Tower Issue #4 (2023-2024)

FEB. 2, 2024

VOLUME 80, ISSUE 4

TOWER The Masters School

49 Clinton Avenue Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. 10522

MLK Workshops Read on page 3

JACK PARSONS/TOWER

STUDENTS GATHER ON THE first floor of the IEC for the “Weave Your Dreams: Building Beloved Community Through Art” workshop. They wrote their beliefs on what the term “Beloved Commmunity” means to them on a piece of ribbon and wove it through a board. Other processing sessions included meditation and watching a film about Dr. MLK Jr.

Students and teachers on a mission to navigate Wintermission Lydia Ettinger

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lthough Wintermission offers AP students a week of relief and a slight break from their rigorous course loads, it often comes at the expense of teachers’ course plans and homework for students.

Wintermission provides students the oppor-

tunity to engage in a weeklong unique curriculum that is generally not offered throughout the school year with classes ranging from Ice Fishing to Lifeguarding/CPR certification.

Students in AP classes will still need to make time for homework assigned to make up for their missed class time and to stay on

ELLEN COWHEY/TOWER

JONATHAN MAFURU IN THE “Me made it” Winter Mission learned about sustainable fashion. Students had the opportunity to upcycle personal or thrifted pieces of clothing in the IEC.

INSIDE the ISSUE @masterstower

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track with the college board curriculum in preparation for their exam days in May. Jason Hult, World History teacher and director of learning initiatives, addressed this dilemma for students and teachers.

“Losing those two teaching days [per course] might not feel like a big deal, but part of the reason that it is a design challenge for AP teachers is because we already have fewer teaching days than some schools that are teaching AP classes,” he said.

Teddy Meyer ‘24, a student who took four AP’s last year and three this year, feels like losing a week to Wintermission is manageable yet inconvenient.

“I think losing a week disrupts the learning; you forget a lot. It won’t be that bad because a lot of teachers ended their units right before the semester so we will be learning things that

Neena Atkins sheds light on discourse surrounding Claudine Gay, Harvard’s former president.

are completely new, but not all teachers have done that,” he said.

Because of the homework assigned by teachers in order to keep students on track, Meyers noted that he will be able to work around losing a week. But, losing a week for Wintermission has a bigger impact on the curriculum than some may think.

Elisabeth Merrill, AP Biology and semester biology teacher, loves the idea of Wintermission and believes it is imperative to let students have a break. However, she expressed how the AP Bio course is impacted by shortened classes.

“Having the short class time already cuts into the process of deep learning and then when you take so much time away from the curriculum, it just has an impact,” she said. “We only had five class meetings the entire month of January.”

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Staff writers cover the MLK events occuring at Masters throughout the day.

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I THINK LOSING A WEEK DISRUPTS THE LEARNING; YOU FORGET A LOT.” -TEDDY MEYER Thus the question is raised as to whether the current 8-day rotation schedule is compatible with Wintermission.

Before changes were made in 2019, the schedule used to allow AP science classes to have 330 minutes per week, resulting in 660 total minutes every two weeks. Students in these courses used to have two 55 minute and two 110 minute long classes per week. After changes were made, the current schedule adopted by Masters varies from 150 to 225 minutes per week, resulting in having 375 minutes of class time every two weeks. These schedule changes meant that Merrill had

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Ellie Hise dissects the use of FortiGate for students using the school Wi-Fi.

to completely readjust the curriculum by cutting topics out, switching to a shorter textbook, and using shorter modules.

Merrill noted how her AP Biology program fares compared to the college level curriculum after these significant changes were implemented.“It is a huge difference for me as a science class because it is supposed to be a college bio which is 3 hours of lecture, 4 hours of lab. This adds to the stress of kids which we are trying to minimize,” she said.

Despite the challenges, Merill noted that students are still performing well on the AP exams.

And, Hult noted the success of Masters students in this regard. He said, “My belief is that if the core skill set is strong, missing a day [or two] of content isn’t necessarily going to be a huge difference maker between a 3, 4 or 5 on the AP,” Hult said.

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Get a behind-thescenes look at the recent plays and projects from student actors.

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NEWS

TOWER/FEB. 2, 2024

Claudine Gay’s resignation ignites discussion about political neutrality in schools

the question is that they were all put in a tough poNeena Atkins sition. I know what I would answer, but being the preslaudine Gay, ident, she was speaking for Harvard Uniall her students, making it versity’s 30th more difficult on what she president, and first Black could say.” woman to have the role, reFollowing the controsigned on Jan. 2 after a sixversy of Gay’s response to month tenure marked by Stefanik, plagiarism accucontroversy over her hansations against Gay began dling of politically-charged to come forth. People accampus incidents and placused Gay of copying othgiarism accusations. Her ers’ work in her academic departure has sparked dedissertations, prompting bate about the role of adHarvard to open up an ministrators and teachers investigation. in navigating issues surHarvard declared that rounding academic freeinvestigators discovered dom and political neutrality “examples of duplicative on campuses. language without approThe recent uproar priate attribution” in Gay’s about Gay’s leadership 1997 Ph.D. dissertation, as began during the House stated in a three-page summary released to the Boston Globe.

However, they decided that these incorrect citations were not enough to be deemed misconduct, and the summary said, “President Gay will update her dissertation correcting these instances of inadequate citation.”

Adding another layer to the national conversation about educators and administrators navigating sensitive topics is Liz Magill’s resignation on Dec. 9, 2023, as president of the University of Pennsylvania.

Like Gay, Magill faced backlash for how she answered Stefanik’s question about whether or not hate speech advocating for the genocide of Jewish peoples LISA YAO/TOWER constituted a violation of CLAUDINE GAY WAS HARVARD University’s first Black president. Gay was the first university policies because tenure president to serve six months, the shortest in the university’s history.

Committee on Education and Workforce hearing when she responded to GOP Elise Stefanik’s question, “Will admission offers be rescinded or any disciplinary action be taken against students or applicants who say, ‘from the river to the sea’ or ‘intifada’ advocating for the murder of Jews?” by saying it was context-dependent.

After that, according to USA Today, Gay said, “Antisemitic speech, when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation — that is actionable conduct and we do take action.”

This comment caused widespread criticism of Gay from members of the

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Harvard community and the public, leading people to slander her online and call for her resignation.

Some who disagreed with Gay’s words sent her emails with offensive and hateful content. Harvard mentioned the fact in its official statement on Gay’s resignation, saying, “While some of this has played out in the public domain, much of it has taken the form of repugnant, and in some cases, racist vitriol directed at her through disgraceful emails and phone calls.”

Sophomore Madi Lowe described her initial reactions to the events leading up to Gay’s resignation, “I watched the committee session and I see with what

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I know what I would answer, but being the president, she was speaking for all her students, making it more difficult on what she could say.”

- Madi Lowe ‘26 she also said such speech was “context-dependent.”

Senior and member of the Political Science class at Masters, Gabriel Tomajko, said that following the outrage surrounding Gay and Magill, “Teachers will be more fearful to come out and be honest about what they believe after seeing that they can be punished for stating their beliefs.”

Tomajko’s concern about teachers becoming afraid to speak up after high-profile events like Claudine Gay’s resignation resonates with the silence at Masters.

Nine teachers and administrators when contacted for comment by Tower on the situation and its broader implications for academic institutions, either declined to speak or did not respond to the interview request.

The silence among educators across various departments and roles at Masters reflects a trend of cautiousness and self-censorship observed in schools across the country following Oct. 7 and now, the removal of Gay and Magill from their positions.

In our increasingly politicized and polarized climate, more and more

conversations about political neutrality in schools, and on the Masters campus, are starting.

Many students, like Lowe, fear that teachers with strong political opinions might hold undue influence over students. “I think they have to remain neutral,” she voiced, “because being in that position of power, teachers are kind of like guides for us, and they should be a good example, not expressing political views that could potentially offend their students.”

Others, like Tomajko, take an opposing view.

“Teachers should realistically, unless they’re elementary school teachers, be allowed to provide commentary,” he said. “I mean, so much of what we get taught is political. It’s hard to be politically neutral on all these issues.”

These popular yet contrasting opinions are just two examples of common rhetoric circulating around the media and classrooms, and as discussions about academic freedom and political neutrality in schools continue, the future of classroom discourse remains a relevant point of deliberation.

Reflecting on Holocaust Remembrance Day: honoring the unyielding human spirit Elaina Barreto

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ith all the turmoil in the world today including the war in Ukraine, the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and the subsequent conflict in Gaza, and continued racism and antisemitism in this country, the Masters community has gathered to honor Holocaust Remembrance Day with a documentary named “How Saba Kept Singing.” The documentary focuses on David “Saba” Wisnia, a Holocaust survivor, and his grandson Avi Wisnia.

