February 2017 Edition

CHRONICLE THE HARVARD-WESTLAKE

Los Angeles • Volume 26 • Issue 5 • Feb. 15, 2017 • hwchronicle.com

School reviews diversity climate assesment

By JEAN SANDERS AND SAMMI HANDLER Some administrators and faculty were not surprised by the results of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Climate Assessment and are beginning to take steps to tackle the issues identified in the report.

“There are lots of things that we want to do,” President Rick Commons said.

“We’re beginning now to try to identify those things which are short term and relatively easy to change.

Things that we can do quickly — and I don’t even have examples yet because that process is just beginning — but I hope to identify a list of things we can change this year, and certainly by next year, to grow in this area.”

During the fall, the third party consultant group HR Matrix had

roughly 200 conversations with students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni to get a sense of what the school does well and what the school needs to improve upon, Commons said. There was no quantifiable data collected in the process but rather quotes and comments about diversity, equity and inclusion.

In sharing the report with the Chronicle, Commons said he wanted to keep the specific comments confidential.

“I did appreciate the direct quotes from our affiliates — parents, faculty, staff, students — because it almost made it feel a little bit more concrete. It’s not just things that we’ve talked about in passing, but it’s things that other people are thinking about or feeling,” Upper School Dean Celso Cardenas said.

Students who feel HW is not diverse

Students who feel HW could do more to promote diversity

68%

38%

• Continued on page A2

Data taken from the February Chronicle poll of 349 students Graphic by Eshanika Chaudhary, Sabrina de Brito and Emily Rahhal

Security has new leads in thief search

By EMILY RAHHAL Security continues to investigate the recent series of thefts in Chalmers primarily affecting the cheerleading squad.

After a confirmed seven cheerleaders’ valuables were stolen during several practices in Chalmers, security began to adjust and add high definition cameras in the hallway to investigate the theft further.

Following the Chronicle’s reporting of these thefts last week, several members of the community have given security new leads as to who the thief may be, including students and other non-faculty

or staff members of the community, Head of Security Jim Crawford said. Security will continue to fact check before they interview suspects.

“We are going to still look into this until we’ve got [it] figured out,” Crawford said.

Rachel Grode ’19 was the first to lose an item when she noticed after practice that her necklace had gone missing from her bag. Eden Sanderson’s ’18 phone went missing Jan. 23 but was found days later in the gender neutral bathroom wiped and without a SIM card, she said.

“It makes me feel unsafe,” Sanderson said. “It’s scary to me that someone has my SIM

card. It’s troubling that someone would take it.”

Following reports of thefts in the hallway in front of the dance studio, security reviewed tapes from the cameras in Chalmers during times of the practices in question, but the bags were out of view.

Next, they went to the cameras outside Chalmers during the time period of interest in an attempt to identify people entering the hallway they didn’t recognize, but there was still nothing out of the ordinary, Crawford said. Crawford also watched the bags himself but saw no suspicious activity.

Given the ambiguity of this case, Interim Head of Upper

School Liz Resnick allowed the cheer team to leave their bags in her office while they practice to prevent further theft.

In a poll sent out by the Chronicle, 81 percent of the students who responded said they feel their belongings are safe on campus, but this might not entirely be the case, Crawford said.

“The school has told everybody, the parents and students, that you can drop your stuff where you want, and nothing’s going to walk away,” Crawford said. “And that’s just not true anymore. You just can’t do that.”

• Continued on page A3

Deans implement new admissions policy

By LAYLA MOGHAVEM AND JESSE NADEL The deans will enact a new admissions policy starting with the class of 2018 where Single-Choice Early Action applications to Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford will be treated as Early Decision applications.

Under this policy, the deans will not allow a student who is accepted to one of the four schools to submit applications to other colleges in the Regular Decision pool. Up-

per School Deans Department Head Beth Slattery said that this policy will hopefully decrease competition.

“An [unhooked] kid who gets into Stanford early is probably a really strong candidate at every place, so if they’re in the regular pools, that kid is likely to have other places also think they’re awesome,” Slattery said. “So them not being in those pools regular does help.”

Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said the deans conducted thorough research

before making this decision.

“I don’t think it was widely known that the deans were looking into this issue, but they’ve been looking into it for many years,” Huybrechts said.

“I know that, while it will be enacted next year, the deans will continue to look at matriculation numbers to make sure that this doesn’t adversely affect anyone and is instead a benefit to the students.”

Slattery said that the deans are willing to make exceptions on the basis of financial aid, though the four schools have

“the best financial aid.”

Slattery said the deans feel that most families have the resources to make an informed decision about what their top choice is earlier on in the process.

“We believe that we have some evidence that [accepted students continuing to apply in the regular pool] actually has negatively impacted other kids, and our goal is really to do what’s in the best interest of all kids,” Slattery said.

• Continued on page A2

Trip raises drinking concerns

By SAMMI HANDLER JESSE NADEL

AND

The school is investigating possible violations of the alcohol policy following the semester break trip to the Inauguration, Interim Head of Upper School Liz Resnick said.

An alum, who was not on the trip but in Washington D.C. and visited the travelling students, confirmed to the Chronicle that there was alcohol in one of the student rooms. A student on the trip also confirmed that there was drinking on the trip.

“This comes as shocking and disturbing news to me,” Visual Arts Department Head and chaperone Cheri Gaulke said. “I was not aware of any students drinking on the trip.

All students signed an agreement that they would not drink alcohol and they would inform the chaperone if they were aware of another student drinking alcohol. Their parents cosigned that agreement.

If, in fact, students violated their promise, I will be very disappointed.”

Although Former Head of Upper School Audrius Barzdukas told the Chronicle in 2015 that the administration would no longer allow outside vendors to serve as chaperones, • Continued on page A8

INSIDE

B2-3

ALMOST, MAINE: Students performed in the school play, which featured nine vignettes set in Maine.

ONLINE

QUADTALK: Chronicle staffers asked students about diversity in this edition of Quadtalk.

A2 NEWS

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 15, 2017

Deans put new EA policy in place • Continued from page A1

Upper School Dean Chris Jones said that in 2014, 2015 and 2016, 14 students who were accepted to one of the four schools early continued to apply to other schools.

“It may only be that in every year maybe we get a sum total of one or two more kids into those schools because those spots opened up,” Slattery said. “But so what? That’s one or two more kids that didn’t have those options before.”

Melanie Hirsch ’18 said she

supports this new early action policy.

“If schools get a bunch of applicants and acceptances from Harvard-Westlake students who never show any interest and never attend, then they start to believe, and sometimes rightfully so, that kids from the school continue to apply just to show off,” she said.

Others believe that it is unfair to limit students’ options when applying to college.

“I believe that the school should not have the authority nor the right to limit students

in such a radical way,” Paul Leclerc ’18 said.

Slattery, however, thinks that the policy will be the best thing for the “collective good” of the student body.

“Making a kid go to Harvard after they get into Harvard early doesn’t really feel like a punishment,” she said.

“I understand that people may want to have those choices, but as a school we get to set the policy of what we are willing to support, and we are just not willing to support any longer the kids who are getting three or four of those choices.”

Administration reviews diversity assessment • Continued from page A1

“There’s an Upper SchoolMiddle School divide between In the Chronicle’s Febru- the way faculty at the Middle ary poll of 349 students, 62 School and faculty at the Uppercent of students said that per School feel about each Harvard-Westlake is diverse, other,” Commons said. “The but 68 percent said the school shorthand of it might be that can do more to promote diver- the upper school faculty somesity and make students feel times imply that the middle included. school faculty aren’t prepar“I don’t think these re- ing students well enough, sults are surprising because and middle school faculty Harvard-Westlake, like many sometimes imply that the upother schools, has work to do per school faculty don’t care when it comes to diversity,” enough about students.”

Black Leadership, Awareness Commons added that the and Culture Club co-leader report found that some staff Anya Andrews ’17 said. “I be- members feel that they are lieve that more can be done to second-rate to faculty and that help train facmany faculty ulty to prepare believe that There are some curricula that there is a divide are sensitive to between the old times where we have affinity groups and the new on to put a stake in the represented at campus. Some ground and say that we more experithe school. It’s a long process enced faculty believe this as school,” to diversify a feel that newer —Liz Resnick teachers are school’s staff, but I like to beunderInterim Head of Upper School less lieve that Harstanding of the vard-Westlake traditions of is putting more effort into this the school, and some new facthan in previous years.” ulty think that new ideas are The report detailed four less valued. major areas of “special chalThis cultural divide also lenges” that hinder faculty’s, applies to student-athletes, staff’s and students’ sense of with some feeling that there is belonging within the school no compromise between athcommunity. letics and academics.

The first theme that the re“I have had some instances port included was a “cultural where my teachers were not divide” found between cam- sympathetic toward missing puses, faculty and staff, and class for a sport, and even though it’s frustrating and athletics and academics.

“

In the issue

News

Students accepted to SCEA schools who applied to another SCEA school regular decision

2014 2

“

NATHANSON S

NATHANSON’S

ping, makeup and prep that is only more money the school can’t provide,” Former Editorin-Chief of the Chronicle Eugenia Ko ’16 wrote in a column last year.

Lastly, the report outlined the idea that though the school shares a common drive for excellence, students’, teachers’ and coaches’ separate goals end up pulling the community apart rather than bringing the school together.

“As a result of that, there tends to be often a transactional approach that students feel pressured to take and adults feel pressure to deliver,” Commons said. “It’s transactional rather than relationship based.

Excellence is so singular in its orientation for people in different areas that it gets in the way of relationships, and obviously diversity, equity and inclusion is all about relationships.”

CORRECTIONS: A story on Page B2 in the Jan. 11, 2017 issue said the choir trip was only promoted two days before the deadline, when it had been promoted before then.

Arts & Entertainment

C4-5

RASA IN THE RAW: The Upper School performance of Almost, Maine followed the romantic narratives of the members of a small northern town.

B1

Features SAFETY FIRST: Many students have

taken self defense classes in order to feel more prepared to deal with dangerous situations. One student even learned martial arts to be ready to defend herself.

C8

vard-Westlake’s two ethics bowl teams came in first in the tournament at Chapman University on Feb. 4.

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we might not feel personally affected by Trump’s policies, it is important to be empathetic to those who are affected.

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SOURCE: CHRIS JONES GRAPHIC BY CLAUDIA WONG

sometimes unfair, it’s understandable,” Girls’ Soccer Captain Paige Howard ’17 said.

Another theme was that the freedom that each teacher has in his or her classroom can overshadow the need for specific expectations for a teacher’s behavior when it comes to introducing racially sensitive lower socioeconomic backmaterial or proctoring class ground may not feel the same sense of belonging that their discussions about diversity.

“There are some times more privileged peers feel.

“The other thing they talkwhere we have to put a stake in the ground and say that we ed about is this culture of believe this as a school and we self-sufficiency that so much believe that our curriculum of the scaffolding [of academneeds to be more multicul- ics] is behind the scenes, so tural,” Interim Head of Upper if you can afford it, you have a tutor, an SAT tuSchool Liz Resnick tor and you go to a said. “Sometimes it Saturday AP physics is appropriate to say, class,” Resnick said.

‘Here are some rules “If you can afford to for you.’” do it, you do it, and it Some students looks like, ‘Hey you’re said they would like doing great at Harteachers to have vard-Westlake,’ and more training before ’ if you don’t have the introducing certain Anya financial resources to aspects of the curAndrews ’17 do that, you can’t do riculum. any of those things.”

“It is important for Commons also said that teachers to know that the way they teach really affects how this can play out, on a smaller students look at the material,” scale, with internships and Andrews said. “If we can cre- vacations. On page C1 of the ate a safer environment in the Chronicle, students describe classroom to bring up compli- the high cost of participating cated topics regarding race, in certain extracurricular acgender and socioeconomic sta- tivities at Harvard-Westlake.

“Even school-wide events tus, it may help around camsuch as prom, whose $115 pus, too.”

The third theme included ticket may be covered by fiin the report was that some nancial aid, are preceded by students who come from a expensive asks, dress shop-

THE GREATEST GOOD: One of Har-

A NEW DON, A NEW DAY: Although

2016 6

There’s an Upper School-Middle School divide between the way faculty at the Middle School and faculty at the Upper School feel about each other.”

—Rick Commons President

HOLMES SWEET HOME: Former ambassador Allen Holmes spoke to history classes about his experiences working with high ranking foreign officials.

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Opinion

2015 6

ILLUSTRATION BY NICOLE KIM AND KRISTIN KUWADA

WOMB SERVICE: While only some students on campus have used Planned Parenthood’s health services, most students feel that the organization should not be defunded.

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THE CHRONICLE, the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School, is published eight times per year and distributed free on both the upper and middle school campuses.

There are 727 students at the Middle School and 869 students at the Upper School.

Subscriptions may be purchased for $20 a year for delivery by mail. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the seniors on the Editorial Board. Letters to the

Sports

FITS TO A TEE: Profits from the t-shirts

sold for the boys’ basketball Senior Night were donated to breast cancer research.

D6

editor may be submitted to chronicle@hw.com or mailed to 3700 Coldwater Canyon Ave., Studio City, CA 91604. Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Chronicle style and format. Advertising questions may be directed to Oliver Richards at orichards1@hwemail.com. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or the school.

FEB. 15, 2017

HWCHRONICLE.COM/NEWS

NEWS A3

Security investigates school thief • Continued from page A1

MADDY DAUM/CHRONICLE

STATE-ING THE FACTS: Allen Holmes speaks to AP United States Government and Politics students about terrorism. Holmes served as Ambassador to Portugal and Assistant Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs while at the State Department.

Ambassador discusses terrorism, personal experiences as Assistant Secretary of State

By MADDY DAUM

which uses core skills like negotiation and is essential for Former ambassador Al- maintaining good relations len Holmes, father of history with anybody, whether they teacher Katherine Holmes- are allies or friends,” Holmes Chuba, spoke about his ex- said. “Even if you are dubious periences working with high about it, it’s important to talk ranking foreign officials to AP to people. You have to learn how to be a good United States Governlistener, and have ment and Politics and a point of view and AP Human Geograpush it, particularly phy classes. in negotiation.”

Holmes served as Some of the rethe Ambassador to sponsibilities of his Portugal during the various government Reagan administrapositions included tion, United States promoting and proAssistant Secretary of ’ tecting American inState for Political and Rachel terests, managing Military Affairs also Seplow ’17 diplomatic relations during the Reagan with other countries administration, Ambassador At Large for Burden- and international institutions Sharing for President George and bringing nations together H.W. Bush, and Assistant Sec- to address global challenges retary of Defense for Special such as terrorism.

“It was amazing to be able Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict for the Clinton admin- to hear from someone who istration during his career at has been a long time diplomat and member of the bureaucrathe State Department.

“Diplomacy is in many cy,” Rachel Seplow ’17 said. ways the most significant in- “Hearing his stories helped strument of national power, inform my understanding of NATHANSON S

current events and crises. It result of that.” also helped me gain a deeper He also spoke about the understanding of the topic of responsibility that he had as our current unit: the bureau- an ambassador to look out for cracy.” the best interests of the United Because of his many years States, especially in dangerous of experience working in gov- situations. ernment, Holmes told sto“I thought he was really inries of his dealings teresting and engagwith the Portuguese ing, and his lecture Communist Party, was more focused an Italian terrorist on past events and group known as the how we can interRed Brigades, high pret history to better ranking Japanese ofunderstand current ficials, and Former events,” Natalie Choi General Secretary of ’18 said. “He was very the Communist Party knowledgeable and ’ of the Soviet Union experienced, and I Natalie Mikhail Gorbachev, enjoyed his lecture Choi ’18 the last leader of the knowing that he had Soviet Union. experienced interna“I had sessions with the se- tional relations firsthand and nior man of the Soviet armed that his stories were personal forces and he said you all made the lecture even more probably don’t realize how impressive.” committed we are to doing seHolmes also encouraged rious negotiations to reduce female students to pursue the nuclear standoff between careers in the State Departour two countries, and the ment, noting that there have reason is Chernobyl,” Holmes been three female Secretaries said. “It really drove them and of State and numerous Underwe made a lot of progress as a secretaries of State.

NATHANSON S

Despite the repetitive nature and apparent targeting of these crimes, this series of thefts isn’t far out of the ordinary, Crawford said. Just this year, Crawford received 10 missing item reports and has investigated each one at length with his security team.

The specific thefts in Chalmers, though, have caught the attention of the administration. Part of what makes these seemingly targeted offenses so alarming is the public, “brazen” nature of the crime and the repetition, Slattery said.

There are cameras in areas around campus prone to theft, including the quad, Taper Gymnasium and now the music hallway in Chalmers.

While theft is relatively unavoidable, students on campus could certainly take preventative action by protecting targeted items like laptops, Crawford said.

“It’s too bad that you couldn’t just leave your stuff around, but at the same time maybe we’ve gotten a little complacent,” Slattery said.

Students taking choir classes in Chalmers were asked to move their backpacks out of the hallway and into the classroom as an extra precaution, but these thefts were relatively unknown to the student body as a whole.

There isn’t really a protocol for notifying student body in a situation like this; students in immediate danger are usually the only ones notified, Chaplain J. Young said.

In a poll sent out by the Chronicle, 96.28 percent of students said they would like the school to notify the student body when there is a string of thefts on campus.

Alum challenges school board president

By NOA SCHWARTZ

running, it became clear that the problem was larger than Alum and District Four L.A. just any one classroom. At HarUnified School District board vard-Westlake, there was a focandidate Nick Melvoin ’04 cus on not just being good stuaims to lead the charge in im- dents but being good people, plementing necessary change and that’s another thing that inspired me.” to modernize the LAUSD. Melvoin also attributes his Melvoin is in the final month of his campaign process, passion for activism to his time with elections set for March 7. working at Camp Harmony, a Melvoin is challenging LAUSD summer camp for children livschool board President Steve ing in shelters in the greater Los Angeles Zimmer.

Melvoin credarea. He first At Harvardits his interest in volunteered politics and pubduring the Westlake, there was a lic service to his summer of focus on not just being time Harvardhis sophoWestlake. good students but being more year of “I was so high school, good people.” lucky to go to and currently Harvard-West—Nick Melvoin ’04 serves as the lake, and to proLAUSD board candidate camp’s have the edugramming dication that we rector. had,” Melvoin said. “[HarvardMelvoin’s official candiWestlake] really inspired me dacy platform includes giving to be in teaching after college, schools more local autonomy, especially because of all the promoting innovation, providamazing teachers we had here. ing families with choices of Then when I started to see how schools, human capital overpoorly the schools here were haul and transparency.

“

“We live in a billion dollar school district that is wasting so much money every year and therefore doesn’t have money to do things we need,” Melvoin said.

Melvoin said that his shortterm goals include changing the district’s fiscal situation, as well as improving graduation rates. He eventually aims to make District Four the most innovative and exciting district in the country, he said.

“There’s no reason we can’t do that in Los Angeles, whether it’s on the educational technology front, or with our innovative teaching practices,” Melvoin said. “So I’d like people to come to Los Angeles, look at our public schools, and be like ‘Oh, this is where cool change is happening.’”

Melvoin’s former English teacher Jeremy Michaelson said he is not at all surprised that Melvoin is pursuing a career in politics.

