Tower Issue #2 2014-2015

The Masters School

49 Clinton Avenue Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. 10522

Tower

VOLUME 71, NUMBER 2

Editorial The widespread Ebola fear is not unlike many other fears that are copius in the U.S. It is far off and out of our control. But, how do we react to our everyday controllable dangers?

FRDIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2014

TOWER.MASTERSNY.ORG

Disciplinary Committee changes the rules of the game Sofia LiNdeN Editor-in-chief While the overall concept of Disciplinary Committee is meant to remain the same, the size and process is changing this school year.

The body of faculty and students is smaller, the meetings now include an investigative aspect, and the members have changed entirely.

History teacher and Dean of the class of ’16 Lisa Berrol was Chair of DC up until she was appointed

Class Dean. At the time, Academic Dean Chris Goulian received academic cases and previous Dean of Students Priscilla Hindley received behavioral cases. They would gather information through a series of meetings before the case would reach Disciplinary Committee.

The members of the committee had consisted of up to six volunteer dents, drawn from leaders in their junior or senior year. The DC would ask questions, review the student’s actions and suggest future alterna-

tives before suggesting disciplinary actions to the Head of Upper School.

Berrol talked about the restorative, communicative aspect of the way DC was run, in which students were not being investigated but conversing with peers and known faculty about the choices they made.

“Students could receive feedback from representation in their community,” Berrol said.

“And, tions affected the community.”

Now, each DC hearing will be made up of two students, the co-

chair of DC, one additional faculty member and Dean of Students Jessica Nuñez. “I will be there as the Dean of Students to really support the committee and to provide them with extra information if needed, on a case by case basis,” Nuñez said.

On Nov. 4, Nuñez sent out an application for DC to faculty and students. Those that have applied will meet with Nuñez, the DC chair, and Head of the Upper School Matt Ives for an interview. A small chosen body of candidates consisting of six to eight students will then go through training together starting in December.

Nuñez explained that the project she and Ives took under their wing was brought about by a number of students and faculty comments on the process last year. Because Nuñez has disciplinary experience at a college level she researched other independent schools’ discipossible process for this school.

Science and drama teacher Kristen Tregar just stepped down as CoChair along with Interim Head of the Art Department Cheryl Hajjar.

Tregar said she understands that other schools have implemented these changes in their disciplinary

NAOMI NIVAR/TOWER

DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE IS MADE up of students and faculty to deal with student disciplinary cases. As the school changes inside and out, DC and those who sit within its doors have also felt these changes .

them, but saying, “My response to that is, we aren’t those institutions.”

Tregar served on Disciplinary Committee for seven years and has been Co-Chair for one year with Hajjar and Director of Technical Theatre Chair Jeff Carnevale.

“It was clear I couldn’t deal with processing the changes and being department chair while dealing with my personal life at the same time,” Hajjar said.

Tregar had uncertainties which

lead her to step down. “In the past students were never saddled with the decision of whether a student should be a member of the community,” Tregar said. She explained that now that the protocol has changed and the committee has become an investigative body. Cases that come to DC can, “I’m not someone who thinks that change is always bad, and I appreciate that any system should be assessed and reevaluated periodically,” Tregar said. “I just didn’t feel comfortable continuing in that role.”

As to why changes have been implemented, Tregar said, “My understanding is that there’s been feedback that people in the past have come out of DC not feeling like the process was entirely restorative.”

She added, “Those that are the loudest are usually the most unhappy.”

Tregar explained that Hindley and Former Head of the Upper School Chris Frost would do the investigative piece and stop before the trial, to clarify the offense. Ives and Nuñez have not limited themselves in this way. She said, “At least part of the reason for the changes is to limit the redundancy in the process.”

Tregar said that by changing the process and having DC investigate they are trying to make sure students do not repeat the same conversation.

Tregar sees a vast difference in the committee between how it was run and how it will be. “By and by DC will have little resemblance to what DC has looked like in the past,” she said.

Nuñez on the other hand sees things differently. “At the core it, the Discipline Committee was working well, we just needed to make some minor changes,” she said.

Ebola enters New York City; public safety concerns remains low Jake regLe News Editor In recent months the Ebola virus has been causing havoc in western Africa, with nine cases in the U.S. including one case in New York.

The outbreak has caused numerous stories to surface ranging from a host of miracle vaccines to rumors of zombies started by a video from ABC News and almost everything in between.

The most recent case reported in the U.S. is Dr. Craig Spencer, 33, a New Yorker who contracted the virus after working with victims in Guinea. After showing symptoms earlier this month, Spencer was ad-

mitted to Bellevue Hospital in central Manhattan. He was listed in a “severe but stable state” before his release from the hospital last week.

Spencer was being treated with a convalescent serum made with the blood of a nurse who survived the vi-

tagion is impossible until the virus’s later stages when those infected begin to show symptoms. Even in its later stages, the virus is only contagious through direct contact with a few days outside of a living body, and only a few hours on a dry surface.

Even after catching the disease if a person is treated in the U.S., one’s chance of survival is very high.

Out of the nine infected, only one case in the U.S. has proven fatal.

“The public health and housing situations are a large part of why the disease is so devastating in western Africa” Dr. Silberman said. “At the current time, a student at The Masters School has no reason to be concerned at all for their personal safety.”

Before being admitted, Spencer spent a week living in his Harlem apartment and even taking the subway, which has unsettled a high number of New Yorkers and all Americans.

“The risk of contagion in the U.S. is reasonably low,” said Dr. Mark Silberman, a colleague of Spencer’s at New York’s Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and the husband of Upper School Mandarin teacher Lena Silberman.

Due to the incubation process, con-

COUNTRIES THAT HAVE seen ebola cases and deaths this year show a vast comparison to the United States.

As opposed to Liberia, the United States can hardly be seen on the graph.

JAKE REGLE/TOWER

New Head of School Laura Danforth chosen for upcoming year Naomi Nivar Fetures Editor Laura Danforth, a candidate for the new Head of School position, and her partner, Paula Chu, were driving up to Maine and got stuck on the Massachusetts Turnpike when they received a phone call. Edith Chapin, head of the search committee for the new Head of School called Danforth to inform her that she had been selected to take on the role of the new Head of School.

“Neighboring cars could probably hear us hoot and holler from all our excitement!” Chu said with a smile on her face.

Last spring, shortly after Maureen Fonseca, current Head of School, announced that the 2014-2015 school year

would be her last; the search for a new Head of School began.

With a history of coaching and counseling in various independent schools, Danforth has gone through many roles that led her to administrative positions.

