Evergreen the
february 10, 2016
Everything Greenhill
volume 51, issue 4
Give Back What Was Given
Graphic by Arhum Khan
Greenhill isn’t the type of school that shies away from tough conversations. On a given day, students may cover race, religion, gender, and politics in a matter of hours. Likewise, when it comes to topics like privilege, the school goes in head first. “Society has placed a taboo surrounding discussions of class and equality,” said Upper School English teacher Dr. Karin Thomas. “The school encourages these necessary and uncomfortable discussions, but it is up to the students to take these discussions further.” So this is a story about privilege. But it isn’t about gender superiority or socioeconomic status (though with tuition at more than $29,000 a year for those in seventh grade and above, it is hard to ignore that the school is inaccessible to most people). Instead, this is a story about how Greenhill teaches students about educational privilege. Here are some facts. Greenhill School is one of the top independent schools in the country, ranked 46th in the U.S. among private day schools, and third in Texas by thebestschools. org. The school provides cutting edge technology: fully-stocked labs with high functioning computers and Smart Boards for teachers. Classrooms are clean and temperate. Each student has a desk, which is a luxury in some area schools. Teachers constantly update curriculum based on new research and literature. Administrators give careful consideration to each student’s individual idiosyncrasies. Every year, the school’s graduating class matriculates to prestigious colleges
like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. But how does Greenhill ensure that its students maximize this educational privilege and understand the responsibilities that come with receiving a topnotch education? “This question is huge,” said Assistant Head of School Tom Perryman. “This question is fundamentally the mission of the school.” In many ways, proof is in the result. Alumni and students change the world – they feed the hungry, fight for underprivileged rights, and dedicate their lives to improving others’. Many attribute the foundations of their work to the school. However even if students don’t become social workers or civil servants, the school tries to teach them to understand the importance of their responsibility as members of the world through service learning and specialized classes. “Whether they are making a sandwich for a food kitchen or committing their lives to community service, Greenhill tries to help students understand their place in the broader world,” said Director of Academics Jason Yaffe. Eric Johnson ’94 has made it his life’s purpose to bring Greenhill’s educational privilege to more people throughout North Texas. After Mr. Johnson graduated, he went to Harvard, then returned back home to Dallas. Now a Texas state representative, Mr. Johnson serves District 100, one of the poorest districts in the state. “Greenhill…gaveme everything I could possibly want,
but the impact it had on me primarily was wanting something closer to [Greenhill] for more children,” he said. “It is something that we just can’t only make available for the wealthiest people.” Greenhill’s environment stands in stark contrast to the schools many of Johnson’s friends and family attended in West Dallas. “I could see both ways of life whereas a lot of my friends had a blind spot and they just didn’t know what they didn’t know,” Mr. Johnson said. Many other alumni have applied their pedigreed degrees to help people with fewer resources. Susan Hensarling Nahkunst ’75 is the executive director of Keep Austin Fed, a non-profit, volunteer organization that delivers healthy food to hungry people. Mackenzie Naert ‘10 was in the Yale Global Health Fellows Program, where she spent part of her junior year in Kenya, surveying diabetes awareness. Lauren Hradecky Blitzer ‘01 is the Economic Security Director at Dallas Women’s Foundation. Many students at Greenhill glean exposure from the service learning program. Greenhill requires a minimum of 48 community service hours to graduate, and community service projects are consistent in all grade levels. “It doesn’t matter what your SAT score is, what car you drive, or how fast you can run a 40 [yard dash]. Everybody can serve,” Mr. Perryman said. Director of Service Learning and Community Service Sally Rosenberg said she encourages students to focus on areas they might not have thought about.
“I would like to see students reach out of [their] comfort zone,” said Ms. Rosenberg. “We as adults do what we want to do so I want you all to do what you want to do and hopefully stretch yourselves a little bit.” Sofia Shirley ‘15 graduated from Greenhill last June. In her first year at Vanderbilt University, Sofia tutored underprivileged kids at a Nashville public school. Volunteering in Nashville has reaffirmed Sofia’s understanding of her educational privilege. “Being at Greenhill for 14 years, service became part of my everyday life, and I couldn’t imagine leaving that behind after I graduated,” said Sofia.“At both Greenhill and Vanderbilt, I am surrounded by people receiving the same high-caliber education. Volunteering and seeing that not everyone has access to that [education] makes me realize how fortunate I am and how firmly I believe a quality education should be a basic right. Unfortunately, it isn’t yet.” Greenhill also offers over a dozen service and social justice oriented classes to students, including Service Learning in Spanish, a class where students are required to find a community service project where they can use Spanish and volunteer at least twice per six-day cycle. Human Rights in the Modern World is a class that teaches students that no human is lesser than another. “The hope is that students leave this class with the understandings, skills and motivation to take some sort of action, either at the global, national or local level,” according to the course catalog. Head of Upper School,
Laura Ross, said she hopes that Greenhill’s classes and curriculum ultimately teach students to think of the greater scheme of things. “I would say that I want students to take away from Greenhill the idea that whatever you may choose to do in life, they have a greater responsibility to the world,” said Mrs. Ross. “I hope the education here gives you enough context so that when you make decisions, you are thinking about the ethical framework and the impact of your choices on your local or global community.” Mr. Johnson hopes students consider the next step too. “It is not charity; it is not volunteering; it is not tutoring. It is about being able to say ‘I have friends’ in different parts of the city. Nobody is looking down at anybody and nobody is looking up at anybody. It is simply ‘let’s get to know what your life is like,’” he said. “Who knows where it can go from there. Let’s just see what other people are doing…How other people are living.” Nevertheless, in the midst of homework and other assignments, students can forget the value of their education. “It is easier now to look back on Greenhill and be grateful of the experience that I had there,” Sofia said. “Its’ kind of the age-old catch 22,” Mr. Perryman said. “You raise ‘em the best you can and you hope they make good desicions, but ultimately they’re making their own desicions.”
What’s the purpose of prison? p. 3
The alumnus in the Obama Administration p. 4
Senior incorporates her love of physics into her art. p. 10
Exploring the dangers in one of America’s favorite sports p. 14
Director of Equity and Inclusion Karen Bradberry writes to the editor p. 15
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Rants & Raves A RAVE to the finallycleared potholes on Hornet Rd. After months of having holes that are deep enough to stretch to the other end of the earth, Greenhill has finally decided to fill them up so that young drivers don’t have to experience the daily trauma of mini-car-earthquakes.
A RANT to the lack of tissue boxes in Upper School classrooms. Upper School students lead crazy lives, and sometimes all we need is something to wipe away our stressinduced tears. Please let us sob in the math pod in peace.
A RAVE to the new Zen garden in Mr. Baker’s office. We all knew his delicious candy bowl would be a tough act to follow, but Mr. Baker has truly come through for us, yet again! With sand (sand!) and a mini-rake (a mini-rake!) the Zen garden will surely give the MPAC a run for its money as Greenhill’s best new feature.
A RANT to the increasing difficulty of locating a regular-sized plate outside of the cafeteria line. They say that everything should be in moderation, and that includes the number of plates needed to comfortably fit your lunch on (fewer than six).
A RAVE to the new landscaping around campus. Nothing says “successful private school” like manicured mini shrubs! A little more grooming of campus will help our peacocks feel like they’re back home on the grounds of Versailles in no time.
A RANT to the broken chairs throughout the Upper School. Forget worrying about whether it’s a push or pull door, now students have to be wary of finding a sturdy chair. Next time your seat creaks, be ready to take a quick trip to the floor of your classroom.
A RAVE to the Junior A RANT to coincidMavs. It’s honestly so inspiing dates for dances and rational how hard these standardized tests. Thank kids work and the time you, Greenhill, for makand effort Greenhill Girls ing sure that juniors and Varsity Basketball spends seniors never get to athelping them out. tend any school events like Hornet Night, Prom, or even ISAS. Hopefully, one day this feud between the administration and College Board will be over so that students can take a break from their mountains of homework and waste Content courtesy of Julia Halm, Richa Sinkre, and Zach Rudner their time under adult supervision.
A RAVE to the new sofa outside Mr. Oros’ office. After a long day of lugging our textbooks from class to class, every student wants a place where they can rest and drop snack crumbs into the crevices of the cushions. Now when we are tired of swiveling in chairs in English classrooms or falling out of broken chairs everywhere else, our butts can find a reliable pillow to relax on.
Lunch: Study Hall or Dining Hall? Thousands of ambitious Americans opt to use their lunch break to get ahead or catch up on work while eating lunch. These are known as “working lunches” and they plague offices and schools across America, in true “go get ‘em” American fashion. Greenhill is no different. We may even have more than our fair share of go-getters. But the term is coined a “working lunch,” not “free work period” and many Greenhill students seem to have forgotten that. Every day, Upper School students typically make a decision: go to the cafeteria and eat a proper meal, or use the free 45 minutes to get work done. Many opt to finish the work. Lunch can wait. But lunch is essential to productivity. “Part of the reason lunch can boost your
performance at work is that food literally fuels your brain, which needs a constant supply of energy to function optimally,” said certified dietician and nutritionist Ellie Krieger in a Washington Post editorial. “The worst thing you can do for your midday mental performance is to skip lunch; and the best thing you can do, it seems, is to eat one with a balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat.” In short, if you want to ace that math test fifth period, you better have eaten lunch. We, at the Evergreen, want to challenge this mindset of treating lunch as a hindrance rather than a necessity and offer alternatives that allow students to both work and satiate hunger. For example, lunch doesn’t have to be a
Staff Editorial
drawn-out process. Instead of waiting in the lengthy hot-lunch lines, make a sandwich from the sandwich bar. If the line for the sandwich bar is too long, consider adding ingredients from the salad bar. There you can color your plate with greens, veggies, cheese, and meat. If you are simply unwilling to waste any time in the cafeteria, go to The Buzz and pick up an impromptu lunch during Bagel Break. The Buzz always sells ramen, Lunchables, and macaroni and cheese. Chicken and turkey wraps are also sold, starting midday onwards. Although some of these do not offer the same health benefits as a sandwich or salad, they are great quick-fixes . Alternatively, if you have third or fourth period off, grab an early lunch at
the cafeteria. (After the youngsters filter through, obviously.) Not only are you able to eat lunch, you also have first dibs on the food before the varsity athletes plow in! (No more waiting in pasta bar lines, only to have all the pasta run out!) We know what it’s like to feel pressure to perform our best on our English quiz fifth period. We never want to think, “what if I had only used my lunch period to study? Would I have gotten a better grade?” But lunch helps us perform better and it should not be compromised. So entertain a new what if: “What if I had eaten lunch? Would I have been able to focus better and, therefore, perform better?”