“Nick was a fantastic student,” Michaelson said. “He was always really talented, but he was always willing to put in

NOA SCHWARTZ/CHRONICLE

PICK NICK: Nick Melvoin ’04 is challenging LAUSD school board president Steve Zimmer for the District 4 seat in the March race. the effort to do his best work.

He was eager and engaged, he was a great listener, and not only am I not surprised that he’s pursuing this position but I’ll be even less surprised at his success.”

School President Rick Commons recently sent out an email to parents encouraging them to attend an L.A. Unified School District forum at the Skirball Center Feb. 27, and to vote in school board elections.

Melvoin said that he and his team have been working tirelessly to persuade people to vote for him by phone banking and knocking on doors every night.

“With all that’s happening in national politics, it’s all the more important that those of us who I think have better values and ideas get into office,” Melvoin said. “Right now, I’m just excited to be in a position where I can fix things.”

A4 NEWS

THE CHRONICLE

Senior showcases biographic

FEB. 15, 2017

By SABA NIA

After traveling to Korea last summer, Chronicle Sports Online Editor Connor Reese ’17 created a HW Go!-sponsored film illustrating the life and achievements of his greatgrandfather Chu Yuhan which he screened Jan. 26.

With funds granted by the Asian Initiative Fellowship, Reese spent 10 days in and around Seoul conducting interviews and primary research, followed by two and a half months of editing and translating his film.

The unlisted YouTube video is spreading by word of mouth, but Reese hopes to present his film at festivals or to Korean groups in the community.

“I don’t think I went with a true academic bend in the beginning, but once I was there and interviewing these people and truly appreciating that they took their time out of their day and took there time to actually prepare for interviews, I really thought of it more as a big research project that I was doing, and that it was actually

SABA NIA/CHRONICLE

DIRECTOR’S CUT: Connor Reese ’17 presents his HW Go! film about his great-grandfather, Chu Yuhan. Reese used funds from his Asian Initiative Fellowship to go to Korea and shoot footage. Reese discusses his film with faculty who attend his screening Jan. 26. very fun and that it was a very engaging and thoughtful thing to participate in,” Reese said.

Learning about Yuhan, who promoted Korean nationalism through his poetry, resisted the Japanese occupation of Korea and served in the Korean government, inspired Reese to become more inter-

ested in the personal aspects of foreign policy as well as in his heritage.

“This really exposed me to the fact that you should really learn and understand your roots and that it helps you be more grounded and understand what people sacrificed and what they did to get you to where you are,” Reese said.

Alumna hops on Trump Train

By INDU PANDEY AND ANTHONY WEINRAUB

Julia Hahn ’09 has joined the Trump administration as a Special Assistant to the President after leaving her previous job as a Breitbart News reporter Jan. 24.

Hahn works directly under President Donald Trump’s Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon, her former boss at Breitbart News.

“Steve is a fearless voice for people who have been made voiceless, and it is an honor to have worked with him,” Hahn said in a Breitbart article.

Trump selected former Breitbart Executive Chairman Bannon as his Chief Stategist last year. As a result, talk surrounding Breitbart News, a

right-wing website whose critics contend is a hate site, has increased.

“I would hope that coming out of our history classes, students would have an understanding of the major issues that have shaped American politics, that they would have opinions based on evidence, and that they would know the difference between fact and opinion,” history teacher Nini Halkett said.

At Harvard-Westlake, Hahn participated in mock trial, worked with Director of Student Affairs Jordan Church to improve Prefect Council, played in jazz band, and created a fundraiser for orphan children to get American host families.

“I taught Julia in APUSH,

and she was an excellent student,” Halkett said. “She was rather soft-spoken as I recall, so I guess no, I didn’t really see her headed to work for an organization like Breitbart or a person like Bannon.”

Hahn earned notoriety for her criticism of establishment Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and support of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who holds conservative views on immigration, including extreme vetting for visa applicants and reducing the number of legal immigrants.

Hahn also focused on immigration in her pieces for Breitbart News, where she worked under alum and Breitbart editor-in-chief Alexander Marlow ’04, along with Bannon. Hahn holds similar views to Sessions

debateLA Round Robin

Harvard-Westlake Debates

Elimination participants

Total debaters

Connor Engel ’17 (finalist and top speaker), Evan Engel ’17 (semi-finalist) Indu Pandey ’18 (winning record)

387 Lincoln-Douglas rounds, Octafinal bid tournament, Shruthi Krishnan of Greenhill School in Dallas wins

Barkley Forum for High Schools

The Golden Desert Tournament

Los Angeles Two

Atlanta

Los Angeles 347

Las Vegas

Elimination participants

Elimination participants

Connor Engel ’17 (semi-finalist), Indu Pandey ’18 (semi-finalist), Evan Engel ’17 (quarter-finalist and fifth speaker), Three qualifying bids

Alex Mork ’20, Jaya Nayar ’20, Vishan Chaudhary ’19 Kimberley Kimura ’19, Lauren Morganbesser ’19, Spencer Klink ’20, Will Berlin ’19

Three

Seven

SOURCE: MIKE BIETZ GRAPHIC BY INDU PANDEY

Reese, who said he has always been fascinated with political science, became interested in international relations after his trip.

He said seeing a more personalized account of history prompted him to consider a field in which he can interact more with people.

“Personal impact is much

“

more important in the broader scheme of things than simply the big picture,” Reese said.

Reese said foreign policy is often times too oriented toward the big picture and fails to take into account smaller opinions and personal stories.

He said foreign policy does not consider the ramifications on citizens’ lives.

I would hope that coming out of our history classes, students would have an understanding of the major issues that shaped American politics, that they would have opinions based on evidence.”

—Nini Halkett History teacher

on immigration.

“She was pretty quiet in class–though, when we hit the 20th Century, she spoke up more,” history teacher Katherine Holmes-Chuba said. “She was also in the jazz band, so we talked about music too.

To be honest, I am pretty surprised to hear that she ended up a journalist and writing for Breitbart. Of course, quite a bit of time has passed since 10th grade.”

After graduating from

NATHANSON’S

Harvard-Westlake, Hahn majored in philosophy at The University of Chicago. Hahn also worked for talk show host Laura Ingraham before moving to the website in 2015.

“I do hope that history classes at Harvard-Westlake influence our students to examine the past and link it to the present, and, above all, to inform themselves in all ways possible when making any sort of political decisions,” HolmesChuba said.

Debate ‘Kant’ be stopped

By ELI ADLER

The debate team continued its success, notching strong performances at the Barkley Forum in Atlanta, Golden Desert tournament and the Harvard-Westlake round robin, while also hosting a national debate tournament.

Harvard-Westlake hosted a national debate tournament during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. There were 117 entries, with Shruthi Krishan winning first speaker.

The round robin tournament featured 24 entries from across the country, with five Harvard-Westlake debaters competing. In the tournament, Connor Engel ’17 was a finalist and also won first speaker.

Chronicle News Associate Indu Pandey ’18, Connor Engel ’17 and Evan Engel ’17 com-

peted in the Barkley Forum in Atlanta, with two semifinalists and one quarterfinalist finish.

“Both tournaments had a great pool of competitors.

I was fortunate to make it to finals and semifinals respectively, but I couldn’t have done it without the efforts of my team,” Connor Engel said.

Debate coach Scott Phillips is pleased with the team’s performance and what they have accomplished this year.

“This has been a historic year for the Harvard-Westlake debate team,” Phillips said.

“We lead the country in Tournament of Champions bids achieved and are one of a few schools in history to qualify both African-American and female person of color debaters to a national championship that has historically not been very diverse.”

FEB. 15, 2017

HWCHRONICLE.COM/NEWS

NEWS A5

Ethics prevail at regional bowl

By KENDALL DEES AND INDU PANDEY

“Individually, just to learn to speak more clearly and coherently, and [my goal is to] overStudent participants com- come my relative shyness and peted at the Southern Cali- anxiety over speaking in front fornia Regional Ethics Bowl of crowds and in settings in Tournament at Chapman Uni- which I’m being judged.”

Advisor Charles Berezversity Feb. 4 on two teams, one of which came first overall. in said that he is optimistic One of the school’s teams about the abilities of the team advanced to compete in an this year.

“We are better [this year],” elimination round and will atBerezin said. tempt to quali“We are much fy for nationals more experiin April.

We are better enced, and I Last year, things Harvard-West[this year]. We are much think are going well, lake students more experienced, and although the placed second I think things are going team last year at nationals was very good, after placing well.” too.” first in region—Charles Berezin In the final als and the round, stustate competiEnglish Teacher dents presented tion. a case involving The team was awarded $4000 and will the moral problems of public be distributed to several char- versus private charity and the ities such as The Gentle Barn, question of white privilege.

When questioning pubwhich they will visit this year.

The three returning members lic and private charity, they from last year, Elly Choi ’18, discuss positive and negative Kat Edmiston ’17 and Aidan rights, and the relationship Luscinski ’17, will divide the between the two, Gaut said.

To get ready for each commoney to the charities that petition, the students have to they would like to donate to.

“As a team [our goal this prepare to present 16 potential year is] to win nationals and cases.

In each case, there are dihave fun,” Ethics Bowl Team member Andrew Gaut ’17 said. rected questions that provide

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a guideline to what the central moral issue is at hand.

In a round, the main goal is to present the most well formulated argument that outlines the different aspects of the case while convincing the judges of the team’s position.

“I’m really pleased about our performance,” team member Kat Edmiston ’17 said. “I think that we did extraordinarily well especially given that we have a very young team, and I’m really just proud of everyone who made such progress over the year. Even the team who didn’t make it was so amazing, and I’m sure that if they had been in the final round, they would have won, too.”

The team will compete again Feb. 18 at Harvard-Westlake against students from Park City High School in Utah.

“Well we’re meeting up and discussing our observations from the last competition and how we can improve upon what we did in the last competition,” Gaut said. “We’re also picking out and discussing some of the more difficult cases since any of the 16 could be picked in the next competition.”

To try and improve their presentation for their next competition, they need to an-

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF CHARLES BEREZIN

BOWLING FOR SUCCESS: The Ethics Bowl Team poses with their trophy after placing first in the Regional Tournament. swer the judges’ questions more directly and outline what they said in order to make their presentation and their argument stronger, Gaut said.

“The arguments students construct over the course of the semester deepen, and the team becomes more articulate and unified but is still agile enough to respond to unexpected questions as well as the

presentations of other schools, Advisor Melina Mamigonian said.

“I think the win was fantastic,” member of the Ethics Bowl Team Gaia Murphy ’19 said. “Since the majority of our team is new to Ethics Bowl and competition process itself, the win was incredibly inspiring for us all as a team and individuals.”

Seniors deliver sexual violence presentations

By KAMI DURAIRAJ

SOFIA HELLER/CHRONICLE

ROUNDING OUT JUSTICE: HW Works hosted Heather Kun ’92 and Hillary Moglen ’94 at a Student Justice Roundatable. Students asked questions about how they can become further involved in activism.

Justice is served at roundtable discussion

By SABA NIA SOFIA HELLER

AND

HW Works hosted a Social Justice Roundtable with HK Impact Advisors President Heather Kun ’92 and leader of the “Student Matters” movement Hillary Moglen ’94 to discuss their experiences in advocacy fields with students Jan. 26 in Kutler Center 201.

Kun founded HK Impact Advisors, which provides consultancy services for non-profits and private foundations.

Roundtable attendees had the opportunity to ask Kun and Moglen questions about pursuing activism in their own lives and in the greater community.

Moglen vocalized the difference one person can make within his or her community.

Kun advised students to provide research, data and creative solutions that would result in their desired impact.

Beyond the local level, new technology and access to free media has changed the ways in which activists are able to reach people from all around the world, Kun said.

“Everybody has access to this, and you can reach everyone, every type of person,” Kun said. “Everyone has a voice, too.”

Kun and Moglen emphasized the value they see in exploring many areas before settling on a career in order to be truly passionate and effective.

“I had a great plan when I graduated college in terms of what I was going to do,” Molgen said. “But, none of it actually happened, and I couldn’t be happier for it. I actually love my job, and I’m very grateful that I get to work on stuff I care about with really smart people and clients who want to do good in this world.”

Kun and Moglen encouraged students to be open to

taking risks and confronting failure while pursuing their goals.

They hope that students will explore possible careers before they settle on one job.

“I’m hoping for students to understand that they can go into a career that they love, do good and still make money and have a great life,” Kun said. “They have a million choices as long as they follow their passions, do what they love and try to give back. It makes it even richer.”

Citing their own experiences, they asked students to take advantage of the opportunities they have been given.

“It was super fascinating to learn about how Harvard-Westlake helped shape Heather and Hillary’s careers,” Jess Grody ’19 said. “I really enjoyed getting to learn about their different fields of work and how they feel they’re making an impact today.”

we understand the confusion that can come up with conSeniors participating in versations about what sexual The Talk Project will give peer- assault even entails,” Barlava to-peer sexual violence aware- said. “Because we understand ness presentations to Choices the confusion, we can clear it and Challenges classes the up and explain it much more weeks of Feb. 27 and March 5. clearly than a lot of adults Maddy Harbert ’17 interned can. Sexual assault is really at the National Council of Jew- prevalent in college culture, ish Women two summers ago so I think it’s so great that we where her boss, Director of can try and help people unLegislation Maya Paley, en- derstand the issue in greater couraged her to help create a depth before they go off and program based on the sexual are exposed to it.”

Harbert said she has noassault awareness documentary “The Hunting Ground.” ticed an unacceptable amount Along with other interns, Har- of rape jokes on campus that bert contributed to the devel- normalize rape culture. She opment of The Talk Project, a was prompted to organize program that trains teen edu- these presentations because she believes students cators to inform their are not aware of how peers about consent many people sexual culture and redefines assault affects. ‘the talk’ about sexu“I believe people al violence, according on this campus don’t to their website. take the subject to “The Talk Project heart, and that’s behopes to accomplish cause many think ‘I this ideal society of would never rape’ or ‘consent culture,’” ’ ‘I’ll never get raped,’” Harbert said in an Maddy Harbert said. “Howemail. “We are advoHarbert ’17 ever, in actuality, one cating for a verbal, in four women will be enthusiastic ‘yes’ when it comes to any sexual sexually assaulted in college, encounters. The information and the same with one in 16 is geared more towards stu- men.”

Assistant to the Head of dents as it is a peer-to-peer workshop, but everything in Upper School Michelle Brackthe presentation is useful for en is also organizing another guest speaker for Choices and people of all ages.”

Harbert trained Naomi Challenges classes to continBarlava ’17, Kent Sheridan ’17 ue talks about sexual violence and Carter Begel ’17 to give prevention. Attorney and Propresentations that will cover fessor of Law at Southwestern definitions of rape, sexual as- Law School Catherine Carsault, sexual violence and con- penter (Erica Jansson ’08) is sent. Their presentation also scheduled to speak with stuincludes sexual violence sta- dents about the legal aspects tistics, video clips from “The of consent and substance Hunting Ground” and open use in sexual assault cases.

Carpenter is a nationally-rediscussion with students.

“I think it’s really import- nowned criminal law scholar ant to have peer-on-peer dis- in the area of sex crimes and cussions because, as teens, sex offender registration laws.

NATHANSON S

THE CHRONICLE

A6 News

in brief

FEB. 15, 2017

Alumni co-create ‘The Mick’ TV show

David Chernin ’03 and John Chernin ’02 created the TV show “The Mick,” which first aired Jan. 1. “The Mick” is about a woman, Mickey, who is left with the guardianship of her niece Sabrina and her nephews Chip and Ben after her sister and brother-in-law flee the country.

One of the sitcom’s episodes, “The Snitch,” which aired on FOX Feb. 7, was inspired by Harvard-Westlake’s Honor Board, David Chernin said. Chip is forced to come in front of an honor board after his principal caught him looking at a racy photo.

When asked if HarvardWestlake’s Honor Board had inspired the episode, David Chernin confirmed the inspiration on Twitter and said he was “glad to hear the HarvardWestlake judicial system is still intact #yousnitchyoudie.”

—Emory Kim

Model United Nations to practice diplomacy

Ten students will travel to Georgetown University for a Northern American Invitational Model United Nations Conference Feb. 16-19.

For the conference in Washington D.C., the students wrote position papers on each of their topics, including climate change.

“I’m very excited to be participating in an international conference,” Vincent Le ‘18 said. “I’m looking forward to exploring Washington D.C. and getting to interact with Georgetown students.”

—Alexandra So

Parents to attend forum for LAUSD President Rick Commons urged the community to attend a forum for candidates for the L.A. Unified School District 4 school board.

Participating in the forum would help members of the Harvard-Westlake community become more aware of the issues facing public schools, Commons said.

The forum will take place Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. at the Skirball Center. Commons also asked parents to vote in the following election, which will take place March 7.

—Claudia Wong

Checkmate: club holds student tournament

The chess club is in the midst of their first-ever schoolwide tournament.

All students were invited to participate in the double elimination tournament, and 30 players signed up to compete.

The participants are playing in a double elimination draw where the winner of each match moves on to the next round, and the loser has an opportunity to play in a consolation bracket.

“I really like the competition it brings each week,” James Xu ’17 said.

—Matt Yam

JENNY LI/CHRONICLE

Students peruse second semester club options CLUBS GOIN’ UP: Jonah Ring ’18 and Warren Wang ’18 show Chase Garvey-Daniels ’19 how to use a virtual reality headset at club fair Jan. 23. Ring and Wang are founders of the HW Virtual Reality Club, which meets Mondays during Activities in Kulter Center 202. Several other clubs were added for the second semester, including Liberty in North Korea Rescue Team.

¡Viva México!: Faculty plan historical and cultural trip

By SABA NIA

of School Jeanne Hubrechts said.

Huybrechts said that they Seventeen members of the staff and faculty will have the chose the destination of the opportunity to travel to Mexico faculty trips based on places of interest to in early June students. for a week and “We’ve now a half to learn It allows you sent teachers more about to China, to Mexican culto travel with your Korea, to India, ture and histocolleagues, which I to Israel and ry in the goals really enjoyed.” now Mexico,” of better gainHuybrechts ing a global —Katherine said. “And that perspective.

Holmes-Chuba serves a broad The trip, sponsored by History teacher swath of the cultures that the school’s are interesting Gunter Gross Global Fund, is supported by to school. They’re important to an Immersion Faculty Fellow- our students.”

History teacher Katharine ship and three or four HarHolmes-Chuba, who attended vard-Westlake families.

“It is going to be a re- the previous trips to Korea and ally rich and wonderful trip Israel, said she was inspired to right after graduation,” Head travel to Korea to see historic

“

and artistic works and speak your colleagues, which I really to experts, as well as under- enjoyed doing because there’s stand her students’ back- a difference between working ground better. with people and traveling with “I thought it was a great op- them 24/7,” Holmes-Chuba portunity to really learn more said. about a country where Holmes-Chuba a lot of our students also said that visiting have family there,” historic sites, such as Holmes-Chuba said. her experience viewing The trip to Mexthe Dome of the Rock ico is the fifth in a during last year’s trip series of trips offered to Israel, can be a to faculty from the transformative experiGunter Gross fellowence. She expressed ships. Attendees of her appreciation for previous trips said NATHANSON’S the work organizers the opportunity for Jeanne and parents put into teachers to travel Huybrechts the trip and the opporis important in fostering relationships between tunity to travel itself.