Danforth said she has always admired Masters from afar so when her search consultant asked her to apply to Masters, she spent a lot of time looking at the job description and all it would entail, feeling her strengths would fit nicely in the community.

She said she wishes to focus on making sure everyone feels like they are part of this community. Danforth said, “It’s very important for everyone in the community to be seen or heard and to

feel like their opinions are valued.”

Aisha Mohammed, the digital communications coordinator, had previously worked with Danforth when they were both faculty members at Miss Por-

“

It’s very important for everyone in the community to be seen or heard and to feel like their opinions are valued - LAURA DANFORTH

ter’s School, an all-girls independent high school in Connecticut.

Mohammed said, “[Danforth] is open to conversations and is able to give advice back which

is a great quality for a boss to have. She is a calming presence.”

Fonseca said she is delighted about Danforth’s appointment because “[Danforth] is a strong leader that understands The Masters School in all its beauty and complexity.”

Danforth will be spending more time with Fonseca on campus beginning in January to better familiarize herself with the culture of the school.

Danforth and her spouse will be moving into and living in Park Cottage in early July. Their three children, Yani, Ting and T’ai, have all graduated college. They plan on getting a dog and currently have a three-legged cat named Juniper.

Danforth said she wishes to

keep Park Cottage as a place of gathering for her family and the Masters community as well.

“We are all in,” said Danforth. She plans on staying connected with the community as much as possible through games, shows, and other events at which she can have a presence in.

Sophomore Nina Hylton attended the prospective Head of School lunch where she met Danforth. Hylton said, “I think it’s so important that our new Head of School is willing to show us that she really cares about the school by making the time out of her busy schedule to support student at sports and theater events.”

Danforth said, “I am most excited about getting to know what’s next in the future of the school and to be part of shaping it.”

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NEWS

TOWER/NOVEMBER 21, 2014

New theme takes diversity by the hand Rajan Cutting Op-Ed Editor After much consideration and a schoolwide vote, diversity is the theme for this year.

The big question has been how to address diversity effectively and respectfully. Apart from the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration, the school community does not often celebrate or recognize diversity. Head of the Upper School Matt Ives thinks this means “We have diversity in our school and it’s time we start recognizing it and even learning from it,” Ives said.

Ives is optimistic about the theme and hopes students will relate to it.

Onyx co-president Gerson Borrero is passionate about diversity and believes that it needs to be acknowledged. Borrero, as part of a school project, conducted a school survey on diversity in Masters. One of the questions asked if people at Masters ‘tend to keep people of their own race as their core group of friends’. Close to 60% of the community answered yes. Borrero believes these statistics speak to the importance of bringing awareness to the school.

“We have diversity, but we need our differences to become a more integral part of our community. I want to see more leadership positions being held by different backgrounds,” Borrero said.

Robert Cornigans, English teacher and the head of the MLK celebration, certainly believes the theme will change the school.

“As we begin to look at the differences in our community, we have to ask ourselves if we, the community, are mindful of these differences and if we include these differences,” Cornigans said. He spoke about the alienation of international students at the harkness table, and other instances in which the com-

RAJAN CUTTING / TOWER

NEW DIVERSITY THEME IS getting people talking about what they can do to take advantage of the diversity in the community. Clubs such as Onyx and Latinos Unidos are a few of the ways that the school can help take advantage of its diversity, along with class discussions, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and morning meeting speakers.

Borrero, although proud of his diverse upbringing, fears other students will not be as open with their differences as they should be.

“I feel like students aren’t going to appreciate

the theme because they feel uncomfortable talking about these things and I think that’s going to take away from the experience,” he said.

Finally Joyce Lewandoski, the school’s new diversity coordinator, said, “What is

most exciting about the theme of diversity ends by the close of the academic year, these conversations will certainly continue.”

Sophomore grade increased class size sparks discussion teddy O’COnnOR Managing Editor This year’s sophomore class is the largest class in the history of the school. At 142 students, the sophomores outnumber the juniors, the next largest class, by more than 20 students.

“There was no plan to make the school as big as it is,” Matt Ives, Head of the Upper School, said. Ives explained that having it one cult. In fact, it has caused all sorts of challenges: the school has had to hire new teachers, members no longer have seats in the theater.

According to Chris Goulian, Academic Dean, most of these issues have been alleviated. The school has hired new teachers and added more sections to maintain small class sizes.

The size of the current 10th grade is partly due to an extremely high yield when the students were offered admission as freshmen.

This means that the school accepted a pool of students and more of those students chose to addition, very few students withdrew from the school after freshman year.

This swelling of the school population is the result of a “perfect storm,” as Ives explained it.

Sophomore year is a big entry year for boarders. Last year’s senior class graduated in the neighborhood of 50 boarding students, which is around one-third of the boarding population. spots because “it is very important to have a vibrant boarding community,” Goulian said.

In each of Maureen Fonseca’s 15 years as Head of School, there has been continuous

growth in the number of applicants and the size of the student body. Between 1999 and 2014, for example, the graduating class has grown from 66 to 108.

According to Director of Enrollment Keith Holton, the Upper School is currently at approximately 490 students, up from 475 a few years ago. “The strategic plan is not set in stone, so the school size going forward has yet to be determined,” Holton said. He added that it is unlikely the Board of Trustees will call for a larger school. number. This number allows for each administrator to know every student well.”

The reason behind taking about 20 more sophomores was to maintain relationships with feeder schools that send high level candidates to Masters. Ives explained that if the school didn’t maintain these relationships, they might be lost.

“This is a good problem to have,” Ives said.

He added that many schools are faced with declines in applications and enrollment and have had to lay off teachers. Masters has been able to do the opposite by hiring more teachers and adding new activities.

Many people are supportive of the school’s move. Sophomore Hannah Regele said, “I think that everyone should have the opportunity to attend Masters, and I love getting to meet the new kids.”

“I’m glad that this happened, you guys are a pretty awesome class.” Ives said, referring to the sophomore class.

Goulian added, “There is always a silver lining. We added some wonderful new students and activities.” New classes have been proposed and some are in the works.

DEBBIE SHURE

MIDDLE AND UPPER SCHOOL students gather on graduation terrace for all school meeting accompanied by faculty and CITYterm. Compared to other grades, the sophomore class was noticably large.

ABIGAIL COSTIGAN/TOWER

THE POPULAR NEW APP “Yik Yak” is an anonymous social platfom. It not only informs students about snow days or traffic, but has also become a forum for slinging hateful comments.