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Evergreen staff editors-in-chief
content editor
Madison Goodrich Catherine Leffert
Mia Krumerman
executive editor
Erratas, December 2015 issue
sports editors
design editor
asst. news editor
backpage editor
news editor
asst. arts editor
asst. online editor
copy editor
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asst. features editors business manager Simra Abedi Radhe Melwani
Ryan Diebner
managing editor
arts editors
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advisor
Varun Gupta
Christina Zhu
Amna Naseem
Megan Wiora
Ben Schachter
Simra Abedi Zoe Allen Zach Rudner
Ellen Margaret Andrews Joseph Weinberg Suman Chebrolu Areeba Amer Zayna Syed Lane Hirsch Ben Krakow
Arhum Khan
Sophie Bernstein
Lili Stern
Abbas Hasan
Josh Rudner
Lauren Silva Laughlin
staff writers
Samar Ahmad Stephen Crotty Allie Frymire Maya Ghosh Christian Quintero Kathie Rojas Jordan Sternblitz Ross Rubin Kionce Woods Alice Zhang
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Anurag Kurapati Anusha Kurapati Jackson Lowen Avery Jane Williams
p.3 Sports Car Club description was taken from Cavalcade 1951.
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What’s the Purpose of Prison?
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Recent events with El Chapo’s return to prison and Ethan Couch’s elusion of it raises a serious question: What is the purpose of prisons? Are they sites of punishment, centers for rehabilitation, or something else?
Some may contend that prisons exist to punish, to deter, to rehabilitate, to incapacitate, or to provide retribution—and to an extent, they would be correct. Yet prisons are far more than their conception would have you imagine: they are above all an extension of the modern Foucauldian surveillance state and sites of gratuitous violence. In these brutal sites, men, women, and others are assaulted and abused: certain statistics indicate more than 10 percent of all prisoners are subjected to sexual abuse, and many perpetrators are prison officials. Given the conditions in prisons, it is also unsurprising that racial gangs such as the Aryan Brotherhood or Nazi Lowriders exist; the racial/sexual violence and everlasting trauma suffered by inmates far outstrips any retribution a crime could deserve and makes rehabilitation impossible. Additionally, the criminal justice system itself is flawed, biased towards incarceration for individuals with certain external markers. If no checks on this state power--conducted in the name of “national security” or “public safety”--are introduced, then the future of life in America seems dark indeed. Especially for those whose bodies are labeled as deviant—non-whites, queers, nongender conforming and trans* individuals.
-Kevin Wei, senior
Angola penitentiary in Louisiana was once known as the bloodiest prison in the United States. The motto was “lock ‘em up, and throw away the key”. It had a survival mentality of kill or be killed. On average, 40 inmates were murdered every year. Most inmates had a 4th grade level of education. Hope was nowhere to be found until Burl Cain became the new warden in 1995. Upholding a promise he made to his mother, he partnered with a local Baptist seminary and established the Angola Bible College within the walls of the prison. They had one simple goal: moral rehabilitation. Suddenly, the culture changed. The homicide rate dropped to zero. Former gang leaders became pastors. Relationships between forgotten fathers and their children were healed. Imprisonment without a God-centered rehabilitation is a waste of human potential. Every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future.
-Mr. Krueger, Upper School Science teacher
What are prisons for? That is an interesting question. But I think the question should be– “How are prisons used in America?” They are used for punishment and foster an environment where criminals learn to become even more dangerous. Most people sent to Graphic by Avery Jane Williams prison are put into a population where they can get to know and learn from a variety of different This school year, I’ve taken both Sociology and lawbreakers, and add that to the fact that most people Psychology with Mr. Lowen, and the purpose of prison with prison records can only find minimum paying jobs, seems to be a question that we are always drawn back to. those that have paid their debts to society find that the Near the middle of first trimester, our Sociology class was information they learned while in prison provides a introduced to what a Norwegian prison looks like. If you much easier way to make money. We know this because have never seen one, you should definitely look it up! The of the high recidivism rates (76 percent of prisoners are prisons there are considered to be rehabilitation centers. back in prison within five years according to the National Instead of wasting their lives in dirty and unsafe prisons, Institute of Justice). So in America we use them as a like those of the U.S. (in 2008, more than 200,000 men sort of junior college for teaching people how to become were raped in prison, according to Daily Mail), inmates “better” criminals. And with the recent move to privatize are given clean and comfortable rooms, as well as access prisons, America sees them as a way to make money. If to skill-building materials that will help them get jobs once one was to ask – “What should prison be for?”, then the they get out of jail. answer is for rehabilitation and giving people a chance to In my opinion, the purpose of prisons should be to right whatever wrong they have committed. Norway, a prepare inmates to succeed in real life once they get out of country that sees the purpose of prisons as rehabilitation, jail. If they never experience some type of work that they has a recidivism rate of 20 percent (BusinessInsider.com). really enjoy, then they will never be motivated to work They use prison as a place to train and give criminals a when they get out of jail. If they do find work they enjoy chance to start over. and get a steady job, then this would drastically decrease their chances of ever going back to jail. -Mr. Lowen, Upper School
History teacher
-Amelia Jones, senior
Prisons should serve a punitive purpose for those who commit crimes worthy of a life sentence, but it should serve also in part as rehabilitative center for those with crimes of lesser sentences. The current system serves as neither of these things. To some degree, it serves to economically exploit the labors of prisoners. Coupled with this factor, and analyzing the rates of incarceration amongst different races, the American prison system is greatly flawed. The Ethan Couch situation represents a deeper issue with the justice system in our country. Couch is a young man that benefits from the pitfalls of the system and embodies the need for change. El Chapo also proves that justice is not immune to capital and privilege, though he represents it in a different manner.
In theory, the purpose of prison is supposed to consist of four main parts: rehabilitation, punishment, deterrence, and protecting the public. However, that is not what the prison system has become. When a person is imprisoned, it can destroy their entire life. Former convicts can have lots of trouble getting steady jobs, and that can cause them to revert to criminal behavior to get money. Another big problem is mental health care. The prison system does not often provide continued mental health care for convicts attempting to cope with mental health issues. Finally, the sentences rarely fit the crime, with insanely long sentences for smaller offenses, destroying the purposes of prison. Essentially, the idea of prison is to punish and rehabilitate, but the system does a really bad job of the rehabilitation.
-Brooke Bulmash, junior
-Erin McGuire, sophomore
Federal Prisons
State Prisons
Private Prisons
Public Prisons
Federal prisons are managed and run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, under the U.S. Department of Justice. People committed to federal prison are perpetrators of federal law.
State prisons are maintained and run by state authorities. Most criminals sent to state prisons are murderers and others guilty of gun related offenses.
Private prisons are for-profit institutions operated by the private sector. Some say that they allow the government to save money, however there has been dispute over the evidence for this. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, for-profit prisons are responsible for about 6 percent of state prisoners and 16 percent of federal prisoners.
Public prisons are completely funded by the government (at both the state and federal level) and they constitute about 94 percent of state prisoners and 84 percent of federal prisoners.
contributed by Areeba Amer, Zayna Syed, and Christina Zhu
Features the
See p. 6 for more on Michael Haskins’ day as a high school student.
From Policy Debater to Policy Maker Rashad Hussain ‘97 is a high ranking diplomat, notable for his work fighting for religious freedom. Zach Rudner Arts Editor
Rashad Hussain hasn’t changed much since high school. Sure, he’s 19 years older now and has a wife and three kids but, besides those biological exceptions, high school Rashad and high-ranking-Obama Administration-official-who’s-known-asa-fighter-for-religious-freedom-in-theMuslim-world Rashad are one and the same. When Mr. Hussain went to Greenhill, he excelled. He and his debate partner, Josh Goldberg, came in first or second place at almost every national tournament their senior year. He said Greenhill helped show him the importance of religious diversity, and he remembered reading a formative book about the world’s religions in Upper School English teacher Dan Kasten’s class. “Going back to my experience at Greenhill, the opportunities to learn about and learn directly from people of other faiths including my own debate partner, Josh Goldberg, who’s Jewish… created a strong foundation for me to be an advocate for religious freedom,” Mr. Hussain said.
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The response that I’ve had has been overwhelmingly positive overseas. I think it’s refreshing for audiences overseas to see a MuslimAmerican in this type of a diplomatic post.”
According to Aaron Timmons, Director of Debate, Mr. Hussain fasted during debate tournaments during the month of Ramadan. A policy-wonk, religious freedom advocate, and devout Muslim then, friends and former teachers said Mr. Hussain’s success has not been surprising. “[Rashad] in no way surprised me in regards to what he’s been able to attain because I knew just how brilliant he was and how dedicated and motivated he was,” Mr. Timmons said. Mr. Hussain graduated from Greenhill in 1997 and he’s been on a fast track to success ever since. He went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated in two years with degrees in both philosophy and political science. He got a Masters Degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Harvard University and served as a legislative aide on the House Judiciary Committee. He was working on Capitol Hill during the September 11, 2001 attacks and helped review the Patriot Act and other legislation. Mr. Hussain then attended Yale Law
School, where he became an editor of the Yale Law Journal and earned his second Masters Degree in Policy Administration from Harvard through a joint degree program. Mr. Hussain was then a law clerk and briefly worked at the Justice Department before joining President-Elect Obama’s transition team. When President Obama took office Mr. Hussain was named Deputy Associate Counsel to President Obama. Through a series of events, Mr. Hussain helped write President Obama’s “A New Beginning” speech in Cairo, where President Obama laid out his Middle East foreign policy. Mr. Hussain travelled with the President on the trip. Afterward, Mr. Hussain was asked to find a candidate to be Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). He listed candidates, but was then asked to do it himself. “I was surprised, but at the same time really honored,” said Mr. Hussain. “Half of being in Washington is being in the right place at the right time so I was very fortunate to have that opportunity to be to be nominated by the President for that position.” Mr. Hussain is essentially the U.S.’ ambassador to the Muslim world and has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the State Department for his work promoting religious freedom and fighting Holocaust denial. He has helped shape U.S. engagement with Muslim-majority countries and Muslim communities both globally and in the U.S. Mr. Hussain represents the U.S. in meetings with foreign heads of state, imams, and community leaders. He also participated in President Obama’s recent visit to a Baltimore mosque. “The response that I’ve had has been overwhelmingly positive overseas. I think it’s refreshing for audiences overseas to see a Muslim-American in this type of a diplomatic post,” Mr. Hussain said. “To know one of my best friends is responsible for helping to drive understanding and a positive outcome in so many ways for so many people… that’s deeply humbling and makes me extraordinarily proud to know him,” said Josh Goldberg, Mr. Hussain’s former debate partner. Last year, Mr. Hussain was named U.S. Special Envoy for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC). President Obama announced his appointment at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism. In his counterterrorism role, Mr. Hussain has worked to build
Photos from Rediff News and San Francisco Sentinel
TAKING CHARGE: Rashad Hussain ‘97 uses his experiences from Greenhill to advocate for religious freedom. He serves as the U.S. Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and as the U.S. Special Envoy for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications.
global messaging partnerships, working with both governmental and nongovernmental organizations in the Muslim world. Mr. Hussain also changed the tone of the messages the U.S. uses to counter ISIS’ propaganda. In September 2014, ThinkProgress described the CSCC as “trying to troll ISIS into oblivion.” That same month, a graphic video produced by the CSCC entitled “Welcome to the Islamic State Land” was mocked by both John Oliver on his comedy news show, and by ISIS itself. Mr. Hussain took over the department a few months later and has worked to give the organization a new direction.
