The Index Lpo_jf_ YtcÂĄfi 6kgÂĄf
Volume LXXVI, No. 5
February/March 2015
Haverford, Pennsylvania - haverfordindex.com
Diversity at Haverford: School-Wide Barriers and the Steps Towards Overcoming Them This  doesn’t  make  Haverford  students  bad,  ignorant,  or  inconsiderate  people;Íž  instead,  there  is  a  steeper  learning  curve  we  all  have  to  make  a  conscious  effort  to  overcome,  institution,  a  palpable  level  of  discomfort  and  it  is  Haverford’s  responsibility  to  remains  when  diversity  and  racial  equality  assist  in  that  process  so  that  we  may  are  discussed.  Take  the  aforementioned  be  adequately  prepared  “for  lifeâ€?.   assembly,  for  example.  Hearing  powerful  stories  on  police  discrimination  from  members  within  our  own  community  is  XQSUHFHGHQWHG DQG LW LV GLIÂżFXOW QRW WR feel  a  level  of  discomfort  and  confusion  DERXW WKH VLJQLÂżFDQFH RI RXU FODVVPDWHVÂś anecdotes  –  stories  impossible  for  most  of  us  at  Haverford  to  fully  comprehend.  Simply  put,  “diversityâ€?  is  a  well-Âused  word,  but  one  not  fully  understood  by  a  majority  of  Haverford  students.  There  are  PXOWLSOH UHDVRQV IRU WKLV WKH ÂżUVW EHLQJ WKH FRQYROXWHG GHÂżQLWLRQ RI WKH ZRUG itself.  More  often  than  not,  “diversityâ€?  is  associated  with  race.   However,  diversity  can  (and  should)  be  associated  with  many  other  things:  socioeconomic  background,  'LUHFWRU RI &RPPXQLW\ 0U 'RQWD (YDQV Haverford School experiences,  opinions,  etc.  When  associated  with  race,  the  reason  many  students  are       The  assembly  constructed  by  Mr.  Donta  XQDEOH WR IXOO\ JUDVS WKH VLJQLÂżFDQFH Evans  and  the  Diversity  Alliance  was  behind  the  word  is  not  due  to  a  lack  of  one  of  the  most  moving,  yet  unexpected  compassion,  but  instead  a  general  lack  of  assemblies  I  have  seen  in  my  brief  tenure  experience  with  being  in  racially  diverse  at  Haverford.  Overhearing  numerous  communities.  A  majority  of  Haverford  conversations  immediately  following  the  students  live  in  the  Main  Line  area,  which  DVVHPEO\ DIÂżUPHG P\ FRQYLFWLRQ WKDW has  a  predominantly  white  demographic.  the  majority  of  Haverford  students  were Â
$IWHU )HEUXDU\¡V PRYLQJ DVVHPEO\ DERXW VWXGHQWV RI FRORU DW +DYHUIRUG DQG UDFLDO SURÀOLQJ $OH[ 6DQÀOLSSR œ ORRNV DW WKH ODUJHU LVVXHV RI UDFH DQG GLYHUVLW\ IDFLQJ +DYHUIRUG WRGD\ $OH[ 6DQÀOLSSR œ
   Â
   “We  offer  a  safe,  supportive,  diverse,  and  inclusive  learning  environment,  fostering  trust,  understanding  appreciation,  and  mutual  respect.â€?  Haverford  offers  this  bold  promise  to  all  prospective  families  and  any  outsiders  by  proudly  displaying  it  on  the  school’s  website.  With  the  recent  events  nationwide  regarding  racial  inequality  and  injustice,  and  following  a  revealing,  profound  school-Âwide  assembly,  it  is  worth  delving  into  whether  Haverford  delivers  on  this  promise  and  if  such  sentiments  are  widely  held  by  faculty,  administrators,  and  students  alike.      The  word  “diversityâ€?  has  been  thoroughly  ingrained  in  the  vocabulary  of  all  Haverford  students,  which  speaks  volumes  when  considering  the  history  of  the  school.  Only  recently  has  such  conversation  and  thought  regarding  the  topic  permeated  Wilson  Hall.  The  fact  that  the  Diversity  Alliance  continues  to  increase  in  size  and  popularity  as  time  progresses  underscores  the  monumental  change  in  the  collective  consciousness  of  all  people  DIÂżOLDWHG ZLWK WKH VFKRRO +RZHYHU IRU DOO of  the  advancements  in  promoting  a  diverse Â
completely  taken  by  surprise  at  the  deep  level  of  emotion  conveyed  by  fellow  students.  Although  the  assembly  may  have  come  as  a  shock,  it  was  the  culminating  project  of  months  of  planning  and  discussion  between  Mr.  Evans,  various  faculty  members,  and  Diversity  Alliance  students.  The  assembly’s  overarching  message  and  goal  were  left  for  interpretation  by  each  individual  student,  but  that  was  part  of  Mr.  Evans’s  goal  as  he  stated,  “this  was  such  a  great  opportunity  to  educate  our  entire  community.  I  hoped  we  would  accomplish  raising  awareness  about  how  these  events  happen  to  members  within  our  own  community  at  Haverford.  But,  my  ultimate  goal  was  to  generate  conversation.â€?      Consider  the  assembly  a  success,  then.  As  expected,  there  were  mixed  reactions  to  the  assembly  and  its  message.  However,  conversation  inherently  doesn’t  have  to  be  positive–  just  the  act  of  provoking  thought  about  controversial  and  global  problems  is  an  overwhelming  success  for  a  thirty- minute  assembly.  I,  for  one,  left  the  assembly  moved  and  felt  empowered  to  make  a  positive  impact  on  further  discussions,  but  at  the  same  time  felt  that  the  assembly  may  have  been  a  case  of  too  much,  too  fast,  a  sentiment  echoed  by  SeĂąor  Javier  Lluch.  Â
Continued  on  Page  3
Fifty Shades of Grey: A Dangerous Influence on Relationships, or Just a Bad Movie? 6L[WK )RUPHU ,DQ 5LOH\ GLVFXVVHV WKH Ă€OP WKDW LV RQH RI WKH \HDU¡V KLJKHVW JURVVLQJ PRYLHV 'RHV LW SURPRWH UDSH DQG DEXVH DQG KRZ ZH VKRXOG react to it as a society? Ian Riley ‘15
           One  of  the  most  hotly  anticipated  ¿OPV RI WKH \HDU LV DOVR RQH RI WKH PRVW talked  about  and  controversial.  Fifty  Shades  of  Grey LV D ÂżOP WKDW KDV VSDUNHG a  great  deal  of  anger  from  many  different  communities.  Individuals  have  shamed  it  for  promoting  and  fetishizing  rape  and  abusive  relationships,  it  has  also  received  criticism  from  the  BDSM  community  for  misrepresenting  it.  Even  further,  there  has  DOUHDG\ EHHQ EDFNODVK DV DFFXVDWLRQV Ă€\ that  it  encourages  rape  and  abuse.  At  least  one  individual,  supposedly  inspired  by  the  ¿OP KDV DEXVHG DQG UDSHG D \RXQJ ZRPDQ 7KH ÂżOP LWVHOI DV ZHOO DV WKH ERRN RQ which  it  is  based,  does  romanticize  what  is  best  described  as  being  an  abusive  UHODWLRQVKLS 8VLQJ WKH &'&ÂśV GHÂżQLWLRQ of  “emotional  abuse  and  sexual  violence,â€?  several  experts  have  determined  that  the  relationship  between  Christian  Grey  (Jamie Â
Also inside this Issue...
Dornan)  and  Anastasia  Steele  (Dakota  Johnson)  is  indeed  an  abusive  one.  The  BDSM  community  has  also  pointed  to  it  as  confusing  BDSM  with  abuse,  including  harmful  and  dangerous  BDSM  practices,  as  well  as  depicting  BDSM  as  being  a  perversion  to  be  overcome  as  opposed  to  a  largely  harmless  interest  for  many  people.      The  question,  however,  is:  does  50  Shades  encourage  rape  and  abuse?  Is  this  product  making  readers  and  viewers  more  prone  to  practice  dangerous  and  harmful  sexual  acts?  Is  Fifty  Shades  of  Grey D EDG LQĂ€XHQFH RU VLPSO\ D EDG ÂżOP" , ÂżUPO\ VWDQG E\ WKH EHOLHI WKDW UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ RI QHJDWLYH SUDFWLFHV LQ ÂżOP does  not  encourage  those  practices  in  real  life.  For  example,  there  has  been  a  large  movement  against  violence  in  video  games  DQG ÂżOPV LQ UHVSRQVH WR YLROHQW FULPH EXW there  is  no  convincing  evidence  that  these  images  in  the  media  encourage  them  in  real  life.  There  has  been  correlations  between  violent  crime  offenders  and  violent Â
media,  but  correlation  does  not  equal  causation.  It  is  more  likely  that  individuals  prone  to  violent  crime  are  attracted  to  violence  in  the  media.  Even  beyond  that,  violence  is  nearly  ubiquitous  in  media,  practically  everyone  who  watched  television  or  plays  video  games  watches  violent  shows  and  plays  violent  games.       This  is  also  true  of  representation  of  questionable  sexual  acts  in  media.  The  young  man  who  abused  and  raped  a  partner,  supposedly  in  an  attempt  to  recreate  the  acts  depicted  in  Fifty  Shades,  would  likely  have  committed  similar  acts  had  he  not  VHHQ WKH ÂżOP +LV IHWLVKL]DWLRQ RI DEXVH GLG not  begin  as  he  walked  out  of  the  theater.       While  I  disapprove  of  Fifty  Shades  of  Grey  and  its  content,  I  cannot  in  good  conscience  say  that  it  perpetuates  bad  practices.  To  do  so  would  be  to  shift  the  blame  for  countless  crimes  and  misdeeds  on  media  that  represents  those  actions,  an  outlook  that  can  lead  to  a  neutering  of  the  entertainment  industry  as  well  as  would  infringe  on  the  ¿UVW DPHQGPHQW LI DQ\ VRUW RI OHJLVODWLRQ was  taken  out.  Rather,  the  media  serves Â
as  an  straw  man  for  mentally  unstable  LQGLYLGXDOV WR SRLQW WR DV MXVWL¿FDWLRQ 7KH ¿OP LWVHOI KRZHYHU LV D FXULRVLW\ It  has  a  substantial  cult  following  and  has  GRQH H[FHHGLQJO\ ZHOO DW WKH ER[ RI¿FH despite  reviews  ranging  from  mediocre  to  abysmal.   The  bizarre  success  has  been  attributed  to  many  things,  including  a  culture  that  condones  sexual  abuse  and  UDSH DV ZHOO DV D SURGXFW RI PDOH LQÀXHQFH RQ VRFLHW\ 7KH IDFW WKDW WKLV ¿OP LV D monstrous  success  does  not  speak  well  of  current  cultural  attitudes,  but  to  say  that  American  society  as  a  whole  condones  rape  is  abhorrent.  The  nature  of  rape  is  something  that  was  not  particularly  addressed  prior  to  rather  recently.  Recent  guest  speaker  at  Haverford,  Katie  Koestner,  ZDV DFWXDOO\ RQH RI WKH ¿UVW RXWVSRNHQ opponents  of  date  rape  in  1991.  Since  then,  education  has  largely  shifted  to  encourage  safe,  consensual  sexual  practices.  Koestner  recently  returned  to  speak  to  the  graduating  class,  largely  about  sex  crimes  and  what  constitutes  molestation,  abuse  and  rape.  Continued  on  Page  11
After participating in +DYHUIRUG¡V H[FKDQJH SURJUDP with the Ordrup Gymnasium, George Rubin ‘17 attempts to address why Denmark is the ´KDSSLHVW QDWLRQ RQ (DUWK Âľ
Brendan Burns ‘15 argues that, both at Haverford and nationwide, a mutual exchange is required for successful race relations, and that “racial DZDUHQHVVÂľ LV LQVXIĂ€FLHQW
6HH 3DJH
6HH SDJH
Article Danish Exchange Global Studies Program Spring Arts Portfolio Oscars Review Ball Team Underachieving Funding Sports Teams GOP, Israel, and Iran Economic Inequality Outdex
Page 4 5 6 7 9 10 13 14 16
Page 2
The Index
March 2015
News
Debate and Speech Enjoying Record-Setting Results .HQQ\ )LW]SDWULFN Âś
   Â
   Every  year  the  debate  team  sends  of  a  number  of  teams  to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  for  its  annual  Liberty  Bell  Classic.  It  is  usually  the  last  tournament  of  the  year  for  the  team  and  is  known  for  its  rigorous  competition.  A  national  tournament,  the  venue  generally  draws  around  one  hundred  teams.       Usually  Haverford  only  sends  a  few  teams  because  of  the  tournament’s  selectivity  but,  this  year  the  debate  team  managed  to  have  a  total  of  seven  teams  at  the  competition.  While  the  tournament  has  multiple  categories,  Haverford  only  sent  teams  for  “Public  Forum.â€?  To  relate  to  Public  Forum,  think  of  a  nationally-Âtelevised  debate;Íž  that  is  what  Public  Forum  is  all  about.  In  a  Public  Forum  Debate,  there  are  always  two  teams,  each  with  two  competitors.       The  seven  teams  that  Haverford  sent  comprised  of  the  two  Sixth  Form  groups, Â
Manav  Khandelwal  with  Brendan  Burns  and  Jackson  Simon  with  Jack  Henderson,  three  Fifth  Form  groups,  Eli  Wachs  with  Guy  Wuollet,  Arnav  Jagasia  with  Alex  6DQÂżOLSSR DQG .HQQ\ )LW]SDWULFN ZLWK Drew  Sterman,  and  one  Fourth  Form  group  of  Jack  McKnight  and  Jacob  Wertheimer.       A  factor  that  people  often  forget  about  this  competition  is  its  length.  With  six  full  rounds,  it  is  very  easy  for  groups  to  become  fatigued,  bored,  and  frustrated.  The  tournament  also  features  elimination  rounds  for  teams  that  advance  past  the  preliminary  rounds.       In  past  years,  Haverford  had  never  KDG D WHDP JR EH\RQG WKH ÂżUVW URXQG RI elimination,  but  that  changed  this  year.  This  time  around,  Haverford  Speech  and  Debate  dominated  with  the  duo  of  Burns  DQG .KDQGHOZDO UHDFKLQJ WKH TXDUWHUÂżQDOV with  a  record  of  5-Â1  in  the  prelims,  and  the  Fifth  Form  squads  of  Jagasia  and  6DQÂżOLSSR DORQJ ZLWK :DFKV DQG :XROOHW
PDNLQJ LW WR WKH ÂżUVW URXQG RI HOLPLQDWLRQ      To  put  these  results  into  perspective,  only  one  team  had  ever  made  it  past  the  ¿UVW URXQG RI HOLPLQDWLRQ LQ +DYHUIRUG Speech  and  Debate  history,  and  this  year’s  team  had  three  achieve  this  feat.  In  addition,  the  group  of  McKnight  and  Wertheimer  went  3-Â2  while  the  Fitzpatrick  and  Sterman  combo  went  2-Â3.       There’s  probably  one  thing  you  all  are  wondering  about  this  debate:  what  was  the  resolve  or  the  topic?  To  answer  this  question,  the  resolve  was,  On  balance,  Economic  *OREDOL]DWLRQ EHQHÂżWV ZRUOGZLGH SRYHUW\ reduction.  In  a  nutshell,  the  debate  is  asking  whether  increasing  trade  between  countries  H J WKH 86 WUDGLQJ ZLWK &KLQD EHQHÂżWV the  least  privileged  members  of  society.       Since  it  was  a  very  complex  debate,  a  good  deal  of  preparation  was  needed  in  order  to  succeed  at  the  tournament,  and  that  is  what  can  account  for  Haverford’s  sweeping  success.  Having  many  weeks Â
The State of Haverford’s Diversity Alliance  Â
$UQDY -DJDVLD Âś
Whether  through  the  weekly  lunches,  the  retreat,  the  movie  nights,  or  the  annual  participation  in  the  Student  Diversity  Leadership  Conference  (SDLC),  the  Diversity  Alliance  plays  an  integral  part  in  the  Haverford  Student  Body.  Advised  by  Ms.  Rebecca  Smedley,  Mr.  Luqman  Kolade,  Mr.  Stephen  Patrylak,  and  Sra.  Carmen  Mateos,  the  diversity  alliance  seeks  to  provide  a  place  where  students  can  discuss  diversity  and  related  topics.  According  to  Smedley,  the  goals  of  the  diversity  alliance  are  two-Âfold.  “One  goal,â€?  Smedley  began,  “is  support  for  kids  in  the  group;Íž  its  a  place  for  kids  who  are  sharing  similar  journeys  and  similar  situations.â€?  This  is  done  by  the  weekly  lunches,  meetings,  and  support  for  a  place Â
to  openly  discuss  diversity-Ârelated  issues.  The  second  objective  is  “education  for  the  bigger  community,â€?  which  would  impact  the  student  body  “beyond  the  group  who  chooses  to  come.â€?  In  addition,  Smedley  noted  that  such  activities  usually  “take  the  form  of  an  assembly  to  the  upper  school  and  occasionally  sponsoring  a  speaker;Íž  everyone  is  invited  to  these  events.â€?      The  Diversity  Alliance,  an  integral  part  of  the  Haverford  community,  has  undergone  change  over  the  years.  According  to  Smedley,  “the  group  originated  for  kids  who  felt  like  they  were  not  the  mainstream  at  Haverford.â€?  Originally,  Haverford  had  VPDOOHU DIÂżQLW\ JURXSV VXFK DV D %ODFN Student  Association  and  a  Gay-ÂStraight  Alliance.  However,  Smedley  remarked  that  now  the  Diversity  Alliance  has  “grown  to Â
to  prepare,  and  a  practice-Âtournament  leading  up  to  Penn,  Haverford  teams  were  able  to  not  only  able  to  research  the  topic  DW OHQJWK EXW DOVR WR ZHHG RXW WKH Ă€DZV in  their  arguments  and  “patchâ€?  the  holes.       In  addition  to  the  success  Haverford  had  at  the  Liberty  Bell  classic,  the  Haverford  Speech  and  Debate  team  was  able  to  send  two  teams  off  to  districts:  Burns  &  Khandelwal  DQG -DJDVLD 6DQÂżOLSSR 6WLOO UHWDLQLQJ all  of  the  heavy  research  that  fed  into  their  success  at  Penn,  both  teams  crushed  the  competition  at  districts,  each  going  4-Â0.       Looking  forward,  both  of  these  teams  will  DGYDQFH WR 6WDWHV WKH ÂżUVW WLPH +DYHUIRUG has  ever  sent  two  teams  to  the  competition.  As  the  season  winds  down  for  the  debate  team,  the  groups  now  can  celebrate  as  they  could  go  down  as  the  best  bunch  in  the  history  of  the  club  at  Haverford. Â
include  other  manifestations  of  diversity  than  just  race.â€?  Both  Kolade  and  Smedley  noted  that  unfortunately  most  students  hold  WKH Ă€DZHG EHOLHI WKDW LI WKH\ GR QRW KDYH some  minority  status,  they  need  not  attend  Diversity  Alliance  meetings  or  events.  Hence,  Kolade  added  that  he  feels  like  the  Diversity  Alliance  does  not  have  “that  big  of  an  impact  on  the  student  body  on  a  whole.â€?  Nonetheless,  he  lauded  the  Diversity  Alliance  as  a  “good  place  to  talk  about  issues  that  pertain  to  everyone,â€?  serving  its  function  as  a  space  for  free  conversation  for  the  every  member  of  the  student  body.  Moreover,  Diversity  Alliance  President  Louie  Brown  commented  that  “trying  to  outright  change  a  culture  will  never  work.â€?  Instead,  he  hopes  that  by  providing  a  space  for  discussion,   the  Diversity  Alliance  will  affect  others  in  the  same  positive  way  that  it Â
affected  him  during  his  time  at  Haverford.      While  the  Diversity  Alliance  does  have  four  faculty  advisors,  most  of  the  group’s  activities  are  student-Âdriven.  Brown  noted  that  “the  movements  the  Diversity  Alliance  promotes  need  to  be  student-Âled  and  LQWULQVLFDOO\ PRWLYDWHG WR ÂżQG VXFFHVV ´ 1HDUO\ ÂżIW\ VWXGHQWV DWWHQG VFKRRO ZLGH GLYHUVLW\ HYHQWV DQG WHQ WR ÂżIWHHQ VWXGHQWV engage  in  the  Diversity  Alliance’s  weekly  lunches.  With  such  a  steady  student  clientele,  the  Diversity  Alliance  is  poised  to  bring  greater  awareness  to  the  Haverford  community  as  well  as  continue  to  provide  a  space  for  discussion  and  support  for  the  entire  student  body.  As  Smedley  noted,  “as  long  as  kids  come  to  lunch,  that  is  their  tacit  way  of  letting  us  adults  know  that  they  need  a  space  to  discuss  diversity-Ârelated  issues.â€?