Saba’s story demonstrates how the human spirit, will and love cannot be extinguished even amid pure terror

and evil, according to the filmmaker. Despite facing one of the most monstrous examples of inhumanity and cruelty, Saba survived through music, community and culture.

Upper School English teacher and the club advisor of Jewish Culture Club, Miriam Emery feels it is important to remember the Holocaust because of the appalling acts of anti-semitism occurring in the world today.

“I think that the reaction on October 7th across the world saying ‘Oh it’s not that bad, it’s exaggerated, they are fake pictures,’ is very similar to the Holocaust denial. It is extremely scary that not only do people forget about history, but they actually deny it happened,” she said.

Sara Taksler, the filmmaker of “How Saba Kept Singing,” said she was shocked by one particular scene in the film, in which Saba explains that the houses outside the camp knew of the mistreatment and injustice.

Taksler compares this scene to how racism is viewed in America today.

“I watched that scene, and I realized I was one of the people on the other side of the gate. I’m white. Of course, I knew that there was racism for Black people in this society, but I hadn’t been doing very much, and it was this really sad realization because I identified with people who I would never want to identify with. I’m kind of recognizing that throughout our lives, we

can all move back and forth between being victims and perpetrators.”

Although almost 79 years have passed since the liberation of Auschwitz, anti-semitism is still prevalent in our society.

Senior and co-president of Jewish Culture Club Lily Zuckerman interned at RetroReport, a news organization, last summer, where she discovered the documentary. She believes Saba’s story about the Holocaust and the recent tragic events in Israel truly proves the closeness and connectedness of the Jewish community.

Zuckerman said, “It’s really important that we realize that this wasn’t so long ago and that history could repeat

AVI WISNIA/JNS

DAVID WISNIA AND HIS grandson, Avi Wisnia at the International Conference on Education About Auschwitz and the Holocaust. itself. It’s something to think about. Hearing these people’s stories, I think, for me per-

sonally, it really does make me proud to be Jewish.”

TOWER/FEB. 2, 2024

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NEWS

MLK Day keynote speaker Adam Harris addresses community Alexa Murphy

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ighlighted in this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day programming were remarks from keynote speaker, college admissions expert, and journalist, Adam Harris.

Following a warm introduction from Tower’s Co-Editor-inChief Lucas Seguinot, Harris deliberated upon the history of racial inequity threatening widespread access to college education, and the according inequities that many HBCUs (historically Black colleges or universities), and other colleges serving large minority populations, experience in terms of accessing resources and funding.

“Hearing Adam Harris speak about the historical and modern implications of the racial weight in the college process made me reconsider the weight that we societally place on where and what people study. If the system of admission and experience within college is so clearly unjust and slanted,

why do we view it as the all-determinate future?” Violet Paull ‘24 said.

His speech reflected his long and successful career as a journalist publishing work largely about policy affecting college and university education. Currently, Harris is a staff writer for the Atlantic magazine, though he has reported for the Chronicle of Higher Education and ProPublica, and has had writing appear in severalacclaimed publications.

Notably, Harris also wrote a book in 2021 about govern-

mental failure to serve Black individuals and minority communities in higher education called The State Must Provide: Why America’s Colleges Have Always Been Unequal and How to Set Them Right, published in 2021.

During the second breakout session on MLK Day, Tower staff, TBN staff, and Intro to Broadcast students had the opportunity to ask Harris questions about his background in media, his expertise in college and university-related policy, and his professiownal life more broadly.

A recurring theme in this discussion was the im“Every story is a portance of local journallocal story, and one of the ism and the various moving first big national stories parts that can contribute to that I wrote was actually its success. Tower’s identhe most local story you can tity as a school newspaper imagine. It was a group of 11 and 12 year olds in Beaumont means that it is naturally Texas who had received death hyperlocal; recognizing threats for kneeling during this, many students exthe national anthem.” pressed concerns about not being able to achieve as much change as Harris has -Adam HARRIS in his career thus far with

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such a limited platform.

In response to Aurora Rose Horn ‘24, the lead copy editor in Tower, asking how student journalists can raise awareness for national and global issues when the scope of our work seems so small comparatively, Harris responded, “Every story is a local story, and one of the first big national stories that I wrote was actually the most local story you can imagine. It was a group of 11 and 12 year olds in Beaumont Texas who had received death threats for kneeling during the national anthem.”

He continued, “I went down there and just said I’m going to write two or three paragraphs about the national context here, but everything else in the story was about these 11 and 12 year olds. So I think as student reporters, looking at the issues on campus, looking at the issues in the area and in the community, EUNICE WANG/TOWER and how they are indicative of ADAM HARRIS ADDRESSES UPPER and Middle School as this these larger national issues is one years MLK morning speaker, speaking on topics invoving racial way that you could do it [raise inequity in HBCUs and more. awareness for systemic issues].”

Student-led workshops highlight the importance of student involvement Ella Liu

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tudent-run workshops led on Martin Luther King Jr. Day each year have been an essential educational experience for students, with each workshop carefully curated to explore different core concepts and ideas surrounding the theme ”Beloved Community.”

Students had the opportunity to run their unique class, offering different perspectives and learning in new ways.

One distinct workshop this year was, “Through Song and Struggle: Black Music’s Soundtrack to Community,” which explored the erasure of Black artists as their music was popularized and taken by other artists.

ties students had.

Workshop leader He said, “In trying to and junior, Jordan Lee, build a beloved community said, “We played a song it requires us to see the full that was by the original person and who they are auartist and we would comthentically and in a complete pare how similar they image.” The students diswere and how the origicovered and learned about nal artist wasn’t credited aspects of each other that and funds were stolen could not be identified by from them.” The session first glance. highlighted an importSimilarly, he also ant topic and brought believed that student-led more attention to an groups are very important idea well-deserving of for days when students exdiscussion. plore identity and other soAdditionally, she EUNICE WANG/TOWER cial topics. explained the advantages Torres said, “Stuand importance of stu- STUDENTS COLIN SMITH, NATALIE Beit, and Saachi Bogavelli in the workshop ‘Unwind Your Mind and Find Your Zen: Mindfulness and Meditation’. dent-led workshops are dent-led groups.

But, due to these advan- Identities Through Shared crucial and pivotal on days Lee said, “It’s easier to get in touch with what peo- tages, she hopes that more stu- Experience” Juan Torres, ex- like MLK day. I think student ple are going to be interested dents to step up and lead work- plained how his workshop was involvement should be required made to help build community for days like this.” in.” This year, there were seven shops in the future.

Leader of “Exploring and explore non-visual identiStudent-led groups aren’t student led workshops.

just helpful for students in the course, but also with the students leading the groups.

He said, “It allows you to engage and participate in a different way because you are not showing up as a student anymore, you are showing up as a leader.”

His only complaint was the lack of time for each workshop; There were only two, forty-five minute sessions for each workshop.

He said, “I would like more time because we had to condense so many things, there were identities we had to leave out.”

The student-led groups have helped enhance Martin Luther King Jr. Day with different perspectives, ideas, and conversations with peers.

Community reacts to new visitation policy in the dormitories Eunice Wang

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his year students have enhanced freedom in the dormitories. This change, announced by Director of Residential Life and Associate Dean of Students Tristan Kishonis introduces a range of new opportunities for social interaction and collaboration.

Effective each Monday through Thursday, during the evening enrichment period from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., day and boarding students can now visit any dorm of their peers with approval from the student host and dorm parents. As a graduated privilege, upperclassmen can visit any dorms during study hall nights, from 8:20 to 9:50 p.m., if they have been invited by a student host and put in a visitation pass. On non-school

nights, seven-day boarders can sleep in the dorm rooms of another seven-day boarding student of the same gender identity, as long as passes have been submitted and approved.

Kishonis explained that, “In reviewing our previous iteration of the visitation policy, we identified potential adjustments that would create more opportunities for students to connect in a way that prioritized equity, inclusivity, and safety.”

He explained that ideas for the policy came from “looking at visitation [policies] at other boarding schools, and talking with peers who work in those schools.” In addition “A number of additions to the updated visitation policy, such as Open Visitation and Study Hall Visitation, are the product of thoughtful conversations with boarding

students here at Masters who care deeply about creating intentional spaces for connection in the residential commu-

nity,” he said.

Junior boarder Tereza Horvatova likes the changes. She said, “I think it was a

ALYSSA WANG/TOWER

ALYSSA WANG/TOWER

SINCE THIS YEAR’S NEW VISITATION policy was put into place, boarders have been given more freedom in the dormitories.

good change for us students on campus. We are able to help each other during study hall with our work. If we have group projects, we can do them together, even if we are of the opposite gender.”