Yik Yak attacks abigail COstigan Editor-in-Chief An anonymous social media app was created by recent Furman University graduates Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington called “Yik Yak” in ates Yik Yak from other social media apps is its combination of anonymity and location-based use. To interact with a post, users must be within a 1.5 mile radius of the user who posted it. Sixth months after its release, Yik Yak was ranked as the 20th most downloaded app in the United States.

While Yik Yak is intended to be used by adults only and is blocked on some middle school and high school campuses, the reality is that underage users still can access the app.

Senior Eric Passarelli has had a Yik Yak for one month, but is concerned with the aspect of nameless publication. He said, “By having it anonymous, no one is held accountable for their actions, which allows for harassment and bullying to happen without any repercussions.”

Passarelli said, “Right now, there is a fight happening on yik yak between anonymous Dobbs and Masters students, in which the Dobbs kids are threatening to come onto campus and ‘fight’ us.”

On the night of Nov. 11, some people actually did come to the circle

near Thompson dorm. According to Interim Director of Residential Life and dorm parent Tom Wethington, “Some kids drove their cars into the circle, beeped and yelled for a while, then left.”

While it is far from certain whether or not this showdown will ensue (as of press time), the police have been notified. What is certain is that Yik Yak is an open forum where students from both schools have been verbally aggressive.

Yik Yak has been banned from high schools across the country. In Ohio, Washington Court High School banned the app because of a post threatening to bomb the school, while Chicago’s Lake Forest High School has banned it for bullying.

However, Yik Yak may also be used in a helpful way. For example, on a day with heavy traffic, a Yak was sent out warning users to avoid the standstill traffic of the Saw Mill Parkway.

In an interview with The Indepen dent Collegian, the lead community developer for Yik Yak, Cam Mullen said, “On Yik Yak, you’re really able to share your sensitive topics and get feedback from the community around you. Which really, you haven’t been able to do before Yik Yak was around.”

When Yik Yak is used the way it was intended, it updates users on community events, allows for them to sympathize with shared experiences and gives shy individuals a chance to share their thoughts.

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OP-ED

TOWER/NOVEMBER 21, 2014

OpiniOn EDITORIAL

To fear or not to fear:

contradictions in perceived dangers

Tower 2014-2015

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Rachel SaundeRS Jake Regele

opiNioN editors RaJan cutting aRiel cenSoR

P

eople start washing their hands more. The subway starts to feel like a battleground for germ warfare. Movies and books about one disease wiping out the entire planet are universally popular. One thing is clear: people are scared. They bluntly say so at the mention of Ebola.

Fear is a natural emotion; it exists to keep the body alive when placed in a dangerous situation or while under intense stress. In reality, fear is felt most often in scenarios that are far from treacherous.

Only two people have contracted Ebola in America and have now recovered, but it has caused widespread fear. Yet the same people who cringe at a cough feel perfectly comfortable speeding down the highway. hese contradictions share one similarity; humans are scared of what they can’t control, but also what is least likely to happen. Yet when given the choice to make reckless decisions, humans tend to show fearlessness for dangers they can control or avoid in their daily lives. Horror movies leave people wak-

T

ing up panting and sweating in the middle of the night from nightmares, but how many people do you know who have been exorcised or brutally murdered by a ghost or serial killer?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in four US deaths are caused by heart disease, making it the number one killer of adults in America. But a heart attack makes a much less interesting villain and, honestly, almost everyone enjoys a good steak or hamburger. Cheating death with diet and exercise is less exciting than a good versus evil shootout. or teens, the leading cause of death is accidents, predominantly motor accidents, according to Livestrong.com.

Still, most teens still feel comfortable driving or being passengers. For the same teenagers, the thought of swimming in

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sports editors gabbY davie leo PSaRoS

MaNagiNg editor teddY o’connoR

Copy editors aRiel cenSoR RaJan cutting

web CoNteNt MaNagers gabbY davieS naoMi nivaR

SOFIA LINDEN/TOWER

shark infested waters may cause their stomachs to churn, even though National Geographic reports that sharks cause less than one death in the US every two years, while the CDC reports that motor vehicle accidents claim 27,483 lives per year. And the most common fear, the fear of public speaking, has never killed anyone (unless someone has died from the stress it causes, which could add a level of intensity to public speaking class).

While contracting the Ebola virus may be a very real threat to people in other parts of the globe, the American media has sensationalized it and caused Americans to fear something that is not a real threat. No matter how logical, statistics mean little to people when it comes to fear. Dangers like smoking, drinking and driving, or common fast food binges can feel too real to be scary.

Yet these are the real ghosts and goblins of the world and should be respected as such.

SOFIA LINDEN/TOWER

advertisiNg MaNagers teddY o’connoR Rachel SaundeRS

ColuMNists

benJaMin SibleY owen liebeR Phoebe van eSSche

FaCulty adviser ellen cowheY

assistaNt FaCulty adviser Matt bRowne

oNliNe Media

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Tower is hand-delivered on the day of publication to the Upper School. 650 copies are printed, and one is put in each faculty member’s mailbox. In addition, a copy is sent to each of our advertisers.

sCholastiC press aFFiliatioNs aNd letter poliCy Tower is the winner of the Pacemaker Award for Overall Excellance, an award-winning member of the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), Journalism Education Association (JEA) and Quill and Scroll. To send Letters to the Editor, e-mail TowerEditors@MastersNY.org. Published Tower, the student newspaper of The Masters School, is a public forum, with its Editorial Board making all decisions concerning content. Unsigned editorials express views of the majority of the Editorial Board.

Lack of healthy snacks causes unhealthy choices Leo Psaros Sports Editor campus store desk as I tried to get through crowds of people getting fruits and veggies at the campus store snack bar. juices of various squashed fruits, but at least the school was becoming healthier.

But this year there have been many changes to the school that have affected student’s health.

Last year, the campus store gave healthy snacks such as carrots, avocados, blackberries and other delicious fruits free of charge whenever the store was open.

This was a great healthy option and

encouraged students to eat healthy snacks rather than pay a dollar for snacks with no nutritional value at the vending machines.

But this year not only has the snack bar disappeared, vending machines have been moved into Masters Hall.

This change makes unhealthy snacks more accessible: they even added a card reader to it so card users can also buy unhealthy snacks.

These snacks include barbeque chips, fruit roll ups and cheesy puffs.

Though there are many healthy options like granola bars in the machines, usually by the end of the week I see all the chips gone and the bars untouched.

Director of food services Andy Waild said, “I think this school is healthy as it is.