Peterson  (Form  VI)  and  Spencer  Rappaport  (Form  VI)  in  a  historic  committee  centered  around  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia.       Petersen  and  Rappaport,  acting  as  the  Bishopric  of  Basel,  participated  in  a  committee  set  in  the  17th  century  with  D JRDO RI ÂżQGLQJ D SHDFHIXO HQG WR WKH Thirty  Years’  War.  The  pair  managed  to  pass  a  resolution  which  allowed  for  a  small  amount  of  territorial  change  and  acquired  independence  for  Basel  from  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  which  is  similar  to  what  actually  happened.       In  the  Social,  Humanitarian,  and  Cultural  Committee,  SOCHUM,  Haverford  had Â
four  delegates,  two  from  Latvia,  two  from  the  Czech  Republic.  The  delegates  from  Latvia  were  V  Formers  Walter  Paiva  and  Arnav  Jagasia,  while  the  delegates  from  the  Czech  Republic  were  IV  Formers  Caleb  Clothier  and  Tucker  Matus.  The  committee  focused  on  ways  to  either  promote  or  demote  freedom  of  the  media  in  developing  countries.  The  tandem  of  countries  worked  together  to  merge  their  resolution  with  a  passing  resolution  which  supported  a  controlled  freedom  of  the  media.  &RQWLQXHG RQ 2SSRVLWH 3DJH      Â
Model UN Excites as Latvia and Czech Republic 7XFNHU 0DWXV Âś
          On  the  29th  of  January,  two  vans  full  of  twenty  members  of  the  Model  U.N.  Club,  laden  with  suitcases,  set  off  from  The  Haverford  School  to  travel  into  Philadelphia  to  attend  this  year’s  Ivy  League  Model  United  Nations  Conference  (ILMUNC).  The  conference  took  place  over  four  days,  Thursday  evening  to  Sunday  morning,  and  included  six  committee  sessions,  accounting  for  seventeen  hours.  Model  U.N.  at  Haverford  is  a  club  where  we  represent  nations  and  work  in  conferences  to  solve  global  issues.  At  the  conference, Â
located  at  the  Philadelphia  Sheraton  and   run  by  University  of  Pennsylvania  students,  Haverford  was  assigned,  for  the  majority  of  the  committees,  the  countries  of  Latvia  and  the  Czech  Republic,  both  of  which  were  upgrades  from  countries  in  the  past  (last  year  Haverford  was  Croatia,  and  the  year  before,  Burundi).  The  two  outliers  to  the  aforementioned  countries  were   Nigeria,  the  country  which  Ethan  DeLehman  (Form  V)  represented  as  a  member  on  the  Security  Council  2060  Crisis  Committee,  and  Basel,  a  region  which  is  located  in  modern  day  Switzerland  and  was  represented  by  club  leader  Eric Â
The  Index 6WD̆
Manav Khandelwal ‘15, Editor-in-Chief Brendan Burns ‘15, Editor-in-Chief Arnav Jagasia ‘15, News and Features Editor $OH[ 6DQÂżOLSSR Âľ 2SLQLRQV (GLWRU -DFN +HQGHUVRQ Âľ 6SRUWV (GLWRU (WKDQ 'H/HKPDQ Âľ $UWV (GLWRU Eric Petersen ‘15, Politics Editor 2WLV %DNHU Âľ 2XWGH[ (GLWRU 'UHZ 6WHUPDQ Âľ FR :HE (GLWRU .HQQ\ )LW]SDWULFN Âľ FR :HE (GLWRU Mr. Kellen Graham, Faculty Advisor The  Index LV D VWXGHQW UXQ SXEOLFDWLRQ RI WKH +DYHUIRUG 6FKRRO WKDW GRHV PRUH WKDQ EULQJ QHZV LW SURYLGHV WKH GLYHUVH SHUVSHFWLYHV RI WKH +DYHUIRUG VWXGHQW ERG\ ,W LV DQ RXWOHW IRU VWXGHQW ZULWHUV WR WDNH VWDQGV RQ LVVXHV WKH\ GHHP LPSRUWDQW ,W FKURQLFOHV WKH GDLO\ VWUXJJOHV DQG DFFRPSOLVKPHQWV RI WKH +DYHUIRUG FRPPXQLW\ The  Index also SURYLGHV D IRUXP IRU GLVFXVVLRQ RI SHUWLQHQW LVVXHV VXFK DV VWXGHQW FXOWXUH DFDGHPLF SROLF\ DQG +DYHUIRUGÂśV SODFH LQ ZRUOG D̆DLUV The  Index SUHVHQWV QHZ LGHDV DQG DVSLUHV WR LQĂ€XHQFH FRQVWUXFWLYH FKDQJH
$OO RSLQLRQV DQG YLHZSRLQWV H[SUHVVHG KHUHLQ GR QRW QHFHVVDULO\ UHÀHFW WKRVH RI The  Index  or the school. The  Index LV GHVLJQHG DQG SURGXFHG GLJLWDOO\ 3KRWRJUDSKV PD\ EH UHWRXFKHG 6XEPLVVLRQV DQG OHWWHUV WR WKH HGLWRUV UHJDUGLQJ DQ\ DQG DOO DUWLFOHV DUH welcomed at index@haverford.org. The  Index D PHPEHU RI WKH &ROXPELD 6FKRODVWLF 3UHVV $VVRFLDWLRQ LV FRPSRVHG RQ 0DF 26 ; XVLQJ $GREH ,Q'HVLJQ &6 ,WV VXUYH\V DUH FRQGXFWHG YLD 6XUYH\0RQNH\ DQG DUH DGYHUWLVHG RQ )DFHERRN WR FXUUHQW +DYHUIRUG VWXGHQWV 6RXWKHUQ 'XWFKHVV 1HZV SULQWV FRSLHV RI HDFK LVVXH DQG LWV HGLWRULDO VWD̆ GLVWULEXWHV WKHP LQ WKH 8SSHU School on the day of release. The  Index  VHUYHV WKH QHHGV RI D WRWDO VFKRRO SRSXODWLRQ RI FRPPXQLW\ PHPEHUV FRQVLVWLQJ RI VWXGHQWV DQG IDFXOW\ PHPEHUV Contact  The  Index 450 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041 index@haverford.org 7ZLWWHU #+DYHUIRUGB,QGH[ KWWS ZZZ KDYHUIRUGLQGH[ FRP [
Page 3
The Index
ILMUNC Recap (cont.)      Continued  from  Page  2       Anthony  Calvelli,  Form  IV,  was  the  sole  delegate  representing  the  country  of  Latvia  in  his  committee,  World  Bank.  The  topic  of  the  World  Bank  committee  was  “Combatting  corruption  in  developing  nations.â€?  Calvelli  worked  with  countries  such  as  Sri  Lanka  and  Russia  to  pass  a  resolution  which  provides  incentive  based  loans  to  developing  countries.        The  representatives  from  Latvia  in  the  Disarmament  and  International  Security Â
March 2015
News
Committee  (DISEC)  were  Gabe  Newton  and  Max  Arias,  both  V  Formers.  In  DISEC,  the  countries  were  focused  on  the  issue  of  international  cyber  security  and  how  governments  should  act  in  order  to  balance  cyber  security  with  individual  rights.  The  resolution  in  which  the  two  contributed  to,  an  outline  for  countries  to  follow  in  order  to  have  a  fair  balance,  passed.       Nick  Avery  and  Josh  Hoefner,  V  Formers,  were  delegates  from  Latvia  in  the  Legal  Committee.  The  Legal  Committee  had  two  topics  of  discussion,  the  death  penalty  and Â
corruption  in  peacekeeping  forces,  but  they  only  had  the  time  to  discuss  the  former.  The  delegates,  weighing  the  values  and  interests  of  Latvia,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  would  be  in  favor  of  ridding  the  world  of  the  death  penalty.  With  academic  matters  tabled,  Avery  also  notes  that  he  “made  some  new  friends,  [and]  it  was  a  great  timeâ€?.      Riding  along  the  curtails  of  Nick’s  statements,  it  must  be  mentioned  that  Model  U.N.  is  not  strictly  an  academic  occasion.  There  was  an  enjoyable  delegate  dance,  featuring  a  DJ,  and  a  delegate  fest  which Â
had  a  live  band,  along  with  free  time  to  take  a  tour  of  UPenn  or  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  Some  of  the  more  inexperienced  members  of  the  club,  who  did  not  have  the  opportunity  to  attend  ILMUNC,  will  be  attending  a  conference  at  Cornell  in  April.  The  Model  U.N.  Club  is  always  looking  for  new,  excited  members,  so  if  you  feel  like  you  would  enjoy  Model  UN,  feel  free  to  stop  by  one  of  our  meetings  on  Fridays  during  Clubs’  Period  in  Sr.  Lluch’s  room.
Race and Diversity Issues at Haverford (continued)        Continued  from  Front  Page     VI  Former  Jake  Pechet  offered  sentiments  most  likely  held  by  many  when  he  stated,  “For  me,  I  still  don’t  entirely  know  what  to  think.  I  think  it’s  great  to  be  aware  of  what  my  classmates  are  dealing  with,  but  what  am  I  supposed  to  do  about  it?  There  was  a  lot  of  powerful  information  conveyed  very  quickly,  and  I’m  not  sure  what  my  role  in  all  of  it  is.�
race  and  diversity  along  the  lines  of  ‘Oh,  here  we  go  again.’â€?  Mr.  Kolade  continued  to  mention  the  role  of  faculty  members  DQG HQFRXUDJHG WKHP WR ÂżQG ZD\V VR that  students  do  not  “shut  downâ€?  and  say,  “I’m  not  a  racist.  I  don’t  need  to  hear  this  again.  Why  is  this  an  issue?â€?  A  profound  responsibility  is  therefore  left  on  students’  shoulders  to  embrace  conversation  while  always  maintaining  an  open  mind.  VI  Former  Kory  Calicat-ÂWayns  stated  that, Â
attended  Haverford  since  second  grade.  Mr.  Fairfax  emphasized  how  students  could  now  walk  around  school  and  hopefully  encounter  a  “similar  narrative,â€?  a  testimony  to  the  improvement  the  school  has  made  in  recent  years  at  establishing  an  inclusive  learning  environment.     Mr.  Fairfax  spoke  to  how  this  experience  has  shaped  his  work  today  in  Admissions  by  showing  the  necessity  for  an  all- HQFRPSDVVLQJ GHÂżQLWLRQ RI GLYHUVLW\ 7R
6L[WK )RUPHU $YHU\ &DOODKDQ FHQWHU VSHDNV DW )HEUXDU\¡V 5DFLDO 3HUVSHFWLYHV $VVHPEO\ à DQNHG E\ 8SSHU 6FKRRO +HDG 0DWW *UHHQ DQG IHOORZ 6L[WK )RUPHU ,DQ 5LOH\
     Dialogue  between  all  members  of  the  Haverford  School  community  is  the  predominant  element  of  Mr.  Evans’s  plan  for  addressing  issues  of  race  and  diversity.  As  he  frankly  stated,  “Those  were  nine  different  voices;Íž  we  have  so  many  more  voices  in  this  community  who  can  bring  experiences  to  light.â€?  The  nature  of  diversity  and  its  numerous  layers  of  complexity  are  the  primary  reason  for  engaging  so  many  students–  no  one  opinion  will  stand  alone  and  be  regarding  as  the  “solution.â€?  To  incite  further  conversation,  Mr.  Evans  is  looking  for  the  students  who  feel  passionate,  either  positively  or  negatively,  about  the  message  of  the  assembly  to  formulate  a  plan  to  slowly  incorporate  all  members  of  the  Haverford  community  into  the  conversation.   However,  what  exactly  will  this  conversation  consist  of  and  which  issues  will  be  discussed?  I  think  it  is  valid  to  state  that  each  member  of  the  community  has  his  or  her  own  idea  of  what  the  most  important  elements  of  race  and  diversity  are  and  how  they  should  be  discussed.  Additionally,  I  am  sure  we  all  have  varying  opinions  on  what  the  biggest  challenges  facing  Haverford  are  in  terms  of  advancing  an  understanding  within  the  student  body.  Upper  School  English  teacher  Mr.  Luqman  Kolade  spoke  to  a  few  challenges  that  were  echoed  to  an  extent  by  Mr.  Evans  and  students.  For  Mr.  Kolade,  “the  biggest  challenge  is  that  there  are  many  people  who  would  rather  not  acknowledge  that  there  could  be  a  problem.  It  is  easy  and  comfortable  for  kids  to  look  at  issues  of Â
from  his  perspective,  the  biggest  challenge  has  been  “witnessing  the  appropriation  of  black  culture  among  white  students.  There  are  a  number  of  students  who  speak  to  me  how  they  assume  my  black  friends  speak  to  me  and  it  is  both  offensive  and  annoying.â€?  Kory’s  comments  directly  tie  into  the  need  for  empathy  and  reciprocal  relationships.      Intellectually  stimulating  conversation  regarding  race  and  diversity  has  DOUHDG\ LQFUHDVHG VLJQLÂżFDQWO\ DQG ZLOO undoubtedly  continue  to  be  thoroughly  integrated  into  the  school’s  culture.  If  we  are  going  to  devote  so  much  time  and  energy  to  this  subject,  however,  it  is  important  to  consider  the  school’s  goals  and  how  they  transfer  to  classroom  settings.  To  highlight  the  need  for  an  LQFOXVLYH GHÂżQLWLRQ RI GLYHUVLW\ DQG KRZ LW is  imperative  Haverford  adopts  this  policy,  I  will  recount  a  personal  story  Mr.  Henry  Fairfax,  Director  of  Admissions,  discussed  with  me.  As  a  student  at  Haverford  in  the  late  1990s,  Mr.  Fairfax  was  one  of  the  few  black  students  in  the  Upper  School.  One  day,  an  upper-Âmiddle  class  white  student  from  the  Main  Line  who  was  also  newer  to  the  school  asked  Mr.  Fairfax,  “What  do  you  think  of  this  place?  I  don’t  know  if  I  ¿W LQ KHUH ´ $W WKH VDPH WLPH D GLIIHUHQW black  student  was  discussing  female  movie  stars  in  a  manner  entirely  different  than  Mr.  Fairfax  might  have  with  his  neighborhood  friends  in  West  Philadelphia.  To  be  brief,  RQH RI KLV ÂżUVW LQWHUDFWLRQV DW +DYHUIRUG left  him  taken  aback  that  he  had  more  in  FRPPRQ ZLWK WKH DIĂ€XHQW 0DLQ /LQH student  than  the  black  student  who  had Â
Dawn Blake
the  naked  eye,  it  would  have  seemed  that  Mr.  Fairfax  would  develop  a  stronger  connection  with  the  black  student,  but  instead  the  result  was  entirely  the  opposite.  :LWK DQ H[SDQVLYH GHÂżQLWLRQ LQ PLQG WKH question  remains:  How  does  that  impact  Haverford’s  interpretation  of  a  diverse  learning  community?  Mr.  Fairfax  asserts  that  “an  authentic,  diverse  learning  community  is  one  that  recognizes  and  supports  and  enriches  the  experience  for  all  students.â€?  When  perfectly  in  practice,  this  promotes  a  system  of  “mutual  exchange,â€?  meaning  that  students  from  Philadelphia  and  Gladwyne  can  willingly  go  to  each  other’s  homes.  Students  who  interact  to  this  degree  are  the  ones  that  demonstrate  an  understanding  of  empathy  and  collaboration,  two  fundamental  principles  necessary  for  any  thriving,  diverse  community.  Whether  or  not  this  “mutual  exchange,â€?  occurs  at  Haverford  is  certainly  up  for  debate,  but  I  am  adamant  that  the  majority  of  students,  especially  black  students,  would  say  no  such  system  is  in  place.  This  presents  a  problem,  for  without  an  understanding  of  empathy  and  collaboration,  Haverford’s  supposedly  authentic  diverse  community  IHHOV VXSHUÂżFLDO :KLOH WKH VLWXDWLRQ LV complicated  through  logistics  and  other  IDFWRUV , ÂżUPO\ EHOLHYH WKDW WKH ODFN of  a  “mutual  exchangeâ€?  remains  the  largest  obstacle  for  students  who  want  to  develop  closer,  empathetic  relationships. +DYHUIRUG IXOÂżOOV LWV PLVVLRQ RI SUHSDULQJ boys  for  life  when  it  establishes  an  authentic  learning  community.  There  is  a  consensus Â
amongst  the  faculty  I  spoke  with  that  many  VWXGHQWV ÂżQG LW GLIÂżFXOW WR LPDJLQH OLIH outside  of  the  comfortable  “bubbleâ€?  the  Main  Line  and  surrounding  areas  provide.  Mr.  Evans  stated  that  having  this  diverse  community  “accomplishes  creating  a  real- world  experience  for  our  boys  in  which  they  are  dealing  with  different  types  of  people  from  all  different  backgrounds.â€?  Success  ultimately  comes  when  “everyone  has  an  appreciation  and  understanding  and  an  acceptance  of  each  other’s  differences.  And  sometimes,  in  order  to  accomplish  that,  there  needs  to  be  assemblies  or  other  platforms  for  people  to  discuss  and  engage  with  one  another.â€?  Mr.  Fairfax  reiterated  and  emphasized  Mr.  Evans’s  points  by  saying  how  Haverford  has  a  responsibility  “that  if  we  are  to  remain  true  to  our  mission  and  who  you  are  as  an  institution,  then  that  holds  you  accountable  to  prepare  boys  for  life,  in  the  real  world.  And  to  do  that  you  need  a  diverse  learning  community.â€?     Many  students  and  adults  may  be  under  the  impression  that  the  simplest  way  to  increase  the  current  24%  minority  constituency  would  be  to  bring  in  as  many  of  these  students  from  surrounding  areas  as  possible.  However,  there  is  an  obvious  ÀDZ DQG D IHHOLQJ RI VXSHUÂżFLDOLW\ WKDW DFFRPSDQLHV DQ LQVWLWXWLRQ WU\LQJ WR IXOÂżOO D diversity  “quota.â€?  Mr.  Fairfax  emphasizes  how  all  students  admitted  to  Haverford  are  deemed  capable  of  handling  the  rigorous  academics  and  possess  internal  qualities  WKDW KDYH WKH SRWHQWLDO WR JUHDWO\ EHQHÂżW WKH Haverford  community.  If  the  process  were  WR EH VWUHDPOLQHG IRU VSHFLÂżF DSSOLFDQWV a  palpable  feeling  of  separation  would  ensue  between  groups  of  the  student  body,  the  opposite  of  what  a  diverse  learning  community  strives  to  achieve.  There  is  no  magic  number  when  it  comes  to  this  percentage.  What  is VLJQLÂżFDQW KRZHYHU is  continuing  to  ensure  that  the  Haverford  education  remains  accessible  to  as  many  prospective  applicants  as  possible.  Mr.  Fairfax  highlighted  this  by  admitting  that  he  would  like  to  see  the  percentage  of  socioeconomically  disadvantaged  students  increase.  Mr.  Kolade  also  emphasized  the  importance  of  being  able  to  tell  students  who  may  have  always  believed  they  would  never  even  see  the  inside  of  the  school  that  they  have  the  potential  to  enroll.  When  a  Haverford  School  education  becomes  more  of  an  imaginative  prospect  rather  than  a  reality  for  the  majority  of  potential  applicants,  the  schools  runs  the  risk  of  hampering  its  efforts  to  promote  diversity  and  fails  to  deliver  on  its  promise  of  preparing  students  for  life.        Promoting  diversity  of  any  kind  is  not  an  easy  task.  The  onus  is  on  us,  the  students,  to  promote  diversity  and  racial  equality  so  that  we  create  a  welcoming  and  safe  community  for  our  brothers.
Page 4
The Index
March 2015
News
Denmark Exchange: What Makes Danes So Happy $IWHU SDUWLFLSDWLQJ LQ +DYHUIRUG¡V H[FKDQJH SURJUDP ZLWK VWXGHQWV LQ Copenhagen, George Rubin ‘17 discusses some of the social and political TXDOLWLHV WKDW PDNH 'HQPDUN WKH ´KDSSLHVW SODFH RQ (DUWK Âľ *HRUJH 5XELQ Âś
  Â
Imagine  a  country  that  has  already  achieved  many  of  America’s  greatest  ambitions.  One  that  already  relies  on  renewable  energies  for  40%  of  its  power  supply  and  aims  to  get  rid  of  fossil  fuels  by  2050.  One  that  has  limited  violence  with  a  homicide  rate  of  only  0.8  (homicides  per  100,000  people)  compared  with  a  4.7  in  the  US.  One  where  only  1  out  of  10  people  carry  a  gun  as  opposed  to  the  9  out  of  10  in  America.  One  with  social  equality  where  the  richest  20%  make  four  times  more  than  the  poorest  twenty  percent  compared  to  eight  and  D KDOI WLPHV LQ WKH 86 $QG ÂżQDOO\ RQH ranked  as  the  happiest  nation  on  earth.       Copenhagen,  Denmark  is  one  of  the  most  well  educated,  progressive,  and  happiest  cities  in  the  world.  This  past  month,  eight  other  Haverford  boys  and  I  accompanied  eight  Baldwin  girls  on  a  trip  WR &RSHQKDJHQ DV SDUW RI WKH ÂżUVW \HDU RI an  annual  exchange  program  with  students  from  Ordrup  Gymnasium,  a  public  school  in  one  of  Copenhagen’s  suburbs.  We  went  there  to  try  to  get  to  know  a  new  culture  very  different  from  our  own,  to  make  connections  and  friendships  with  Danish  students,  and  to  try  to  answer  a  question  that  had  been  nagging  us  since  we  decided  to  go  on  the  trip  early  in  the  school  year:  Why  are  they  so  happy?       First  of  all,  what  even  is  happiness?  Because  happiness  is  somewhat  intangible  and  hard  to  quantify,  when  evaluating  LW ZH KDYH WR ÂżUVW JHW DZD\ IURP WKRVH short  term  feelings  of  happiness,  such  as  those  gathered  from  doing  something  pleasurable,  like  eating  a  hamburger,  and  those  that  come  from  happy  life  events,  such  as  receiving  a  good  grade  on  a  chemistry  test.  Instead,  we  need  to  focus  on  the  more  long-Âterm  happiness  associated  with  the  achievement  of  meaning  in  one’s  life  and  their  overall  satisfaction  with  their  quality  of  life.  This  long  term  happiness  is Â
what  the  Danes  have  down  pat.      The  most  obvious  reason  for  overwhelming  happiness  in  Denmark  is  economic  prosperity.  I  was  extremely  surprised  when  my  exchange  student  told  me  that  he  had  a  job  that  paid  the  equivalent  of  about  twenty  US  dollars  and  hour.  Granted  the  income  tax  there  is  much  higher,  an  average  of  45  to  55%,  but  what  remains  is  still  about  double  what  minimum  wage  employees  get  paid  in  the  United  States  with  tax.  Denmark  is  also  ranked  the  fourth  most  prosperous  nation  in  the  world,  so  in  addition  to  paying  its  workers  well,  it  gives  an  abundance  of  job  opportunities  to  its  citizens.       Denmark  is  also  one  of  the  safest  countries.  In  the  average  year,  there  are  less  than  50  murders  compared  with  the  average  of  15,000  in  the  US.  Our  travel  group  happened  to  arrive  in  Copenhagen  the  day  of  a  terrorist  attack  where  two  people  were  killed,  one  at  a  free-Âspeech  event  in  a  cafe  in  North  Copenhagen  and  one  at  the  city’s  main  synagogue.  To  me  and  my  classmates,  this  was  a  sad  story  but  one  we  had  heard  many  times  due  to  the  constant  shootings  happening  in  the  US.  The  Danes,  however,  were  worked  up  about  the  attack  and  were  very  adamant  about  telling  us  that  this  kind  of  thing  never  happens  in  Denmark.       Another  interesting  and  different  aspect  of  Danish  social  life  is  the  idea  of  Danish  trust.  I  noticed  this  right  when  I  arrived  at  the  train  station  at  the  Copenhagen  airport.  There  was  nobody  on  the  train  to  collect  or  check  tickets.  Although  I  was  told  that  someone  checks  tickets  at  a  random  time  once  a  month,  I  didn’t  see  a  single  ticket  collector  on  the  Danish  public  transportation  system  my  entire  trip.  Also,  apart  from  the  day  of  the  terrorist  attack,  I  didn’t  see  a  policeman  the  entire  trip.  Going  the  speed  limit,  abiding  by  the  law,  and  paying  for  transportation  were,  although  not  completely,  mostly  on  the  honor  code.  This  trust  is  key  to  a  happy  society. Â
     The  common  courtesy  and  trustworthiness  of  Danish  people  was  demonstrated  in  a  study  done  where  wallets  were  “misplacedâ€?  on  the  streets  of  different  European  and  American  cities.  The  wallets  were  only  returned  to  their  rightful  owners  in  two  of  the  countries  tested.  Those  two  countries  were  Denmark,  and  Norway,  coincidentally  the  two  happiest  countries  in  the  world.       Another  aspect  of  trust  is  the  amount  of  trust  parents  instill  onto  their  children.  The  kids  in  Denmark  were  given  a  level  of  independence  that  many  of  us  don’t  experience  in  America.  They  were  expected  to  get  themselves  to  and  from  school  and  pay  for  any  daily  expenses  out  of  pocket  including  their  lunch.  If  their  parents  were  to  ever  drive  them  somewhere,  it  was  considered  a  favor,  not  a  usual  occurrence.  Also,  the  drinking  age  in  Denmark  is  only  16  years  old  so  kids  are  given  the  responsibilities  of  drinking  and  smoking  at  a  much  younger  age  than  us.  I  was  told,  though,  that  drinking  happens  mostly  in  a  social  manner,  rather  than  the  binge  drinking  we  have  in  american  schools  and  colleges.  The  tolerance  of  alcohol  and  nicotine  for  younger  kids  helps  combat  the  use  of  other  illegal  drugs  such  as  marijuana,  cocaine,  heroin,  and  others  especially  at  early  ages  where  kids  are  more  susceptible  to  addiction  problems.  Statistics  show  that  use  of  these  drugs  in  Denmark  is  a  fraction  of  what  it  is  in  America.      Danish  trust  also  carries  over  to  politics  and  their  socialist  democracy.  In  their  last  election,  they  were  able  to  rally  an  87.8%  voter  turnout  compared  with  the  57%  for  the  2012  presidential  election  in  the  US.  $QRWKHU ZD\ 'DQHV VKRZ FRQÂżGHQFH LQ their  government  is  through  a  45-Â55%  income  tax.  To  Americans,  this  seems  unbearable,  but  my  Danish  student  insists  that  it  is  necessary.  It  is  a  hard  argument  to  make,  but  he  gives  two  convincing  SRLQWV 7KH ÂżUVW LV WKDW DOWKRXJK WKH WD[HV are  high,  everyone  makes  more;Íž  more  even  than  the  average  American  makes  with  their  lower  tax  rate.  In  addition,  as  he  put  it,  the  government  pays  for  your Â
education  as  a  child,  your  college,  your  unemployment  if  you  get  into  a  pinch,  and  your  health  care  when  you  get  sick.  One  of  the  reasons  many  Americans  oppose  socialism  is  because  they  do  not  want  to  give  the  US  government,  which  they  feel  is  incompetent,  any  more  money.  This  trust  that  the  Danes  instil  in  their  government  is  ZKDW JLYHV WKHP FRQ¿GHQFH DV D QDWLRQ      The  aspect  people  look  back  on  the  most  when  evaluating  their  lives  is  their  relationships.  Families  in  Denmark  are  generally  closer  than  ours,  focusing  less  on  rushing  to  different  activities  and  working  long  hours  and  more  on  having  quality  family  time.  Every  night  I  had  dinner  at  my  host  family’s  house,  they  took  the  time  to  cook  real  food  and  sit  down  and  talk  to  each  other  rather  than  the  average  dinner  in  America  which  is  microwaving  a  frozen  meal  and  eating  it  on  the  couch  in  front  of  the  TV  or  stopping  at  the  drive  through  at  McDonald’s  before  soccer  practice.       In  addition  to  a  more  solid  family  life,  the  better  quality  and  happier  working  environments  allow  for  stronger  and  more  positive  working  relationships  and  the  extra  money  gives  even  the  fast  food  worker  enough  money  to  go  out  at  night  and  socialize.      To  sum  up,  the  reason  the  Danes  are  so  happy  is  probably  because  they  have  found  the  right  balance:  the  balance  between  work  and  family  life.  In  my  student’s  case,  he  only  had  about  an  hour  of  homework  a  night  and  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  time  playing  music  or  having  fun  with  his  family  or  friends.  They  found  the  balance  between  wages  and  economic  success.  Fast  food  restaurants  can  come  into  Copenhagen  DQG EH SUR¿WDEOH HYHQ WKRXJK WKH\ KDYH to  pay  their  workers  20  dollars  an  hour.  They  found  the  balance  between  high  taxes  DQG JRYHUQPHQW EHQH¿WV 7KHLU WD[HV DUH high,  but  not  high  enough  to  compromise  their  standard  of  living  while  at  the  same  WLPH JLYLQJ WKHP WKH EHQH¿W RI ZRUOG class  public  transportation,  healthcare,  education,  and  welfare.  Finally,  they  have  found  an  economic  balance,  in  which  even  their  poorest  citizens  are  not  unhappy.