She continued, “I do think they are a great tool for us to use, but I would be lying if there weren’t some issues that I think could be fixed, especially with the dorm sleepovers.”

Senior Lucas Petrini also agrees with the new policy. “I think it is really fun. It’s really helpful for building the bonds between dorms,” he said.

Despite the positive reception, some students have raised concerns about the unintended consequences of the policy shift.

Junior Mikey Lyu said, “I think it caused some inconvenience because, if you are

going to the showers, you have to check if there are any people of other gender identities in the dorm.” Junior Cathy He said, “It has made the dorm much more loud. Every day there are so many people visiting the common rooms and my only place to stay in the dorm is my room now.”

Though one of the goals of this novel policy was to bring day and boarding students closer together, junior day student Lily Grand said, “I don’t think it is going to change anything for me because I leave at a certain time in the day. I am not here from 6:30-7:30 at night. I am normally home by then. If I could visit the dorms from 3:05 on, it would be more useful. I have certain boarder friends that I would l hang out with in their dorms.”

See Ayanna Beckett’s story on boarding life on tower.mastersny.org

Opinion

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OP-ED

TOWER/FEB. 2, 2024

TOWER 2023-2024

Editors-in-Chief Matthias Jaylen Lucas Seguinot

EDITORIAL

Building a beloved community through heterodoxy

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very day, Masters students practice Harkness. The goal is to sit at oval tables where we can clearly see one another, and build a space where we feel free to bring our authentic and unique viewpoints to intellectual class discussions. Our school curriculum is supposed to center civic discourse - yet the truth is that we are too often challenged by opinions that pose a threat to the community status quo. Though Masters hails diversity as a central pillar of the Masters mission, in reality, we lack diversity in thought and ideas. Our supposedly diverse community is often an all-consuming echo chamber that leaves little room for divergence.

Every year students and faculty come together to revel in the moving orations and ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King. This year, the community was urged to reflect on what it means to be part of a ‘Beloved Community.’ According to Dr. King, “At its

core, the ‘Beloved Community’ is an engine of reconciliation.” Does being part of that reconciliation process mean that we must all agree on everything, or is reconciliation understanding that we can still be a beloved - and more importantly, united - community while still holding different thoughts, opinions, and viewpoints? Can we disagree while loving and respecting each other?

The answer is that we can - but too often we don’t. For a school so committed to diversity, it is telling that most expression of non-liberal, non-majoritarian political opinion is quickly ignored, suppressed, or even bullied. Somehow, Masters’ standard for kindness does not seem to apply to the students and alumni who fall outside of the accepted norm of political thought. Even the term “conservative” feels less like a benign descriptor and more like an insult when coming out of the mouth of a Masters student. There is too often an accepted orthodoxy

at this school.

Our goal should be to become both a loving and truly heterodox community. To understand the concept of heterodoxy one must recognize its opposite, orthodox.

An orthodox being one who conforms to established societal standards, cultures, and norms. Being heterodox isn’t necessarily about breaking societal norms, but rather straying away from herd mentality.

Heterodoxy at its core is coming to an educated and thought-out understanding of your thoughts, with a free mind and free will.

This week with the announcement that the school will be bringing in an expert on helping students to better listen to each other, to think critically and to “understand that we all see the world a little bit differently,” is welcome news and was heartening to learn that the school administration is taking steps to help us break out of stifling orthodoxy and embrace intellectual heterodoxy.

Don’t bite the hand that feeds you:

Matthias Jaylen

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to stop and even threats to shut down popular spaces like the FC or the popular high table stools, those pleas always fall under deaf ears and students continue to unfairly leave their mess for others to clean.

The dining hall staff are some of the kindest people who work on our campus.

They all do their jobs with joy and pride, have stories to share, and always want to interact with and connect with students. Still, students’ constant disrespect of the space and the people makes it extremely difficult to maintain good relationships with such special people.

Dining hall staff have 2 jobs: to make the community food and to keep the general space clean. It is not in their job description to clean up after individuals, and it’s actually our responsibility to do that.

Turning away from having tough conversations holds us back from creating a truly beloved community.

By bringing in experts to speak and educate on deep nuance and perspective, learning about how to have difficult conversations and about the heavily debated Israel-Hamas-Palestine conflict, from both Jewish and Muslim scholars, we will be taking a strong first step in re-educating our student body on how to analyze conflict with nuance and regard for all perspectives not just in this conflict, but in all other issues that may arise. Giving us these tools from professionals will hopefully spark change in the way we evaluate social conventions, domestic and international politics and policy, and allow us to evaluate crises from an educated, informed, and heterodox perspective as compared to an echo chamber of orthodoxy. We need to become less constrained by orthodoxy in our thought and learn to embrace heterodoxy.

Masters Edition

Multimedia Director Xavier Rolston

Chief Design Editor and Legacy Director Lily Zuckerman Lead News Editors Alexa Murphy Justine Pascutti Lead Opinion Editor Oliver Kreeger Opinion Editor Allie Faber Lead Features Editors Lydia Ettinger Aviv Emery Features Editor Neena Atkins Lead Sports Editor Adam Bello Sports Editor Ella Black Web Editor Rooke Wiser Photo & Illustration Editor Ayanna Beckett Ad Manager Ayalah Spratt Lead Copy Editor Aurora Rose Horn Copy Editor Ellie Hise Distribution Manager Camilo Bitar Racedo Faculty Advisors Ellen Cowhey Matt Ives Photographers & Illustrators Laura Yuan Lisa Yao Jenny Xu Alyssa Wang Eunice (Sien) Wang Sydney Starkey Chana Kim Lorelei Cipriano Jack Parsons Angel Henriquez Konstantin Miebach Bob Jiao

very day, I eat three meals in the dining hall – breakfast, lunch and dinner. I enter the dining hall, smiling and grateful that there is hot and fresh food prepared for me to eat. I say good morning, Contributing Writers afternoon, or evening to any Elena Baretto dining staff I see. I pick up my Ella Liu meal of choice, grab a drink, Eunice (Sien)Wang sit down, eat, talk to friends, Online Media collect my plates and garbage, For more information, follow Tower on the following platforms: and finally leave them at the Website: Tower.MastersNY.org designated plate dropoff locaFacebook: MastersTower tion. Most importantly though, X: @MastersTower on my way out, I always say, Instagram: @MastersTower Distribution Process “Thank you.” Doesn’t that MATTHIAS JAYLEN/TOWER Tower is hand-delivered on the day seem like a simple enough proDAY AFTER DAY, STUDENTS leave dining hall tables in shambles. Tables remain of publication to the Upper School. 650 cess? Well at least for me, it is. copies are printed. A copy is sent to each of deserted by diners, covered in dirty dishes and uncovered condiments.

I’ve been doing it for 5+ years our advertisers. at Masters.

We see them, working hard to The solution and fix is Step 4. When your Scholastic Press No matter what, though, ffiliations, Letters A feed us daily, and we can not quite to this problem is easy done, collect all of your plates, I never fail to see multiple taand Editorial Policy continue to make their though, and can be imple- cups, utensils, and trash and bles around me at most Tower is the winner of the Pacemaker Award for jobs unnecessarily hard- mented in just five quick and drop them off at the designated meal times, left vacant, Overall Excellence, an award-winning member of the with the gross sight of Students’ constant er. I have seen with my easy steps that everyone (no area National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), ColumStep 5. Say thank you to bia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), Journalism dirty dishes, cups, nap- disrespect of the space own two eyes, the extra seriously, everyone) can foltime it takes for them to low with ease and without the employee that is col- Education Association (JEA) and Quill and Scroll. kins and trash left all over and the peole makes it We encourage Letters to the Editor, which clean up after those messconfusion: lecting your plates and cups for the cleaning staff to can be submitted to the following email address: es.

That sense of privilege Step 1.

Grab your food I hope everyone can extremely difficult to clean up– the ultimate TowerEditors@MastersNY.org. Published apfollow these simple steps, so proximately six times a year, Tower, the student maintain good relation- and entitlement that some and drink signal of disrespect. students show when leavStep 2. Say thank you to we stop biting the hand that is newspaper of The Masters School, is a public foThis has been an ships with such special ing their trash for others the dining hall staff once you feeding us, and show the din- rum, with its Editorial Board making all decisions epidemic throughout people ” concerning content. Commentaries and opinion to pick up, makes for a get your food as you encounter ing hall staff the simple and columns are the expressed opinion of the author and my time at Masters, and toxic community culture, staff basic respect that they deserve, not of Tower and its Editorial Board or its advisers. despite warnings from Furthermore, the opinions conveyed are not those of one that should have no Step 3.