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[Rashad] in no way surprised me in regards to what he’s been able to attain because I knew just how brilliant he was and how dedicated and motivated he was.”
“My view is that our messaging should take on a more factual and testimonial tone,” said Mr. Hussain. “We should be talking about the damage that ISIS is doing to Muslim communities, we should be talking about the defectors who have left ISIS, we should be talking about the successes that the international coalition is having on
the battlefield, and we should be talking about the actual living conditions under ISIS.” Mr. Hussain said being a devout Muslim has helped him as Special Envoy. At debate tournaments, Mr. Hussain would take out his prayer mat and pray between rounds. “[The debate coaches] were always very respectful of that, as was Josh,” said Mr. Hussain. “They would make jokes, like you know, pray for us, too.” “Being with Rashad was an incredibly enlightening and enjoyable experience,” said Mr. Goldberg. “We certainly challenged each other to work harder and do better but we also pushed each other to enjoy every single moment of the process and never to take ourselves too seriously.” At 36, Mr. Hussain now has a wife and three kids. His wife, Isra, is a Rhodes Scholar with a Ph.D. in social intervention and recently finished her year as a Supreme Court Fellow. Mr. Hussain wants to continue working in national security, but he couldn’t say with any specificity where he’d like to be in five, ten, or twenty years. That’s not so surprising though, considering it was only nineteen years ago that he was a Greenhill student, sitting in Mr. Kasten’s English class.
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wednesday, february 10, 2016
Greenhill’s Hispanic Community Weighs in on Republican Presidential Candidate Marco Rubio Zayna Syed Views Editor
Suman Chebrolu News Editor
One of the very first things presidential hopeful Senator Marco Rubio mentioned at his rally January 6 at the Westin Hotel in Dallas was his working class background. He grew up as the son of a maid and a bartender who both worked at a hotel “very much like the one I am standing in right now,” Senator Rubio said. This background helps him empathize with the issues faced by the immigrant, working-class, he said. His race for the Republican nomination comes at a pivotal time in American history. In order to stay competitive in a country with changing demographics, the Republican Party is attempting to appeal to the Hispanic base. According to the Center for American Progress, estimates show that the Republican presidential nominee must garner the support of 47 percent to 52 percent of Hispanic voters in order to win the general election in 2016. For many politicians in the Republican establishment, Senator Rubio is the perfect contender: he’s eloquent, young, committed to family values, and a first generation Cuban-American. However Greenhill’s Hispanic population has mixed views. “I respect him more than other members of his party that identify with the Hispanic community. I think he is genuinely more in touch with the immigrant experience in the United States,” said Upper School Spanish teacher Monsie Muñoz. Upper School History teacher Adrian Martinez identifies strongly with the Republican Party and likes that Rubio offers the GOP a different narrative. “Rubio is just very different. He upends a lot of those preconceived ideas of what a Republican is. For that reason, I think he’s the most viable candidate that we have. You could say some of the same things about Cruz, but everyone hates him. And if everyone hates you, it’s really hard to get things done,” Mr. Martinez said.
However, Mr. Martinez does have reservations about Senator Rubio. “The things that I don’t like about him are some of the things I didn’t like about Obama when he was elected. That is that [they are] relatively young, relatively inexperienced, no major accomplishments in the Senate. So I would worry about electing him president and then having another four years of a guy who is a novice in the most powerful position in the world,” Mr. Martinez said. Some Hispanic students have been turned off by the Republican Party because of remarks made by Donald Trump. For junior Bryant Caballero, Spanish news channels such as Univisión and Telemundo play an important role in shaping his opinion of the GOP. “It’s all negative perspective. It’s ‘oh Donald Trump did this! Look at what he said? How should we feel? Let’s fight back, let’s fight back!’ Honestly that’s the perspective I’m getting right now. And I’m starting to slowly drift away from the Republican Party, slowly shift away from those conservative views, because of all that negative coverage I see on the news,” Bryant said. Conversely, Mr. Martinez suggested that the Democratic Party effectively markets itself as a party of the poor, and as a result, gains Hispanic votes. “In the 60s and 70s, my family really bought into the idea of the Democrats being the party of the people, the party of the poor. What they think, incorrectly I might add, is that the Democrats are the party of the poor, the working class, whereas the Republicans were the party of the elite,” said Mr. Martinez. “And since my relatives don’t really see themselves that way, as rich and elite, they tend to vote, naturally, for Democrats. But most of them have never actually sat down and thought about each, individual issue.” In his family, this loyalty to the Democratic Party runs deep and often overrides all else. “If you sat down with my mother,
Photo courtesy of Dallas Morning News
LATINO LEADERSHIP: Republican Presidential Candidate Marco Rubio in Dallas on Jan. 6. Senator Rubio has elicited mixed emotions from the Greenhill Hispanic community.
and go down issues with her, and ask her questions like ‘Do you favor this, or this?’, more often than not, she answers the way a Republican would answer. But she still votes for Democrats,” Mr. Martinez said. Political scientists identify Hispanics as an important voting bloc. Pew Hispanic Center projects Hispanics will act for 40 percent of growth in the electorate by 2030. “It’s difficult to boil down an entire community. I know a lot of Hispanic families that are very conservative, because they’re Catholic,” said Bryant. “But then they hear [Republicans] talk about immigration laws and health benefits for the less fortunate. And that’s when they start to drift away from the Republican Party,” Bryant said. Senior Andrea Mora agrees. “I think the Hispanic community is such an interesting split because what the Republican-conservative community has going for them is conservative tradition: pro-life Christianity,” Andrea said. “But the Democrats also have pro-immigration, prorefugee care, pro-legalizing undocumented immigrants. I think there’s an even split in there.” As for Senator Rubio, Bryant thinks that offering the Hispanic base information on how to vote would be most beneficial. “Candidates like Marco Rubio have to work on launching campaigns on Spanish TV channels. [They] have to raise awareness and say, ‘Hey, you know what, if your children are born in the U.S. and over 18, they can vote, just the most basic knowledge,” said Bryant. “And this is what I have to offer to your community. Your children can vote for this. Your children can be the difference. Your children can be the difference you wish to see in this country.’ That would be the first step.” reporting by Kathie Rojas
A Snapshot of Senator Marco Rubio’s Platforms
Taxes Provide tax relief to the middle-class and cut tax rates for all businesses to 25 percent.
Defense Reinvest, modernize, and expand the military by strengthening the navy, ground forces, and air forces.
Guns “The right to bear arms” is an essential freedom guaranteed to Americans by the Constitution.
Immigration Secure the border to prevent threats, by hiring 20,000 new border patrol agents.
Abortion All life should be protected at any cost. compiled by Simra Abedi
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6
What I Learned about Being in High School Again Michael Haskins Special Contributor
It all started with my advisory fall conferences and the complaints about “no time.” Parents and I were shocked with how busy Greenhill students seemed to be between school, homework, athletic commitments, and any performing arts outside of school. I heard horror stories of four to five hours of homework a day, upwards of 10 to 15 on the weekends–in addition to playing a sport two hours or more a day or daily rehearsal for the school play. So one day, during a junior advisor team meeting, I brought up commitments. In that day, only a third of my advisees slept more than six hours the prior night. I was very concerned. Without really thinking, I blurted out “I wish I could see what they go through and just follow a student for a day.” Director of Academics Mr. Yaffe, in the meeting at the time, simply said “Do it.” The very next day I got permission from the Head of
Upper School Mrs. Ross, to take a professional development day and get a substitute teacher and off I went to shadow a Greenhill student for a day. I shadowed Walker Tait, a junior in my advisory. He’s in multiple AP courses and is a Varsity Basketball player. He previously told me he had been doing three to four hours of homework a night and 14 on the weekend. So we picked a day at random, informed his teachers about my little project, and agreed to spend as much time as possible together through that day. We met at around 7:45 a.m. at the cafeteria. Walker had already been up for almost two hours after about six hours of sleep. I first followed him to a Spanish test he had to take early because he had a dentist appointment that day. He has a break first period, which on this day he used to study for a physics quiz. Second period he went to English, then grabbed a snack and continued to study physics dur-
ing the break. He took that quiz third period and then immediately went to AP Biology to review for an upcoming unit test. (The students have a test in this class every second or third Friday.) He then broke for lunch, went to math class to learn about angular velocity, and finally to Spanish to complete the listening portion of his test. Then came the dentist appointment. Later we had dinner at Chipotle for about 30-45 minutes and spent the next 2.5 hours at a Starbucks nearby working on homework from that day. I was impressed with how Walker went about his homework. He organizes it by class period. First came English. He had to read three sonnets and annotate them. He spent about 30 minutes on physics homework watching a video and taking notes. He studied biology for about an hour, did about 10 minutes of math homework, and studied Spanish vocabulary for 30 minutes. It all adds up to
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 sophomore Lily Barnes. After a brief applause, sophomore Lily Barnes and her fellow actors walk onto the stage for a question and answer session. A young woman from the audience is called on and she stands up to speak. Lily and her peers had a strong impact on this woman, and she felt compelled to tell them that. Traveling across the Dallas Metroplex as a member of the Teenage Communication Theater (TACT), Lily educates high school students about a variety of issues pertaining to dating violence, drugs, alcohol, and safe sex. She said she loves volunteering with and for other teenagers. “I feel like there’s a lot of volunteering [in which] you’re doing things indirectly and you don’t see the payoff of whatever you’re doing. [With TACT] however, I get to go and interact with people and answer questions and I can really see the affect of
what we say has on the people we’re talking to.” According to Lily, TACT is often the first organization to inform teens about serious topics like dating abuse. “I feel like I’m making a difference in people’s lives who wouldn’t get information about their health choices in any other way.” Lily said that even if there isn’t an organization like TACT for her to join in college, she will remain passionate about educating herself and others about these issues. From her time with TACT, Lily has learned a lot about the often-ignored nuances of abstinence from sex, drugs, and alcohol. “Before getting into TACT, the only thing I was hearing was, ‘Don’t do drugs and don’t have sex, no matter the circumstances.’ What TACT has taught me is that no one is going to make decisions for you, so when you do make your own decisions, make sure to be as safe and mature as possible.” Beyond the educational benefits of participating in TACT, the organization has allowed Lily to expand her circle of friends at school. “I’ve met a lot of upperclassmen at Greenhill through TACT. I feel like I would have just been with the social group of people
Photo courtesy of Lily Barnes
TEEN TEACHER: Sophomore Lily Barnes (third from left) performs with Teenage Communication Theater (TACT), which educates teenagers about living a healthy lifestyle.