But we have made some improvements this year like cage free eggs, and we always make an effort to get local and organic food. In addition to these improvements, ninety percent of our food is scratch cooked and our veggies are always cut daily.”

The school should work to provide healthy and tasty food. The dining hall would probably require more funding, but maybe once the MAAC is complete, funding could be directed towards improving healthy food options in the cafeteria.

In order to make healthy snacks more readily available, students have to make it clear that they need them. to tell me why the snack bar had been Talk to your class presidents, advisors taken out, I did look into how the and cochairs about making a change school is trying to become healthier. for better health.

LEO PSARO/TOWER

HEIDI SERRANO, DINING HALL staff member, restocks the fruit in the dining hall. The fruit is an example of one of the healthy options at meal times.

4

FEATURES AND ARTS

Features & arts

School offers a variety of semester away options

FORMER HEAD OF SCHOOL Christ Frost was Matt Shepard’s teacher.

As Frost remembers him, Sharpard was a kind and caring young man.

ARIEL CENSOR/TOWER

Sofia Linden Editor-in-Chief The weekend of Oct. 25, parents, faculty and students gathered in the theater to hear the story of Mathew Shepard, the boy who was abducted, brutally beaten and left to die for being homosexual when he was studying at The University of Wyoming. He died partially from internal bleeding and partially from exposure to the cold. As the audience watched the play, The Laramie Project, they learned his story from the perspective of the Laramie, Wyoming community. This is not the only perspective that students and faculty are able to hear however, because former Head of the Upper School Christopher Frost

meet parents and recruit students, which is how he came to know Shepard’s parents.

Frost found out about the murder through Shepard’s school advisor and the news, which had widespread coverage of the story at the time.

“Because he was such a positive, energetic kind of person it made a huge impact by the time he was murdered,” Frost said.

“He was gay, which wasn’t a big deal at the school in Switzerland, but Laramie, Wyoming was very different than that.”

Along with the play, there are multiple other efforts to bring awareness through the experience and death of Shepard.

His parents started the Laramie Project Foundation and a film that opened Nov, 20 in New York, Matt Shepard was a Friend of Mine, was written and directed

by Michel Josue, a friend of his at The American School in Switzerland.

Theater Director and Department

COLUMN: WORDS ON MUSIC

The Wild Feathers pure rock and roll owen Lieber

ANAïS MAZAIC’16 ACTS OUT dialogue that includes anecdotes of Matt Shepard’s life. The Laramie Project is a play that shares the story of Matt Shepard, the boy who was abducted, brutally beaten and left to die for being homosexual when he was studying at the University of Wyoming.

taught Shepard for a year at The American School in Switzerland (TSASIS).

“I knew him very well because I used to lead all kinds of exciting trips,” Frost said. One of these trips involved spelunking in a cave in Northern Italy that had never been fully explored, during which time one of the girls dislocated her knee. The rest of the group had to help her back out of the cave, which included pulling her up small cliffs by a rope.

“Matt took care of the girl. He really impressed me,” Frost said. “He was just fantastic during the whole trip. He was a very gentle person the whole time I knew him” Frost was also well acquainted with Shepard’s parents, who lived in Saudi Arabia. Many of the parents at TASIS lived in Saudi during this time, when Americans were doing a lot of oil drilling and teaching Saudi Arabians how to do so.

Frost said he did significant travelling to

5

gabbY davieS Sports Editor

Former Head of Upper School relates his experience with Shepard

ARIEL CENSOR/TOWER

FEATURES AND ARTS

TOWER/NOVEMBER 21, 2014

Masters offers three wellknown semester away programs: High Mountain Institute, CITYterm and Oxbow. Besides these, students can also apply to go to different countries for a year.

Senior Madeline Levin has the unique opportunity of heading to Israel for her second semester. “I’m going to Israel for five months. I leave in January and I come back just in time for graduation,” Levin said. “The trip is an experience-based learning program. It teaches you all about the country. We travel to different places and we learn about the history of the country and its relationship with other countries.”

Levin is travelling with a program called Alexander Muss High School in Israel.

The school is not formally associated with any international semester away programs, but does offer yearlong study abroad trips.

If students want to go on the semester trip, they must propose their semester away plan to the school.

“I found out about the program because one of my best friends did it,” Levin said. “To get to go on the trip, I had to present the program to Mr. Goulian and then he had to review and approve the trip.”

Academic Dean Chris Goulian helps sort out the academic side of the students’ trips.

“The school doesn’t offer any international semester away programs, so if students want to attend one, they are only allowed to go if there is room from the other semester away trips,” Goulian said.

Folk, blues and country may inmind, they are pure rock and roll.

This Nashville-based band’s primary writing duo is the source of irresistible riffs and compelling lyrics. Four out of Artists like Led Zeppelin, Neil Young and coming group. The Wild Feathers includes four singers, all with their own particular take on the songs. Joel King, guitarist and vocalist in the group described the bands singing as a “four headed monster.”

Whether you are in the mood to chill out and listen to a folk tune or to get pumped up while doing homework, The Wild Feathers can provide the full range. Songs like “Backwoods Company” and “Hard Wind” are examples of songs with a rock feeling, while hits like “Hard Times” and “The Ceiling” are mixtures of both rock and

the song. The songs are new, but if you close your eyes, you can envision yourself listening to The Band, circa 1974. They have the energy and enthusiasm of a young new band, but they have a vintage feel to them as well.

On their visit to New York City last spring, this mix all came together at the Bowery Ballroom. They played for two hours to a packed house that included a wide range of fans, from forty-year-old dads to twenty-year-old college students. This is no nostalgia act bringing back old and stale ideas!

This is a new, upcoming and exciting band creating their own history with performances such as these. As they sing in “Hard Times,” The Wild Feathers are “a freight train humming down the line.” The band will continue their travels when they return to New York City next month for an engagement at Irving Plaza in support of their debut album. Watch out for them.

GABBY DAVIES/TOWER

MADELINE LEVIN’15 POINTS OUT Isreal, her next study destination. She will experience first hand what it feels like to study in the Middle East for a semester.

The number of students that can take a semester away is limited from the start, as the number of available places comes down to how many students sign up to go on the school’s semester away programs. “We have a fixed number of students that can go to our three charter schools. If that number is not met, we can consider letting another student go on another semester away program,”

Goulian said. “Usually the allotment is six to eight students per year, but it’s very infrequent we get that many.”

In the School Year Abroad program offered by the school, students can travel to Italy, Spain or China and study there in their junior year. Unlike the semester away trips, there is not a set number of how many students can go away for a full year.

