May 2015 | The Evergreen, Greenhill School

Evergreen the

may 13, 2015

Everything Greenhill

volume 50, issue 6

Abroad, but not alone S

oon, some students will get ready to spend a summer go concert hopping around Dallas and getting a head-start on the AP Bio curriculum. Another group of kids will go abroad, often for weeks or months, to visit relatives and explore their cultural heritage.

Junior Andrea Mora travels to San Felipe, Guanajuato, Mexico every summer to visit her aunts, grandparents, and her many cousins. This annual trip is the only time she gets to see many of her relatives.

A n d r e a sometimes feels a disconnect with even her closeaged cousins because she didn’t grow up with them in the same cultural and social environment.

“I have a lot of second cousins who I don’t usually interact with,” said Andrea.“I used to interact with them a lot when we were younger, but now that we’re older, I don’t know t h e whereabouts for teenagers in Mexico and their lingo.

In their eyes I’m not considered cool.”

Andrea is fluent in Spanish but is not accustomed to using it exclusively.

“Going to Mexico, it is hard getting used to speaking only Spanish all the time,” said Andrea. “And because I spend like two or three weeks there, when I come back to the U.S., I’m using Spanish more than I use English.”

Her time spent in Mexico also gives her a new perspective of a place that isn’t Dallas.

“Our house isn’t that nice, but it’s nice compared to what [some] people have,” said Andrea.

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A look into the Rants & Raves Archives p.2

“[Some] have to use buckets to shower or don’t have r u n n i ng water, so I feel privileged in Mexico. Then when I come back here I feel even more privileged to have air conditioning, a complete roof, a bathroom inside my room and a car.”

Andrea said she appreciates being a part of two lifestyles.

“I wish I had the Mexico lifestyle and the American education,” said Andrea. “In Mexico, it is very free. If I want to go out, I literally just walk out the door and walk downtown. Here, I can’t walk from my house to Klyde Warren Park. It’s just so much easier [in Mexico].”

Freshman Rishi Vas visits his grandparents in Mangalore, Karnataka, India every winter. “[My parents] want to give us a taste of the culture and want us to see how they lived when they were our age,” Rishi said.

His time spent in India gives Rishi a new perspective of the traditions and social norms, but he remembers that settling into the new atmosphere took time.

“I mean it’s a big change living over there. I was really shocked because I saw animals on the road,” Rishi said.

At home his family mainly speaks in English and bits of Telugu, but in Mangalore

News

Community Service Day cancelled p. 3

Serving Greenhill since 1966

Feat.

he has to speak either in Telugu or Hindi.

“It definitely gets boring, because I can’t speak the native language. I see people playing cricket all over the place and usually I would just jump in if this was America, and if I spoke their language, I would,” he said.

“

I don’t go as a tourist. When I go, I live a normal life there with my family.”

Rishi said that visiting relatives is a familial duty and sometimes feels like a burden. Despite the difficulties, Rishi said he would take his future children to India because he wants to show them that part of the world.

“I don’t want to leave my Indian self behind. I think it’s a stepping stone to being a better person,” said Rishi.

Sophomore Mira Fradkin visits her family in Israel, which feels like a second home to her.

“I don’t go as a tourist. When I go, I live a normal life there with my family,” she said.

Even so, Mira said that she experiences trouble with regards to language.

“When I visit my friends, I do feel a little separate just because my Hebrew isn’t as good as theirs, and their English isn’t as good as mine,” said Mira. “When we talk about stuff we like to do, there’s a cultural separation.”

The questions she receives can often put her in the position of speaking as a representative of America.

“It’s weird because in America I’m known as the girl from Israel, and then in Israel I’m known as the girl from America,” she said.

Mira is aware that it’s the small things in Israel that make her the happiest.

“Just being there in general, like seeing different things that you wouldn’t see in a mall here, or being able to eat falafel wherever I want. It’s just little things like that, like seeing billboards in Hebrew, make me

New club explores spirituality. p.5

Arts

so happy because this country is different,” Mira said.

Having another place in the world feel like home is very special to her.

“To me, it’s weird to hear my friends say, ‘I drove like five minutes and went to my grandma’s house,’ because for me seeing my grandparents is very rare, so it’s always been a very special thing,” she said.

Junior Nicholas Goldschmid visits his relatives twice a year in Buzios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“When I’m there, I definitely feel calmer so when I get back, stress hits me less,” said Nick. “[In Buzios] you wake up and eat whenever you want; it’s a carefree lifestyle.”

He is comfortable in the community because language has never been a challenge: Nick’s dad speaks Portuguese fluently. “[My family] doesn’t shun [me] because [I’m] not from there. They sort of embrace [me],” Nick said.

Nick is gone for two to four weeks when visiting Brazil and once had to return a few weeks early to attend two-a-day workouts for football.

“You definitely feel like you’re missing stuff as you get older. There’s more happening over the summer and more opportunities for things to do, but at the same time it’s nice to be disconnected from the world here,” said Nick. “The pros outweigh the cons in my mind.”

While there are pros and cons to visiting family abroad for an extended period of time during the summer, in the end, it is an opportunity to deepen knowledge in another culture.

“In general, traveling to Mexico–I just love it,” Andrea said. “I get to really be in touch with my true self.

I get to take so much more pride in being Mexican. At first when I was younger it was just ‘this is so cool,’ but now it’s about appreciating different cultures and stuff. Over there they’ll respect that I’m American but I really get to show off that I’m also Mexican.”

story by Simra Abedi, Varun Gupta, and Christina Zhu graphic by Mansi Gaur

Tech director Mr. Orman takes on new role p.10

4141 Spring Valley Road, Addison, TX 75001

Sports

Greenhill wins three SPC championship titles p.13

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Rants

&

Raves

A RAVE to the record number of studentproduced plays over the last several weeks.

“What are you going to do at lunch?” asks one friend. “See a play of course,” replies the other. “Wasn’t there one yesterday,” asks the first friend. “There’s been one every day for the last two weeks!” says the other. Personally, we love it.

A RAVE to Mr. Kasten, the wise man of C-Day. We shouldn’t be surprised that a man who meditates so much would be so wise. But it was with jaws dropped that we watched gaggles of freshmen fling their scrawny bodies towards him as he left the podium.

A RANT to the broken tables in the back of the English pod. At this special time of year, our brains, like these tables, are buckling under the weight of final-exam studying and AP tests.

We hope these tables, like our emotional stability, will soon be fixed.

A RAVE to the addition of a Fat Straws station at Prom. It’s only natural that boba tea and fruit smoothies, a staple of any Upper School student’s diet, made their way to this pinnacle of the Greenhill social calendar. Our only qualm: the lack of available Jenga games for us to fight over.

A RANT to the bench wars between freshmen, sophomores, and seniors in the quad. Most of us try to enjoy our lunches in peace, which is hard to do with representatives from each grade attempting to claim coveted spaces. We can’t enjoy our lunches with the seniors screaming and the ice cold glares coming from the sophomores when the freshmen dare to encroach.

A RAVE to the positivity posters in the Middle School girls bathroom. Through the rough times that are middle school, any positive reassurance that you can receive is vital to surviving ERBs, two whole final exams, and only one 15-minute break per day.

We can’t help but smile positively as we write this.

Content by Zoe Allen and Abbas Hasan Top right photo from greenhill.org

From the Archives...

In this issue, The Evergreen staff decided to feature rants and raves from previous years. Here are some of our favorites: A RANT to the disappearance of assorted mouse balls in A RANT to PDA. We here at The Evergreen have a lot the computer labs. What’s the fun in stealing them anyway? of love, and we know you have a lot of love too, but the Go outside and toss a Frisbee around, or take a swing at a middle of the locker room is not the place to let it flow whiffleball. freely.

May, 2004

May, 2000

October, 2007

Transparency in the Tutorial

Every trimester, a three-person tutorial committee evaluates around 15 requests from students to receive a sports credit for an outside-of-school activity.

While the majority of these requests are accepted, every season, a few students are left unsure as to why they were not granted a tutorial.

A student who plays tennis 15 hours a week can have her tutorial accepted whereas one who swims 15 hours a week might have hers denied. With the current process, there is no set number of hours that guarantees a student’s application will be accepted, and that is a problem.

While we understand that each applicant’s situation is unique, The Evergreen staff feels that the current tutorial process

needs to be more standardized.

A more specific and standardized requirement is simpler for everybody and would eliminate confusion and inconsistencies. You either meet the requirement or you don’t.

A student may not receive a tutorial for a season in which Greenhill offers that same sport. For example, a student cannot get a tutorial for swimming in the winter.

The Athletic Department values student participation in Greenhill-sponsored programs and the experience of being part of a team. That is understandable.

But according to Stacey Johnson, one of the evaluation committee members, most students who get their tutorial denied do so on the basis that the athlete “does not

Evergreen staff

A RAVE to being allowed to use Blackberrys. No longer are those students that like to remember their homework in alternative ways confined by the limitations of a physical planner. This is particularly beneficial to those that consider a rousing game of Tetris the best way to remember their AP Biology reading.