“Teachers are lifelong faculty members in addition to helping them become more learners, and we really apeducated about and interested preciate being able to give the in their fields. knowledge back,” Holmes“It allows you to travel with Chuba said.

Habitat for Humanity works their own construction site

By JENNY LI

Students painted moldings, cleaned rooms and built shelves Saturday for the Habitat for Humanity Club’s first build of the year.

The 17 students who attended the build worked to renovate one of the homes on the two-house site located in Montebello.

“Habitat for Humanity is a great cause that has given so many people the opportunity to own homes,” club co-leader Casey Crosson ’17 said. “It’s an amazing experience to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity because you really get to get your hands dirty and actually contribute to the project.

Volunteering leaves you feeling rewarded after a long day’s work and also bonds you with the group you volunteer with.

It’s so much fun and is so important.”

Habitat for Humanity is a

community organization that offers opportunities for volunteers to build various construction projects as well as renovate pre-existing homes.

“I wanted to help a community in need because I think it’s important to give back,” Blythe Berk ’19 said.

These projects help provide affordable housing to those who otherwise may not be able to afford it. The Harvard-Westlake group is in the process of becoming an official chapter.

“While we were working, many of the people who would be living in the house we were helping to build were also there,” participant Sirus Wheaton ’19 said. “One woman told me that she never expected to get out of the ganginfested neighborhood she lived in with her two kids. Yet, she worked hard and prayed, and she got one of the beautiful four bedroom homes we worked on. It was painstaking

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF CASEY CROSSON ’17

BOB THE BUILDER: Students in the Habitat for Humanity club renovated two homes in Montebello to help the community. work, but I knew that the result of the work would pay off because I was helping people less fortunate than me.”

Chase Garvey-Daniels ’19 said that his volunteer experience and meeting the future occupants of the home he rebuilt made him grateful for his own life and privileges.

“At the build, I, along with the other volunteers, met the

new owners of the home,” Garvey-Daniels said. That experience was enlightening, as it made me appreciate all of the wonderful things I have in my life. It showed me that I want other people to have the same feelings of belonging and stability too.”

The club’s leaders, Crosson and Andrew Lehrhoff ’17, are planning at least one more trip.

FEB. 15, 2017

Prepare to die laughing with Walch

HWCHRONICLE.COM/NEWS

NEWS A7

in brief Annual AMC test challenges students

By ALEX GOLDSTEIN

Prince Humperdinck stepped down from the throne to talk about the making of the movie “The Princess Bride” after the film’s screening during the fourth Cinema Sunday of the year hosted by Performing Arts Teacher Ted Walch in the Ahmanson Lecture Hall on Sunday.

When choosing potential movies to show, Walch tries to match films with guests he is able to get to come and speak.

Walch has known actor Chris Sarandon, who plays Prince Humperdinck in the movie, since graduate school.

When Walch heard Sarandon was in town, the two arranged a time for the actor to visit the Upper School.

Walch said he also tries to pick movies he feels members of the community will enjoy.

“I was sitting at lunch with some of the faculty and I said, name some of your favorite movies, not movies you think are great, and the ‘Princess Bride’ and ‘The Big Lebowski’ [came up],” Walch said.

The 1987 film was directed by award-winning director Rob Reiner.

The movie centers around a grandfather reading a story to his grandson, and as the movie progresses, the story

DANIELLE SPITZ/CHRONICLE

AS YOU WISH: Chris Sarandon, who plays Prince Humperdinck in ‘The Princess Bride,’ discusses the film after it was screened at Cinema Sundays, hosted by Performing Arts Teacher Ted Walch. comes to life.

The lead female character, Buttercup (Robin Wright) is engaged to Prince Humperdinck. She is kidnapped and eventually must be saved by her childhood love, Westley (Cary Elwes).

Walch invited attendees to stay for a question and answer session following the film.

“They add an understanding [of the movie],” Walch said.

“These are all either people who have been in the movie like with ‘Friday Nights Lights’ we had three actors, or in the case of ‘The Best Years of our Lives,’ David Wyler, who is a friend and former parent at this school, is the son of the

man who made the film and can speak eloquently about his dad’s films.”

Cinema Sunday also offers alumni the opportunity to return to campus. Carrie Ring ’88 (Adin Ring ’18 and Jonah Ring ’18), who attended the event with her husband and two children, said she likes to show her kids the school and all the opportunities it offers. “[My kids] love the ‘Princess Bride’ and so I thought it would be a good film for them,” Ring said.

Sarandon attributed the film’s continued popularity to its diverse screenplay.

“Part of it is the conncection people make to [the film]

on a personal level,” Sarandon said. “It’s a wonderful story. It’s sweet, and it’s sad, and it’s also funny, and that doesn’t happen often in film.”

Walch has planned the Cinema Sundays for the rest of the year with the schedule set to show films including “The Best Years of Our Lives,” and “The Shop Around the Corner.”

Each event will include a discussion following the showing.

The final Cinema Sunday on May 14 will feature the movie, “Biutiful,” with a question and answer with the film’s Oscar-winning director, Alejandro G. Iñárritu.

‘Black Lives Matter’ to photography students

By KAITLIN MUSANTE

KAITLIN MUSANTE/CHRONICLE

REFLECTING ON RACE: Lily Beckinsale-Sheen ’17 and Jack Hogan ’17 observe the photography projects in Feldman-Horn.

Photography III students shared their project “How Black Lives Matter to Me,” a showcase focusing on diversity and race, during break Jan. 23.

Visual arts teacher Kevin O’Malley asked the seniors in the class to create a series of photographs that answered the question “How Do Black Lives Matter to Me?”. The students also wrote an introduction to the piece informing the attendees of their answers.

O’Malley introduced the project to the class because he wanted to establish a personal connection between his students and the movement.

“Most of the kids in this class were white, and this was

a way of teaching them to use their camera as an ambassador to other people they may not necessarily know,” O’Malley said.

Attendees said that they found the show inspiring.

“I think the exhibit is very powerful, as students of all races came together to demonstrate their unity and show how everyone at [the school], no matter their race, supports the Black Lives Matter movement,” attendee Anja Clark ’19 said. “I also think it was really amazing that, although there are people who aren’t African American who can’t relate to the issues as much, they still managed to create really engaging projects that spoke for the community.”

Say cheese: alumni capture student life with photos

By KAITLIN MUSANTE

Visual arts teacher Kevin O’Malley commissioned three alumni to take photographs of alumni and students for an upcoming art show titled ‘Decades.’

Curatorial assistant at the Hammer Museum January Parkos-Arnall ’96 is organizing the show, which is part of the 25th Anniversary Alumni celebration.

Michele Asselin ’90, an editorial photographer whose work has been featured in Time Magazine and The New Yorker, took portraits of roughly 30 seniors Feb. 9-10.

Asselin said that she chose to photograph seniors because she wanted to capture them in the midst of their transition out of high school.

During each shoot, Asselin asked the student questions about themselves and read their college essays out loud, capturing their reactions.

Asselin said that reading the essays allowed her to establish a personal connection with each student.

“These students are amazing,” Asselin said. “I feel like I photographed such incredible people. The essays were so powerful, thoughtful, interesting and so varied.”

of students.

Art Streiber ’80, a phoO’Malley said that he is tographer who specializes in excited to see portrait, corhow the showporate, encase will turn tertainment [Asselin’s out. and advertis“I was able ing projects, portraits] are nothing to see sevwill be photoshort of exquisite. She eral portraits graphing stuis such a master of on [Asselin’s] dents who live monitor in further than light.” the studio,” 25 miles from the school.

—Visual Arts Teacher O’Malley said. are nothMatt Sayles Kevin O’Malley “They ing short of ex’00, a celebrity quisite. She is portrait and such a master documentary of light. I like the idea of her photographer, will take phointeracting with this generatos of various alumni to showtion of students.” case the previous generations

“

Students opted to take the American Mathematics Competition on Feb. 7.

“The test gives students the chance to answer questions that are not like the questions on the SAT and not like questions in a math class because they get to use creative problem solving,” math teacher Catherine Campbell said.

The exam is 25 questions and focuses on trigonometry, advanced geometry and advanced algebra, according to the AMC website.

“It was very hard because I am not used to answering those types of questions,” Tierni Kaufman ’19 said. “I’m glad I did it though, because it was challenging in a good way.”

—Sophie Haber

Expert to discuss ‘Trout in Classroom’

Trout in Classroom program adviser Rudy Brown will speak to upper school students about wild trout populations and the Environmental Club’s ongoing project Feb. 27. Trout in Classroom is an environmental education program in which students learn about water conservation and ecosystems.

Students hatch and grow trout in the classroom and eventually release them into the wild.

Brown will also speak about overfishing, dam construction and water conservation.

—Alison Oh

L’chaim to layups: JSU hosts tournament

The school’s chapter of the Jewish Student Union will hold its second annual charity basketball tournament in Hamilton Gym on Feb. 18.

The event aims to raise money toward scholarships for local students to travel to Israel. It is hosted on behalf of the national Jewish Student Union and the National Council of Synagogue Youth, organizations which sponsor annual Israel trips.

“It is a chance for people at NCSY and JSU from HarvardWestlake and other schools in the Los Angeles area to get together over a really fun activity,” chapter head Allison Gorokhovsky ’17 said.

—Lucas Gelfond

Environmental Club to plant small garden Members of the Environmental Club planted a new garden next to the Taper Gymnasium on Jan. 30.

Students planted rosemary, white sage and lavender.

Student volunteers received community service hours. Environmental Club Co-President Hannah Tuchman ’17 led the project.

“It was a great chance to bring native plants to campus,” Tuchman said. “The process was incredibly easy, which made helping the environment that much better.”

—Alison Oh

A8 News

The Chronicle

School looks into violations

Feb. 15, 2017

• Continued from page A1

and there must be at least two school teachers on all trips, Gaulke was the only HarvardWestlake teacher present on the trip.

“A typical student to chaperone ratio is 10:1–15:1, although the ratio could vary depending on the nature of the trip,” Director of Kutler Center Jim Patterson said. “Second, a minimum of two adult chaperones, preferably one male and one female, should accompany each trip. That said, there are trips with only one chaperone.”

The school has had a history of drinking on school-sponsored trips. There were also complaints of alcohol being served to students during the 2015 trip to Cuba, after which Barzdukas made the policy changes; however, organizers disputed these claims.

In 2014, there were reports of drinking by Chamber Singers and musicians while on school-sponsored spring break trips in New York and Italy. The Chronicle reported at the time that the five jazz musicians, who were caught with bottles of wine in Italy, were given a one-day suspension on the trip and had senior privileges revoked. The international choir trip in 2015 was cancelled due to the reports of drinking.

Patterson said the school is not officially reviewing any policies regarding schoolsponsored trips at this time, though President Rick Commons said the possible violations are a “serious issue.”

“Regarding the review of trip policies, we are not undergoing any formal review process at this time,” Patterson said. “We finished a formal review process last fall. However, we are always reviewing our policies and practices and make updates as necessary.”

SOPHIE HABER/CHRONICLE

AFFINITY FOR BRUNCH: Aileen Cano ’18 talks with another student at a multicultural brunch designed to foster diversity at the Feldman-Horn Gallery on Jan. 30. The brunch meant to give students an opportunity to come together, regardless of their ethnicity.

Groups brunch over multiculturalism, gender

By Sophie Haber and Jenny Li

Student-led affinity groups including the Latin American Student Organization; Black Leadership, Awareness and Culture Club; Gender and Sexuality Awareness Club and La Femme hosted a multicultural brunch to foster student and faculty unity Jan. 30 at the Feldman Gallery.

“This is just about coming together,” Upper School Dean and event co-organizer Celso Cardenas said. “There could be times when individuals feel disenfranchised or as though they may not be fully integrated into the community, so we wanted to have a safe space where we’re able to share good food, good conversation and have a nice little break from the day. ”

Originally, the brunch was Students and faculty supposed to be Latino specific brought food, ranging from and run by LASO, but given Vero Mango lollipops to Flamrecent political events, the or- ing Hot Cheetos, representing ganizers decided to shift its fo- their own individual cultures cus to unity between all of the to share in a community potstudent affinity groups, Carde- luck. nas said.

“I’m both His“It’s important panic and black, so now, especially given I came to represent the political climate my culture,” BLACC where there is such member Nya Becka rhetoric of division ham ’19 said. “It’s and a rhetoric of exreally important to clusion,” La Femme support something member Liz Yount that you’re a part of ’17 said. “We need to and it’s really fun to ’ make sure that as a get all the minorities Celso Cardenas community we have together.” events where we can Students felt all come together, the event achieved celebrate each other’s cul- its goal of establishing unity tures and take part in some- among the school communithing that’s greater than what ty, La Femme leader Carmen we may hear in the political Levine ’17 said. world.”

The affinity groups plan to nathanson s

host another event soon.

“The purpose of the unity brunch was to bring the affinity groups together in an unconventional way,” Levine said. “The success of the brunch completely exceeded my expectations. It was really uplifting to see so many people and such a variety of food. It’s definitely an event we hope to do in the future.”

Attendees appreciated the effort to bring minority groups together, Nicole Bahar ’18 said.

“I support all of the affinity groups because I think it’s really important to raise awareness for every race, religion and color,” Bahar said. “I thought it would be a fun way to talk to people from different clubs and see what they have to say about current issues.”

Chinese students experience campus life

By Kitty Luo

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF STRAUSS COOPERSTEIN

FOREIGN FRIENDS: Eight Chinese students traveled to Los Angeles with the goal of deepening their knowledge of English.

Eight Chinese foreign exchange students from the World Leading Schools Association in Shanghai, China visited the Upper School for 13 days from Jan. 29 to Feb. 10 with the goal of deepening their knowledge of American society and the English language.

During their stay, the students lived with host families.

The students shadowed their hosts in classes throughout the school day and went on sightseeing tours together after school.

Alyssa Kam ’19, who also hosted an exchange student, said she chose to do so because she wanted to support the school and show the Chinese students what it’s like to attend an American school.

She said that both she and her exchange student expanded their knowledge of each other’s cultures.

“I learned a lot about Chinese food and culture, such as how kids in China learn dif-

ferent history than in the US, especially in topics regarding Mao [Zedong] and Chiang [KaiShek],” Kam said. “By teaching them about Chinese culture, students taking Chinese can learn to actually speak Chinese with Chinese people rather than just memorizing characters at school.”

In addition to visiting Harvard-Westlake, the students also toured many colleges on both the East and West coast.

“The Chinese students were not too different from us, since they go to a school where they will go to college in the U.S., and the American kids are mostly the same way,” Kam said.

Kam said she believes that this exchange is important for the Harvard-Westlake community because it reflects the inclusive values that the school prides itself with.

“I think the HW community was really able to incorporate the ‘diverse and inclusive community’ aspect of our mission statement by interacting with these exchange students,”

Kam said. “This shows just how diverse our school is.”

Likewise, Reiff agrees that the exchange experience has helped Harvard-Westlake become more interconnected with students from foreign countries.

“It is important for Harvard-Westlake students to learn about Chinese culture because the world is becoming more interconnected, and a very significant portion of the world is Chinese,” Reiff said. “I believe that being able to understand and relate to them better will be a valuable skill in the future.”

Strauss Cooperstein ’18 said he appreciates this experience because of the cultural benefits that it brings both to him and his exchange student.

“I thought it was an amazing opportunity for the Chinese kids to immerse themselves in the American culture and get to know what life is like here,” he said. “I connected with a lot of them and look forward to more cultural exchanges through our school.”

C HRONICLE the harvard-westlake

Editors-in-Chief: Sammi Handler, Jesse Nadel Managing Editors: Layla Moghavem, Katie Plotkin, Jean Sanders Executive Editors: Hannah Cho, Carina Marx, Rian Ratnavale Presentations Editors: Eshanika Chaudhary, Sabrina Brito, Emily Rahhal

Opinion The Chronicle • Feb. 15, 2017

Los Angeles • Volume 26• Issue 5 • Feb. 15, 2017 • hwchronicle.com

editorial

de

News Editors: Teresa Suh, Claudia Wong News Copy Editor: Jackson Novick Assistant News Editors: Maddy Daum, Noa Schwartz, Danielle Spitz, Anthony Weinraub News Associates: Emory Kim, Indu Pandey Opinion Editor: Kami Durairaj Assistant Opinion Editor: Brittany Hong Opinion Associate: Claire Keller Features Editors: Sophie Cohen, Danielle Kaye Features Copy Editor: Katie Perrin Assistant Features Editors: Josie Abugov, Nicole Kim, Alena Rubin Features Associates: Kristin Kuwada, Kitty Luo A&E Editor: Lauren Kim Assistant A&E Editors: Gabi Berchtold, Sarah Lee, Kate Schrage Assistant Multimedia Editor: Isabelle Eshraghi A&E Associate: Caty Szeto Sports Editors: Juliana Berger, Jake Liker Sports Online Editors: Dario Madyoon, Connor Reese Assistant Sports Editors: Eli Adler, Oliver Akhtarzad, Elly Choi Sports Associates:

Ellis Becker, Sam McCabe, Aaron Park, Zach Swartz, Matthew Yam, Adam Yu

Online Editors: Cam Stine, Bryant Wu Ads

and Business Manager: Oliver Richards

Assistant Ads and Business Manager: Jiwon Park Arts Director: Tiffany Kim Freelance Cartoonists: Anna Gong, Mady Madison Assistant Photography Editor: Pavan Tauh Layout Assistants And Staff Writers: Ryan Albert, Kaelyn Bowers, Vishan Chaudhary, Jake Davidson, Kendall Dees, Matthew Druyanoff, Lucas Gelfond, Alex Goldstein, Kelly Gourier, Jackie Greenberg, Sophie Haber, Sofia Heller, Ryan Kim, Samantha Ko, Jenny Li, Sam Lingard, Kaitlin Musante, Saba Nia, Alison Oh, Jiwon Park, Nick Platt, Nick Reece, Asa Saperstein, Meera Sastry, Alexandra So, Cameron Stokes, Angela Tan, Ben Tenzer, Jenny Yoon Layout Assistant Adviser:

Juliet Suess Adviser: Jim Burns

The Chronicle is the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School. It is published eight times per year. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the seniors on the Editorial Board. Letters to the editor may be submitted to chronicle@hw.com or mailed to 3700 Coldwater Canyon, Studio City, CA 91604. Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Chronicle style and format. Advertising questions may be directed to Oliver Richards at orichards1@hwemail.com. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or school.

ANNA GONG/CHRONICLE

Going past the first step in the right direction

Every month, when we sit down to write our editorials, we can’t help but feel like we are preaching. After all, we’re high school seniors writing about issues that often extend far beyond our experiences and purview. Still, at the core of every editorial is an issue we care deeply about and feel needs to be discussed, so we put our heads together to find a way to express our views. And after having written the editorial for that particular issue, we feel motivated to take action but frustrated by practical limitations.

As such, we think we can understand what it must be like for the administration in its efforts to make Harvard-Westlake a more diverse and inclusive community.

Administrators have the diversity report in front of them thoroughly detailing all the things that need to be fixed, but solidifying a plan for action can sometimes out of reach.

Still, gathering information and organizing one’s thoughts are important steps in the path towards improvement. Information can lead to action, no matter how frustrating or difficult the process may feel. So we would like to applaud the administration for taking this step in the right direction and for having the courage to look at itself critically.

