

“We want to get a sense of who would be best for them,” Mrs. Ross said.

In most instances, this strategy is a success and the advisory fosters a strong bond.

“We have advisory lunch, we have our own annoying group chat, we have an Instagram account for advisory, and everyone’s really friendly,” said freshman Jacob Shepherd.

In fact, some students said that the most important thing about advisory is building relationships.

“I feel like my advisory is a place where everybody can be themselves and hang out rather than be serious,” said senior Alanna Jaffee. “I look forward to advisory because it’s a very quirky group of people that we have in our advisory and it’s just fun.”

The creation of these “quirky” groups is no accident.

“We look at the friend groups [in eighth grade] and try to break [them] up. We hope that what it allows you to do is become friends with people you may not become friends with otherwise,” Mrs. Ross said.

Also, Upper School administrators try to find the right advisor for the right advisees.

“I received a bad grade on a test that I did not think was reflective of the work I had done, so I asked my advisor to help me,” said junior Ben Stromberg. “My advisor helped me talk to that teacher in a non-confrontational way.”

Despite the strength of the program, however, students still skip.

“By senior year, we have had enough experience already with how high school works.

Going to advisory just adds on to the pressure of being a senior in high school, because we already have college apps, parent stress, school stress, and social stress,” said senior Andrea Mora.

Some said advisory time is inconsistent, and that there are discrepancies in each group.

“Right now in my advisory the new thing to do is we have to bring in a funny video to watch, and that is all we do in advisory,” said senior Amelia Jones. “I don’t know what the point of advisory is.”

Feat.

Over half of the students challenge the existence of God. p. 7

According to Upper School Spanish teacher April Burns, the attitude of the advisor determines their students’ commitment.

“Different advisories have different dynamics, and sometimes that home base mentality happens and sometimes it doesn’t,” she said.

Even so, Mrs. Ross said that students rarely feel so uncomfortable in their advisory that they ask to switch. She points to a strong success rate.

During her time at Greenhill, no more than five students switched out of their advisories in a given year.

Moreover, the school has recently started to poll outgoing students to hone pairings.

“The last two years we have done a feedback survey for the seniors as they are leaving about their advisors, with prompts like ‘My advisor is good for people who …’ to get a sense of what advisor is the best for what type of student,” Mrs. Ross said.

The school has also implemented a program to help guide advisors, based on something called the “Class Dean Model”, on how they can best utilize their time.

The class dean is a faculty member with advisory experience. Mrs. Ross said that this program gives experienced and inexperienced advisors an outlet for all questions about Greenhill and advisory.

“Part of the reason we switched to a stationary class dean model was because we did not have any person that was in charge of the team and the grade, and helping train advisors,” Mrs. Ross said.

While some parts of advisory have improved because of these changes, some teams still struggle with getting students on board.

With advisory before first period, some students simply sleep in.

“I think there are some kids who don’t feel that advisory is important, which is evident by attendance,” Mr. Oros said.

Due to this lack of commitment, administrators are currently looking at ways to alter the schedule to prioritize advisory time.

“Student [Council] has been working on a survey to get good feedback of what the students feel and how it’s going, but we also have some proposals to see if we can make it work with the Middle School to try and move advisory back to the middle of the day,” Mrs. Ross said. story by Ben Schachter, Megan Wiora, and Lane Hirsch Graphic by Arhum Khan

Arts

Inside a student playwright’s head. p. 13

4141 Spring Valley Road, Addison, TX 75001

Sports

Changes coming to Greenhill football. p. 17

evergreengreenhill.wordpress.com

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Rants & Raves A RAVE to the push AND pull doors in the MPAC! Rest assured, future freshman, that you won’t humiliate yourself by struggling to get in and out of this particular building. Thanks to its nifty architectural innovations, the MPAC will be a push/pull safe haven for many years to come.

A RANT to the sudden appearance of a “captcha” every time you do a Google search. Security aside, we believe in the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of going to Buzzfeed.com unfettered by first having to type in illegible, non-words. We wish that students could just say that they’re not robots as part of the honor code instead. In the words of Joel Garza, “it’s enough to send me to Bing.”

A RAVE to the new path to the MPAC. Greenhill finally has its own yellow brick road! Well… more like an orange gravel pathway, but essentially the same thing, right? When it’s 8:59 and you find yourself racing to be on time to any Fine Arts class in the MPAC, you no longer have to worry about tainting the perfectly coiffed grass and stepping all the way around the parking lot.

A RAVE to the Greenhill Dance Company’s “Nuwhirks” spring show! Although no one could tell why it’s called that or why it’s spelled like a cat sat on a computer keyboard, we can all agree that the show had a perfect angst-to-sass ratio. After this riveting Tuesday evening, we all wanted to learn how to bust a move.

A RANT to the bugs in the Elliott Center bathrooms. In a restroom, small brown things do not ever belong outside the toilet, and they definitely never belong on the floors, on the walls, in the sink, or on stressedout students’ unsuspecting feet. Our midday bathroom breaks are quickly becoming midday cockroach catastrophes and it’s really, really gross.

A RANT to the lack of an Upper School ISAS preview.

Lower School and Middle School students aren’t the only ones who enjoy watching Improv act as elderly McDonalds workers in outer space.

Besides, the two Upper School students not going to ISAS are still salty and at least this way they’d get to experience a little of the magic that we call Greenhill Fine Arts.

A RAVE to fourth grader Max Kettles’ F-day presentation on the dangers of texting and driving. Sure, you may roll your eyes when your parents tell you that distracted driving is unsafe, but that’s mostly because their talks never come with free wristbands. Besides, Max Kettles is way cuter than any parent ever could hope to be. He’s four feet and five inches of sheer fourth grade adorability.

We the Peacocks

The peacock, in all of its blue, green, and yellow, fierce, avian glory should be Greenhill’s official mascot. Seriously.

Greenhill has an indescribable bond with the beautiful peacocks that grace our campus. Visitors take photos of the peacocks whenever they come to our school.

Students complain about the peacocks when their squawks interrupt their exams.

The maintenance staff feeds the peacocks and takes care of them. Students treat their feathers like treasured prizes and Ron Ivery keeps a stash of them to give to young children. The peacocks are everywhere at Greenhill and they are a defining part of our culture. The peacocks already act like our mascot since they are the defining symbol for our school.

A RANT to the eight dollar “Tribal” drinks at The Buzz. This monstrously expensive drink costs more than a small salad.

If you’re trying to be healthful you might as well buy two salads rather than this expensive vegetable blend.

A RAVE to the extra parking spaces. Thanks to the new MPAC parking spaces, students must no longer engage in a mini gladiator battle every day before school in order to secure a parking spot. The new space is so close to the Upper School that students no longer have to walk a marathon from their car to advisory before having their souls crushed by the stress-inducing Upper School buildings that await.

Content courtesy of Julia Halm, Zach Rudner, Richa Sinkre, and Zayna Syed

Staff Editorial

We treat the peacocks like our mascot, too. We sell peacock feathers and peacock wigs at The Buzz. Greenhill spirit t-shirts often include the peacocks. When the Upper School was surveyed to pick its favorite potential Snapchat filter, the one with the peacock got the most votes, beating out seven other filters including one with Hugo the Hornet in it. Greenhill students made their voices clear: they want to be represented, at least on Snapchat, by the peacock, not the hornet. Clearly, Greenhill students already have plenty of peacock pride.

Now I know what you’re thinking: aren’t mascots supposed to be tough? Aren’t they supposed to be scary? Isn’t “Peacocks” a funny name for a sports team?

No, no, and no.

Mascots do not have to be big, scary animals. The University of Tennessee’s mascot is the volunteer, Syracuse University’s mascot is a citrus fruit and Stanford University’s mascot is a big tree.

Mascots only need to proudly represent their institutions. That’s what the peacock already does for Greenhill.

Even if mascots do have to be tough, peacocks are strong anyway. They have territorial fights with each other and they can squawk pretty loudly. Male peacocks have thorns on their legs for attack. And in a fight between a peacock and a hornet, the large, insect-eating peacock would most certainly win every single time.

If you’re still not convinced, just think

about how incredible Greenhill’s peacock uniforms would be. The peacock is one of the most colorful and beautiful birds in the animal kingdom. Their feathers are vibrant blues, greens, and yellows. There is no question that if the peacock were Greenhill’s mascot, we’d have the best uniforms of any high school - in SPC, Texas, or anywhere else.

In so many ways, Greenhill’s mascot already is the peacock. We rally behind them and choose to be represented by them.

There’s no reason for us to pretend our mascot is or should be anything else. So let’s do it Greenhill, let’s become the Peacocks and get on our Peacock Pride. Squawk ‘em!

the

Evergreen staff editors-in-chief

content editor

features editor

asst. news editor

Mia Krumerman

Ben Schachter

online editors

Madison Goodrich Catherine Leffert

executive editor

backpage editor

news editor

Suman Chebrolu

design editor

asst. online editor

Megan Wiora

Arhum Khan

Josh Rudner

arts editors

sports editors

asst. features editors

business manager

Ellen Margaret Andrews Joseph Weinberg

Simra Abedi Radhe Melwani

Ryan Diebner

views editors

asst. sports editor

advisor

Varun Gupta

copy editor

Christina Zhu

managing editor Amna Naseem

Zoe Allen Sophie Bernstein Zach Rudner

Areeba Amer Zayna Syed

Lane Hirsch Ben Krakow

Lili Stern

Abbas Hasan

Lauren Silva Laughlin

staff writers

Samar Ahmad Stephen Crotty Allie Frymire Maya Ghosh Christian Quintero Kathie Rojas Annika Squires Jordan Sternblitz Ross Rubin Kionce Woods Alice Zhang

staff artists

Drake Heptig Anusha Kurapati Adam Weider Avery Jane Williams

views 3 Evergreen Are Public Displays of Affection (PDA) Acceptable at Greenhill?

the

wednesday, april 13, 2016

According to Dean of Students Jack Oros, it’s allowed (or at least there’s no rule prohibiting it).

Yes

No

Yes

No

graphic by Drake Heptig

I think PDA is completely fine so long as the people participating are aware of their surroundings. If someone nearby objects to what they are doing, couples should be courteous and either stop or go elsewhere. Also, they should know when it may not be appropriate. This includes times such as in a public area, around visitors on a Hill Guide tour, or around younger students. As long as couples keep their surroundings in mind and no one else objects, I see no issue with PDA. Kissing, hugging, or anything of the sort shouldn’t be prohibited in public. We all are human and we all do it. Just take into account the opinions and situations of others.

-Jonas Frenkel, senior

-Bryant Caballero, junior

Displays of affection, I think, are a very personal thing.

Everyone has their own level of comfort. Excessive displays in a public setting, such as a school, can be uncomfortable to other individuals. I think that stuff like hugging and holding hands is appropriate in a school setting. Things like groping and kissing, however, do not seem to be particularly suitable, especially in an environment that is meant for learning. Fortunately, I am of the opinion that Greenhill students are for the most part, very respectful of public appropriateness in interpersonal relationships at school.

-Brooke Bulmash, junior

PDA (Public Displays of Affection) is perfectly acceptable to a certain degree. Holding hands, hugging, and sitting on each other’s lap, that’s fine. It’s cute and besides, we are in high school. Anything beyond that is inappropriate and unnecessary. Is there a need for a couple to passionately make-out and publicize each other’s affection? It makes others uncomfortable and it does not portray our school in a respectful, professional manner. Suppose Mr. Griggs was leading a group of visitors on a Hill Guide tour and the group caught two teenagers intensely embracing and smooching on a bench or in the locker-room?

What could they possibly think about Greenhill? What kind of message would this portray? It’s just wrong.

PDA is a rather touchy subject and can be awkward for many individuals. It often makes those witnessing public displays of affection uncomfortable, and those in relationships feel equally uncomfortable when other people comment on the tangible aspects of thier relationship. I think PDA is fine, in moderation. Things like hand holding and hugging are loving displays of affection, and in my opinion perfectly appropriate in an academic setting. When couples surpass these gentler boundaries of affection, however, I can easily see why other people would feel increasingly uncomfortable.

-Chandler Crates, junior

graphic by Areeba Amer

Taken from a poll of 218 Upper School student responses

Freedom for the Evergreen Did you know that you don’t have complete first amendment protection at Greenhill School? Texas high schools are not protected under all grounds typically covered by freedom of speech and in many cases, administrators can control a publication’s content if they deem their reasons have educational purpose.

Administrative power grows as circulation decreases, and protections are further stripped away at private schools, where students are bound by contracts parents sign at the onset of their education.