BARE/CHICAGOSNOW

THE WILD FEATHERS IS is a rock band that formed in 2010 in Austin Texas. The band consists of Ricky Young, Joel King, Taylor Burns, Preston Wimberly, and Ben Dumas.

Thanksgiving crossword puzzle

Chair Christopher Briante had already directed The Laramie Project in the past. At his previous school, the term, “That’s so gay” was frequently used, but Briante noticed more sensitivity after the performance of The Laramie Project. “If that was the only thing it accomplished, I was thrilled,” he said.

Briante explained that the play seemed fitting for the school due to its coherence with the yearlong diversity theme. “I hope people will reflect on what they see and hear, because what is powerful about this play is that it’s not fiction,” Briante said.

Frost expressed his delight in the schools decisions to perform this weighted play. “I found it very moving myself because I had a close association with him,” he said. “My feeling is because Masters is such an accepting place, it did not have as big an impact as somewhere else, but it’s a good reminder.”

ABIGAIL COSTIGAN/TOWER

More underclassmen participate in high level classes YiYi ouYang Features Editor Junior Allen Miyazawa is taking three AP classes this year: AP English, AP US History and AP Chemistry. He already finished two AP level classes last year, including AP Calculus BC. In fact, overall more and more students are starting to challenge themselves with rigorous classes especially in their early years of high school.

Of all academic areas, the rising level of math classes in general is especially noteworthy. Many freshmen are stepping into geometry classes and above, while some sophomores are already sitting in AP classes.

“I just really want to use the resources here and challenge myself,” Miyazawa said.

Many share this idea, with a lot of people starting to take more advanced classes as early as middle school causing a rise in the level of math classes freshmen take. For instance, although algebra one was traditionally a 9th grade class, it is now taught in many middle schools in 8th grade, which raises the bar for the average 9th graders.

“In the middle school, it all depends on the program,” Head of the Math Department Michele Dennis said. “I fully support the students who are successful, but people don’t

have to take the class just because this is becoming a trend. And if you failed algebra one in 8th grade, you should repeat it instead of moving on.”

Sophomore Shoshana Chipman started her Honors Trigonometry last year and, after teaching herself Pre-calculus during the summer, she is now in AP Calculus BC, which had three sophomores last year and two sophomores this year. Chipman said, “I feel like we are running out of classes. I mean, what should I do for my senior year? ” This question is one faced by many students and is being adressed. Dennis said, “I’m aware of the problem, and that is why I pushed the new Multivariable class, thinking we will carry on for a while.” She also says that it is possible for students to take classes at colleges like Columbia University, a path that has been taken by previous high-level Masters math students.

“We want to continue to practice and design new courses where there are enough students taking it, ” Academic Dean Chris Goulian said. “We want students to take courses of our own design. ” Overall, this phenomenon brings up various merits and problems going on the transcript and carrying along in the future.

Although this happens most frequently in math, issues arise in other departments as well.

WILLIAM STREET’15, EMILY KHAN’15, and Hotaka Nakamura’15 listen intently during an AP Euro Class taught by Skeffington Young. Young has the perspective of teaching both AP and independant classes.

Teachers examine AP grading abigaiL CoStigan Editor-in-Chief The main difference between AP classes and ing the tests. For standard or honors courses, the teachers choose how to assess students and what score to give them. For AP classes, the ers must teach the course equipping students with the ability to do well on that test—a test they have no control over.

YIYI OUYANG/TOWER

A GEOMETRY CLASS CONSISTING of mainly freshman is typically a sophomore course. Even though only juniors and seniors can take advanced English and History classes, freshman and sophomores are consistantly taking high level math and science classes.

Religion department, teaches AP European History and Economics. He said, “AP courses are externally assessed. You don’t control the assessment, the assessment controls you. I do things in class, like DBQ prep, for the external assessment. In Econ, I don’t have to answer to anyone.”

This year, math teacher Anna Cabral teaches AP AB Calculus and Geometry. For math in particular, no matter what level a class is, teachers have to cover the full curriculum otherwise students will be at a disadvantage when they take standardized tests like the ACT and SAT subject tests.

that we have to cover before the end of the year.

So it is kind of restrictive anyway,” Cabral said. helpful anyway. “Even if we weren’t doing the AP curriculum, I would probably still use the AP questions because I just think they’re really good,” Cabral said.

Young also does not see having to focus on the AP test as entirely a bad thing. “In an AP, it’s like we’re all in this together, the bad guy is the test, not me,” he said. In a non-AP class, he then explained, it is a different story. “In Econ, I’m everything. When I say you should know this for the assessment, you should really know that.” grading, they must alter the course to ensure their students do well on the test. This can give students less time to work on group projects, or practice any skill that isn’t geared toward the test.

“What we try to do is be as student centered as possible. The AP doesn’t necessarily allow for that because you’re on a train, and that train has a destination,” Young said. In AP Euthe Middle Ages, and the last is 1991, which may restrict the conductor.

Across: 1. One needs condensed milk for this classic fall dessert 5. The one Masters team undefeated since 1877 8. Served from a boat 10. Bog bounty 11. Woody Guthire’s annual hit song Down: 2. Vessel boarded in 1620 by Seperatists and Puritans 3. place where “beans on toast” is a delicacy 4. Help! I’ve ____en and can’t get up!

6. Home of the Bosphorus River.

7. Last Thursday in November in 1507

Answers can be found at: tower.mastersny.org Or by scanning the QR code below

4

FEATURES AND ARTS

Features & arts

School offers a variety of semester away options

FORMER HEAD OF SCHOOL Christ Frost was Matt Shepard’s teacher.

As Frost remembers him, Sharpard was a kind and caring young man.

ARIEL CENSOR/TOWER

Sofia Linden Editor-in-Chief The weekend of Oct. 25, parents, faculty and students gathered in the theater to hear the story of Mathew Shepard, the boy who was abducted, brutally beaten and left to die for being homosexual when he was studying at The University of Wyoming. He died partially from internal bleeding and partially from exposure to the cold. As the audience watched the play, The Laramie Project, they learned his story from the perspective of the Laramie, Wyoming community. This is not the only perspective that students and faculty are able to hear however, because former Head of the Upper School Christopher Frost

meet parents and recruit students, which is how he came to know Shepard’s parents.

Frost found out about the murder through Shepard’s school advisor and the news, which had widespread coverage of the story at the time.

“Because he was such a positive, energetic kind of person it made a huge impact by the time he was murdered,” Frost said.