Robotics Leads Pack at State Championships 7XFNHU 0DWXV Âś DQG 6DP 6KDZ Âś
Seven  Haverford  Robotics  teams  attended  the  2015  VEX  Robotics  Pennsylvania  State  Championship  held  at  Norristown  High  School  on  February  28th.   Although  the  results  suggest  otherwise,  preparing  for  States  is  a  challenge  for  169  each  year.  Robots  constantly  need  to  be  torn  apart,  redesigned,  and  rebuilt  to  stay  consistent  with  the  world  standard.  But  thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  even  more  to  it  than  that:  a  full  rebuild  requires  all  new  autonomous  routines  and  hours  of  operator  practice  before  the  competition  day.  Even  a  few  days  before  the  competition  (and  actually  the  night  before)  team  members  worked  late  DW VFKRRO PDNLQJ ÂżQDO DGMXVWPHQWV WR WKHLU respective  robotsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  autonomous  routines.  Four  Haverford  teams  received  the  privilege  of  competing  at  the  Vex  Robotics  World  Championship  in  Louisville,  Kentucky.  7HDP $ DQG < TXDOLÂżHG IRU :RUOGV as  tournament  champions,  and  Team  % DQG & TXDOLÂżHG DV WRXUQDPHQW ÂżQDOLVWV 7HDP $ DOVR UHFHLYHG WKH Amaze  award,  which  is  given  to  the  team  whose  robot  is  deemed  â&#x20AC;&#x153;amazing,  well  rounded  and  top  performing.â&#x20AC;? Team  169B  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Arnav  Jagasia  (Form  V),  Tim  Delaney  (Form  VI),  and  Mason  Hall  (Form  VI)  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  went  undefeated  WKURXJKRXW WKH TXDOLÂżFDWLRQ PDWFKHV
While  the  robotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  autonomous  period  was  unreliable  at  times,  Delaney,  the  sole  robot  driver,  was  successfully  able  to  build  almost  the  entire  seven-Âsection  Skyrise  and  score  a  few  cubes  on  top,  totalling  around  40-Â50  points  from  169B  alone.  While  169B  had  planned  to  go  into  the  competition  focusing  on  cubes,  the  robot  ended  up  primarily  building  the  Skyrise  during  the  match.  With  a  capacity  for  three  cubes,  however,  169B  could  compensate  for  the  time  spent  building  the  Skyrise  and  effectively  scored  cubes  as  well.  At  the  end  RI WKH TXDOLÂżFDWLRQ PDWFKHV 7HDP % was  second  seed  and  was  able  to  create  an  alliance  with  169C  and  464F  (Forest  Hills  High  School,  Sidman,  PA).  Only  losing  the  alliance  of  169A,  169Y,  and  101B  (Radnor  5RERWLFV % ÂżQLVKHG DV WRXUQDPHQW ÂżQDOLVWV HOLJLEOH IRU ZRUOG FKDPSLRQVKLSV Team  169C  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Tim  Maguire  (Form  V),  Ben  Quan  (Form  V),  and  Jake  Glunk  (Form  III)  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  had  a  challenging  match  schedule  for  the  morning,  but  prevailed  with  a  5-Â1  record,  losing  only  to  169A.  The  robotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  autonomous  routine,  which  VFRUHG FXEHV RQ WKH SRVWV DURXQG WKH ÂżHOGÂśV perimeter,  ran  smoothly  throughout  the  GD\ RQO\ UHTXLULQJ PLQRU PRGLÂżFDWLRQV through  the  competition.  Additionally,  both  169B  and  169C  made  it  through  the  second  round  of  pit  judging,  showcasing  their  robots  and  the  engineering  design Â
process  required  to  build  them.  In  competition,  169C  focused  primarily  on  scoring  cubes  as  opposed  to  constructing  a  skyris,  and  succeeded  with  this  strategy,  securing  the  sixth  seed  at  the  end  of  TXDOLÂżFDWLRQ PDWFKHV DQG WKHQ JHWWLQJ selected  to  compete  under  the  second  seed  alliance  in  the  elimination  matches.   Team  169A  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Colin  McCloskey  (Form  V)  and  Sam  Shaw  (Form  V)  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  had  a  successful  day  although  not  everything  initially  went  as  planned.  The  night  before  States,  Team  169A  made  the  decision  to  gear  down  the  robotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  drive  base  in  order  to  make  sure  it  would  withstand  the  entire  day;Íž  although  it  helped  to  ensure  consistency,  it  slowed  down  the  robot  enough  that  169A  did  not  participate  in  the  skills  challenges.  Additionally,  the  WHDPÂśV ÂżYH VHFWLRQ DXWRQRPRXV URXWLQH (which  was  on  par  with  routines  of  other  top  teams  world  wide)  was  inaccurate  in  WKH ÂżUVW IHZ TXDOLÂżFDWLRQ PDWFKHV EHFDXVH LW ZDV UXQ IRU WKH ÂżUVW WLPH RQ D QHZ FRPSHWLWLRQ ÂżHOG ZLWK ÂżUPHU IRDP WLOHV They  managed  to  use  their  many  seasons  of  competition  experience  to  correct  the  small  inaccuracy  issues,  and  by  the  end  RI WKH GD\ KHOG WKH ÂżUVW VHHG SRVLWLRQ with  a  6-Â0  record.  With  the  autonomous  consistently  scoring  four  sections  (all  that  it  was  able  to  do  with  the  geared  down  drive  base),  169A  won  Finals  Match  1  with Â
a  score  of  93-Â70  playing  with  169Y  and  won  Finals  Match  2  90-Â28  playing  with  101B.  Additionally,  they  impressed  the  pit  judges  during  their  interview  and  were  awarded  the  Amaze  Award.  Colin  and  Sam  ¿QLVKHG WKHLU 3UH :RUOGV VHDVRQ VSDQQLQJ from  the  fall  through  State  Championships  in  March,  with  a  26-Â0  record.   169Y  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Andrew  Clark  (Form  V),  Cal  Williams  (Form  IV),  and  Scott  Shaw  (Form  II)  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  also  had  a  tough  schedule,  losing  WR $ LQ WKHLU ÂżUVW PDWFK 1HYHUWKHOHVV they  did  not  lose  hope,  winning  all  but  one  of  their  remaining  matches  for  the  day.  In  the  elimination  rounds,  169Y  KHOSHG WKH ÂżUVW VHHG DOOLDQFH $ < and  101B)  win  autonomous  rounds  with  WKHLU VWURQJ ÂżYH SRLQW VHFRQGDU\ SRVLWLRQ autonomous  routine.  Additionally,  alliance  captains  Sam  and  Colin  put  169Yâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  fast  drive  base  to  use,  assigning  them  to  score  FXEHV RQ WKH ÂżHOGÂśV SHULPHWHU JRDOV $V ZLQQHUV DQG ÂżQDOLVWV RI WKH 6WDWH Championships,  169A,  169Y,  101B,  169B,  169C,  and  464F  are  eligible  to  compete  at  the  2015  Vex  World  Championship  in  Louisville,  Kentucky.  Haverford  teams  that  are  traveling  to  Louisville  to  participate  depart  on  April  14th  and  will  compete  for  three  days  against  several  hundred  of  the  best  robotics  teams  in  the  world.
Page 5
The Index
March 2015
News
Expanding Global Studies Program Providing Vital Opportunities for Exposure 7KLUG )RUPHU 6DP 7XUQHU ZULWHV DERXW 0U $QGUHZ 3RROPDQ¡V QDVFHQW *OREDO 6WXGLHV SURJUDP DQG ZKDW WKH FRPLQJ PRQWKV KROG IRU LW 6DP 7XUQHU œ
     In  its  second  year,  the  Global  Studies  program  at  The  Haverford  School  is  thriving.  With  two  major  international  trips  planned  for  this  summer,  a  student  exchange  program,  and  an  annual  student- integration  conference,  the  program  and  the  awareness  of  its  activities  are  growing  exponentially.  The  upcoming  trips  respectively  to  Nicaragua  and  China  this  summer  are  designed  to  incorporate  global  exposure  into  a  studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  experience  and  arm  him  with  the  tools  of  open-Âmindedness,  immersion  in  language  and  culture,  and  skills  in  non-Âverbal  communication.  During  each  trip,  students  will  spend  a  substantial  amount  of  time  living  with  a  host  family  and  attending  a  local  school.  Remaining  time  will  be  spent  rejoicing  in  the  natural  and  historical  wonders  of  each  of  these  locations.  Mr.  Andrew  Poolman,  Coordinator  of  Global  Studies,  has  pioneered  the  program  since  the  birth  of  its  existence  and  bears  high  hopes  for  the  program  in  future  years.  Hoping  to  eventually  integrate  global  experiences  into  every  studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  education,  Poolman  partners  with  teachers  of  various  subjects,  especially  foreign  language,  to  submerge  students  in  language  and  broaden  their  awareness  of  global  cultures.  Global  exposure  can  both  positively  impact  an  individual  and  accordingly  adjust  a  communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  image  of  diverse  global  lifestyles.  Although  there  are  countless  EHQHÂżWV RI JOREDO H[SRVXUH FDOFXODWHG and  unforeseen  risks  often  accompany  international  trips.  Global  studies  trips  to  Nicaragua  and  China  this  summer  are  setting  precedents  for  global  exposure  that  some  believe  is  critical  in  developing  a  VWXGHQWÂśV HGLÂżFDWLRQ DQG SHUVRQDOLW\ DQG RWKHUV EHOLHYH LV D PDWWHU RI EHQHÂżWV DQG risks.       Before  sorting  through  the  outputs  of  JOREDO H[SRVXUH 3RROPDQ GHÂżQHV WKH three  major  ways  in  which  Haverford  students  have  the  opportunity  to  interact  globally:  â&#x20AC;&#x153;One,  I  am  coordinating  our  current  global  exchange  program  with  the  school  in  Denmark  and  I  hope  to  expand  those  offerings  in  the  future  with  some  other  schools  internationally.  Two,  I  work  a  lot  on  the  travel  study  programs,  which  are  the  one  or  two-Âweek  long  travel  experiences  integrated  into  some  area  of  the  curriculum.  Three,  I  am  working  with  students  individually  to  help  them  form  a  valuable  experience  -  over  summer  or  over  break  -  and  that  may  involve  something  locally  or  something  internationally.â&#x20AC;?  As  Poolman  continues,  the  foremost  purpose  of  international  trips  is  to  be  â&#x20AC;&#x153;eye-Âopening  for  our  students.  I  think  it  is  easy  for  our  students  and  for  all  community  members  to  go  through  our  normal  routine  here  within  the  walls  of  the  school  and  within  the  fences  of  the  school  grounds.  We  live,  work,  and  study  in  a  comfortable  area,  but  the  rest  of  the  world  does  things  very  differently.  We  wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  always  be  able  to  have  that  comfort  of  living  and  working  within  these  walls  and  fences.â&#x20AC;?  Although  classes  promote  empathy,  understanding,  and  open-Âmindness,  the  experience  of  DFWXDOO\ Ă&#x20AC;\LQJ LQWR D IRUHLJQ UHJLRQ adapting  to  its  ubiquitous  uncomfortable  situations,  and  learning  how  to  effectively  communicate  with  non-ÂEnglish  speakers  is Â
sui  generis.  To  Poolman,  being  exposed  to  the  raw  realities  of  the  rest  of  the  world  â&#x20AC;&#x153;can  be  really  valuable  and  hopefully  inspire  students  to  want  to  study,  volunteer,  and  focus  on  an  area  that  they  see  somewhere  else  in  the  world.â&#x20AC;?       Like  Poolman,  Haverford  Fifth  Former  $OH[ 6DQÂżOLSSR KRSHV WR VXVWDLQ KLV JOREDO trip  last  year  to  Costa  Rica  by  participating  in  â&#x20AC;&#x153;programs  that  peak  my  interest  where  I  can  go  to  different  countries  and  do  the  same  thing  I  did  in  Costa  Rica  -  live  with  families  or  volunteer  through  an  organization  in  different  countries.â&#x20AC;?  6DQÂżOLSSR SODQV WR FRQWLQXH KLV JOREDO interactions  through  his  education  and  career,  but  one  trip  for  an  interval  of  two  weeks  could  be  just  the  beginning  to  ignite  passion  for  global  travel  and  volunteerism.  $V 6DQÂżOLSSR ODWHU FRPPHQWV Âł, WKLQN JOREDO H[SRVXUHV DUH YHU\ EHQHÂżFLDO IRU improving  your  languages  skills,  but  they Â
generation  of  global  leaders.       Interacting  globally  often  puts  students  in  awkward  and  uncomfortable  situations,  but  that  is  exactly  what  Chinese  teacher  Mr.  Gary  Kan  aims  to  do.  Kan  states,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;When  you  are  most  uncomfortable,  that  is  when  you  learn  best.â&#x20AC;?  He  goes  on  to  say,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Positive  effects  comes  from  the  amount  of  risk  you  are  willing  to  take;Íž  that  is  the  dynamic  of  everything  in  the  world.  If  you  are  not  willing  to  take  risks,  your  growth  will  be  very  slow.  Ask  any  investor.â&#x20AC;?  Not  RQO\ LV .DQ VD\LQJ WKDW WKH EHQHÂżWV RI global  exposure  far  outweigh  the  customary  healthy  and  safety  risks,  but  also  that  risks  are  in  fact  the  medium  to  learning.  In  no  way  does  Kan  condone  anything  dangerous  or  illegal,  but  he  believes  that  getting  â&#x20AC;&#x153;a  little  lostâ&#x20AC;?  and  getting  into  â&#x20AC;&#x153;a  little  troubleâ&#x20AC;?  will  actually  further  studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  learning  and  understanding  of  foreign  cultures.  In  addition  to  the  high-Ârisk,  high- reward  dynamic,  open-Âmindedness  and  an  eagerness  to  learn  are  critical  to  learning  about  language,  culture,  and  character.  In  IDFW ZKHQ .DQ ÂżUVW FDPH WR $PHULFD DW The Haverford School
6WXGHQWV IURP +DYHUIRUG %DOGZLQ DQG WKH 2UGUXS *\PQDVLXP LQ 'HQPDUN SDUWLFLSDWLQJ LQ WKH *OREDO ([FKDQJH 3URJUDP
DUH PRVW EHQHÂżFLDO DW ORQJHU SHULRGV RI time  to  allow  for  full  immersion  of  culture  and  language.  We  only  were  exposed  to  one  scene  of  the  whole  big  picture.â&#x20AC;?  Sparked  by  the  preview  of  the  limitless  wonders  of  this  ZLGH ZRUOG 6DQÂżOLSSR VD\V WKDW ÂłGRLQJ volunteer  work  in  another  country  or  living  with  a  family  in  another  country  is  actually  something  I  would  have  fun  doing  and  that  is  the  next  step  in  my  global  education.â&#x20AC;?  Sustainability  is  the  key  to  maintaining  strong  international  relationships,  which  DFW DV D V\PELRVLV EHQHÂżWWLQJ ERWK WKH traveler  and  the  host.  The  traveler,  such  as  a  Haverford  student,  has  the  advantage  of  immersing  himself  in  foreign  language  and  culture  that  develop  his  traits  as  a Â
around  15  years  old,  someone  asked  him  what  his  expectation  was  and  he  admitted  to  honestly  having  no  expectation.  Today,  he  is  glad  that  he  came  in  open-Âminded  because  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once  you  have  an  expectation,  you  are  already  limiting  yourself  to  what  you  are  going  to  be  open  to.  Be  there  and  take  a  step  back  just  to  immerse  yourself.â&#x20AC;?  Applying  this  to  the  trips  to  Nicaragua  and  China  this  summer,  it  is  evident  that  the  students  will  be  exposed  to  new  ideas,  but  being  adventurous  and  prioritizing  to  absorb  these  sacred  cultural  differences  will  lead  to  a  new  perspective  on  the  surprising  differences  and  similarities  between  cultures.  2Q WKH WRSLF 6DQÂżOLSSR shares  a  personal  story  of  his  while  on  a  trip  to  Costa  Rica:  â&#x20AC;&#x153;One  day,  the  grandson  of  the  woman  I  was  living  with  came  over  to  her  house  and  I  had  no  idea  how  to  talk  to  him  because  he  was  still  speaking  broken  Spanish  as  he  was  young  and  learning,  and  so  I  didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  know  how  to  communicate  with  him.  However,  he  approached  me  and  said  â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  play  The Haverford School +DYHUIRUG VWXGHQWV LQ &RVWD 5LFD ODVW \HDU tag,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;  or  as  he  called  it,  the  doctor.  We  would  contributing  member  of  society.  Likewise,  run  around  the  house,  zapping  each  other.â&#x20AC;?  the  host  can  absorb  foreign  culture  and  Even  a  trivial,  yet  universal  game  like  tag  ZLOO WRR EHQHÂżW IURP PHHWLQJ WKH QH[W can  act  as  a  form  of  communication  and Â
became  the  root  of  the  friendship  between  6DQÂżOLSSR DQG WKH OLWWOH ER\ KH PHW 0RVW interesting  about  the  experience  was  that  this  â&#x20AC;&#x153;is  something  I  do  with  my  little  cousins;Íž  I  am  the  oldest  grandson  in  my  family,  so  I  have  a  lot  of  younger  cousins  in  that  age  range  and  it  is  the  exact  same  thing  I  would  do  with  them.  It  was  really  eye-Âopening  for  me  to  see  how  similar  we  are  even  though  we  have  grown  up  in  such  different  environments.â&#x20AC;?  Another  one  of  WKH FRXQWOHVV EHQHÂżWV RI JOREDO H[SRVXUH LV the  knowledge  gained  by  seeing  how  other  cultures  interact,  exploring  the  various  differences  between  cultures,  and  yet  the  candid  similarities  that  bring  humans  as  a  UDFH WRJHWKHU 6DQÂżOLSSR FRQWLQXHV Âł3ODFHV not  that  far  from  the  United  States  like  Costa  Rica  and  Latin  America  have  developed  a  lot  differently.  The  most  intriguing  and  most  profound  part  of  the  trip  for  me  was  seeing  how  the  people  interacted  there  and  how  their  conversations  and  interactions  arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  that  different  from  how  I  would  interact.â&#x20AC;?  Nevertheless,  there  can  be  a  sort  of  looming  worry  that  accompanies  many  peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  thoughts  on  global  exposure.  Realizing  that  people  from  any  region  of  the  world  will  always  share  some  sort  of  similarity,  even  if  something  as  small  as  a  game  of  tag,  represses  the  idea  that  living  with  another  family  is  frightening  or  awkward;Íž  rather,  it  is  a  time  to  learn  from  differences  and  celebrate  similarities.       While  looking  forward  to  his  high  school  global  debut  to  China  this  summer,  +DYHUIRUG MXQLRU 3HWHU 0HUKLJH UHĂ&#x20AC;HFWV RQ his  middle  school  trip  to  Puerto  Rico:  â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  can  be  tough  because  we  learn  languages  in  a  classroom,  talking  with  our  peers  and  teachers,  but  it  is  very  different  once  we  go  to  another  country  where  the  language  is  used  and  talk  with  the  natives.  It  is  an  uncomfortable  experience  to  use  a  language  you  learned  with  people  you  know  and  translating  that  to  talk  with  someone  you  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  know  while  trying  to  make  a  good  impression  and  respect  their  culture.  It  can  be  a  very  harrowing  experience.â&#x20AC;?  While  simultaneously  trying  to  keep  up  with  the  seemingly  blistering  pace  of  foreign  dialogue  and  respect  the  culture,  students  can  become  very  nervous,  but  this  fear  subsides  with  familiarity  and  time.  Merhige  then  comments,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  have  been  taking  Chinese  since  freshman  year,  and  I  had  always  planned  on  taking  this  trip  at  some  point  during  my  high  school  career.â&#x20AC;?  On  its  way  to  becoming  a  sort  of  rite  of  passage,  the  interest  and  passion  as  exhibited  by  Merhige  are  becoming  increasingly  possessed  by  many  Haverford  students  as  they  learn  of  peersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  experiences  and  discover  the  unrivaled  experience  of  global  travel.  As  Poolman  explains,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;the  residual  effect  of  these  enlightening  H[SHULHQFHV FRPHV ÂżYH RU WHQ \HDUV GRZQ the  road,  when  students  think  back  to  an  experience  or  they  start  to  change  their  course  of  study  based  on  some  international  experience  that  they  had.â&#x20AC;?  The  long-Âterm  impact  of  global  exposure  can  determine  studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  career,  life  choices,  and  contributions  to  society.  So,  as  Haverford  students  prepare  for  their  trips  to  Nicaragua  and  China  this  summer,  they  are  looking  forward  to  blossoming  their  character,  cultural  skills,  and  lingual  talents  by  taking  risks,  embracing  the  unfamiliarity,  and  stepping  back  to  immerse  themselves  in  the  wonderful  culture  of  this  beautiful  world. Â
Page 6
The Index
Arts
March 2015
2015 Spring Arts Portfolio
Third Former Gaspard Vadot checks in with Haverford DUWLVWV DQG VKRZFDVHV WKHLU FXUUHQW SURMHFWV *DVSDUG 9DGRW ¶
6L[WK )RUPHU 0DMRU 7HSSHU LV FXUUHQWO\ ZRUNLQJ ZLWK FOD\ WKURZLQJ ERZOV DQG YDVHV RI LPSUHVVLYH VL]H (DUOLHU LQ WKH \HDU WKH 9, IRUPHU XVHG HOHFWURQLF SDUWV DQG FOD\ WR FUHDWH D KDOI KXPDQ KDOI URERW EXVW RI 'HUHN -HWHU DERYH )UHGG\ &RUUDGHWWL·V DUWZRUN VKRZV WKDW UHDOLVP LV QRW QHHGHG LQ D SDLQWLQJ LQ RUGHU WR EH LQWHUHVWLQJ &RPLQJ GRZQ WR WKH DUW URRP ZKHQHYHU KH FDQ KH XVHV WKHPHV IURP KLV HYHU\GD\ OLIH OLNH ZUHVWOLQJ WR KLGH RWKHU PHDQLQJV LQ KLV SDLQWLQJV DV ZLWK WKH WRS OHIW SDLQWLQJ GHSLFWLQJ D ZUHVWOHU ZKR VKRXOG KDYH ZRQ 7KH ZRUN LQ SURJUHVV SDLQWLQJ RI .XUW &REDLQ OHIW PL[HV PRQRFKURPDO UHDO LVP ZLWK D FRORUIXO DQG DEVWUDFW EDFNJURXQG 7KLV SDLQWLQJ D ZRUN LQ SURJUHVV E\ 6KDQH %UDGOH\ VKRZV WKH GHYHORSPHQW RI DUWZRUN 7KLV DUWLVW D VRFFHU SOD\HU ZDQWHG WR PDNH D SDLQWLQJ WKDW KDG VRPH W\SH RI FRQQHFWLRQ WR KLV VSRUW +H IRXQG WKDW KH KDG VR PDQ\ SRVHV WKDW KH FRXOG SDLQW KH GHFLGHG WR SDLQW PXOWLSOH +H Ã&#x20AC;UVW ZDQWHG WR SODFH WKHP LQ OLQH EXW WKHQ RSWHG IRU D SRVLWLRQLQJ WKDW LQYRNHV PRWLRQ DQG SDVVLQJ WLPH +H HYHQWXDOO\ GHFLGHG WR SDLQW D WLPHOLQH RI KLPVHOI LQ DOO WKH GLIIHUHQW WHDPV LQ GLIIHUHQW RXWÃ&#x20AC;WV KH KDG EHHQ LQ DGGLQJ DQ LQWHUHVWLQJ HOH PHQW RI VHOI SRUWDLW WR WKH SDLQWLQJ
6L[WK )RUPHU -DFN *ROD·V GRJ ODPS ZLWK WKH GRJ·V PRXWK SURMHFWLQJ D VTXDUH EHDP ZDV FOHDUO\ PDGH ZLWK UHVRXUFHIXOQHVV DQG D ORW RI WKRXJKW 7KH EHVW SDUW KRZHYHU LV WKH XVH RI WKH SRZHU FRUG DV D OHDVK
6L[WK )RUPHU $YHU\ :HLVV ZRUNV RQ D WHDSRW $V 6HQLRU 0LNH *LQGKDUW SXWV LW DUW SHULRG OHIW )HOORZ 6L[WK )RUPHU &ROLQ 0RUDQ ZLWK D LV ´WKH RQO\ WLPH GXULQJ WKH GD\ WKDW , FDQ JHW WHDSRW RI KLV RZQ DQG DQRWKHU ZRUN LQ SURJUHVV DZD\ IURP DOO WKH SUHVVXUHV RI +DYHUIRUG DQG EHORZ ERWWRP OHIW MXVW ZRUN RQ VRPHWKLQJ , ORYH WR GRµ 7KLV VHQLRU KDV UHFHQWO\ Ã&#x20AC;QLVKHG ZLWK 7RQ\ 'L 0DWWLD D SURMHFW WKDW UHFHLYHG PXFK DWWHQWLRQ DQG VXSSRUW 7RQ\ 'L0DWWLD PDGH WKH PHWDO IUDPH ZKLOH 0LNH *LQGKDUW PDGH WKH ZRRGHQ WDEOHWRS
'DYLG &KLNRZVNL D MXQLRU LV RQH RI WKH PRVW UHJXODUV RI 0U 5HVVOHU·V FODVVURRP $Q\RQH ZKR KDV KDG D FODVV LQ ' GHVLJQ RU :RRGZRUNLQJ KDV PHW KLP ZKHWKHU WKH\ NQRZ LW RU QRW &KLNRZVNL ORYHV WKH QDWX UDO EHDXW\ RI ZRRG DV KH FDQ PRGHO LW WR KLV OLNLQJ DQG WKH QDWXUDO WH[WXUH DQG DSSHDUDQFH 7KH SLFWXUHG WDEOH DERYH LV &KLNRZVNL·V ODWHVW FUHDWLRQ LQ WKH ZRRG ZRUNLQJ VWXGLR $QGUHZ :HVWE\ ZLWK %UHQGDQ -DFRE OHIW DOVR PDNHV TXDOLW\ SRWWHU\ OLNH WKH SLFWXUHG Ã&#x20AC;UHZRRG EXFNHW EHORZ
´%UHQGDQ -DFRE LV WKH RQO\ DUWLVW LQ WKH VFKRRO WR JHW QDWLRQDO UHFRJQLWLRQ IRU KLV ZRUNµ VD\V 0U 1HOVRQ WKH FHUDPLFV DQG SRWWHU\ WHDFKHU 7KLV VWXGHQW PDNHV DPD]LQJ SRWWHU\ DQG KDV D ORW RI WDOHQW +LV SLHFHV SURYH KLV GHWHUPLQDWLRQ DQG PRWLYDWLRQ WR PDNH JRRG DUW