At a place like Greenhill, this de facto censorship should be reconsidered. In fact, perhaps it’s time to grant the Evergreen staff the basic civil right of freedom of the press.

It’s true that, in many ways, Greenhill students bask in more freedom then the typical student. Open discussion is already encouraged in the classroom. This year, Dr. Bradberry has spoken several times about the need to communicate more effectively,

and students are encouraged to lean into their discomfort.

As a whole, the community supports the paper too. Read the pages of this very issue, and you’ll find numerous administrators and teachers that spend countless hours with students – with transparency not typically granted in a high school setting – about their decisi onmaking process, their personal lives and views, and their desire for change at the school.

However there are some structural issues with the Evergreen that make independence problematic. For example, whereas some schools sell enough ads (or cookies or photographs) to support a publication’s expense, the Evergreen is a cost for Greenhill. It is also marketing material for prospective parents. Financial dependence and promotional efforts are never a good combination when seeking to provide an “impartial” editorial voice.

The school could fix this structure.

But at its core, the paper should still underscore the school’s mission: it strives for excellence; values individuality; fosters a passion for learning; promotes the balanced development of mind, body, and character; encourages service; and instills a respect for others.

Individuality starts with giving students the same freedoms we enjoy as adults. Greenhill is raising leaders, and by upper school, they are learning how to grapple with tough topics in a multifaceted manner. By showing them we aren’t afraid of what they have to say, we give them courage to confront issues, including mistakes, in public, not just in the protection of four classroom walls.

The press also serves as a place where important topics are vetted, which promotes balance in a community. While stories are written by teenagers who are still learning this practice, the students also aren’t eager

to shed their friends and teachers (who also grade them, by the way) in an unflattering light. In fact, students often give a voice to those unheard, instilling respect to the school in areas otherwise unnoticed.

That leaves excellence, which brings me back to the first amendment. The desire for constant improvement runs deep at this school. The first amendment gives the press the flexibility to check on various pockets of a community, and those that advocate for this amendment, like me, feel strongly that this constant watchdog makes institutions stronger.

Will an honest newspaper make people uncomfortable? Yes. And the students will make mistakes, so compassion is necessary.

But it could force needed change too. After all, an institution is only as strong as the power it lends its fourth estate.

Editorial by Lauren Sliva Laughlin

the

News Junior Elected to Board of International Youth Organization Greenhill student Jed Golman will oversee thousands as a member on BBYO’s International Board Ben Schachter Features Editor

In February, junior Jed Golman was elected to the BBYO International Board as the Grand Aleph Shaliach (International Vice President–Jewish Heritage) at BBYO’s International Convention by a group of about 200 delegates from the male portion of BBYO’s chapters.

According to BBYO’s website, BBYO is a youth organization for Jewish teens devoted to creating meaningful and fun experiences that will enhance their connection to the Jewish people.

He will serve as a face for the movement’s community service, social action, and Judaism related endeavors. With about 80,000 teens worldwide spanning across 34 countries, Jed said that he does not anticipate that this is an easy job.

Jed will start his role as Grand Aleph Shaliach in June.

“Some of the more clear-cut job requirements consist of making counterpart calls to the regional and [local] Shlichim (plural of Shaliach). There are about 400 to 600 chapters and about 40 regions in just North America alone,” Jed said. BBYO has other regions including BBYO Balkans, United Kingdom-Ireland, and Budapest.

The job will extend beyond just making phone calls.

“On top of that, I’m in charge of promoting the international initiatives, which consist of things like stopping domestic violence and doing things related to the upcoming presidential election,” said Jed. “Lastly, I’ll be one of the coordinators of International Kallah this summer, which is one of BBYO’s summer program offerings.”

Furthermore, Jed intends on traveling to the different U.S. regions to get a better

feel for each one individually.

“The travel is spotty. Traveling is an opportunity, but it’s more of a privilege. If our international directors recognize I’m doing my job, and putting in effort, they’ll reward me by sending me to do region visits,” Jed said.

In order to attain the position, he had to do a number of different things before the election itself.

“The election process was probably the worst thing I’ve ever been through,” said Jed. “The election wasn’t until mid-February, but the process started Dec. 1 with a statement of declarations, which consisted of three questions. Moving forward in that process, I had to do a couple of phone calls with the current International President, and the person that is currently in my position.”

Those phone calls, Jed said, really made him think long and hard about his decision to run for the BBYO International Board.

“They asked me questions that really picked my brain to see if this was the right position for me.”

“

There was definitely a momentary feeling of ‘geez, what did I get myself into?’ but at the same time I knew what I got myself into and was very excited.”

By the time the election came around, Jed already filmed a qualification video, platform, and vision statement prepared for the delegates. However, Jed said what helped him most was speaking in front of the crowd of 4,000 people the night prior.

“In the actual election, I spoke to a crowd of about 200 to 300 people made of

INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP: Jed Golman (above) won against two other candidates, both of whom come from Washington, D.C. He is one member of an International Board (right).

delegates from different regional boards,” said Jed. “Speaking the night before in front of a much larger crowd made me a lot less nervous.”

After the election results were announced, he said that while extremely excited, he had to maintain a straight face on the outside out of respect for the other candidates. On the inside, Jed had a number of different emotions.

“There was a definitely a momentary feeling of ‘geez, what did I get myself into?’ but at the same time I knew what I got myself into and was very excited,” Jed said.

However, the time commitment will be significant. Because of this, Jed will be unable to play football for Greenhill next year; he was a starting safety for the team last season. In addition, Jed said that he is taking slightly less difficult courses to balance the anticipated 20 hours a week on phone calls.

“Thank god I have unlimited calling,” Jed said.

Greenhill junior Hayes Barton, who is an active member of BBYO’s North Texas-Oklahoma Region (NTO), “I think his confidence [prepares him well for the

Photos courtesy of Jed Golman

position] because he’s on a large scale and is the face of a massive organization.

You need confidence to be sure in what you’re doing and that it is the right thing,” Hayes said.

Beyond BBYO, Jed sees this position as preparing him for the difficulties of college.

“In a larger sense, I’ll have to become more proactive with my assignments.

The position will require about one to two hours a night,” said Jed. “The biggest thing I’ll take away is time management.”

During his time on the job, Jed hopes to leave a particular lasting impression on each BBYO region and member.

“One of my big points in my speech was personalizing our movement to each person, and figuring out what is important in each region to create more Jewish experiences for each kid in the region,” Jed said.

Greenhill hosts first ever TEDx talk Radhe Melwani Asst. Features Editor

Jordan Sternblitz

Staff Writer

On April 2 the TEDx events made their Greenhill debut.

Speakers spoke about topics ranging from, “Could Life Exist on Mars?”, to “Nixon, Babies & Social Justice” in the Marshall Family Performance Arts Center.

The only Greenhill student speaker was senior Mansi Kumar, she spoke about the “Musings of an embarrassed Tween”.

“It was a great experience, it was a great opportunity. I’ve known about [TEDx] for the majority of my life and it has always been a dream that one day when I am accomplished in whatever I have been doing I would get the opportunity to give a TED talk, so it is awesome that so early in my life I kind of have

accomplished that goal or that idea that I just thought maybe could happen,” Mansi said.

Amongst those in the audience were the members of the “TEDxGreenhillSchool” team led by senior Kevin Wei, the TEDxGreenhillSchool Coordinator, the Executive Director, and the Director of Public Relations. Kevin organized the team last year by approaching students around school.

“I just put together a team of people who I thought would be interested,” said Kevin. “I just walked up to them and said ‘Would you be interested in doing TEDx events with me?’ Everyone who said ‘yes’ is now on the team.”

The TEDxGreenhillSchool team met monthly to share and incorporate their passion for ‘TED Talks’ into Greenhill. “[To organize an event], you

get a license from TED, and then you put together an event on a certain day with certain speakers and sponsors, and you have a mini TED event. Ours was to serve the Greenhill community,” Kevin said.

Kevin hopes to expand the

“

It was a great experience, it was a great opportunity. It has always been a dream... that I would give a TED talk.”

team to where future events will involve more than just the community at Greenhill; however, right now they are beginning small.

“Since this is the first year, we’re thinking just Greenhill.

We also have space limitations, because of TED, and they have given us rules we have to follow, so we’re trying to figure all that out

so we said just Greenhill [for the April event].

In terms of moving forward for TEDxGreenhillSchool, the team sponsor, and Director of Instructional Technology, Dr. Bigenho, says that his goal for the students is to use their common

Photo by Radhe Melwani

passion to find further success.

“The goal is to bring a group of people together who like ‘TED Talks’, and then, from there, to try and do something more than just watch them, to actually host TEDx events.”

wednesday, april 13, 2016

the

Evergreen

news

5

The Current State of Brazil

A column about recession, Zika Virus, Olympics, and a government corruption scandal Suman Chebrolu News Editor

Brazil has frequently been in the media spotlight the past two years. From questions over their preparedness for the 2016 Summer Olympics, to the inefficiency of the 2014 (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) FIFA World Cup, to the Zika virus, and its worst economic recession in a quarter century, Brazil has faced immense scrutiny from the media and the public. But what really puts the nail in the coffin for Brazil is the current corruption scandal that has shook the country to its foundations.

Reports claimed that Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil company, has given so much bribe money to government officials that it makes the corruption seen in the TV show, House of Cards, look like child’s play. The company accounts for 13 percent of Brazil’s GDP, according to its website. For comparison, Apple, the U.S.’s biggest company makes up only 0.5 percent of the U.S.’s GDP. The scandal started with former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who championed the common man. As president, he created social programs that helped the poor and the discriminated. His party, the Workers’ Party, became more popular. When he finished his presidency, his Chief of Staff, Dilma Rousseff, became the next president.

Rousseff served on the Board of Directors for Petrobras from 2003 to 2010.

As she started her first term as president, the police were leading a money laundering investigation later dubbed Operação Lava Jato (Operation Car Wash). The investigation originally had nothing to do with Petrobras, but it did lead to a member of the company’s Board of Directors. To bargain a deal, he gave a list of names involved with the scandal.

“

This time is really important to our history, since justice is fighting corruption, but I believe that [the government] will not change much in the future.”

Here, the Petrobras scandal began to unravel. The investigators soon realized they were in for a lot more than they bargained for.

Because Brazil is the ninth largest oil producer in the world, Petrobras gets billions of dollars in construction contracts from the government. Turns out, the company received billions of reals (Brazilian currency) more from the government than

graphic by Anurag Kurapati

necessary to do construction projects.

Company executives would pocket the difference and kick back some of the government officials, sometimes in the forms of cars, expensive liquor, and even

prostitutes.

The amount making its way back to government officials was huge; Petrobras later announced that they lost about 12.1 billion dollars in actual corruption costs. One politician promised to

return all the bribes he received back to the government, roughly 100 million dollars. In tital, 179 people have been charged with criminal offenses, and the current 97 convictions equal to a total of 1000 years of jailtime. This means that it was the largest corruption scandal in Brazil history.

Brazilian citizens are standing up for a change. Currently, Rousseff faces a high chance of impeachment. One poll showed 68 percent of people want to see her impeached. On March 12, the country saw its largest anti-government protests, with reported 100,000 people taking to the streets in Brasilia and 500,000 in Sao Paulo, holding signs saying “Impeachment Já”, which means “Impeachment Now”.

“It’s hard for us to believe in anything they say, especially Dilma and Lula, and to support them,” said Teresa Lazarini, a 17 year old from São Paulo.

The trouble is that Rousseff is still calling the shots, and on March 16, Rousseff made a surprising move: naming Lula her Chief of Staff.

This move would make Lula nearly invulnerable to prosecution for corruption charges (ministers go to a separate special court which never has prosecuted).

Ironically, in 1988 Lula foreshadowed this turn of events when he said, “In Brazil, when a poor man steals, he goes to jail. When a rich man steals, he becomes a minister.”

It’s a sad situation for Brazil. The two individuals who championed for the voiceless citizens for ages are now involved in the biggest scandal in Brazilian history. Brazil has a long road ahead. It’s unclear how Petrobras can function and profit without the type of corruption that occurred. And, more importantly, economic recessions take years for a country to pull themselves out from under, even without a single, corrupt firm making up such a large part of its GDP. “I really want the politicians in Brazil to change, but I think that’s impossible. It’s really hard to find one here that isn’t involved in any scheme,” Teresa said.

Perhaps in a culminating moment, Brazil will find itself center stage in a few months when the Olympics open on August 5. For the rest of the world, they’ll see a Brazil that the leaders have built. Either Brazil finds a way to better itself for future generations, or the people will lose their hope, and things will go back to how it has always been.