Photo by Varun Gupta
STUDENT SHADOWER: In December, Upper School Science teacher Michael Haskins followed junior Walker Tait around school for a day.
about three hours of homework. I didn’t have any preconceived ideas going into this exercise, but coming out of it, as a teacher I feel like I’m a little more aware of what these kids are doing. Often times as faculty we think we’re not giving a lot of homework by only requiring a small amount of work to be done outside of class. But our students interpret it differently. While some might skimp, many others over-commit to get that extra good grade. Reading a sonnet could quickly turn into an hour of annota-
my age and I love having the opportunity to get to know people who I wouldn’t have met otherwise.” Whether it’s TACT or something else, Lily said that people should pursue
tions. We think studying for a test might take an hour or two, but students might take several hours to ensure their best shot at an A. I don’t assign any homework for a grade; I know a lot of my students are already putting themselves in the best position to succeed on my assessments, and that’s enough work outside of class. At the same time, I want other teachers to follow suit and make decisions for their students so as to not overwhelm them. After all, we’re educating this one child as a team.
their passions. “I think one of the most important things in life is to make sure you have time to do whatever it is you’re passionate about or makes you feel like you.”
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See p. 10 to learn about the senior who combines her loves of physics and art.
Sixth Grade Sensation
Sports Editor
It’s day one of group rehearsals, and Upper School Annie cast members pile into the recital hall to begin preparing for Greenhill’s first musical in the new Marshall Family Performing Arts Center. Many Upper School students are anxious to hear the young girl cast as Annie, the main role in the show, sing for the first time. She steps by the piano, the room falls quiet. As soon as she sings the first note of “Maybe”, whispers of “Wow!” and “Oh. My. Gosh!” flood the room. Ilanna Feldman is just a sixth grader–the youngest to be starring in a Greenhill play since 2010–but she was first exposed to the world of musical theatre at age seven. Ilanna’s passion for singing and acting has led her to performing in theatres all around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, including at the Jewish Community Center (JCC), the Art Center Theatre, the Plano Children’s Theatre, and the Dallas Children’s Theatre. Ilanna was introduced to the possibility of auditioning for the role of Annie when Upper School and Middle School Choral Music Teacher Vonda Bowling told her students that the auditions were not only open to Middle School students, but they also could potentially have leading roles. After falling in love with Annie this past summer when she played the role of Ms. Hannigan in a summer production at the JCC, Ilanna saw the chance to audition for Greenhill’s production as a great opportunity. “I was really excited, and after [Ms. Bowling] told us, I went home and started practicing right away,” she said. Ilanna’s love of singing began
Madison Goodrich Editor-in-Chief
On February 6 and 7 there were celebrations for the opening of the new Marshall Family Performing Arts Center (MPAC). On Saturday, Feb. 6, the school held a private donor’s event. Attendees were serenaded by administrators and faculty, there were performances by students and alumni, along with performances by Greenhill Singers, Dance Company, Greenhill Orchestra, and Greenhill Band. There were eight performances and two videos in total, including “I Sing The Body Electric” from the musical “Fame”, a piece Singers, Dance Company, Band, and Strings performed together. “The Grand Opening weekend for the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center includes a special thank you event on Saturday night for major donors to the Building Community Campaign who have contributed over 42 million [dollars] to the project. The Sunday open house showcases the younger students and gives everyone a chance to tour
Photo by Areeba Amer
AMAZING ANNIE: Ilanna Feldman is the youngest student to be starring in a Greenhill play in recent history. She stars as the titular character, Annie, in the upcoming winter musical, which runs February 18-19th.
even earlier than her love for musical theatre. “I’ve always loved to sing. Since I was a baby, since I was talking, I was singing. Whenever I do it, it just feels right,” she said. Ilanna comes from a family that loves music, with her mother having a background in performing with the Dallas Symphony Choir, as well a fouryear-old sister that, “Goes around singing all the time, [but] she kind of screams it,” Ilanna said. And after years on stage, Ilanna says that she doesn’t experience stage fright if she feels well prepared. However, despite preparation,
when it came time to audition for Annie, the combination of nerves and excitement came in full force. “I was pretty nervous because the first person that was supposed to go didn’t show up so I had to go first and I was sitting there and it was silent in the room and it just made me really nervous,” she said. Upper School Theatre teacher Catherine Hopkins was immediately impressed with Ilanna’s performance, knowing she was a great fit for the title role. “Ilanna has real stage presence, a strong voice and she is very directable,” said Ms. Hopkins. “When you give Ilanna a note on her acting or movement, she takes
the new spaces in the building.” said Director of Marketing and Communication, Kerry Shea. On Sunday Feb. 7 the building was open to the entire Greenhill community with performances from Preschool, Lower School Choir and Treble Makers, and Middle School band, strings, and Choir. There were also performances by Middle School Musical Theater and Dance.
off in a live performance, films will also be showcased, but in a different way. “One of the cool things that I got to do for the opening was compile a history of Greenhill film, all the way back 18 years,” said Video Production teacher Corbin Doyle. Many faculty members and students were excited for the new building. “I’m excited to finally have everyone over here. I’ve been working on this project for years, along with so many others, and I’m thrilled to finally have all the students come over and have classes here, and for everyone to experience what we’ve been working so hard on,” Mr. Orman said. Senior and member of Dance Company Ruchi Kale expressed a similar sentiment. “[I’m excited for] the bigger space and the new utilities that come with a new dance studio. We’ll have the folding in risers and proper changing rooms to get ready and just a huge space to work in so we aren’t cramped up and our circle formations don’t look like ovals anymore.”
it immediately and she asks smart questions.” Nine other Middle School students were additionally cast in the show to play the role of the orphans. Since rehearsals began, they have also made strong impressions on Ms. Hopkins and the rest of the cast. “The Middle School students have been extraordinarily professional. It has been a real pleasure to have them in the cast,” said Ms. Hopkins. “They prepare outside of class on their dances, fights and characters. They take notes and are generous with praise for each other and for the Upper School students.”
According to Ms. Hopkins, the process of making the show come together with a multigenerational cast has been smooth, even though some Upper School students were not thrilled at first about having Middle School students in the show. “I think a lot of [Upper School students] had some issues with the idea of Middle Schoolers taking the lead roles that people really wanted,” said junior cast member Lauren Stock. “Theatre in its nature is a really competitive thing, and everyone is obviously always trying to be the best and I think there were a lot of people that really didn’t like the idea that they couldn’t have the lead role.” Yet according to Lauren, Ilanna and the other Middle School students have proven to be exactly what the cast needed. “Since we’ve gotten to see the Middle Schoolers, especially Ilanna, most of us realize that they are really good and it would have been really hard for us to do this show without them,” she said. “It would have been really hard for us all to play 11-year-olds and 50-year-olds. I think everyone is starting to realize it’s much more practical.” According to Ms. Hopkins, not only was the decision to have Middle School students in the show more practical, but an opportunity for the younger cast members to continue to develop so they can one day be a part of more shows in their high school careers. “They are all great problemsolvers and I think we feel like we are watching the next generation of Greenhill superstars get their start,” said Ms. Hopkins.
Usher in a New Era
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“I’ve been working on this project for years, along with so many others, and I’m thrilled to finally have all the students come over and have classes here.”
“We have pieces from all of the groups that will be utilizing the new space. Some of the performers feature faculty and staff, where we sing a song and perform,” said Band Director Brian Donnell. According to Performing Arts Building Coordinator Michael Orman, “a lot of effort, hours and hours of effort, and not even including rehearsals,” have gone into making this production possible on opening weekend. While most arts will show
Photos by Madison Goodrich
PROGRESSION OF PLAYS: (Top) Previous posters of productions plays that took place in the Zale Fields Theater now line the new walls.
Additional reporting by Zoe Allen
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An exploration into the multipl
Courses Towards Equality Did you know there is a luxury tax on tampons? Students in Upper School History teacher Dr. Amy Bresie’s Women in History class learn this as part of their curriculum. In the class, she teaches students about past and present issues regarding women. “One thing we did was deconstructing the myth of Pocahontas, and people were then looking at American history through a new vision… Anytime you are introducing new perspective or ways of looking at history, you’re opening eyes,” Dr. Bresie said. This class is a relatively new addition to Greenhill’s course list. Although it was available in the past (as Dr. Bresie took a version of it during her time as a student at Greenhill in the mid1990s), it hasn’t been available in recent years. “I knew from the get-go that I wanted to bring the class back. I felt that it needed to be offered at Greenhill,” she said. Classroom discussions about gender have been an evolving practice at Greenhill. The department also chose a new textbook for AX9 and AX10 this year because it gives a diverse perspective of people – the LGBT community, people of color, and women. “We certainly made [gender equality] a priority here. This year we adopted a new history textbook. We purposely picked it because it does a much better job in terms of women’s history and also in terms of the wide range of American experiences,” Dr. Bresie said. Although the history department is progressing, Dr. Bresie admits that there are some struggles to achieving a
curriculum that has truly equal representation. “Not every time period [will be able to have] equal representation because [that’s not] necessarily possible… Women haven’t always been literate. When you go further back in time, you don’t necessarily have many primary sources written by women,” she said. Head of English Department Linda Woolley says the English department incorporates female pieces into the existing program, as opposed to creating courses solely about women. The goal is to make women in literature a norm instead of an anomaly. “We didn’t want to take any identifiers and make them sidebars. We are intentionally taking these stories and weaving them into the themes of a class,” she said. However Ms. Woolley agrees that there are challenges to incorporating women into literature. For example, 9th and 10th graders focus on thematic elements of Western culture. However, it is often difficult to find literature written by women from the time periods and culture under study. “You have a lot of male voices. You have to push farther [to find female authors] than you would in 11th or 12th grade,” she said. Upper School English teacher Dr. Karin Thomas suggests a more indirect way of including women into her classes’ curriculum. She says that reading books that bring up gender dynamics in class discussion would better help to create gender equality in the curriculum. “For both genders I would
A History of Feminism Feminism was a movement first popularized during the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention in 1848. Early feminism primarily sought women’s suffrage and greater political equality. As the world moved into the mid-twentieth century, feminism began focusing on more complex social issues. Feminist milestones like the formation of the National Organization for Women in 1966 and the Roe v. Wade case in 1973, which extended a woman’s ability to have an abortion, occurred during this era. Today’s feminist movement focuses on social, financial, and political issues. These include issues like gender stereotypes, reproductive rights, and pay inequality, otherwise known as the glass ceiling, for women of all races, religions, sexualities, and cultural backgrounds.