Page 7
The Index
March 2015
Arts
Poetry Club: The Embodiment of Haverford Gentlemen Connor Lees â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;17 describes Poetry Club, which has grown WR SURGXFH JUHDW ZRUN XQGHU 'U :LOOLDP (KUKDUW &RQQRU /HHV Âś
  Â
   My  friends  sometimes  ask  me  who  my  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Top  Fiveâ&#x20AC;?  favorite  rappers  are.  Eminem,  Biggie,  Tupac,  Kory  Calicat-ÂWayns  and  Cole  Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in  no  particular  order.  I  enjoy  listening  to  rap  and  I  know  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m  not  the  only  one.  Last  month  during  a  community  period,  two  Haverfordians  dropped  the  mic  in  Centennial  Hall  and  provided  us  with  one  of  this  yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  more  memorable  assemblies.  On  stage  alongside  two  of  my  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Top  Fiveâ&#x20AC;?  rappers  was  the  Haverford  Poetry  Club.  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll  admit  it;Íž  before  this  assembly  I  didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  know  Haverford  even  had  a  Poetry  Club.  Poetry  &OXE LV GHÂżQLWHO\ +DYHUIRUGÂśV P\VWHU\ club  and  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m  here  to  direct  the  spotlight  to  one  of  the  most  under  publicized  clubs  at  the  school.   Â
     So  what  is  Poetry  Club?  Poetry  Club  is  a  group  of  guys  who  enjoy  writing  and  reciting  poetry.  They  meet  during  clubs  period  where  they  share  poems  they  have  written  and  get  constructive  feedback  from  proctor  Dr.  Ehrhart  and  other  students.  Two  common  misconceptions  about  Poetry  Club  are  that  just  analyze  famous  poetry  and  that  the  club  is  just  an  extension  of  Poetry  Out  Loud.  On  the  contrary,  during  a  typical  meeting,  they  project  a  poem  on  the  smartboard,  peer  edit  it  and  read  it.                 For  the  past  eleven  years,  Poetry  Club  has  met  like  this.  First  under  the  tutelage  of  Mr.  Kopp,  then  Mr.  Keefe  and  now  Dr.  Ehrhart.  Three  years  ago,  Mr.  Keefe  ran  Haverfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  poetry  club  while  Dr.  Ehrhart  was  in  charge  of  Pegasus.  Then  the  two  English  teachers  swapped  clubs  and  both Â
)LIWK )RUPHU -RQDV 0LFROXFFL SHUIRUPLQJ RQH RI KLV SRHPV GXULQJ ($ 6SLULW :HHN
clubs  have  only  gotten  better.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;When  the  club  switched  over  to  Dr.  Ehrhart,  I  became  even  more  involved  and  interested  when  listening  to  a  published  poet  who  also  always  would  tell  us  funny  stories  in  between  reciting  our  poemsâ&#x20AC;?  said  Poetry  Club  member  Logan  Atkins.  When  asked  about  the  future  of  the  club,  Dr.  Ehrhart  said  he  plans  to  stick  to  script  and  keep  it  the  same.          The  Poetry  Club  isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  your  typical  clubs  period  club.  In  addition  to  the  performance  at  Centennial,  they  perform  outside  of  school  at  Ludington  Library  down  the  road.  The  Ludington  liberian  told  Dr.  Ehrhart  after  the  Poetry  Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  performance  in  October  that  they  produced  one  of  the  biggest  turnout  for  any  high  school  event  held  at  the  library.  Poetry  Club  performances  are  similar  to  the  one  we  had  in  Centennial  last  month  where  students  read  their  poems  in  front  of  friends,  faculty,  family  and  others.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  performances  are  usually  really  laid  back  and  fun  to  be  atâ&#x20AC;?  says  Poetry  Club  member  Kory  Calicat- Wayns.  Fellow  Poetry  Club  member  Alex  Kim  described  them  as  â&#x20AC;&#x153;chill,  like  thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  no  pressure  at  allâ&#x20AC;?.  The  next  performance  is  scheduled  for  April  at  Ludington.        Kory  and  Cole  werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  the  only  ones  to  drop  the  mic;Íž  Ethan  DeLehman  and  his  recitation  of  his  own  poem,  which  I  thought  was  written  by  some  famous  poet,  also  stole  the  show.  Some  other  standouts  were  Ian  Riley,  JR  Pender  and  Will  Solmssen  among  others.  Even  after  a  last  second  scheduling  change  which  moved  the  performance  ahead  ten  0V 'DZQ %ODNH days,  the  Poetry  Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Â
latest  performance  turned  lots  of  heads.  Dr.  Ehrhart  said  he  received  good  feedback  from  his  students  and  other  faculty  and  he  personally  thought  the  performance  was  WHUULÂżF :H ZHQW RQ WR VD\ WKDW KH DQG WKH other  faculty  were  amazed  that  high  school  boys  produced  such  great  poetry.        The  members  of  the  Poetry  Club  had  nothing  but  great  things  to  say  about  their  experience.  Senior  Logan  Atkins  said,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Over  the  past  four  years,  Poetry  Club  has  been  nothing  but  fun,  interesting,  and  engaging,  and  it  has  allowed  me  to  pursue  what  I  love  to  do  every  single  Fridayâ&#x20AC;?.  Kory  described  his  experience  as  an  â&#x20AC;&#x153;incredibly  fun  and  a  great  learning  experienceâ&#x20AC;?.  Poetry  Club  member  JR  Pender  said  his  experiences  was  â&#x20AC;&#x153;great,  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  learned  a  lot  about  my  friends  and  peers  through  poetry  and  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  learned  to  understand  [them]  betterâ&#x20AC;?.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m  really  glad  I  joinedâ&#x20AC;?  says  Alex  Kim.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  just  fun  to  mess  around  and  write  and  read  original  poetryâ&#x20AC;?.      Kory,  Alex  and  JR  all  joined  Poetry  Club  because  of  a  shared  common  interest  in  poetry.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  always  loved  poetry  so  when  I  found  out  that  we  had  a  poetry  club  it  seemed  only  right  that  I  joinâ&#x20AC;?  says  Kory.  JR  went  on  to  say,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  always  had  an  ear  for  poetry.  And  I  know  a  lot  of  people  in  the  club  that  got  me  into  it.â&#x20AC;?  Alex  added,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  joined  after  I  dropped  in  one  day  to  just  to  seeâ&#x20AC;?.          This  yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  team  consists  almost  entirely  of  seniors.  Dr.  Ehrhart  said  he  hopes  to  get  some  new  blood  into  the  club.  The  club  is  relatively  small  member  of  the  Haverford  art  community  and  many  people  arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  aware  of  the  work  the  Poetry  Club  does.  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m  sure  that  next  year  we  will  be  looking  forward  to  the  Poetry  Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  annual  performance  in  Centennial.  It  will  be  tough  to  top  this  yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  group;Íž  the  barâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  been  set  fairly  high.
Harris  is  far  and  away  one  of  the  most  charismatic  entertainers  in  Hollywood,  but  the  writing  really  was  a  shot  in  the  foot.  Even  David  Oyelowo  (whose  name  NPH  repeatedly  mispronounced)  said  the  jokes  were  bad  on  air!  When  even  the  people  there  acknowledge  how  crappy  the  ceremony  is,  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  really  bad.       There  were  a  few  enjoyable  moments,  the  eventual  reveal  of  NPHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  â&#x20AC;&#x153;oscar  picksâ&#x20AC;?  was  fun,  but  the  setup  was  beat  to  death.  The  Birdman  homage  where  NPH  emerged  in  his  underwear  after  getting  stuck  outside  his  dressing  room  was  amusing,  but  for  the  majority  of  people  in  the  country  who  didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  watch  Birdman,  that  had  to  be  just  bizarre.  Lady  Gagaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  tribute  to  The  Sound  of  Music  was  gorgeous,  but  at  the  same  time,  it  was  long,  pointless,  and  The  Sound  of  Music  really  isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  that  great  a  movie  to  begin  with.  I  did  really  like  the  opening  number,  featuring  a  tribute  to  VRPH RI WKH EHVW ÂżOPV HYHU DQG Clue  for  rhyming  purposes,  I  guess?)  that  had  some  very  good  projection  work,  and  NPHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  singing  and  dancing  which  is  always  a  SOXV $GPLWWHGO\ HYHQ WKLV ZDV Ă&#x20AC;DZHG Jack  Blackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  surprise  appearance,  for  example,  completely  altered  the  mood  and  was  more  uncomfortable  than  amusing.  Aside  from  a  handful  of  memorable  and  enjoyable  moments,  it  was  mostly  either  boring  or  outright  unpleasant.       Finally,  there  was  a  level  of  controversy  surrounding  this  yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Oscars,  namely  the  apparent  misogyny  and  racism  in  the  nomination  process.  There  were  no  Black  actors  nominated,  and  the  only Â
main  nominations  to  females  were  in  actress  categories.  The  main  issue  with  this,  however,  is  that  there  really  wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  much  of  a  pool  to  draw  from.  Even  in  the  actress  categories,  certain  names  felt  out  of  place.  Rosamund  Pike  in  Gone  Girl  really  wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  a  leading  part,  Emma  Stone  in  Birdman  was  a  pretty  non  substantial  part,  and  (no  offense)  Meryl  Streep  was  pretty  mediocre  in  Into  the  Woods.  7U\LQJ WR ÂżQG DQ\ PDMRU %ODFN DFWRUV LV GLIÂżFXOW $VLGH IURP 'DYLG Oyelowo  (I  havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  seen  Selma  so  I  cannot  comment  on  it)  there  were  no  performances  to  speak  of.  Also,  all  the  actors  nominated  did  do  excellent  jobs  (although  I  think  Steve  Carellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  character  should  have  been  supporting).      2014  produced  some  excellent  movies,  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  a  shame  the  Oscars  to  celebrate  them  were  so  disappointing.  Overall,  the  ceremonies  have  been  getting  worse  and  worse.  The  Seth  MacFarlane  hosted  ceremony  of  2013  were  enjoyable,  but  his  particular  sense  of  humor  proved  very  polarizing.  I  personally  hated  the  2014  Oscars,  hosted  by  Ellen  DeGeneres,  for  being  completely  non-Âsubstantive  and  completely  devoid  of  spectacle.  The  2015  show,  however,  is  the  worst  in  recent  memory  for  being  just  unpleasant.  7KH QRPLQDWHG ÂżOPV DUH FHUWDLQO\ worth  a  watch,  but  the  ceremony  is  not.
Film Column: Ian Riley Reviews the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;15 Oscars Ian Riley â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;15
            On  February  22nd,  the  87th  Annual  Academy  Awards  took  place.  Oscar  season  is  something  near  and  dear  to  my  heart;Íž  I  ORYH ÂżOPV DQG , WUHDW P\ 2VFDU SLFNV OLNH others  treat  their  March  Madness  brackets.  This  event  is  often  touted  as  being  the  biggest  night  in  Hollywood,  but  how  exactly  was  it?  How  were  the  awards?  How  was  the  ceremony?  How  did  Neil  Patrick  Harris  do  as  host?  Well,  I  watched  the  whole  thing,  as  well  as  most  of  the  QRPLQDWHG ÂżOPV DQG , KDYH EHHQ IROORZLQJ the  Oscar  buzz  since  the  nominations  ZHUH ÂżUVW UHYHDOHG ZLWK VRPH OHYHO RI controversy,  which  I  will  also  address).       Before  I  talk  about  who  actually  won,  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  important  to  learn  how  these  awards  are  distributed.  There  are  well  over  5500  voting  members  from  all  parts  of  the  ¿OP LQGXVWU\ PRVW QRWDEO\ DFWRUV ZKR compose  almost  a  quarter  of  the  total  voters),  but  also  screenwriters,  editors,  directors,  etc.  The  members  of  each  of  these  categories  vote  on  their  respective  specialties  (actors  for  the  acting  awards,  for  example)  to  determine  the  nominations.  Other  categories  (Foreign  Language  Film,  Animated  Feature,  etc.)  are  selected  by  viewing  committees  of  a  mix  of  voters  from  each  category.  Once  the  nominees  are  selected,  all  academy  members  are  able  to  vote  for  each  category.  For  best  picture,  however,  the  voting  is  preferential,  PHDQLQJ WKH\ UDQN WKHP ,I D ÂżOP JHWV 50%  of  the  votes  for  best,  it  wins.  If  none  do,  the  lowest  scoring  is  removed  and  the Â
ballots  are  redistributed.  Did  you  get  all  that?  Because  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  super  complex  and  stupid.      Now,  how  did  the  winners  stack  up?  Overall,  I  was  pretty  pleased.  There  were  obviously  some  upsets,  but  all  in  all  the  winners  were  the  best,  at  least  by  Oscar  standards.  Another  important  aspect  is  addressing  what  the  Academy  loves.  They  love  biopics.  The  Academy  of  Motion  Pictures  wants  to  marry  biopics.  They  also  love  disability.  With  that  in  mind,  Eddie  Redmayne  was  the  clear  winner  for  best  actor.  I  preferred  Michael  Keaton,  but  Redmayne  was  the  clear  pick  and  he  did  do  a  marvellous  job  in  7KH 7KHRU\ RI (YHU\WKLQJ.  I  think  Reese  Witherspoon  deserved  to  win  best  actress  for  Wild,  but  I  havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  seen  Still  Alice  and  I  very  much  have  no  interest  to.  Best  Picture  went  to  Birdman,  which  I  have  already  spoken  a  great  deal  about  LQ DQ HDUOLHU UHYLHZ , ÂżUPO\ VWDQG E\ P\ RSLQLRQ WKDW WKLV ZDV WKH EHVW ÂżOP WKLV \HDU      The  only  upset  in  my  mind  was  The  /HJR 0RYLH not  even  getting  a  nomination.  ,W ZDV RQH RI WKH PRVW HQMR\DEOH ÂżOPV RI the  year,  animated  or  not.  It  was  without  a  doubt  better  than  Big  Hero  6,  which  was  still  good,  but  it  was  no  /HJR 0RYLH.  I  was  also  surprised  at  how  many  awards  The  Grand  %XGDSHVW +RWHO  received  so  many  awards.  :HV $QGHUVRQ LV D WDOHQWHG ÂżOPPDNHU EXW PDQ\ RI KLV ÂżOPV KDYH D VLPLODU VW\OH WR them.  The  main  issue  that  I  had  was  with  it  winning  Best  Original  Score,  which  I  believe  should  have  gone  to  Interstellar.      Now  onto  the  ceremony  itself.  This  yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  show  was  painful  to  watch.  I  cringed  more  than  anything  else.  Neil  Patrick Â
Page 8
The Index
March 2015
Arts
State of the Arts Departments: Progress on the Horizon In a department that has seen a resurgence in recent years while keeping ahead of modern technology, George Rubin Âś GLVFXVVHV FKDQJHV RQ WKH KRUL]RQ
art,  the  department  decided  to  create  a  new  foundations  course  which  had  students      To  many  young  adults,  scholastic  art  is  spend  a  third  of  their  time  doing  2D  art,  a  just  some  paintings  hanging  in  the  hallway  third  doing  3D  art,  1/6  in  the  multimedia  to  be  glanced  at  as  they  go  from  one  class  lab  with  Mr.  Frock,  and  1/6  with  Mr.  to  the  next,  or  a  concert  only  attended  Nelson.  by  the  parents  of  the  performers,  or  a       This  course  has  been  designed  to  give  school  musical  that  kids  go  to  for  a  social  LQFRPLQJ IUHVKPDQ PRUH FRQÂżGHQFH event  rather  than  for  its  true  substance.  in  their  course  selections.  Because  the  At  Haverford,  the  art  department  and  previous  courses  were  so  successful,  its  ambitious  and  determined  staff  have  however,  certain  students  and  members  tried  to  alter  these  unfortunate  truths,  and  of  the  faculty,  Mr.  Fox  included,  share  in  instead  put  in  place  a  series  of  courses  that  some  skepticism.  Still,  though,  Mr.  Fox  teach  students  how  to  create  and  solve  sees  the  new  course  as  a  manifestation  of  problems  while  in  the  process  creating  one  of  the  art  departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  main  messages  stunning  works  of  art.  Next  year,  the  to  its  students  which  is  the  idea  of,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;people  department  will  continue  to  pursue  this  taking  new  risks  and  trying  new  ideas.â&#x20AC;?  goal  with  big  changes  to  its  course  catalog       The  department  has  always  been  ahead  of  the  pack  technology-Âwise,  and  it  always  and  curriculum.       The  balance  between  trying  to  accomplish  KDV LWV H\HV RSHQ WR WKH ÂżHOG RI ' GHVLJQ new  goals  while  not  getting  rid  of  what  7KH IRFXV WKXV IDU KDV EHHQ WR WU\ WR ÂżQG a  software  that  kids  are  able  to  learn  to  use  and  create  projects  ZLWK GXULQJ IRUW\ ÂżYH minute  class  periods.  They  have  also  been  on  the  market  for  a  new  3D  printer  that  prints  faster  and  bigger  in  an  effort  to  expand  their  participation  in  this  new  and  emerging  media.      The  largest  and  most  interesting  project  the  art  department  has  been  cooking  up  is  in  accordance  with  their  main  goal,  and  the  goal  of  all  the  other  departments  at  Haverford:  preparing  boys  for  life.  In  the  real  world,  most  of  the  students  at  Haverford  will  be  working  in  environments  where  people  work  together  on  different  problems  using  different  skills.  In  addition,  most  of  Haverfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  graduates  will  be  solving  0V 'DZQ %ODNH )LIWK )RUPHU -DFN %HOOZRDU DW ZRUN LQ 0U 1HOVRQ¡V &HUDPLFV &ODVV problems  that  require  works  is  a  hard  one  to  achieve,  especially  multi-Âfaceted  approaches.  So,  if  students  when  the  Haverford  art  program  is  one  that  are  used  to  subjects  being  separated  into  is  depended  on,  loved,  and  respected  by  the  categories  of  science,  math,  english,  the  entire  Haverford  community.  However,  history,  and  language,  and  canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  solve  in  order  to  keep  its  place  at  the  top,  the  bigger  more  complicated  problems  that  department  has  chosen  to  embrace  change. bridge  those  barriers,  they  probably  wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t       This  year,  all  three  of  the  sub  departments  be  successful.  If  Haverford  can  endorse  (Visual  arts,  music,  and  theatre)  have  all  this  type  of  problem  solving,  their  students  introduced  changes,  some  drastic,  some  will  be  more  prepared  for  life  then  those  VPDOOHU \HW DOO VWLOO LQĂ&#x20AC;XHQWLDO 7R ÂżQG RXW being  educated  at  other  institutions. what  was  going  to  happen  in  the  2D,  3D,       With  that  in  mind,  the  art  department  has  and  multimedia  studios  of  the  visual  art  decided  to  create  a  new  studio  space  over  department  I  spoke  to  Mr.  Christopher  Fox,  the  summer.  This  studio,  in  the  glassed  in  VSDFH RQ WKH ERWWRP Ă&#x20AC;RRU ZKHUH 0U 8SWRQ the  art  department  chair.       As  far  as  changes  to  the  course  catalog  and  Mr.  Patrylakâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  rooms  are  now,  will  in  the  visual  art  department,  there  has  been  act  as  a  â&#x20AC;&#x153;makerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  spaceâ&#x20AC;?;Íž  a  place  where  a  rather  important  and  risky  alteration  to  students  of  3D  art,  and  of  academic  classes  the  2D  and  3D  art  foundations  classes.  can  work  together,  doing  different  projects  These  are  the  fundamental  courses  that  but  possibly  sharing  ideas,  techniques,  and  are  geared  towards  freshmen  with  a  equipment.  It  would  be  in  this  space  where  preexisting  interest  in  art.  In  previous  a  student  could  come  in  one  morning  years,  these  classes  have  been  separated  with  an  idea,  and  make  it  into  a  reality.  It  into  2D  and  3D,  and  freshman  who  chose  would  also  be  a  place  classes  of  all  subjects  one  or  the  other  tended  to  stay  with  that  could  use  to  work  on  hands  on  activities.  one  throughout  their  high  school  career.  In  Whether  it  be  an  engineering  class  that  an  attempt  to  give  students  a  more  broad  doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  have  enough  work  space,  a  latin  range  of  experiences  in  the  world  of  visual  class  building  chariots,  or  a  math  class  Â
*HRUJH 5XELQ Âś
taking  data  for  a  catapult  project,  this  space  would  be  designed  as  a  creative,  hands  on  environment.  In  Mr.  Foxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  opinion,  once  the  space  gets  up  and  running  it  will  be  booked  from  dawn  until  dusk.      The  music  department  is  in  the  same  bind  as  the  art  department  in  regards  to  potentially  changing   its  courses  and  curriculum.  Some  would  argue  that  a  mostly  classical  curriculum,  in  which  students  start  with  a  basic  music  theory  course  freshman  year,  then  music  history,  an  advanced  theory  course,  and  a  thesis  project  senior  year,  is  a  well-Âconstructed  system.  It  has  been  in  place  throughout  the Â
wants  to  do,  but  after  a  basic  prerequisite  course,  students  would  be  able  to  branch  out  and  take  different  types  of  courses  like,  songwriting  classes,  digital  music  production  and  recording  classes,  and  advanced  guitar  and  bass.  These  classes  are  designed  to  be  more  practical  and  resonate  more  with  the  students  at  Haverford.      In  the  theatre  department,  a  change  even  greater  and  more  important  will  be  going  on  in  the  coming  spring,  summer,  and  fall.  Most  of  the  students  at  Haverford  already  know  that  the  10  year  director  of  the  theatre  department,  Mr.  Cloran,  who  is  loved  and  venerated  by  Haverford  students Â
6L[WK )RUPHUV ,DQ 5LOH\ DQG :LOO 6ROPVVHQ LQ Is He Dead?