“This time is really important to our history, since justice is fighting corruption, but I believe that [the government] will not change much in the future,” Teresa said.

graphic by Suman Chebrolu and Areeba Amer

6 news Upper School starts Humans on the Hill After taking a break from Instagram and to reform its image, Humans of Greenhill returned to the online stage this January as Humans on the Hill. Junior Kaavya Venkat originally started Humans of Greenhill late in the 20142015 school year via Instagram, which now posts about students through Facebook under the name of “Humans on the Hill,” or “HOTH.” A rotation of Upper School students, including Kaavya, junior Maddie Drossos, junior Suman Chebrolu, freshman Siri Ketha, freshman Anna Meyers, and freshman Kylie Quin take photos of their peers, featuring captions of anything from angry expressions about impending exams to detailed accounts of students’ perspectives.

“Everyone has their own interesting story, and they have their own perspectives and backgrounds, and it’s important to share those kinds of things [with] other students because often times we ignore those things and we just focus on what we are learning in school and the subject, but we never learn about each other,” said Kaavya. “I think [Humans on the Hill] is a good way to just be insightful.”

This year, the program spread to the Middle School in the form of posters, rather than social media, while the high school’s coverage continues on the Greenhill Upper School’s Facebook announcement board. story by Sophie Bernstein and Lili Stern

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Evergreen

wednesday, april 13, 2016

Sophomore athlete to accept national volunteering award Joseph Weinberg Sports Editor

This August, NFL legends among the likes of Super Bowl champion Brett Favre will gather in Canton, Ohio for the annual NFL Hall of Fame Induction as well as the Preseason Hall of Fame Game.

Among these well-known NFL stars and greats, will be a more unrecognizable face, but one that the

Greenhill community will easily be able to signal out in a sea of American athletic heroes: sophomore Ariana Luterman.

Ariana, an avid triathlete, is the founder of Team Ariana, a charity organization that raises money for the Vogel Alcove homeless shelter and daycare for children. Since she created Team Ariana in 2011, Ariana has raised over 90,000 dollars in donations, official Team Ariana apparel, and her earnings from winning races.

“

I am honored to accept this award and proudly represent Greenhill and the state of Texas to bring even more awareness to the challenges of homelessness among children.”

photo courtesy of Ariana Luterman

SWIM, BIKE, RUN: Sophomore Ariana Luterman completes a triathalon in order to raise money for non-profit Vogel Alcove.

Ariana is one of twenty finalists from across the country to be selected for the US. Army-Pro Football Hall of Fame Award for Excellence, which honors sophomore, junior, and senior high school athletes who excel academically, athletically, and are active in their communities. All twenty of the finalists will travel to Ohio this August to be a part of the famous NFL Enshrinement Weekend, and the Award for Excellence winner and the other 19 award finalists, will be recognized at halftime of the NFL Hall of Fame Game.

“When I received the phone call from the Pro Football Hall of Fame telling met that I had won I was shocked,” said Ariana. “This award is very close to my heart because it

represents recognition for the three things I have sacrificed and worked tirelessly for in my life – athletics, academics, and Team Ariana service.”

In addition to the NFL Hall of Fame accolade, this February, Ariana also received the Prudential Spirit of Community Award, which honors two teens from each state based on their extraordinary volunteerism and service.

As part of the award, Ariana will travel to Washington DC in May to receive national recognition for her accomplishments. However, the dates for her recognition falls on the same weekend as the 2016 Spring SPC Championships, when the Girls Track and Field Team will compete for their third SPC title in as many years. A jackof-all-trades, Ariana is finding a way to accept her award as well as compete at SPC. “I am honored to accept this award and proudly represent Greenhill and the state of Texas to bring even more awareness to the challenges of homelessness among children,” Ariana said.

Ariana has garnered a fair amount of attention and publicity given the success of her charity work, but she has not received any awards of this prestige up until now.

“In a way, receiving service and philanthropic awards seems contrary to the purpose of the acts themselves.

But in all honesty, more recognition is simply a greater opportunity to raise awareness about homelessness.”

Learning leadership: PAL phases out for new SEAL program Areeba Amer Views Editor

Radhe Melwani Asst. Features Editor

The Peer Assistance and Leadership program (PAL) will be discontinued next year. In its place, David Lowen, the 12th grade class dean, will be teaching Student Ethics and Leadership (SEAL), which will train Peer Assistants with an altered curriculum.

“It is going to be good for PAL to have a new track and a more defined purpose. At this point, it has just become [focused on] freshman advisories so I think it will be good for PAL to get a makeover in a sense,” said senior and current

PAL Raven Brietfeller. “Especially since now it isn’t just about leadership, it is about ethics as well.”

SEAL will focus on cultivating leadership skills, ethical decision making, active learning, and conflict resolution, topics similarly concentrated on in the PAL program.

“The difference [between the two is that] PAL is a national curriculum that did not seem to fit the scope of what we felt [was] needed for Greenhill, so we are moving away from a set curriculum to a program that is more centered around what we have identified for Greenhill as needs and what we have identified for the future,” said Mr. Lowen. “In a national curriculum

you are held within a standard that does not always fit what we want our students to do here.”

The topics SEAL will be covering will be more in depth than those covered in PAL. These topics include the ideas of making good choices and how to be an effective leader.

The idea of an effective leader changes as students get older, face different choices, and recieve the opportunity for more leadership roles says Mr. Lowen.

After completeing SEAL, upperclassmen will have the option to apply to be a Peer Assistant. The role of a Peer Assistant has not been completely formulated but will have a similar

role to that of a PAL. However, in addition to being assigned to freshmen advisories, Peer Assistants will work with the Lower School and Middle School by teaching students using the skills they acquired in the SEAL course, like how to have discussions without getting angry at the person you are discussing with.

The takeaways that Mr. Lowen hopes students will find from this course is the ability to make good decisions, to look at things in an ethical framework, and learning how to balance personal ethics with societal ethics.

Features the

A Wrestle with Religion

The Evergreen examines religiousness in Greenhill’s Upper School Varun Gupta Executive Editor

Christian Quintero Staff Writer

Senior Andrea Mora’s mother is a devout Catholic from Mexico who attends mass every Sunday.

Out of habit, Andrea crosses her chest and prays before driving to school and going to bed. But following a few unexpected family deaths and what she calls “ethical disagreements” with her mom, she began to question authority in the church and challenge Catholicism for its traditional views on marriage. Andrea continues to practice religion as a family tradition, yet she spiritually identifies as an agnostic.

At Greenhill, Andrea is not alone in her beliefs. According to a survey by the Evergreen, 54 percent of the 155 responding students said they have “questioned the existence of God.” Many students that have grown up with religion are choosing different religious paths than their parents.

In a Pew Research Center study, 27 percent of Millennials said they attend religious services on a weekly basis, a decline compared to Baby Boomers (38 percent) and members of the Silent and Greatest generations (51 percent each).

According to Dr. Jean Twenge, a psychologist at San Diego State University, Millennials in particular are less interested in religion because of a cultural shift, and not due to adolescence or uncertainty.

For example, rather than facing a priest in confession, many Millennials release their emotions via social media.

There are some other differences too. Adolescents are witnessing atrocities committed by and in the name of religion. ISIS, an extreme terrorist group, claims full responsibility for killing 130 people in the Paris terrorist attacks and invokes the teachings of Islam as the premise for their attacks. The Catholic Church is reeling from drop in membership following a sex abuse scandal that uncovered more than 3,400 cases against Catholic clergy.

Compared to 2007, 3 million fewer Americans are now calling themselves Catholic and 5 million fewer American adults identify as Christian, according to Pew. Greenhill is a non-sectarian school that does not seek to privilege any one religion.

However, “it is irresponsible for us as a school to expect that our students and adults don’t process learning through a lens of faith or spirituality,” said Assistant Head of School Tom Perryman.

Mr. Perryman, who was raised as a Presbyterian Christian, attended the Chicago McCormick Theological Seminary as an undergraduate student. There, he experienced varying views of his religion. He distinctly recalls his first months of college in which an

Graphic by Arhum Khan

WRITE OFF RELIGION: More Greenhill students rely on the Internet and social media for spiritual advice, moving away from reading religious texts, attending prayers daily, or consulting with religious leaders.

Evangelical Christian told him that all Jews, including his childhood friend, are destined to go to Hell.

“I was absolutely furious. That was the first time that I had my eyes opened to the fact that my faith is battering people, my faith is being wielded as a weapon. But what was interesting is that I wasn’t furious at the idea of Christianity. I was furious at the way Christianity has, to me, been warped and abused over the centuries to cast out those that are not powerful. I will be forever grateful to my seminary professors and classmates for waking me up to this,” Mr. Perryman said.

Mr. Perryman says he was trained to see the bigger picture as a graduate of Greenhill and has a theologically liberal set of beliefs.

“I had grown up in a very church-going home. It was a very open and love–based faith that my family had. I always struggled with ‘in-the-box’ descriptions of God,” he said.

Yet social injustice and re-

ligious conflict did not dissuade Mr. Perryman from practicing Christianity. Instead, seminary is where he reaffirmed his love for educating children who are trying to shape the world.

“Personally I think our deepest human need is the need to be known. Really, really known for who we are and loved and accepted for who we are [at the most profound level]. That to me is what religions through the millennia have tried to address,” he said.

There are other cultural paradigm shifts that go against traditional religious teachings.

For example, pre-marital sex and abortions are considered unspeakable sins in many religions. Social trends have changed the way many people view certain strict religious prohibitions. For example with the proliferation of contraception, females among the Catholic community have begun to question the system.

“I don’t think a man with a

black shirt and white collar can tell me what I can and cannot do with my body. I am pro-choice,” said Andrea. “I know people in my family who became pregnant at the age of 15, kept the baby and now their lives are miserable. Many times it’s an accident.”

Senior Jackson Lowen, raised as a Christian, identifies as an Agnostic because he does not passionately agree or disagree with the existence of God. “I guess what it comes down to, for me, is as long as you aren’t actively hurting people, I don’t care what you believe in. So I think that a lot of my point of view comes from [the fact] that I don’t think that religion is good or evil,” said Jackson. “Sometimes it gets in the way of thinking certain ideas, just like my being agnostic gets in the way of thinking certain ideas.”

His grandfather had a senior position at the Texas Baptist Church. As a result, Jackson would go to church with his grandparents.

“They were inadvertently saying that all my Jewish friends were going to Hell. What they were saying didn’t sit right with me and was factually wrong,” Jackson said.

Some Greenhill students are not exposed to religion during childhood. Junior Peter Diaz’s dad is an atheist, and he is too.

“It’s not something to me that seems realistic or not even is something I would want to believe in because it makes me feel like I am not in control of my own actions or my own life,” said Peter.

“It makes it seem like there is some overpowering idol that rules over everything and that is something that is not appealing to me.”

According to Michael Hout, a professor at New York University, Millennials are taught to develop their own moral compass and are more likely to have a “do-it-yourself ” attitude to religion.

Consequently, students are thinking about how to interpret millennia-old scriptures and apply it to their lives today.

Senior Ali Babool, a Shia-Ismaili Muslim, says that he commonly discusses the Quran’s interpretation of same-sex marriage.

“We live in a changing world and have to focus a lot on context,” said Ali. “[In the Quran,] marriage is a social contract and not religious.”

Many that are brought up in a religious household become part of a larger social community.

Junior Jed Golman, a Jew, has attended synagogue all his life and was elected this year to serve as BBYO’s 28th Grand Aleph Shaliach (International Vice President–Jewish Heritage). He helps lead service projects and organize social events to strengthen the Jewish youth.

Ali volunteers regularly at his mosque and partners with local companies to do projects at schools through nondenominational organization.

Yet with the advent of the Internet and YouTube, more and more Millennials are fleeing toward their smartphones to find spiritual answers rather than regularly going to a place for public worship.

Of the 155 students surveyed, 5.8 percent said they pray everyday, and the largest group, at 26.5 percent, said they attend public worship a few times in a year.

“I don’t think our young people are any less spiritual than they were once upon a time. I think more, maybe, are having trouble finding organized religion homes to fully nurture and grow that spirituality,” said Mr. Perryman. “What I love about young people today, all around the world, and I think social media has helped this, is the way they are challenging authority in ways they have not known how to do or not seen available in the past.”

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wednesday, april 13, 2016

Living Legend:

Unearthing the truths of Upper School Math teacher Dr. Youssef Oumanar Annika Squires Staff Writer

Since August, Upper School students have heard whispers of the “genius” and mystery surrounding a Moroccan-born teacher; some students have come closer than others to unraveling little pieces of his story. Did he drop out of school for a year to travel around North Africa on a motorcycle?