“He was gay, which wasn’t a big deal at the school in Switzerland, but Laramie, Wyoming was very different than that.”

Along with the play, there are multiple other efforts to bring awareness through the experience and death of Shepard.

His parents started the Laramie Project Foundation and a film that opened Nov, 20 in New York, Matt Shepard was a Friend of Mine, was written and directed

by Michel Josue, a friend of his at The American School in Switzerland.

Theater Director and Department

COLUMN: WORDS ON MUSIC

The Wild Feathers pure rock and roll owen Lieber

ANAïS MAZAIC’16 ACTS OUT dialogue that includes anecdotes of Matt Shepard’s life. The Laramie Project is a play that shares the story of Matt Shepard, the boy who was abducted, brutally beaten and left to die for being homosexual when he was studying at the University of Wyoming.

taught Shepard for a year at The American School in Switzerland (TSASIS).

“I knew him very well because I used to lead all kinds of exciting trips,” Frost said. One of these trips involved spelunking in a cave in Northern Italy that had never been fully explored, during which time one of the girls dislocated her knee. The rest of the group had to help her back out of the cave, which included pulling her up small cliffs by a rope.

“Matt took care of the girl. He really impressed me,” Frost said. “He was just fantastic during the whole trip. He was a very gentle person the whole time I knew him” Frost was also well acquainted with Shepard’s parents, who lived in Saudi Arabia. Many of the parents at TASIS lived in Saudi during this time, when Americans were doing a lot of oil drilling and teaching Saudi Arabians how to do so.

Frost said he did significant travelling to

5

gabbY davieS Sports Editor

Former Head of Upper School relates his experience with Shepard

ARIEL CENSOR/TOWER

FEATURES AND ARTS

TOWER/NOVEMBER 21, 2014

Masters offers three wellknown semester away programs: High Mountain Institute, CITYterm and Oxbow. Besides these, students can also apply to go to different countries for a year.

Senior Madeline Levin has the unique opportunity of heading to Israel for her second semester. “I’m going to Israel for five months. I leave in January and I come back just in time for graduation,” Levin said. “The trip is an experience-based learning program. It teaches you all about the country. We travel to different places and we learn about the history of the country and its relationship with other countries.”

Levin is travelling with a program called Alexander Muss High School in Israel.

The school is not formally associated with any international semester away programs, but does offer yearlong study abroad trips.

If students want to go on the semester trip, they must propose their semester away plan to the school.

“I found out about the program because one of my best friends did it,” Levin said. “To get to go on the trip, I had to present the program to Mr. Goulian and then he had to review and approve the trip.”

Academic Dean Chris Goulian helps sort out the academic side of the students’ trips.

“The school doesn’t offer any international semester away programs, so if students want to attend one, they are only allowed to go if there is room from the other semester away trips,” Goulian said.

Folk, blues and country may inmind, they are pure rock and roll.

This Nashville-based band’s primary writing duo is the source of irresistible riffs and compelling lyrics. Four out of Artists like Led Zeppelin, Neil Young and coming group. The Wild Feathers includes four singers, all with their own particular take on the songs. Joel King, guitarist and vocalist in the group described the bands singing as a “four headed monster.”

Whether you are in the mood to chill out and listen to a folk tune or to get pumped up while doing homework, The Wild Feathers can provide the full range. Songs like “Backwoods Company” and “Hard Wind” are examples of songs with a rock feeling, while hits like “Hard Times” and “The Ceiling” are mixtures of both rock and

the song. The songs are new, but if you close your eyes, you can envision yourself listening to The Band, circa 1974. They have the energy and enthusiasm of a young new band, but they have a vintage feel to them as well.

On their visit to New York City last spring, this mix all came together at the Bowery Ballroom. They played for two hours to a packed house that included a wide range of fans, from forty-year-old dads to twenty-year-old college students. This is no nostalgia act bringing back old and stale ideas!

This is a new, upcoming and exciting band creating their own history with performances such as these. As they sing in “Hard Times,” The Wild Feathers are “a freight train humming down the line.” The band will continue their travels when they return to New York City next month for an engagement at Irving Plaza in support of their debut album. Watch out for them.

GABBY DAVIES/TOWER

MADELINE LEVIN’15 POINTS OUT Isreal, her next study destination. She will experience first hand what it feels like to study in the Middle East for a semester.

The number of students that can take a semester away is limited from the start, as the number of available places comes down to how many students sign up to go on the school’s semester away programs. “We have a fixed number of students that can go to our three charter schools. If that number is not met, we can consider letting another student go on another semester away program,”

Goulian said. “Usually the allotment is six to eight students per year, but it’s very infrequent we get that many.”

In the School Year Abroad program offered by the school, students can travel to Italy, Spain or China and study there in their junior year. Unlike the semester away trips, there is not a set number of how many students can go away for a full year.

BARE/CHICAGOSNOW

THE WILD FEATHERS IS is a rock band that formed in 2010 in Austin Texas. The band consists of Ricky Young, Joel King, Taylor Burns, Preston Wimberly, and Ben Dumas.

Thanksgiving crossword puzzle

Chair Christopher Briante had already directed The Laramie Project in the past. At his previous school, the term, “That’s so gay” was frequently used, but Briante noticed more sensitivity after the performance of The Laramie Project. “If that was the only thing it accomplished, I was thrilled,” he said.

Briante explained that the play seemed fitting for the school due to its coherence with the yearlong diversity theme. “I hope people will reflect on what they see and hear, because what is powerful about this play is that it’s not fiction,” Briante said.

Frost expressed his delight in the schools decisions to perform this weighted play. “I found it very moving myself because I had a close association with him,” he said. “My feeling is because Masters is such an accepting place, it did not have as big an impact as somewhere else, but it’s a good reminder.”

ABIGAIL COSTIGAN/TOWER

More underclassmen participate in high level classes YiYi ouYang Features Editor Junior Allen Miyazawa is taking three AP classes this year: AP English, AP US History and AP Chemistry. He already finished two AP level classes last year, including AP Calculus BC. In fact, overall more and more students are starting to challenge themselves with rigorous classes especially in their early years of high school.

Of all academic areas, the rising level of math classes in general is especially noteworthy. Many freshmen are stepping into geometry classes and above, while some sophomores are already sitting in AP classes.

“I just really want to use the resources here and challenge myself,” Miyazawa said.

Many share this idea, with a lot of people starting to take more advanced classes as early as middle school causing a rise in the level of math classes freshmen take. For instance, although algebra one was traditionally a 9th grade class, it is now taught in many middle schools in 8th grade, which raises the bar for the average 9th graders.