Sit down at a taevery day.

-Matthias Jaylen school administrators or The Masters School, faculty, or staff. Unsigned editoriplace at Masters. ble, and eat your food pleas from dining hall staff als express views of the majority of the Editorial Board.

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TOWER/FEB. 2, 2024

Aviv Emery

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Teaching is a dying profession.”

My phone screen blinks; I am a seventh-grader, scrolling through social media, where someone has posted an infographic on the importance of teachers on their Instagram story. I roll my eyes and scroll past, uninterested in the fact displayed before me.

Seventh-grade me was not unusual. When people think of the jobs they want to have when they’re older, most do not aspire to be a teacher.

In a 2021 study asking ages 13 to 17 what jobs they wanted to have when they were older, teaching did not appear on the graph. But why is this?

Speaking personally, there were a few reasons I didn’t want to be a teacher until a year ago; one of the main reasons is that I’ve always had a tough time academically in

OP-ED

Why I want to be a teacher: and why YOU want to be one too school. However, I now realize that having that perspective and becoming a teacher, in some ways, gives me an upper hand. I have also watched my mom (although she LOVES her students and her job) struggle through hard years of teaching, challenging students, and above all else, I have watched her bleary-eyed grading papers from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the weekend.

But, perhaps the most prominent reason why being a teacher never crossed my mind until recently is that growing up, somebody always conveyed to me and my classmates that you can change most people’s lives, not by being a teacher, but by being a doctor, nurse, or a soldier in the army.

By no means am I trying to say that those aren’t important jobs. But, the truth is there would be none of those professions without teachers, which makes them the most important job of all.

But despite their impor-

LISA YAO/TOWER

THE INTEREST IN TEACHING has been declining, despite its vital role in society. A deeper understanding can reveal teaching’s immense impact and rewards.

tance, fewer students than ever are going into the field.

Since 1970, the number of bachelor’s degrees in education has plummeted by almost 50%. There are many reasons for this decline. The actual job of teaching is becoming more and more difficult. School shootings are on the rise, teachers can be canceled for the books they teach and the salary of teachers is

not nearly enough.

Alumna Sarah Chernoff ‘23, a freshman at Penn State (University Park) studying early childhood education, said, “Teachers are severely underfunded but they are very needed. I want to be able to educate the next generation of students and help them get to where they want to go.”

Chernoff said, “I have had so many amazing teachers

and despite all the challenges they persevered and made sure I got the best education possible.” She continued, “I still remember my kindergarten teacher to this day. She had such a huge impact on me and started my academic journey on a positive note. I remember always wanting to be just like her when I grew up.”

I know that feeling. I have never felt more raw joy than my days spent in the hot sun, watching four-year-olds learn how to swim, tie their shoes, and watch pure happiness in children making friends for the first time.

It is not often that we as individuals are able to make an actual difference in the lives of the people around us.

Sure, help your friend with their homework; they may remember it until their next assignment. Cook someone’s lunch; they are thankful until it’s time for dinner. But teach a three-and-a-half-year-old to put on sunscreen, and though

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they may not remember you, they will remember how to put on sunscreen for the rest of their lives.

I know that not everyone will want to work with kids, but, if you have no idea what you want to do with your life, I urge you to try. Babysit, work at a camp or your temple or church, maybe just hang out with your younger cousins for an hour.

You might be like me, and realize that you have finally found something that you can confidently say you can do for the rest of your life.

We have no idea what the state of the world is going to be in twenty years, so wouldn’t you like to be directly responsible for building the people who are going to be responsible for it?

The passing time dilemma: is five minutes enough?

Aurora Rose Horn

I

magine this — you’re in a class on the third floor of Masters Hall. The Harkness discussion was productive; so productive that the class went a few minutes overtime. You pack up as quickly as you can and race down the stairs. Before you leave Masters Hall, though, you head to the bathroom, because you’ve been holding it in for the entire 75-minute period. Finally, you sprint across the road to the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC), where your next class takes place. By the time you get there, sweaty and panting, you glance at the clock. You are late to class.

For some of us – myself included – we don’t need to imagine this scenario, because we’ve lived it. Sometimes, it can take longer than anticipated to get from point A to point B, and there are often factors outside our control.

One of these factors is foot traffic; for example, it can take longer to leave the Claudia Boettcher Theatre (CBT) after Morning Meeting when the hallway is full of students heading in different directions, and the walls are lined with backpacks, making the walking space narrower. Another

one is terrain, since it can take longer to go up and down hills and tire people out faster.

Distance, however, is one of the biggest factors in determining how long it will take to get from one part of campus to another.

The newest building on Masters’ campus, the IEC, is a bit off the beaten path, and it takes a while to get there, even from Masters Hall. I imagine the journey would be even longer coming from a place like Cush-

“

so perhaps 10 minutes of passing time might be more reasonable.

In theory, it seems like a great idea. So why shouldn’t Masters implement it?

One of the obvious drawbacks is that a longer passing time would cut into class time, and we would have to make classes shorter. Sara Thorn, the associate head of Upper School, said she does not think we should shorten periods any more than we already have.

We’ve already shortened and added five minutes of passing time, so we’re not going to add more time.”

- Sara Thorn

ing Dorm, where students have study halls. All of this raises the question: is five minutes enough passing time?

To me, the answer is no. As a student with three classes in the IEC, five minutes simply isn’t ample time to get there. When I have lunch before one of my IEC classes, I allow myself ten minutes to make the trek,

“We’re at 75 minutes, and the schedule was conceived at 80 minutes,” she said. “We’ve already shortened and added five minutes of passing time, so we’re not going to add more time.” She continued, “It’s absolutely possible to walk from the third floor of Masters Hall to the IEC in five minutes. It’s not that far.

You just can’t linger with

your friends in the halls.”

Thorn went on to say that she doesn’t feel longer passing time is necessary because most class periods aren’t touching each other.

She said, “After first period, there’s Morning Meeting and Advisory, and in between second and third period, half the student body goes to class but the other half goes to lunch.

It’s the same thing between third and fourth period.”

She concluded, “I don’t think we need more than five minutes.”

Additionally, longer passing times would cut into club time from 3:05 to 3:45 as well as “Panther Time” (the block from 3:45 to 5 when sports and co-curriculars meet), and the sports teams need their time at the end of the day to practice.

Logan Condon, the director of the Athletics Department, said, “We have the five o’clock buses, so JV practices have to end early. Right now, they only get an hour and 15 minutes of practice time whereas most schools do two hours of practice time for JV programs, so it’s less time to actually be prepared for the sport that you’re doing.”

Condon also spoke about how the original addition of Panther Time benefited his department.

He said, “[The addition of

LORELEI CIPRIANO/TOWER

STUDENTS NAVIGATE CROWDED HALLWAYS and hilly terrain, facing the challenge of foot traffic and long distances between classes.

Panther Time] allowed for students to miss less class time for athletic dismissals.

We have one of the latest school days when compared to our peer schools who we compete against, and we are always conscious to make sure that our students don’t miss a lot of class time.”

Jonah Breen ‘24 said he thinks that whether five minutes is sufficient passing time depends on the classes.

“There are some people who have classes up in the dorms and then have to run down to the IEC,

and five minutes is not reasonable for that,” he said.

“But running from the first floor of Morris to the second floor of Masters Hall?

Yeah, sure, five minutes is enough.”

In conclusion, it’s not looking like longer passing time can be a viable option.

For now, the best thing that I can suggest to those of you with long walks from building to building is to walk quickly, obtain late passes when necessary and communicate openly with your teachers when you think you might be late.

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TOWER/FE

FEATURES

Tech Takeo TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

BY THE NUMBERS...

Wi-Fi issues emerge with heightened tech use Ellie Hise & Justine Pascutti

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early all of Masters relies on the campus Wi-Fi, whether it’s a teacher projecting a slideshow, a student researching for a project, or boarders streaming shows to unwind after class.

Like other post-COVID schools nationwide, Masters has become increasingly reliant on wireless connection.

Pascal Maharjan, a math and physics teacher, conceded that the internet plays a significant role in his classes. “I am projecting pretty much every class,” he said. “Lately we had a student on Zoom; for something like that, of course, it’s imperative. Otherwise, she’s not able to attend.” Maharjan also noted that his math classes rely on digital textbooks, which he also projects onto the board However, classes weren’t always this dependent on Wi-Fi. Maharjan said that if the Wi-Fi cut out in class, he would still be okay due to his experiences from early in his teaching career when technology wasn’t used as much, although he said he would definitely have to deviate from the lesson plan.