Did he teach a prince in Morocco?

Was he a brilliant day trader that used algorithms to beat the equity market? Are his arms actually registered weapons–as in guns, as in “sun’s out, guns out?” Yes, yes, yes, and yes(ish).

But sit with Dr. Youssef Oumanar (frequently called Dr. O by his students) for a half hour, and you will discover there is much more to the urban legends heard throughout the pods.

By Moroccan standards, Dr. O pushed his way to the top of the societal hierarchy early on. He was a specialist in mathematics, which, according to him, earned him prestige in the schooling system (mathematics includes finance and engineering).

“By default in Morocco if your scores allow you to [study] math, you go to math, no one who is allowed to do math gets their

scores and says, ‘No, I am going to do music,’” Dr. O said.

The education system in Morocco is different than that in the United States. Students attend three years of high school. Dr. O said that the first year of high school is all about showing what you can do; then, the best students in the country are accepted into a program called Mathematical Sciences B, an elite baccalaureate program that Dr. O was selected for.

“I always could do math, so I was just following that path,” Dr. O said.

When Dr. O graduated from high school as the Moroccan equivalent to valedictorian, he was selected for an intense, twoyear pre-college program called preparatory classes. These are engineering classes meant for Morocco’s top students. These classes help students attend the best engineering schools around the world. However, Dr. O said that there is a trade-off.

“When you do that you really give up two years of your life,” he said.

Enter urban legend number one: “I temporarily stopped [my education] after high school

and traveled around Morocco on a motorcycle with a friend of mine,” he said.

His family didn’t approve of his decision, but 18 year-old Dr. O went nonetheless.

“I gained ten years in maturity on that journey,” he said.

On the back of that motorcycle, Dr. O said he discovered a whole new Morocco.

He and his friend traveled across the country, meeting new people in the process.

After his motorcycle journey, Dr. O attended Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco.

There, he was valedictorian before continuing his education with a masters degree in finance.

By 22 years old, Dr. O had traveled around Morocco on a motorcycle, completed his masters degree, and researched financial algorithms for hotel and airplane companies around the world.

He presented his research at conferences in Spain and Tunisia.

Dr. O then came to the United States to work on his PhD at Columbia University.

Enter urban legend number two: Dr. O taught a prince.

He’s not quite sure how, but an ambassador in New York City tracked him down and asked him

Photo courtesy of Dr. Youssef Oumanar

MOROCCAN MATHEMETICIAN: New Upper School Math teacher Dr. Youssef Oumanar is a man of adventure, academia, and athletics.

to tutor the prince. Dr. O agreed.

He taught the prince for about a year, and the prince later went on to a prestigious U.S. university.

After teaching the Moroccan prince, Dr. O came back to the U.S., where he eventually took a teaching job at Richland College in Dallas.

Enter urban legend number three: Dr. O day trades. At first, it didn’t go as well as he had anticipated.

“I thought that I had so much of a mathematical advantage over people,” he said.

His outlook on day trading changed after someone told him “the market is always right.” Dr. O simplified his formulas and began to succeed.

Eventually, he got bored and lonely.

“I did have a lot of opportunities to do finance in New York, but I’m not tailored to the corporation life,” he said.

He said that this lifestyle opposes his philosophy.

“Since day one, I have always said I do not want to be a slave. I don’t care about money. I want to have a life,” Dr. O said.

Enter urban legend number four: Dr. O has some guns, in the figurative sense. As a child, Dr. O divided his focus between sports and studies.

“I have a black belt in karate.

I did boxing. I did many martial arts. I did full contact. I also played soccer, tennis, and swam,” said Dr. O. “I don’t remember myself not engaging in a sport.”

But are his ‘guns’ registered?

“Because I have a black belt in karate, if I fight with somebody, I would be considered to have used a deadly weapon in the eyes of the law,” Dr. O said.

Perhaps on the last legend, he can be granted a bit of poetic license.

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wednesday, april 13, 2016

features

9

Millennials and Media Areeba Amer Views Editor

Known for appealing to a large percentage of youth voters, 76-yearold presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders, has attracted many Millennials. At his Dallas rally on February 27, the Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie was nearly at its full capacity of 6,530 seats. As the polls suggested, the majority of attendees were young voters. When supporters between the ages of 19 and 25 were asked about their support for Senator Sanders, most referred to his frequent use of social media.

Since the election process began, political hashtags have been popping up across social media platforms. Some include #FeeltheBern, #Trump2016, #CruzCrew, and #ImWithHer. As a result, Millennials are exposed to political propaganda from every candidate. Furthermore, when hashtags such as #SuperTuesday are trending on Twitter and Facebook, these messages have the ability to impact Millennials’ political decisions, according to

some of the candidates’ young supporters on social media.

However, while some Greenhill students feel more informed about the campaign because of social media, many are saying that the information on social media has polarized Greenhill students’ views.

Upper School History teacher Scott Cotton, who teaches AP Government said that he sees a benefit for students from the use of social media in politics.

“It’s a great away for students to get involved with polls, find out about results, debates, things like that,” said Mr. Cotton. “Greenhill students are pretty politically engaged anyway, and I think they probably were before social media, but it does give [students] a greater sense of awareness.”

According to many, the use of social media has made them more involved in the election.

“When I was 12, I didn’t really know anything about the candidates, or what they were doing, but this one, I’m actually involved because I’m on Tumblr all the time,” said sophomore Drake Heptig.

“And everyday, there is something about political candidates on there, whether it be ‘Bernie Sanders did this good thing,’ or ‘Trump is an idiot...’ because Tumblr loves Sanders.”

For some students, social media is where they receive almost all of their information on the election.

“I think it’s really sad. I get a lot of information about the debates from social media, but it’s true,” said senior Priyanka Majumder.

Presidential candidates strategically use social media: they all have a media or communications advisor, and nearly half of them have an appointed ‘Social Media Director.’ “[Social media] makes [information] so much quicker and so much more active. It takes this idea of the 24-hour news cycle,” said junior Hayes Barton.

“Something may be relevant but something else may come up because of how quickly we can get information.”

Students feel there are consequences to social media.

In the Spotlight...

Josh Rudner

Asst. Online Editor

We continue our “In the Spotlight” series, a chance to get to know one randomly selected Upper School student each issue. This conversation was with junior Rylie Buch.

From the 108th floor of the Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower, junior Rylie Buch can see all of Las Vegas: the Strip, the suburbs, and the dry, imposing mountains in the distance. She puts on a bright blue and yellow full-body suit and is strapped into two long cords. A second later, she’s pushed over the edge.

Since she was a little girl, junior Rylie Buch has been a thrill-seeker. At nine years old, for example, she caught a baby shark while deep-sea fishing with her grandfather.

Since then, whether it is hiking along an active volcano, or swimming with sharks, Rylie loves taking risks and living on the edge.

“To my little nine year old self, that [experience with the sharks] was thrilling and that feeling stuck with me ever since,” Rylie said.

Years later, when Rylie was given the opportunity to freefall off of a skyscraper in

Las Vegas, she knew she couldn’t resist.

“To me, fun is doing things out of the ordinary. So hey, why not jump off an 80ft building?” Rylie said.

Though she acknowledged it was strange for her to do something so high risk as a 15-year-old, she said she loved it.

“No doubt I am definitely crazy for ever even doing this,” she said. “[But] it was the most amazing feeling in the world.”

Another time, Rylie and her family decided to partake in an adrenaline-rushing activity on a trip to Alaska.

“On one of the days we had free time at our hotel, which had all these different activities to do and, knowing my brother and I, we decided to do the most dangerous activity of them all: Go parasailing off a cliff!”

Most recently, Rylie said that on a trip to Mexico with her family, she overcame one of her greatest fears and swam with sharks.

She and a group of other scuba divers were led by an instructor and went deep into the Gulf of Mexico, where they gradually moved from groups of fish to the sharks themselves. Rylie said that though she was extremely scared, she was proud for having overcome her fear.

Photo courtesy of Rylie Buch

ADRENALINE RUSH: Junior Rylie Buch said she lives for adventure. Among other things, Rylie has freefalled from a skyscraper, swam with sharks, and parasailed off of a cliff.

Photo courtesy of Dallas Morning News

POLITICAL MESSAGES: A number of Greenhill students said that social media is a primary source for information on the presidential election.

“I think that it’s a good thing because a lot of people are more involved and more exposed,” said junior Kailey McNeal. “But it can also be kind of bad because it’s kind of hard for me to form my own opinions when I’m just being bombarded with all of these different opinions all over social media telling me what I’m supposed to think about all these different candidates.”

Not only can it make it difficult for one to form their own opinion, some say this has the potential to affect fellow peers’ opinions.

“I think social media makes,

“I’m not really sure why I like doing high risks things so much. I’m just a big thrill seeker and I love anything that gets my heart pounding,” Rylie said. “I just love the feeling

especially Millennials, more narrow-minded, because they can consume the information they want to without consuming the whole story,” said Hayes. “Especially at Greenhill, people have a pretty good idea of what they like and what they don’t, so they use social media more to keep up with what they like as opposed to social media changing their opinions.”

Many opinions can be seen on Greenhill students’ social media.

“The cancer of the internet at this point is Greenhill [students’] Facebook,” said senior Zachary Lillard. “I’ve seen so many social justice posts in the last month.”

of being able to say that I did something that few others have and that makes me feel unique.”

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10

Everg

Ham i lt on on the

Hill

In years past, students entering Upper School History teacher Scott Cotton’s AP Government class might have begun class with a joke about the most recent Cowboys loss or a conversation about a National Public Radio broadcast. This year, however, when AP Government students walk in to Mr. Cotton’s class they are not surprised to hear fast paced hip-hop beats and rap lyrics from a musical based in the late 18th century. These lyrics tell the story of a founding father as he raps the words, “I am not throwing away my shot/ Hey yo, I’m just like my country/I’m young, scrappy and hungry/And I’m not throwing away my shot!” echo through the room.

These songs come from Hamilton, a musical written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda. The musical was inspired by the New York Times bestselling biography of Alexander Hamilton written by Rob Chernow. According to the Times theatre critic Ben Brantley, “ Hamilton is making its own resonant history by changing the language of musicals. And it does so by insisting that the forms of song most frequently heard on pop radio stations in recent years — rap, hip-hop, R&B ballads — have both the narrative force and the emotional interiority to propel a hefty musical about long-dead white men whose solemn faces glower from the green bills in our wallets.”

Debuting on Broadway in August of 2015, Hamilton is already a Grammy winning musical, with tickets from its official website sold out through January of 2017. Finding a ticket to Hamilton under 300 dollars is nearly impossible, but many Greenhill students say the expense is worth the experience.

Senior Sam Downie first saw Hamilton in the spring of 2015 in New York when it was off-Broadway, and was so impressed by the show that he went to New York to it see twice more.

“I think the part that made me interested in [Hamilton] was that it takes place in New York for the most part, because I’m not a history buff,” he said. “I think it makes people more excited about creating and watching musical theater.”

Greenhill students, faculty, and parents have been captivated and intrigued by the musical’s unique ability to target those from the rap and hip hop generation, those fascinated by the historical basis of the show and the way it tells the story of one of America’s most notable founding fathers, and musical buffs who simply love when a story is told through acting, song, and dance. More than half of 117 Greenhill Upper School students say Hamilton has been discussed in their classes, and another 76 percent say they would see the musical if it came to Dallas.

Mr. Cotton was first introduced to Hamilton when Sam saw the show while attending City-Term, a semester program

in New York. Sam gave Mr. Cotto soon he was hooked.

“It’s not my typical genre, bu “Musically it’s just great, it’s really ics are awesome, they’re historica my kids like it.”

He began playing songs from ernment classes that he thought students were learning about the showed them the popular track “ in which Hamilton describes the says, anonymously published/ de public.”

Mr. Cotton attributes Hamilt the unique take Miranda has on people would only find in their h “I think the fact that it’s larg depicting white characters, is int new face and new spin on the eve knew a lot about or stories that w said.

When junior Jonah Goldberg first time, he was inspired by how cal accuracy throughout the sho the songs very enjoyable. Jonah jazz and rap music, both genres show. Although he never conside he soon found himself listening to ride home from school.

Jonah continued to learn mo by watching interviews with Mir behind making Hamilton into a r Jonah.

“The reason that Hamilton i Hamilton’s story parallels with ho It’s all about someone writing the nomic class. He used his ability needed to go,” he said.

Jonah is currently working own, and although the plot and now, he credits Hamilton for ins in telling stories and creating mu unorthodox ways.