Staff Editorial

compete at a high enough level of their sport.” That should not be a determining factor.

In team sports, a student-athlete does not receive a physical education (PE) credit based on how well they perform, but rather on whether they dedicate time to the sport.

Why shouldn’t that same basis apply when judging a tutorial? We are a school that prides itself on work ethic and commitment; that should extend to the athletic tutorial.

As part of this newly proposed process, we believe that the school should establish a set number of hours that qualifies an athlete to receive a PE credit for a sports tutorial.

The average Greenhill sports team practices no more than ten to 12 hours a week, so why should tutorial applicants be

held at a higher standard? Students who are denied a tutorial end up having to pick up a PE credit, forcing them to add more hours to their already busy week.

Some students elect to invest time in athletics by playing a sport all three trimesters, whereas some take yoga two trimesters and focus their time on other parts of school. We let kids choose their path based on their own strengths and weaknesses. So why is a student who rows crew 15 hours a week denied a credit when another student can do yoga for three to four hours a week and still earn a credit? The numbers don’t add up. It is a very avoidable situation: just let the kid row.

the

Erratas, April 2014 issue

editor-in-chief

Catherine Leffert

special report and profiles editor

features editor

views editors

asst. online editor

executive editor

content editor

news editor

asst. arts editor

asst. sports editor

Madison Goodrich

Mia Krumerman

managing editor

backpage editor Megan Wiora

online editors

asst. features editors

staff writers

Amna Naseem

copy editor

arts editors

sports editors

asst. news editor

business manager

Ben Schachter

Varun Gupta

Christina Zhu

Zoe Allen Zach Rudner

Suman Chebrolu

Lane Hirsch Ben Krakow

Ellen Margaret Andrews Joseph Weinberg

Areeba Amer Zayna Syed

Sophie Bernstein

Simra Abedi Radhe Melwani Abbas Hasan

Josh Rudner

Lili Stern

Stephen Crotty Maya Ghosh Krish Shetty Ryan Diebner

advisor

staff artists

Eve Hill-Agnus Hanna Arata Sudeep Bhargava Alex Drossos Rachel Friedman Mansi Gaur Ruchita Iyer Ashley Lee Jackson Lowen Anurag Kurapati Anusha Kurapati Joanna Quan Adam Weider

pg. 12 Sarah Matthews’ name was misspelled.

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See p. 4 for more on changes to Community Service Day.

The views we don’t see: the conservative side

In a primarily liberal school, a group of students want to have their voices heard

This spring, seniors Cole Cramer and Sohum Daftary founded an affinity group for Upper School students who identify as conservative, a political affiliation that both seniors describe as being “controversial” at Greenhill. From global warming to foreign policy, the group meets every two weeks to discuss aspects of conservatism.

The mission of the group is to provide a “safe space” for Greenhill Upper School students who identify as conservative, but members attend group meetings for different reasons.

Cole started the group because he feels that being conservative at Greenhill is isolating.

“Both sides of my family are extremely conservative. My parents are conservative, so my family instilled these ideas in me. I came in sophomore year and had no idea how liberal Greenhill was going to be. That was an election year and I was like, ‘Go Romney!’ and all of these people were like, ‘No, that’s awful. You shouldn’t think that.’ I have had people

walk up to me and say, ‘You’re a conservative.

Oh, so you hate gay people and black people.’

I’ve legitimately had people walk up and ask me that.”

Starting the affinity group has been on Cole’s mind since his sophomore year, but this year was particularly challenging for him, as his peers became increasingly vocal about their views, which were mostly liberal, regarding events like the Ferguson shooting.

Some members of the group attend in order to learn more about their political identity; some go to learn about current political events; and some, like senior Sydnie Schindler, go because they like knowing that there are other students at Greenhill like themselves.

“I was one of the first members,” said Sydnie. “I [joined the affinity group] because I wanted to know that there are other people at Greenhill who have similar views as I do, because recently with events this year, like Ferguson, it seemed like there were not many conservatives at school and that they were kind of picked on. I felt uncomfortable when I was to have an opinion on an issue that was more conservative structured. I told a friend one time that I was conservative and she gasped.”

Junior Kevin Wei, a socially liberal student, does not attend the meetings, but understands why some conservative students may have desired it.

“When things become

more polarized I feel like there is a possibility of conservative views getting dismissed because of the liberal atmosphere that exists at Greenhill. I can see why there should be a safe place for conservative students and why conservatives might want to talk to people with their own views,” Kevin said.

Sohum, an avid debater, attends and leads the meetings not because he is a conservative, but because he wants to hear another perspective on politics.

“I’m involved so that I can learn more from that perspective and so that I can figure out what the best argument to beat a conservative argument is,” he said.

The group’s lunch meetings are about idea sharing and understanding the underpinnings of political stances.

“We talk about current events through both conservative and liberal view points.

We really go in depth with those things.

We look at a lot of financial aspects and repercussions of things implemented in the government,” Cole said. “Sohum helps a lot with this. It is nice to have him there and see things through all points of views.”

When there is a lack of political activity or events, the group picks a random topic to discuss.

“We could just write ‘abortion’ or ‘Obama Care’ on the board and discuss how we view it,” said Sydnie.

“We also try to put ourselves in a liberal’s shoes just to see what arguments t h e y

could make. We try to see their arguments and see how we would counteract it. We try to openly see how our sides are different.”

Mike Krueger, Upper School science teacher and the group’s sponsor, has tried to make the club as educational as possible by focusing meetings on education instead of blame.

“After an initial meeting where students cited numerous egregious examples of liberal bias, we decided not to play the victim card, that wasn’t in our DNA,” Mr. Krueger said. “Instead, meetings have focused on educating students on conservative positions like healthcare, government spending, and individual responsibility.”

The Conservative Affinity Group wants to bring a different outlook, which they felt wasn’t being represented in other politicalbased clubs. It is a safe space for conservative students to openly discuss their political views without the fear of being ostracized.

The group provides something different from a club like Political Action Club (PAC).

“PAC takes a current event topic and [the club members] debate it. [The arguments] come from a very liberal angle, but the club doesn’t teach you what liberalism is,” said Sohum. “Conservative affinity group is much more didactic.”

story by Mia Krumerman graphic by Anurag Kurapati HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: The members of the newly-formed Conservative Affinity Group want their views to be seen and understood as part of the Greenhill community.

Fifth Grade Students Start Environmental Initiative Sophie Bernstein Asst. Arts Editor

On April 21, the day before Earth Day, the entire Middle School spread out on campus with a mission to abolish trash. Students reached under bushes to retrieve empty wrappers from candy bars and chips, and some gathered around an empty abandoned cardboard box or hefted a giant abandoned metal rod off the ground.

Their white trash bags and blue recycling bags filled up quickly as they picked up litter around the Greenhill campus.

This activity, named Greenhill Goes Green, was an environmental initiative taken by fifth-graders Allie Starr, Sydney Kahn, and Isabelle Kronick. After learning about the negative impact of pollutants on the environment, they created it in order to promote caring for the environment and help the Earth.

“One day, I was in science class, and I saw a bunch of trash all over the ground, because we were making a human solar system, and I thought it was way too much, so I thought if the whole Middle School helped, it would just clean it all up,” Sydney said.

Allie, Sydney, and Isabelle

made the Greenhill Goes Green event a competition for picking up trash, so that taking care of the environment and getting rid of litter would be an enjoyable activity.

“

We hope that we can set an example for other students in the middle school.”

Each grade in the Middle School picked up trash in one of four divided sections of campus, and two advisories in each grade won candy for a prize.

“I read a story about this one river, and all the creatures and living plants in there were in dirty water, and our goal is to spread the word that we’re not the only creatures who need water and healthiness, and not to throw [stuff away] that shouldn’t be on the ground,” Isabelle said.

They approached Susan Palmer, Head of Middle School, about their idea for a contest for picking up trash about a month before April 21. She helped them with some of the timing and logistics, bought the trash and recycling bags, and

plastic gloves. Don Myers, Middle School Math and Science teacher, helped them set up the day of, but Allie, Sydney, and Isabelle came up with the concepts for the activity.

“For the trash pick-up around campus, I was kind of hands-off.

The girls had their own idea,” said Mr. Myers. “It was all driven by the three of them.”

Allie and Sydney have known each other for eight years and they both met Isabelle six years ago, so they did not have trouble working together. The three friends brought candy for prizes, came up with a logo for the 90 posters that they printed and put around the Middle School to spread word of the event, and made announcements to every grade in the Middle School.

“I think if anybody works as a team they can accomplish anything,” Isabelle said.

Ms. Palmer agreed.

“They see it as fun and helpful, and that combination will make them great volunteers for their whole lives,” Ms. Palmer said.

The trio has made a difference in the way some of the Middle Schoolers think about litter.