information courtesy of Scholastic.com story by Allie Frymire
hope there would be more interiority or understanding of who people are, and that needs to happen on a curriculum level. We need to read really good authors who look closely at things like how gender works,” she said. Instead of focusing on “what”, she wants to focus on “how” classes read their literature “It’s a matter of how we read what we read, and then having the space where we can have those conversations. Part of that means talking about what makes us alike and what makes us different,” Dr. Thomas said. Not all departments tackle female inclusion in the same way. Upper School Language teacher Jacobo Luna has adopted a different approach. Instead of focusing directly on feminism, he finds that his class includes readings by and about women who are relevant to his curriculum. “I don’t intentionally try to put [feminism] in the curriculum as part of portraying the woman or the guy,” he said. Instead, his curriculum allows students to see the different ways men and women are represented, especially in popular culture. For example, Señor Luna includes presentations from students on singers and icons, both male and female, from Spanish-speaking countries. “[The presentations] are not about women, per se, but one can be about a female singer, while another is about a male singer. It’s not intentionally trying to look for the feminism within it,” he said. story by Allie Frymire
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What About Him? “Crush the patriarchy” is a motto held by many feminists. It refers to taking down the system in which men are the primary authoritative figures in society. But can and should men have a supportive presence in the feminist movement? Sophomore Sloan Touchet thinks the movement revolves around equality. “I think that feminism is gender equality, and it’s nothing more or less than that,” he said. Others believe there are repercussions of this movement. Freshman Sam Bovard said he believes there can be negative connotations with feminism from the male perspective. “I think the name [feminism] can imply that the movement is more about females, and some radical feminists on social media give feminism a bad name by attacking men,” he said. While members of the Greenhill community believe that men can and should be advocates for feminism, they
understand the potential difficulty in fully connecting with the movement. “I’ve had my share of moments where I’ve been attacked and told that I couldn’t possibly understand [feminism] because I am a man. Guys are often vilified as the oppressor,” said Upper School English teacher Andrew Mercurio. Sometimes it can be hard for men to find their place in the feminist movement. There is debate on whether men should be relatively passive or if they should use their independent perspectives to more actively help feminism. “I think feminism should be more female led because they’re definitely more oppressed and benefit from feminism more. I don’t think that I get treated differently [as a male supporter], but I do lay low,” Sam said. Junior Bryant Caballero supported active engagement and said, “The stronger group within a society should step up to voice
the opinion of the minority.” While females are largely involved in their own movement, there are different societal standards for men that can potentially prevent them from getting involved in feminism even if they would like to. “From an adolescent male perspective, it’s a very difficult thing for boys to figure out who they are while growing up,” said Upper School English teacher Dr. Trey Colvin. “Their role models are usually hyper-masculinized, and it’s hard to step outside of that. Asking young men to grapple with a concept that grants equal footing to girls at the time in their lives when they’re not sure of what it means to be a man is a challenge.”
story by Samar Ahmad
“What is Your Stance on Feminism?”
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The Evergreen conducted a comprehensive survey on students’ support of feminism. The following graph shows responses from the 229 Upper School students that answered the following question: “What is your stance on feminism?”. An anonymous response from the survey said, “When I think about feminism, it’s just me being a woman asking to be treated fairly.” Another student said, “Feminism in the first world has degraded to overweight teenagers complaining on Tumblr about men sitting a certain way.”
graphic by Anurag Kurapati
wednesday, february 10, 2016
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The Best of Both Worlds
Senior Madhuri Deo combines her love of physics and music to create 2D-art
Photo by Madhuri Deo
CALCULATED CREATIONS: One of Senior Madhuri Deo’s physics inspired pieces of artwork. Madhuri said she has had a passion for both science and art since she was very young.
Amer Areeba Views Editor
Sophie Bernstein Asst. Arts Editor
Senior Madhuri Deo’s computer screensaver has two circles: one representing her passion for art, the other representing her passion for science. Where the two circles overlap, her screen says the word “wonder.” Madhuri recently began exploring this “wonder” at the crossroads of art and science, in an effort to combine her two seemingly polar-opposite passions. Madhuri, an artist and a scientist, has found sanctuary in this ‘gray area’ and she uses physics concepts, like the study of sound, to create artwork that is conceptually complex. Madhuri’s passion for art began at a very young age. Influenced by her architect mother, Madhuri was exposed to art throughout her childhood. As an AP 2D Art student, Madhuri no longer uses the same coloring books she had when she was younger. “When I was younger, [my art] wasn’t as calculated as it is now,” said Madhuri.
“Now, I overthink things, which I like, and everything is more symbolism-driven.” Like her passion for art, Madhuri’s passion for science began when she was young, influenced by her relatives,. “When I was a kid I was obsessed with the human body. I had this computer game about anatomy and books about it,” said Madhuri. “I was around science a lot.” Her love for science evolved from playing the anatomy computer games to loving a completely different scientific field: physics. “I thought I was going to hate AP Physics, because I thought it was just applied math and I’m not the [biggest] fan of math,” said Madhuri. “But it turns out that I loved it because a lot of it was creative problem solving.” Within the field of physics, Madhuri started by watching various YouTube videos and she quickly became interested in cymatics, the study of sound and its visual representation. “Studying sound is really cool because I like the math and physics aspect,
then there is also the music aspect to it,” said Madhuri. Madhuri worked to discover a relationship between the visualization of sound waves of various harmonious musical frequencies. She studied combinations and comparisons of notes, relating different harmonics to cymatics. She sang the notes she studied instead of using an instrument or technology. “I like singing so I found that [singing] made me interact with the project a lot more,” Madhuri said. Madhuri’s fascination with physics and sound has become her AP 2D Art final project. The project combines her love for art, music, and physics. It is a five-panel series with gold patterns created by various chords from the song “Human of the Year” by Regina Spektor and scenes depicting the corresponding lyrics. “In general, I think people think of science and art as mutually exclusive [topics] and I think it’s interesting when you combine the two. I like to see people explore things in this section because it’s really valu-
able, she said. AP Studio Art teacher, Lesley Rucker, agrees. “Art and science just mesh so well together, so it’s so great to see someone take different subjects that they’re interested in and combine them to create something so original and unique,” said Ms. Rucker. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I would say that’s true for everything Madhuri does, because her concepts are very complex and there are many layers to them.” In the future, Madhuri hopes to go into a field that combines art and science, such as engineering, or at least hopes to continue both of her passions in some way. “For a long time I was like, ‘Am I this rational, logical person, who likes science and math, or am I this expressive humanities person, who likes art?’” said Madhuri, “I thought of these two things as fighting each other, which resulted in a lot of inner turmoil, but then when I combined the two, I produced one of my greatest works.”
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Get Inside Inside Out Abbas Hasan Asst. News Editor
Zoe Allen
Arts Editor
No one is too old for a Pixar movie. There’s just something about bright colors, crazy characters, stunning animation, and childish, yet sweet storytelling that has the ability to captivate anyone. Inside Out, which came out this summer, is the perfect example. It is sweet yet sentimental, fun yet moving, and entertaining yet smart. The animated movie stars Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Bill Hader as Fear, and Lewis Black as Anger. The quintet controls the emotions and behavior of eleven-yearold Riley, voiced by Kaitlyn Dias, who has just moved from Minnesota to San Francisco, a town completely alien to her. During the movie, the five emotions help her through new experiences, such as adjusting to a new school. Joy believes that it is her job, and her job only, to control the direction of Riley’s life. She believes her emotion is the most important, and all of Riley’s long term memories should be controlled by her. Joy resents Sadness for her very essence— after all, she’s causing the sadness in Riley’s life. Continuing this theme, Sadness touches one of Riley’s core memories—a memory in which an essential part of Riley’s life was built off of—and it turns blue, the color of Sadness. After Sadness and Joy have some more mishaps, the two are sucked out of their job in Riley’s mind’s headquarters and are flung into Riley’s memory bank. From there, their adventure begins together. Recently, Greenhill seventh graders viewed Inside Out in their advisories. So Abbas and Zoe embarked on a similar journey. After watching the movie, we did the same exercises as the seventh graders: we immediately analyzed our emotions. Inside Out was designed to be a very relatable movie. Everyone has experienced the five emotions that were highlighted within it, some more than others, and often side-by-side. For example, Zoe was extremely happy that hockey was such a big
Graphic by Anusha Kurapati
GETTING EMOTIONAL: Zoe and Abbas are pictured here with Sadness, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Joy, the emotions of Inside Out.
part of Riley’s life. (Then again, Riley’s from Minnesota.) Unlike Riley, we had never experienced picking up our lives and moving miles away from home. Both of us were born and raised in Dallas, and this city is what we have known our whole lives. But who’s to say we wouldn’t be angry, disgusted, and terrified if we had to live in a completely new world too? Seventh grader Ava Markhovsky, who recently moved from Annapolis, Maryland, to Dallas, described her emotions as almost parallel to Riley’s. “I was very unhappy when I first moved. When you leave a place that you’ve loved forever, that place seems perfect. I was a wreck like Riley, because it was just all thrown at me. I was really, really angry about it,” she said. On top of moving to a new city, Riley also has to go to a new school, something that we haven’t experienced in 10 years. “I’ve known most of my friends since first grade,” said Zoe, “I would be terrified going to a new school.”