If there’s anything our editorials have taught us, however, it’s that just talking about an issue doesn’t really do all that much. Action does. We urge the administration to continue asking itself that crucial question of “What can we do better?” while taking concrete steps toward change. We love it when we get to write headlines about important discussions the administration is having: “School reviews diversity climate assessment” (see A1) or “School considers

AP class limit in talks of student well-being, academic balance.” More than that, however, we like writing headlines describing definitive actions the school is taking without words like “considering” or “discussing.”

Our school is one that prides itself on excellence, but excellence comes in many different forms. Currently, it feels like certain forms of excellence are prioritized over others. When we have discussions about improving student well-being, we also feel the need to ensure that these improvements won’t negatively impact our college admissions.

But sometimes, we must make sacrifices for the things that are important to us. We need to make time for discussions about diversity, even if it means missing out on class time. When a video of Brentwood students singing the n-word is leaked, we need more time than just one class meeting to discuss the ways in which that event impacts our community.

While we appreciate the insight provided by the climate assessment report, we think that most of us already knew we had a problem with diversity. Let’s not pat ourselves on the backs just yet for putting into words a problem of which we were already aware. Instead, let’s start acting on the information provided to us while also being proactive and combating potential future issues. Let’s hire a Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for next year. Let’s not wait to take action like we have for so many years.

We hope that the administration will not shy away from implementing whatever policies they deem necessary in fear of controversy or backlash. Change is hard, but nothing worth doing is ever easy.

A10 OPINION

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 15, 2017

Rejoin reality: quit Instagram

By Sofia Heller

O

ver a year ago, I decided to delete my Instagram ac-

count.

Throughout that time, people have often assumed that my parents are imposing their rules on me. My friends have constantly asked me if I have seen a certain post on Instagram, and after remembering that I don’t have one, proceed to nag me about making a new account. The idea that I would voluntarily delete my account, and actively continue to stay off of Instagram, seems unfathomable.

The choice was a result of my spending hours trying to perfectly edit a photo of my friends and me before selecting the best one to post.

I wish I could say that this was the first time I launched into a frenzy over a picture I wanted to post on Instagram.

Unfortunately, my unrelenting obsessiveness did not only pertain to the act of posting a picture –– the anxiety was constant.

Whether I was on the app or not, at least a small part of my mind was always fixated on the “perfect Instagram.”

Traveling and weekend expeditions became about taking an “Insta-worthy” picture, which entailed more than just an attractive setting.

It had to be aesthetically pleasing with the rest of my pictures, or “go with my flow.” I began to see the world through eyes that were continually scanning their surroundings with a quality Instagram snapshot in mind.

Aside from Instagram leading to both exhaustion and detachedness, I recognized that I was using the app as a tool of self-deprecation and fueling insecurities I had developed.

Opening the app presented endless opportunities to compare myself to others and convince myself that they were thriving while I remained stagnant.

I realized that aside from

Instagram being an issue of addiction, it was also damaging my confidence — I was determining my self-worth based on the amount of followers I accumulated and likes I received.

With the hope that I would rejoin reality, I confirmed that, yes, I really did want to delete my Instagram account.

From that point on, I was no longer trapped in a world of judgment, instinctively judging others and always preparing to be judged.

I didn’t fear evaluation of my character based on a small picture in the upper left corner of my profile or the quality of my editing skills.

My value did not stem from how successfully I maintained a facade on an app. It was freeing.

Slowly but surely, I became more aware of the details in my surrounding environment and was better able to be present in the moment.

When I looked at a sunset over the ocean, I didn’t see a piece of a growing Instagram “flow” or prospective likes and comments.

My desire to introduce myself to new people was not a means of growing my number of followers, and I felt increasingly at ease when holding conversations and engaging with others.

A part of my mind constantly buzzing with angst was now, for the most part, at liberty from the obligation to be perceived well.

It has been over a year since I deleted my Instagram account, and I am not planning on creating a new one anytime soon. I enjoy the peace, unhindered by the upkeep of an online front and blissfully ignorant of the daily on-goings of others. Weekend expeditions are about exploring, looking at a sunset over the ocean is about the beauty of the world, and all the while my phone remains comfortably in my pocket.

An effort to help

By Claudia Wong

M

oving from my old school to HarvardWestlake was a tremendous change for me. I went from attending a small charter school no one had heard of to the nationally recognized institution of Harvard-Westlake.

When I think back to when I moved from my old school to Harvard-Westlake, I only remember how excited I was to be going to a new school.

What I don’t remember is how conflicted my parents were at the time. Although I was ecstatic about the change, my parents felt guilty. They had been strong advocates for fixing the public school system in Los Angeles. They had created a program to improve our lo-

cal public middle school and had even helped found a new charter high school in Santa Monica. So when I wanted to move to private school, they felt like they were abandoning the public school system, like they were admitting defeat and giving up on their goal of fixing it.

And although they have long come to accept that it was the right decision, I think a part of them still feels a little guilty. So when President Commons emailed the parents and faculty last week and urged them to become more involved in the public school system, I felt a newfound wave of appreciation for HarvardWestlake.

SAM KO/CHRONICLE

Taking a stand against gun violence with action

By Ellis Becker

I

t seems like in our society, the American flag sails at half-mast more often that it does not. The flag is only positioned like this in times of crisis, or more recently, to honor the victims of the atrocities that seem to happen all too often in our country. As events like the Orlando massacre become more and more common, we seem to shrug it off. That tragedy was in June, yet I haven’t heard anything about it for months. It’s as if everyone suddenly forgot about it. This awful event will just go into the history books with all of the others that have plagued our country. When was the last time you heard someone talk about the Sandy Hook shooting?

Tragedies like these seem to repeat themselves time and time again, and it’s as if we’ve become numb to them. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that at a certain point, they’ll become too common to even bat an eyelash. In places that have strict gun regulations, like England and Australia, the governments put in place their regulations immediately following massacres almost identical to the ones that have happened in the United States. Since banning firearms, Australia has

not had a single mass shooting.

In the United States, we have shootings every few months, and nothing has changed.

Nothing has changed after Columbine, the Virginia Tech shooting, the Orlando nightclub shooting or many more. In the past 20 years, there have been 203 school shootings. Every single one of these shootings has had memorials, and each has had huge impacts on our nation. Each has been added to the U.S. history books, but only under the “American traditions” chapter. Guns have become so ingrained in certain aspects of our culture that many see the lack of them as a threat to their way of life.

Although for those people, it would be impossible to even put the slightest restrictions on gun use or ownership, we need to start now.

We can count the number of injured or killed, but we can never calculate the impact of these events. History is being written every day through the blood shed by our neighbors.

But it’s become so commonplace that it’s not even worth a turn of our heads. It’s as if a gun is fired and no one cares, the person didn’t really die, the family doesn’t really grieve, and our world isn’t really darkened.

They say that tragedy brings us closer together, it strengthens our bonds, but how many tragedies must we live through to bring us close enough to do something? We must connect not only as a country, or as a people, but as a world. We do not even realize who the real enemy is. The real enemy is us.

We need to wake up and realize that we need to act. These horrible events have gotten to the point that the defining characteristic of our generation is the violent attacks that have taken place all over the world. Hate has defined our generation.

Yet nothing changes.

Thousands have been killed, wounded or affected, yet nothing changes. The Orlando shooter had been interrogated by the FBI twice, and was able to purchase a gun, yet nothing changes. From 1966 to 2012, the United States had 1/3 of the world’s shootings, yet nothing changes. Our country suffers from this parasite day after day, while countries with stricter gun laws watch in peace, yet nothing changes.

Nothing will change if we continue to yell at each other.

Nothing will change if we continue to argue with each other.

Nothing will change, if we are not one.

Some Harvard-Westlake students have never experienced the public school system. However, President Rick Commons aims to raise awareness of how our education at HW affects that of the students in our community.

When he asked that they attend the forum for school board candidates, I felt like President Commons was telling parents that issues with the public school system were our issues as well. Just because the public school board candidates would not be deciding their children’s education, it didn’t mean that the election was unimportant. Although we aren’t a part of the public school system, it doesn’t mean we should completely abandon the public school system.

I was surprised at President Commons’ message because private schools like Harvard-Westlake actually hurt the public school system.

According to the L.A. Unified

School District state of the budget report, the school district received $6,718 in 2013 per student. However, this meant that the school district also lost that same amount of money every time a student chose to go to a private school instead. As a result, schools like Harvard-Westlake cost the public schools money.

But just because we theoretically deprive the public school system money they would otherwise have, this doesn’t mean that we can’t support them as well. I appreciate that President Commons is making real efforts to have our school look beyond itself and try to help other communities. If more people par-

ticipate in local school board elections and take an interest in their activities, the public school system will be held accountable to a higher standard.

There are other groups on campus that are in line with President Commons’ message.

Community Council has had drives to donate school supplies to underfunded schools, and the Bridge to a Brighter Future club tutors public school kids over Skype every week.

I had a great experience at public school before, and I am thankful that I go somewhere that cares about kids outside of our school having that same opportunity.

HWCHRONICLE.COM/OPINION

FEB. 15, 2017

OPINION A11

quadtalk: “What do you want to see most from the restructuring of the athletics mission statement?”

“I think that the athletics department at HarvardWestlake is currently a little chaotic and hopefully the restructuring of such will help reorganize the program for the future.”

— Paul Leclerc ’18

“I think for every program it is different, but for my specific program I am pretty happy with the protocol for games and practices. I can definitely understand in other programs, though, that they aren’t as close, and a lot of their work is driven by fear of getting in trouble and losing rather than teamwork.”

CLAIRE KELLER/CHRONICLE

— Emma Sunkin ’19 CLAIRE KELLER/CHRONICLE

“I think it’s pretty frustrating when the lacrosse team doesn’t have the field or locker rooms because of other sports programs. Generally, reorganizing scheduling would be nice because sometimes we have six o’clock practice times when the field has been open since school ended.”

— Griffin Richter ’17 CLAIRE KELLER/CHRONICLE

INFOGRAPHIC BY BRITTANY HONG

Fighting hate with empathy

The simple concept of empathy is easily forgotten, especially in times of crisis or fear. It is necessary, however, to remember empathy and implement it into our lives and community in order to include the perspectives of everyone.

By Danielle Kaye

A

few months ago, back when many still deemed a Trump presidency impossible, I was sitting on the quad when I heard a friend ask a question that has stuck with me to this day: “If Trump becomes president, will I be affected?”

The question wasn’t how would Trump affect our country or the world, but rather how would his presidency affect her personally.

It’s a question that reflects the self-centered mentality that every single one of us has succumb to at one point or another. After all, it’s in human nature to be egocentric, to a certain extent.

We see the world through our own eyes, live every day in our own skin. It would be impossible, then, to completely disregard our own personal interest, to prevent ourselves from wondering how any given event might affect our own lives.

But this question, this focus on self-interest, is just as dangerous as it is inevitable.

In emphasizing our personal interests, it becomes easy to ignore other perspectives.

The more we focus on ourselves, the harder it becomes to see and understand issues that may not affect us personally.

To avoid being blinded to the world around us, we must address our own personal concerns while also remembering to step into others’ shoes from time to time.

Now more than ever, we need to be empathetic. Empathy forces us to look beyond personal interest. Empathy fights against hate. Without it, discriminatory rhetoric and policies will have no trouble sweeping across America during the next four years.

Without empathy, immigrants and refugees will be treated as statistics rather than as people.

Last October, I spoke with

two Syrians, Fadia Afashe and Jay Abdo, for The Chronicle’s Feature story on the Syrian refugee crisis. I saw Fadia and Jay again Jan. 28, the day after Trump signed an executive order banning immigration from Muslim-majority countries. The immigration ban, they said, has altered their perception of America as a country founded on immigration, one that stands for acceptance and tolerance. Now, they feel as though the struggles they faced to establish lives in America have been disregarded. They are now seen as the enemy.

Without empathy, those who have the resources to raise children will prevent women who lack these same resources from having abortions.

They will decide what a woman can and cannot do with her body, as though her body is their own, as though she has no free will.

They will fail to consider

the fact that she was raped or that she would be unable to provide food and shelter for her child.

Without empathy, love will be a law written by heterosexuals. If a man loves a man, his feelings will be shunned.

If a woman wants to marry a woman, her wish will be seen as a violation of the law of love.

Love will be confined and defined in terms of straight men and women’s personal emotions.

Immigration, abortion, gay marriage — these are only a few important examples of the many issues that depend upon empathy.

Whether or not we are in their situation, we need to take the time to imagine how vulnerable immigrants must be when starting a life in a foreign country, how powerless a woman must feel when her body is no longer under her own control, how heartbroken a gay man must be after being told his love is illegal.

Only then can we begin to see the importance of fighting for issues that do not directly impact our own lives.

Empathy is so simple, yet so easily forgotten. We are lucky to go to a school that teaches us to learn from other cultures and provides us with the information needed to understand that the world does not revolve around us. So all it takes to be empathetic is time — conscious, thoughtful time.

It takes stepping back for a few minutes every day, even in the midst of a stressful week at school. It takes realizing when we’re spending too much time addressing our personal concerns and instead making a deliberate effort to reflect on what other people might be experiencing.

Empathy is nonpartisan.

No matter our political views, we can all strive to be empathetic and, in doing so, can ensure that no perspective is overlooked.

A12

Nevertheless, they persisted

spotlight

Feb. 15, 2017

Following President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, students joined the Los Angeles Women’s March. Sister marches were held across the country and globe, drawing nearly five million people to the events.

TERESA SUH/CHRONICLE

RUSSIAN TO PROTEST: Demonstrators protest the inauguration of President Donald Trump the day after he was sworn in, Jan. 21. Protestors held signs drawing attention to alleged Russian involvement in the election and potential abortion restrictions that the Trump administration may implement in the future.

TERESA SUH/CHRONICLE

THE FUTURE IS FEMALE: Paige Yoo ’17 joins nearly 800,000 women and men in Downtown Los Angeles to shed light on women’s issues, including access to family planning services like birth control.

TERESA SUH/CHRONICLE

CHANTING FOR CHANGE: Demonstraters from across the city march in solidarity for women’s issues and against President Trump’s policies. Celebrity attendees included Jane Fonda and Miley Cyrus.

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF CHARLOTTE WEINMAN

SIBLING SOLIDARITY: Charlotte Weinman ’18, Ben Weinman ’17 and Noah

Weinman ’12 march together as a family while sporting Hillary Clinton attire.

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ISABEL WIATT

NASTY WOMEN: Isabel Wiatt ’18 and Chloe Spain ’18 chant feminist slogans at the Women’s March to protest President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT The Chronicle • Feb. 15 , 2017

Tabula Rasa

Artist Rasa Barzdukas ’17 talks about her artwork and her plans to pursue art in the future.

By CLAIRE KELLER Rasa Barzdukas ’17 sits on the quad, occasionally looking up from her sketchpad. Pages are spilling out of her notebook, each covered in sketches waiting to be perfected in the studio.

Barzdukas has been drawing since before she can remember.

Though she did not enroll in any art classes until her sophomore year, her earliest memories often feature the art studio in her childhood home where she said she spent every free moment creating artwork.

After signing up for every studio art class offered at the Upper School, Barzdukas began honing her artistic skills in 10th grade through hours of practice and technique. In addition to studio classes, she also is taking AP Art History and said it has given her a thorough background to the art she would create in the studio.

Barzdukas credits enrolling in these classes with fostering her enthusiasm for making art.

“If I wasn’t doing homework or with friends, I was drawing,” Barzdukas said. “I’ve always enjoyed [creating artwork] but until I began taking art classes, I didn’t have the dedication or passion that I have now.”

Though she said she does not have a specific style, Barzdukas described her art genre as “unconventional modern.”

She draws inspiration from her surroundings as well as other artists, including her favorite artist, Mark Rothko.

The majority of her works are drawings and paintings, though she also works in ceramics and street art.

“Whether I draw or paint really just depends on what I’m trying to express,” Barzdukas said. “Personally, with drawing I feel like I have a lot more control, especially because I usually draw with pen which feels less freeing. With painting, you can always just paint new layers to express new ideas.”

She has taken up street art, despite the current controversy over whether graffiti is considered artwork. Barzdukas said she actively avoids marking any private property to prevent breaking the law while creating art.

Barzdukas said she prefers to observe and create “street art that conveys a message,” unlike the common graffiti tags found throughout Los Angeles.

She is interested in the social history behind street art and wants to pursue learning more about its effects on society, she said.

“Street art as a whole is an asset to society,” Barzdukas said. “Art is regarded as a high class, wealthy profession that requires classes and art history, which adds to the stigma about it being a selective hobby. Street art makes art accessible to everyone and allows for artistic freedom, exposing more kids to art.”

Street art aside, Barzdukas typically allows others to view her art freely.

She began an Instagram account to publish her pieces, and

says it has helped her improve her artwork immensely knowing that others will see it.

“I’m interested in seeing how I can say what I want to say through art, and have as many people as possible see it,” Barzdukas said.

“I’m interested in [publishing art] because if I begin to paint something with the intent of evoking an emotion from someone, I want to see if it works or not.”

Barzdukas expressed excitement at the latest art savvy trends both online and in real life.

She said the increased awareness for the beauty of museums and street art will help support aspiring artists such as herself as well as introduce more people to artwork.

“Art can and should be attempted by everyone,” Barzdukas said.

“I think it is a great way to express yourself and if it works for you, you should definitely pursue it.”

Barzdukas is enrolled in the AP Studio Art: Drawing class this year.

The yearlong curriculum prepares students for their May portfolio, consisting of 12 pieces of one genre.

“AP Studio Art has been a really enjoyable class because of the freedom we receive,” Barzdukas said.

“We can pretty much spend class drawing whatever we want and prepping our portfolio for the final.”

Barzdukas is creating twelve pieces of concentration under a common theme of “Monsters of Life.”

She has completed three pieces so far and plans to finish the

remaining nine before the May 5 deadline.

She said spends at least two hours a day working on her concentration as well as other various projects.

She also works on the “breadth” work required for the AP exam, which is a collection of pieces demonstrating technique and artistic ability.

“I can pretty much work anywhere, as long as I’m in the right mindset,” Barzdukas said. “If I am feeling inspired, I can pull out a notebook no matter where I am and just start drawing.”

Barzdukas has applied to several art colleges to pursue her dream of making art a future profession.

“Ideally, working in the studio every day and selling my artwork would be my dream job,” Barzdukas said.

Though she has been made offers, Barzdukas has not sold any of her artwork yet but has drawn for friends as personal favors, including cover art for new soundtracks.

“I really enjoy drawing for other people, though you definitely receive negative feedback sometimes,” Barzdukas said. “You just have to learn to let it roll off you and work through it.”

Despite a few setbacks, Barzdukas has continued to push forward and improve her artwork each year, she said.

“I think the progression of my life has been recorded through my artwork and I hope to continue expressing myself through art for the rest of my life,” Barzdukas said.

ALL PHOTOS PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF RASA BARZDUKAS

THE CHRONICLE

B2 A&E

Love Like Snow Other Students acted in the winter play, “Almost, Maine” Feb. 2-4.

Though the show consists of a series of unrelated vignettes, they are all connected through the central theme of romance.