“I think that when those three fifth-grade girls brought it out, and

brought the awareness, I think a lot of students understood why they were picking up the trash, and how it was more significant,” said seventh-grader Riya Rangdal.

Even as members of fifth grade, the three girls aimed to impact the entire middle school this year, and they want to make the event a school-wide tradition in the future.

“We hope that we can set an example for other students in the

Middle School,” Allie said.

According to another student, the three fifth-grade girls succeeded in making an impact. “[It] was great because it shows how it doesn’t matter how old you are, that you can still make a difference,” said eighth-grader Ross Rubin. “We can pick up this much during one day, and maybe little by little, we do this every day, and it will help make a big difference.”

Photo by Alex Maue

CLEAN-UP ACT: Fifth-graders Sydney Kahn, Isabelle Kronick, and Allie Starr (left to right) organized a Middle-School-wide clean-up event.

4 news

the

Evergreen

wednesday, may 13, 2015

Community Service Day cancelled, focus shifted Amna Naseem Managing Editor

Lili Stern

Asst. Sports Editor

For the past 21 years, Community Service Day has presented an opportunity for Greenhill students and faculty to work side by side with volunteer agencies throughout the Dallas Metroplex. Now, this long-standing tradition is being dissolved, at least for now.

“The whole purpose of Community Service Day, when it was set up, was to [give students] different experiences at different grade levels so that [they] would have a better sense of what [they] wanted to do,” said Sally Rosenberg, Director of Community Service and Service Learning, who organizes Community Service Day every year. “[It] was there to show [everyone] more opportunities.”

The date for the 2014-15 Community Service Day was set for March 4, but forecasts of extreme weather prompted Mrs. Rosenberg and administrators to cancel the event for the safety of students and faculty. It was not a small decision.

Each year, Mrs. Rosenberg works months in advance to make Community Service Day run smoothly. She meets with each agency, sometimes multiple times.

Additionally, she organizes buses and schedules for each groups.

“When the day was cancelled, I only had one student actually come sit on my couch and say

something to me, that they were really upset. One other student just said, ‘Are you gonna reschedule?’

That was it. Out of 450 kids,” Mrs. Rosenberg said.

Mrs. Rosenberg said she heard little feedback from the faculty as well.

“After we cancelled because of the weather, only five adults said something to me,” said Mrs. Rosenberg. “They didn’t say anything like ‘When are you rescheduling it?’ or anything like that. It was all about me. They were sorry that I had put that much effort into something that didn’t happen.”

Mrs. Rosenberg explained that while she appreciated the faculty’s concern for her hard work, she was disappointed that no one appeared to be upset about missing out on

“

What is it that brings you pleasure? That’s what community service should be.”

something they had been excited about doing.

Mrs. Rosenberg had also noticed that many students did not sign up for agencies in a timely manner, despite many email reminders. This year, 100 out of 300 students didn’t sign up and were randomly assigned to various agencies.

“The thing that really struck me the most was that over 100

kids, sophomores and juniors, didn’t even sign up,” Mrs. Rosenberg said.

She also noticed that about 80 kids had signed up for agencies at which they volunteer regularly. Her hope for Community Service Day was that students would get excited and continue to visit the agencies that they were introduced to during Community Service Day. But, she said she realized that this was not the case for most students.

“I’m disappointed and I’m sad, and [Community Service Day] is one of the biggest things I ever did, but when I started doing it, we were an Upper School of 300 and something and now we’re an Upper School of over 400.

It’s just getting bigger and harder to place, and there’s so many more opportunities now for youth volunteering,” Mrs. Rosenberg said, though.

Some students were upset about the cancellation of Community Service Day. “I loved Community Service Day. I always made sure that I put the same place as my number one choice because I loved it so much,” said senior Rachel Davis.

A handful of teachers were also disappointed.

Amy Bresie ‘96, Upper School History teacher, got to experience

Community Service Day as a student at Greenhill.

Now, as a faculty member, she was excited to participate in this special day once again.

“I loved Community Service Day when I was going here,” said Dr. Bresie. “I was very upset when it was cancelled, because I was really excited about going to participate in service and to take students there.”

Despite this year’s change, community service will not cease to exist at Greenhill. “[Next year], we will either bring Community Service Day back, better and revamped, or we will think of another way to get the

Graphic By Anusha Kurapati

whole school involved in service that isn’t that [same] structure,” said Laura Ross, Head of Upper School.

In the future, Mrs. Rosenberg plans to continue helping interested students find suitable opportunities for volunteering. Additionally, she plans to offer more individualized service projects rather than group visits to agencies.

“What is it that brings you pleasure? That’s what community service should be,” Mrs. Rosenberg said.

Features the

See p. 6 to learn more about senior Eric Yu.

Read Between the Lines

Junior Mansi Kumar co-founded PANS (Palmistry, Astrology, Numerology, Spirtuality) Club out of a deep rooted passion Madison Goodrich

Executive Editor

Megan Wiora Backpage Editor

In a classroom just outside the Elliott Center, a palmist awaits.

“Your fate line goes straight to [the] mount of Saturn. That is a good sign of prosperity of wealth,” she said.

The palmist is junior Mansi Kumar.

As she strokes each line, she explains what she can see in the palm about the future.

When finished, she walks to the junior pod and gets ready for class. It’s not a mountainside on a hot summer day in India, but for Mansi, reading palms in classrooms, hallways, and locker rooms is a start.

She learned about palm reading while vacationing in India the summer before eighth grade. Her dad’s college friend read her palm and she was shocked by his accuracy.

“He told me things that were so precise and exact. I was fascinated,” Mansi said.

Palmistry, which originated thousands of years ago in India, spread throughout Europe and Asia. It is the practice of reading palms to discover traits and see into the future.

The Babylonians discovered astrology in 18th century BCE. The Greek mathematician Pythagoras was said to teach numerology, the study of numbers’ influence on one’s life. After his death in 500 BCE, students put his teachings into writing. There are many cultures around the world that honor and respect these teachings. Today, Rice University in Houston offers a Ph.D in Gnosticism, Esotericism, Mysticism (GEM).

About a year ago, Mansi’s dad rediscovered a 75-year-old palmistry manuscript that had belonged to her greatgrandfather. Her dad noticed her strong

interest, and since the manuscript was falling apart, he looked up the author and ordered a new copy.

Mansi’s great-grandfather had the talent of palm reading; her father has it, and now, so does she. According to Mansi, palm reading comes naturally to her and her family members.

“My [great]-grandpa had the original manuscript and passed it on to my dad’s dad. My dad mainly learned naturally and through the old manuscript.”

Mansi took this interest to school and started reading her friends’ palms. Word spread, and before she knew it, swarms of people were asking for a reading.

“I think whether people believe in it or not, they’re really interested in it, so even if they don’t believe in it they’re like, ‘Just read my hand and tell me what you [see].’”

This year, she co-founded Palmistry, Astrology, Numerology, and Spirituality (PANS) Club with juniors Madison Grimes and Virginia Leopard.

Virginia was familiar with other forms of divination (the process of seeking knowledge of the future by supernatural means), prior to the club, but was unfamiliar with Mansi’s astrological and numerological expertise.

“I was already dipped into that world, and [Mansi] showed me a different part of it,” Virginia said.

Mansi, Virginia and Madison, who started the club on a whim, did not realize how popular the club was going to be.

“We thought people were just going to laugh at us, but we ended up having a huge turnout,” Mansi said.

During each club meeting, the leaders focus on a particular topic that has to do with one of the four main cornerstones of the club: palmistry, astrology, numerology, or spirituality. For example, during one

Q&A Toby Row has worked at Greenhill since 2003 as Campus Store Assistant at The Buzz.

Mr. Row’s responsibilities include managing all incoming shipments. Since 2003, he has entered 22,763 shipments into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Can you describe what your job title is and what it entails?

I’m basically shipping and receiving. I receive all of the boxes coming in and then if it has a purchase order attached to it, I make sure it matches up with that purchase order.

Then I deliver it to a teacher or to Athletics. I used to have help, but not so much this year.

What were you like in high school?

I didn’t really fit in a crowd; I kind of got along with everybody. I’m just a peopleperson, I guess. I like seeing the different

astrologists, and others who believe in these practices.

“You have a lot of pop charlatans that are making money off of selling people things they want to hear,” he said.

Mansi agreed.

“As far as the skepticism that’s involved, I think that it’s because all of these things have been made into businesses, so you see a lot of people selling it, or just doing it for profit and because of that, the integrity goes away.”

Mansi said that although m o s t of her knowledge is in astrology, she has the most interest in palmistry. In a crowded room full of noise, she focuses in on a person’s palm, and nothing is able to distract her.

The most rewarding part of palmistry for Mansi is being able to have unique insight into a person’s life. By reading the lines on a person’s palm, she believes she can see information about his/her past, present, and future.

