A8 News
The Chronicle
Student journalists win awards
May 25, 2016
By Matthew Yam
The Chronicle website won first place for Online General Excellence from the California Newspaper Publishers Association. The print publication received second place in the General Excellence category. Awards in the 2015 Better Newspaper Contest were announced in San Francisco on April 30. Bennett Gross ’16 and Henry Vogel ‘16 took first and second place respectively in the Best Sports Game Story category. Jake Liker ’17 and Joe Levin ’17 took first and second place in the Profile Feature Story category respectively. Vivian Lin ’16 took first place in the Illustration. Jacob Goodman ’15 took first place in the Photo Illustration category. Ellis Becker ’18 and Benjamin Most ’16 took first and second place respectively in the Best Columns category. Zachary Harleston ’17 took second place in the Best Writing category. Su Jin Nam ’16 took second place in the Enterprise News Story or Series category. Caitlin Neapole ’16 and Carina Marx ’17 earned first and second place respectively in the Sports Action Photo category. “I am extremely proud of all that we have accomplished this year, but especially proud of the younger members of our staff whose recognition makes me confident that they will successfully lead the future of the Chronicle” said Ko.
PAVAN TAUH/CHRONICLE
SMOOTH VIBRATIONS: Science teachers John Feulner (right), Jesse Reiner (top left) and Yanni Vourgourakis (bottom left) played a variety of parodies featuring science concepts including “Stormy Monday” at this year’s last 1st and 3rd Wednesday Assembly.
AP Physics Band performs parodies at assembly
By Eli Adler
Three AP Physics teachers performed a rendition of B.B. King’s “Stormy Monday” in addition to other original songs to open the last 1st and 3rd Wednesday Assembly of the year May 18. Yanni Vourgourakis ’91, John Feulner and Jesse Reiner played guitar, and
Diversity at HW 69% think white privilege is a problem at HW
Reiner played harmonica while singing a satirical solo about physics and chemistry concepts, such as torque and diatomic molecules. “Mr. Reiner turns the harmonica into an instrument of fine art, on par with the violin and the electric guitar,” said Tony Ma ’17. The three teachers have been performing the song,
In a poll sent to students May 21, 409 responded to questions regarding race.
91% think a similar incident could happen at HW
55% of minorities said they had experienced prejudice at HW SOURCE: CHRONICLE POLL GRAPHIC BY DANIELLE SPITZ
Video sparks debate about diversity
• Continued from page A1
of students casually sing the n-word and probably use it casually, just not around other black students.” Some students said that they feel this general problem of prejudice has affected them personally. In fact, 55 percent of minority students surveyed said that they have experienced racial prejudice at school. “I’ve seen many people at school use the word in songs or just outright say it in conversation,” Robinson said. “Through my time at HarvardWestlake, I’ve had multiple incidents with people using the word around me. Even though I’ve tried to communicate that I am not okay with the word at
all, I know those same people continue to do it, and I still continue to hear the word used on campus.” Diversity has been a topic on campus all year. From students talking about racial tensions on college campuses to a March visit by University of Southern California professor Ange-Marie Hancock who urged students to recognize their own implicit or unintentional biases towards people of different races. The BLACC planned to meet with senior dean groups to address the use of the nword on campus, but due to the amount of education needed to catalyze conversations of that kind, club membershave decided to delay those talks
until next year, Jones said. He also added that the campus needs to stimulate these conversations school wide, not just in senior and junior class meetings. The administration also announced earlier this year that the school is looking to hire a diversity coordinator and more teachers of color in an effort to proactively combat racial prejudice, whether subconscious or conscious. “I think hearing from peers [about these issues is ideal], because students don’t necessarily want to hear from the President or Head of School or principal,” Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. “I think it would be great to engage in some kind of conversation about this.”
which also teases other Advanced Placement science courses offered at HarvardWestlake, together since 2004. According to Feulner, this year’s show was a scaled-down version of those in prior years. “We did a full-blown electric show back in 2004 and 2005, and we have been asked to do more since then,” said Feulner. “However, the electric show was no longer practical,
so we decided to scale it down to an acoustic performance.” The performance was wellreceived by students, even those who are not enrolled in an AP science course, as an entertaining and humorous way to end the school year together as a community. “I thought the performance was really funny and brought a sense of vibrancy and excitement to the assembly,”
Seniors commemorate Holocaust survivors By Anthony Weinraub
prom and going on the trip. Students visited Auschwitzand Treblinka Twelve seniors attended Birkenau the annual March of the Living death camps, a mass grave, a from May 1-15, traveling crematorium, a building filled to Poland and Israel to with human ashes and other historical monuments. commemorate the Holocaust. At each location, the The March of the Living dates coincided with the students listened to stories by Jewish holiday Yom HaShoah, survivors of the Holocaust. “I learned to be grateful also known as Holocaust for more Remembrance things after we Day, which listened to all began at the survivor I learned to be sundown on stories,” Emma May 4 and Yom grateful for more things Wasserman ’16 Ha’Atzmaut, after we listened to all said. which annually The twelve commemorates the survivor stories.” students’ time the Israeli — Emma in Poland Declaration of Independence Wasserman ’16 c u l m i n a t e d in a mile-long and began at march from sundown on Auschwitz May 11. Fewer students attended concentration camp into the this year than in past years gates of Birkenau death camp due to conflicts with Senior with Holocaust survivors and Jewish people from around the Prom and AP exams. Some students returned world to honor the victims of early to attend prom, and the genocide. Students then traveled to students were able to take their AP exams during the Israel and visited several cities and beaches. scheduled makeup day. “[I most enjoyed] Israel. As prom was scheduled a year in advance and the When you leave Poland, you’re school calendar was unable so drained and sad, but in to be changed, many students Israel I enjoyed the beach and considering participating in meeting a lot of cool people the March of the Living had who you would never met,” to decide between attending Wasserman said.
“