Students, such as junior Rae BenShaharPyke, have also struggled at times with the connection. As a student working on Morning Meeting tech, BenShaharPyke said that because too many phones in the room are connected to the Wi-Fi, sometimes the Zoom streaming to the freshmen will freeze.

According to a study by the In-

stitute of Education Sciences, nearly 70% of classrooms now use digital learning tools regularly. High-speed internet is now more important than ever due to the widespread adoption of technology in the classroom.

School Wi-Fi networks often suffer from outdated equipment, insufficient bandwidth, too many concurrent users, and poor planning and configuration. In a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) test, it was discovered that over half of U.S. schools still use outdated Wi-Fi equipment.

This increase in the use of technology in the classroom is evidenced by the ubiquitous inclusion of such tech found at Masters. With 225 wireless access points on campus, providing wireless service for 800-900 devices, the Masters’ Wi-Fi has to support a very large community, explained Patel.

Of the 772 wireless clients recorded, 602 of them have good Wi-Fi, while only 29 have poor Wi-Fi connection.

However, for boarders, inconsistencies can be more common. A five-day boarder, BenShaharPyke said, “[The internet is] very spotty [in the

dorms]. Every few months there will be like two days at a time where we just won’t get Wi-Fi… the Wi-Fi is usually pretty ok but sometimes it’ll just log you out for no reason or it’ll just stop working.” She noted that this usually happens around the study hall period from 8-10 p.m.

“I cannot access my LMS,” she said, recalling some instances of spotty Wi-Fi. “Because we have to have restricted Wi-Fi and not just open WiFi, sometimes we will have the dorm parent go on our LMS and see what we have to do, but it can be very inconvenient.”

Bhavin Patel, Director of Technology, explained these issues, “As a whole, Masters has fantastic WiFi coverage. The dorms are a bit iffy, however, because the only access point in the dorms is located in the common room rather than the individual rooms of students.”

Nonetheless, the majority of spaces on campus provide sufficient Wi-Fi for students. “The areas on campus where Wi-Fi is stronger are typically academic spaces, where the Wi-Fi would have good to excellent coverage,” Patel said. He continued,

“The buildings that are newer also have better connectivity. Like the IEC, Dining Hall, and Morris Hall. Masters Hall, given that it is 200 years old, has weaker coverage. It’s impossible to run cable because it’s just such an old building.”

But one shouldn’t mistake the woods for the trees; concerning the ability of the Wi-Fi at Masters. Maharjan said, “It is awesome to have Wi-Fi that works seamlessly so much of the time on a campus as big and widespread as ours. Of course, when one has a tough time getting a signal, it sticks out in our minds, however infrequent or common an occurrence that may be. It’s easy to, and simultaneously important not to, take it for granted.”

Masters is constantly adapting to the increased pressure on the WiFi. According to Patel, “Masters has also started to roll out WiFi signals to outdoor spaces such as the North and South quads outside of the dining hall, outside of Morris Hall and around the IEC.”

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Lucas Seguinot

anaging tech events is not easy task for staff of five people. Every y the Masters Technology Dep ment supplies the commun

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Watergate Fort Ellie Hise

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bout a year ago, while doing research for a school project, Senior Xavier Rolston found that the website for Planned Parenthood was blocked. There was a link

to “submit an appeal”, so he did that, hoping that Masters would unblock the site. By the time I stumbled upon it, though, it was still blocked, this time with a browser message saying “your connection is not private”, so I didn’t think anything of it. It was only when I found a page about Voodoo

FEATURES

EB. 2, 2024

over

and t an or a year partunity

with some of the most fundamental pieces of modern education experience: IDs, Wi-Fi, laptops, and more. With a 96-acre campus, 694 students serviced every day, and 10,000 devices accessing the network every 24 hours, the Tech team works tire-

HE MENT

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EW AND MENT ID’S

lessly 365 days a year to allow the school to run as seamlessly as it does. The department is an integral part of the Operations team which includes Security, Custodial & Facilities, Plant & Maintenance, Dining, Transportation, and Event Planning.

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APPROXIMATE PROJECTORS

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AVAILABLE FOR TO BORROW

It’s time to crack Vivi’s code Ayalah Spratt

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s students flooded through classroom doors on the first day of school, a new blue screen was projected onto their whiteboards.

Teachers opened their computers and typed the code displayed in the corner into a new login screen. Something was different this year. That something was Vivi.

Before the introduction of Vivi over the summer, The Masters School had been using Apple TVs to mirror the screen from computers to projectors. Students and faculty with Apple devices such as Macbook Airs or Macbook Pros could mirror by typing in a code.

However, those without Apple devices had a more difficult time connecting to the system. “[Airplay without an Apple device] was always a little weird some-

e, pizzagate… tiGate?

, ,

n

n

practices also blocked, this time under the category of “alternative beliefs”, that I began to scratch my head.

According to the message given, the page had been blocked by Fortiguard, which I learned was a web-blocking service for the Fortigate firewall that is provided by

Fortinet, a California-based provider well known in the academic industry. Masters uses a list of blocked sites generated

by Fortinet’s AI program, a list which is still actively generating due to the technology’s real-time scan of online sites.

Continued on page 8

7

times to be able to actually display something,” Samantha Weber ‘25 said.

“Vivi replaced Apple TV,” Director of Technology Bhavin Patel said. “They [Apple TVs] are not an enterprise-level solution,” he continued.

Patel explained that an enterprise-level solution means a professional and large-scale solution. However, Vivi meets these requirements.

He explained that Vivi was developed by current and former faculty members from schools around the world with educational use specifically in mind.

“Mirroring is just one of the many options you can do,” Patel said, “There are things like a whiteboard in Vivi [and] the streaming service is way better.”

Stella Carey, an Upper School math teacher, described her experience using Vivi as someone who doesn’t use an Apple device. “I’ve been really happy with it. I’ve

found it to be a huge improvement over what I was using before, which was AirParrot.”

She explained that AirParrot was a software that mimicked AirPlay for non-Apple devices.

But, it can be challenging to adopt something new. Some teachers said they needed help learning the ropes of this new system.

Jennifer Hughes, an Upper School Spanish and French teacher, commented on her experience getting used to Vivi. She said, “The issue I have is that if I’m displaying a page, for example. It’s a Google Doc, and then I want to switch over to my attendance page. We get stuck on a Google Doc and it doesn’t display the attendance.”

Hughes shared her frustration with the scenario above. She said, “I don’t know that I understood why it was happening and what was happening and what I could

do to prevent it,” she said.

However, teachers have not been left to figure it out independently. Before students arrived on campus in September, new and returning faculty members were taught the basics of the system.

“We actually sat down with each faculty member and trained them,” Patel said.

In addition, the technology help desk has been constantly available to help with any issues that teachers or students run into.

It may take a bit more time to understand Vivi, but teachers and students will be supported by the Masters’ technology staff every step of the

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TOWER/FEB. 2, 2024

College application myths, debunked Adam Bello

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he college admissions process is a pivotal and often stressful part of the lives of high school students and their families.

Between the high stakes and strong competition, it is often an overwhelming and time-consuming part of a student’s high school career. Though there is good information and resources for students to help them navigate through their college journeys, numerous sources spread misinformation to prospective applicants and social misconceptions permeate the narrative surrounding higher education.

Myth One: You know what your GPA is…

One of the prevailing misconceptions is that your GPA is the same at each school you apply to.

Though students may think they know their GPA, that number may not be the one colleges are taking into account when reviewing an application. Each college has a different metric for how they calculate a GPA. While some may take all of your classes into consideration, others may only calculate your core classes or

Myth two: College rankings matter…

Myth three: More extracurriculars are better…

only your sophomore and junior year grades. There is no one, universal number that every college sees.

Deputy director of higher-education policy at Education Reform Now and the author of a series of issue briefs on “The Future of Fair Admissions,” James Murphy, commented on this saying, “If students think all that matters is that single number [GPA], on a

zero to 4.0 scale, that can be really misleading.”

Murphy also said that students should not pay too much attention to a school’s rank on lists like the U.S. News and World Report when choosing a college.

“There is no real good way for people to determine whether a college is ‘good’ or not. It is subjective. It is

important for students to know what they want from their school and use that to determine whether it is ‘good’ for them or not.

Though it is hard, students should stay away from focusing on rankings and focus more on fit.”

Many factors contribute to an individual’s success, including their passion, dedication, and skills developed during their college years. It’s essential to explore a variety of schools and find the one that aligns with your academic, financial, and personal goals.