“It is awesome when I can apply [my knowledge]. Once I started getting really into it, I would meet people and be like, ‘Oh yeah, they are definitely a Capricorn,’” said Mansi. “You can tell what ticks people off based on specific lines, for example their line of heart, or their line of mentality, the lines that tell me most about other people. I think it’s a great way to look into someone and gain a better insight.”

Toby Row, Campus Store Assistant

personalities [at Greenhill].

police them.

I often see you wearing different sports t-shirts. Are you a big sports fan?

I’m a die-hard Miami Dolphins fan.

It’s mostly Florida teams, but I do support the Rangers and the Mavericks, but I also support the Heat and the Miami Marlins.

It all started because [Dan] Marino was my idol, so I started liking the Miami Dolphins because he was the quarterback.

Have there been any weird encounters while working at The Buzz?

No, not really. The kids pretty much curb their spending because they have been warned. But I’ll see the kids around campus and say “hi” to them.

Do you have any outside-of-Greenhill hobbies or passions?

They are mostly sports-related. [I play] disc golf and I used to play racquetball a lot.

I’m a TV junkie when it comes to sports.

I play fantasy football every year. I’m in a league with my cousin and old high school friends. I won the championship this year.

How do you remember all these Buzz numbers?

Just repetitiveness. Sometimes we’ll forget and put in the last name and we’ll cheat. But most of them I do remember.

Photo by Ellen Margaret Andrews

club meeting they focused on astrology and explained to club members the significance behind each sign. They also explained to club members the difference between astrology and popular horoscopes.

T h e y actively aim to dispel m y t h s behind their club’s studies.

T r e y Colvin, Upper School English teacher and club sponsor, agrees that popular culture, science, and religion affect people’s views on esotericism, which includes beliefs held by small groups of Graphic by Arh um Kh an people.

“What you see in the newspaper, an astrological reading, and what you can do online with tarot cards are really modern adaptations of what [tarot cards] were really intended for,” said Dr. Colvin. “So people become very skeptical about [it because] it’s not traditional. There is a maybe dangerous element to it. Then you see in popular culture people who are abusing [these beliefs]. It gives a false impression that solidified: it’s irrational, it is dangerous, and you don’t need to be messing with it.”

Dr. Colvin also believes that frauds contribute to the negative image of palmists,

Have you ever had to disclose information to the parents about how much students are spending at the Buzz?

If they bring something up, we refer them to the Business Office. We don’t do it ourselves. But we can’t control what they buy. We just have to rely on their parents to

Do you like having to organize countless

boxes and deliveries?

Yeah, I like it. It’s a lot better, because I used to work in a warehouse [CompUSA].

No heat, no air conditioning. So you just go in wearing whatever. Even in winter time I would wear shorts because I would get hot.

This is the best job I’ve ever had. reporting by Ellen Margaret Andrews

6 features

the

Evergreen

wednesday, may 13, 2015

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 senior Eric Yu.

For Eric Yu’s family, the American dream is a reality. Born in Watertown, Mass. to Chinese immigrant parents, Eric grew up without luxuries. When he was eight years old, Eric’s parents got jobs at UT Southwestern Medical Center, the family moved to Dallas and his life changed forever.

Eric’s father grew up on a family farm in China, but attended one of the country’s top universities, where he met Eric’s mother. After college, the couple moved to Boston to continue their studies.

When Eric was born, his father was still in graduate school, and his family had very little income.

“My parents had just emigrated from China and back then, we were really poor,” said Eric. “We couldn’t afford to eat out and we always bought the cheapest food possible. We lived in a really

small home up in Watertown.

It wasn’t bad in the sense that I wasn’t happy, but we had a really crappy car and we didn’t have a computer or any of those kinds of things. We had enough to get by.”

The family’s financial situation changed when his Dad got a job at UT Southwestern. Eric’s 11-yearold brother Justin, who was born after the move, has, in contrast, always lived a life of relative plenty. Eric, unlike many others, has had the experience of living in different socioeconomic classes. “[Justin is] a lot more acclimated to this lifestyle,” Eric said.

That lifestyle doesn’t include driving in a family car with a transmission so bad that the vehicle couldn’t go uphill.

Though now the Yus belong to what Eric describes as the uppermiddle class, his life in Boston has helped shape who he is today.

“I have this policy where if I ever go out with friends to eat, I refuse to let anyone pay for me,” said Eric. “I definitely don’t take things for granted. I know what it feels like to be short on cash, and to have scarce amounts of things, so I always value what I have, more so

than if I had [grown up living] the way I live now. Prior to freshman year, the idea of having my own computer was completely foreign to me.”

According to Eric, as a kid, he didn’t think much about what it would be like to live differently, with more luxuries, perhaps.

“That wasn’t my mindset,” he said.

This year, Eric took Upper School English teacher Andy Mercurio’s elective, Class on Class. The course reminded him of his own experiences.

“He taught us that we can’t assume what someone’s socioeconomic class is before they came to Greenhill,” Eric said.

Outside of class, Mr. Mercurio and Eric have bonded over their roots in Watertown. Eric said he and Mr. Mercurio came closest together on April 19, 2013, when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the Boston Marathon bombers, went into hiding in Watertown, where Eric and Mr. Mercurio both still have family.

“I remember that day. I saw him and he was an emotional train wreck,” said Eric. “We both understood the importance of our hometown, and I felt

Photo by Varun Gupta

EVOLVING BIOLOGIST: Senior Eric Yu, whose parents are pharmacologists at UT Southwestern Medical Center, will major in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory University in Atlanta next year.

that same concern for my family.”

Eric has family in China as well, which he has visited several times.

Next year, Eric will attend Emory University, where he will major in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. Eric was first exposed to biology when his parents, who work in UT Southwestern’s Department of Pharmacology, brought him to their laboratories when he was off of school.

“I had nothing to do and my

dad would give me some small excerpts of his papers to read,” said Eric. “Sometimes he would have some time and he would talk with me and I would think to myself, ‘He knows so much about these things.’”

From those small glimpses into the world of science, Eric found a passion.

“Studying biology is the closest we can come to understanding life and the brain is the final frontier,” Eric said.

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wednesday, may 13, 2015

L2 L1 - Make-your-own birthday cake

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senior section

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- Glen Rose trip III - Watertower painting - Black & white first day - Once Upon a Hill - First football win - Snowpocalypse II in over a year during exams - Deep in the Heart of Greenhill - Junior chalk day - #RE born

- The themed loft - Nap time - Tricycles

- Nutcracker - Meals on Wheels - Sixth grade buddies

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- Primer play - Half man - Time machine - Primer sleepover - Only classroom with two sinks

- Splash into Sophomore Year party - Cirque du Greenhill - #Greenhill twitter revolution - Pig dissections

- Rice babies - Nocturnal animal night - Glen Rose trip - Fellow: Sharon Charlebois

- Whirleyball - Cartoon Netweek - PALs in advisory

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2

- Portables - Cursive - Texas Tales & Tunes - Pet show - Country store - Fellow: Pam Barnes

3

10

from start to finish

- New building - Students vs. teachers soccer - Around the World country projects - Recorders - Zoombinis - Important Book - Fellow: Jenny Livengood

4

7

Follow the road to see the Class of 2015’s journey through Greenhill and into college.

As the senior staff, we couldn’t be more proud to have been a part of The Evergreen for the last four years. Thank you for sharing the experience with us.

Sera . Sofia . Sanah . Andrew . Christian . Ariana

- Mystery theater - Aloha Fridays - Taking home Pumpkin & Beevo - Webmail accounts created - Fellow: Katrina Prokopenko

5

- Lockers, no locks - Greek Day - Grammar cards - Delia’s t-shirts

6

9

- Snowpocalypse during exams - Great iPad mystery - Glen Rose trip II - Meals on Wheels II - Mambo club -Fellow: David Carrington

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- Middle School sports teams - Cow-heart dissections - Super Mindle - Steve Madden suede boots, colored jeans - Fellow: Steve Landkamer

- Sixth grade buddies - Cotillion - Memorized all European capitals - Locker Logic business boom - Fellow: Liz Thornton

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the

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Everg

The Finish Line Here is where the Class of 2015 is heading next year, with a fun fact about each college. All superlatives (best, most) are relative only to this set of colleges.