duration  of  a  studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  time  in  the  upper  school,  and  allows  students  to  become  classically  trained.  From  there,  they  can  then  use  that  training  to  branch  out  to  different  genres  of  music  and  different  instruments  with  the  basic  music  theory  knowledge  they  need.  But  current  music  chair  Mr.  Mark  Hightower,  who  took  Mr.  Stairsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  place  teaching  the  upper  school  music  curriculum,  believes  that  this  traditional  system  may  not  cater  to  the  current  Haverford  school  community.       In  his  explanation  of  this  ideology,  Mr.  Hightower  stated,â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  want  to  continue  to  do  classical  music  here.  I  want  to  have  the  opportunity  for  people  who  wish  to  continue  to  study  classically  to  be  able  to  learn.  But[]I  want  to  provide  opportunities  for  students  to  learn  about  the  music  that  theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  passionate  about.â&#x20AC;?  The  new  music  curriculum  wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  eliminate  the  classical Â
0V 'DZQ %ODNH
and  parents  will  be  turning  over  his  position  to  a  completely  new  leader.  And  although  the  new  director  will  probably  not  make  huge  changes  to  the  theatre  program  at  Haverford,  whatever  changes  are  made  from  this  year  to  next  are  completely  in  his  or  her  hands.      Mr.  Cloran  admits  that  the  new  teacher  will  have  a  different  style  than  him  but  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  would  encourage  everyone  to  keep  an  open  mind  and  an  open  heart  because  I  know  [the  Haverford  School]  is  going  to  hire  in  someone  who  is  incredibly  talented  and  really,  really  good  as  a  teacher.â&#x20AC;?  And  although  some  of  the  potential  candidates  for  the  job  have  changes  in  mind,  they  probably  wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  change  the  core  ideas  that  differentiate  Haverford  from  every  other  school  like  theatre  III  and  the  idea  that  VWXGHQWV JHW D IXOÂżOOLQJ H[SHULHQFH IURP putting  on  their  own  production.       The  art  department  will  be  thoroughly  changed  whether  through  set  in  stone  changes  to  curriculum  or  simply  unknown  and  unanticipated  changes.  But  the  one  goal  that  all  three  departments  have  in  common  is  to  make  boys  more  independent  and  creative  and  to  better  ready  them  for  the  real  world.  Whether  that  be  0U 0DUN +LJKWRZHU SHUIRUPV IRU WKH VWXGHQW ERG\ 0V 'DZQ %ODNH through  a  merging  of  elements  of  the  curriculum,  but  it  would  art  science  in  the  visual  art  department,  use  these  classical  ideas  to  help  understand  a  combination  of  traditional  and  modern  the  musical  nuances  of  the  newer  genres  music  curriculums,  or  the  evolution  of  that  interest  the  students  of  today.  Because  a  theatre  department  that  gives  students  the  music  classes  in  previous  years  have  FRQÂżGHQFH DQG D WDVWH RI WKH LQGHSHQGHQFH RQO\ EHHQ ÂżOOHG LQ WKH VLQJOHV RI GLJLWV they  will  be  faced  with  when  they  leave  these  changes  are  designed  not  only  to  Haverford.  The  Haverford  art  department  help  students  get  a  wider  and  more  full  continues  its  effort  to  revolutionize  the  understanding  of  music,  but  also  to  reach  a  education  of  young  men  and  prepare  them,  larger  part  of  the  community  and  get  more  better  than  they  ever  have,  to  face  the  of  them  involved  in  music. challenges  they  are  bound  to  encounter  in       The  new  curriculum  would  consist  of  everyday  life. the  original  classical  theory  based  courses  that  aid  a  musician  no  matter  what  he Â
Page 9
The Index
Sports
March 2015
Fords Focus: The Real Story Behind This Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Underperformingâ&#x20AC;? Basketball Team 0DQDY .KDQGHOZDO Âś
  Â
     He  stands  outside  Malvernâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  basketball  gym,  pensive  but  not  defeated.  When  I  walk  over  to  speak  with  Head  Coach  Henry  Fairfax  after  Haverfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  bruising,  SRLQW VHPL ÂżQDO GHIHDW DW WKH KDQGV RI Phelps  Academy,  he  stops  me  before  I  can  HYHQ DVN WKH ÂżUVW TXHVWLRQ      â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jack  [Marshall]  left  his  shoes  at  home.  He  had  to  get  his  shoes  from  Austin  Krell,â&#x20AC;?  Coach  Fairfax  says  proudly.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;There  is  the  story  in  a  nutshell,  a  high-Âcharacter  team.  One  guy  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;no  worries,  I  may  not  get  in  the  game,  youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  really  valuable  here  are  my  shoes.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;  A  couple  of  years  ago,  Logan  Atkins  did  the  same  thing  for  Derek  Mountain.  What  these  kids  are  doing  for  each  other  is  remarkable.â&#x20AC;? 7KDW GHÂżQHV WKH ZD\ &RDFK )DLUID[ looks  at  the  success  of  his  basketball  team,  not  in  terms  of  wins  and  losses.  Some  in  the  Haverford  community  would  say  that  the  team  underperformed  this  season  given  their  nationally-Âranked  talent,  but  before  he  even  begins  to  explain  why  that  is  not  true  from  a  basketball  perspective,  Coach  Fairfax  praises  the  character  and  mental  fortitude  of  the  team  he  has  built  during  his  short  tenure  as  program  leader.      â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  talk  a  lot  about  the  process.  When  you  are  working  with  high  school  kids,  as  much  as  folks  would  like  it  to  be  about  LPPHGLDWH JUDWLÂżFDWLRQ , GRQÂśW EX\ LQWR that  at  all,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.  Despite  being  blown  out  of  the  gym  by  Phelpsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  star-Âstudded  URVWHU WKURXJK WKH ÂżUVW WKUHH TXDUWHUV Haverford  fought  back  to  give  the  scoreline  a  more  respectable  look.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fire,  resilience,  all  the  stuff  we  talk  about  it.  This  is  a  team  that  is  not  willing  to  quit,â&#x20AC;?  Coach  adds.       On  paper,  many  people  would  have  predicted  immense  Inter-ÂAc  success  this  season.  With  Temple-Âbound  Levan  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shawnâ&#x20AC;?  Alston,  Lamar  Stevens,  and  Cameron  Reddish  all  ranked  in  the  top  100  for  their  respective  classes,  Haverford  is  the  only  Inter-ÂAc  team  to  boast  one,  much  less  three,  nationally-Âranked  players.  Despite  this  apparent  talent  gap,  Haverford  ¿QLVKHG LQ WKH OHDJXH WKLUG EHKLQG Germantown  and  Episcopal.      There  is  certainly  merit  to  the  argument  that  Haverford  underperformed,  but  it  is  far  more  complicated  than  that.  Talent  does  not  always  win,  and  that  is  especially  true  in  the  gritty  Inter-ÂAc.  Coach  Fairfax  adds, Â
â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  hardest-Âworking  team,  the  team  that  plays  with  the  edge,  the  underdog,  especially  in  this  climate,  has  as  good  of  a  chance  as  anybody.â&#x20AC;?  It  is  that  â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;edgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  that  often  makes  the  most  different  at  the  high  school  level.  Motivating  players  whose  futures  may  already  be  decided  (see:  Shawn  Alston)  or  whose  futures  rest  on  stat  lines  and  weekend  AAU  games  (see:  Lamar  Stevens,  Cam  Reddish)  to  treat  every  game  as  the  championship  is  an  immense  task.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  a  question  I  am  always  wrestling  with,  how  to  create  that  edge  for  my  players,â&#x20AC;?  says  Coach  Fairfax.  People  around  the  team  suggest  that  prioritizing  team  goals  over  individual  goals  was  a  problem  for  pivotal  players  at  times,  something  Coach  Fairfax  admitted  was  a  priority.  Ball  movement  and  offensive  chemistry  were  lacking  in  key  moments  for  the  Fords,  as  evidenced  by  their  low  DVVLVW WR ÂżHOG JRDO SHUFHQWDJH EXW &RDFK Fairfax  believes  that  is  an  issue  of  the  teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  struggles  to  shoot  the  ball.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;There  were  opportunity  to  make  shots  off  of  passes,â&#x20AC;?  he  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;but  we  missed  them.â&#x20AC;?      Another  factor  behind  the  perceived  underperformance  was  the  teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  KLVWRULFDOO\ GLIÂżFXOW VFKHGXOH WKH teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  overall  record,  belies  their  on-Âthe- court  production.  Non-Âconference  games  are  no  longer  just  limited  to  Main  Line  PLQQRZV OLNH 6KLSOH\ DV ZDV WKH FDVH ÂżYH years  ago,  before  Coach  Fairfax  took  over  the  programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  reins.  This  yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Fords  faced  some  of  the  regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  best  teams,  like  South  Jerseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  best  team,  Holy  Spirit,  and  Public  League-Âwinning.  Imhotep.  They  also  went  head-Âto-Âhead  with  two  of  the  nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  top  seniors,  Archbishop  Carrollâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Derrick  Jones  (UNLV)  and  Roselle  Catholicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Isaiah  Briscoe  (Kentucky).  Haverford  beat  WKH ÂżUVW WZR WHDPV WKH DZD\ YLFWRU\ YHUVXV ,PKRWHS D ÂżUVW LQ VFKRRO KLVWRU\ ZKLOH falling  to  the  latter  two.  Coach  Fairfax  has  always  believed  in  preparing  his  team  as  well  he  can  through  scheduling  a  rigorous  QRQ OHDJXH Âż[WXUH OLVW UHJDUGOHVV RI KRZ that  might  affect  his  teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  win-Âloss  record.      Their  inability  to  close  out  close  games  on  McBride  Courtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  hardwood  also  contributed  heavily  to  the  teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  degraded  reputation.  The  50-Â48  and  60-Â57  home  losses  to  EA  and  GA  two  weeks  apart  stopped  the  teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  charge  for  a  league  title  in  its  tracks;Íž  a  reversal  of  those  two  disheartening  results  would  have  landed Â
&RDFK )DLUID[ ORRNLQJ RQ KHUH DJDLQVW 3HQQ &KDUWHU OHDYHV ZLWK WKH KLJKHVW ZLQQLQJ SHUFHQWDJH RI DQ\ EDVNHWEDOO FRDFK LQ VFKRRO KLVWRU\
0U -LP 5RHVH
7KLV \HDU¡V WHDP UHYHDOHG D YDULHW\ RI SHUVRQDOLWLHV DQG WDOHQW EXW DOO ZHUH ZLOOLQJ EDWWOH LQ NH\ PRPHQWV
the  Fords  at  9-Â1  in  league  play,  good  for  WKH WHDPÂśV ÂżUVW FKDPSLRQVKLS VLQFH &RDFK Fairfax  led  them  to  one  in  the  1999-Â2000  season.  The  Germantown  Academy  was  a  back-Âand-Âforth  affair,  with  the  Fords  never  really  doing  enough  to  best  the  eventual  champion  Patriots.  An  unfortunate  piece  of  refereeing  derailed  a  chance  for  a  last-Âsecond,  game-Âtying  possession;Íž  the  sideline  judge  ruled  a  ball  to  have  bounced  off  of  GA  only  to  have  the  backline  judge  run  over  and  overrule  him.  This  mistaken  call  gave  GA  the  ball  and  the  opportunity  WR LFH WKH JDPH LQ LWV ÂżQDO VHFRQGV EXW LW was  a  game  that  Haverford  never  quite  did  enough  to  win.       The  Episcopal  loss,  against  an  even  more  bitter  rival,  was  far  more  painful.  EAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  gameplan  had  been  to  slow  down  the  game  and  limit  Haverfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  prowess  in  transition,  which  they  did  well,  but  Haverford  had  still  done  enough  to  take  a  48-Â47  lead  with  just  seconds  remaining.  EA  then  rushed  up  the  court,  and  after  a  broken  play  ended  with  the  ball  in  the  corner,  a  seldom-Âused  substitute  heaved  a  prayer  of  a  three-Âpointer  that  ended  up  falling  through  the  net.  Lamar  Stevens  took  the  ball  from  the  inbounds  coast-Âto- coast  but  saw  his  buzzer-Âbeating  layup  roll  around  the  rim  before  falling  out  as  the  assembled  EA  fans  rushed  the  court.  As  Coach  Fairfax  puts  it,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kid  misses  that  shot,  and  this  is  a  different  conversation.â&#x20AC;?  The  team,  however,  continued  to  shoot  itself  in  the  foot  as  it  did  all  season  from  the  charity  stripe;Íž  they  shot  a  dismal  63%  from  the  line  this  year,  with  missed  free  throws  losing  an  early-Âseason  game  against  powerhouse  Roman  Catholic  while  derailing  their  chances  at  the  Inter-ÂAc  crown.  After  changing  up  his  strategy  and  employing  more  competition-Âbased  free  throw  drills,  Coach  Fairfaxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  patience  paid  off  as  the  team  made  18-Âof-Â22  (81.8%)  free  WKURZV WR NQRFN RII ÂżUVW VHHGHG +LOO LQ WKH VWDWH TXDUWHUÂżQDOV      Coach  Fairfax  also  believes  that  people  outside  of  the  basketball  program  underrate  the  talent  level  of  the  Inter-ÂAc:  â&#x20AC;&#x153;You  have  to  give  teams  credit  for  going  out  and  doing  really  good  things.  I  think  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  unfair  to  suggest  that  Episcopal  is  not  as  good  as  they  actually  are.  I  think  weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d  be  remiss  to  call  them  anything  but  a  talented  EDVNHWEDOO WHDP ´ +H VSHFLÂżFDOO\ PHQWLRQV point  guard  Mike  Jolaoso  and  young  big Â
0V 'DZQ %ODNH
man  Nick  Alikakos,  the  latter  of  whom  was  second  in  the  league  behind  Stevens  in  scoring  with  190  points.      The  biggest  misperception  surrounding  the  team,  however,  has  nothing  to  do  with  EA  and  GA.  It  is  about  developing  a  program,  one  that  Coach  Fairfax  inherited  after  years  of  turmoil  and  one  that  he  now  leaves  with  some  stability.  Sixth  Form  guard  Logan  Atkins  agrees  with  this  perspective,  saying,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m  proud  of  where  the  program  is  going  and  hope  that  it  continues  to  grow.â&#x20AC;?  As  the  saying  goes,  Rome  was  not  built  in  one  day.  Coach  Fairfax  has  certainly  left  the  program  in  a  better  position  than  he  found  it,  a  fact  he  takes  comfort  in  despite  the  external  criticism:  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Coach  [Brian]  Shane  won  an  Inter-ÂAc  title  when  I  was  a  senior  and  then  struggled  afterwards,  and  then  Coach  [Steve]  Cloran  had  his  own  challenges,  and  then  I  took  over  the  program;Íž  for  us  to  have  won  the  number  of  games  that  we  have,  around  62  percent  of  our  games,  is  no  small  feat.â&#x20AC;?       Coach  Fairfax  inherited  a  team  that  KDG ÂżQLVKHG WKH VHDVRQ LQ league  play;Íž  overall,  the  Fords  were  22- 58  in  league  play  under  Coach  Cloran  in  his  eight  seasons  at  the  helm.  Coach  Fairfax  brought  immediate  and  consistent  progress,  pushing  the  team  to  5-Â5,  5-Â5,  6-Â4,  ¿QLVKHV LQ HDFK RI WKH QH[W ÂżYH VHDVRQV LQ DGGLWLRQ WR WKH SURJUDPÂśV ÂżUVW WULS WR WKH VWDWH VHPLÂżQDOV WKLV SDVW ZLQWHU The  team  has  not  yet  reached  the  pinnacle,  but  it  has  gotten  much  closer  under  Coach  Fairfaxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  watch.      It  is  important  to  maintain  perspective  when  examining  Mr.  Henry  Fairfaxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  tenure  as  he  leaves  the  program  to  focus  on  his  role  as  Director  of  Admissions.  While  his  successful  recruiting  did  not  bring  the  ultimate  goal  of  an  Inter-ÂAc  championship  to  450  Lancaster  Avenue,  it  did  increase  the  reputation  of  the  program  around  the  city  and  bring  some  exhilarating  basketball  to  Ryan  Gymnasium.  He  will  continue  to  be  involved  in  the  program  as  it  transitions  to  life  under  new  leadership,  and  everyone  in  the  Haverford  community  hopes  that  the  program  will  see  as  much  progress  under  his  replacement  as  it  did  under  Coach  Fairfax.
Page 10
The Index
March 2015
Sports
How is Funding Allocated for Sports at Haverford? Sam Turner â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;18 investigated an issue that remains very contentious around Haverford: how sports funding is DOORFDWHG E\ WHDP +HUH DUH VRPH RI KLV Ă&#x20AC;QGLQJV 6DP 7XUQHU Âś
               The  Heyward  Cup,  awarded  annually  to  the  Inter-ÂAc  school  that  displays  the  highest  overall  excellence,  has  been  claimed  by  The  Haverford  School  fourteen  times  in  school  history,  more  than  any  other  Inter-ÂAc  school.  Out  of  Haverfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  sixteen  varsity  sports,  eleven  of  them  have  won  Inter- ac  or  Pennsylvania  State  championships  in  the  last  decade.  The  Varsity  Lacrosse Â
0U -LP 5RHVH
puts  it,  the  main  framing  question:  â&#x20AC;&#x153;What  do  we  need  to  do  a  quality  program  at  The  Haverford  School?â&#x20AC;?  On  the  topic,  Murphy  states  that  â&#x20AC;&#x153;we  make  sure  each  team  has  what  it  needs  to  be  competitive  in  their  facility  and  keep  their  equipment  safe.â&#x20AC;?  The  coaches  build  the  budget  up  by  determining  what  is  necessary  to  run  a  quality  program  for  each  sport.  Gold  then  adds:  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  build  the  budget  up  sport  by  sport,  from  the  ground  up, Â
of  the  relatively  lower  costs  per  student  because  it  serves  a  whopping  total  of  150  student-Âathletes.  In  one  perspective,  football  is  an  expensive  sport,  but  looked  at  differently,  it  is  quite  the  opposite.  Murphy  continues  by  commenting  that  â&#x20AC;&#x153;This  is  not  to  say  that  all  of  [the  sports]  every  year  have  the  success  of  others  at  the  same  level  and  that  one  does  not  KDYH D KLJKHU QDWLRQDO SURÂżOH WKDQ RWKHUV but  all  of  our  athletes  here  can  feel  good  that  we  do  what  we  need  to  do  to  run  the  best  quality  program  in  that  sport.â&#x20AC;?       However,  the  real  challenge  is  not  distributing  funds  to  individual  sport,  but  â&#x20AC;&#x153;making  sure  the  budget  stays  within Â
+DYHUIRUG &KLHI )LQDQFLDO 2IĂ&#x20AC;FHU 'DYLG *ROG FLWHV &UHZ DQG +RFNH\ DV WZR RI WKH PRVW H[SHQVLYH VSRUWV RQ D SHU DWKOHWH EDVLV
team  and  the  Varsity  Tennis  team  clinched  perfect  seasons  in  2011  and  both  2012  and  2013,  respectively.  The  Fordsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  consistent  triumphs  in  athletics  are  accredited  to  the  student-Âathletesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  dedication  to  the  sports  and  the  thoughtful  leadership  of  the  faculty,  coaches,  and  administrators.  Once  a  year,  in  the  early  spring,  our  esteemed  faculty  led  by  athletic  director  John  Nostrant,  associate  athletic  director  0LFKDHO 0XUSK\ DQG FKLHI ÂżQDQFLDO RIÂżFHU David  Gold  assemble  a  collective  meeting  of  both  in-Âhouse  and  outside  athletic  coaches  to  discuss  the  allocations  of  funding  to  the  seventeen  individual  sports.      At  each  meeting,  the  coaches  and  administrators  begin  the  discussion  regarding  the  allocation  of  funds  for  all  the  sports  teams  by  answering,  as  Gold Â
17  sports,  by  using  a  0-Âbased  budget.â&#x20AC;?  The  budget  for  each  sport  is  routinely  MXVWLÂżHG E\ UHYLVLWLQJ WKH QXPEHU RI ER\V participating  and  what  is  needed  for  each  sport.  However,  before  determining  what  exactly  is  required,  the  coaches  roughly  estimate  the  number  of  students  that  will  be  participating  in  each  sport  because  this  is  the  foremost  factor  in  determining  the  budget  per  sport.  For  example,  as  Murphy  voices,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Although  football  may  have  the  largest  budget  on  campus,  it  is  also  one  of  the  largest  teams  on  campus.â&#x20AC;?  High- SURÂżOH VSRUWV VXFK DV IRRWEDOO DQG ODFURVVH are  commonly  misconceived  to  be  given  larger  budgets  than  other  sports,  but  the  process  of  allocation  is  simply  a  matter  of  mathematics.  In  fact,  football,  with  an  annual  budget  of  roughly  $50,000,  has  one Â
0U -LP 5RHVH
the  budget,â&#x20AC;?  as  Murphy  adds.  There  are  enticing  opportunities  to  heavily  invest  in  a  promising  sport  or  to  subsidize  a  cross- country  trip  for  a  team,  and  the  hardest  job  of  this  committee  is  to  stay  within  the  boundaries  of  necessity.  In  reality,  there  is  no  secret  formula  or  hidden  algorithm  that  dictates  the  allocation  to  each  sport.  Instead,  as  Gold  explains,  there  are  roughly  nine  key  categories  that  determine  the  amount  allocated  to  each  individual  sport:  program  supplies,  outside  coaches,  transportation  DQG JDV RYHUQLJKW WULSV RIÂżFLDO IHHV equipment  maintenance,  uniforms,  and  competition  fees.  Sports  like  soccer  and  ultimate  frisbee  have  a  substantial  number  of  participants,  but  the  capital  fees  for  objects  like  nets,  goalposts,  and  court  maintenance  are  minimal  compared  those Â
of  other  sports.  However,  Gold  reports  WKDW FUHZ DQG KRFNH\ DUH VSHFLÂżFDOO\ WZR of  the  most  exorbitant  sports  on  campus  because  hockey  requires  outside  ice  time  and  transportation,  and  crew  is  very  equipment-Âintensive.  Some  sports  are  expensive  by  nature,  while  others  have  little  external  expense;Íž  either  way,  Murphy  believes  that  â&#x20AC;&#x153;we  meet  what  we  stand  for  as  an  educational  institution  and  we  keep  the  right  balance  with  academics  and  arts  and  we  do  a  good  job  of  saying  that  each  individual  sport  is  important  and  valued.â&#x20AC;?      Friendship,  dependability,  brotherly  FRPSHWLWLRQ ÂżWQHVV KHDOWK DQG sportsmanship  are  all  derived  from  Haverfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  athletic  programs.  Haverford  invests  6%  of  its  annual  budget  in  athletics,  EXW VWXGHQWV EHQHÂżW GLVSURSRUWLRQDWHO\ from  this  investment.  Nostrant  comments,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sports  give  back  to  the  schoolâ&#x20AC;Ś[they  are]  always  in  the  newspaper.   Successful  athletic  programs  get  alumni  excited.  We  hope  that  95%  of  our  students  or  more  play  a  sport,  and  camaraderie  and  teamwork  is  the  most  important  part  of  it.â&#x20AC;?  Annual  fundraising  and  endowment  are  one  of  the  three  methods  for  funding  athletics;Íž  the  other  two  are  tuition,  the  main  contributor,  and  auxiliary  funds,  such  as  from  renting  out  facilities  and  selling  food  at  concession  stands.  In  recent  years,  Gold  acknowledges  that  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  overall  budget,  has  gone  up  over  the  years  because  of  two  things:  the  number  of  boys  has  gone  up  in  the  upper  school  and  the  cost  of  transportation  for  trips  has  increased.â&#x20AC;?  Nevertheless,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;everything  has  gone  up  proportionately,â&#x20AC;?  says  Nostrant.       Nostrant  continues  by  describing  that  â&#x20AC;&#x153;the  school  didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  want  families  to  feel  like  they  had  to  pay  extra,  so  Haverford  spent  $70,000-Â80,000  for  the  general  issue  athletic  gear.â&#x20AC;?  Haverfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  unbridled  support  of  its  student-Âathletes  in  all  of  their  endeavors  is  evident  through  their  commitment  to  funding  quality  athletic  programs,  to  balancing  academics,  arts,  and  sports,  and  to  investing  in  the  future  of  its  students.  Go  Fords!