“I was scared of being myself,” said new seventh grader Kate Marano. “I can be shy, and I was nervous about that.” “[Kate’s] the exact opposite when you get to know her,” Ava said. Emotions were not the only thing that Abbas related to in the film. Bing Bong, Riley’s imaginary friend who is part dolphin, cat, and elephant, and made of cotton candy, had an extremely hard time staying on two feet. “I’m just as uncoordinated as Bing Bong,” said Abbas. “That is why I swim. Land does not work for me.” “That’s not the only relevant thing about Bing Bong,” noticed Zoe. “He gave himself up to save Joy and Riley, his best friends. Now that’s friendship.” When Joy and Sadness are whisked away from the headquarters of Riley’s brain, where all major decisions are made, they attempt to take Riley’s “Train of Thought” back. Throughout the majority of the movie, Joy disregarded Sadness as an unnecessary
emotion for Riley’s life. Like Joy, she thought the only emotion that was necessary for Riley to thrive was happiness. As it turns out, this is not the case. Many people go through life thinking that the only way to help someone is to attempt to cheer them up. Most of the time, all that people need is a shoulder to cry on, and someone to say, “that sucks.” Humans require human support to thrive in life, and empathy is one of the most touching emotions we can experience. Empathy requires every emotion. Joy discovers this through her trials and tribulations with Sadness. Eventually, she lets Sadness, and the other emotions, take some of the reigns in guiding Riley to a successful life. After watching Inside Out, we realized that all emotions are vital and go hand in hand. Happiness is impossible to achieve without having sadness, and being scared or mad does not make you weak. It makes you human. “10/10 would watch again,” Abbas said, while wiping tears from his eyes.
A Good Place to Art provides insight into the upcoming arts events around town, including concerts, exhibits, and special events. Concerts
2/12: Pitbull @ American Airlines Center 2/14: The Chainsmokers @ Crush Festival 2/19: Kid Cudi @ The Bomb Factory 2/19: Carly Rae Jepsen @ The House of Blues 2/20: Chief Keef @ Gas Monkey Live! 2/21: Hoodie Allen @ The House of Blues 2/23: AC/DC @ American Airlines Center 3/6: Gary Clark Jr. @ The House of Blues Graphic by Anusha Kurapati
Photo courtesy of Zach Rudner
ABSTRACT ADVENTURE: “Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots”, is an exhibit currently showing at the Dallas Museum of Art. The exhibit is a retrospective of years of Pollock’s different works, styles, and phases.
3/8: Fetty Wap @ The House of Blues 3/10: Vance Joy @ Verizon Theater 3/19: Ra Ra Riot @ Live Oak Music Hall 3/26: Logic @ The Bomb Factory
Museums
Open Studio Painting Workshop @ Ardor Studio “Anne Frank: A History for Today” @ the Holocaust Museum I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change @ Theater Three Lee Harvey Oswald House Tours Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots @ the DMA Creatures of Lights Exhibit @ The Perot Fashion from the 1920s @ The Galleria Gorlizki Exhibit @ The Crow Collection of Asian Art Bricks in the Wall Improv @ Granada House Content courtesy of Stephen Crotty
Sports the
See p. 14 to read about a critique to a game many of us enjoy.
The Hornets Head to Houston A glimpse at each Greenhill winter sports team as they prepare to travel to Houston for the 2016 Winter Southwest Prepartory Conference (SPC) Championships.
Boys Basketball
The Boys Varsity Basketball team will enter SPC with a 5-4 counter record, highlighted by an 86-64 win against the Episcopal School of Dallas (ESD), a game in which junior point guard Xavier Bryant scored a game-high 29 points. Coming off a fifth place finish at SPC last year, the team looks to the six varsity veterans for experience at SPC and the eight new varsity players for new contributions and energy. “Everybody’s going to have to step up at SPC. It’s next man up. If somebody goes down, we need someone else to step up. We’re all in,” said Xavier. After a tough beginning of counter game season plagued by a plethora of injuries, including Xavier’s pelvis injury and junior Konnell Woods’ broken thumb, the Boys Basketball team is ready to head into SPC at full strength, looking to capture an SPC title.
Girls Soccer
After losing seven seniors last year, the Girls Varsity Soccer team is eager to show that they can still contend for an SPC title. “We’re a young team but I don’t think that’s really been a huge disadvantage. I feel like we’re ready to come out strong and hopefully win the whole thing,” said senior captain Abby Shosid. Abby, senior co-captain Lily Pigott, and Head Coach Paige Ashley will lead the Hornets into SPC with a 7-1-0 conference record, highlighted by a 1-0 win against the Hockaday School. The team is seeking revenge after losing in the semifinals of last year’s SPC tournament. “I feel like we should head into SPC with a good level of confidence in knowing that we should be able to compete,” Coach Ashley said.
Boys Swimming
The Boys Varsity Swim team will head into SPC with a 2-4 record behind Head Coach Patti Monzingo and upperclassmen returners Nicolas Suarez and Nikhil Rao. Although according to Nikhil the swim team does not have championship aspirations, they are looking for a chance to improve and have fun at SPC. “We’re a young team, so we’re not expecting anything really big. We’re just looking to perform well; to improve upon our times [and] to have fun,” Nikhil said. According to sophomore Sudeep Bhargava, this year has been one for rebuilding. With over half of the swimmers new to the team and only three upperclassmen, they will head into SPC with many rookies. Swimmers said the team looks promising for the years to come.
Photos courtesy of Patrick Green
Girls Basketball
Boys Soccer
Girls Swimming
Though this year’s Girls Varsity Basketball team is heading into SPC with a young team, they have proven this season with their acquisition of a second seed that they can hang with their more experienced opponents. They will enter SPC with a 7-1 record, highlighted by a 41-38 win versus the Trinity Valley School. After their victory against the Casady School, the girls accomplished their third straight twentywin season. Under the leadership of junior captain Ellen Margaret Andrews, and senior captains Elaine Pennington and Naya Sharp, the Hornets have hopes for a high finish at this year’s Winter SPC Championships. “I’m really confident in the team. I think that everyone gets along really well, and I think that that’s a really important factor on the court,” Elaine said. The Hornets head into the SPC tournament after a tough two weeks of counter games, squaring off against the first, third, and fourth seeds in North Zone.
Heading into SPC with a 6-1-2 record and a first round bye in the playoffs, the Boys Varsity Soccer team has championship aspirations. Their season was highlighted by a 6-2 win versus Holland Hall as well as 2-0 shutout victory against Cistercian. After a disappointing fifth place finish at SPC last year, the varsity squad will seek redemption in Houston. “I’m confident we’re the best team in the tournament. We can beat any team we play,” said Head Coach Greg Krauss. Senior captain Orion Marty said that he is excited to see how the team’s experience could potentially translate to success at the SPC tournament. “We have 11 seniors, so I think that will play a huge factor because a lot of us have been to the tournament before, we know what it takes, and [I think] another year of confidence and another year of experience helps a lot,” Orion said.
The Girls Varsity Swim team will enter SPC with a 2-3 record backed by 2014-2015 All-SPC winners, seniors Megan Marshall and Sophia Steckler, and junior Richa Sinkre. With many new and exciting freshmen faces, the swim team is looking forward to a good run at SPC this year as well as in the years to come. Senior Lauren Baron said she is feeling good about the team a week before they are set to travel to Houston for their last and most important meet of the season. “We’re looking forward to placing in several of our individual events and our relays look strong. We’re hoping to do well,” Lauren said. So far this season, the swim team’s best events have been the 100m backstroke and 200m Individual Medley. Because the team does not have any divers, Lauren thinks it will be difficult to come away with a championship; however, the team said they hope for a good showing, riding on their better events. story by Lili Stern
wednesday, february 10, 2016
the
Evergreen
sports
13
She’s a Keeper
Varun Gupta
Executive Editor
Chris Quintero Staff Writer
The life of a goalie can be cruel. You stand in goal all game and try to maintain focus on organizing the defense. Ten saves in a game that ends in a close victory means that you have done your job, but one mistake makes you the villain. Goalies are often the team’s final hope at salvaging close victories. That’s what life is like for sophomore Brooke Allen, Greenhill’s starting varsity goalie for the Field Hockey, Soccer, and Lacrosse teams. “There is a lot of pressure, but at the same time the pressure helps me to succeed and just knowing how important each save could be,” Brooke said. Goalkeepers stand out from other athletes on the field. They are usually visible by their gloves or necessary gear covering their bodies. Their job requires a special set of skills including strong hands, quick reflexes, and great positioning in order to always have the best chance at blocking a shot. “Goalies are a different breed,” said Varsity Field Hockey Coach Alicia Mayer. “Being a goalie, you have to have no fear and be a little crazy. Whether right or wrong, she commits to it and that’s exactly the mentality you have to have right in the back of the goal.” Ever since Brooke first cradled a lacrosse stick in fifth grade, she has suited up in shin and chest pads and a goalie’s facemask. She joined the Coast-to-Coast Club team a year later to compete in regional and national tournaments. “She has always been a really committed player who loves the game,” said junior Courtney Perkins. “She is really good at encouraging her team on and off the field and her tenacity is a great addition to the Greenhill team as well.” The joy of saving her first goal, Brooke says, marked the reason why she wanted to play goalkeeper. Pure athleticism did not earn Brooke the starting job, in fact, in addition to being agile; goalies have to learn how to communicate with confidence. “I used to be pretty quiet especially when I started [playing] on my club team.
I was just getting confident with the girls I was beginning to play with,” said Brooke. “You’re telling the defenders where to go, and if you’re not [communicating] well, they can’t do that.” Brooke studies how goalkeepers react to adversity – getting scored on, injury, quick changes to pace. She regularly watches the U.S Women’s lacrosse goalie, Devin Wills, and admires her hard work ethic and athleticism. “It’s a high scoring game, so you’re almost always going to get scored on and just pulling yourself up is very difficult,” said Brooke. “Readjust your mindset, try to get the last goal out of your mind, and visualizing a big save [is how I do it].” As the field hockey goalie, Brooke can use any part of her body to protect the goal including her feet. Amid the physical strain of sliding toward a loose ball, Brooke verbally engages with her team by shouting formations from one end of the field to the other. “Just getting in my own head and saying ‘I am going to stop this ball,’ it’s the same for all sports,” Brooke said. Coach Mayer said that goalies learn how to control their instinctual reaction through one-on-one drills. “[Adeel, the goalie coach] would hit balls at them and [Brooke] would work on how far do I come out, when do I hold, when do I need to go, when do I watch the ball go out of bounds and when do I go to it.,“ Coach Mayer said. Like a baseball player at bat, Brooke reacts differently to the speed, angle and hop of the Field Hockey ball. Penalty shots, called strokes in field hockey, test Brooke’s ability to stand her ground as a defender. Brooke says she tries to predict a penalty shot’s trajectory based on the opponent’s shoulder positioning and footwork. Sometimes she performs a defensive maneuver called bating, which purposely leaves more space on her stronger side and is designed to trick the shooter. Soccer introduces a new set of factors that Brooke has never dealt with. A larger goal requires her to accelerate quickly from post to post. “A lot of skills she uses in field hockey and lacrosse work to her disadvantage in soccer,” said Girls’ Varsity Soccer Coach
Photos courtesy of Patrick Smith
PROTECTIVE INSTINCT: Sophomore Brooke Allen prepares to block a shot as a Field Hockey Goalie. She also starts as goalie for the Varsity Soccer and Lacrosse teams.