BY KATE SCHRAGE

AND

JIWON PARK

Cast of Characters

Pete...............................Erick Gredonia ’17 Ginette..........................Caroline Cook ’19

The Story: Ginette (Caroline Cook ’19) sits on a bench next to Pete (Erick Gredonia ’17). As the two reveal that they love each other, Pete is more reluctant to share than Ginette. Pete quickly attempts to distance himself from her. Disappointed and disheartened, Ginette leaves Pete on Cast of Characters the bench.

Glory................Lily Beckinsale-Sheen ’17 “I thought the proEast...........................William Newhart ’19 logue was adorable,” Carmen Levine ’17 said. “It really set the The Story: tone for the entire play and highlighted the idTourist Glory (Lily Beckiniosyncratic love that sale-Sheen ’17) stands in East’s (Wilwas portrayed throughliam Newhart ‘19) garden, trying to out the rest of the play.” pay respects for her late husband and assuage her guilt for his death by observing the Northern Lights of the Maine sky. As East tries to comfort her by offering to repair her now broken heart using his expertise as a repairman, she hesitantly obliges to let him, and the two ultimately fall in love.

“My favorite scene is [Her Heart],” Charlotte Weinman ’18 said.

“I loved when they Cast of Characters brought in the northJimmy.................................Jakob Klein ’18 ern lights around the Sandrine......................Carmen Levine ’17 theater.”

Waitress.........................Vanessa Payne ’19

The Story: Jimmy (Jakob Klein ’18) runs into Sandrine (Carmen Levine ’17), his ex-girlfriend, at a bar on the eve of her wedding. As their conversation progresses, Jimmy struggles with the fact that he still loves Sandrine.

When she makes it clear the relationship is over, Jimmy accidentally encountering a waitress named Cast of Characters Villian, (Vanessa Payne Marvalyn..........................Cate Wolfen ’17 ’19), and a new relaSteve................................Liam Daniels ’19 tionship begins.

“Love is continuous,” Levine said. “As The Story: one door closes, another one opens, and roFollowing a fight with her boymance is full of opporfriend, Marvalyn (Cate Wolfen ’17) tunity.” accidently hits stranger Steve (Liam Daniels ’19) with an ironing board in the laundry room of their apartment building and learns that Steve is not able to feel any pain. This leads them to a discussion about the meaning of pain itself. As Marvalyn leaves, she hits him once more with a ironing Brianna Blanchard ’18, Griffin board, and this time, Steve can feel Gunn-Myers ’19, Savannah Weinstock ’18 pain.

“I liked the physical comedy asand Isabella Yanover ’19 pect of my scene because it was something I hadn’t gotten to do beThe Maine Movers keep the show moving by fore,” Wolfen said. “The takeaway transitioning between scenes, moving props from my scene is the importance of and occasionally acting in other vignettes. not dismissing people or ideas because they seem strange or scary at first.”

The Maine Movers

FEB. 1

15, 2017

HWCHRONICLE.COM/AE

A&E B3 Cast of Characters

Lendall..............................Eli Timoner ’18 Gayle............................Talia Lefkowitz ’17

The Story: Gayle (Talia Lefkowitz ’17) abruptly tells her boyfriend of many years Lendall (Eli Timoner ’18) that she wants to take back all of the love that she gave to him, thinking that Lendall did not want to marry her. To Cast of Characters her surprise, he presChad.................................Jacob Tucker ’17 ents her with an engagement ring, and she Randy.....................................Ari Yaron ’18 accepts his proposal.

“The message of our scene was about how The Story: sometimes love doesn’t make itself shown, even Best friends Chad (Jacob Tucker in relationships that ’17) and Randy (Ari Yaron ’18) quespeople have been in for tion if going out with girls that they a long time,” Timoner don’t really like is worth the time. said.

Chad reveals that he would rather just spend time with Randy and tells him that he has fallen for him.

The two then both fall on the ground, symbolizing their newfound feelings for each other. “[The falling] was a great moment that got a lot of laughs,” Tucker said.

“I think the moral of my scene is to just say what you want to say, Cast of Characters and don’t keep feelings Phil.....................................Henry Platt ’17 bottled up because you never know how someMarci................................Sakura Price ’18 one else feels.”

The Story: Married couple Phil (Henry Platt ’17) and Marci (Sakura Price ’18) are looking for Marci’s lost shoe after ice-skating. When Phil asks Marci why she looks so frustrated, she reminds her husband that it is their anniversary. The two realize Cast of Characters that they are no lonHope.........................Natalie Musicant ’17 ger happy or compatiDaniel..........................Clay Hollander ’19 ble, and the other shoe suddenly drops from Suzette...................Brianna Blanchard ’18 the sky.

“The shoe falling from the sky is a moThe Story: ment of finality,” Price said. “It is a mysteriHope (Natalie Musicant ’17) ous, melancholy climax knocks on her ex-boyfriend Daniel’s of the scene.”

(Clay Hollander ’19) door after a long

trip to see him. After he proposed to her years ago, Hope left him without an answer. Ready to accept his proposal, Hope finds out that Daniel has already married Suzette (Brianna Blanchard ’18), who summons him back inside. Hope lingers at the closed door, repeating the word “yes.”

“Sometimes you don’t have to search for Cast of Characters what’s right for you beDave................................Casey Gioilto ’17 cause you already have Rhonda...........................Kami Cooper ’17 it,” Musicant said.

The Story: Dave (Casey Gioilto ’17) tries to tell his good friend Rhonda (Kami Cooper ’17) that he loves her by giving her a hand-painted picture.

Rhonda is unable to identify what the picture represents, but after kissing Dave and realizing that she loves him, she recognizes that the picture is of a heart and the two run eagerly inside.

“The most interesting thing about the scene is that the the painting isn’t revealed to the audience until the very end, thus keeping the audience from understanding the deeper meaning,” Giolito said.

The Almost, Maine Band Trevor Le ’19, Vincent Le ’17, Alex Liang ’18, Ryan O’Donnell ’18, Adin Ring ’18 and Ori Zur ’18 The Almost, Maine Band plays music to help transition between scenes. Zur composed all of the music featured in the show.

ALL PHOTOS BY AARON PARK AND PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE

B4 Arts & Entertainment

The Chronicle

Feb. 15, 2017

Concert to promote tolerance

By Sarah Lee

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF FIRAS RAHHAL

Young musicians rehearse for recital

THE SOUND OF MUSIC: The Harvard-Westlake Youth Orchestra is a community orchestra for string players in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades. The orchestra is open to students from all schools and is directed by Middle School Performing Arts Department Head Emily Reola. Members practice weekly and will perform Feb. 16 and 23 as well as March 2.

Student-led ensembles play in chamber music show

By Isabelle Eshraghi Musicians in upper school instrumental ensembles performed in a chamber music concert Friday and Saturday in the Feldman Horn art gallery and Saint Savior’s Chapel.

The first half of the performance took place in the chapel, and the entire performance was then moved to the gallery so that musicians could perform with the piano.

Students performed pieces from the 17th through 20th centuries, including Vincent Persichetti’s “Pastoral” and William Ryden’s “Tango 5 1/2” in small groups of 13 students or less.

Upper School Performing Arts teacher Mark Hilt said that he chose those pieces for the performance because he believes they fit well with the musicians in each of the ensembles. “[The musicians] have been working on some of these pieces since August through September, some only started right after Thanksgiving break

in December and some have just started four weeks ago,” Hilt said. “It’s not something that can be learned or practiced in class, it has to be taken on as a project that the students have the initiative for.”

Hilt only conducted one of the pieces, “Double Concerto BWV 1043” by Johann Sebastian Bach, which was performed in the chapel by a group of 13 students.

Myria Chen ’18, who plays the harp, said that there was a very unique variety of instrumental pairings in this performance that she was excited about.

“Everyone who is in this concert has been putting a lot of time and effort into making the pieces really dynamic, so the audience would enjoy listening to it and invest a lot of their passion into the music,” Chen said.

Violinist Tony Kukavica ’17 said that he enjoys performing a variety of different types of music in these types of chamber music groups.

“It’s always exciting to work

in small groups because it ex- said. “Everyone is heard more poses me to different kinds of clearly than at a full symphomusic,” Kukavica said. “It’s ny concert.” been fun seeing all of the difAnna Gong ’18, who played ferent kinds of repertoire from three pieces on violin in the the baroque, classical and ro- concert, said that rehearsing mantic eras.” for each piece was time-conClaire Dennis ’18, who also suming, she is proud of all that plays the harp, said that pre- she accomplished through all paring for the concert was dif- that practice. ficult due to a lack of “The best part is time in common with when I took a bow at the other member of the end of each piece her duet. However, knowing I was done she said that their and feeling satisfacwork payed off. tion because I’d actu“I felt very satally implemented all I isfied after our perlearned from practice,” formance because Gong said.

I knew that we had Hilt said that be’ played beautifully as cause of the time Anna Gong ’18 a result of our hard spent on rehearsals, work and dedication to the the show demonstrates the song,” Dennis said. months-long dedication of his Dennis also said that the students. chamber concert presented a “We use some class time unique opportunity because for [rehearsals], but the best it allowed her to showcase her ensembles have really taken abilities without having to play leadership and ownership of with the rest of the orchestra. the ensembles,” Hilt said. “It’s “The chamber music con- very rewarding. This is an excert focuses on each instru- cellent group of musicians this ment’s strengths,” Dennis year.” nathanson s

Advanced Dance II students, as well as 25 guest dancers, will hold their annual concert March 3-5. Though the concert’s theme has not been revealed yet, performing arts teacher Cynthia Winter said that the concept of the show was created in response to current events.

“We hope it makes us all appreciate one another even more,” Winter said.

The company choreographed the show during first semester and has been rehearsing since winter break.

Dancer Tess Haber ’17 said the rehearsals double as a bonding experience because of the amount of time the dancers spend together.

“We try as a company and as a group to really be there and support one another,” Haber said.

Since the theme was drawn from current events, some dancers say the concert has a personal meaning.

Haber, for example, feels that the show is about coming together.

“I hope that everyone walks away with a better understanding of people that may be different from themselves and having a more open mind, and just in general, being a more of a kind person,” Haber said.

On the other hand, Angel Hoyang ’18 said that, to her, the concert is about positivity. However, she also said that this year’s concert is one filled with intense emotion.

“There is one dance where there is going to be a lot of anger,” Hoyang said. “It’s really freeing to be able to be angry on stage and show how you’re feeling.”

Hoyang says that she hopes the emotion in the concert helps the audience learn to become more sympathetic and reflect on their own feelings.

“It’ll be a sort of catharsis, but also a time when the audience can feel appreciated,” Hoyang said.

Photographers exhibit first semester portrait projects

By Kaitlin Musante Photography I students hosted a reception to showcase their first semester projects in the Feldman-Horn art gallery Feb. 6.

The showcase included self portraits inspired by a mentor of the student’s choice, camera-less photograms, crumpled up magazines and a few surrealist pieces created by last year’s Photography I students.

Each student had one to two pieces on show in the gallery.

Food and drink were available at the reception, which anyone could attend for free.

Visual arts teacher Alyssa Sherwood said she hoped to teach students the essentials of photography and help them to find their own personal voice

and unique style.

“I felt like the projects really helped me improve my composition and how [my mentor] looked at her environment influenced the way that I looked at mine,” Photography I student Isabella Huang ’19 said. “I put so much effort into all of my pieces, and I am very excited that they are up on display for everyone to enjoy.”

Sherwood said that she was very impressed with the students’ pieces and the overall turnout of the show.

“I loved the show,” Sherwood said. “It looked amazing. It has been such a fantastic year of students. The Feldman-Horn gallery is a beautiful space and it is a special opportunity for the Photography I students to take over the whole gallery.”

SOPHIE HABER/CHRONICLE

WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS: Photo I students exhibited their photos in the Feldman-Horn art gallery.

The students held a reception to share their work with peers and parents. Food and drink were provided.

Features The Chronicle • Feb. 15, 2017

Features The Chronicle • Jan. 11, 2017

The Cost to Compete Students say that in order to participate in their extracurricular activities, they need to pay a steep price.

• Continued on C7

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSIE ABUGOV AND NICOLE KIM

C2 FEATURES

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 15, 2017

A Test of Honor

Students assess the morality of skipping school on a test day in order to stay home and study.

ILLUSTRATION BY ANNA GONG

By KATIE PLOTKIN

been excused in advance by a dean, in order more accommodating.” for he or she to participate in athletics, perAlthough she doesn’t believe it is right, When Greg* ’17 got home from Peer Support forming arts or other extracurricular activities, Daria Arzy ’18 said she sees the reasons for on a Monday night, the last thing he wanted to that person must be in all of their classes for and against taking a day off.

“It is unfair to the teacher and the students do was pull an all-nighter to finish his English that day.

“Students must attend all of their classes on if someone consistently misses class in order essay.

He’d had to pull them before, and the gru- a game day, so that’s kind of their exam, the to avoid a test or quiz,” Arzy said. “That being eling effects of working all night deterred him way we see it,” Attendance Coordinator Gabe said, I know how stressful school can be, and from ever doing it again. The memories of Preciado said. “They can’t, for example, miss I understand if someone needs to occasionally trudging through the day tired out of his mind [some of their classes] and then go to their take a day off to recharge.”

Thirty-five percent of the 349 students were still fresh, so when he got home that game.”

Jones believes that teachers will most like- polled said that they believe it is fair for stunight, he went straight to bed.

“I didn’t really want to stay up super late to ly be more lenient with a sophomore than a dents to miss school to miss a test or quiz.

It can also be unfair to the students who do it, so I missed school,” Greg said. “Last year, senior if it has to do with the student overexcame to class for the test or I [skipped school] a couple times when I would tending himself or herself. Also, he said that there are quiz, no matter how prepared have a test and wouldn’t do a good situations in which they are, when their classmates enough job of prioritizing [studying].”

I believe that it teachers have been skip class to gain extra time to Skipping school or class periods to accommodating to the study, Gurney said. is unfair to the teacher avoid tests and quizzes seems to be a needs of students if “I think that I just have a common occurrence at Harvard-Westand the students if the excuses are legitidifferent philosophy than lake, Greg said. someone is consistently other people, so it’s a litmate.

“I think it is pretty frequent,” he “There defi nitely are missing class in order to tle frustrating for me to said. “There are certainly people who reasons that are ulsee that people aren’t don’t [miss classes to skip tests] and avoid a test or quiz.”

W ’ tra-legitimate, and I’ve sick and get to go who pride themselves on not doing it, Kent Nealis never seen a teach—Daria Arzy ’18 home and essenbut I think, overall, most people have er not be reasonable tially have an done it at least a couple of times.” extra day to In a Februrary Chronicle Poll, 342 out of about that,” Jones said.

Although teachers do occasionally grant ex- study,” Gurney said. “It 349 people said that they believe that people miss school to skip tests or quizzes, while 29 tensions, some students are sometimes hesi- almost seems like they are given more time, percent said they have skipped school to avoid tant to ask for one, Greg said.

“I think the student figures missing school is and it’s unfair.” a test or quiz.

For teachers, it can be hard to tell if a stu- effectively the same as asking for an extension *Names think that dent is actually sick or skipping school to and being granted one, and so asking doesn’t have been inherently grant you much benefit unless you study. students miss changed.

“I guess what it really boils down to is, sure, get a multi-day extension,” Greg said. “And school to avoid there are probably some students who are ab- I mean, it could provide [the student] with a sent on the day of the test,” math teacher Kent moral benefit, but a lot of students don’t really assessments Nealis said. “Unless it’s egregious, where it care about that.”

Some believe that students need to be more happens time after time, there really isn’t going think that it is to be any consequence because you really have willing to be upfront with teachers, while to take people at their word. If it’s an excused teachers should be more open to granting exunfair to miss tensions. absence, it’s an excused absence.” school to avoid “I think that you won’t know unless you It is also possible for disciplinary measures to be taken if a student demonstrates that they ask a teacher [for an extension], and more an assessment consistently miss test or class days. If the stu- often than not, my teachers have been dent does this, and the teacher notifies the very accommodating when I have had dean, the dean will typically get in contact with an issue,” Gillian Gurney ’17 said. the student first, Upper School Dean Chris “But I have heard some stories about when specific teachers Jones said.

“Typically, it starts with the student to see have been pretty hard on have missed what is going on and recognize that this is a students. I think we need to meet in the middle. pattern,” Jones said. “If it is something that school to avoid doesn’t stop at that point, then it is something Students need to be an assessment that we usually will discuss with the families. more up to asking teachers [for Unless there is something major going on, it extensions], usually stops.”

According to the Harvard-Westlake Stu- and teachers dent-Parent Handbook, unless the student has need to be HITE S

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98%

65%

29%

SOURCE: FEBRUARY CHRONICLE POLL POLL ILLUSTRATION BY ALENA RUBIN

C3 FEATURES

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 15, 2017

Corps Curriculum Some alumni opt to enroll in United States service academies to gain leadership experience and to prepare to serve their country.

By DANIELLE KAYE SABRINA DE BRITO

ly attends the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Rhode Island, said. “I always knew I As a kid, Daniel Katz ’09 wasn’t going to go to a regular dreamed of flying. He went to four-year college and do the airshows in the southern Cali- same old thing because I’m just fornia area whenever possible, not that person.”

Juarez participates in the where he was captivated by the fighter jets soaring through the Foundation Program that the school offers, which helps stuopen sky.

“I always wanted to be a dents transition mentally and fighter pilot, but like most child- physically, before moving on to hood dreams, that just kind of the United States Naval Acadefaded as I got older,” Katz said. my in Maryland.

“We do not have a lot of stu“I was still interested in flying jets but figured I would just dents drawn to these schools in have to put that on my bucket any given year, but those that are tend to have a strong inlist for when I got older.”

During the summer before terest in serving their country his junior year, Katz realized and appreciate the structure of that his childhood dream could these academies,” Upper School become a reality. He decided Deans Department Head Beth to look into the United States Slattery said.

Programs, such as the one Air Force Academy, compelled by the idea of becoming a pilot Juarez is enrolled in, offer free while also receiving a quality education in return for eventual education. He visited the acad- service in the armed forces. Although the academies emy’s Colorado camoften have STEM-cenpus and “fell in love,” tered core curricuprompting him to apply lums that include to and eventually attend courses in chemistry, the academy. physics and calculus, As a recent Air Force students are able to Academy graduate, Katz take electives as well. said he found the leadFor example, Juarez ership training at the is also studying mu’ academy to be particusic, data structures Daniel Katz ’09 larly valuable. and algorithms.

“From day one, “From my perspective, the you’re put in charge of people and held to a standard no oth- primary benefit is free, toper college kids are held to,” Katz notch education and the opsaid. “While challenging, it was portunity to be surrounded by other students with a common extremely rewarding.”

While most students go on desire to serve,” Slattery said. to attend either four-year liberal “For the right students, who arts colleges or research univer- understand what their responsities after graduation, a select sibilities are once they get there few choose to attend one-year, and after they graduate, the acnational service specialty insti- ademics can be a great fit.”

Gabe Golob ’16 is also attutions. Throughout the past five years, 10 students from the tending the Naval Academy school have opted to take this Preparatory School. He initially route and apply to armed forces committed to play Division One baseball. He said that there is preparation academies.