Lastly, the belief that participating in more extracurriculars means a better chance of getting into your first choice college is flawed. When considering applications colleges look

first at academics, so extra curriculars will rarely if ever make up for a weak academic probile. Additionally colleges llook t o extracurriculars as indications of interest, leadership and commitment. Murphy says, “People in admissions always say that quality matters more than quantity.

They call out the student who has 10 clubs in their resume or is president of seven of them… It is glaringly obvious that nobody could be that invested in 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 activities.”

Debunking common myths can help alleviate the stress and help students trust that their hard work will pay off in admission to a college that aligns with your academic goals and ensure your future success.

Upperclassmen reap unique benefits Rooke Wiser

I

n a policy revision this January junior and senior boarders were allowed to host students of any gender in their dorms from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. This change is part of a broader effort to recognize the maturity of upperclassmen and give older students some special privileges.

One of the most significant senior privileges outlined in the Family Handbook involves cars. “Only seniors will be eligible to park on campus,” the Handbook states.

Senior day student Charlie Milward said, “The most useful [privilege] for most seniors by far is the senior parking lot and parking on campus. It is extremely useful, and the only

challenges I have faced with that are that spots can fill up pretty fast.”

This privilege, however, is strictly regulated and comes with various responsibilities, including registering vehicles at the security office at the beginning of the year and adhering to designated parking areas.

Additionally, seniors “in good academic and disciplinary standing” may leave the campus on foot during their free periods. Milward said, “I’ve been off campus once for lunch, and it was nice but didn’t really feel worth the time as the dining hall is right there with everything I need. But having the option does give a sense of maturity.”

Another senior privilege is extra sleep. If they have no scheduled classes, seniors can arrive as late as 9:50 a.m. and

leave whenever all their school obligations are complete.

Boarding students are not allowed to have cars on campus, but they are granted many more responsibilities and privileges as upperclassmen. During study hours, boarding ninth and tenth-grade students must be engaged in academic work, using their computer only for schoolwork and refraining from all other electronics. Upperclassmen instead observe “quiet hours” from 8-10 p.m. While most students still use this time to complete academic work, it is no longer mandated. The internet hours for juniors and seniors also extend until 1 a.m. on weekdays, instead of 11:30 p.m. for underclassmen boarders. Seniors are also granted an additional 30 minutes before lights out.

Two lesser-known privileges awarded to upperclass students as well. The first is Community Council eligibility. Students who serve on the Community Council undergo an application and training process, typically occurring in the fall. Only juniors and seniors are eligible to serve on this Council, providing them an opportunity to be more involved in the decision-making processes at Masters.

Additionally, seniors are allowed up to three absences for college visits.

Milward feels that three college visit days is not enough.

He said, “I feel like the college touring should be a given, and I actually think they should give us maybe five days because a lot of schools don’t do weekend tours, and it can just take up

a lot of time flying across the country or driving places in New England.”

PHOTO CREDIT ROOKE WISER/WEB EDITOR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9: Watergate, Pizzagate...FortiGate?

Ellie Hise

Continued from P. 9

Because of AI technology, sites would be blocked one day and not the next.

Show one browser message one day and a different one a week later. The blocked sites would also differ depending on whether it’s a student or faculty member trying to access the page. AI has blocked hundreds of sites, organized under various categories. The site for my essay in World Religions on Voodooism is blocked under the category “alternative beliefs,” while sites such as Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights were blocked under the category “abortion.” The category “advocacy organization” included Change.org and GoPetition.com.

But these sites aren’t actually blocked, despite the message stating that is the case. These three cat-

egories still allow you to proceed to the website, although sometimes you have to click through multiple screens to get there.

Other sites that are blocked entirely are those where one can buy alcohol, drugs, or gamble. Many online gaming websites are also blocked, including Steam. While the majority of the blocked sites are due to their “mature” content, some are blocked for the sake of protection.

Humanrights.org is blocked, but not under “advocacy organizations.” The site is actually a phishing scam, intended to imitate the actual hrc.org site and steal users’ information.

Sometimes the AI will block sites that shouldn’t be restricted. If such a mistake ever arises, the student can reach out to the tech department to fix the issue.

“It’s a simple request for IT and they review it, and unblock it,” said Jeff

Carnevale, Dean of Students. But if it was simple, how come the initial example was never unblocked, despite the year-old appeal?

When I spoke to Bhavin Patel, the head of

plained to me why it hadn’t been unblocked already.

“That appeal went to Fortinet, not [the tech department]. If you run into an issue with a blocked website, just send us an

PHOTO CREDIT CHANA KIM/ILLUSTRATOR

MASTERS’S WEBSITE-BLOCKING SYSTEM HAS attracted some controversy due to its blocking of sites such as petitioning platform Change.org. The AI tech used has thus caused questions, when these sites are being blocked alongside, say, pornography. Specific appeals are possible. the tech department, he was quick to unblock Planned Parenthood. He also ex-

email or stop by,” Patel said.

Patel said that

there was no Masters-specific student policy on what was or wasn’t blocked, and that generally the school adheres to Fortiguards filters.

How, then, is it determined which sites are blocked or not? It’s a combination of multiple factors. The predominant determiner is the AI filter, but the student handbook has its own clause. It reads, “...all access to the internet is filtered and monitored.

The School cannot monitor every activity but retains the right to monitor activities utilizing school technologies. By filtering internet access, the School intends to block offensive, obscene and inappropriate images and content including pornography.”

How does it monitor access to the internet? Last summer FortiGate replaced Palo-Alto as the school firewall. In July, Patel enabled SSL(Security Sockets Lay-

er, the typical method of securing a website) Deep inspection, a Fortiguard specific tool which had FortiGate decrypt any data on a site (i.e. a google search, email or form entry), scan the content, and re-encrypt it before sending it to the web server or the user.

According to FortiNet, “When you use deep inspection, the FortiGate impersonates the recipient of the originating SSL session, then decrypts and inspects the content to find threats and block them. It then re-encrypts the content and sends it to the real recipient.”

This practice of un-encrypting your data was removed in September and replaced with the standard security inspection, which just detects sites that don’t have a proper security certificate, due to the fact that it slowed the internet speed dramatically.

TOWER/FEB. 2, 2024

9

FEATURES

Ranked spotlights “above the average” academic pressures Allie Faber

T

he dystopian plot of “Ranked”, one of Masters’ 2024 Upper School Musicals, creates a public “ranking” system that groups students in a way different from typical entertainment: by publicly favoring high academic achievers.

Those who are “above the average” are safe, but fall “below the average,” and face the social, occupational and humiliating ramifications.

High school productions are often done and re-done.

However, Ranked, which debuted in 2019, is fresh material for the cast to experiment with and provides the opportunity for an experience similar to “professional developmental theater,” according to the show’s director, professional actor, and performing arts

teacher, Emilie Goodrich.

“When you’re working with adolescents, you do the same shows over and over again. So there’s not so much reinventing the wheel,” Goodrich said.

She continued, “If everyone’s doing “Matilda”, they’re all going to do some scenes very similarly. But with a new show and new writing, we have the freedom as a director and as actors to come up with what we want to use the work to become,” she said.

Junior Natalie Beit plays Sydney Summers, the musical’s “mean girl,” who consistently holds the number one spot on the ranking billboard. She is a member of the principal cast alongside Alex Cooperstock ‘25 (John Carter), Chloe McKay ‘26 (Alexis Larsen), Matthias Jaylen ‘24 (Ryan Sum-

mers) and Willow Maniscalco ‘24 (Lily Larsen).

Beit said the show was a unique opportunity for creative liberty. “It’s interesting as an actor, being able to work with material that hasn’t really been touched yet and being able to add your own spin on it without having to pay homage to other people who have done the role before.”

Written by teachers Kyle Holmes and David Taylor Gomes, who created the show to reflect the anxious conditions of their own students, the musical discusses the increasing academic pressures applied to many high schoolers across the country, largely in accordance with the college admissions process.

Kaela Riley ‘26 plays Maddy, an “above the average” student. “Even though we [Masters] don’t have a public display of ranks at our school, there’s still a lot of pressure about grades and who you are,” she said.

Further-

more, weeks before “Ranked” opened in 2019 at Granite Bay High School in Granite Bay, California, the college admissions scandal known as Operation Varsity Blues, involving payments and feigned application elements, shook students, parents, and highlighted the disproportionate effects of wealth on higher education. (For instance, one family may be able to afford private tutoring while another cannot). The plot of Ranked covers a similarly jarring event.

“I also think being able to tackle issues like wealth disparity, being able to tackle issues like feeling like you’re not enough as a student – these are all real issues that students face – and being able to almost do it in a light-hearted manner, while also raising awareness is something that’s done so nicely, and I think it’s a story that hasn’t really been shared throughout like theater,” Beit said.