American University (2) Campus is a national arboretum & garden

Bates College Farthest college in U.S. from Dallas (1,629 miles)

Baylor University (2) Has a licensed zoo on campus to hold black bear mascots

Belmont University Ke$ha used to crash classses here

Berklee College of Music Co-ed college with most males (68%)

Brown University Home to three library books bound in human skin

Bryn Mawr College (3) Means “big hill” in Welsh

Bucknell University (2) First Orange Bowl champion

California Institute of Technology Legally Blonde filmed here

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (3) Notable wine-making program

Centre College Mascot is the praying colonel

Chapman University 10 minutes from Disneyland

Colorado College Students take one class at a time

Columbia College Chicago New York University (2) Named after 1893 World’s Fair (ColumNew York University bian Exposition) Shanghai Columbia University (2) Founded by a royal charter

Cornell University Best campus food

Dartmouth College (2) Alma mater of Dr. Seuss

Duke University (3) Best alumni giving (60%)

Emory University (4) Partially funded by Coca-Cola

Fordham University Best college radio station

Franklin & Marshall College First U.S. bilingual college (with German)

Furman University Has a real Buddhist temple from Japan

George Washington University Most politically active students

Harvard University Produced most presidents (6)

Hendrix College (5) Has underground tunnel light show

Lafayette College Coach invented the football huddle

Millsaps College Smallest college (910 undergraduates)

Best college gym

Northwestern University (2) Largest dance marathon

Oberlin College (2) Smallest college town (8,390 people)

Occidental College (3) Best parking

Pratt Institute Has 18th century cannon in courtyard

Purdue University (2) Home to world’s largest drum (10’ tall)

Rhodes College (2) Most charitable college

Santa Clara University First college in California

School of the Art Institute of Chicago Alma mater of Walt Disney

Scripps College Annual Medieval dinner & dance

Skidmore College Most tree-hugging

Southern Methodist University (3) Home to largest private collection of research materials in Southwest

Stanford University Best campus ethnic diversity

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wednesday, may 13, 2015

0 students 1 student 2-3 students 4-9 students 10+ students

Swarthmore College First graduating class had 6 students

Texas A&M University Largest college (47,000 undergraduates)

Texas Tech University First live horse mascot (masked raider)

Tufts University (2) “Pumpkining” every Halloween

Tulane University Alum invented chocolate-based toothpaste

United States Military Academy at West Point First ever class ring by class of 1835

University of Alabama First Alabama vs. Auburn game in 1893

University of Cambridge Oldest college (founded in 1209)

University of Chicago College that looks most like Hogwarts

University of Colorado, Boulder Most snowfall (88” annually)

University of Connecticut University of Texas, Best mud volleyball tournament Dallas (3) University of Denver Alma mater of Hard Rock Cafe founder

University of Miami (2)

Best chess team

University of the Arts London Most runway ready

Alma mater of Enrique Iglesias

University of the Arts University of Michigan (2) Philadelphia Winningest football team (915 wins)

University of Oregon Best a capella group

University of Pennsylvania (2) Older than the state of Pennsylvania

University of Richmond Offers free massages every Tuesday

University of Southern California (4) Most spirited

Alma mater of voice of Pocahontas

University of Vermont Coldest weather

Vanderbilt University 3:1 squirrel-to-student ratio

Washington University in St. Louis (2) Best college dorms

Xavier University of Louisiana Co-ed college with most women (72.5%)

University of St. Andrews Yale University Duke & Duchess of Cambridge met here

University of Texas, Austin (7) Best marching band

Best college newspaper

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Colleges that have not been represented since at least the Class of 2011.

Increase in applications submitted with Oct. 15 deadlines compared to last year’s class.

5 11

Athletes playing Division I sports Athletes playing Division III sports

315%

27

Number of students attending college for arts or athletics

2 3

St. Andrews

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wednesday, may 13, 2015

Shanghai

Students studying performing arts Students studying film

3 3

Students studying visual arts Students studying architecture

Cambridge

Matriculation By the Numbers

London

Number of students studying internationally.

655

Total acceptances for the Class of 2015. This represents 64 percent of the 1,021 applications sent.

33

Difference between this year’s and last year’s number of students staying in Texas. Only 20 students are staying in-state versus 53 in the Class of 2014.

8.7

Average number of applications submitted per student. For the last 10 years, this number has hovered between 7.1 and 7.9.

251

Number of recommendations written

by Greenhill teachers.

56%

Students going to college with a classmate.

Scan the QR code for more about the Class of 2015, this year’s Evergreen seniors, advisor letters and a farewell to our advisor, Eve Hill-Agnus.

Arts the

See p. 12 to step into Japanese culture with Dinner and a Movie.

Tech Director Enters New Stage

Catherine Leffert Editor-in-Chief

Michael Orman, Middle School and Upper School Technical Theatre Director has built sets with Greenhill students for the past six years, creating everything from a giant playground to a fullsized pool. Next year, as Greenhill moves from the 41-year-old ZaleFields Theatre into the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center (MPAC), a new job awaits Mr. Orman.

Mr. Orman’s new role as building supervisor of MPAC will expand on his current role. He has been the backbone of the technical theatre (tech) department since he came to Greenhill six years ago.

“I was hooked from the moment I stepped on campus.

I love Greenhill,” said Mr. Orman.

“I love what it stands for. I love what it does for all the students, [and] what the end goal is for the students.”

Currently, Mr. Orman teaches Middle School and Upper School tech classes, keeps track of scheduling for the theatre space, designs and builds the sets for all shows with the students, and helps run the lights and sound with them.

In his tech classes, students learn the basics of building sets, from sawing wood to nailing curtains in place. At the more advanced levels, students learn how to design intricate sets to be aesthetically pleasing and useful to the actors. They also learn how to work and design lights and sound, which are vital aspects of each show. Mr. Orman has been

Photos Courtesy of Emily Wilson

SETTING A SCENE: Some of Mr. Orman’s sets are pictured: Seussical the Musical (upper left), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (right), The Addams Family (bottom left), and Once Upon a Mattress (center).

involved in theatre since he was a teenager, but began his theatre career as an actor.

“I have a degree in mathematics and theatre. I was teaching in a school up in St. Louis. I decided I really wanted to focus on theatre instead of mathematics,” Mr. Orman said.

He made the transition into tech when he took the job at Greenhill. Now, as the new building opens, Mr. Orman will make another adjustment.

The school will bring in another technical theatre teacher, who will take over Mr. Orman’s Middle School tech classes and Upper School beginning tech classes. Mr. Orman will continue teaching advanced tech, and co-teach the upcoming Theatre Company class with Catherine

Hopkins, Upper School Theatre teacher.

Mr. Orman has developed close relationships with his tech students, even sending out hourly updates via text messages at the ISAS festival to all of his tech students. He often spends lunch chatting with students in his office.

“Mr. Orman treats students as equals, which means he has higher expectations of us than some other adults do, but it also means our relationships with him are often more meaningful,” said junior Madison Grimes. “He is very open to getting to know students personally, and he’s always genuinely interested in students’ personalities outside of the theater.”

Next year, Mr. Orman’s role will fall more on the managing

side, but his students believe he will remain close.

Mr. Orman will also be in charge of scheduling all the events held in the MPAC. He currently schedules for the Zale-Fields Theatre, which seats 250. The MPAC will house two theatres, with a total seating of 750.

He will also be charged with maintaining the building’s appearance as it is being used.

“Mr. Orman will not lose his caring nature or natural teaching abilities. His new job requires for his other skills to be used more,” said junior Madeline Owens.

The Zale-Fields Theatre will be replaced by the expanded cafeteria and school store next year, but Mr. Orman reflected on the use the space has provided.

“One thing that our students leave Greenhill with is the ability

to problem-solve. The building that we’re in has given us a lot of problems to solve. Because of the limitations, we’ve had to make it work. All of these things force you to think creatively to make the show go on,” said Mr. Orman. “It’s created this camaraderie of ‘we’re all in this together’ and this skillset of problem solving.”

Being in the Zale-Fields theatre left room to “experiment,” he said. Hours before a show of The Addams Family this year, the lightboard crashed, requiring the light crew to improvise. But this old theatre space also meant that Mr. Orman could be experimental with set design. For example, creating the pool for Metamorphoses in the fall of 2010 was plausible because the Zale-Fields theatre has a concrete floor, something that the MPAC will lack.

Mr. Orman designed three times as many sets this year as previous years.

“His personality, the way that he teaches and the way that he’s built classes for the last six years are the reasons that our tech program is so full,” Ms. Hopkins said. “He’s sarcastic, realistic, pragmatic, but he’s also one heck of a set designer.”

He’s still committed to being a prevalent figure in the Fine Arts department, from teaching classes to managing the theatre.

“I’m going to have less interaction because I won’t have as many classes, but I won’t be in a fishbowl where I will not be interacting with the students,” said Mr. Orman. “I might not be running the lights, but I’ll teach someone how the lights work.”

Poetry with a Punch Areeba Amer Views Editor

Junior Kriti Narayanan stepped on the stage of the Rock coffeehouse at the 2015 Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) Fine Arts Festival. The previous performance had left the atmosphere filled with light-hearted conversations; however, Kriti’s performance was not a casual love song, but a profound slam poem about her journey through depression.

The tent became silent as she performed and when she finished, she received a standing ovation.

“Her words were so strong and they just hit me,” said freshman Sudeep Bhargava, a member of Slam Poetry Club. “That is why I joined Slam Poetry Club. After I heard Kriti’s slam, I was like, ‘This is very cool. I want to do it!’”

“

I think what encapsulates slam poetry is the idea that you are in a conversation with your audience.”