Tennis Earns Early Silverware in Preparation for Potentially Historic Campaign $V WKH\ ORRN IRUZDUG WR WKH SURJUDP¡V Ă&#x20AC;UVW FKDQFH DW D national championship in California, the tennis team seFXUHG D WK VWUDLJKW YLFWRU\ LQ WKH 3KLOO\ 0D\RU¡V &XS &RQQRU /HHV Âś
  Â
    Last  weekend,  the  Haverford  tennis  team  secured  its  second  consecutive  Philadelphia  Cup.  In  a  World  Cup  style  tournament,  the  Fords  emerged  from  group  play  as  the  number  one  seed  and  proceeded  to  beat  Radnor,  Lower  Merion  and  Episcopal  without  surrendering  a  single  match.       After  winning  four  consecutive  Inter-ÂAc  titles  and  accumulating  a  66-Â1  record  over  the  past  three  seasons,  Haverford  has  earned  its  spot  among  the  upper  echelon  of  tennis  teams  in  the  United  States.  This  coming  weekend,  from  March  20th  to  the  21st,  Haverfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  top  eight  players  will  travel  to  Newport  Beach,  California  to  compete  in  the  15th  annual  National  Invitational  High  School  Tennis  Championship.       The  sixteen  most  successful  tennis  teams  from  across  the  United  States  during  WKH VHDVRQ PDNH XS WKH ÂżHOG -RLQLQJ +DYHUIRUG LQ WKH ÂżHOG LV WZR WHDPV IURP New  York,  nine  from  California  and  one  team  each  from  Maryland,  Texas,  Arizona  DQG +DZDLL ,Q WKHLU ÂżUVW URXQG PDWFK WKH Fords  will  face  off  against  Brophy  Jesuit Â
Prep  High  School  from  Phoenix,  Arizona.  Should  the  Fords  win,  number  one  seeded  Menlo  School  from  Atherton,  California  awaits  in  the  next  round.       The  team  arrives  at  LAX  on  Wednesday  to  prepare  for  the  tournament.  The  tournament  will  be  held  at  three  different  venues.  The  main  venue  is  Palisades  Tennis  Club,  which  hosted  the  1998  Davis  Cup  Finals,  tennisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  version  of  the  FIFA  World  Cup.  The  other  two  venues  are  Corona  del  Mar  High  School,  which  has  won  three  National  Team  Championships  and  Costa  Mesa  Tennis  Club,  where  the  Fords  will  compete  in  the  top  half  of  the  draw.       Each  team  will  play  four  matches  FRQVLVWLQJ RI ÂżYH VLQJOHV VHWV DQG WKUHH doubles  sets.  Each  teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  results  will  determine  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  place,  1st  through  16th,  in  the  tournament  which  will  be  their  national  ranking  for  the  2015  season.  Every  school  who  competes  in  the  tournament  will  leave  Newport  Beach  with  a  national  ranking.  )RU WKH ÂżUVW WLPH LQ WKH KLVWRU\ RI +DYHUIRUG tennis,  the  Fords  will  be  nationally  ranked.  Defending  champion  and  number  one  ranked  Beacon  from  New  York  City  comes Â
into  the  tournament  unseeded  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  draw.  All  four  seeded  teams  this  year  are  from  California,  including  host  Corona  del  Mar  High  School.  Along  with  your  March  Madness  brackets,  make  VXUH WR ÂżOO RXW D 1DWLRQDO ,QYLWDWLRQDO Championships  one  as  well.  Be  sure  to  pick  the  Fords  running  the  table  as  your  national  champs.       Leading  the  charge  into  California  for  the  Fords  is  a  strong  senior  class  headlined Â
by  captains  Ben  and  Zach  Lieb,  Andrew  Gushner,  Nathan  Kidambi  and  Jackson  Simon.  The  rest  of  the  team  competing  in  California  includes  V  Former  Drew  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bobbyâ&#x20AC;?  Clark  and  IV  Formers  Connor  Lees  and  Will  McDevitt.  The  team  has  been  working  hard  throughout  the  offseason  to  get  in  shape  for  California  and  is  ready  for  what  lies  ahead  in  Newport  Beach  and  throughout  the  2015  season.
Page 11
The Index
March 2015
Opinions
50 Shades of Grey Controversy (continued)       Continued  from  Front  Page  In  survey  conducted  in  1981,  35%  of  college  age  men  surveyed  admitted  they  ZRXOG FRPPLW DFWV WKDW ZHUH GHÂżQHG DV rape  if  they  could  get  away  with  it.  A  1988  survey  reported  that  over  half  of  college  age  women  surveyed  experienced  sexual  abuse,  over  a  quarter  were  the  victim  of  rape  or  attempted  rape.  Now,  according  to  the  Rape  Abuse  &  Incest  National  Network  (RAINN)-Âan  organization  dedicated  to  raising  awareness  of  and  preventing  sexual  assault-Âfewer  than  300,000  victims  of  sexual  assault  annually  in  the  United  States.  This  number  is  likely  low,  due  to  the  fact  that,  according  to  RAINN,  over  half  of  sexual  assaults  are  never  reported  to  the  authorities.  If  these  numbers  are  even  close  to  true,  however,  the  total  number  of  victims  of  sexual  crimes  went  from  over  half  of  college  age  women,  to  fewer  than  one  percent  of  the  US  population.  Â
is  still  an  individual  sexually  assaulted  approximately  once  every  two  minutes,  but  the  amount  of  improvement  would  suggest  that  our  society  is,  thankfully,  committed  to  eliminating  rape  and  sexual  assault.        Claims  that  50  Shades  is  the  result  of  a  culture  that  accepts  rape  are  often  paired  ZLWK WKRVH WKDW WKH ÂżOP LV WKH SURGXFW RI male-Âdominant  culture  and  â&#x20AC;&#x153;patriarchy.â&#x20AC;?  7KH ÂżOP KRZHYHU LV D SURGXFW RI ZRPHQ The  book  was  written  by  a  woman,  the  screenplay  was  adapted  by  a  woman,  WKH ÂżOP ZDV GLUHFWHG E\ D ZRPDQ DQG two  of  the  three  producers  (not  counting  EPs,  who  are  largely  only  responsible  for  ¿QDQFLDO EXVLQHVV DQG OHJDO DVSHFWV RI WKH ÂżOP DUH ZRPHQ 1RW RQO\ WKDW EXW RI WKH YLHZHUV RI WKLV ÂżOP GXULQJ the  opening  weekend  were  women.       The  concept  that  this  is  a  product  of  â&#x20AC;&#x153;patriarchyâ&#x20AC;?  is  ridiculous.  50  Shades  is  a  product  of  a  society  that  sexualizes Â
50 Shades: %ODPLQJ LW IRU VH[XDO FULPHV PD\ EH D VWUHWFK EXW WKH UHODWLRQVKLS LW GHSLFWV LV ZRUWK\ RI RXU LUH
     RAINN  also  reports  than  the  number  of  sexual  assaults  has  drastically  decreased  over  the  last  20  years.  The  rate  has  dropped  by  more  than  half.  RAINN  estimates  that  actions  taken  towards  education  and  prevention  has  prevented  approximately  5.5  million  sex  crimes  since  1993.  There Â
KXIISRVW FRP
ZRPHQ WUXH EXW ÂłSDWULDUFK\´ LV GHÂżQHG DV being  â&#x20AC;&#x153;a  system  of  society  or  government  in  which  men  hold  the  power  and  women  are  largely  excluded  from  it.â&#x20AC;?  Women  were  not  excluded  from  this  process,  they  were  DOPRVW HQWLUHO\ UHVSRQVLEOH IRU LW 7KH ÂżOP itself  is  sexist  and  romanticizes  an  unhealthy Â
relationship,  but  is  still  primarily  the  doing  of  author  and  producer  E.  L.  James.       These  would  all  indicate  that  there  has  never  been  a  more  toxic  society  for  D ÂżOP OLNH WKLV 2QH PD\ FRQFOXGH WKDW WKLV ÂżOP LV KROGLQJ RQWR DQWLTXDWHG DQG unhealthy  views  of  relationships,  and  would  therefore  be  the  subject  of  derision.  Quite  the  contrary,  in  fact;Íž  Fifty  Shades  of  Grey  is  incredibly  successful.  At  the  time  of  the  writing  of  this  article,  it  was  the  WKLUG KLJKHVW JURVVLQJ ÂżOP GLUHFWHG E\ D ZRPDQ ,W ZDV WKH ÂżIWK KLJKHVW JURVVLQJ 5 UDWHG ÂżOP WKH IDVWHVW VHOOLQJ 5 UDWHG ÂżOP according  to  Fandango,  as  well  as  being  the  highest  selling  opening  weekend  for  a  non- VHTXHO ÂżOP ,W RSHQHG WR D ZHHNHQG JURVV of  over  $85  million,  making  it  the  highest  grossing  February  opening  weekend  ever,  surpassing  Passion  of  the  Christ D ÂżOP that  was  controversial  for  other  reasons).       The  success  of  the  Fifty  Shades  of  Grey LV EDIĂ&#x20AC;LQJ 7KLV NLQG RI RYHUO\ romanticized  smut  is  on  par  with  late  night  Cinemax,  yet  somehow  it  is  on  track  to  be  RQH RI LI QRW WKH PRVW VXFFHVVIXO ÂżOPV WKLV year.  How  is  this  possible?  A  large  deal  of  the  success  can  be  explained,  however,  by  looking  at  the  origins  of  the  novel.  It  began  as  an  erotic  7ZLOLJKW IDQ ÂżFWLRQ WKDW was  then  adapted  into  original  characters.  The  formula,  however,  is  still  apparent:  virginal  characterless  blob  encounters  sexy  stranger,  becomes  infatuated,  learns  he  has  a  dark  secret  then  has  to  cope  with  it.  The  success  is  for  similar  reasons  as  well.      7ZLOLJKW  served  as  a  tween  sensation,  offering  clunky  idealized  romance  while  still  keeping  it  at  a  PG-Â13  level.  The  appeal  ODUJHO\ FDPH IURP IDQWDV\ IXOÂżOPHQW %HOOD Swan  served  as  a  vacant  space  into  which  young  girls  could  project  themselves.  However,  young  girls  grow  up.  E.  L.  James  has  taken  this  formula  and  introduced  it  to  a  group  of  sexually  active  grown  women. Â
Why Racial Awareness is Not Enough Sixth Former Brendan Burns argues that racial awareness and a focus on examining privilege will not result in racial XQLW\ RU LQWHJUDWLRQ %UHQGDQ %XUQV Âś
7R KLJKOLJKW WKH H[SHULHQFHV RI $IULFDQ $PHULFDQ +DYHUIRUG VWXGHQWV 'LUHFWRU RI &RPPXQLW\ 'RQWD (YDQV DORQJ ZLWK D WHDP RI IDFXOW\ PHPEHUV FRQVWUXFWHG DQ DVVHPEO\ LQ )HEUXDU\ WKDW VKDUHG DQRQ\PRXV VWRULHV ZLWK WKH VWXGHQW ERG\ VHYHUDO RI WKHP UHFDOOLQJ GHDOLQJV ZLWK UDFLVW SROLFH ´0\ XOWLPDWH JRDO Âľ (YDQV VDLG ODVW PRQWK LQ DQ LQWHUYLHZ ZLWK )LIWK )RUPHU $OH[ 6DQĂ&#x20AC;OLSSR ´ZDV WR JHQHUDWH FRQYHUVDWLRQ Âľ 7KH WUXWK LV WKDW SUHWW\ PXFK HYHU\RQH ZDQWV D FRQYHUVDWLRQ RQ UDFH 2I FRXUVH WKHUH DUH VRPH ZKR GRQ¡W ZDQW WR DFNQRZOHGJH LVVXHV RI UDFH DV UHOHYDQW WR WKHLU OLYHV RU SUREOHPDWLF WR $PHULFDQ VRFLHW\ 7KDW JURXS KRZHYHU LV LQ WKH PLQRULW\ 7KH YDVW PDMRULW\ RI SHRSOH WKDW , NQRZ ² ERWK ZLWKLQ DQG RXWVLGH RI +DYHUIRUG¡V ZDOOV ² DUH JHQXLQHO\ LQWHUHVWHG LQ GLVFXVVLQJ WKH UDFLDO FKDOOHQJHV IDFLQJ RXU FRXQWU\ 7KRVH FKDOOHQJHV DUH PDQ\ EXW D ODFN RI FRQYHUVDWLRQ RU D ODFN RI ´DZDUHQHVV Âľ DUH QRW DPRQJ WKHP $ NH\ SUREOHP LV WKDW LQ RXU SXUVXLW RI UDFLDO FRQVFLRXVQHVV ZH KDYH HQWLUHO\ DEDQGRQHG 0DUWLQ /XWKHU .LQJ¡V YLVLRQ WKDW SHRSOH EH MXGJHG E\ WKH FRQWHQW RI WKHLU FKDUDFWHU UDWKHU WKDQ WKH FRORU RI WKHLU VNLQ .LQJ VRXJKW QRW RQO\ WR JLYH ULJKWV WR WKH RSSUHVVHG ² KH VRXJKW WKHLU VRFLHWDO XQLĂ&#x20AC;FDWLRQ ZLWK WKH GRPLQDQW
JURXS .LQJ GUHDPHG WKDW RQH GD\ ´OLWWOH EODFN ER\V DQG JLUOV ZLOO EH KROGLQJ KDQGV ZLWK OLWWOH ZKLWH ER\V DQG JLUOV ¾ 8QIRUWXQDWHO\ ZH KDYH FDVW DVLGH FRORU EOLQGQHVV DV D QREOH JRDO DQG OHIW ´UDFLDO DZDUHQHVV¾ LQ LWV SODFH 7KLV VKLIW LV WKH SURGXFW RI &ULWLFDO 5DFH 7KHRU\ D VFKRRO RI WKRXJKW GHYHORSHG SULPDULO\ E\ 'HUULFN %HOO LQ WKH V ´UHFRJQL]HV WKDW UDF
LVP LV LQJUDLQHG LQ WKH IDEULF DQG V\VWHP RI $PHULFDQ VRFLHW\ ¾ SHU WKH 8&/$ 6FKRRO RI 3XEOLF $IIDLUV ´7KH LQGLYLGXDO UDFLVW ¾ LW VD\V ´QHHG QRW H[LVW WR QRWH WKDW LQVWLWXWLRQDO UDFLVP LV SHUYDVLYH LQ WKH GRPLQDQW FXOWXUH ¾ &57 IRFXVHV RQ H[DPLQLQJ SULYLOHJH ZKLFK LWV SURSRQHQWV DUJXH LV LJQRUHG LQ FRORUEOLQGQHVV :LGHO\ DFFHSWHG WRGD\ E\ LQWHOOHFWXDOV &ULWLFDO 5DFH 7KHRU\ LV WKH LGHRORJ\ XSRQ ZKLFK PXFK RI WKH +DYHUIRUG FXUULFXOXP RQ UDFH LV EXLOW Continued on Page 12
Anastasia  Steele  has  the  same  passive  nothingness  that  Bella  Swan  did,  but  now  instead  of  being  fought  over  by  hunky  Universal  rejects,  sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  on  the  receiving  end  of  a  very  sexually  charged  relationship.  7KLV LV IDQWDV\ IXOÂżOOPHQW RQ SDU with  many  movies  aimed  at  men.  No  one  goes  to  Transformers  or  Fast  and  the  Furious  for  the  story,  they  go  to  see  crazy  action.  The  comparison,  however,  HQGV LQ VLPLODU MXVWLÂżFDWLRQ 'HVSLWH WKH fact  that  Transformers  is  a  soulless  cash  grab  franchise,  it  is  still  accepted  because  Michael  Bay  can  churn  out  whatever  he  desires  if  the  studios  will  support  it,  and  WKDWÂśV ÂżQH 5HFHQW EDFNODVK DJDLQVW VHOI censorship  in  the  wake  of  7KH ,QWHUYLHZ  scandal  has  resulted  in  an  environment  that  encourages  studios  to  release  their  product.       That  is  why,  despite  the  fact  that  the  FRQWHQW RI WKH ÂżOP LV GLVDJUHHDEOH WR VD\ the  least,  it  is  perfectly  acceptable  that  it  exists.  That  isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  the  issue.  The  issue  LV WKDW WKH ÂżOP VKRXOG EH PHW ZLWK QHDU XQLYHUVDO GLVJXVW 7KLV LV D ÂżOP WKDW capitalizes  on  nearly  pornographic  sexual  fantasies.  It  promotes  unhealthy  views  of  sex,  as  well  as  displays  sexist  views  with  regards  to  its  leading  character.  Not  to  mention  that  it   romanticizes  abuse  and  displays  dangerous  sexual  practices  as  being  desirable.  Somehow,  however,  this  LV WKH PRVW VXFFHVVIXO ÂżOP RI WKXV IDU 7KLV VRUW RI ER[ RIÂżFH VXFFHVV LV ZKDW SURPRWHV IXWXUH ÂżOPV RI WKH VDPH LON WKH sequel  is  already  in  production,  and  many  other  studios  are  doubtless  clamoring  for  a  similar  product.  If  there  is  ever  going  to  be  progressive  change  in  the  way  the  media  represents  these  and  other  subject  matters,  there  must  be  a  level  of  discretion  as  to  what  the  viewing  public  watches,  because  the  message  being  sent  right  now  is  a  cry  for  more  smut  like  Fifty  Shades  of  Grey.
OLEJXLGHV FRP
'HUULFN %HOO EHORZ DQG RQH RI KLV ERRNV DERYH
6RPH RI WKH NH\ WHQHWV RI &ULWLFDO 5DFH 7KHRU\
VOLGHVKDUH QHW
Page 12
The Index
March 2015
Opinions
Why Racial Awareness is Not Enough (cont.) Continued from Page 11
+RZHYHU OLWWOH ZKLWH ER\V DQG JLUOV ZRQ¡W KROG KDQGV ZLWK DQG DVVLPLODWH ZLWK OLWWOH EODFN ER\V DQG JLUOV EHFDXVH WKH\ XQ GHUVWDQG WKH LPSOLFDWLRQV RI ZKLWH SULYL OHJH RU EHFDXVH WKH\ DUH WKLQNLQJ DERXW LQJUDLQHG UDFLVP LQ $PHULFDQ VRFLHW\ :KHQ SHRSOH DUH VR UDFLDOO\ FRQVFLRXV WKDW WKH\ WKLQN WKH\ DUH GLIIHUHQW WKDQ SHRSOH RI DQRWKHU UDFH LQWHJUDWLRQ EHFRPHV LPSRV VLEOH ,W LV QRW FRQVFLRXVQHVV RU FRQYHUVD WLRQ WKDW ZH QHHG DV D QDWLRQ EXW DFWLRQ $V WKH 1HZ <RUN 7LPHV¡ 'DYLG %URRNV VDLG LQ DQ HGLWRULDO ODVW \HDU ´XOWLPDWHO\ ZH GRQ¡W QHHG D FRPPRQ FRQYHUVDWLRQ ZH QHHG D FRPPRQ SURMHFW Âľ /LNHZLVH +DYHUIRUG VWXGHQWV GRQ¡W QHHG DQ DVVHPEO\ UHSHDWLQJ WKH VDPH WDOHV RI UDFLDO SURĂ&#x20AC;O LQJ E\ SROLFH :H GRQ¡W QHHG WR EH WDONHG DW RU WDONHG WR :KDW ZH GR QHHG LV ZKDW 'LUHFWRU RI $GPLVVLRQV +HQU\ )DLUID[ FDOOV D V\VWHP RI ´PXWXDO H[FKDQJH Âľ PHDQLQJ WKDW VWXGHQWV IURP 3KLODGHOSKLD VWXGHQWV IURP *ODGZ\QH EODFN VWXGHQWV ZKLWH VWXGHQWV ULFK VWXGHQWV DQG SRRU VWXGHQWV FDQ LQWHUDFW RXWVLGH RI VFKRRO DV EURWKHUV ZLWKRXW IHHOLQJ XQHDV\ EHFDXVH RI GLIIHUHQW UDFLDO LGHQWLWLHV 7KDW LGHDO FDQ EH DFKLHYHG LQ WKH FRORUEOLQG VRFLHW\ WKDW 'U .LQJ HQ YLVLRQHG 7RGD\ WKDW ´PXWXDO H[FKDQJHÂľ GRHV QRW WDNH SODFH WR DQ DODUPLQJ H[WHQW &ULWLFDO 5DFH 7KHRU\ LV D SUREOHPDWLF XQGHUSLQQLQJ IRU UDFH UHODWLRQV GXH WR RWKHU UHDVRQV DV ZHOO ´:KDW LV PRVW DUUHVWLQJ DERXW FULWLFDO UDFH WKHRU\ Âľ VD\V MXULVW 5LFK DUG 3RVQHU ´LV WKDW LW WXUQV LWV EDFN RQ WKH
:HVWHUQ WUDGLWLRQ RI UDWLRQDO LQTXLU\ IRU VZHDULQJ DQDO\VLV IRU QDUUDWLYH 5DWKHU WKDQ PDUVKDO ORJLFDO DUJXPHQWV DQG HPSLULFDO GDWD FULWLFDO UDFH WKHRULVWV WHOO VWRULHV Âł Ă&#x20AC;FWLRQDO VFLHQFH Ă&#x20AC;FWLRQDO TXDVL Ă&#x20AC;FWLRQDO DXWRELRJUDSKLFDO DQHFGRWDOÂłGHVLJQHG WR H[SRVH WKH SHUYDVLYH DQG GHELOLWDWLQJ UDF LVP RI $PHULFD WRGD\ Âľ Autobiographical, anecdotal evidence designed to expose the GHELOLWDWLQJ UDFLVP RI $PHULFD WRGD\ 7KLV VWULNHV PH DV D JUHDW GHVFULSWLRQ RI RXU )HEUXDU\ DVVHPEO\ &ULWLFDO 5DFH 7KHRU\ VWDWHV D VLPSOH WKHVLV EXW RIIHUV QRWK LQJ LQ WKH ZD\ RI D VROXWLRQ RU D SDWK WR ZDUG EHWWHU UDFH UHODWLRQV 7KLV LV EHFDXVH LWV LGHRORJLFDO IRXQGHU GLGQ¡W VKDUH 'U .LQJ¡V GUHDP RI UDFLDO FRRSHUDWLRQ 'HU ULFN %HOO PDLQWDLQHG WKDW ´ZKLWHV ZLOO SUR PRWH UDFLDO DGYDQFHV IRU EODFNV RQO\ ZKHQ WKH\ DOVR SURPRWH ZKLWH VHOI LQWHUHVW Âľ +RZ GR ZH GHDO ZLWK WKLV LGHRORJ\"
$V -XGJH $OH[ .R]LQVNL SXWV LW ´+RZ GRHV RQH KDYH D PHDQLQJIXO GLDORJXH ZLWK 'HUULFN %HOO" %HFDXVH KLV WKHVLV LV XWWHUO\ XQWHVWDEOH RQH TXLFNO\ UHDFKHV D GHDG HQG DIWHU HLWKHU DFFHSWLQJ RU UHMHFWLQJ KLV DV VHUWLRQ WKDW ZKLWH $PHULFDQV ZRXOG FKHHU IXOO\ VHOO DOO EODFNV WR WKH DOLHQV Âľ 0RUH LPSRUWDQWO\ ZK\ KDYH RXU QDWLRQ¡V LQWHO OHFWXDOV FKRVHQ WKLV LGHRORJ\ ² ZKLFK SLWV EODFN DJDLQVW ZKLWH ² DV WKDW ZKLFK ZLOO GH Ă&#x20AC;QH UDFH UHODWLRQV IRU WKH QH[W JHQHUDWLRQ" ,QVWHDG RI WDFNOLQJ WKH LQQDWH UDFLDO ELDVHV WKDW KXPDQV KDYH DQG WUDLQLQJ RXU FLWL]HQV WR GLVUHJDUG UDFH LQ WKHLU GHDOLQJV ZLWK HDFK RWKHU ZH DUH UH HUHFWLQJ UDFLDO EDUULHUV 7KLV SLHFH LV LQWHQGHG WR SURYRNH WKRXJKW ,W LV QRWKLQJ PRUH WKDQ RQH PDQ¡V RSLQLRQ 0U (YDQV FODLPHG KH ZDQWHG D FRQYHUVDWLRQ RQ UDFH DW +DYHUIRUG DQG , KRSH WKLV ZLOO DGG WR WKDW FRQYHUVDWLRQ %XW QR DPRXQW RI SUHDFKLQJ DZDUHQHVV DQG FRQVFLRXVQHVV FDQ UHSODFH DFWXDO LQ WHJUDWLRQ ,Q 'DYLG %URRNV¡ ZRUGV ´,Q D IULHQGVKLS SHR SOH GRQ¡W VLW DURXQG WDONLQJ DERXW WKHLU IULHQGVKLS 7KH\ GR WKLQJV WRJHWKHU 7KURXJK FRPPRQ HQGHDYRU SHRSOH RYHUFRPH GLIIHU HQFH WR EHFRPH IULHQGV Âľ %RWK LQ $PHULFD DQG DW 7KH 3UHVLGHQWLDO (OHFWLRQ ZDV KHDYLO\ GLYLGHG RQ UDFLDO OLQHV +DYHUIRUG FRP
PRQ HQGHDYRU ZLOO LPSURYH UDFH UHODWLRQV &RPPRQ HQGHDYRU FDQQRW H[LVW LQ D VRFLHW\ JRYHUQHG E\ &ULWLFDO 5DFH 7KHRU\ &RP PRQ HQGHDYRU FDQQRW H[LVW ZKHQ WKH ZKLWH FDQGLGDWH LQ WKH ODVW 3UHVLGHQWLDO HOHFWLRQ GUHZ RI WKH ZKLWH YRWH DQG WKH EODFN FDQGLGDWH GUHZ RI WKH EODFN YRWH :H KDYH IRU WKH PRVW SDUW DFKLHYHG FLYLO ULJKWV DQG ZH KDYH DFKLHYHG UDFLDO DZDUH QHVV EXW ZH KDYH QRW DFKLHYHG UDFLDO LQWH JUDWLRQ 7KH TXHVWLRQ LV GR ZH ZDQW WR WU\"
:LNLPHGLD
7KH RIW TXRWHG 'U 0DUWLQ /XWKHU .LQJ -U
The Two Most Harmful Words in the English Language with  motivation.  His  underlying  message  that  kids  are  too  complacent  these  days  is  and  Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  eyes  meet  at  the  end  of  valid.  The  best  method  to  cultivate  talent  the  movie,  Fletcher  sees  success  after  all  LV WR PDLQWDLQ FRQÂżGHQFH DQG PRWLYDWLRQ his  efforts  of  pushing  his  students  to  the  ZLWKRXW VDFULÂżFLQJ HLWKHU $W OHDVW IURP P\ breaking  point.  One  student  got  left  behind,  perspective,  constant  praise  is  like  iron  in  but  Andrew  managed  to  endure,  and  rose  your  body.  Too  much,  and  it  is  detrimental;Íž  to  the  challenge.  Two  different  people.  One  but  some  is  still  necessary.  In  order  to  dead  from  suicide,  and  one  a  legendary  JHW DKHDG LQ WRGD\ÂśV ÂżHUFHO\ FRPSHWLWLYH musician.  Fletcher  used  the  same  brutality  world,  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d  still  chose  to  hear  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not  good  on  both  kids,  expecting  grandeur  from  both.  enoughâ&#x20AC;?  any  day  over  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good  Jobâ&#x20AC;?.       Just  imagine  for  a  moment:  If  your  baseball  team  missed  winning  the  National  High  School  Invitational  by  one  point.  Would  you  feel  better  if  your  coach,  although  dejected,  said  to  your  team  that  you  guys  played  well,  and  did  a  good  job  already?  Obviously  youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d  feel  a  bit  more  consoled,  DPD]RQ FRP but  what  about  the  - . 6LPPRQV ULJKW SOD\V D KDUVK GLUHFWRU LQ :KLSODVK tougher  question:  However,  he  made  the  mistake  of  using  Would  your  team  strive  to  win  next  year  if  the  same  methods  on  two  different  people  your  coach  yelled  at  the  entire  team  about  with  different  abilities  and  capacities.  WKH Ă&#x20AC;DZV RI \RXU WHDP DQG WKH VWUHQJWKV RI      Obviously,  not  many  people  in  our  the  other  team?  Would  you  prefer  constant  society  imitate  Fletcherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  extremes.  praise  over  constant  pushing  from  a  coach,  Later,  in  an  interview  with  the  actor  who  mentor,  or  teacher?  For  those  of  you  who  played  Fletcher,  he  said  that  â&#x20AC;&#x153;children  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  play  baseball,  what  if  you  got  a  C  a  now  [...]  are  being  sort  of  overpraised  math  test,  but  you  were  brought  up  with  for  very  moderate,  modest,  pedestrian  someone  always  saying  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good  Job,â&#x20AC;?  or  accomplishments.â&#x20AC;?  He  then  went  on  to  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  OKâ&#x20AC;??  Getting  a  C  is  nothing  to  cheer  describe  how  a  3-Âyear  old  child  would  be  for,  but  maybe  you  would  just  think  that  congratulated  with  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good  Job!â&#x20AC;?  after  he  or  this  is  normal  for  you,  and  you  should  feel  she  slid  down  a  slide.  In  a  sense,  he  tries  content  about  it.  Maybe  you  would  think,  to  convey  that  we  are  all  being  raised  to  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Well,  I  tried  my  best.â&#x20AC;?  Why  would  anyone  become  complacent  with  what  we  have,  settle  for  a  C  then,  if  getting  help  from  and  that  only  true  legends  capitalize  on  the  teacher  and  learning  more  outside  of  opportunity  and  try  to  pursue  their  dreams  school  could  raise  the  next  grade  to  a  B? Â