By covering common social issues, Goodrich explained that “Ranked” is a relatable work. She said, “I think something you could take away from the show is that, as corny as it sounds, wherever you’re at

in your life, you’ll be able to relate to [Ranked] but everything always feels more daunting and more intense, so urgent in the moment, but it was just a blip on your radar.”

ALL PHOTOS ANGEL HENRIQUEZ/TOWER

JUNIOR ALEXANDER COOPERSTOCK, WHO plays John Carter, a “below the average” student, is cornered by the intimidating “above the average” students in the pop musical number “Eye on the Prize.”

Lights, camera, MURDER

thing in between are crammed into the three weeks between he end of the se- the end of winter break and mester can be a the end of the semester. stressful time.

However, final exams Final projects, tests and every- take on a different form for the Advanced Acting classes. Instead of the traditional test, they perform plays in the Experimental Theater for the Masters community.

This year, in addition to performing the play, the advanced theater classes also submitted the plays to the New York Thespian Festival, an annual event where high school students immerse themselves in the world of theater with performances and workshops. At the festival, the Advanced Acting classes won several awards for the two plays they presented: SENIOR WYATT SMITH STARES “A Front Row Seat to in delighted shock as he is present- Murder” and “Titanic ed with a birthday cake by fellow 2: The Sequel”.

Keira Burgos, actor, Allison Tarter ‘25.

a senior in the advanced acting class, won an award for her role in “A Front Row Seat to Murder.”

She

T

Ayanna Beckett

said “[New York Thespian Festival] was, I think, one of the first theater competitions in New York.

There’s a lot all over the country and it’s a forum in which student actors from different schools can submit plays or monologues or different things like that and submit it into the competition and have it be judged and like, critique and different things like that.”

She continued, “I loved

“

working on it. I played Ann/ Audrey. She was Ann in the first part of the play and her actual real-life character is named Audrey. And so it was cool to play such a complex character because I think that it was different than what I’m used to. I’ve been in Middle School productions and things like In The Heights and Zombie Prom and all that stuff which was different than what this was. And I think I had to channel something new.”

The Advanced Acting show wasn’t the first time Masters had seen “A Front Row Seat To Murder” Its initial showing happened at the Spring Shorts showcase in May 2023.

McKarthy Grimes 24’, the playwright of “A Front Row Seat to Murder” and current senior, has made one major change to her play since its first

I really liked the cliffhanger ending kind of leading leaving the audience in that Aura of suspense”

- McKarthy Grimes ‘24

RAWPIXEL/CREATIVE COMMONS

showing: the ending.

“I liked the cliffhanger ending kind of leading leaving the audience in that era of suspense,” Grimes said.

“But because this play, in particular, was now going to competition, OC [Meg O’Connor, theater teacher] and I felt that

it would be better if the play ended on not such a dark note because in the original play, it was kind of implied that she had passed away, but you know, for a competition that judges may not feel like satisfied with that, so that might affect the scoring.”

Instead of the original ending, where the main character is assumed dead by the audience, Grimes creates a less grim fate for her.

“I decided to have something to cut the tension so it was going to be that moment of suspense where you’re kind of

ALL PHOTOS BOB JIAO/TOWER

like, is she dead? Is she not?

And then Donna, (played by Natalie Beit ‘25) would pop up [to reveal that she is not dead.]”

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FEATURES

TOWER/FEB. 2, 2024

Youthful obsession.

anti-aging skincare trend changes young viewers’ outlook on beauty Lily Zuckerman & Neena Atkins

O

pen TikTok and you’ll be greeted by an endless lineup of skincare tutorials. However, a new trend has emerged amidst the tips and glowing product reviews: female pre-teens confidently hunt through aisles of anti-aging serums and apply wrinkle-fighting creams.

The trending anti-aging content online influences young minds in all the wrong ways.

From expertly delivered product reviews to before-and-after transformations promising ageless perfection, social media platforms fight a war against wrinkles, with young audiences as the frontline soldiers.

This obsession with chasing youth, fueled by a multi-billion dollar skincare market, raises pressing concerns about its impact on girls’ mental and emotional well-being. In the eighth and ninth grade, Natalie Beit ‘25 worked at Maison Rouge, a makeup store nearby in Bronxville.

This past summer, she got a six-week remote internship with Clark’s Botanicals, a high-end clean skincare supplier in her town.

Beit was sent a range of skincare products from the company, primarily ones packed with anti-aging ingredients. She mentioned that her favorite products from the trial were their Retinol Rescue Overnight Cream and the Invisible Hero SPF 30 Anti-aging Sunscreen + Hyaluronic Acid.

Retinol is an ingredient (and a type of retinoid) meant to combat wrinkles and other signs of aging and is typically reserved for older women. Beit was prescribed retinoids by her dermatologist to give her clearer skin, not to “beat” age. Still, the desire to have “clear skin” is an insecurity contrived from the pervasive narrative that smooth, wrinkle-free skin is the ultimate marker of beauty, regardless of age.

Many young girls and teens are using retinoids and other products they don’t need due to pressure from TikTok. “This fast consumerist culture that TikTok promotes, I get sucked into it a lot,” Beit said. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh, snail mucin. People who use that have clear and glowy skin. Like, maybe I need to [buy snail mucin] now.’”

Dr. Norman M. Rowe, MD, founded Rowe Plastic Surgery, which has several locations in New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, and Florida. He has worked in the plastic surgery business for over 20 years, and the pursuit of youthful skin is a constant theme among his female patients, reflecting a broader societal obsession cultivated by unrealistic online images.

Rowe said, “I think that issue is that social media is presenting an unattainable image. Yeah, no one’s perfect. No one [of his patients] will look like how they do when they filter themselves on Instagram.”

He explained how he sees TikTok’s strong influence in his work, “Whenever something explodes on social media, like ice facials or Kylie’s big lip shot glasses, my phones are ringing off the hook.”

“

No one [of his patients] will look like how they do when they filter themselves on Instagram.”

-Dr. Norman Rowe, MD

when should you start using these products? source: Medical News Today

retinol 30-40 years

alpha hydroxy acid (aha)

hyaluronic acid any age

20-30 years

sunscreen any age

vitamin c

20-30 years

According to the American Academy of Dermatologists (AAD), it is recommended that an effective anti-aging skincare routine be established before the ages of 40-50.

This includes retinol, vitamin C, AHAs, copper peptides, and hyaluronic acid.

TRETINOIN IS A PRESCRIPTION-ONLY synthetic retinoid derived from Vitamin A that is meant to cure acne and provide people with younger looking skin. The purpose of Vitamin C is to slow early aging and reduce wrinkles. Teenagers, influenced by social media, use these products that have anti-aging qualities, yet they themselves aren’t aging.

CHANA KIM/ILLUSTRATOR

Sophomore Beatrice Steiner is 15-years-old and uses Adapalene gel, a topical retinoid, every night.

Although recommended for use on more mature skin, Steiner said she uses retinol with sunscreen daily as a “preventative measure.”

Steiner was recommended skin regimens on her TikTok For You Page.

“I wear sunscreen every day because I saw a TikTok video telling me to,” she mentioned.

“I always say jokingly that I don’t think I would survive nowadays because when I grew up, it was a very different world,” Middle and Upper School Health and Wellness Teacher Jodie Goldberg said. She continued, “There’s a lot of pressure on teenagers these days, and they appear more grown up than I felt at the time.” Teen girls are used in beauty industry roles typically reserved for older women, creating a dissonance where teenagers promote products meant for their mother’s generation.

This further blurs the lines of what is age-appropriate and heightens a teenager’s need to own anti-aging products.

Beit said Clark’s Botanicals’ target market was women in their 30s and above, yet the two interns were both teenagers, hired for their knowledge of the realm of TikTok adver-

tising. She would pick up products from Clark’s Botanicals and create TikToks to show viewers how to use the skincare in a routine.

“It was interesting that they were using TikTok as a platform because TikTok is generally targeted towards younger individuals, but the idea was to market their products, especially in this new age of marketing where it’s all fastly consumed,” Beit commented.

In a survey conducted

by Business Insider, kids between the ages of 11 and 17 spend almost two hours daily on TikTok. Additionally, Exploding Topics reported 25% of TikTok users in the United States are 10 to 19 years old. Now, the anti-aging hashtag on TikTok has gained around 625,400 views. With the increasing usage of TikTok among teens like Beit and Steiner, one can imagine the amount of exposure to anti-aging content they receive.

Goldberg said she advocates for social media to shift in content creation – one that prioritizes healthy self-acceptance over the pressure to purchase anti-aging skincare.