It was after coffeehouse that students approached Kriti about starting a slam poetry club where students, like Sudeep, would be able to create and share their slam poems.

Slam poetry is a form of poetry in which writers not only create poems, but perform them in a manner that accentuates the rhythms. This adds a new layer to traditional poetry: a musical aspect only noticed if the poem is performed in that manner.

“Slam poetry is a combination of the language and the performance. You can read a great poem in monotone but you need to really convey your message [through performance] to hit the audience,” said Kriti.

The musical aspect of slam poetry also allows the poet to interact with his or her audience on a personal level using performance.

“I think what encapsulates slam poetry is the idea that you are in a conversation with your audience, but you’re doing it with metaphors, similes, images, and rhythm, which can help convey your message,” said Rachel Davis, a slam poet and member of Slam Poetry Club. “It is the difference between giving someone a piece of art to look at and right there in front of the people hacking up a black canvas with eggshells filled with paint and making the art right there in front of you. “ This unique aspect of slam poetry draws many people in.

“I like the music of it. [It is] a place where poetry and music meet in song and, as someone who has always

wanted to write music and never been able to, it is sort of a halfway step. I can make music with my words,” Rachel said. “[Slam poems are] lengthier than most poems,” said Joel Garza, faculty club sponsor and Upper School English teacher.

“It’s focused on the landscape of emotion more than the landscape of nature, it’s driven by individual lines rather than crafted to fit a stanza format, it’s unabashedly confessional rather than artfully and subtly revealing.”

People have very different experiences with slam poetry; some use it as an emotional outlet.

“I wrote poetry since I was little. It was more about the flowery language, [but] I have been going through hard times recently, so it turned less about the language and more about the message. Poetry has turned into a method of catharsis,” Kriti said.

Slam Poetry Club meetings can consist of performances from peers or exercises that spark creativity.

Not only do they listen to Greenhill slam poets perform, they draw inspiration from other slam poets. Slam Poetry Club also has a Soundcloud page, where they share and

Graphic by Arhum Khan

create work.

Kriti has more plans for the club next year.

“I hope to start a Greenhill slam poetry group where we can perform in [slam poetry] and represent Greenhill,” Kriti said.

12 arts

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may 13, 2015

Dinner and a

Movie

A cultural exploration of Japan’s cuisine and cinema Graphic by Anusha Kurapati, photo by Maya Ghosh

JUMP INTO JAPAN: Zoe and Abbas relive Spirited Away, a film by Hayao Miyazaki. Spirited Away is the highest grossing film in Japanese history. Other Miyazaki films include Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo.

Zoe Allen Arts Editor

Abbas Hasan

Asst. News Editor

As we walked through the front door of the restaurant Ten Ramen, it felt like we were transported to Tokyo. It wasn’t the bustling infrastructure, ancient temples, or modernday dreams of Tokyo that were present, it was the sense of tradition.

Ten Ramen is a small, Tokyo-style ramen shop located in North Oak Cliff.

This is a part of Dallas that not many Greenhill students are familiar with, but going outside of the Greenhill area was definitely worth the trip. After ordering and paying on the restaurant’s iPads, we chatted with the extremely hospitable chefs across the bar and waited for our food to come. Our food was styled after traditional Tokyo ramen counters.

The location of the shop was part of what made the venture so worthwhile: a scenic view of downtown Dallas stretched

not far away, and two shops down, there was a grassy area where smiling families were playing Bocce ball.

The enchanting staff of Ten Ramen was almost as good as the delicious ramen and rice.

Abbas stepped out of his comfort zone and ordered tonkatsu, a traditional ramen dish served with ginger and green onions.

A: “Wait, Zoe, I’ve only had Cup Noodles before. This is the real deal.”

This was not the instant ramen we get from the Buzz. It was clear to tell that time was put into this food.

The broth for the ramen was extremely flavorful and full of a variety of great vegetables, like green onions and cabbage.

The tonkatsu had an original taste that came entirely from the ginger, which is what really made the dish outstanding.

Zoe had rice topped with pork, poached egg, and green onions. What completed the rice was the poached egg that added flavor.

Abbas took his time enjoying this

delectable dish, while Zoe gobbled hers up and proceeded to help Abbas finish his.

Our struggle with the chopsticks was met with stares from a Japanese couple standing next to us at the counter. Abbas started off using two hands, but could only get two noodles into his mouth. By the end, we could both say there was an improvement in chopstick-ing capabilities.

Zoe was so pleased that while exiting, she called out, “See you again soon!”

We were transported into a totally new world for the second time that night while watching Hayao Miyazaki’s animated fantasy film Spirited Away. Miyazaki’s style is that of a distinct, artfully crafted animation which envelops you into the imagined world of the protagonist. In this case, our protagonist was a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro, who accidentally stumbles upon a town and bathhouse in which spirits reside.

There was a lot to take in after finishing the movie, which includes comments

on pollution and destruction. Abbas fell to the floor and curled up in a ball from emotional distress.

The movie is horrifying, yet brilliant.

It has the amazing quality of bringing huge ideas to light through stunning animation.

Z: “The last time I saw this (when I was five), I was horrified. I think I still am.”

Spirited Away presents many issues that we face today, but disguises them with an elaborate plot.

A: “So much of this blew over my head when I was younger, but looking back this movie is so meaningful.”

Though it threw us into a world we barely knew, we saw the movie in a whole new light.

As Chihiro crosses the bridge to a bathhouse filled with spirits, she enters a world completely new to her.

We went through an experience very similar, seeing Dallas from a whole other perspective.

Sports the

See p. 14 to learn about rock climber, junior Dena Altshuler.

Hornets Take Home Three Titles Girls Track

Girls Tennis

Boys Tennis

The girls track team took home their second consecutive Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) Championship title at All Saints’ Episcopal School in Fort Worth this year.

The girls finished with a team score of 145, beating second place St. John’s School by 13.5 points. The team boasted a bouquet of first place finishes in many events.

Junior Amelia Jones took home a first place finish in pole vaulting, an event in which the Hornets also won second and third place. Junior Naya Sharp placed first in the long jump, 100-meter hurdles, and 100-meter dash. The girls’ 4 x 100meter relay team and 4 x 400-meter relay team also got first place. Additionally, freshman Cameron Crates finished sixth place in both the 800-meter and the mile events. Sophomore Maddie Cook placed sixth in the two-mile event.

“It was amazing to [win the championship for the second consecutive year] and prove to everybody that we are the best in the conference,” said sophomore Rheagen Smith.

The Greenhill boys tennis team won its third consecutive SPC title on May 1.

The Hornets did not lose a single team match this season, making it their fifth consecutive undefeated season in SPC counter matches.

After having a bye in the first round, the team went on to defeat The John Cooper School 5-0 in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, they defeated St. John’s School 5-0 and then won the championship match 4-1 against The Kinkaid School. The team, which has two graduating seniors, Chris Jones and Jayant Madugula, will also have returning starters from this years’ finals for the 2015-16 spring season: freshmen Rishi Vas, Vivek Denkanikotte and Ali Khambati, sophomore Nate Eazor, and junior Michael Kerner.

“It was exciting to win SPC with a bunch of young talent and I am looking forward to getting back at it next year and looking to win again,” Michael said.

The Greenhill girls tennis team won the SPC title on May 1, beating St. Mary’s Hall, The John Cooper School, The Hockaday School, and the Episcopal School of Dallas.

The team had previously lost to Hockaday in the 2014 SPC Championship final.

The Hornets had also previously lost to ESD this season, but claimed their championship by beating their previous victors in the final. Senior varsity starters Julia Reisler, Jenna Reisler, and Elizabeth Shi were responsible for the team’s three victories in their 3-2 defeat of ESD. For seniors Jenna and Julia, this was their last chance to win a high school championship before they go on to play tennis in college.

Jenna will play at The University of Chicago, and Julia will play at California Institute of Technology.

“Ever since freshman year, it was my dream to win SPC,” said Jenna. “I am so grateful for my last memory of Greenhill tennis to be of my team holding that trophy in our hands.”

story by Ben Krakow

story by Ben Krakow

Photo courtesy of Khozema Khambati

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Shuman Graphic by Amna Naseem

story by Ben Schachter

Photo courtesy of Rheagen Smith

Junior track phenom has record-breaking season Zach Rudner Arts Editor

BAM! The gun goes off and the race begins. Pumping with adrenaline, fully focused, junior Naya Sharp sprints towards the finish line. The track and field champion practically flies for 100-meters. She wins the race.

Naya has been a standout athlete since coming to Greenhill in 8th grade.

She led the track team to Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) Championships in both of the last two years.

Her sophomore year at SPC, she won the 100-meter dash and long jump, and led the girl’s team to a 4x100-meter relay victory.

By the numbers: Naya Sharp Compiled by Zach Rudner

She ran as the relay’s last leg. That year she earned Girl’s Track Most Valuable Player.