:KHQ ´*RRG -RE¾ GRHV PRUH KDUP WKDQ JRRG %LOO :X œ
  Â
Are  the  two  most  poisonous  words  in  American  society  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good  Jobâ&#x20AC;??  I  got  my  inspiration  for  this  question  from  a  movie  I  recently  watched,  :KLSODVK,  in  which  Andrew,  a  motivated  and  talented  drummer,  begins  his  journey  at  Shaffer  &RQVHUYDWRU\ D ÂżFWLWLRXV SUHVWLJLRXV musical  school.  There,  he  is  tormented  and  coached  at  the  same  time  by  Terrence  Fletcher,  a  mean,  intimidating,  and  violent  person  who  also  happens  to  be  one  of  the  best  conservatory  directors.  In  the  movie,  when  explaining  his  actions,  Fletcher  says:  â&#x20AC;&#x153;There  are  no  two  words  in  the  English  language  more  harmful  than  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good  Job.â&#x20AC;?  So,  is  constant  praise  useless  and  detrimental?  Does  constant  pressure  forcing  you  to  do  your  best  let  you  achieve  your  goals  and  create  masterpieces?      Terrence  Fletcherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  exceedingly  extreme  methods  of  brutality,  profanity,  and  once  hurling  a  cymbal  at  a  poor  studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  head  force  his  students  to  perform  their  best.  However,  in  one  scene,  Fletcher  has  tears  streaming  down  his  face  in  front  of  the  entire  jazz  class,  while  he  recounts  how  one  of  his  best  students  died  in  a  car  accident.  Later,  Andrew  learns  the  bitter  truth  that  Fletcher  had  tortured  his  student  into  depression,  then  suicide.  With  such  high  expectations  for  his  students,  Fletcher  truly  â&#x20AC;&#x153;weeds  outâ&#x20AC;?  the  weaker  ones  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  in  this  case,  causing  the  death  of  an  aspiring  young  musician  full  of  potential.  Nonetheless,  Fletcher  continues  to  brutally  train  Andrew  in  the  hopes  that  he  can  realize  his  potential.  Eventually,  after  being  kicked  out  of  Shaffer,  and  going  through  emotionally  traumatizing  moments,  Andrew  rebounds  and  performs  an  extraordinary  drum  solo,  making  himself  a  legend.  When  Fletcher Â
In  this  case,  the  constant  praise  ruined  the  studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  drive  to  do  more,  and  by  falling  back  onto  self-Âassurance,  maybe  this  person  would  never  try  to  seek  to  perform  better.      Praise  once  in  a  while  can  be  a  good  thing  though.  To  get  some  people  motivated,  they  need  a  certain  amount  of  praise  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  and  not  just  empty  praise  either  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  a  sincere,  VSHFLÂżF DQG SHUVRQDO UHFRJQLWLRQ JLYHQ at  the  right  time  and  place.  Maybe  in  our  society,  the  two  most  EHQHÂżFLDO  words  in  the  English  language  are  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thank  You!â&#x20AC;?  Also,  we  need  not  take  extremes;Íž  praise  coupled  with  motivation  can  be  powerful.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nice  job!  Now  letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  see  how  you  do  on  the  next  one!â&#x20AC;?  would  probably  be  more  effective  than:  â&#x20AC;&#x153;You  were  so  slow,  speed  up  next  time!â&#x20AC;?       All  these  thoughts  are  probably  a  product  of  how  I  was  brought  up.  I  was  educated  from  an  Asian  background  since  birth  to  always  do  more,  and  do  better.  It  sounds  clichĂŠ,  but  it  is  true.  I  grew  up  hearing  the  phrases  â&#x20AC;&#x153;No  pain  no  gain,â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Finish  your  ZRUN ÂżUVW ´ DQG Âł ,WÂśV IRU \RXU IXWXUH´ so  much  that  I  grew  tired  whenever  my  parents  would  start  up  again.  After  beating  these  habits  into  my  brain  from  early  \RXWK , JUHZ XS ZRUNLQJ KDUG DQG ÂżHUFHO\ competing  with  others.  As  for  work  attitude  and  seriousness  with  academics,  I  think  WKDW WKLV PHWKRG GHÂżQLWHO\ KHOSHG PH +RZHYHU DIWHU PDQ\ PDQ\ \HDUV RI ÂżJKWV and  â&#x20AC;&#x153;goodâ&#x20AC;?  habits  being  beaten  into  my  KHDG , QRZ IHHO WKDW P\ FRQÂżGHQFH OHYHOV have  taken  big  hits,  and  that  even  though  I  am  a  good  student,  I  never  think  that  I  am  truly  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good  enoughâ&#x20AC;?.  So  although  my  parents  or  Terrence  Fletcher  might  think  that  the  two  words,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good  Job,â&#x20AC;?  are  the  most  detrimental  to  todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  generation,  praise  and  motivation  are  still  both  necessary  towards  pushing  an  individual  past  their  limits,  in  order  to  reach  their  goal. Â
Page 13
The Index
March 2015
Politics
Politics Behind Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Speech and the Israeli Alliance Congress may have overstepped its bounds by bypassing President Obama with regards to Iranian nuclear talks, WKH UDPLĂ&#x20AC;FDWLRQV RI ZKLFK (ULF 3HWHUVHQ Âś GLVFXVVHV (ULF 3HWHUVHQ Âś
  Â
  President  Benjamin  Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  infamous  March  3rd  speech  to  Congress  underscored  political  sands  shifting  in  two  nations  characterized  by  exceptionalism.  The  desire  by  American  lawmakers  to  provide  a  large  role  for  the  United  States  amid  international  politics  has  been  undermined  by  the  Obama  administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  reserved  foreign  policy  decisions,  from  Libya  to  Ukraine.  Simultaneously,  Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  RYHUFRQÂżGHQW DQG SRZHU KXQJU\ ULJKWLVWV long  frustrated  by  President  Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  stance  on  Israeli  settlements  in  the  West  Bank,  hoped  to  score  some  political  capital  before  the  national  elections.  These  interests  intersected  one  night  on  Capitol  Hill.  The  consequences  for  both  sides  are  still  unfolding,  however  both  ambitious  Republicans  and  the  often  arrogant  Israeli  leadership  are  suffering  from  their  semi- legal  choice.        The  Republicans  in  the  House,  helmed  by  John  Boehner,  led  the  months-Âlong  ¿JKW WR DOORZ 3UHVLGHQW 1HWDQ\DKX WR speak  before  legislators.  Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  conservative  outlook  on  foreign  involvement  in  the  Middle  East  matches  perfectly  with  hawkish  Republicansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  desire  to  see  ISIS  crushed  and  Iran  humiliated.  The  problem  with  the  speech  was  that  President  Obama  refused  to  meet  with  his  Israeli  counterpart.  Although  many  right-Âleaning  Israeli  publications  decried  the  decision  as  pettiness,  the  Obama  administration  had  established  a  precedent  of  not  meeting  with  foreign  leaders  shortly  before  elections.  In  theory,  this  would  halt  world  leaders  from  using  the  US  president  as  a  platform  to  gain  prestige  and  votes.  The  Republicans  and  Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Likud  Party  had  other  ideas.      Republican  leadership  in  both  the  House  of  Representatives  and  Senate  criticized  Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  decision  and  cleared  Netanyahu  to  speak.  Predictably,  the  opportunistic  Netanyahu  agreed  and  talked  about  the  dangers  of  Iran  and  the  need  to  combat  radical  Islam  in  the  region.  The  speech  clearly  resonated  with  conservative  leaders,  and  just  days  later,  forty  seven  members  of  the  Senate  wrote  an  unprecedented  letter  to  Iranian  leadership,  threatening Â
the  failure  of  implementing  any  peace  reached  through  the  talks.  The  group  was  led  by  Tom  Cotton,  an  extremely  ambitious  freshmen  Senator  from  Arkansas  with  credentials  from  Harvard  Law  and  service  in  the  Marine  Corps.  The  thirty-Âseven  year  old  is  widely  rumored  to  have  his  eyes  on  a  White  House  run  in  a  few  cycles,  and  his  need  to  build  a  resume  broke  basic  Congressional  protocol  stretching  from  1799.      Emboldened  by  Netanyahu,  the  Republicansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  letter  violated  the  Logan  Act,  forbidding  American  citizens  from  conducting  diplomacy  without  the  Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  approval.  No  Congress  since  the  eighteenth  century  has  dared  to  break  the  law,  but  only  with  the  GOPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  hatred  of  President  Obama  and  track  record  of  respecting  procedure  could  such  an  act  not  be  accompanied  by  investigations  and  trials.  Republican  disrespect  towards  the  President  has  reached  a  level  that  many  in Â
     The  events  of  March  3rd  played  out  differently  in  Israel  in  a  far  more  negative  manner  for  Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  largest  party,  Likud,  led  by  Benjamin  Netanyahu.  To  fully  understand  the  situation,  an  observer  must  recognize  the  political  climate  in  Israel.  The  once  invincible  right-Âwing  coalition  dominating  politics  in  the  coastal  nation  has  experienced  many  extremes  in  the  past  year,  with  huge  amounts  of  political  theatre.      Through  most  of  2014,  Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  right-Âwing  Likud  Party  governed  with  a  coalition  of  far-Âright,  centrist,  and  religious  parties.  Likud  was  surging  in  polls,  and  President  Netanyahu  felt  burdened  by  constantly  having  to  compromise  on  many  ¿VFDO DQG VRFLDO LVVXHV &RQÂżGHQW LQ KLV SDUW\ÂśV SRZHUIXO SRVLWLRQ KH ÂżUHG WZR cabinet  ministers  representing  the  interests  of  two  centrist  parties.  The  coalition  effectively  dissolved  itself,  meaning  that  new  elections  would  have  to  be  called.  Likud  supporters  were  optimistic,  and  many  in  Israel  thought  the  right  would  gain  enough  seats  to  ditch  the  center  entirely  in  government.      Although  the  far-Âright,  led  by  ultra-Â
1HWDQ\DKX VSHDNV LQ IURQW RI &RQJUHVV ZLWK 6SHDNHU -RKQ %RHKQHU ZDWFKLQJ
the  Senate  were  surprised  at  the  backlash.  Unexpectedly  strong,  the  opposition  to  the  letter  mitigated  any  political  gain  the  Republicans  could  have  hoped  to  gain  from  the  incident.  Besides  raising  Tom  &RWWRQœV QDWLRQDO ¿JXUH WKH *23 VHHPV to  have  gained  nothing  from  its  intrusions  into  foreign  policy.
religious  war  hawks,  showed  great  enthusiasm,  most  in  Israel  saw  through  Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  tactics.  Likudâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  momentum  IHOO DSDUW LQ WKH ÂżQDO PRQWKV RI DQG strong  messaging  by  the  left  has  swayed  many  to  reconsider  their  vote  for  reasons  becoming  more  relevant  by  the  day.  Housing  prices  have  risen  by  55%  since Â
Explaining the Iran Nuclear Talks Eusha Hasan outlines the history of sanctions against Iran, how recent developments have played out, and what WKH IXWXUH PD\ KROG          Since  1947,  when  the  State  of  Israel  was  formed  by  the  UN,  many  neighboring  Arab  states,  including  Iran,  have  still  not  even  recognized  the  country,  mainly  due  WR WKH ,VUDHOL 3DOHVWLQLDQ FRQĂ&#x20AC;LFW %HFDXVH of  this,  Iran  created  ties  between  its  government  and  the  terrorist  organization  Hezbollah  so  that  it  may  be  able  to  lead  a  series  of  attack  against  â&#x20AC;&#x153;the  Zionist  Regimeâ&#x20AC;?  to  topple  it.  Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  nuclear  weapons  program  is  widely  viewed  as  threatening  to  Israel,  especially  after  Iranian  President  Mahmoud  Ahmadinejad  said  that  Israel  should  be  â&#x20AC;&#x153;wiped  off  the  face  of  the  map.â&#x20AC;?  Although  Israel  in  recent  years  has  been  taking  countermeasures,  such  as  the  covert  assassinations  of  Iranian  scientists,  there  has  been  no  (XVKD +DVDQ Âś
sign  of  ceasing  the  discord  with  Iran.    The  United  States  and  many  other  nations  have  imposed  sanctions  on  Iran  for  trying  to  build  a  nuclear  warhead  for  years.  In  fact,  Israeli  Prime  Minister  Benjamin  Netanyahu  has  delivered  quite  a  few  talks  to  other  nations  at  UN  meetings  regarding  the  progress  of  Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  nuclear  program,  led  by  the  Islamic  Revolutionary  Guards  &RUSV SRLQWLQJ RXW VSHFLÂżFDOO\ WKDW LQ DQ LQVWDQW ,UDQ FDQ ÂżQLVK PDNLQJ ZDUKHDGV DV soon  as  it  perfects  its  process  of  enriching  uranium,  a  radioactive  element  used  as  the  main  ingredient  of  most  nuclear  reactors.       In  the  recent  months,  this  Iran-ÂIsrael  proxy  FRQĂ&#x20AC;LFW KDV VWDUWHG WR JURZ GUDPDWLFDOO\ LQ popularity  in  the  media.  In  November  of  2014,  negotiators  of  the  United  States  and  its  allies  scrambled  to  reach  a  deal  with  Iran  VR WKDW WKH\ PD\ IXOÂżOO D QHDUE\ GHDGOLQH RQ
New York Magazine
November  31th.  The  U.S  hoped  to  reach  a  deal  that  would  constrain  Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  progress  in  its  nuclear  program  so  that  it  would  take  one  whole  year  for  Iran  to  reproduce  new  material  for  a  warhead.  However,  these  world  powers  were  unable  to  negotiate  with  Iran,  and  Secretary  of  State  John  Kerry  stated,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  have  made  substantial  progressâ&#x20AC;Ś  but  we  extended  our  thoughts  IRU DQRWKHU VL[ PRQWKV ZLWK D YHU\ VSHFLÂżF JRDO RI ÂżQLVKLQJ WKH SROLWLFDO DJUHHPHQW within  four  months.â&#x20AC;?  In  other  words,  the  U.S  and  its  allies  tried  to  set  a  new  deadline  on  March  31th  for  negotiations  to  limit  Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  progress  of  threatening  its  enemies  with  weapons  of  mass  destruction.       Recently  on  March  15th,  Kerry  traveled  to  Geneva,  Switzerland  to  lay  out  the  framework  of  a  10-Âyear  treaty  treaty,  forcing  Iran  to  deplete  its  fuel  for  a  nuclear  bomb  just  enough  so  that  it  would  take  almost  a  year  to  replenish  all  of  it  again.  Democrats  including  President  Obama  support  this  treaty,  as  it  would  give  Israel  enough  time  to  prepare  for  any  attack  on Â
1HWDQ\DKX WRRN RIÂżFH LQ DQG WKUHDWHQ to  rise  even  higher.  Wealthy  French  Jews  are  moving  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  driving  up  the  cost  of  living  for  Israeli  citizens.  Immigration  from  developed  nations  has  helped  Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  economy,  but  made  life  PRUH GLIÂżFXOW IRU PDQ\ LQ WKH FRXQWU\ÂśV middle  class.  The  left  has  made  promises  of  solutions  to  remove  the  housing  strain,  and  voters  have  followed.      The  left,  led  by  the  Israeli  Labor  Party  and  the  centrist  parties  Likud  dropped,  have  been  making  their  gains  on  economic  issues,  but  are  still  seen  as  weak  in  the  protection  of  Israel.  For  this  reason,  Netanyahu  has  been  desperately  trying  to  upgrade  his  international  credentials.  With  limited  input  on  Iranian  nuclear  talks  and  PLQLPDO LQĂ&#x20AC;XHQFH RQ WKH 6\ULDQ &LYLO :DU just  across  the  Israeli  border,  the  right  are  in  a  rare  position  of  weakness.  The  Likud  coalition  and  power-Âhungry  Benjamin  Netanyahu  decided  that  a  visit  to  Israeliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  most  important  and  arguably  only  ally  would  bolster  his  image.      The  visit  to  the  United  States  was  non- negotiable  for  the  Israeli  president,  just  as  meeting  with  campaigning  foreign  leaders  was  not  an  option  for  President  Obama.  Luckily  for  the  Israeli  right,  their  American  counterparts  were  ready  to  undermine  the  Democrats  at  every  possible  turn.  The  VSHHFK WR &RQJUHVV ZDV VHHQ DV EHQHÂżFLDO to  both  sides,  and  the  Likud  Party  moved  forward.  However,  many  undecided  Israelis  knew  the  move  was  desperate,  and  the  power-Âplay  actually  hurt  the  right- wing  coalition.  Shortly  after  the  infamous  address  to  Congress,  the  Israeli  Labor  Party  moved  ahead  of  Likud  in  polling,  and  it  now  seems  highly  likely  the  left  will  win  the  elections.      Involving  the  United  States  in  Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  2015  elections  might  have  sunk  the  career  of  Benjamin  Netanyahu,  as  his  gamble  failed  to  gain  the  party  any  more  support.  In  fact,  on  the  16th,  the  Israeli  leader  claimed  that  there  will  not  be  a  Palestinian  state  as  long  as  the  right-Âwing  holds  power.  This  threat  to  his  people  has  emboldened  many  on  the  eve  of  the  election  to  rethink  their  vote,  ensuring  that  anything  is  possible  in  the  Middle  Eastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  only  stable  democracy.  Regardless,  the  American  and  Israeli  right  intersected  in  an  unprecedented  international  power  play  that  left  both  sides  questioning  their  decisions.