Senior Rachel Poole was fam randa’s work on the Broadway sh coming a fan of Hamilton. She so humanity that Miranda exhibited

green

on the CD of the musical, and

ut this is irresistible,” he said. y fun to listen to. But the lyrally pertinent, and funny. Even

m the musical in his AP Govstudents would enjoy. When Federalist Papers, Mr. Cotton “Nonstop,” a high-tempo song ese papers as, “a series of esefending the document to the

ton’s widespread popularity to a story and person that most history textbooks. gely a non-white cast that are teresting, and it sort of puts a vents that people thought they we thought we had heard,” he

g heard the soundtrack for the w Miranda maintained historiow, while continuing to make has a musical background in influencing the sound of the ered himself a “musical freak,” o the soundtrack on every car

ore about the creation of show randa. The creator’s reasoning rap musical struck a chord for

is told through rap is because ow rap music first got started. eir way out of their socioecoy with a pen to get where he

on writing a musical of his songs are under wraps right spiring him to move forward usicals in once thought to be

miliar and impressed with Mihow In the Heights before beoon fell in love with the sort of d in his characters.

wednesday, april 13, 2015

“I think you can kind of see yourself in Hamilton. There are different pieces of different characters that you can relate to. And I think that’s a big part of what Lin-Manuel Miranda does,” said Rachel. “He writes shows and musicals that people can relate to, like it’s a real story. Even though it’s set in 1776, there is something human about the musical. And I think that’s what attracts people to the show even if you don’t like musical theater or hip-hop.”

Similarly to Mr. Cotton, Rachel agrees that having a largely non-white cast offers an interesting and important element to the show.

“I think the fact that it’s a non-white cast is different. It does something to say, ‘Yes this is a historical story, but this is more than just history.’ [Miranda] chose the cast for a reason.

He [chose the cast the way he did] in order to find the personality and the temperament of the characters. It also breaks down a barrier so that anyone can relate to these characters,” said Rachel. “Now a young black boy can say, ‘I want to play George Washington,’ and you can tell him, ‘Yes, you can do that.’ So I do think the non-white cast is very effective and powerful.”

Junior Sarah Simon is one of the lucky few that has experienced the musical in person, and remembered that before she saw it, she was skeptical that a musical about historical figures from the 1700’s could be entertaining. It didn’t take long after the show began for her to realize her doubts were all wrong.

“It’s just revolutionary. The fact that (Miranda) can condense something that would typically be so mundane and make people want to listen to it and want to learn it is incredible to me,” she said. “The whole concept of doing rap to historical, non-fiction (themes) is inspiring because it makes people want to learn. Concepts that I couldn’t even put into words, he incorporates into this work.”

Her love of Hamilton extends beyond her own personal experiences of the show, as her mother, Stacy Simon, is a selfproclaimed Hamilton fanatic. After seeing the show once, she wanted her kids to experience it as well.

“It just blew me away. I thought it was so creative, it was so fast, it was so dense, it was so packed with facts and history,” said Mrs. Simon “The music is incredible, the story is captivating. It was almost too much to soak in.” story by Ellen Margaret Andrews, Megan Wiora, and Amna Naseem photos by Catherine Leffert

11

Special Report the

The Mane Attraction Catherine Leffert Editor-in-Chief

Ross Rubin Staff Writer

Every day, hundreds of members of the Greenhill community walk through the shiny, white Michael Manes Grand Lobby of the school’s new Marshall Family Performing Arts Center.

But few think of the lobby’s namesake, Michael Manes, Head of Fine Arts, and his 41 years of service to Greenhill.

From teaching second grade choir to having the atrium of the school’s newest facility named after him, Mr. Manes’ 41 years on the Hill will be remembered by his contributions to the school, even after his upcoming retirement this May. Before taking his place at Greenhill, Mr. Manes was drafted in the United States Army in 1969 and was made a military policeman in Vietnam for three months.

He asked for a reassignment, and spent the next 11 months in Vietnam playing music.

“I became a chaplain’s assistant for the rest of my time in Vietnam. I played organ in chapel for the churches for the protestant services and I formed a couple of choirs,” said Mr. Manes. “That’s what I did the rest of my time in Vietnam.

Just music, which is kind of strange, but I enjoyed it very much.”

Mr. Manes was able to provide the comfort of music and song in the surrounding churches. After 14 months in Vietnam, he came back to Dallas and went back to school, when, in 1975, a professor suggested he look into a job opening at Greenhill.

Since then, Mr. Manes has taught music to thousands of Greenhill students, including senior Max Harberg, Max’s mom, aunt, uncle, brother, and sister.

“He’s that person–I look at him and see how well he is artistically and how much he inspires his students and watching the passion he has for music and singing and the art form of performing

[…] he teaches me to be motivated and to be inspired and to pursue music,” Max said.

According to Mr. Manes, he teaches to help students be the best they can be and go on to grand achievement.

“I love that students can be successful in music,” said Mr. Manes. “And the fact that we have a lot of alums who are making their living in music and fine arts is very, very gratifying; to know that kids are dancing on Broadway, making movies in LA.” Greenhill’s own Tom Perryman ’81, Assistant Head of School, was in Mr. Manes’ very first music class in 1975.

Self-prescribed as “not an artsy kid,” Mr. Perryman said he remembers Mr. Manes as “hip, cool, and fun.”

“I remember him walking into the classroom and he was this big, brighteyed, bushy-tailed, young man with rosy cheeks, and those really cool shiny blue eyes,” said Mr. Perryman.“I’m sad thinking about him being gone… I didn’t think I would ever see the day that Michael would leave,” Mr. Perryman said.

Brian Donnell, Middle and Upper School Band teacher, who has been working at Greenhill for over 25 years, says he knows how Mr. Manes has connected to the whole Greenhill community.

“Mr. Manes is a people person. He has a very gentle spirit about him. He cares about people. He always loves being around kids,” Mr. Donnell said. “He gives teachers autonomy in their classrooms… he gives them the freedom to do what they do best… he has just built a program that is well respected.”

Mr. Manes’ persistence is the reason that Greenhill’s fine arts physical and curricular structure are what they are today. From fine arts in portable buildings in 1975, when Mr. Manes began teaching at Greenhill, to a 52 million dollar facility today, the Fine Arts department has not only grown in built

space, but the arts themselves have flourished under the command of Mr. Manes as Head of Fine Arts since 1976.

“He built the fine arts department from scratch,” said Debbe Brackett, Assistant to the Head of Fine Arts.

Beginning in portable buildings, Greenhill’s fine arts worked in a space that was “moldy and smelly,” according to Mr. Manes for 20 years until December of 1995, when they moved into the current Fine Arts Center. Now, the move into the MPAC after another twenty years allows Mr. Manes to reflect upon the many changes.“[A highlight of my time here is] pride I have in the fact that we come from having a small arts program to having one of the strongest art programs in Independent Schools of the Southwest (ISAS),” Mr. Manes said. “Then moving into the MPAC has been a huge highlight…that’s going to change the school forever.”

With this stronger arts program, and better amenities, Greenhill gave physical recognition to Mr. Manes. One day in early February at the first faculty meeting in the MPAC, Mr. Griggs called dismissed the staff to the lobby for the unveiling of the name, a surprise to everyone, until Mr. Manes was asked to the front of the crowd.

“He was so shocked and speechless that day, when Mr. Griggs shared the news with all of us.” Mr. Perryman said. “It was one of the most special moments I’ve had on this campus, seeing his reaction.”

Then the name of the Michael Manes Grand Lobby was revealed.

“Of course I started crying and everyone in the room started crying and they pulled down the cloth and you can see what’s up there now: Michael Manes Grand Lobby,” said Mr. Manes. “It was a huge, big surprise. I had not a clue. I feel very humbled and very honored.”

Photo By Meha Elhence

the

Arts Samar Ahmad

From Paper to Production

Staff Writer

Christina Zhu Copy Editor

Little did freshman Sam Bovard know that his ideas written during script-writing class would soon be reimagined through the eyes of a director. He entered his one-act play, Ride, into the Neighborhood Play Contest. As a finalist, it will soon be produced by director Rob Bosquez Jr. Sam always had a passion for writing and had five years of acting experience, so when he saw the opportunity to take the script writing elective at Greenhill, he signed up. His instructor, Upper School theater teacher Catherine Hopkins told him about the contest, and encouraged him to submit his work.

“Sam has the unique ability to really tap into relevant subject matter and is also able to move across genre and writing styles.

He is equally at home with topical, contemporary themes as well as lyrical, abstract storytelling,” Ms. Hopkins said.

Sam entered the contest with a 16 page play inspired by his own life, experiences, and common high school themes. He experienced disbelief upon discovering that he will be working with a director to produce it.

“I think this experience is so crazy, seeing that I am so new to playwriting,” Sam said.

Ride handles controversial and weighty concepts by following the story of a student in high school who deals with issues regarding sexuality, relationships, drama, and depression. The main character, a closeted, homosexual boy believes that he has fallen in love with his heterosexual best friend.

“The story is about the boy

as an individual, not just his sexuality,” Sam said. “Some key parts of the story happen in a car, and it presents the idea that life is a ride and the best that can be done sometimes is to ride with it.”

While new to playwriting, Sam’s interest and appreciation for both writing and literature were of great help to him, he said. Still, Sam recognizes the distinction between stories he usually writes as compared to the nature of writing a piece that will be brought to life on a stage.

“Playwriting is an interesting way of writing that is based on dialogue and character development,” he said. “I took inspiration from my own life, as it is easy to draw from personal experiences.”

“

‘Ride’ breaks down social and sexual barriers and treats the subject in a surprisingly candid and humorous way. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything written by a student that handled the subject in such a mature way.”

Despite never having written a play before, Sam successfully developed his artistic voice due to his skill with regards to writing.

“Ride breaks down social and sexual barriers and treats the subject in a surprisingly candid and humorous way. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything written by a student that handled the subject in such a mature way,” Ms. Hopkins said.

Sam will work with the director to begin the production starting in late March. The play will be performed on May 10 at the

Photo courtesy of Sam Bovard Graphic by Anusha Kurapati

BOY BEHIND THE PLAY: Earlier this year, Greenhill freshman Sam Bovard wrote a play for script-writing class. On May 10, the play, titled Ride will be performed at the Stage West Theater in Fort Worth. Ride follows a protagonist who experiences the trials and tribulations of high school.

Stage West Theatre in Fort Worth.

He anticipates that his experience with acting at Greenhill and outside of Greenhill will help to him throughout this largely new experience.

“My whole experience in acting helped with stage descriptions and other things about the set, but I wanted to leave a lot of it up to the director,” he

said.

When this process culminates, another will begin, as Sam plans to continue exploring the world of script writing and producing.

“I am definitely going to continue to write plays in the future,” Sam said.

Photography Can Just be Black and White

Abbas Hasan Asst. News Editor

A lot goes into making an awardwinning photo, like lighting, story, subject, and more. Finding the frame that displays these qualities makes a single photograph outstanding. Photography is much more than just clicking a button at the right time, and some Greenhill Students have developed their skills in order to become award-winning photographers.

Earlier this year, Greenhill students took part in the Twenty-Eighth Annual Black and White Images Contest hosted by Fort Worth Country Day. The competition is separated into several different categories, including Animals/Nature, Architecture, Experimental, Landscape/Cityscape, Photo Essay, Photojournalism, Portrait, and Still Life. Several students received accolades at the contest, many earning first or second place in a wide variety of categories.

Brian Florentin, a local photographer, judged the contest. Florentin reviewed all of the 430 images submitted to the contest.

Each school was only allowed to submit 60 photos, and of Greenhill’s, many came from the Digital Photography class, rather than the advanced class.

“This is something very interesting, it is a very restrictive contest,” said Frank Lopez, Upper School Visual Arts Coordinator. “And there is only one judge

for the contest.”

Mr. Lopez chose the photos that Greenhill submitted to the competition at Fort Worth Country Day. He started with the Advanced Photography Class and worked his way down to the Digital Photography class (the beginner class). He mentioned what went into his decisions on what makes a photo contest worthy.

“You might see something more unique or personable, and maybe something that reminds [you] of a famous photo in the history of photography,” said Mr. Lopez.

“Does it have worth or value? Or is it just another pretty picture?”

Hailey Wetherill entered the contest as a student in Digital Photography. Her photo, Surrounded by Fear, won an honorable mention at the contest.

“Getting accepted was a big deal,” Hailey said. “I am not an artistic person.

When I got in I was really impressed with myself.”

Greenhill junior Mira Fradkin participated with entries to the experimental category this year and last year. Her photo, Disappearance, won best in show at the photography contest earlier this year.

“I was in shock. I had won contests before, but when I won again with a different photo, I thought, ‘this is cool, I have more than one good photo,” Mira said.