This year, Naya won the 100-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, and long jump at SPC. Naya broke records, both on the Greenhill level and for SPC. This season, Naya broke Greenhill records in the 100-meter hurdles, and 200-meter dash.At the SPC Championships, she broke the SPC record for the 100-meter, running the event in 11.96 seconds.

After her last event at SPC in the 4x400-meter, Naya says she was exhausted, but happy.

The percentage of the girl’s track team’s points that Naya accounted for at the SPC Championships. Naya scored 38 points out of the 145 total that the team scored.

26.2

“I knew after I crossed the finish line that we won SPC,” she said. “I was passed out on the track [because] I was so tired, but after we got with the entire team, it was a really bittersweet moment, especially with the seniors who knew it was their their last time competing. There were some tears.”

In addition to Greenhill practices, Naya trains with a year-round coach.

“I get to Greenhill track practice at four, and then I run over to my private coach and that’s from six-ish to sometimes it can go until eight or eight-thirty,” said Naya. “So I’ve spent a fair amount of time at the track.”

18.9 Naya’s average speed in miles per hour during her Greenhill record breaking 100-meter race from the Texas Relays meet, earlier this year.

Naya sets goals for herself. “My goal was to win as many events as possible this year because I had done so well last year, placing top three in all my events,” said Naya. “Overall my junior year went really well.”

This summer, Naya plans to run in the Junior Olympics Meet in Florida.

The summer after she graduates, she hopes to run at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Junior Championships, an international track meet for athletes under 20 years old, scheduled to be in Russia.

Naya said she also plans to run track in college.

Naya’s SPC winning long jump in terms of her body length. She jumped a distance of 18’9’’, 3.64 times her height of 5’2’’.

3.64

14 sports

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Evergreen

wednesday, may 13, 2015

Climber Harnesses Her Skills Suman Chebrolu News Editor

It’s a sweltering summer day and in front of junior Dena Altshuler looms a rockclimbing wall. She’s exhausted, her fingers hurt, and it takes all she has to just keep holding on. She sees a difficult move she can make to get to a better hold, but it requires some risky maneuvering. She slows her breathing and focuses, convincing herself that she can make it.

Dena started rock climbing three years ago when she and her sister were looking for an interesting thing to do for a birthday party. Since then, she has competed in state and divisional competitions with her team, Team Texas.

“We don’t take kids onto [Team Texas] once they pass the age of 12 because it’s too hard to compete against them,” said Kyle Clinkscales, her coach who has been coaching since 1996. “Dena is one of the most respected members of the team.”

Curious to know more about her world, I went to her gym, Summit Gym, to learn about rock climbing.

“

[Rock climbing] is almost more mental than it is physical.”

As we enter the gym, we are immediately greeted by electronic workout music blasting from the speakers and walls lined with colorful plastic climbing walls and ropes. A girl who looks about seven years old, is halfway up the first wall.

“Most people start when they are eight or nine,” Dena says. The ages of her teammates range from eight to 18.

At the front desk, I’m fit with the proper

plastic climbing shoes. These don’t look like the size my normal shoes; they are much smaller. Dena takes out her own, even smaller than mine. While climbing shoes are not a pretty thing, she says, but their small size allows a climber better footing by supporting their body weight on a very small spot.

“Climbing is not easy on the extremities,” she jokes, showing me her calloused hands. While I have calloused hands, I was not prepared at all for the pain to come.

There are three major types of rock climbing: lead climbing is when a climber links into a rope as they climb; boulder climbing which is without a rope on smaller walls; and speed climbing, where a wall has a set course and a climber tries to make it up as fast as possible. Dena competes in all three.

For workouts, she focuses on upper body strength by doing push-ups and pullups. She also adds leg workouts, back workouts and even trains for her fingers with a hangboard. It looks something like a miniature cabinet. It has multiple rows of holes of varying depths and widths. These are meant to train fingers for different holds and strengthen them.

I put my hands in the widest and deepest hole, letting all my weight hang on them, which is not that bad. Then Dena challenges me to pull myself up and grab a hole in a fingerboard two feet above the one from which I hung. I let go with my left hand to try and reach the fingerboard. I could not hold on and collapsed on the padding behind me. My fingers never hurt so much. Meanwhile, one of Dena’s teammates dangles from one hand twenty feet up. She tells me she is warming up.

With me at her gym, Dena starts off by demonstrating some easy bouldering walls.

The first thing I notice is that the wall is at

Photo courtesy of Dena Altshuler

DENA ROCKS: Dena Altshuler competes in rock climbing tournaments all over the country Her passion for the sport started with climbing rock walls at friends’ birthday parties.

an acute angle sloping down and away. It is not as steep as other walls are at the gym.

As I’m raring to go start climbing this supposedly simple wall, she reminds me to plan a course first, look at where I would place my feet and how to get from one hold to another.

At tournaments, Dena has to sit isolated for about an hour before the officials bring her to the wall she will climb. She has little time to plan the course before attempting to climb it in less than three minutes. So hours of waiting, more hours in a cramped bus with 20 teenage teammates, and even more hours of training boil down to three minutes or less.

“It’s a little nerve-racking, but it’s still

super-super fun,” says Dena. “That’s kind of what I like the most about climbing; it is such a mental game. It’s almost more mental than it is physical, because you can be really, really strong, but that strength isn’t really going to get you anywhere unless you have the confidence to go along with it.”

That lesson has stuck with Dena.

“I think rock climbing is a giant metaphor for life,” she says. “That confidence you need in climbing, you need in everything. You learn how to trust yourself in how you do things. I want to learn how to better apply these lessons to my everyday life.”

wednesday, may 13, 2015

the

Evergreen

Telepathic Talents

People never believe me when I tell them I’m a twin. It’s true that my twin and I look completely different, he’s a boy, we don’t go to the same school, we don’t have the same friends and even on birthdays we

Skindy Love

I giggled as I ran up the stairs to my bedroom where bath and bedtime awaited. A race with dad was the only way to convince four-year-old Catherine that it was time to sleep.

My dad trailed behind me a couple of steps, calling after me, “Your skinny legs made you go faster.” From then on, he called me Skinny. Much like a budding tree or the national debt, this nickname grew and

Zombie Walk

“Your zombie walk is perfect.”

I wouldn’t call myself a sensitive person.

In fact, my friends like to joke about how thick-skinned I can be, but even I know the line between joking and being hurtful.

I have lived with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) ever since I was two years old. My mom brought me to my pediatrician about a high fever, which he deemed was due to a viral infection, but it would not subside for over a month. After three months of

Dear Editor, My name is Caroline Harris, and I’m a Mormon. I play the cello, sing in choir, enjoy academics, and I’m a member of the Forever Club.

As a freshman in Greenhill’s Upper School orchestra, I had the opportunity to participate in the ISAS Arts Festival in March, where private school artists from across the Southwest gathered to share their talents. It was an unforgettable weekend, but one particular incident will always stand out in my mind.

One evening I attended Coffee House, an event that showcased Greenhill musicians.

At the beginning of one of the acts, two students walked onto the stage with a guitar in hand. They started to sing, and it took only a moment for me to recognize that they were performing a song from the musical The Book of Mormon.

A sense of isolation overcame me. From my perspective, the song painted Mormons

afterwords

15

don’t have the same parties. When we were in first grade, he had a roller-skating party in the morning with a rollerblade cake and in the evening I had a glamorous fashion show with a cake shaped like a purple purse.

People always seem fascinated by the fact that I’m a twin. “Do you two have twin telepathy?” they ask. I used to laugh at this question because for me, it sounded ridiculous. Twin telepathy? It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but the more I think about it, the more I think about, the more I realize it might be true. As different as we are, we have something in common, our emotions. I always think back to a story my mom used to tell me. When I was little, my brother and I had a special language.

Essentially, we spoke gibberish to each other, but gibberish only we could understand.

Today, we don’t have a special language. We have a strong emotional bond that’s very hard for me explain. To put it in simple terms, we share feelings. I could be sitting in the middle of math class when suddenly a nervous feeling hits my stomach. I silently ask myself, “What’s wrong with you?” then my intuition tells me: Godfrey. After class, I send him a worried text message to see if everything is okay and he responds, telling me what’s wrong. Whatever the emotion, usually bad, I somehow share it with him across the space between our schools and genders and personalities.

I always thought this feature to our

relationship was weird and never knew how to explain it to people. But, it shouldn’t be so hard to explain… because it’s not so strange when I think about it. Everyone has “emotion” twins in one way or another. Like that time your friend was crying and you could feel his or her pain or that ah-hah! moment you share with everyone when something in math class finally makes sense.

We share emotions with one another whether we realize it or not. So now, when you meet a twin and wonder if they have twin telepathy you can say you have it too. Emotions are natural and our ability to sympathize with each other makes us human. It’s not just a twin thing; it’s a universal thing, a people thing.

evolved. By the time I was six, my dad called me Skin, because it was shorter and easier to say. At ten, I was Skindog, so dubbed after the notorious Snoop Dogg (my dad didn’t know Snoop Dogg musically, but thought his name was funny). At 12, I was Skindy, and it stuck.