Paige Ashley. “In those other two sports, you are using your legs a lot to deflect and that’s not what you want to do in soccer.” External factors such as weather influences how Brooke defends a shot. “Wind can definitely affect the trajectory of the ball so I try to take that into account when I’m setting up my angle,” said Brooke. “A lot of times our captains will ask me what side I want to defend. When we play games at 5 or 5:30 p.m., the sun is still a huge factor and having it shine into your eyes is no fun. It’s very hard to see.” While the transition to soccer has not been easy, said Coach Ashley, Brooke’s hard work and mentoring from Anna Walley,
a goalie coach and second grade teaching fellow, has accelerated her development. Brooke’s teammates have swiftly welcomed her on to the team. “I trust her back there,” said junior Kathy Muñoz. “Even though she never had played soccer [as a] goalie, I knew she was going to be good.” Beyond winning games, Brooke said the team’s happiness and success makes it worth it. “I love being a part of the team here at Greenhill. Any day that I get a chance to compete is great for me.”
Greenhill Baseball: From the Ground Up Catherine Leffert Editor-in-Chief
Imagine: Countless outs, endless pitches, hours of practice, and then, lots of losing. Greenhill’s baseball team is coming off of a 1-11 record in the 2015 spring season. The team lost two seniors last year and 12 seniors the year before. The new team is young and less experienced and the team’s number of players is relatively low compared to the other SPC teams. Greenhill recently brought in new baseball coach Troy Haugen to bolster the team. Coach Haugen played at Oregon State University, with the Milwaukee Brewers of the MLB, and is now the Hornets’ head baseball coach. But baseball isn’t the only Greenhill team rebuilding a program. Head Varsity Football Coach Tom Williams started in 2014 and he and his coaching staff have become more competitive. “If a team is struggling, which could mean losing more than winning, there’s a couple of reasons why that could be happening. Sometimes it might be the schedule itself and the opponents we are playing or maybe a team is rather young freshman and sophomores- playing against a team made up of juniors and seniors. But in
the end, there is a variety of reasons why we could be losing more than winning,” Head of Athletics and Physical Education Chad Wabrek, Head of Athletics and Physical Education said. Coaching a team to a stronger season after coming off a poor season requires energy and positive thinking, according to senior baseball player Ryan Diebner. “I think [having a new coach] will be a spark,” said Ryan. “Having new energy is always positive, and start over [this season] and get our feet going in the right direction will definitely be a good thing.” All head coaches must meet with Coach Wabrek before preseason to discuss goals, workout schedules, and training plans. The goal for baseball this year: to make SPC Playoffs. To achieve this, they must be one of the top 6 teams of SPC North Zone. Head Coach Haugen is familiar with SPC, having worked as a baseball coach for the Episcopal School of Dallas and St. Mark’s School of Texas, consistently leading them to the playoffs. “There’s a lot that goes into it. Number one [thing] is showing the commitment to the kids, making sure they understand how committed you are as a coaching staff and that we’re all in this together,” Coach Haugen said. Similar to football until 2014, when
Coach Williams began his tenure at Greenhill, the football team hadn’t won more than one game per season for five years straight. “The first thing you have to do is build up the confidence of the players and let them know that they can accomplish things that maybe they hadn’t. It requires a little bit of faith.” Coach Williams said.
“
Having new energy is always positive and to start over [this season] and get our feet going in the right direction will definitely be a good thing.”
Several changes were made when Coach Williams began coaching in 2014, which led to more success in Greenhill’s football program. Coach Wabrek said that Coach Williams can be credited with many of them. “The way in which Coach Williams utilizes his staff in addition to regular film study is a true difference maker in football. He will show [the football team] repeatedly ‘this is what you need to do differently. This is what you’re doing well,’” Coach Wabrek said. According to Coach Wabrek, different coaches have different philosophies. “Every head coach has a certain way of doing certain things. [Coach Haugen] has
a certain philosophy on how to field, how to hit, how to strategize,” Coach Wabrek said. In order to make the SPC Playoffs, his philosophies will need to propel the team to more wins. Ryan thinks that last year’s record is in great part to the 12 senior players they lost the year before, which is one of the “variety of reasons” Coach Wabrek said that team struggles. “We had a pretty young team [last year]. The transition when we only had two seniors was a little tough. We had a lot of close games too that we just couldn’t quite finish off, which I think says a lot about having seniors with more experience leave,” Ryan said. However, with the guidance of Coach Haugen, whose years of college and professional baseball background have allowed him to lead other SPC schools to victory, will bring his expertise to the Greenhill baseball team. “After [building confidence] comes the knowledge, and the teaching,” Coach Haugen said. Can the baseball team, under Coach Haugen’s new leadership, achieve their goal? “At this point I think anything is possible,” Coach Wabrek said.
14 sports
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Evergreen
wednesday, february 10, 2016
Opinion: The Ugly Side of America’s Favorite Sport
“
The game has become too dangerous. It is necessary for us all to take a long, hard look at the statistics and what is occurring in the game of football.”
SOUTHWEST GALLERY
A shorter amount of time in between plays means more plays, more tackles, more risk for injuries than before. In 2015, the Philadelphia Eagles averaged a league best of 22.21 seconds in between plays, which is faster than Mr. Jackson’s new
proposed play clock of 25 seconds between plays. This shows that teams are already using the “hurry-up” method that Mr. Jackson mentions, but where are the encouraging results? Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, running back Ryan Matthews, and star linebacker Kiko Alonso (all of whom play for the Eagles) were concussed all within the same week and missed a combined ten games during the season. Additionally, Mr. Jackson makes the argument that a shortened play clock would make “obese linemen lose weight” and be more tired. It is a good point. However linemen aren’t the ones typically causing the injuries in the first place. Strong, fit linebackers, corner backs, and safeties deliver the majority of the bonecrushing hits in the NFL. Only one of the top ten hardest hitters in NFL history was a defensive lineman. According to Listverse, these blind side and late blows to the head issued on unsuspecting receivers are the primary reason for concussions in football today. May I also remind everyone that we are talking about the best football players in the world, meaning their athleticism is through the roof? Even if the new play clock rules were issued, the way these players have to adapt to various situations everyday make it hard to believe that the fatigue would have a noticeable effect on the amount of injuries seen in the league. Offensive and defensive schemes are extremely interchangeable in the NFL, and players are always adjusting their game styles. I recently saw the movie, Concussion, starring Will Smith, and it taught me a lot about the future of the NFL. The disease CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, is the focus of the movie. The disease causes
Photo courtesy of The Dallas Morning News
A HEAD GAME: Cleveland Browns quarterback Jason Campbell suffered a season ending concussion on Nov. 24, 2013. He is just one of the many NFL athletes to have had a concussion in the past few years, sparking more debate about if the game is worth the cost.
mental breakdowns, and often depression, which can lead to suicide. A recent report aired on PBS’s Frontline that covered the research done by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University. The research found that of the 91 brains of former NFL players they tested, 87 were found to contain CTE. This means that 96 percent of the brains studied were gravely affected by the constant pounding that NFL players suffer from at least 16 Sundays per year. Additionally, through just the first two weeks of the 2015-2016 NFL season, Frontline reported that 14 players had been diagnosed with concussions. Changes have to be made. It is necessary for us all to take a thorough look at the statistics and what is occurring
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in the game of football. I know how challenging that can be firsthand, as I enjoy watching football and am the biggest fantasy football aficionado that you will ever meet. But I’m not the expert. The experts are responsible for all aspects of the game, including the ugly side. They need to start coming up with feasible solutions to keep the injuries down in the NFL–not controversial 15-yard penalties for helmet-to-helmet contact, and shorter play clocks. In the modern world of technology, it seems more plausible than ever that engineers could come up with a solution to protect the players without inhibiting the love of the game. Can’t they all have suits of metal armor? written by Jordan Sternblitz
THINK...FRAMING!
Football is the most popular sport in the country, according to ESPN, which cites a study that says 35 percent of fans call football their favorite sport. I’m no exception to this statistic. When I think of Sunday, I think of football. But, when I think of football, I think of more than just two teams battling competitively on a field. Week after week I see jarring hits, constant pounding, and struggling players to walk off the field without the assistance of one or multiple trainers. According to recent studies, injuries from this constant impact – particularly those to the head – last for a lifetime. So what is the solution to these harmful injuries? Recently, Nate Jackson of the New York Times wrote an article entitled, “Reduce the N.F.L.’s Play Clock.” His writing claimed that the solution to reducing injuries in the National Football League (NFL) is to condense the amount of time between plays. He is sorely wrong; in my opinion, a shorter play clock doesn’t solve the issue. In fact, it could make it worse.
wednesday, february 10, 2016
Love Yourself
the
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ways something more important to be upset about. Tragedies are thrown at us from all sides. I see mass shootings, a refugee crisis, discrimination, and wars all around the world. At school I try to care for my friends. At home I hear my parents complain about family members and problems at work. The cycle is a ferocious loop. It stresses me out when people come to me with problems I cannot fix, but I guess that’s what comes with being empathetic. I don’t have the perfect resolution. I try to detach from the world by going to Zumba classes (thanks mom) or watching funny movies (thanks ABC Family). Greenhill’s core principles: Honor, Respect, and Compassion, in my opinion, are meant to guide us through our daily interactions with others. But we often forget that this message
applies to ourselves too. Can we really be compassionate to others if we are not with ourselves? It’s important that we open our hearts, listen, and learn from the misfortunes around us, but over empathizing with other people’s problems in many cases can desensitize us from our own. Too much empathy makes us cold and uncaring; at least that’s what it does to me. So I hope you read this column knowing that it’s okay to be a little selfish. At school we are having difficult discussions about identity and how to have conversations. I ask that you don’t lose your empathy during these talks but know that it’s okay if you need to detach and recharge yourself. Your feelings matter. Your experiences matter. You matter.