“I felt validated.”

PHOTOS IN FOCUS: (Top left) Surrounded by

Fear by sophomore Hailey Wetherill received an Honorable Mention, (bottom left) Egg by sophomore Zeenya Meherally won first place, and (right) Disappearance by junior Mira Fradkin won Best in Show at the 28th annual Black and White Photography Contest within their respective categories.

Top left photo by Hailey Wetherill Bottom left photo by Zeenya Meherally Right photo by Mira Fradkin

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Evergreen

wednesday, april 13, 2016

Fine Tuning of the Arts Alice Zhang Staff Writer

The Marshall Family Performing Arts Center, the newest addition to Greenhill’s campus, is not only home to many artists, but also symbolizes how far Greenhill’s Fine Arts department has come.

66 years ago, Greenhill conducted simple arts classes in portable buildings and there were only six Fine Arts teachers. Now, 21 teachers work in the Fine Arts department and two fine arts buildings accommodate the needs of students.

According to From Humble Beginnings, a book about the founding of Greenhill, the first musical at the school, Oliver!, was performed in Crossman Hall cafeteria in 1973 because there was no other space on campus.

The musical offered roles for all ages of children, and ended up casting almost 150 students. Most students were involved, and parents contributed by building sets and supervising. The success of the first musical marked the beginning of a tradition and presented the need for a theater, which later doubled in size because of the popularity of Oliver!.

The visual and performing arts finally merged to become the Fine Arts Department in 1977. That same year, fine arts classes were incorporated into the Upper School schedule.

Under the direction of Michael Manes, the Head of the Fine Arts Department, Greenhill hosted Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) Fine Arts Festival for the first time in 1978. Students flooded in from different schools, sharing art in workshops, recitals, productions, and

ensembles. Since there was not enough money for hotels, Greenhill students were required to host homestays, where kids from other schools lived with Greenhill students for the duration of the festival.

“For a few days, the whole school revolved around art and everybody got excited about it. I had never thought of myself as an artistic kid, but I remember thinking that this could really be something special,” said Tom Perryman (‘81), Assistant Head of School.

By 1996, Greenhill’s fine arts program had developed significantly, and the department moved into the old middle school.

“

When Mr. Manes took over as department chair, he really instilled this idea in the school that every kid was an artist. And everybody had creative and artistic gifts.”

The department now had a newly refurbished building exclusively for art purposes. One by one, more advanced classes like acting, technical theater, and dance, were added to the program.

According to Mr. Perryman, the motivation for improving the arts program at Greenhill came from the fact that students have always been creative, and art administrators, like Mr. Manes, wanted to create more opportunities for students to express themselves.

“When Mr. Manes took over as

Photo courtesy of From Humble Beginings

THE BIRTHPLACE OF ISAS: The Fine Arts building was located where the current Parent Association building resides. Now, we have a state of the art performance center.

department chair, he really instilled this idea in the school that every kid was an artist. And everybody had creative and artistic gifts,” Mr. Perryman said.

Michael Manes said he credits the development with not only the desire to improve Greenhill as a whole, but also from competition from other schools.

“That was a part of it, it would make us attractive. In those days, band, orchestra, and choir were very popular in public schools. We needed to attract students from those schools who were willing to pay a tuition,” Mr. Manes said.

Now, Greenhill’s Fine Arts Department has reached another milestone with the construction of the Marshall Performing Arts Center. Artists are able to express themselves with more space and technology in the Rose Hall, the Dance and Choral Hall, or the new video production rooms.

Both Mr. Perryman and Mr. Manes said they agree that the MPAC will help further unite the community.

“The building will change the culture of the school,” said Mr. Manes. “It already has in its own way.”

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arts

Q&A

Martie Maguire ‘88, Dixie Chick

Greenhill alum, Martie Maguire, is one third of the country music trio the Dixie Chicks. The Dixie Chicks are composed of Martie’s younger sister, Greenhill alum Emily Robinson, and Natalie Maines.

How did your time at Greenhill influence your career?

I think Greenhill gave me a great foundation for just having a good work ethic when it comes to being good at something and accomplishing goals and knowing you have to work hard at succeeding in something. I always knew that if I was going to be good at the violin, then I needed to practice. If I was going to go to a good college, I needed to study. My parents didn’t accept any slackers in the family! All three of us - there are three girls in the family - and all three of us were raised to not sit around and not be doing or striving towards excellence in something, and I think Greenhill had a lot to do with that by just instilling in us, you are the effort that you put into what you are doing, and you’ll see the results. Greenhill was very competitive but it was also a really nurturing environment for kind of fulfilling your own destiny and your dreams an instilling in me at a young age that you can be whomever you want to be.

Were you already trying to begin your career when you were at Greenhill? (I know you were singing already but did you know that that was what you were going to do for a living?) At what age did you decide you wanted to be musicians?

I don’t think I saw it as a career when I was 12, but I was definitely starting to enter fiddle contests and band contests and my parents - my mom was a teacher at Greenhill - both my parents were really committed to my music. When I got into high school, they were taking me to Brookhaven Community College to take extra music courses. On the weekends, we had an RV, and we would go to bluegrass festivals. Music was very much a part of our family life and family culture. My mom was a violin player, and she actually would join the Greenhill orchestra when I would play in the orchestra, too. It was equally as important in my house to practice your violin as it was to do your homework, which is kind of shocking considering that I was at such an academically competitive school and my mom was an English teacher there. But it was true - music was equally as important.

It was probably not until I was 12 or 13 and I started fiddling that I knew I wanted to be a musician. Prior to that I was playing classical music and it felt a little bit more like my mom wanted me to play classical music. We all started classical music at the age of five and that

was just what we did in our family. It wasn’t really a choice.

And at 12, that was a choice.

My dad gave me fiddle lessons for my birthday and I loved country music. I had all his record collection of Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris and a lot of bluegrass and Johnny Cash and that was the music that really spoke to me and I heard the fiddle on there and that’s what I wanted to do. So I feel like at that point, it clicked into my head that, wow, I could actually be a fiddle player in somebody’s band and that could be my career.

Was it ever hard to juggle singing and schoolwork?

Well outside of Greenhill, my parents were taking me to fiddle lessons - in Garland, Texas, which was quite a ways from where we lived in north Dallas - once a week. And then another time a week we were going out to Grapevine, Texas for band practice, so yes it was hard. We had bluegrass festivals on the weekends and different gigs. This was more from about seventh grade on. Around seventh grade, that’s when my band the Blue Night Express started gearing up, so sixth and seventh grade, yes, it got kind of difficult to juggle fiddling and being in a band, and Greenhill.

Because Greenhill is a demanding school, and I was definitely dedicated to fiddling by the age of 12 or 13.

Who/what had the most influence on your love for music?

I’d say both my parents have been an equal influence on my love for music. My dad singing in the car and playing music on road trips and taking me to fiddle lessons is probably his biggest influence.

And my mom playing violin with me and sitting on my bed while I practiced and grading her papers so I always had kind of a buddy. It wasn’t a lonely experience. She would sit and cheer me on and enjoy it with me. A lot of times kids go practice and it’s such a lonely boring experience, but my mom would sit there and grade her papers and critique me and talk to me or play with me. So I’d say they’re both equally responsible.

What was it like coming back and being honored by Greenhill with the Distinguished Alumni Award?

That was pretty amazing.

It kind of felt like my career had come full circle and that the hometown crowd was kind of welcoming you back to say job well done, when you kind of need that affirmation of, yeah, we’ve been watching and we see how hard you have worked, and we’re proud of you. That felt good, especially feeling like I took a path that wasn’t the traditional path of finishing college, finishing grad school.

I didn’t finish college. I went to a lot of college, but I kind of had my career on the

Photos courtesy of the Dallas Morning News and Katie Young

GRAMMY-WINNING GRADS: Alumni Martie Maguire (‘88) and Emily Robison (‘91) are two members of the award-winning trio The Dixie Chicks. The group will begin their DCX MMXVI World Tour on April 16.

road in bars and on RV’s and buses, and hit the road and never finished my academic life.

So it was nice to come back and receive that award from Greenhill for doing something that probably was a little off the beaten path.

Do you ever think back on your time at Greenhill? When you do, why?

I do think about my time at Greenhill. I’m always proud to say I went to Greenhill, especially if people know what Greenhill is, because I know I got an amazing education and it has such a great reputation as a school. I think about the music I got at Greenhill and the theater experiences I got at Greenhill and I feel like I got so much of a well-rounded education. It was academically strong, but I feel like I got a lot of sports, and art, and music, and academics - a lot of great experiences at Greenhill.

Have any of you songs been influenced by your time here?

No, but I feel like I’m a better songwriter having had my Greenhill experiences.

What were some of the things you were involved in at Greenhill?

I played a lot of sports at Greenhill and I did plays and I was in the orchestra and singers. The sports made it hard with academics because you had to stay after school. You know, there was a lot of homework at Greenhill, and I wasn’t the best student, so I can’t really blame it on the sports or the other activities.

What was your favorite part of your Greenhill experience?

Favorite memories?

I went to Greenhill from kindergarten through 12th grade, so I have to say, a lot of my favorite memories were early, early on. I remember a lot from kindergarten and primer - that’s the year you go between kindergarten and first grade. I remember candle-making.

I can still smell the candles we made in primer. And the peacocks on the campus. I don’t know if they still have the peacocks, but they were just roaming around the campus freely. Having the same campus year after year from the time you are five until you’re 18 and you graduate is just such a nurturing environment.

And having my mom there if I ever needed anything or wanted to steal money out of her purse to get an Eskimo Pie at the snack bar! I think it’s where I get a lot of my self-esteem and selfassuredness - is just from that 12 years of feeling very secure in a very secure environment. Yeah, a lot of my great memories are from the very early years.

Who is your favorite music artist now? In history? What’s your favorite song of all time? What’s your favorite song to perform?

I really like Brandi Carlile. I love James Bay - he’s awesome. I like the Shins. My guilty pleasure is Selena Gomez. I’ve been listening a lot to John Newman I really like his music. I like Ellie Goulding. I like Kodaline too.

I’ve been a huge fan of Emmylou Harris all my life. She’s been a huge influence - maybe favorite of all time. Favorite song to perform is “Cowboy Take Me Away.” Favorite song of all time? That’s really hard!

I know what my favorite album is...

Squeeze - Singles is my favorite album of all time. reporting by Lili Stern

Sports the

A League of Her Own

For sophomore Hailey Wetherill, softball is simply second-nature Ross Rubin Staff Writer

Hailey Wetherill is an unassuming sophomore. She wouldn’t stand a head above anyone in a crowd. When she speaks, she’s a bit shy and humble. It’s hard to tell she’s one of Greenhill’s biggest sports superstars. This season, she could lead the softball team to SPC. Hailey began playing softball in kindergarten and decided to pursue it competitively in fifth grade. She played softball at Trinity Christian Academy (TCA) before moving to Greenhill last year.

Although no one in her family has extensive softball experience, Hailey became interested at a young age. She always played other sports when she was little, but even at a young age she knew that softball was the sport for her.

Coach Monica Stephens, the girls’ varsity softball coach since 2012, recognized her talent at TCA and saw the perfect opportunity to talk to her about Greenhill.

According to Coach Stephens, Hailey was the perfect fit for the school. Her two little brothers already attended Greenhill.

“

Hailey’s impact has greatly affected the team, we can count on her batting and throwing...she is very humble and she will give advice [to help others out on the field] .”

The majority of the players on the softball team are underclassmen. With a young team, many seniors said they expect players like Hailey to earn a leading role.

“The challenges of being a young leader on the team is that upperclassmen can

sometimes be apprehensive about me being a leader just because I am a sophomore,” says Hailey.

But seniors already respect the work Hailey has done. “Hailey’s impact has greatly affected the team, we can count on

her batting and throwing [and] she is very humble and she will give advice[to help others out on the field]” says senior, center fielder, Renee Smith.

Hailey’s position as starting first basemen stands out from the rest of the

UPCOMING SOFTBALL GAMES

April 13 versus Oakridge School (4:30)

April 15 versus Fort Worth Country Day (5:00)

April 19 versus Hockaday (5:00) April 21 versus THESA (5:00) April 26 versus JPII (6:00) April 28-30 SPC Championships (DFW)

(Home games in bold)

SPC Realigns Football Conference

Ben Krakow

Online Editor

The Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) has announced plans to realign for the 2016-17 school year. Among the changes, Holland Hall (Tulsa) and St. Mary’s Hall (San Antonio) will leave the conference. In addition, for football, teams are being split into two divisions (3A and 4A) in order to create a more balanced competition.