its  soil  if  Iran  goes  against  this  deal,  and  ensure  that  Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  nuclear  program  is  solely  meant  for  peaceful  reasons.  In  exchange,  the  U.S  and  the  UN  would  stop  sanctions  imposed  on  Iran  before  the  agreement.  Unfortunately,  in  the  recent  weeks,  much  more  tension  and  a  dichotomy  of  stances  on  this  issue  have  recently  been  released  to  the  public  through  the  media.       On  March  3rd,  Benjamin  Netanyahu  himself  arrived  in  front  of  Congress  without  the  Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  consent  to  deliver  a  speech  against  the  deal  currently  on  the  table  for  Iran.  The  Israeli  Prime  Minister  said,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;That  deal  will  not  prevent  Iran  from  developing  nuclear  weapons.  It  would  all  but  guarantee  that  Iran  gets  those  weapons,  lots  of  them  ...  according  to  the  deal,  not  a  single  nuclear  facility  would  be  demolished.  Thousands  of  centrifuges  used  to  enrich  uranium  would  be  left  spinning. Continued  on  Page  15
Page 14
The Index
March 2015
Politics
Consequences of Anti-Establishment Populism in Europe Eric Petersen â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;15 analyzes a recent shift in European SROLWLFV WRZDUG SDUWLHV RQ WKH IDU OHIW DQG IDU ULJKW (ULF 3HWHUVHQ Âś
        When  a  Haverford  student  thinks  of  polarizing  political  struggles,  he  will  probably  think  of  Congress  and  the  differences  between  the  two  mainstream  political  parties,  however  the  United  States  is  essentially  tame  when  compared  to  the  layered  mesh  of  ideologies  emerging  in  Europe.  The  recent  elections  in  Greece  are  just  one  example  of  the  second  wave  of  reactionary  parties  that  formed  in  the  wake  RI WKH ÂżQDQFLDO FULVLV 7R IXOO\ XQGHUVWDQG how  the  radical  left  won  in  Greece,  the  recession  itself  has  to  be  examined.      Since  the  meltdown  of  2008,  growth  throughout  Europe  has  been  anemic,  if  existent  at  all.  Unemployment  has  spiked,  and  in  some  countries  over  20%  of  the  working-Âage  population  has  been  searching  without  success  for  a  job.  Government  budgets  were  stretched  by  the  sharp  uptick  spending  on  the  unemployed  and  impoverished,  and  several  nations,  like  Greece  and  Ireland,  found  themselves  perilously  close  to  defaulting  on  their  debt.  Some  countries  fared  much  better  than  others,  and  Germany,  the  largest  economy  in  the  Eurozone,  pushed  its  neighbors  to  recover  through  austerity.  Using  the  European  Central  Bank  and  other  authorities,  German  Chancellor  Angela  Merkel  and  other  prominent  mainstream  Europeans  made  austerity  the  centerpiece  for  the  Continentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  recovery.  With  the  stringent  policy  came  a  rollback  of  governmental  aid,  and  many  of  the  unemployed  felt  the  consequences  that  budget  balancing  created.  Although  the  European  governments  were  saved,  many  of  their  struggling  people  were  worsened.      Because  of  this  perceived  allegiance  to  the  European  Union  over  the  people  themselves,  an  initial  explosion  of  far-Âright  regionalism  appeared,  threatening  to  derail  the  center-Âright  and  center-Âleft  parties,  the  leaders  of  Europe  since  the  Second  World  War.  Similar  in  some  ways  to  the  Democrats  and  Republicans  of  our  country,  these  two Â
coalitions  of  parties  had  worked  together  to  install  cross-Âborder  agencies  and  greater  freedom  of  movement.  This  pan-ÂEuropean  cooperation  quickly  turned  into  a  liability  for  the  parties  who  championed  European  unity  just  years  before.  The  â&#x20AC;&#x153;True  Finnsâ&#x20AC;?  in  )LQODQG KHUDOGHG WKH VWDUW RI WKH ÂżUVW ZDYH RI anti-ÂEurope  parties  in  2011,  and  more  were  soon  to  follow.  The  Sweden  Democrats  in  Scandinavia  and  National  Front  in  France  made  unprecedented  gains  amid  the  new  political  reality.  These  far-Âright  parties  promised  to  halt  immigration,  and  stop  the  perceived  encroachment  of  European  agencies.  By  pandering  to  unemployed  and  lower-Âmiddle  class  workers  of  the  ethnic  majority,  once  tiny  parties  garnering  increasingly  large  shares  of  the  vote.  By  2014,  British  voters  made  the  United  Kingdom  Independence  Party  their  largest  delegation  to  the  European  Parliament.  Ironically,  the  UKIP  hopes  to  withdraw  Britain  permanently  from  the  assembly  and  further  isolate  the  Island  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  Although  the  far-Âright  gained  votes  through  vague  economic  promises  and  an  appeal  to  a  nostalgic  age  with  no  foreigners  or  social  progress,  the  far-Âleft  uses  the  same  populism  with  different  ideals      The  second  wave  of  anti-ÂEuropean  parties  emerged  from  the  far-Âleft,  a  coalition Â
pushed  to  the  fringes  of  European  politics  after  the  collapse  of  the  Iron  Curtain.  Leftist  parties  in  Eastern  Europe  almost  disappeared,  and  in  the  West,  Communist  Parties  were  replaced  with  leftist  ones  closer  to  socialism  and  the  center-Âleft.  These  groups  operated  at  the  fringes  of  parliaments,  and  were  almost  always  in  the  opposition.  However,  their  fortunes  are  quickly  changing.  Harsh  reactions  to  austerity  in  Europe  had  initially  spurred  many  leftists  to  coalesce  around  center- left  leaders  like  French  President  &  Socialist  leader  Francois  Hollande.  When  mainstream  socialists  were  seen  agreeing  more  with  the  center-Âright,  perpetually  embodied  by  Angela  Merkel  and  Germany,  many  on  the  far-Âleft  became  disillusioned  with  the  unfavorable  political  spectrum.   However,  in  the  past  few  months  several  parties  have  emerged  that  have  challenged  both  Europe  and  nativists,  the  establishment  and  the  far-Âright.  These  far-Âleft  populist  PRYHPHQWV VDZ WKHLU ÂżUVW PDMRU YLFWRU\ with  Alexis  Tspirasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Syriza  coalition  in  embattled  Greece,  and  promise  to  create  more  change  and  anti-Âestablishment  sentiment  across  the  Continent.  A  leftist  movement  called  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Podemosâ&#x20AC;?  recently  formed  in  Spain,  threatening  major  parties  in  the  Eurozoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  4th  largest  economy.  Even  more  seem  poised  to  spring  up  across  Southern  Europe  in  response  to  the  austerity  of  the  center-Âright  and  the  sense Â
0DULQH /H 3HQ 3UHVLGHQW RI )UDQFH¡V XOWUD FRQVHUYDWLYH )URQW 1DWLRQDO 3DUW\
of  a  complacent  center-Âleft.  But  why  is  this  important  to  a  Haverford  student?      When  asked  about  the  rise  of  fringe  parties  like  National  Front  in  France  and  Syriza  in  Greece,  many  Haverford  students  say  they  have  never  heard  of  these  parties  that  were  obscure  even  in  Europe  until  recently.  Some,  like  sixth  former  Avery  Weiss,  register  some  concern,  noting  â&#x20AC;&#x153;their  anti-ÂEU  policiesâ&#x20AC;?  and  dangerous  â&#x20AC;&#x153;pro-ÂPutin  sentiment.â&#x20AC;?  Both  offer  important  reasons  why  Haverfordians,  and  Americans,  should  watch  closely  the  elections  unfolding  in  Europe.  Leaders  like  Alexis  Tspiras  of  Greece  hope  to  weaken  the  European  links  that  help  connect  economies  and  people,  putting  Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  recovery  further  in  doubt.  Some  in  Tspirasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  party  have  even  suggested  a  default  on  Greeceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  debt,  which  would  send  Europe  into  another  recession,  quite  possibly  taking  the  United  States  as  well.      Many  of  the  anti-Âestablishment  parties  across  Europe  also  have  connections  to  Putinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Russia,  and  praise  the  dictatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  morally  reprehensible  actions.  Marine  Le  Pen,  the  xenophobic  leader  of  the  National  Front,  has  publicly  stated  her  admiration  for  Vladimir  Putin  several  times.  Russian  banks  offer  loans  to  her  campaign,  and  as  her  partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  power  rises,  the  worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  5th  largest  economy  moves  closer  into  Russiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  orbit.  However,  the  far-Âright  populists  are  not  the  only  supporters  of  the  Russian  government.  Instead  of  grappling  with  loans  IURP WKH (8 $OH[LV 7VSLUDVÂśV ÂżUVW DFWLRQ as  Prime  Minister  was  to  defend  Russiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  meddling  in  Ukraine.  He  condemned  the  EU  for  harming  the  Russian  economy,  and  spoke  against  further  sanctions.  Only  after  he  paid  his  respects  to  Vladimir  Putin  did  he  press  his  European  neighbors  for  more  loans.  From  the  fringes  of  the  political  spectrum,  the  far-Âright  and  far-Âleft,  a  dangerous  populism  has  emerged  over  the  past  few  years.  Although  a  newly  formed  coalition  in  Greece  or  a  once  anti-ÂSemitic  party  in  France  may  not  seem  relevant  to  young  Americans,  they  represent  a  larger  political  trend  emerging  in  Europe  that  threatens  economic  and  social  chaos  far  beyond  the  Continentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  borders.
GLJLWDOMRXUQDO FRP
Inequality Takes Center Stage Ahead of 2016 Elections 'UHZ 6WHUPDQ Âś
     Within  a  year  and  a  half,  the  United  States  might  be  in  for  one  of  the  most  volatile  elections  of  recent  history.  With  no  clear  cut  party  candidates  and  a  brutal  deadlock  in  D.C.,  it  is  impossible  to  analyze  what  could  possibly  occur.  However,  it  is  quite  obvious  that  income  inequality  will  be  one  of  the  forefront  issues  of  the  2016  election.      Economic  inequality  is  such  a  hot  topic  issue  that  one  mention  of  the  subject  can  bring  about  a  ripple  effect  of  media.  The  wealth  gap  between  Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  high  income  group  and  everyone  else  has  reached  record  high  levels  since  the  economic  recovery  from  the  Great  Recession  of  2007-Â09,  with  a  clear  trajectory  of  increasing  wealth  for  the  upper-Âincome  families  and  no  wealth  growth  for  the  middle-  and  lower-Âincome  families.  In  2013,  it  was  discovered  that  the  median  wealth  of  the  nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  upper- income  families  ($639,400)  was  nearly  seven  times  the  median  wealth  of  middle- income  families  ($96,500),  the  widest  wealth  gap  the  Federal  Reserve  had  seen  since  it  began  recording  the  statistic  nearly  thirty  years  ago.  This  problem  is  not  limited  to  the  United  States.  The  income  gap  EHWZHHQ WKH ÂżIWK RI WKH ZRUOGÂśV SRSXODWLRQ living  in  the  worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  richest  countries  and  WKH ÂżIWK LQ WKH SRRUHVW FRXQWULHV JUHZ
from  30  to  1  in  1960,  up  to  60  to  1  in  1990  increasing  all  the  way  to  74  to  1  in  1997.       Since  the  recession,  the  estimated  wealth  gap  between  upper-Âincome  and  middle-Âincome  families  has  surprisingly  increased.  In  2010,  the  median  wealth  of  upper-Âincome  families  was  6.2  times  the  median  wealth  of  middle-Âincome  families.  By  2013,  that  wealth  ratio  grew  to  6.6.  The  difference  between  wealth  held  by  the  top  1  percent  and  the  rest  of  the  country  has  climbed  back  up  to  levels  not  seen  since  the  roaring  20s  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  a  period  that  culminated  in  economic  disaster.      According  to  a  recent  report  by  the  Council  of  Economic  Advisers,  if  the  share  of  income  going  to  the  bottom  90  percent  was  the  same  in  2013  as  it  was  in  1973,  median  annual  household  income  (adjusted  for  family  size)  would  be  18  percent,  or  about  $9,000,  higher  than  it  is  now.      Although  there  may  seem  to  be  a  frightening  precedent,  there  is  no  real  solution  to  inequality.  In  a  free  market  capitalist  society,  such  as  the  United  States,  economic  inequality  will  always  exist  (sorry  communism).  High  levels  of  income  inequality  can  have  negative  effects  on  long  term  economic  growth,  employment,  DQG FODVV FRQĂ&#x20AC;LFW *UDGXDWHG WD[DWLRQ is  often  suggested  as  a  way  to  mitigate  the  societal  ills  associated  with  higher Â
income  inequality.  The  implementation  of  a  graduated  income  tax  has  found  very  little  success  in  ameliorating  the  wealth  gap.  The  difference  between  the  Gini  index(a  measure  for  inequality  [0  =  equal,  1  =  controlled  by  a  single  person])  for  an  income  distribution  before  taxation  and  the  Gini  index  after  taxation  is  an  indicator  for  the  effects  of  such  taxation.  The  higher  taxes  has  lead  to  record  numbers  of  tax  evasion  from  the  upper  class,  as  well  as  an  increase  in  money  laundering  through  overseas  accounts.       There  is  something  called  the  Kuznetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  hypothesis  that  should  be  able  to  predict  the  trend  of  inequality  in  an  economy.  Simon  Kuznet  theorized  that  inequality  would  act  as  a  bell  curve,  where  an  economy  develops,  increasing  inequality,  and  then  the  basic  forces  of  supply  and  demand  would  eventually  level  out  the  inequality  and  return  it  to  its  natural  state. $FFRUGLQJ WR .X]QHWVÂś LQĂ&#x20AC;XHQWLDO hypothesis,  income  inequality  should  follow  an  inverse-ÂU  shape  along  the  GHYHORSPHQW SURFHVV ÂżUVW ULVLQJ ZLWK industrialization  and  then  declining,  as  more  and  more  workers  join  the  high- productivity  sectors  of  the  economy.  Today,  the  Kuznets  curve  is  widely  held  to  have  doubled  back  on  itself,  especially  in  the  United  States,  with  the  period  of Â
IDOOLQJ LQHTXDOLW\ REVHUYHG GXULQJ WKH ÂżUVW half.  The  trend  shows  no  sign  of  reversing.      Economic  inequality  hurts  America.  It  affects  the  idea  of  class  mobility,  the  basis  of  the  American  dream,  and  one  of  the  few  morals  that  has  remained  the  same  in  the  annals  of  American  history.  The  Organization  for  Economic  Cooperation  and  Development  stated  this  past  December  that  the  rising  income  inequality  has  weakened  economic  growth  in  most  developed  economies,  and  policies  that  seek  to  redistribute  income  through  high  taxes  on  the  rich  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  slow  growth.      Is  there  a  plausible  solution  to  this  ever-Âwidening  gap?  Bill  Gates,  who  has  vowed  to  give  away  half  of  78.6  billion  dollar  net  worth  by  the  end  of  his  life,  doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  want  to  discourage  the  wealthy  who  take  risks,  invest  in  value-Âcreating  businesses,  and  help  the  world  through  philanthropy.  Gates  has  provided  an  alternate  solution.  Shift  the  American  tax  system  from  one  that  taxes  labor  and  income  to  one  that  taxes  consumption.  This  would  deter  the  extremely  wealthy  from  spending  large  portion  of  his  or  her  wealth  on  â&#x20AC;&#x153;conspicuous  consumption.â&#x20AC;?      Its  hard  to  conceive  a  United  States  where  inequality  does  not  exist,  and  although  it  will  never  happen,  the  current  numbers  seem  to  be  appalling.
Page 15
The Index
March 2015
Politics
State of the Union: Outlining Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Economic Plan :LOO +HQGHUVRQ Âś DUJXHV DJDLQVW %DUDFN 2EDPD¡V proposal to support the middle class with further tax hikes RQ WKH ZHDOWK\ :LOO +HQGHUVRQ Âś
  Â
In  his  sixth  State  of  the  Union  Address,  President  Barack  Obama  somehow  claimed  victory  in  the  United  Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  economic  â&#x20AC;&#x153;boostâ&#x20AC;?  since  the  Great  Recession.  Amid  some  of  the  slowest  economic  growth  since  the  Great  Depression,  an  increase  in  the  unemployment  rate  for  two  straight  months,  and  six  straight  years  of  the  highest  government  spending  in  American  history,  the  president  somehow  thinks  that  United  States  is  on  the  right  track.  Obama  went  on  to  state  several  issues  during  his  speech  that  he  would  like  to  address  in  the  upcoming  year  like  yet  another  tax  increase  on  the  wealthy,  an  additional  tax  decrease  for  the  middle  class,  a  capital  gains  tax,  an  increase  of  the  minimum  wage,  and  a  law  forcing  companies  to  give  paid  sick  leaves.  With  the  November  elections  maintaining  the  GOP  majority  in  the  House  and  Republicans  gaining  a  majority  in  the  Senate,  President  Obama  continues  to  ignore  any  sort  of  bipartisanship  and  has  began  yet  another  year  full  of  Dictator  Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  agenda  and  not  President  Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.  But,  what  effect  would  these  policies  have  on  the  American  people?      President  Obama  has  proposed  another  tax  increase  on  the  wealthy  and  a  tax  decrease  on  the  middle  class.  Since  he  took  RIÂżFH LQ WKH SUHVLGHQW KDV LQFUHDVHG the  income  tax  on  the  top  US  earners  to  about  40%.  In  doing  this,  the  wealthiest  Americans  account  for  about  68%  of  the  total  tax  revenue  that  the  government  received  last  year.  On  the  other  hand,  the  bottom  50%  of  Americans  accounted  for  just  3%  of  the  governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  tax  revenue  last  year.  So,  why  does  the  president  feel  the  need  to  continually  increase  taxes  on  the  wealthy  and  decrease  them  for  the  middle  class?  The  simple  answer  is  that  Obama  wants  funding  for  his  programs  that  have  continually  proved  to  not  work.  If  the  president  increased  the  taxes  on  the  wealthy,  the  smartest  thing  to  do  would  be  to  give  the  money  to  programs  that  already  exist  and  for  once,  decrease  the  US  debt.  However,  President  Obama  would  rather  the  money  go  to  the  middle  class  because  he  feels  that  they  are  at  a  disadvantage,  HYHQ WKRXJK WKH\ KDYH VLJQLÂżFDQWO\ ORZHU LQFRPH WD[ UDWHV DQG DGGLWLRQDO EHQHÂżWV from  the  government.  In  addition  to  a  tax  increase  on  the  wealthy,  Obama  wants  a  tax  decrease  on  the  middle  class.  This  tax  decrease  is  not  the  way  to  give  the  middle  class  a  boost.  The  notion  that  in  order  to  help  some  Americans,  others  have  to  be  hurt  is  simply  not  true.  First  of  all,  the  wealthiest  Americans  are  the  only  people Â
creating  jobs  for  others,  so  why  punish  them  for  helping  the  economy?  Second,  if  a  middle  class  American  eventually  works  hard  enough  to  have  a  relatively  high  income,  they  will  still  have  an  income  closer  to  that  of  a  middle  class  American  after  taxes  because  of  the  absurdly  high  tax  rates  for  the  upper  class.  This  is  the  GHÂżQLWLRQ RI VRFLDOLVP $V KH SURSRVHG these  new  income  tax  increases  and  decreases  during  his  speech,  President  Obama  did  not  shed  light  on  the  fact  that  if  these  laws  are  passed,  Americans  can  be  comforted  by  the  idea  that  the  harder  they  work,  the  more  taxes  they  get  to  pay,  and  the  less  money  they  get  to  keep.  In  addition  to  new  income  tax  policies,  President  Obama  also  outlined  a  proposal  to  tax  capital  gains,  a  policy  that  would  VLJQLÂżFDQWO\ ORZHU WKH DPRXQW RI PRQH\ that  Americans  get  from  inheritances. Â
7KH VKDUH RI IHGHUDO WD[HV SDLG E\ WKH ZHDOWK\ KDV LQFUHDVHG RYHU WLPH
 Â
  Thousands  more  would  be  temporarily  disconnected,  but  not  destroyedâ&#x20AC;Ś  because  virtually  all  the  restrictions  on  Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  nuclear  program  will  automatically  expire  in  about  a  decade.  Now,  a  decade  may  seem  like  a  long  time  in  political  life,  but  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  the  blink  of  an  eye  in  the  life  of  a  nation.  Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  a  blink  of  an  eye  in  the  life  of  our  children.  We  all  have  a  responsibility  to  consider  what  will  happen  when  Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  nuclear  capabilities  are  virtually  unrestricted  and  all  the  sanctions  will  have  been  lifted.  Iran  would  then  be  free  to  build  a  huge  nuclear  capacity  that  could  product  many,  many Â
WD[IRXQGDWLRQ RUJ
In  1997,  President  Bill  Clinton,  a  Democratic  president  known  for  his  bipartisanship,  decreased  the  capital  gains  tax  from  28%  to  20%,  allowing  Americans  to  keep  more  of  the  money  with  which  they  have  invested  in  and  helped  the  US  economy.  Now,  in  2015,  our  stubborn  president  has  decided  to  try  to  change  the  capital  gains  tax  so  that  it  is  once  again  28%.  Obama  has,  for  some  reason,  determined  that  Americans  should  not  be  allowed  to  keep  as  much  of  the  money  that  they  invest  in  the  economy,  and  instead,  the  government  should  get  to  keep  it.  The  president  says  that  the  government  would  ideally  use  the  money  raised  from  the  capital  gains  tax  to  PDNH HYHQ PRUH SURJUDPV WKDW EHQH¿W WKH
rate  to  go  up,  corporate  earnings  reports  to  go  down,  and  another  recession.  The  argument  for  minimum  wage  to  increase  is  that  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  simply  not  enough  money  off  of  which  to  live,  but  it  actually  accumulates  to  DERXW SHU ZHHN EDVHG RQ D ÂżYH GD\ work-Âweek.  In  addition  to  the  $435  weekly  LQFRPH WKHVH ZRUNHUV DOVR KDYH EHQHÂżWV from  the  government  giving  them  money  from  top  earners,  for  no  additional  work,  and  they  also  have  a  lower  income  tax  rate  than  other  Americans.  So,  why  does  the  president  still  feel  the  need  to  do  more  for  them?  It  is  because  they  are  the  people  that  voted  for  him.  60%  of  people  with  a  salary  lower  than  $50,000  voted  for  Obama  in Â
nuclear  bombs.â&#x20AC;?  This  part  of  the  speech,  laying  out  the  fundamental  belief  of  Israel  and  congressional  Republicans  against  the  deal,  has  sparked  turmoil  between  the  two  sides  regarding  the  deal.  President  Obama  even  gave  a  response  in  retaliation  to  Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  spontaneous  Congressional  speech,  saying  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  prime  minister  didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  offer  any  viable  alternativesâ&#x20AC;?  and  â&#x20AC;&#x153;This  will  be  the  best  deal  possible  to  prevent  Iran  from  obtaining  a  nuclear  weapon.  Nothing  else  comes  close.  Sanctions  wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  do  it.  Military  action  would  not  be  as  successful  as  the  deal  that  we  have  put  forward.â&#x20AC;?  $V H[SHFWHG 5HSXEOLFDQV WULHG ÂżQGLQJ a  way  to  enforce  Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  plea  against Â
Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  proposed  negotiation  with  Iran.  On  March  9th,  47  Republican  senators  sent  a  letter  to  Tehran,  the  capital  of  Iran,  writing  that  any  deal  made  by  President  Obama  not  approved  by  the  legislative  branch  could  easily  be  dismissed  by  the  next  president  â&#x20AC;&#x153;with  the  stroke  of  a  pen.â&#x20AC;?  Democrats  saw  this  letter  as  a  stunt  to  increase  the  media  coverage  of  the  nuclear  talks  with  Iran,  with  President  Obama  even  jokingly  remarking,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  somewhat  ironic  to  see  some  members  of  Congress  wanting  to  make  common  cause  with  the  hard-Âliners  in  Iran.  Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  an  unusual  coalition.â&#x20AC;?  In  fact,  Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  foreign  minister  Mohammad  Javad  Zarif  replied,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;In  our Â
Nuclear Talks (continued)      Continued  from  Page  13  Â
middle  class  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  not  the  upper  class,  not  the  lower  class,  not  every  single  American,  not  our  broken  education  system,  not  to  combat  foreign  and  domestic  enemies,  not  to  reduce  our  17  trillion  dollars  of  debt,  but  to  help  only  the  middle  class.  With  all  of  the  programs  that  already  exist  to  help  the  middle  class  (that  the  president  claims  he  has  created),  why  have  Americans  not  seen  any  results?  Why  does  the  president  say  that  the  systems  he  has  put  in  place  to  help  the  middle  class  work,  but  another  time,  he  says  that  taxes  need  to  be  increased  so  that  WKH PLGGOH FODVV FDQ ³¿QDOO\ EH KHOSHG´" In  addition  to  several  tax  increases,  Obama  proposed  an  increase  in  the  minimum  wage  during  his  State  of  the  Union.      The  current  minimum  wage  in  the  US  is  $7.25  per  hour.  President  Obama  wants  to  increase  the  minimum  wage  by  40%  to  $10.10  per  hour.  However,  if  the  minimum  wage  was  increased  this  dramatically,  companies  would  have  to  lay  off  workers  in  order  to  pay  for  each  of  their  employeesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  salaries.  This  increase  in  the  minimum  wage  would  cause  the  unemployment Â
2012,  which  is  an  extremely  large  group  of  people  considering  the  fact  that  the  median  income  has  lowered  about  $4,000  to  $41,700  since  the  president  was  elected.  In  addition  to  a  minimum  wage  increase,  President  Obama  also  stressed  a  need  for  companies  to  give  paid  sick  leaves  to  generally  improve  the  health  of  the  country.      According  to  a  CBS  News  Poll,  90%  of  sick  people  continue  to  go  to  work.  CBS  speculates  that  so  many  people  go  to  work  while  sick  because  they  cannot  lose  the  money  that  they  make  on  hourly  wages  or  because  they  are  unable  to  work  from  home.  The  president  outlined  a  policy  during  his  State  of  the  Union  speech  that  would  force  companies  to  offer  paid  sick  leaves  in  order  to  lower  the  amount  of  illnesses  spread  in  the  country.  Surprisingly,  there  are  some  good  aspects  to  this  plan.  First,  it  would  obviously  allow  people  to  improve  their  health  and  the  health  of  others.  Second,  it  would  not  cause  the  workers  to  lose  any  money.  However,  this  plan  would  largely  hurt  small  businesses  that  canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  afford  to  lose  their  workers  and  money  at  the  same  time.  However,  this  plan  is  perhaps  the  best  thing  that  the  president  said  all  night.      Throughout  his  entire  speech,  the  President  did  not  outline  one  policy  that  would  cause  the  government  spending  to  decrease,  or  any  programs  that  he  planned  on  cutting.  Each  of  his  economic  policies  outlined  a  plan  that  would  either  hurt  one  group  of  people  or  cause  even  more  government  spending.  With  the  November  elections  resulting  in  some  of  the  largest  majorities  in  the  Senate  and  House  since  World  War  II,  the  president  did  not  acknowledge  either  Republican  majority,  unlike  every  US  president  before  him,  who  at  least  once  in  their  speeches,  acknowledged  the  new  majorities  in  the  House  and  Senate.  What  is  perhaps  most  frightening  about  the  next  two  years  is  the  extreme  lack  of  bipartisanship  that  the  president  has  shown  since  the  114th  Congress  was  elected.  Unlike  Bill  Clinton  and  George  W.  Bush,  who  faced  large  opposition  in  Congress  during  their  last  WZR \HDUV LQ RIÂżFH 3UHVLGHQW 2EDPD has  not  announced  one  issue  on  which  he  would  work  with  Congress,  but  has  instead  told  Congress  that  they  must  work  with  him.  To  put  it  in  perspective,  after  only  one  month  with  a  newly  elected  Congress,  President  Obama  has  already  threatened  to  veto  eleven  bills.  Nearly  all  of  the  economic  policies  that  the  president  outlined  are  those  with  which  Republicans  are  not  willing  to  work.  Clearly,  Americans  sent  Obama  a  message  in  November  by  electing  so  many  Republicans,  so  why  has  he  not  acknowledged  what  Americans  want?  If  one  thing  is  for  sure  in  the  United  States,  it  is  that  the  State  of  the  Union  is  not  strong  because  of  Barack  Obama.
view,  this  letter  has  no  legal  value  and  is  mostly  a  propaganda  ploy.â&#x20AC;?  Obviously,  this  move  by  Republicans  in  the  Senate  did  turn  many  heads,  but  certainly  did  not  help  their  cause  whatsoever.  It  is  the  middle  of  March  as  of  now,  DQG WKH GHDGOLQH RI 0DUFK WK WR ÂżQLVK negotiations  with  Iran  is  beginning  to  close  in.  In  Geneva,  Switzerland,  an  American  diplomat  said  that  if  a  deal  is  not  made  by  March  31th,  an  extension  like  the  one  that  was  made  in  November  of  2014  will  most  likely  never  happen.  Just  today,  Secretary  Kerry  declared  that  â&#x20AC;&#x153;My  hope  is  that  in  WKH QH[W GD\V WKLV ZLOO ÂżQDOO\ EH SRVVLEOH ´