It is 1:00 p.m. on Sunday and it is time for the game, a. The parent-coaches of each team try and divide who will start and who will sit on the bench with the other parentcoaches at the beginning of the game. The referee blows his whistle and gives me the indication to start the clock. This is the first of five games that the referee and I will work together that afternoon. Yes, I am a scorekeeper for kindergarten basketball
games. Every Sunday, these five and six year olds power their little legs around the court and try and mostly fail at shooting the ball into the little hoop. While a few kids understand what they are doing, most have no idea and are often running the wrong way down the court. Basic basketball rules are ignored in these games. The kids often go through a range of emotions from excitement when their team scores to tears when they fall down. Except the problem at these games is not the kids. They are doing what they have been told to do. It is the parents. Some of the parents I have observed at these games are very supportive of their kids and tell their kids how great they are hustling (even when they are not). But many of them harshly criticize their kids for doing the wrong thing on the court or not paying attention to the
game. I have seen numerous parents pull their kids to side during the game and give them a strict talk. I witnessed one parent yell to their kid, “Get that rebound! That’s your ball. It has to be your ball.” I am pretty sure that kid did not even know what a rebound was. These kids are five. Give them a break. They should be rewarded for even agreeing to play in the game. They really should not be playing a game that is as complex as basketball at five. Even if they play, it should be in a supportive environment where they can have fun with their friends. It should not matter that they are not playing defense or that they do not understand how to shoot the basketball. It is fine. They will have plenty of years to learn. Many of these parents have unrealistic expectations of their kids. It does not matter that the kid of the parent sitting next to you is having a better game than your
child. The reality is that by age twelve, most of these kids probably will not be playing basketball anymore. They may be playing other sports or have completely different interests. The bottom line is let the kids play. Parents need to be kept on the sidelines away from their kids during the game. When parent coaches are being replaced with other parent coaches during the game because of their conduct, it is clear that a real problem exists. It is just a game of five and six year olds who are still developing in many different ways. The sad part is that I know this extends to many different sports, not just basketball. Parents in youth sports need to be positive influences. The last thing these kids need is negative reinforcement from their parents for expectations that are extremely unrealistic.
My name is Christina Grace Zhu. Some people call me Tina, Christi, Christina Grace, or I’ve even heard Christina Yang. But despite that I’m 18 years old, to a lot of people, I’m still “Nathan’s little sister”. My older brother, Nathan Zhu ‘13, graduated from Greenhill Class and is now attending Dartmouth College. He is funny,
goofy, charismatic, smart, athletic, and talented. He had all A’s throughout high school, was a high-ranked tennis player and eventually became captain of the tennis team his senior year. He has many friends, was voted onto Homecoming Court, graduated Cum Laude, and was accepted into an Ivy League school early decision. He is majoring in Economy modified with Engineering and is lining up for a bright future in investment banking. But what does that make me? Only three years younger than him, I’ve been constantly living in his shadow with the immense pressure to perform at least as well as he did. If Nathan got an A in Vector Calculus, then I need to get an A. If he got an 800 on the SAT Math II Subject Test, then I need to get an 800.
There can only be one “smart one” in a family, and I was constantly in competition with my brother over that title. Of course, competing with someone who doesn’t even realize they’re in a competition can be quite challenging on both ends. I had a lot of built up jealousy and resentment towards Nathan, which caused him a lot of confusion if I lashed out at him with no apparent reason. He didn’t make the situation any easier either, because hey, when you’re in high school you barely have time to sleep nonetheless deal with a moody little sister. I have always faced the pressure of being compared to him, which can be stressful, but I think ultimately has helped me achieve greater heights. But, it also cost my brother and I time we could have spent building a better sibling relationship.
Psychologist Victor Cicirelli wrote in his book Sibling Relationships Across the Lifespan, “the older sibling gains in social skills in interacting with the younger” and “the younger sibling gains cognitively by imitating the older.” These are just to name a few of the benefits from having a sibling. It is these little lessons that I, and many other people, take for granted. We forget that our sibling relationship will probably be the longest-lasting family relationship. We forget the benefits of having a good bond with our sibling. We forget that our sibling will be with us through thick and thin even as we grow older and go down separate paths. So, I’m trying to catch up on all the years we missed out on having each other for support so that in the future I can be proud to be called “Nathan’s little sister.”
cognitive empathy, or the ability to see something from another’s perspective; emotional empathy, or the willingness to feel what others feel; and compassionate empathy, the combination of cognitive and emotional empathy plus a desire to act to help someone else. Simply put, Compassion = Empathy + Action. Naturally upon realizing this, many students asked, “Do you think we should have chosen EMPATHY as our theme before we chose COMPASSION?” It is an interesting question, one that has been on my mind since our students and faculty who attended this year’s NAIS People of Color Conference and Student Diversity Leadership Conference facilitated an Upper School F-day assembly earlier this year. At the suggestion of our Head of School, these teachers and students shared how their conference experience had exposed the slight, yet meaningful difference between being a good inclusive community, and a great one. So, you are probably wondering what exactly went on at that conference that was so transformative for our fellow community
members. If you asked the participants, they would probably say a bunch of different things, but I guarantee there would be one commonality: EMPATHY. We were in a community with people who practiced making room for others: others’ stories, others’ cultures, others’ traditions, others’ religious beliefs and practices, others’ dietary needs, others’ ways of learning and processing materials, others. Period. In the Upper School, we have identified the one commonality that brought us all to Greenhill: Scholarship. No matter our zip code, political affiliation, learning styles, religious beliefs, gender, race, etc., we all understand that we experience the true essence of scholarship when we surround ourselves with others who have diverse perspectives, experiences, and subsequent emotions. Identifying this commonality is the first step towards empathy. It serves as a reminder to people—when their differences seem too drastic to get along—that at our heart, we are all working towards the same goal. However, as a community, we need to go farther than simply recognizing this
After a long day of empathizing with people’s problems, I become quite miserable. I’m quiet at the dinner table; I give one-worded answers about my day, and then lock myself in my room for the rest of the night. At school I listen to friends talk about their parents’ divorces, their struggles with depression, their complicated relation-
ship with their parents, a teacher that makes them feel upset… the list goes on. I love being that person to my friends. I love listening to them so they know they aren’t alone. But at the same time, it bothers me that I can’t help them. I sit there and listen and find myself engulfed in second-hand sadness not only because of their situations, but because there is nothing I can physically do to make it better. Sometimes, listening to my friends and being powerless to help them leaves me feeling hollow inside. What good am I if all I can do is listen? Whenever these thoughts enter my head I start to think about “Got First-World Problems? Don’t Feel Guilty,” a recent The New York Times column by Joseph Burgo that warns readers not to minimize their first world problems by thinking there is al-
afterwords
Are You Playing Or Am I?
Nathan’s Little Sister
Dear Editor, As everyone knows, compassion is this year’s community-wide theme. As such, we have dedicated ourselves to exploring and practicing this core principle. In the process of working with our Upper School students recently, we decided to deconstruct the meaning of compassion, and we learned something important: compassion can’t exist without empathy. Psychologist and empathy expert Paul Ekman confirms this when he describes three kinds of empathy:
Photo courtesy of Karen Bradberry
commonality. We need to actively engage this understanding in our thoughts and discussions, especially when we start to knock elbows. And inevitably, we’re going to knock elbows. Dissent in discussion is part of our culture. It helps us understand each other and ultimately changes Greenhill. It’s what changes the world too. So we have to take it upon ourselves to constantly exercise not only compassion, but empathy as well by resorting back to this commonality. And NOW, I believe we have uncovered what is needed to be the great, inclusive community that we strive to be. The answer lies within the opening question posed by the students: “Dr. B., do you think we should have chosen EMPATHY as our theme before we chose COMPASSION?” Here’s my response: “No, it isn’t an either/or for us; it’s a both/and.” Will it be a challenge? Of course. But we are Greenhill, and that’s just how we do things here. -Dr. Bradberry, Director of Equity and Inclusion
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wednesday, february 10, 2016
Taco Tour of Dallas
We all love tacos, and Dallas does too. We at The Evergreen want to direct you to our favorite spots to grab the iconic Texan staple. To r c h y ’s Ta c o s
SsahmBBQ Food Truck
Torchy’s is a well known favorite with multiple locations in North Dallas. Something lesser known about this taco joint is their secret menu. If you request it at the counter, you will have six extra options unknown to the majority of Torchy’s fans. My favorite of these secret six? The Hipster: Japanesestyle breaded tuna with bacon, green peppers, black beans, avocado sauce and my favorite part, bacon. I always feel caught between choosing a taco with seafood or traditional meat. With the Hipster, you don’t have to choose.
This food truck goes beyond average on both taste and originality. I didn’t know Korean tacos existed either, but now I’m so happy I do. Three bites of this token Asian-Mexican fusion will leave you wanting more. The server and I agree that the pork tacos complement the Korean style the best, but there are also beef, chicken and tofu options. Still hungry? Order the Kimchi Fries: fries with cheese, cilantro, onion and kimchi (a Korean seasoned vegetable dish). These Asian cheese fries were fresh and light, yet packed with flavor in every bite. Follow their twitter (@ssahmbbq) to stay updated on their locations for lunch and dinner.
Closest Location to Greenhill: 14760 Preston Rd (Preston and Beltline Intersection)
Ta q u e r i a L a Ve n t a n a
R ( R u s t y ) Ta c o
Photos by Megan Wiora
In May, this street taco joint made its way north of the LBJ, just down the road from Greenhill. It’s rare to find something this fresh in a strip mall, but these carnitas tacos had the perfect combination of authenticity and originality. When the weather is nice, sit outside in the patio. The best part? It’s exactly a two-minute drive from Hornet Road. Take that, 45-minute lunch.
R Taco (formally Rusty Taco) is also known in the metroplex for its fast, cheap and delicious tacos. I decided on the #5 brisket taco. Brisket isn’t something I would normally deem light and fresh, but this taco definitely was, in part due to the onions and avocado. Even though avocado is extra, the 35 cents is definitely worth it. I also recommend the shrimp (#8) and chicken (#10) tacos.
Closest Location to Greenhill: 4180 Belt Line Rd (Midway and Beltline Intersection)
Closest Location to Greenhill: 12050 Inwood Rd (Inwood and Forest Intersection) Follow @dallasfoodstagram on Instagram for more Dallas restaurant recommendations.