Greenhill will play in the small school division (3A) the next two years for football.

In a news release in October 2015, the SPC said that last spring, people brought up fears about the safety of the football players and the discrepancy in talent among SPC schools playing each other in football. A task force was created and investigated this issue for four months. The committee proposed and passed a change to the Board of Directors, comprised of SPC school heads.

The Board of Directors will reevaluate the changes after two years.

“

Photos courtesy of Patrick Green

SOPHOMORE STUD: Sophomore Hailey Wetherill looks to throw down an opponent for an out. Hailey’s career in softball began in Kindergarten, and with less than three years until college, she is already exploring her options to play softball at the next level.

infield.

Because it is so important that first baseman catch balls, in her first season on the team, Hailey learned trust. She leads the team by example. Nearly 90% of balls hit into play are thrown to her, and typically caught. “[First base} is very important , her voice is heard by everyone,” senior, pitcher, Elaine Pennington said.

Coach Stephens attributes Hailey’s hard work to her success.

“Her work ethic and everything she does is done [at] 100%,” said Coach Stephens.

Hailey also plays softball for her club team, Impact Gold. In addition to the typical school practices, which last two hours every day, she also spends copious amounts of time outside of school honing her hitting skills, including going to hitting lessons a few times a week.

“What helps me continue to get better is the time outside of school I practice,” she says. “I try to work on every part of my game whenever I get the chance.”

Last year the team went 10-5, in part because of Hailey’s extraordinary batting average of .675.

Hailey says that along with some natural ability, work ethic really separates a good player from a great one. “You definitely have to put in work. Some of it comes to natural ability, some things you can’t pick up you just have to naturally be good at it.”

This greatly benefits us, since we typically can only field teams with 35 to 40 guys, while other schools are easily able to field teams with at least 70.”

Teams were placed into divisions based on both the size of the school and the football team. The SPC said that some schools had asked before to play up or down

in divisional play and teams will no longer have to play as independents in football as some teams previously chosen to do.

The conference announced the changes last fall, but they will not be implemented until this coming fall. The conference will be a bit smaller and now there will only be one team in Oklahoma instead of two which could affect Greenhill as now they will only play one game when they make the three hour drive to Oklahoma. With Greenhill in the smaller division, they will no longer play rival St. Mark’s in a counter football game, but there are plans in place to play the Lions annually in a non-counter game, making it one of the first two games the team will play in the fall.

“Mr. Griggs, when he and I went to that meeting, he said ‘I need you to hold onto that game.’ That has a longstanding sort of rivalry,” Chad Wabrek, Head of Athletics & Physical Education said.

The football players say they feel the same way about the rivalry.

“Everybody on the team recognizes the vast history we have with St. Mark’s, and just because our games with them will not count towards our conference record, that does not lessen the importance of the rivalry at all,” Jake Hershman said. “The game still counts just as much, if not more. It is pretty simple: we don’t like them and they don’t like us.”

In addition to the St. Mark’s football matchup being moved to earlier in the season, Greenhill will now take annual trips south to Austin for matchups with St.

Andrew’s Episcopal School and/St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in addition to alternating trips to The Woodlands to play the John Cooper School.

The remainder of Greenhill’s interscholastic athletic teams will continue to play in the traditional North/South division alignment. Greenhill is currently assigned to North Zone.

“Football has always been, and should be, I feel, looked at differently within SPC. I will say that there are studies/ongoing discussion about the conference realignment, but no firm dates for final recommendations have been made as of yet,” said Mr. Wabrek.

Greenhill football players think this will help them be more competitive in the future.

“This greatly benefits us, since we typically can only field teams with 35 to 40 guys, while other schools are easily able to field teams with at least 70 guys,” Jake said. “For other schools, players have the benefit of only having to play on one side of the ball (either offense or defense), while here a majority of the players have to play on both sides of the ball. Already, that puts us at a disadvantage, since guys get fatigued and they are having to go up against other players who are fresh.”

Graphic by Arhum Khan

CHANGING CONFERENCE: Next year’s football teams in SPC’s new Division 3A and 4A.

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sports

New Head Coaches Take Over Spring Teams On the lacrosse field or tennis court, new coaches see team spirit as the key to success Zayna Syed Views Editor

Upper School History teacher Scott Cotton loves picking up staplers and hairbrushes. It’s not because he has an affinity for stapling things or really enjoys combing his hair. Holding these objects simply remind him of gripping a tennis racket, something he did often in his youth as a two-time state champion high school player.

This year, Mr. Cotton was promoted to be the head Boys Varsity Tennis coach, after 11 years of serving as an assistant coach. Since the program has thus far been successful (with seven SPC championships in the past 11 years), he does not wish to make any major changes, but rather maintain the program’s on-court success and off-court camaraderie.

“

So I’d say we’ve been blessed with not just really good players, but also guys that buy into a team concept.”

“He likes to make sure we all get to know each other and know our strengths and weaknesses. Everyone knows each other better this year. We’re more of a unified team,” said junior Nate Eazor.

Stephanie Finley, Greenhill’s new Girls Varsity Lacrosse coach, first fell in love with the sport after getting a lacrosse ball chucked in her face. She was seven years old, and her older sister, hoping to improve her newly acquired lacrosse skills, forced her to practice the sport. Coach Finley had never played before and didn’t know how to properly catch the ball. Fast forward 15 years later, and Coach Finley is an accomplished

By the numbers Compiled by Ellen Margaret Andrews and Joseph Weinberg

TEACH TO SUCCEED : Upper School History teacher and new Head Varsity Boys Tennis coach Scott Cotton (left) and Head Varsity Girls Lacrosse coach Stephanie Finley (right) look to bring their past experiences in their sports to help lead their teams to success.

player that has served on the U.S. Women’s National Lacrosse Team and currently plays for Team STX, a club lacrosse team made up of some of the best players in the country.

As the new coach of a program that hasn’t had a lot of success (they went 7-10 last year), Coach Finley hopes to restructure the lacrosse program by instilling basic skills in the players and changing the team’s mentality.

“I want them to believe that they’re able to do whatever they want,” she said. “The thing that I’ve noticed about these girls is that they worry about the outcomes a lot, and what I want them to do is worry about Greenhill and worry about what they can do to become better.”

Mr. Cotton similarly recognizes the importance of team spirit. In fact, he attributes Boys Varsity Tennis’ success to being able to keep highly ranked players, who stay for the team aspect of tennis.

“We’ve had great success in the past because we’ve had a lot of really good players, first of all,” said Mr. Cotton. “I’d also say

The number of strikeouts recorded by senior Daniel O’Brien in the Varsity Baseball team’s victory against Cistercian on March 17. Dan, a senior captain, threw a complete game en route to a 4-1 vicotry.

16

we’ve been really fortunate to have just a great group of guys over the years with good team spirit and people sort of doing it for the team, not just for themselves. So I’d say we’ve been blessed with not just really good players, but also guys that buy into a team concept.”

Nate Eazor, ranked #3 in Texas and #75 nationally, can attest to this.

“I really like the team and community.

It’s a lot different from playing independent matches, because you only have your parents there. At school, you have your teammates cheering you on,” he said.

Both coaches have tried to personalize their respective programs.

This season, Mr. Cotton asked his players to fill out a survey, detailing their strengths, weaknesses, and goals for the season.

“I like to know what students think about themselves, just like students in a class, I like to know about them personally and find out what their goals and strengths are,” said Mr. Cotton. “I’ll come back to

34 The combined number of goals scored by the Boys Varsity Lacrosse Team in their games versus All Saints Episcopal School on March 29 and the Kincaid School on April 1.

them and try and figure out what we need to do for practice. And based on what their strengths and weaknesses are, I’ll probably tailor practice to meet those needs.”

Coach Finley has followed suit, asking her players to personalize their playbooks.

She allots each player a binder and a generic packet of plays, but encourages them to rewrite the plays in ways that make sense to them individually. This allows the players to study the plays on their own, rather than simply relying on learning them during practice.

“Each individual girl has their own playbook, we’re going to focus on the mental game. We’re going to make them strong mentally,” Coach Finley said.

Senior Sophia Steckler says that Coach Finley’s new approach to the Girls Lacrosse program has resulted in positive changes.

“We’ve definitely been playing more as a team, it’s more cohesive than it’s been in the past. We’re all a lot closer and we also trust each other to make passes and catches more than we have in the past,” Sophia said.

“

Each individual girl has their own playbook, we’re going to focus on the mental game. We’re going to make them strong mentally,”

As for Boys Tennis, Mr. Cotton said that they’re just focused on continuing their legacy.

“I don’t really have a lot of big changes.

We’ve been successful on the court and we’ve had really good team chemistry and school spirit,” Mr. Cotton said. “So I see my job as trying to maintain both of those.”

The number of seconds it took senior Naya Sharp to run the 100 meter hurdles on April 2 in the Texas Relays meet in Austin. Her time was a new Division 1 meet record.

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18 sports

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wednesday, april 13, 2016

Opinion: Our Nation’s Bias Towards White Quarterbacks Maybe America’s golden boy isn’t so golden. Peyton Manning, two-time Super Bowl Champion and former Denver Broncos’ quarterback becomes the latest name thrown into the media conversation of abuse and harassment by NFL players. In 1996 Jamie Naughright, who was at the time a trainer for the University of Tennessee, filed a sexual harassment suit against a then 19-year-old Peyton Manning. Their respective accounts of the incident that took place in the training room differ greatly.

While Manning describes the event as a mooning incident and “a harmless prank,” Naughright says Manning put his backside on her face.

Many times, the ideal quarterback is a white male that has a squeaky clean family image and the media and fans view them in such a light. Whereas black quarterbacks are constantly viewed as less intelligent, less qualified, and more “thuggish” or “ghetto” which goes against the perfect family man stereotype the NFL tries to promote for their quarterbacks.

Manning is not the only one subjected to controversy of this nature. In 2008, Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger was accused of rape by a 20-year-old college girl while out for a night of clubbing.

Johnny Manziel, former quarterback of the Cleveland Browns was accused of assault twice during his time with the Browns.

Once in Cleveland after an altercation with his girlfriend in the car, the other time he allegedly threatened to kill his girlfriend after he abducted her in Dallas.

Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots was accused of deflating footballs before games, the scandal infamously known as Deflategate. The list goes on and on… What happened to them?

Well, Peyton Manning just retired – with fanfare, love and support. Where according to a headline in the Denver Post, Manning will “Ride off into the sunset.” Rothlisberger is still an NFL Quarterback and this past season led his team to a 10-6 record and a wildcard spot. Johnny Manziel, although his career seemed to be in jeapordy after being cut by the Cleveland Browns he recently hired famous sports agent Drew Rosenhaus who represents NFL players such as Rob Gronkowski tight end for the New England Patriots and LeSean McCoy, running back of the Buffalo Bills. Other NFL players, after having legal or personal trouble in the past, were not as fortunate as these three.

Take Michael Vick for example. The second string quarterback of the Steelers spent a little under two years in prison for dog fighting. Carolina Panthers starting Quarterback Cam Newton has been widely criticized by the media and fans for “thug” like behavior such as “dabbing” on the field.

Both quarterbacks received extensive media coverage and Vick’s case almost two years of jail time for their actions.

“

What about Cam Newton?

Would he be granted the same grace by fans and the media?

Would the commentary still be “innocent until proven guilty?”

There are plenty of notable differences between the stories. First, Vick was convicted and suspended indefinitely from the NFL at the time. Although it’s never right to harm animals in any capacity many NFL teams brush off allegations of assault.

There’s another big difference too.

These prosecuted quarterbacks – who also aren’t so squeaky clean – are black whereas

Photo courtesy of The Dallas Morning News

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: In 1996, now retired quarterback Peyton Manning was accused of sexual harrasment by a female trainer at his alma mater, the University of Tennesse. Manning was not charged, and went on to be a two-time Super Bowl champion.

the “misguided, innocent” who simply “need a little bit of help” quarterbacks are white. The NFL is currently 68.7 percent black according to the American Enterprise Institute, but there are currently only five black starting quarterbacks out of 32 which makes up about 16 percent of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL. And when covered by the media, they are constantly criticized for dancing or “thuggish” behavior on and off the field while white quarterbacks tend to be accused of much more serious crimes that are over looked by the media.

For those who think race doesn’t matter in the NFL, I’d say think again. From the fans on Twitter that create memes placing Manning and Cam Newton side by side, describing Cam as a thug because of his dress to the

reporters that criticize him for “dabbing” on the field or dancing after a touchdown.

Newton said it himself in an interview when he said, “I’m an African-American quarterback that may scare a lot of people because they haven’t seen nothing they can compare me to.”