“In the middle school, it all depends on the program,” Head of the Math Department Michele Dennis said. “I fully support the students who are successful, but people don’t

have to take the class just because this is becoming a trend. And if you failed algebra one in 8th grade, you should repeat it instead of moving on.”

Sophomore Shoshana Chipman started her Honors Trigonometry last year and, after teaching herself Pre-calculus during the summer, she is now in AP Calculus BC, which had three sophomores last year and two sophomores this year. Chipman said, “I feel like we are running out of classes. I mean, what should I do for my senior year? ” This question is one faced by many students and is being adressed. Dennis said, “I’m aware of the problem, and that is why I pushed the new Multivariable class, thinking we will carry on for a while.” She also says that it is possible for students to take classes at colleges like Columbia University, a path that has been taken by previous high-level Masters math students.

“We want to continue to practice and design new courses where there are enough students taking it, ” Academic Dean Chris Goulian said. “We want students to take courses of our own design. ” Overall, this phenomenon brings up various merits and problems going on the transcript and carrying along in the future.

Although this happens most frequently in math, issues arise in other departments as well.

WILLIAM STREET’15, EMILY KHAN’15, and Hotaka Nakamura’15 listen intently during an AP Euro Class taught by Skeffington Young. Young has the perspective of teaching both AP and independant classes.

Teachers examine AP grading abigaiL CoStigan Editor-in-Chief The main difference between AP classes and ing the tests. For standard or honors courses, the teachers choose how to assess students and what score to give them. For AP classes, the ers must teach the course equipping students with the ability to do well on that test—a test they have no control over.

YIYI OUYANG/TOWER

A GEOMETRY CLASS CONSISTING of mainly freshman is typically a sophomore course. Even though only juniors and seniors can take advanced English and History classes, freshman and sophomores are consistantly taking high level math and science classes.

Religion department, teaches AP European History and Economics. He said, “AP courses are externally assessed. You don’t control the assessment, the assessment controls you. I do things in class, like DBQ prep, for the external assessment. In Econ, I don’t have to answer to anyone.”

This year, math teacher Anna Cabral teaches AP AB Calculus and Geometry. For math in particular, no matter what level a class is, teachers have to cover the full curriculum otherwise students will be at a disadvantage when they take standardized tests like the ACT and SAT subject tests.

that we have to cover before the end of the year.

So it is kind of restrictive anyway,” Cabral said. helpful anyway. “Even if we weren’t doing the AP curriculum, I would probably still use the AP questions because I just think they’re really good,” Cabral said.

Young also does not see having to focus on the AP test as entirely a bad thing. “In an AP, it’s like we’re all in this together, the bad guy is the test, not me,” he said. In a non-AP class, he then explained, it is a different story. “In Econ, I’m everything. When I say you should know this for the assessment, you should really know that.” grading, they must alter the course to ensure their students do well on the test. This can give students less time to work on group projects, or practice any skill that isn’t geared toward the test.

“What we try to do is be as student centered as possible. The AP doesn’t necessarily allow for that because you’re on a train, and that train has a destination,” Young said. In AP Euthe Middle Ages, and the last is 1991, which may restrict the conductor.

Across: 1. One needs condensed milk for this classic fall dessert 5. The one Masters team undefeated since 1877 8. Served from a boat 10. Bog bounty 11. Woody Guthire’s annual hit song Down: 2. Vessel boarded in 1620 by Seperatists and Puritans 3. place where “beans on toast” is a delicacy 4. Help! I’ve ____en and can’t get up!

6. Home of the Bosphorus River.

7. Last Thursday in November in 1507

Answers can be found at: tower.mastersny.org Or by scanning the QR code below

6

FEATURES AND ARTS

TOWER/NOVEMBER 21, 2014

The Uninvited: alumni barred from dorms Fall adventures at Lyndhurst castle

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Wen-Xuan ni Editor-in-Chief -

Phoebe Van essche

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Phoebelous Quote “Everyone knows rhinestones are a must have in every man’s wardrobe.” – Overheard at ‘Crafts at Lyndhurst’

WEN-XUAN NI/TOWER

PAULINA AUE ATTENDED MASTERS last year as a sophmore from Germany. She returned to revisit her Cole sisters but was unable to sleep in the dorms due to the strict enforcement of a policy prohibiting alumni overnight visits.

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TOWER/NOVEMBER 21, 2014

OP-ED

7

Rise in population leads to decrease in class participation ariel CeNsor Op-Ed Editor The recent increase in student population has caused a lot of minor inconveniences -loose chairs in front of the stage at morning meeting, longer lines at lunch, cramped hallways-but it has also caused one large probcussion.

The large number of students in each class has changed the discussion-oriented environment we pride ourselves on for the worse. Although the school boasts a student to faculty ratio of 7:1 and an average class size of 14 students, some classes are far more crowded.

Classes are so full that not every student are excluded from the table in which discusthem to get involved. Being outside of the table and out of sight causes students to be unthat they want to participate, causing even the most persistent to stay silent.

Even when the overcrowding is not so severe, students feel the effects of the increased number of classmates. Students who are more

full of people than in a less populated class because the environment seems less secure.

A smaller class size helps students to learn rative process.

Often, the largest classes are of freshmen and sophomores, who are still forming their students in their grades. If they are in an environment that does not provide them with the ability to participate in discussion, their long-term ability to be involved in class discussion will be impaired. Because our school development will cause them to be much less successful academically.

In order to solve this problem, the school and students have to be more vocal when they feel a class is too large. There should be a set maximum of about 16 students per class and if a class surpasses that amount, two smaller classes should be created rather than ovepopulating it.

If a class is too large, then students and

SOFIA LINDEN/TOWER

STUDENTS IN HANK KIM’S precalculus class cram around the Harknes table. The class has fifteen students, making the room extremely crowded. One or two students often sit on the window ledge in this class. means teachers need to teach more sections of classes or the school needs to hire more teach-

ers, it is a worthwhile investment to preserve the discussion-oriented classroom environ-

Library policy reverts to stricter past Naomi Nivar mia ouYaNg Features Editors

ELLEN COWHEY/TOWER

2013-14 EDITOR -IN- CHIEF Teerin Julsawad with the Newspaper Pacemaker Award for Overall Excellence. Currently, Julsawad is studying Journalism at New York University and writes for NYUlocal.com.

Tower wins the NSPA Pacemaker Award ariel CeNsor Op-Ed Editor Tower is pleased to announce that, ry, it has won the National Scholastic school year under solo editor-in-chief Teerin Julsawad.