“I wanted to do something a good balance between military that was meaningful and some- and academic focus. “[There is] military thing that was going to teach training - just marching to me to become a meals and everywhere we better person,” go,” Golob said. “Fridays, Nina Avaloswe have [physical therapy] Juarez ’16, in the morning and a brief of who currentAND

NATHANSON S

some sort in the afternoon. The shuttle run, do crunches/ physical part, in my opinion, sit-ups, do push-ups and run is the easy part. As a recruited one mile. There are minimum athlete, it’s why I’m here and performance levels that must what I enjoy the most.” be met for each of these activiGolob said that while the ties, which can be found on the transition into the academy was Academy’s official website. difficult, he felt supported by Similarly, at the Naval Prehis peers. paratory Academy School, stu“The three-week indoc[tri- dents must first complete a nation] to the navy was for sure preliminary apa culture shock coming from plication Harvard-Westlake,” Golob said.

To be eligible for the USAFA, students must be between 17 and 23 years old. They must also be unmarried US citizens. There is a pre-candidate questionnaire, which opens to applicants prior to being March 1 of their junior year. considered an official applicant.

Students also must be nom- They then receive an official inated by a legally authorized nomination and complete a secentity in one of the following ond official candidate status apcategories: congressional, vice plication. Fitness and character presidential, military affiliated, assessments are also required.

U.S. Territory Dean coor internationordinator and al. Students are I wanted to Summer School encouraged to Cado something that Coordinator request a nommille da Santos was meaningful and said that the ination from both their U.S. something that was deans encourSenator and students to going to teach me to age their U.S. Repapply to schools become a better person.” focused resentative and on must be legal preparation for —Nina Juarez ’16 residents of the the Army, Navy state from which and Air Force if they seek recommendation. they desire a more rigid and rigWithout an official nomination, orous curriculums than many the student cannot be accepted other schools offer. or considered for the Academy.

“The days are extremely reThe Academy also exam- warding, and at the end of the ines the students’ academic day, I go to bed knowing that I performance, extracurricular got better in some aspect of life,” activities and character. The Golob said. “I love that.” character assessment entails an interview, a teacher evaluation, a personal statement and a drug and alcohol abuse certificate. There is also a fitness assessment, which tests the applicant’s ability to throw a basketball, do pullu p s ,

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ILLUSTRATIONS BY KITTY LUO

THE CHRONICLE

C4 FEATURES

De-fundamental Rights Students express concerns following Trump’s recent executive order to redirect federal funds from Planned Parenthood, which provides health services for women.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY NICOLE KIM AND KRISTIN KUWADA

FEB 1

15, 2016

HWCHRONICLE.COM/FEATURES

By DANIELLE SPITZ

FEATURES C5

ment for family planning services provided by Planned Parenthood, Three minutes passed, and a the federal government reimbursfaded pink positive sign started to es the state for those services appear. Paralyzed with disbelief, and finally the state reimburses Addison* ’17 rethought her entire Planned Parenthood. To qualify for future and her life as she knew Medicaid, a patient must be below it. Teen pregnancy had always a certain income level.

Since Trump has signed an seemed so distant, but now it had executive order barring federal become her reality.

Addison said she intended to funds from international organigo to Planned Parenthood to seek zations that offer abortion, like medical attention for her pregnan- the International Planned Parenthood Federation, board member of cy.

“I was just going to get an abor- Planned Parenthood Los Angeles tion, and it wasn’t going to be an Cathy Unger said she is concerned about the possibility of losing fedissue,” Addison said. eral funds in the Eventually, United States.

Addison found “[Losing fedout that she was eral funds] is gonot pregnant It’s pretty horrifying and concluded considering that my life can ing to affect low income people, that the pregbe completely changed just those not being nancy test had able to get their given her a false because one man decides family planning positive.

She that he know what’s best services reimsaid she was still for something that doesn’t bursed,” Unger terrified to think said. “We raise about what her affect him whatsoever private monlife might have —Addison* ’17 said. ey, but even the been like if she wonderful and were to have had generous contria child, especially if President Donald Trump’s butions don’t make up for what we administration were to defund get from the federal government Planned Parenthood and make for reimbursement.”

Unger said the best way to raise abortion less of an accessible opawareness for Planned Parenthood tion.

“It’s pretty horrifying consider- is by educating the public.

“The day after Trump was ing that my life can be completely changed just because one man elected, we got calls into Planned decides that he knows what’s best Parenthood asking if we were still for something that doesn’t affect open and if we were still providing him whatsoever,” Addison said. services,” Unger said. “There’s so “I might have had to drop out of much misinformation out there. school. I wouldn’t get an educa- It’s about educating our legislators and the public.” tion. It would be life-ending.”

Planned Parenthood centers Planned Parenthood provides reproductive health services both are welcome to all patients regardnationally and globally. According less of age, gender, sexual orientato their website, Sexually Trans- tion, race, religion or immigration mitted Infection and Human Im- status. Unger said that she is conmunodeficiency Virus testing and cerned that without federal fundtreatment account for 39 percent ing, the organization will no longer of their services, pregnancy testing be able to provide for all patients for 26 percent and contraception that come in.

“Young women are going to be for 16 percent. Abortion accounts for 2 percent of their services. Oth- afraid to go to Planned Parenter services include cancer screen- hood because they won’t think ing, emergency contraception, sex that we can provide the services, and, frankly, that is correct beeducation and primary care.

The organization receives fed- cause if funding is reduced, we’re eral funding in two ways, and no only going to be able to serve so federal funding can be used to- many people,” Unger said. “In Calward abortion. Title X, which is ifornia, I don’t know what’s going part of the United States Public to happen because if we lose fedHealth Service Act, was enacted in eral funding we would hope that 1970 and is a federal program de- the state of California could make voted to providing family planning up some of it, but they can’t make services. Planned Parenthood also up as much as the federal governreceives federal funding through ment reimburses us for.”

Along with promoting inclusivMedicaid reimbursement, in which the state bills the federal govern- ity, Unger said the organization aims to make family planning ser-

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Womb Service Stats

92% of students feel that Planned Parenthood should not be defunded.

vices and reproductive care as ac- great to still have Planned Parcessible as possible. enthood there for me and for my “We’ve fought very hard to have friends, and it’s really concerning laws where you can come in with- to think that those are very basic out your parents’ consent,” Ung- human rights that are potentially er said. “You can avail yourself of being taken away.” family planning services and aborLa Femme participated in Pink tion services without parental no- Out the week after Trump’s inautification or consent.” guration, in which members of the Even though Zoe* ’18 said she club wore pink to raise awareness feels comfortable talking to her for Planned Parenthood. Kaur said parents about her health con- the club plans to continue talking cerns, it was still difficult for her about women’s health rights reto receive a prescription for birth garding Planned Parenthood and control. other local charities and health “I needed [birth control] for clinics. my skin, so my mom called my “A lot of people don’t know that general pediatrician to try to get the majority of what Planned Parit prescribed, and my doctor ba- enthood does is cancer screening sically said that she doesn’t pre- and STI testings, which is really scribe birth control based important for just basic on moral reasons and relilife, so I think that the gion,” Zoe said. best way to combat that She was able to evenmisconception is to keep tually receive the prescrippeople informed,” Kaur tion from her dermatolosaid. “My main concern gist, but Zoe said she was is that people who are so taken aback by her pediaactively against Planned trician’s response.

Parenthood are not realW ’ “I was confused bely in the mindset, espeCami Katz ’19 cause I haven’t been excially right now, to even posed to that many people bother learning about it, who are adamantly against birth so until people are more willing to control, especially based on reli- listen, I think it’s our job to make gion,” Zoe said. “[My doctor] is a sure that we keep talking about it medical professional, and birth and we make sure it stays funded.” control is super normal in our day As chair of the teen outreach and age, so it was kind of upset- committee for the Women’s March ting.”

Los Angeles, Cami Katz ’19 recruitBecause Zoe’s parents support ed Harvard-Westlake students as her using birth control, she said well as students from other high she is more concerned for girls schools in Los Angeles to attend who can’t turn to their parents for the Women’s March. She said she help. wanted to be involved in the march “If Planned Parenthood is de- so she could raise awareness for funded, people who don’t have the women’s rights. resources like I do, who have par“We can have all these marchents who are against birth control, es,” Katz said. “We can do all these who are in a state where [birth things, but they’re not changing control] is hard to find or who [Trump]. Not to say that they’re don’t have the economic resources going to stop or that I’m going to to handle it themselves are more at stop, but he doesn’t seem to be risk than I am,” Zoe said. truly affected by them yet, and he As a senior who is preparing to doesn’t understand how deep this leave for college, La Femme leader runs, but I don’t plan to stop at all Sohni Kaur ’17 said she is scared during his entire term.” that Planned Parenthood might no Although Katz said she has longer be an available resource for never sought medical attention her when she leaves home. from Planned Parenthood, she “It’s just worrying to me to knows girls from other schools think that if anything were to hap- who have, and she is concerned pen to me on a college campus, about federal funds for the organiwhere things often do happen, zation being reduced. that the laws might not be able to “Women are being completeallow me to get help,” Kaur said. ly targeted, so it’s really difficult “I haven’t needed to go to Planned to watch,” Katz said. “The idea Parenthood yet, but I know that in of Planned Parenthood being decollege, I’m going to be away from funded is so concerning because my doctor and my parents, so hav- if you have nowhere else to go, ing Planned Parenthood would be you should have a doctor. That’s a a huge benefit. Even if I don’t need natural human right that [Trump] anything and I just have any ques- shouldn’t be able to take away.” tions that I don’t feel comfortable asking anybody else, it would be *Names have been changed.

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The Chronicle polled 340 students on Feb. 11 about their experiences with women’s health clinics and their opinions regarding Planned Parenthood.

23% of students or their friends have sought medical attention from Planned Parenthood or another women’s health clinic.

47% of students do not feel comfortable talking to their parents or their doctor about family planning services.

GRAPHICS BY NICOLE KIM

C6 FEATURES

THE CHRONICLE

Eyes Wide Shut

By ALENA RUBIN

once a week. Now the episodes occur less frequentWhen Lucas Perez ’16 ly, about once or twice a finally starts to fall asleep, month, he said.

He cited this episode as he hears a siren blare.

Its chaotic, high pitch being particularly intense, mingles with a shrieking because he usually does wail. The sounds grows not have hallucinations. louder, and the cha- He said that during an epos builds until it’s all he isode of sleep paralysis, he hears. A migraine devel- feels frightened and helpops, pulsating in his brain less.

“I feel very vulnerable,” to the beat of his racing Perez said. “That’s what heart. He tries to move his makes it very scary. You arms, but they stay frozen.

“Oh shit, this is hap- can’t do anything for yourpening,” he thinks, recog- self.”

However, he does not nizing the all-too-familiar believe that his sleep pafeeling of waking up to “a full-on nightmare” while ralysis disorder significantly affects his grades his body is paralyzed.

While still struggling or daily life, and has not to combat the pulsing mi- sought professional treatment. graine, Pe“If it rerez sees a ally became I feel very ghost-like a case silhouette vulnerable. That’s what where I looming was getting makes it very scary.

You over him. traumatcan’t do anything for It begins ic experito scream yourself.” ences that at him. affected —Lucas Perez ’16 He tries to me down call out for the line help, but even when I was awake, his vocal chords freeze. As and if it was something the figure reaches out to that affected my psyche or touch him, he snaps out of made it so I couldn’t study the episode. in my classes or I couldn’t Perez regularly expe- go out and see friends then riences sleep paralysis, I would for sure go see a which, according to the doctor,” Perez said.

Mayo Clinic, is a tempoIsabel Wiatt ’18 said rary inability to move or she also suffers from sleep speak while falling asleep problems. Although she or waking up, despite be- has never been formally ing conscious. According to diagnosed by a doctor, WiThe Huffington Post, those att believes that her sympaffected by sleep paraly- toms are in line with those sis commonly experience of insomnia. Like Perez, hallucinations, typically of Wiatt said she remains a ghost-like presence, as high-functioning besides well as strange sounds. her sleep disorder, which This incident occurred causes her to sleep three less than a year ago, when or four hours per night.

Perez was experiencing Wiatt said that she sleep paralysis at least used to try for hours to fall

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FEB. 15, 2017

Some students suffer from sleeping conditions causing them to experience insomnia, sleep paralysis and circadian rhythm problems. asleep, but once she found that she couldn’t sleep before 3 a.m., she started using the time before bed to practice guitar and do homework. Although it doesn’t affect her much during the day, Wiatt said that at night her sleeping condition makes her feel frustrated knowing she is unable to fall sleep.

“My mom will text me sometimes if she ever wakes up and says ‘Don’t you want to go to bed?’ and I’m like ‘[Of course] I want to go to bed’,” Wiatt said.

Besides the frustration that accompanies her night-time restlessness, Wiatt is also prone to illness due to her lack of sleep. She said that she had a case of strep throat that lasted continuously through her sophomore year.

“It was so bad that I could not function at all,” Wiatt said. “I would be in bed for days and days and days. It would be so painful to get up. So I guess that was just really frustrating.”

Counselor and humanities teacher Luba Bek said that it is common for students to be more susceptible to sickness after not getting enough sleep.

“Lack of sleep and prolonged sleep deprivation can lead to weakening of the immune system,” Bek said. “You can see kids sniffling and getting colds and mono and what not.”

Julia MacCary ’19 suffered from a circadian rhythm disorder last spring and summer, which, according to the American Sleep Association, inhibits someone from sleeping and waking up at the appropriate times.

MacCary said that her els, noting that he experihealth was at risk because enced sleep paralysis more she was often sleeping frequently during his juthrough two meals per nior and senior years. day. In addition, the con“I definitely felt more dition made her feel lethar- stressed out because of segic when she was awake. nior year and then college “Even when I woke up I apps,” Perez said. “And wouldn’t feel like I had any also high school itself, not energy even though in the just senior year but all of middle of the day is when high school, you gotta do you should have the most really well so you can get energy,” MacCary said. into college. I don’t know, Besides the negative possibly once I got to colimpact on her health and lege I was more relaxed energy, her condition also about stuff, so maybe affected her emotionally, that’s why it doesn’t hapmaking her feel subdued pen here. after waking up late.

However, MacCary con“It sounds sort of stu- sulted a physician and pid, but it’s sad when you treated her condition by miss all of daylight,” Mac- following a strict sleep Cary said. schedule and is now fulBek said that ly recovered, she an adverse effect said. After turnof sleeping dising her electronorders is their ics off at 8 p.m., ability to impair she said she goes students’ driving to bed at 10 p.m. abilities, posing and wakes up at a threat to their 7 a.m. Although safety. adjusting to the “Driving while new schedule was W ’ tired is as dan- Isabel Wiatt ’18 straining, she said gerous as drivthat after a month ing under the influence, it worked. because while you’re un“It was hard because as der the influence, you’re you can imagine I wasn’t impaired but your eyes tired at all, so that was a are still open,” Bek said. really hard process,” Mac“We’ve had, unfortunately, Cary said. examples over the years of Wiatt began taking accidents, even really trag- melatonin to help her ic accidents, that resulted fall asleep after her mom from lack of sleep and stu- consulted a doctor. She dents falling asleep at the said that it helps her fall wheel.” asleep a couple hours earWhile MacCary said lier when she takes a high that her circadian rhythm dosage, but it still hasn’t disorder was due to “a bad solved the problem. habit that developed over “It’s still a frustrating time into a sleeping disor- feeling to need melatonin der,” Wiatt and Perez think to fall asleep,” Wiatt said. that their conditions may “I hope it will get better. be genetic.

Maybe after taking melaPerez also believes that tonin a lot my body will get the disorder may be linked, used to going to bed early, in part, to his anxiety lev- but I don’t know.”

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PHOTO ’18 PHOTOBY BYPAVAN PAVANTAUH TAUH’18 PHOTO ’18 PHOTOILLUSTRATION ILLUSTRATIONBY BYALENA ALENARUBIN RUBIN’18

FEB. 15, 2017

HWCHRONICLE.COM/FEATURES

FEATURES C7

“When you manage your own money, you’re very conscious about how you spend it and what you spend it on,” Anya Andrews ’17 said.

• Continued from C1

covered the food and everything. But if I wanted to go do something fun

By RIAN RATNAVALE over there, or an activity, I wouldn’t be able to do it because I don’t have When Anya Andrews ’17 and her that money.” teammates on the girls’ soccer team Similarly, Allison Gorokhovsky got the bill for dinner while at a tour- ’17, a former debater, praised the nament, she watched as her team- school and its debate program for mates casually drew money out of funding students to go on debate their wallets without hesitation. For trips. Gorokhovsky did, however, Andrews, however, the meal meant say that the price of trips and exa little bit more, since the money penses can be superfluous. she used to pay for it came out of “Even if you’re not on financial her own paycheck from her job at aid, the debate program does help Trader Joe’s. you subsidize your trips,” GorokWhile each instance of spending hovsky said. “That being said, [if the might not stand out on its own, An- school doesn’t subsidize the trip], drews said that she is always con- you’re spending $1,200 per weekscious of how much she spends on end. That’s kind of ridiculous for soccer. Before every tournament or one weekend. A lot of concerns that trip, Andrews works extra hours to people had on the debate team was pay for trip expenses not paid for by that we weren’t sure where a lot of the school. the costs were coming from. A tourOn her financial aid plan, An- nament should cost about $500drews receives help from the school $800, not $1,200.” when it comes to buying her uniIn the poll, 53 percent of stuform, but the costs of being on a dents reported spending more than sports team go beyond just the sign- $1000 for a trip or on expenses for up fee and basic equipment. Every their extracurricular, and 56 pertime Andrews’ cleats wear down or if cent said that they feel pressure to she needs new training equipment, take extra lessons to supplement that comes out of her own pockets, their extracurricular, which can beshe said. come very expensive. Upper School “When we went to Texas, we had Dean Celso Cardenas said that the to pay for our meals, which school should sit down is completely reasonable, and take a thorough look but it can be a lot of monat what is and isn’t workey,” Andrews said. “I paid ing financially for every for every single bit I have, extracurricular, top to so when it comes down to bottom. school trips or equipment “I think we have to that I need or new cleats, I assess how much is realpay for that with whatever ly necessary,” Cardenas I make from my work. Essaid. “How much travel W ’ pecially when you manage is necessary for certain Daniel your own money, you’re very organizations, how much Varela ’18 conscious about how you time, how many commitspend your money and what ments require outside fiyou spend it on.” nancial obligations. Many schools In a February Chronicle poll, 26 out there get by doing whatever they percent of students said that they’ve need to do within their own budget, been discouraged from doing an ac- without looking every few months tivity at the school because of how for students who chip in. I think much it costs. assessing the mission of these orgaBen Geiger ’17, a pitcher for the nizations and how we can go about baseball team, said that he spent doing that is the first priority, withroughly $800 on equipment, as out putting a financial strain on the well as another $500 to $600 every budget.” time the team goes to a tournament.

Cardenas said he believes that Players on the girls’ soccer team pay the students at Harvard-Westlake $500 for uniforms and an addition- are aware of their limits, and thinks al $200 to $250 for cleats, Chroni- that there is a correlation between cle staff member and soccer player participation in some of the more Cameron Stokes ’19 said. expensive activities and income.