“For the same amount that we promote and market all of those products that we would also be promoting and marketing, the kind of self-love that comes without them,” she said.

TOWER/FEB. 2, 2024

11

SPORTS

Young captains squash the competition Ella Black

J

uniors Anna Moscato and Sophie Moussapour are fairly new to the girls varsity squash team, but they were chosen as captains alongside senior Ashley Ambrosio.

Moscato joined the team her sophomore year because she had to balance club soccer and school sports.

She said, “Squash is a very physical sport, but for me it’s less physically tolling in terms of getting injuries [than soccer].” Thus, she enjoys the community of a team sport in a less injury-prone environment.

Halfway through the winter track season her sophomore year, Moussapour caught COVID-19 and suffered from long term symptoms, so she wasn’t able to complete the season. During that period of recovery, she would often play with the squash team.

She said, “I really fell in love with it and it’s just such a nice group of girls.”

When she was given the opportunity to join junior year, she immediately took it.

Moscato believes that

Moussapour was chosen as captain even though it is her first year playing for many reasons.

She said, “She came into squash preseason with an open mindset, ready to learn.”

She continued, “She used her prior knowledge to help others and the team responded well to her leadership.”

Also, Moussapour was a tennis captain, so she had previous experience in team leadership.

Similar to Moussapour, Moscato also had experience, but as a soccer captain.

Moussapour said of Moscato, “She’s really talented at giving feedback and constructive criticism without sounding condescending.”

Moussapour continued, “She doesn’t use her leadership role against [the team] or act like she’s above them.”

According to Moussapour, Moscato has a great relationship with the members on the team and has also be-

“

come one of the top players.

Michele Dennis, the assistant coach, said, “When Sophie and Anna are together, they have so much team spirit it’s contagious.” She recalls that they lifted the team up even before being given the title of captain.

The other captain who is a senior, Ashley Ambrosio, said, “They bring so much energy and have experience with leading a team.” Ambrosio has been playing squash since middle school and has helped lead the team. Dennis said, “she has been the longest serving member on the team and can be partnered with anyone.”

Their practice is shorter than most sports, only lasting 45 minutes, because there are four courts and there are three different teams. Despite having a short practice, everyone is ready to focus and make every minute count.

Moscato said, “When practice starts, we all lock in.”

She’s [Anna Moscato] really talented at giving feedback and constructive criticism without sounding condescending.”

- SOPHIE MOUSSAPOUR ‘25

In order to bond more outside of practice, they often have team dinners. They also do warm-ups together, which helps set a positive tone for practice which fosters enthusiasm according to the captains.

Moussapour and Moscato lead cheers during games and make sure everyone is excited.

Dennis said, “Even though they may not be doing well during a game, they are good at shaking it off and focusing on the team as a whole.”

One of their main goals is to have a winning record because they have lost two and won two games. Both Moscato and Moussapour want to grow the program and leave a positive impact.

Moussapour said, “The team is very young, so there is lots of room to grow in the future and become better.”

They also said they want to continue keeping up the enthusiasm throughout the season.

Moscato said, “We want people to be comfortable putting their all to everything and feeling like putting full effort.”

ALL PHOTOS KONSTANTIN MIEBACH/TOWER

CAPTAINS AMBROSIO, MOUSSAPOUR AND Moscato assemble the girls varsity squash team in a pre-game huddle.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Captains Anna Moscato ‘25, Ashley Ambrosio ‘24 and Sophie Moussapour ‘25 pose with their squash rackets.

Varsity fencing highlights

ALL PHOTOS ELLA LIU/TOWER

IN A RECENT HOME game against Riverdale, Eunice Wang ‘25 and Bob Jiao ‘24 discuss strategies for a match. Also pictured, Top Left: Coach Shomari Moore and Milo Wallach ‘26. Top Right: Thomas Marrison ‘26 and Charlie Haas ‘25

Sports

12

SPORTS

TOWER/FEB. 2, 2024

Ayalah Spratt

JACK PARSONS/TOWER

SWIM TEAM COMPETES IN their December home swim meets in the Fonseca Center. The team has had a great start to the year and is hoping to continue their succ

Middle school swimmers make a splash on varsity Ella Black & Xavier Rolsten The dynamic duo of Jisella Jorsling and Emma Casey dove into a record-breaking season with the Masters varsity swim team — in only their eighthgrade year.

Jorsling and Casey, who copeted on the Middle School team last year, both voiced their excitement to join a new team environment. Outside of Masters, both athletes swim competitively and compete throughout the year at various meets across the country.

As a middle schooler, making the Masters varsity team is a thorough process, with various requirements to hit along the way.

“For varsity, I had to prove I was mature and strong enough to be with the team, and had to go certain times to prove I was one of the top swimmers on the team,” Jorsling said. “I had to do a time trial, get doctors appointments, and at some point I was allowed to join the team.”

Casey added, “We’d essentially swim a 200, and she’d see what our times

were. Later on, we also did a physical test which was required by the state.”

Jorsling spotlight: 14-year-old Jisella Jorsling has already been swimming for over a decade and started competitive swim at 5. Jorsling said. “I switched teams when I was seven to move to a higher-level team called Badger.”

Joining Masters’ varsity team has been a new type of environment according to Jorsling. “It’s been really fun so far,” she commented.

“The workouts are almost the same as my club practices, so there’s not much of a difference there, but this time it feels more like a team sport.”

Right now, Jorsling mostly competes in shorter freestyle races — her favorite events include the 50, 100, and 200 Meter freestyle.

However, she is looking forward to diversifying while on varsity.

Jorsling is already a decorated swimmer outside of school. She discussed memorable competitions and awards that she won in years past. “There was a metropolitan championship [I competed in]. When I was

twelve, I got first overall for high points, and I got second this summer for 13-14 year olds.”

Jorsling views the Masters team as a new type of competitive environment, emphasizing positivity and bonding with one another throughout practice.

“It’s cool to be an eighth-grader on the team, too, because I get to talk to different high schoolers, and middle schoolers and high schoolers are usually separated,” Jorsling concluded.

Masters junior and swim team co-captain, Gretta Hong, emphasized the importance of creating this environment. “It’s definitely very welcoming and open on our team,” she said. “Very beginner-friendly.”

The team has ensured a seamless transition for Jorsling and Casey into this new environment by ensuring they’re involved in all team activities. “We’ve incorporated them throughout by always including them,” Hong added. “In all the team bonding activities we treat them like they’re any other person on the team.”

Casey spotlight: 13-year-old Emma

Casey has been a member “The environment was of the Empire Swimming pretty nice though — nobody team since the 2017-2018 seemed to judge me because season, where she practices I was a middle-schooler,” most evenings after school Casey said. and on weekends. She exFellow Empire teampressed her enthusiasm for mate and Class of 2028 the chance to compete on member Viviana Rolston has Masters’ varsity team, hop- been swimming with Casey ing it would provide her a over the past five years. “We new challenge. met before we both came to “During seventh grade, Masters, in fourth grade,” we all heard about the op- Rolston said. portunity to move up to varRolston described Casity once we were in eighth sey as “an energetic swimgrade,” mer who Casey said. really cares “I guess I the Her swimming about wanted to style, well, she’s people she go because spends time fast. But, she really with, I felt that and the middle likes to pick it up really wants school team towards the end, to succeed.” was not especially if she According challenging can catch anybody to Rolston, enough at Casey is a ahead of her.” the time.” fiercely comOnce petitive and -Viviana Rolston strategic she qualified and swimmer. joined the She joked, varsity team, Casey com- “She is a little crazy during mented on the team envi- sets. You kind of wonder ronment and the difficulty how she keeps going withof practice. She said, “I out getting tired.” thought it was a lot harder “Her swimming style, than middle school practice well, she’s fast. But, she because we had more sets to really likes to pick it up tofinish.” wards the end, especially if

“

she can catch anybody ahead of her,” Rolston said. “She has really good endurance, and she really knows how to keep a good pace and pick it up when she needs to, so she’s a great distance swimmer.”

Casey expressed interest in seeking new event opportunities that weren’t available to her last year.

She said, “I’m really excited that there are more events that opened up to me. I can focus on more events that I actually do well in, and I can get better at those events as I go.”

“I want to focus the most on my backstroke, fly, and maybe work on breaststroke as well,” Casey said.

This season: Already this season, Jorsling and Casey have made their presence known on the team. Jorsling recently placed first in the 200 freestyle and set a new team record with a time of 1:57.47, as well as first in the 100 fly, setting a record with a time of 1:00.86. Casey placed first in the 500 free with 5:46.70, milliseconds away from the team record.