Skindy.

As I entered my middle school years, which are, of course, the brightest years of everyone’s life, I began to grow rebellious towards my father’s nickname for me. Skindy would simply not do. No respectable sixth grader’s father called her Skindy.

Each day, my father would come home, kiss my head, ask me how my day was, and call me Skindy. And each day, as any good daughter does, I would push him away, huff in a slump, and snap at him, “My name is Catherine.”

My dad wears glasses with detachable sunshades. He dons fanny packs in

amusement parks and camera cases on vacations. He shows my boyfriend my baby pictures. He owns a tie with an image of me as a 12-year-old printed all over it and wears it in public. On top of all of this, he calls me Skindy.

My dad is embarrassing. But as I’ve gotten older, I realized something important.

All dads are embarrassing. But not all dads will go to an ice cream store at eleven o’clock at night to buy their sick daughter a treat.

Not all dads will carry their girl a mile down a mountain after she falls and cuts her knee.

Not all dads will drive ten hours to go fishing with their kid on a whim. And not all dads call their daughters “Skindy.” But mine does.

It’s only now I realize that calling me “Skindy” was a way he showed his love.

As some parents call their kids “Baby,” or “Sugar,” or “Sweet Pea,” “Skindy” has a story, a sentimental value. For my dad, it reminds him of his four-year-old daughter running

ahead of him up the stairs to her room for bedtime. I will never be four years old, racing my father up the stairs again. But if he can remember his little girl through my nickname of that era, then why do I have the right to deprive him of that? He wants to show he cares. He cares enough to reminisce about the time when I was a child. I keep growing up. To slow it down, even only for a second, my dad calls me Skindy.

Though he can do things that might not always be the most suave, or even socially acceptable, every time he calls me Skindy (yes, even in public), I know he loves me.

We push away people who love us for our own selfish reasons. I pushed away my father because he embarrassed me. We should embrace the love that we’re given. In the end, my embarrassment by my dad is not nearly as strong as his love for me.

unbroken fever, endless tests ruled out all possibilities but JRA. JRA occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys its own cells and tissues, causing inflammation in joints that can permanently damage them.

Every single winter is a battle for me.

My JRA flares up and even walking becomes incredibly painful, causing me to limp. Even though walking is hard, I still come to school, because what other choice do I have. Missing school for a trimester is not an option, so I try to tough it out, but my limp catches people’s attention, and not in a good way.

Students often comment on and joke about my unusual gait. Even teachers pull me aside to see if I’m okay. After a stressful day, deflecting questions is the last thing I want to do. Not to mention enduring comments like, “You’re walking like an exotic peacock,” and my personal favorite, “You’re like a cripple.”

The definition of cripple is “a person

with a physical disability, particularly one who is unable to walk because of an injury or illness.” This accurately describes my situation, but it’s not the definition that catches my attention; it’s the connotation.

Society has reappropriated the word “cripple” from a medical diagnosis to a derogatory term. Just as people use the word “retarded” as an insult, when people call you “cripple,” they aren’t saying “someone with a physical disability”; they’re saying “someone who is flawed.”

My weird way of walking has left me self-conscious. One of my biggest anxieties is walking in front of a group. I dread it so much that I’ll do anything to hide unnoticed at the back. My fear of being labeled a cripple keeps me from walking with my head held high.

I’m sure when people comment on the way I walk, they don’t mean to offend. They probably think they’re just teasing and joking, but it hurts me all the same. Not knowing

someone’s background should make you all the more cautious of what you say.

What people aren’t aware of when they comment on my funny walk is the effort I have put into each step. They don’t see the 10 days spent in the ICU, the three months confined to a wheel chair, the six months of physical therapy, and the 14 painfully long winters in my journey with JRA. There is more to people than what they show on the outside. I’ll probably never walk normally; the damage sustained to my joints—especially my hip—is so great that a hip replacement is in my near future. I’m doing my best to preserve what’s left of the cartilage padding in my hip socket, but my best won’t last too long.

The way I walk is something I have grown to live with. Perhaps I’ll be one of the lucky kids who grow out of JRA or one day I’ll have the confidence to walk in front of others; meanwhile, I wish others would consider how crippling a joke can be.

as arrogant and ridiculous, as did the musical from which it was taken. Joke after joke, my face grew hotter; I felt smothered by the chorus of laughter surrounding me.

How could this happen at Greenhill, of all places, where we frequently discuss having sensitivity towards people with different beliefs?

When the song finally finished, I turned to one of my friends sitting next to me and explained how I felt. I will never forget his response: “Why would anyone make a play like that?”

Because it’s funny?

Although I felt belittled, I sincerely believe this performance was not intended to be an attack, but simply to be entertaining. I am not angry at the performers. And yet, I wonder how others would feel if those crude words were directed at them? How would you feel if I promoted a play whose sole purpose was to make fun of you—of African Americans or Jews or the LGBT community?

In that moment my attitude changed. It

struck me that this was my chance to reach out to my peers and help them understand who I am. I realized that the word “Mormon” for most students only refers to some peripheral group of people on the outskirts of society.

But I have the power to change that.

So here I am. I am a real human being with real ideas, and my religion does not make me superior or inferior to you. I believe in God, and I believe in Jesus Christ.

I believe that both the Bible and the Book of Mormon are divinely inspired sets of scripture. I believe in integrity, chastity, and faith. I believe in being kind to all people, regardless of our differences. I believe that I have the right as a human being to practice my religion, and I am willing to stand up for anyone who is not afforded that right.

The contents of my beliefs, however, are somewhat irrelevant. Whether or not you think my faith is strange or old-fashioned, I ask you for respect. I ask you to speak for me. I ask you to step in my shoes when you hear someone in the hallway making fun of Jesus Christ, whose name I regard as sacred.

I ask you to remember me before you buy tickets to watch an insensitive production about my religion.

But furthermore, I ask you to speak for everyone who needs a voice. Speak for the Muslims, the Amish, the disabled, the LGBT community—and the Mormons. Regardless of whether we agree with each other’s views, I believe we can agree to be respectful, compassionate, and kind.

Sincerely, Freshman Caroline Harris

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the

Evergreen

wednesday, may 13, 2015

Pass the Torch Read what our 13 departing faculty members wish to “bequeath” to the Greenhill community.

Ms. Bigham I bequeath my stand-up desk to everyone, because it's the best change I've made in my life. My Navajo prayer mandala to the Class of 2015 because it is filled with good wishes from hundreds of Native American students who have gone to and graduated from college. My extensive nail polish collection to Ava Markhovsky and Casey Ross, the two most fabulous young women not in the Upper School.

Mr. Gluzman I bequeath my sticker collection to the senior class of 2015. For my cacti–one to my advisory and one to Mary Tapia.

Ms. ObelsRobinson I bequeath my language students the desire to watch their favorite movies and download and listen to music and podcasts in a foreign language. To my fellow language teachers, I bequeath the ambition to take their classes to the kitchen, in classic French tradition, to experience the world's cultures firsthand.

Mr. Boyd I bequeath my rugby ball to the Middle School Rugby club, a box of doughnuts to my advisory (and all past advisories), and my comic book collection to the Montgomery Library/English Department.

Ms. Hill-Agnus

I bequeath a herd of goats to my colleagues in the English department.

And my heart to The Evergreen.

Mrs. Smith

I bequeath to the Upper School my pink sparkly shoes as a reminder to make it a great day.

Dr. Currier I bequeath my large jar of Dum-dums and Smarties, left over from last year’s Math Team booth at the Club Fair, to all of the Upper School students, whether they be dum-dums, smarties, or somewhere in between.

Ms. Kincaid

I bequeath three deep breaths to all of next year’s seniors, to be used whenever the college process starts to feel overwhelming!

Mr. Vick

I bequeath a book of all the stories I have told at Greenhill over the years.

Mrs.Barnes I bequeath story-time to Mrs. Bossalini and the preschool teachers– do me proud. My candy bowl to Mr. Simpson–keep it full, as the faculty needs chocolate. A peacock stuffedanimal to Mrs. Williams (she asked).

My birthday cake supplies to Mrs. Fitzgerald, the incoming head of preschool. She may find herself baking on the first day of school next year.

Mrs. Garcia I bequeath my sweet Madagascar Hissing Cockroach friends to DeBorah Henry. I leave my preserved animal collection to Mary Aidala…it should make for some interesting art projects.

I leave my classroom plants to Rhonda Brette because of her exceptional green thumb, it IS you Rhonda…right?

Ms. Nihill I bequeath to all my former advisees a quiet study hall, one that they never experienced with me. To Mike Jenks, I bequeath nine half-consumed bottles of chola. And to Jason Yaffe, I bequeath my secret stash of Diet Cokes.

Dr. Weber

I bequeath my dominoes to my dominoes crew because why not?