Daniel Varela ’18 said he thinks “I do think [the cost] is somethat the school does its best to help thing our students think about students make ends meet for trips before getting into the extracurand other activities. When Varela ricular,” Cardenas said. “What went to Spain, his family did not can they pursue based on have to pay the $5,000 fee for the what financial obligations they trip upfront. After talking to the Fi- are on? I’m sure that if we asnancial Aid office, he attended the sessed participation in these trip at a cost more affordable for organizations and students him and his family. Still, Varela said that are on scholarship here, he had to be conscious of his spend- we would find a correlation.” ing on the trip.

The average amount of fi“I feel that funding is very ac- nancial aid award granted to cessible to people on financial aid Harvard-Westlake families was because the school is there and $27,000 this year, according can help you out,” Varela said. “But to the school’s website. While if I wanted to go buy a souvenir, I financial aid usually helps couldn’t do that. Food-wise, they cover the rudi-

mentary expenses and the fees for trips and other activities, some faculty members acknowledged that it might be hard to truly find a perfect financial aid balance.

“The only way you can address [more financial aid], however, is by having a higher tuition for everybody,” mathematics teacher and former Director of Financial Aid Kent Nealis said. “This is essentially cross-subsidizing those people at a margin, but then you just push other people to the margin. I’m not saying it is an unsolvable problem.

I’m just saying it is a difficult one.”

Nealis said that the school should cover the necessary costs for extracurricular activities.

“We don’t want to keep saying, ‘Here’s your tuition. It’s 30 something thousand dollars a year. But here’s another $5,000 for this, here’s another $2,000 for that,’” Nealis said. “So I think you have to find a way to include the small stuff.

If there were, say, $1,000 of inter-

mediate costs, I would just think it would make sense to find a way to include that.”

At the end of the day, Andrews said that money hasn’t stopped her from doing anything at the school, but said the thought of spending always looms at the back of her mind.

“I don’t think there’s anything specific I haven’t been able to do because of money, but it’s something that is constantly on my mind, especially when I’m at this school and getting involved in extracurricular activities,” Andrews said.

HITE S

PHOTO BY PAVAN TAUH PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSIE ABUGOV AND NICOLE KIM

C8 FEATURES

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 15, 2017

Ready for Anything Some students take self-defense classes or other precautions to be prepared in case of dangerous encounters.

By ESHANIKA CHAUDHARY

tially putting themselves in danger, they aren’t aware of what’s going on.”

Teenagers especially tend to not No longer willing to put up with being bullied in preschool and ele- be as conscious of their surroundmentary school, Kathryn Tian ’17 ings as other age groups because and her family looked to martial arts of having grown up with technology as a way for her to defend herself such as cell phones, Bunting said.

“Because of their phones, a lot of when she was seven years old.

“One of the kids [...] tried to stab people are distracted,” Bunting said. me in the eye with a stick on the “When you are in an unfamiliar sitplayground,” Tian said. “My parents uation or unfamiliar setting, being felt that I needed to know how to live focused on your phone, what you’re listening to or who you’re talking to safer.”

A decade and 21 world titles later, via text message or Snapchat, you do Tian credits martial arts with shap- take away one of your senses.”

To combat this, Bunting recoming the person she is today.

“It boosted my self-confidence mends that students look around when in public to scan for and allowed me to be a safe areas and to look out more outgoing, talkative for other people that they person,” Tian said. could potentially ask for help While Tian doesn’t deal should a conflict arise. She with the elementary school also suggests notifying a bullies anymore, she said friend or relative about one’s she continues to value the whereabouts and expected self-defense skills she has time of return. learned throughout her Security guard Mark Geitraining. She has even at’ ger agrees that most students tended some classes at her Kathryn are less aware of their surold martial arts school speTian ’17 roundings than they should cifically for self-defense. be because of their phones, “As a woman, [learning self-defense] really helps you be as they opt to look at the screen while aware of everything around you,” walking instead of scanning the area.

“If you’re in public, pay attenTian said. “I’d say the impact of it has tion to your surroundings, look, see been very noticeable.”

This awareness is key, according what’s going on and where you’re to Jennifer Bunting, one of the lead headed,” Geiger said. “If your car is instructors at IMPACT Personal Safe- parked, see if there’s anybody hangty. According to its website, IMPACT ing out around it. Don’t be afraid to is a nonprofit corporation which go back into the store if you don’t feel seeks to educate and train partici- comfortable.”

And while Geiger points out that pants in “self-defense and boundary-setting techniques” through vari- sometimes looking around frantically ous classes and training programs to can make someone seem like more of better prepare people to handle po- an outsider rather than walking nonchalantly, he says that staying aware tential conflicts.

“Awareness is one of the biggest of one’s surroundings throughout a things that you can do to keep your- journey is oftentimes more effective self safe,” Bunting said. “When peo- than waiting until a potentially danple don’t realize that they are poten- gerous situation arises.

NATHANSON S

Bunting additionally emphasizes “Learning self-defense really gives the value of confidence in keeping you a sense of confidence walking safe, explaining that there are ways around, mostly at night,” Tian said. to scan an area without seeming Self-defense classes, such as the frantic, making oneself a target. ones offered at IMPACT, also aim to “Being calm and looking around boost confidence, Bunting said, and is a very different thing than appear- are designed specifically to help preing to be nervous and scared,” Bun- pare for real-life situations, unlike ting said. “Looking around isn’t really standard martial arts. In general, the problem. It’s how you’re looking classes at IMPACT focus primarily on around that would be more import- being aware of one’s surroundings, ant, to try and maintain a body lan- trusting one’s instincts, preparedguage that is confident and secure.” ness and various physical maneuUpper School Attendance Co- vers. ordinator and advisor to the HarAccording to a Chronicle poll of vard-Westlake Boxing Club Gabriel 332 students, 35 percent of students Preciado encourages students to also have taken a self-defense class. extend this awareness to make note Phaedra Robinson ’17 said that of potential weapons. the self-defense class “Wherever you’re she took at the end at, things can be used of last year made her If you’re in public, feel safer and more as a weapon, so familiarize [yourself] with equipped to deal with pay attention to your the items around you. conflicts. surroundings, look, see In case something “I took a self-dewhat’s going on.” weird happens, you fense class with a few know you can grab the —Mark Geiger other Harvard-Westnext available thing to lake girls, and it was Security guard super valuable,” Robdistract that person,” Preciado said. inson said. “I learned People will carry objects such as a lot of new things, and I actually pepper spray or pocket knives to pro- think we should add it to the Senior tect themselves, and this can help Transition Day because going off to them feel more confident, both Bun- college, that would be a really great ting and Geiger said. Geiger, howev- thing to have under everyone’s belts.” er, says these sometimes offer a false Bunting says that, in most situasense of security, and paying atten- tions regarding safety, people have a tion is often more effective. lot of options, and self-defense classBunting also said she does not es help people understand these oprecommend such objects since, in tions. the case of an attack, it may be dif“We talk about having a plan for ficult to perform simple tasks. Fur- all of the other parts in our lives, but thermore, she said, these weapons we don’t think about having a plan can often backfire. Instead, Bun- for ourselves for our own safety,” ting recommends alternative ways Bunting said. “I think arming yourto build confidence in oneself rather self with that information can nevthan relying on external objects. er be a bad thing. [Learning about In Tian’s case, she said mar- self-defense] changed my life. To be tial arts helped her develop a more able to learn this and to have the self self-assured manner. confidence – it’s amazing.”

“

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ESHANIKA CHAUDHARY

Sports The Chronicle • Feb. 15, 2017

Girls’ Soccer

Online Special

Playoff picture preview

By Jake Liker

PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE

ON THE HUNT: Bridget Stokdyk ’18 moves to receive a pass during the Wolverines’ 6-1 rout of Marlborough Feb 6. The team will enter the playoffs on a 2-game winning streak (to complete a 7-1 league season) despite struggling with constant injury problems.

Team aims to break four-year elimination streak

By Elly Choi

Six years. Six years in a row, the Wolverines have won the Mission League.

History repeated itself again.

Four years. Four years in a row, the Wolverines have been eliminated from the playoffs after losing on penalty kicks. The squad is doing all it can to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself again. This year, the girls’ soccer team is emphasizing penalties in its practice routine to ensure that.

“I want the team to get as far as we possibly can and be the team that breaks the four-year streak of being eliminated in a penalty shootout,” central midfielder

Olivia Bautista ’19 said. “For me personally, since this will be my first time playing in playoffs, I just want to contribute to the success of the team as much as I possibly can. We’ve been preparing a lot, making sure we play simply and as a team.”

Five players who regularly appeared in the starting XI became injured at one point or another this season: Bridget Stokdyk ’18, Whitney Elson ’19, KK Bishop ’19, Carter Beardmore ’19 and Flynn Klace ’19. This forced other Wolverines to shoulder the burden.

“A lot of players were asked to do a lot more than the previous season and had to step up,” Girls’ Soc-

cer Program Head Richard Simms said. “Now we are a much deeper, stronger and experienced team. If those injuries had come at the end of the season, we might not have had the same amount of time to prepare those players that were replacing them. But because they happened at the beginning, it has given us a chance to develop some other players.”

The team felt that it reached a higher level of play and improved its group dynamic after playing in the National Elite Prep Showcase in Fort Worth, Texas, which took place early January.

“I feel like this was a big moment for our team be-

cause the teams in Texas are extremely good, and we really had to step up,” winger Ariana Miles ’18 said. “I think our games in Texas allowed us to grow and become a better team overall.”

During the showcase, the squad faced the Southlake Carroll Dragons, who are currently ranked second in the nation by MaxPreps. Although they lost to the Dragons 2-0, the Wolverines said the match helped them grow.

“This match really prepared us for games against difficult opponents,” Bautista said. “We stayed positive throughout the game and kept the game scoreless throughout the second half.”

The soundtrack of the sports world is a cacophonous symphony of press conferences, quotes, sideline interviews.

Thus, few sporting soundbytes stand the test of time, The rare utterance that is able to rise from the sea of noise reaches immortal status; Allen Iverson’s “Practice?” tirade and Marshaun Lynch’s “I’m just here so I won’t get fined” come to mind. But there is one remark that can’t be escaped, that comes around like clockwork every time a new postseason is upon us: Jim Mora’s flabbergasted “Playoffs?!”

A rare eclipse of sorts is upon us, in which The Chronicle prepares a new print edition during the same weekend as the CIF’s playoff pairing announcements.

Unlike Jim Mora, we’re more than happy to talk about playoffs. By scanning the QR code at the bottom of this article, you’ll be directed to a page on The Chronicle’s website with a list of first round playoff previews for every team.

For even more info, follow @HWCsports on Twitter, where you’ll find up-to-the-minute game updates throughout the playoffs.

This year, This #PLAYOFFSZN, The Chronicle is your premier destination for all things Wolverines.

• Continued on page D2

Girls’ Basketball

Dominating season leads to playoff spot

By Oliver Akhtarzahd Adam Yu

and

PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE

ANKLE-BREAKER: Forward Jayla Rufus-Milner ’18 cross-dribbles to the basket during the team’s vicotry over FSHA Jan. 5.

The girls’ basketball team ended its regular season by winning its last two games.

The squad finished with an impressive overall record of 22-3 and a league record of 6-2.

After beginning the season with a nine-game win streak, the team went on to win 13 of the remaining 16 games.

In the entire regular season, the girls outscored their opponents 1368-984.

However, they fell short of their goal made at the beginning of the season to win league.

“Although I am disappointed that we did not win league, I am very pleased with our performance,” guard Ashlee Wong ’18 said. “Especially coming off of a devastating lost against Chaminade, we

came back harder with a new game plan to beat Alemany.”

Fellow varsity team member Dani Mirell ’17 also said she felt happy with the team’s results during the regular season.

“We had a really good regular season. I am very proud of the way we played,” Mirell said. “The three games we lost were tough, but we never quit and always made sure to learn from our mistakes and take the losses as opportunities to grow and get better.”

With the regular season over, the girls will compete in the CIF playoffs and have already developed plans for get ready.

“To prepare for the future, we are definitely going to rest for the end of this week,” Wong said. “Playing and practicing six days a week is really hard on our bodies, and I think we need to recoup and recover.”

Only seven of the team’s nine players were able to pay this season due to injury.

“This week was mostly a rest week to let our bodies heal,” Melanie Hirsch ’18 said. “Next week we have full practice, so we’re just going to focus on our own game and what we can do to get ready.”

The squad will play their first playoff game Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. at an undetermined location. The team’s opponent is also undecided.

The team has already set its sights on some goals to try and achieve for the playoffs.

“Going into playoffs, all of us want to go all the way. We want to win state. We know we can,” Mirell said. “We are all very passionate about the game and are all going to push ourselves and each other to work even harder during these playoffs.”

D2 SPORTS

Game to watch

THE CHRONICLE

FEB. 15, 2017

Boys’ Basketball

FEBRUARY 18

Girls’ basketball vs.

Mater Dei Taper Gym Scan QR for full preview:

KEY PLAYER Jayda Ruffus-Milner ’18 Ruffus-Milner, a third year varsity athlete, is a starter in her second full season. Just two years removed from a serious knee injury, she is averaging 13 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, 2.8 steals per game and 1.4 blocks per game.

& Figures Facts

Girls' basketball's national ranking after completing league play

2.9

19 Average goals per game in league for the girls' soccer team

Average points per game

by Cassius Stanley for boys’ basketball

18.5

5-1-1

Boys' soccer record to close out the Mission League

JULIANA BERGER/CHRONICLE

LOB CITY: Johnny Juzang ’20 collects an alley-oop pass from Cassius Stanley '19 and finishes a layup during the 63-56 win over Chaminade Jan. Feb 10. The Wolverines victorious outing clinched the squad second place in the Mission League.

Door closes on Open Division aspirations

By JULIANA BERGER AND JAKE LIKER

When the CIF-Southern Section released the 16 teams which qualified for Open Division play, the Wolverines were stuck on the outside looking in. As outsiders, it’ll be much more difficult for these defending state champions to stay gold. Instead of a playoff game against either Sierra Canyon or Chino Hills, boys’ basketball will compete to be the best of the rest, in the CIFSS Division 1A tournament.

They’ll need to win three games in a row in order to qualify for the CIF State Division 2 tournament.

The Wolverines finished the regular season on a high note, climbing to a falsetto in the final quarter of a senior night showdown with Chaminade.

The Eagles' Sebastian Lopez made the first shot of the game to put the visitors on top 3-0.

The Wolverines wouldn’t tie the game until less than 90 seconds remained. They trailed

by as many as 13 points, and their deficit reached as many as 11 in the fourth quarter.

But Chaminade capitulated– the Eagles led 56-48 with three minutes remaining, didn’t even attempt a field goal in the final 2:24, and committed 6 turnovers in that span. By closing the game out on a 15-0 run, the Wolverines clinched an outright second place finish in the Mission League. They went 8-4 in league play and 1611 overall.

“Coming in second outright without being tied with Loyola and Chaminade was very big for us, it also helps with the confidence,” Ali Iken ’17 said.

“Everyone was having fun, the crowd was having fun, HWTV was probably having fun, everyone was having fun. So it was good to come together as one and then finish strong.

I was able to stop their point guard, stop him from getting the ball, kind of disrupted their offense and then we were able to get a couple steals, a couple missed free throws, and then

we were up, winning on the that took them out for several games, and L Simpson ’19 is scoreboard.”

The team’s season as a sidelined for the remainder of whole was characterized by, the season with a hand injury.

But the team has been in the words of both Cassius Stanley ’19 and Johnny Juzang learning to work together better ’20, “ups and downs.” The and rely on each other more team’s major goal at the start as they spend more time on of the season was to qualify for and off the court. Juzang and Open Division play, a goal that Cassius’ twin phrasings may be representative was ultimately of this -- so never realized. much time However the Coming in together that players still second outright without they even begin have faith in to speak alike. a run similar being tied with Loyola “ W e ' v e to last year’s, and Chaminade was learned that culminating no individual in a State very big for us.” is bigger than Championship.

—Ali Iken ’17 the team and Their first test will be an Basketball Player that it's going to take every opening round single one of us matchup in the CIF-Southern Section Division to win,” Iken said.

“It’s a process. Everything’s 1A tournament against West a process, life’s a process,” Ranch tonight.

Another down point would Stanley said. “Up and downs, be the injuries that have been we had ups and downs, a lot plaguing the team since the of them, but we came back, we start of the season. Iken and rallied, to get a strong end to Stanley both suffered injuries the season.”

“

Girls’ Soccer

Junior Varsity Boys’ Basketball Season Record:

25-1 (10-1 in League)

Girls’ Basketball Season Record:

13-7 (4-4 in League)

Boys’ Soccer Season Record: 4-7-3 (4-5-3 in League)

Squad looks to carry success into postseason

• Continued from D1

Miles is healthy for the playoffs for the first time in After forming a stronger her high school career, and bond in Texas, the squad she hopes to help continue the won 3-1 against Chaminade, team’s winning ways. arguably the Wolverine’s most “I’ve been taken out every formidable Mission playoff game due League foe. to some sort of “It was our injury,” Miles said. first home game “My freshman year I of the season and hurt my hip and my Chaminade has always sophomore year I tore been our biggest rival,” my ankle. As a team Miles said. “We came we are all extremely out extremely excited excited because I feel and hyped to play and we have a really great ’ really came together as team dynamic this Ariana a team.” year and we have Miles ’18 Though the been working all year Wolverines won their for it. Our goal is to first match, they lost the play to the best of our ability reverse fixture at Chaminade every game. If it comes down to 1-0. They won every other it, we want to beat a team in a Mission League match. penalty shootout.”

NATHANSON S

Girls’ Soccer Season Record:

5-5-2 (5-2-1 in League)

PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE

QUICK PASS: Lauren Elson ’20 fires a pass up the field during a 3-0 victory over Flintridge Sacred Heart on Feb. 3.

Feb. 15, 2017

hwchronicle.com/sports

Sports D3

inbrief

Boys’ Soccer

Squad comes back from slow start

By Eli Adler and Aaron Park

Forty-one Mission League games had already been played, but for the Wolverines, as it so often happens in sports, the 42nd and final fixture would determine their season.

It had been a winding road which led to that vital crossroads.

At first, the Wolverines seemed like they would not get the top four finish in the Mission League necessary to make the playoffs, sinking down into the mire of the league table after compiling just two points from their first five matches (zero wins, two draws, three losses).

Then, a point of inflection: a 5-0 drubbing over Alemany.

The Wolverines springboarded back into playoff contention, winning three and drawing one of their following five matches.

And so, when the time came for game 42 against Chaminade, the Wolverines had a chance to sneak into the playoffs. Win, and they’re in. Lose, and they’re out.

Theo Velaise ’17 believes the team began to perform at the level they expected as they gained more and more

real-game experience.

“In terms of any changes, I would just say that we started clicking in the second half of the season,” Velaise said.

“The practice and tactics were always there but we finally started executing in mid to late January.”

Early in the season, the team was hampered by less frequent practices than it wanted.

However, Jeremy Yariv ’18 believes their struggles at the beginning of the season led to increased focus on the length and intensity of the practices as the season went on.

“With tests and school, it always makes it really hard to have strong practices, but I think the players were really able to recognize that that needed to change, and that’s what did change towards the end of the season,” he said.

There were only two senior starters on the team this season, opening the door for younger players to fill more prominent roles.

“I would say that these freshmen are the unsung heroes of our season, not only coping with but also thriving in a high level of intensity and competition,” Velaise said.