But what if Michael Vick was accused of sexual harassment or rape like Manning or Roethlisberger? What about Cam Newton? Would he be granted the same grace by fans and the media? Would the commentary still be “innocent until proven guilty?”

While these answers might be rhetorical, the bias against black quarterbacks is not.

written by Madison Goodrich

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wednesday, april 13, 2016

afterwords

19

Don’t Miss Missing Out

I sit around and watch my friends poorly play a game of billiards, while a few boys in another room crowd around an Xbox, madly invested in a video game. I watch a couple of my other friends sit on a bench and just talk to each other. I do nothing, and yet, I couldn’t have missed this impromptu Saturday night “party.” I just couldn’t have, because my FOMO wouldn’t have let me.

FOMO: noun, the “fear of missing out”,

a state of mental or emotional strain caused by the fear of missing out according to Urban Dictionary.

The saying goes: you won’t regret doing something, but you will regret not doing it.

Sounds practical in the context of romantic comedies or terminal illness. However, going to a lame get-together just to say you went, instead of getting extra hours of sleep or even a few more episodes of your favorite TV show no longer seems worth it.

FOMO is a common and stressful experience that is yet prevalent among teenagers today. Between seeing Snapchat Stories of friends at a house to which you weren’t invited, to not understanding an inside joke for which you weren’t present, FOMO can hurt.

I appreciate the feeling when you know that your friends are somewhere that you aren’t. You’re at home watching Netflix. They are making memories. However, I also get

what it feels like to be with a big group of people at someone’s house, just wishing I were in my bed asleep.

I am an extrovert. I absorb the energy of other people and use that as my own, meaning I like to be around my friends for a large portion of my time, otherwise I get tired and lonely. But sometimes, similarly to an adrenaline rush, I don’t realize just how little time I’ve spent alone until I burn out from all the time I’ve spent with other people.

Everyone needs alone time, and I often don’t remember to account for this. I preoccupy myself with lame parties and sitting around doing nothing with big groups of people to delay this “scarcity of me-time crash,” for lack of a better term.

Attributing my FOMO to being an extrovert is an easy way to justify the insecure feelings. However, these two parts of me are very unrelated.

Being an extrovert isn’t something I can

Stereotypes in a Different Time Zone

As a shy freshman, I signed up for a two-week Foreign Exchange Program to Taipei, Taiwan over spring break. After hosting Angel Liu, a foreign exchange student from Taipei the previous fall, I convinced my parents to let me visit her.

My Name is...

Vroom Vroom? Slim Shady? Nah... I’m Varun.

I stroll into my “Studies in Poetry” class on the first day expecting to compose goofy rhymes like Dr. Seuss and read Shakespearean sonnets in Old English accents. Today’s warm-up exercise is posted on the white board: construct a poem in three words.

“I have a dream.” No, it’s a word too

control nor something I would change even if I could.

Conversely, FOMO is based on insecurity, which almost all teenagers experience at some point. For me, this insecurity can be broken down pretty basically. I’m worried that I won’t get invited to a party or event because someone doesn’t like me. Therefore, whenever I do get invited, I want to prove that I’m fun and likeable, so I go.

But it’s something I can control.

There comes a time, after days and days of spending time with people, that I choose to embrace time with myself without the fear that I’ll miss an inside joke or exciting game of truth or dare. Because without FOMO, I can say no to going to a crappy “party” where all I do is sit around watching a bad game of billiards.

Even though we only spent two weeks in the U.S. together, her curious nature and peppy smile made us fast friends. As a Spanish student, my parents could not understand why I would want to go to a country where I couldn’t speak the language. But the truth is that no last minute Chinese class could have prepared me for the journey ahead.

My fear of the unknown almost prevented me from taking my first international journey. The initial transition was challenging. I didn’t know how to respond to questions like, “Why is your hair not curly?” or “Which do you like more, singing or dancing?” (Neither of which I do well). I found it oddly empowering to be able to break stereotypes of Americans and African-Americans for teenagers in Taiwan,

whose only interaction with black people was mostly through the media. They didn’t see a black person as a singer or dancer, or as the first person shot in a horror movie.

They saw a black girl who is curious about the world. Hopefully, they realize other black people don’t confine themselves to such limiting roles.

Although I’m not the voice of the African-American community, I’m grateful to have had the chance to give the Taiwanese students a new perspective of what it means to be African-American, and that you can’t put anyone from a particular race or ethnicity into a single box.

This experience made me realize there’s power in difference; but it wasn’t always easy being different. Navigating

questions about my hair, my skin, correcting stereotypes, begging people to believe me when I say I can’t sing or dance-- it’s tiring.

It’s a different set of questions I don’t really get here in America. By no means were they discriminatory, they were just curious, and I had to be okay with that. The whole point of a culture exchange is to learn about each other and realize our differences make us who we are. Being an exchange student in Taiwan helped prepare me as a student to thrive in our increasingly connected society. I’m glad I was able to lead through knowledge and compassion.

much. “A for effort.” Maybe, but it’s too cliché. I jot down other catchy, trademark slogans. None of them ring authentic.

The prompt I decide is too broad for my imagination, so I go back to the first words of advice I ever received. “Just be yourself.”

I have to tell my story, and it has to be personal.

My name is.

As many of you know, I am an ABCD (American Born Confused Desi). I was given a traditional Hindu name and, as a result, most people cannot pronounce my name properly. I’ve mostly given up correcting my close friends, classmates and strangers to whom I may never speak to again. But when I do, they stare at my lips in bewilderment as if I am speaking a tribal language. Either they butcher my name or adapt it to popular pop and hip-hop groups, such as Varoon5 and Varun-tang-clan. When I pick up togo orders, I assume the identity of Brian,

Barun, Verun and “cool guy”. Most times I get a crazy story to share with friends like when a Raising Cane’s employee gave away my Box Combo Meal to a white, high school teenager.

Another oddity is that I prefer writing and reading as opposed to traditional Desi paths. (Think: engineering or medicine).

People’s eyebrows go up when I speak about journalism, politics or memorable literary and historical works to my classmates and teachers.

Yet, as someone who sees the glass half-full, Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby gently reminds me that my human condition is not permanent. I wield my hidden power - my name means “the Hindu God of water”, and reverse the boat’s course.

How can three words evoke an emotion or a feeling of nostalgia? Ask a filmmaker, author and journalist. We all use short titles to label a long, multi-layered story. Perhaps

it can offer others a glimpse into the past.

Headlines inevitably fall to the last day of layout week among the Evergreen staff, potentially adding hours to an already long day of school. With stories fully edited and pages designed, less experienced writers are tasked with possibly the hardest task of all.

As a freshman, I remember surfing Rhyme Zone and Twitter frantically for last minute, inspirational puns and play on words. And then the million-dollar idea would hit me and my reward was widespread applause echoing off every corner of the room.

As humans, our greatest desire is to be known, loved, and respected. So, as I start a new verse in my life with brand new faces, I’ll strive to continue developing the meaning of my name.

As I said before, I’ll continue “beating on against the current, borne back ceaselessly in the past.” My name is Varun.

Virgin Mary vs. American Apparel Models

I have always felt conflicted about how my Catholic, Hispanic culture shapes my identity as a woman. I have gone over it multiple times with my therapist, Albert. I have come up with a fairly simple solution: perhaps the difficulty stems from the various cultures I have been exposed to, such as the American Apparel advertisements, or other

media influences. But everything else from there is pretty complicated.

The American Apparel ads, much like American TV shows and American music provide references to what many Americans believe a young lady’s behavior should be.

The ads promote women as sexual objects.

Women are portrayed in compromising positions in underwear.

Conversely, my parent’s religion promotes women as merchandise, but different than the type that’s for sale on an American Apparel ad. Women are for marriage. No sex before marriage. Wear acceptable clothing. Don’t expose too much chest. Clothing must show your frame, but nothing above the knee. Your clothing must demonstrate your femininity.

I always had a difficult time reconciling these two forces in my life. There was so

much at odds between concepts of what I was taught was right and American culture.

Who would I be without these conflicting expectations? Do I become an American Apparel advertisement, or adhere to the requirements my mother and my father have laid out?

One night this past summer, after going to a party, my cousin and I stopped by a gas station before heading home. I was wearing a skirt that fell a few inches above my knee. As we were filling gas in the car, a few drunken men walked toward us and started calling out. There was a moment of contemplation, as I remembered my mother’s words earlier that evening. She was worried about the clothing that we were wearing, not for our reputations, but for the reaction of others.

After countless sessions with Albert, he agreed that my issues with comprehending

situations that deal with my identity stem from the complication of reason and social boundaries that I have grown up with. Much of this comes from a pious Hispanic culture, an opportunistic and, at times, artificial, American lifestyle, and my experiences as a young woman.

For this reason, after analyzing these sometimes contradicting social expectations, there always seems to be a restriction within my own thoughts of what it was that I wanted versus what was the best thing to do. I’ve learned over time, to never strictly adhere to the actions or beliefs of the societies I have been exposed to. Although it is ultimately necessary to be aware of different societies’ female archetype, it is limiting and destructive to our happiness to abide solely by those definitions in life.

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wednesday, april 13, 2016

From History Pod to the Oval Office Upper School History Teacher Enters the Presidential Race

Graphic by Megan Wiora and Catherine Leffert

Upper School History Teacher Scott Cotton officially declared his candidacy in the 2016 Presidential race this morning.

“I teach history, now I want to make history,” said Mr. Cotton. After contemplating entering the race for months, he decided to enter, despite being absent from many primary ballots.

“I feel very confident that I will become president. I know more about the role of the presidency than any other candidate. I can

make AP Gov great again.”

Mr. Cotton doesn’t want to pigeonhole himself into a single party. So he has created his own party that represents everyone in America.

“Since I did not want to join the Democratic nor Republican party, I decided to make my own. My party, the American party, is the ideal party because it’s American, and I am going to be the president of America,” he said.

Miley Cyrus, who parties in the USA, is a big supporter of Cotton.

“Got my hands up, Cotton is running for president. And now America is gonna be okay. Yeah! It’s a party in the USA!” she said, “I would love to be his VP nomination.” She is currently making Cotton and Cyrus signs and putting them in her neighbors’ yards.

Mr. Cotton also has the endorsement of current President of the United States Barack Obama.

Marshall Performing Arts Center to be closed down indefinitely Head of School Scott Griggs announced this morning that due to a camera in the AVP room being out of battery, the Marshall Performing Arts Center will be shut down for the foreseeable future. Naturally, the repairs will exceed 10.009 million dollars.

Regardless, administrators and donors are not discouraged.

“This is a bummer, but on the bright side the enchiladas in the cafeteria were delicious today,” said Assistant Head of School Tom Perryman ’81, who has been actively involved in the planning of the MPAC. Michael Orman, Performing Arts Building Coordinator, currently lives in the MPAC, and is sad to move.

“My whole family lives here. I will miss falling asleep under the twinkling lights of Rose Hall.”

As of now, he is refusing to leave and is camping out in the parking lot of the MPAC. Mr. Orman is not the only one who has made the MPAC his home. A misplaced group of visitors from a Hill Guide tour can still be seen wandering the labyrinth that is the MPAC, hoping to one day find their way back to their cars. The Addison Police Department has arranged for a search party before demolition.

Photo by Madison Goodrich

“I think Cotton would be the best president yet. He seems like a pretty cool dude,” Obama said.

When asked what the first thing he would do once becoming president, Mr. Cotton said, “Everything. I would do everything.”

If he became the Commander in Chief, he would still continue teaching through Global Online Academy.

Advanced Video Production scams school, Spielberg produces all films In a recent scandal, Steven Spielberg ’64 has announced that he has been creating and producing every AVP film.

Corbin Doyle, MS/US Film Teacher, caught Spielberg in the AVP room in the MPAC last Tuesday tweaking a film for senior Mia Krumerman.

Spielberg, a Greenhill alum, sought out AVP students in 2003, wanting to help out his alma mater. He knew that this was forbidden and made a pact with the students to hide their deal.

Film teacher Corbin Doyle was not aware of this and is threatening to sue Spielberg.

“I am so hurt, so disappointed in my students, so ashamed. I really trusted their talent,” Mr. Doyle said.

Spielberg will no longer continue making films for Greenhill and is sad to quit his true passion.

“Yes, I’ve made major motion pictures and won many Oscars, but my true obsession is creating films for Greenhill students,” said Mr. Speilber. “Under my name, people expect sharks, aliens or dinosaurs in every one of my movies, but when making AVP films, I am able to do so much more.”

Spielberg is currently being interrogated by Upper School History teacher David Lowen.