The team attributes much of their successes to their

Former NBA player thanks old coach

PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE

ESCAPE ARTIST: Alec Katz ’19 tries to evade multiple defenders from St. Francis. The team tied the game 0-0 on Jan.6. work ethic.

“Looking at it in relative terms, we did better this year than last year with what is honestly a much younger, physically weaker, and less experienced team,” Velaise said. “Everybody worked extremely hard from practices to lifts to games and ultimately that showed through at the end of league.”

In addition, Boys’ Soccer Program Head Kris Ward said he was impressed by the team’s determination to work harder and improve, especially when the team was struggling.

“It could have been easy to throw in the towel and say it isn’t going to be any better, but that is not what they did,” he said. “They turned around and worked harder, and they really bought into what we were trying to put across to them.”

As the team begins postseason play, the Wolverines want to work hard and be satisfied with their play.

However, they are not shying away from its ultimate goal this postseason.

“Heading into the playoffs, we have one goal: ring season,” Velaise said.

Girls’ Water Polo

Jarron Collins ’97 thanked Former Head Basketball coach and Director of Alumni Athletics Greg Hilliard in a video for the In Real Life campaign for the Golden State Warriors.

The National Basketball Players Association is partnered with Mentor: The National Mentoring Partnership, an organization that includes the In Real Life Campaign, to recruit new mentors. This is part of the NBA’s commitment to President Obama’s call to action to My Brother’s Keeper, an initiative to help boys and young men reach their potential.

As a part of this initiative, basketball players spoke about mentors in their life to promote mentor recruitment.

Jarron Collins and his twin brother Jason Collins ’97 won state championships for Harvard-Westlake under Hilliard.

“I was very touched and honored to be considered that way,” Hilliard said.

—Alexandra So

Pack of Wolverines to become Bruins

The UCLA mens’ water polo team will have five former Wolverines next season. Last year, three former Wolverines were on the UCLA Men’s Water Polo Roster. Alec Zwaneveld ’12, Warren Snyder ’14 and Raphael Raede ’15 were part of the 2016 NCAA mens’ water polo semi-finalists.

Three Wolverines, Evan Rosenfeld ’17, Luke Henriksson ’17 and Felix Brozyna-Vilim ’17, have committed to the Bruins and will be joining their fellow former teammates on the squad.

—Ben Tenzer

Managers, drummer, cheerleader honored

MATTHEW YAM/CHRONICLE

MATTHEW YAM/CHRONICLE

WATER WARS: Left: Emily Hilliard ’19 rises up to block a shot while Meera Burghardt ’20 pressures the shooter in a match against Marymount High School. Right: Camille Oswald ’17 fires a shot on goal. The squad won 14-2 which moved their league record to 1-0.

Wolverines capture another league title

By Ellis Becker Matthew Yam

and

The girls’ water polo team finished its regular season with a 14-9 overall record and a 6-0 league record, claiming the Mission League title for the 21st year in a row.

The team had a strong performance in the Mission League Tournament on Feb. 7-9 to take the title. The victory marked the ninth consecutive season in which the Wolverines have finished undefeated in league play. After a first round bye, the team faced FSHA in the semifinals, whom they beat 9-1 earlier in the season and defeated 11-3 the second time around. The squad played in the final Feb.

9, defeating Alemany 21-3 to claim the title.

“It feels really amazing to win the championship for league and to win it the way we did,” Villanova commit Camille Oswald ’17 said. “We are all very proud to continue and be a part of the tradition of winning the Mission League.”

Princeton commit Paige Thompson ’17 shared similar sentiments.

“My favorite moment of the season was definitely beating Alemany in the championship,” Thompson said. “Before our season started, they thought they had a chance at beating us, and we not only shut any thought of that down by beating them first 17-8, but then completely dominat-

ed them 21-3 in the finals.”

Head Coach Brian Flacks said he is also happy with how the girls performed at a higher level of play after starting the season 2-5.

“I’ve just been really pleased with the progress that we have made through the season,” Flacks said. “[The progress] has been outstanding. Particularly through the last half of the season we have become much more consistent. It is really nice to see that we are playing our best now at the end of the year.”

The squad has come together in and out of the pool almost seamlessly, despite featuring players of all ages.

Although having a freshman and sophomore in the start-

ing lineup may come as a surprise for spectators, Flacks has remained unfazed.

“There haven’t been any breakout players for me because I know what to expect from them,” Flacks said. “I see them train every day so when they play nothing really surprises me.”

Looking past this season, Flacks aims to create a successsful program. Despite the bumps early on, Flacks said that the good results at the end of the season emphasize the hard work the team put in. The team looks to translate their months of practice into success as they take on Los Altos in the first round of the CIF Division III Playoffs Feb. 15.

Boys’ basketball team managers Eddie Mack ’17 and Haley Hicks ’17 were honored at Friday’s senior night ceremony.

Captain of the cheerleading team Maddy Harbert ’17 was also recognized at her last home performance after four years of rooting for the Wolverines. She was spotlighted in the squad’s halftime dance performed to “That’s my Girl” by Fifth Harmony.

Sophia Dienstag ’17, the only senior on drumline, was also honored at Friday’s game.

—Cameron Stokes

Student wins doubles tennis tournament

Amanda Chan ’19 and her tennis partner won the 72nd Annual Fullerton Junior Tennis Tournament in the doubles bracket. The tournament took place during the final week of January and the first week of February.

“It’s always a really good feeling winning a tournament, it’s kind of hard to explain but I’m proud knowing that my hard work in practice paid off,” Chan said.

—Nick Reece

THE CHRONICLE

D4 SPORTS

Some seniors will be continuing their athletic careers at the collegiate level. Let’s turn back the clock and look at a few of the commits from long before they commited to D1 schools.

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I feel extremely grateful and lucky to commit. It’s truly a blessing, and I feel humbled to have been given such an opportunity.”

—Daniel Kwak ’17 L F DANIE SION O

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Claudia Wong - G irls’ Swimming Brown University

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SPORTS D5

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PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ELLIS BECKER AND ELLY CHOI

D6 Sports

Fourth annual Justin Carr relay race held at school

By Joe Levin

The Fourth Annual Justin Carr Swim Relays are diving into new territory this year.

Not only will it play host to a day of competition, but it will try and ensure that its athletes can continue to enjoy similar days for a long, long time.

The organization Student Athlete Fitness Evaluation will offer heart screenings to anybody who wants them during the races on March 10.

They have the goal of preventing more tragedies like the relay’s namesake’s.

“We want to save a life, because there might be somebody walking around with a heart condition that they don’t know about,” Justin Carr’s ’14 mother Susan Carr said.

Justin Carr died in the January of 2013 during a swim practice.

He had an undiagnosed heart condition called idiopathic cardiomyopathy and suffered sudden cardiac arrest.

“We feel that it is extremely important to educate and bring awareness to heart testing to save lives and avoid other families dealing with the aftermath the unimaginable loss of a child,” Susan Carr said.

The tests will be conducted in the Taper Conference room.

Although they only take a few minutes, they will require participants to sign up ahead of time at safeheartscreening.com/schedule. Slots are available between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

SAFE — an organization started after its founder learned about Carr’s sto-

ry on CBS — will offer an electrocardiogram Cardea Screen and an echocardiogram, both of which can detect potential heart problems.

The electrocardiogram test only takes 17 seconds, while the echocardiogram takes five minutes.

“We did tests with SAFE at Saint Mark’s Church in Altadena last October, and of the 36 students we tested, 13 percent of them had red flags,” Susan Carr said.

Sudden cardiac arrest does not only happen to athletes.

It can happen to anyone, although athletes are its most common victims, because their hearts are frequently under stress.

In fact, SCA is the number-one killer of student athletes in America and the number-two cause of death amongst those 25 or younger, according to the Institute of Medicine.

“This heart screening is an effective manner to attain early detection of risk factors associated with sudden cardiac arrest,” athletic director Darlene Bible said.

“I hope that as many people as possible take advantage of this opportunity.”

Each test will cost $80.

The relays were created four years ago in honor of Justin, who was an avid swimmer.

When he was in seventh grade, his English teacher asked him to write about a favorite activity. Carr wrote about swimming.

“When I dive into the water, time stops for me,” he wrote. “Swimming is a soothing thing that helps me cope with things and gives me a work out…Swimming makes me feel free.”

MATTHEW YAM/CHRONICLE

MATTHEW YAM/CHRONICLE

IN HONOR: Top: Justin Carr’s ’14 parents, Susan and Darrel Carr, pose in front of the pool at the Justin Carr Swim Relay Race. Bottom: Various paintings of Carr are displayed during the event.

School creates new faculty council for athletic mission statement

By Juliana Berger

Harvard-Westlake has become a recognizable name in the high school sports community.

With standout athletes such as Cassius Stanley ’19 and Johnny Juzang ’20, alongside a boys’ basketball State Championship victory and a nationally ranked girls’ basketball team elevating the school’s athletic reputation.

Concerned about how this growing prominence of athletics will affect the HarvardWestlake community, the administration has created a committee that will reassess the role of athletics at the school. The committee is made up of 14 faculty members who have been talking to members of the school community to gather their opinions, such as students, parents and faculty and staff.

“Everybody is fanning out to ask two questions,” President Rick Commons said. “How is our athletics program aligned or misaligned with our mission and visions? And the second question is what are the key

questions and most critical issues for athletics in the future of Harvard-Westlake?”

Student Athlete Advisory Council member and basketball player Ashlee Wong ’18 believes that this discussion happening amongst so many different groups is essential, and the the teams at this school could each provide important insight to what the new mission will say.

“Many of these values are already integrated into our athletic teams,” Wong said. “But I think some kind of announcement for the new committee should be made to let everyone know that there will be an effort to create a mission statement for our athletic program. I think it’s important for teams to have conversations about what they want to stand for and represent, and with this, they can also contribute to the mission statement by doing so.”

The goal is to create a mission statement that outlines the school’s principles and philosophy in respect to athletics that will provide a clear set of guidelines for future.

For SAAC member and soccer

Feb. 15, 2017

The Chronicle

player Ethan Blaser ’17, the biggest problem that needs to be solved is bridging the gap between the students, teachers and coaches.

“There needs to be closer ties between the academic and athletic sides of the school,” Blaser said. “The [SAAC] that I am a part of tries to serve as a link between the student body and the athletic department, but I don’t think that it is sufficient. There needs to be a link between the administrations too, because many of my peers seem to think that the mission of the athletic department are at odds with the mission of the school.”

The committee’s goals can divided into two major factors. The first is why the school treats certain sports a different way and have different expectations for the time commitment that they require.

“Why do we have some sports that are more intense, for instance, than others,” Commons said. “Why do we have certain sports and not others, why do we have girls’ softball and not girls’ lacrosse.

We need to back up and start

outtakes

“It’s always difficult because your teacher wants a piece of you, and your coach wants you, and if they are not on the same page, and they dont’t have a common mission, a common goal that would make life less difficult for us to sort out.”

—Ethan Blaser ’17 SAAC member to ask some of these bigger questions and this felt like a good way to do it.”

The second problem is whether the intensity of some of these sports can also hurt athletes by not allowing them to diversify and grow their skill by playing multiple sports as it becomes more expected for students to specialize to remain competitive in the college recruiting process. The fact that athletic stars may be allowed some academic leeway may also lead to a larger divide between student athletes and “regular” students at the school.

“I think the problem is that the concept of the student athlete is dwindling,” Blaser said.

“You have people who were brought here for athletics and

White’s

you have people who were brought here for school, and the overlap is declining.”

The second part is how the school will view the athletic community going forward through the creation of a new mission statement that will make the school’s view on high school sports clear for students, parents and the administration.

“We need to be able to go back to our first principles and say, well, based upon what we care about and what we’ve said we care about most, the best decision is this” Commons said. “We don’t have that set of principles. And it’s been really helpful and effective to have a set of visions for the school as we are trying to make decisions about limits.”

hWChroniCle.CoM/SportS

Feb. 15, 2017

SportS D7

Wrestling

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF LIAM DOUGLASS

TAKE DOWN: Liam Douglass ’18 pins his opponent to the mat in a match at the Mission League Finals at Alemany Jan. 28. Douglass finished third, advancing to the CIF finals in the under 285 weight class. The team won and lost two matches during the regular season and advanced five other wrestlers along with Douglass.

Wrestling squad sends six members to the CIF playoffs

By SaM MCCaBe anD ZaCH SWarTZ

The wrestling team concluded their regular season with the Mission League Finals at Alemany Jan. 28, advancing six wrestlers to CIFs. Justin Butler ’19 advanced as the champion of the under 152 pound division.

Russell Davis ’17 advanced as the second place finisher under 138 pounds.

Riley Ruiz ’20 under 120, Calvin Kaleel ’18 under 126, John Cahill ’20 under 132, and Liam Douglass ’18 under 285 all also qualified with each finishing in third place of their respective divisions.

The squad finished with a 2-2 record in the Mission League and honed their skills in multiple mid-season tournaments as well as practices.

“My rhythm for the sport definitely improved this year, and with [Head] Coach [Patrick] Cartmill’s guidance I have developed stronger fundamentals and have learned to wrestle more strategically,” Kaleel said.

The athletes also credit their success to hard work in the weight room and to mental preparation.

“This year I have gotten stronger,” Davis said. “With the right mindset and preparation, I can win any match.”

Last season, only one

member of the team, Ryan Ruiz ’16, qualified for CIF. Ruiz was the Mission League Champion in his weight class.

This year, the Wolverines made it a goal as a team to send more members to the finals.

“I’m honored to represent Harvard-Westlake at CIFs,” Kaleel said. “My goal is to take it one match at a time, remain focused, and be in the moment.”

Douglass is also taking a similar approach entering the post-season.

“Our strategy is to just take it one match at a time, and enjoy every moment,” Douglass said.

“

“The highlights of the season for me are all the friendships I’ve made and just gaining a better understanding of how to succeed on the mat.”

—Liam Douglass ’18 Wrestler

While his teammates are not looking too far ahead, Davis only has one goal.

“My goal for CIF is to win, period,” Davis said.

The team feels confident in their wrestling abilities and the camaraderie of the squad has gotten better as the season comes to a close.

“The team has bonded through tournaments and dual meets,” Kaleel said. “Because of the nature of wrestling, where one wrestler is on the mat at a time, we always cheer on our teammates and

White’s

everyone feels supported.”

Going into CIF, Douglass feels that he and the rest of the squad are ready to compete.

“The highlights of the season for me are all the friendships I’ve made and just gaining a better understanding of how to succeed on the mat and gaining a better understanding of how my body moves,” Douglass said. “I’ve learned so much and am so excited to spend the next weekend with some of my brothers.”

T-shirts sold to honor coach’s sister

By aaron ParK

The boys’ basketball teams donated the proceeds from Friday’s senior night t-shirts to breast cancer research. The scoreboard graphic on the front of the shirts, which reads 50-11, is in honor of Junior Varsity Head Coach Steve Moore’s sister Veronica, who passed away from breast cancer last summer.

“It’s just like a saying she used to always say,” Moore said. “Instead of just saying ‘Oh, you missed five calls,’ she would just kinda exaggerate it a little bit and say ‘You’ve got 5011 calls’ or ‘You’ve got 5011 pairs of shoes’ or ‘You made 5011 shots,’ or something like that. It’s just one of our sayings.”

Team manager Eddie Mack ’17 said that the team began formulating the idea shortly after Veronica Moore’s passing.

“We talked about it as a team and decided that we

were going to do it and that we’d wait until it was closer to the last game of the season,” Mack said. “But, you know, it happened and we’re all thrilled with how it turned out.”

In addition to the shirts, many of the senior players also wore pink to support breast cancer awareness.

“Initially we found out over social media and the team was shocked by the whole thing,” forward Ray Mueller ‘17 said. “We really do feel like a family so when this happened we felt as though we had lost someone too. The team just tried our best to help him through a tough time, knowing he would’ve done the same for any of us.”

The full story was revealed to the Taper Gym crowd at the end of the first quarter during the Wolverines’ comefrom-behind 63-56 victory over Chaminade.

“This is what a family means, and stuff like this is

AARON PARK/CHRONICLE

CLOTH TALK: Head Fantaic Kent Sheridan ’17 wears the special t-shirt sold to honor the passing of JV basketball coach Steve Moore’s sister due to breast cancer in the game against Chaminade. what keeps us going,” Moore said. “It kind of translated into the win, it’s a family-oriented team, and that’s what it’s about.”

While this year’s fund-

raiser was connected directly to Veronica Moore, Mack said that he hopes the event can continue on in the future.

“Obviously, breast cancer is something affects us

all,” Mack said. “We all have mothers sisters, friends who are girls, whatever. I think that it very well could be something that they continue to go on with.”

D8 SPORTS

THE CHRONICLE

Q&A

FEB. 15, 2017

Ariana Miles Girls’ Soccer

By DARIO MADYOON How did you start playing soccer?

I started playing soccer when I was 5 years old because my brother and sister played. Back then, I was just playing recreation league soccer, but I started playing [American Youth Soccer Organization] when I was 10 and started playing club soccer when I was 12. There was a period of time in there when I took a break from soccer, but I was able to find a love for it again.

What’s the most memorable moment of your Wolverine career?

I would say it was last year when we played in the Orange County Showcase Tournament, and we finally won the tournament in penalty kicks. It was definitely a good feeling just knowing that we were able to close out a game in penalty kicks since we’ve had some trouble with that in the past.

How do you prepare before every game? Any rituals?

What’s on the playlist?

I definitely have a pre-game ritual. I have to wear my black slippers to school the day we have a game. I have to wear a certain shin guard sleeve on a certain leg or else I don’t think I’m going to play well. Definitely have to listen to music, as we have to hype up before games. We listen to Travis Scott and a bunch of classic pump-up songs. Other than that, I do my handshakes with some of the girls on the team before each game.

What do you think about when you’re playing?

I just want to put all that I can onto the field. I always try to be there for my teammates.

What’s the hardest part about being a winger?

I definitely think having to get back on defense after making a breakaway forward is the hardest part. I’m pretty tired by the time I’ve sprinted down the line, and when I have to get back it’s exhausting.

What’s your favorite part about being a winger?

It’s super fun being able to make breakaways down the line because if you’re able to beat just one defender, it’s you and the goalie.

What’s it been like transitioning from being a younger player on the team to becoming more of a leader on the field?

It’s been interesting because there are so few juniors on the team, so I’ve had to step up a little more as a leader. It’s been a good transition though.

Stats

Why did you choose to wear the number 13?

I got the number when I started playing on my first AYSO All-Star team, and I’ve just stuck with it ever since. I’m really superstitious about it. I always need to be number 13.

Are there any pro players you model your game after?

No, I don’t watch soccer. It’s really bad. Mia Hamm.

How are you guys dealing with the pressure heading into the playoffs?

I definitely feel like we’re calmer as a team. I don’t think there’s as much pressure on this team as there has been on teams in years past. I feel like we’ve been successful during season so we have some confidence going in, but we’re still a very young team. That means that not all of our players have played in that playoff environment, which can be totally different from the regular season. So that’s definitely going to be a bit of a challenge, but we’re ready for it.

10

Goals scored this season

1

Loss in three years of league play

4

Assists this season

ELLIS BECKER/CHRONICLE