The NSPA began the awards in sored the award.

According to the NSPA website, papers are judged based on coverage porting, leadership in the opinion page, evidence of in depth reporting, design, photography, and graphics.

The winners of the award are selected by the staff of a newspaper that is a

in groups without special permission from their teachers.

This year, the policy was changed

member of the NAA or by other journalism professionals.

Tower is one of three winners of the sin and Illinois.

Comparing policies between this year and last year, there are noticeable improvements. ment in the library policy for evening study halls Sunday through Thursday. The change allowed stubrary at any time between 8-10pm.

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most prestigious award of student journalism. In addition to this award, Tower has won the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal Tower Tower ters community for all of their support. umns and letters to the editor, it would not be able to put out the paper it does.

Tower engagement and hopes to continue representing the students, faculty and staff to the best of its abilities.

students must now all sign in and out at the same times, it strengthens communication between the dorm parents and the study hall proctors and ensures students return to their dorms safely.

Michele Dennis, Math Department chair, as well as a study hall proctor said, “The study hall proctors can set the tone of a study hall

settle down”.

Yet, there are complaints about this new policy. For instance, restrictions on when one is allowed to leave creates a problem for some students. Students do not feel they should have to stay in the library

for the entirety of study hall if they only have to print or meet with a tutor for a short amount of time.

Junior boarder Aliya Schneider good reason, you should be able to leave.”

The school has addressed many of these complaints. Students are now allowed to go to the library just to print a document and return to the dorm right after.

Adam Gimple, college counselor, library study hall proctor, and dorm of the library effective.”

Developed for this purpose, the newly established library policy will

has more boundaries. Now, a student must sign into the library by 8:15 p.m. at the latest and stay through the remainder of study the students must have permission summed up as disruptive. Instead use the library during study hall to socialize. need a pass from their teachers in brary. This minimizes attendance, reducing both noise levels and socializing.

Madame Raabon, French teacher and library proctor, said, “This cause it serves students that wish The new library policy also allows the library proctors to have

NAOMI NIVAR/TOWER

BOARDER ISAAC SAMPSON STUDIES in the library during study hall. Because safety. Since the policy states that students can’t come and go freely, there are fewer distractions while he studies.

English teacher challenges the community to “read the text” DarreN WooD Contributing Writer how and why we construct dichotomies in school. For example, we we apparently teach and do that is NOT creative. ciously at me when I start converones they should only have to enas if we all agreed that these walls should exist between experiences, then went about constructing them together. same person, whether in the dorm, home. And Masters at some point Masters hope that what we learn in school will carry over beyond the borders of the campus?

Envisioning a different way of being in the world and of being a

how we teach students to transfer their learning from one domain or happen if we were to bring literature texts into science classrooms, and geometry, and engage in the honComforto exhorted us to not only in the classroom but also at the tables in the dining hall, the halls of ly associated with English classes, Morning Meeting seems to provide an opportunity to try. Morning Meetings are rich, complicated texts, full of ambiguity and unexpected juxtapositions. An announcement about a lost iPhone might follow a reminder to donate to a charity for Jeans Day; an anmight follow a Senior Speech about a transformational intellectual experience which happened outside of the classroom. As a result of these juxtapositions, the experience of Morning Meeting is often a bewilwhat I was supposed to feel,” said one of my sophomores after a recent

reader of literature might very well puzzling texts.

sires and assumptions and how do they inform our reading of Morning

to read Morning Meeting? First and world does Morning Meeting hold foremost, we would need to expand our notion of where learning and selves does Morning Meeting hold discovery up for us? can happen and who biguities our teachexist in Envisioning a different way of ers might Morning being in the world and of beMeeting ing a school, I’ve been thinkwould need and how to enter m i g h t ing a lot about how we teach the theater we puzstudents to transfer their each day, zle over prepared to them? learning from one domain or defer judgI intuit experience to another. ment and that many - Darren Wood to open ourof us, stuselves to dents and texts and faculty, experiencfeel stress and loss when we feel fragment-

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are learning in our classes are essential to the life we are living, not preparation for a life we imagine we might live in the future. And we

lated list of our accomplishments. down some of these walls, starting with the ones we construct around Morning Meeting, would we feel selves moving through the world as whole people and whole learners?

Could we be present to each other in a way that we could not before?

I wondered all of this, particularly after listening to the Morning Spencer to share parts of his jour-

cident.

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in ways that were not, judgments ing Meeting; judging, in fact, rather than listening or reading, seemed to be the dominant mode of responding to the Meeting. But what might we come to understand if we were

ready,” “I have to be an advisor, teacher, coach, dorm parent, all in

speeches as a dialogue between one adolescent - messy as adoles-

merely the average of our achievements, or that we are the accumu-

atonement, and the ghost of another, forever unable to?

8

SPORTS

TOWER/NOVEMBER 21, 2014

SportS

Athletes start recruiting process younger in the past is the school actually accepting the student in their senior year. Some students believe they are already accepted, which is not always the case. She said, “If a coach

RAChel sAundeRs News Editor Fans and coaches take their seats as the referee blows his whistle. The game of picking recruits commences. Athletes participate in intense programs outside of school to play the game they love, and most juniors and seniors start the recruitment process. There are always special exceptions, however, who begin the college process freshman year.

Sophomore Samantha Coffey is one of these exceptions.

Since she was four years old, Coffey has been playing competitapped a soccer ball, Coffey fell in love with the game. “There’s never a time where I’m not enjoying it,” Coffey said.“I knew that it was just what I wanted to do.” After participating in a soccer camp over the summer for Boston College, Coffey was approached by the head coach, who showed an interest in having her on the college team. Ever since, Coffey has been in touch with the college. As of this October, Coffey is already verbally committed to Boston College.

TOWER

AS THE COLLEGE SPROCESS countinues to get more snd more competitive, student athletes are under more stress to decide if they want to play in college and begin the recruiting process earlier. all these schools into a very short amount of time because I needed to decide so early,” Coffey said. Her older siblings, who are in college now are shocked that she already

knows where she is going to college so early in her high school career. ties in choosing a college so early.

Head of the school’s college counsel-

have to be careful to think that’s where you’re going, because who you are as a ninth or tenth grader, and who you are as a senior could be different.”

talking to 25 people… Often times I’ve seen kids who feel the coach is telling them they are in and that is not what happened.”

Coffey understands that the school can retract its offer and she must keep her grades high. At the end of the day, passion is one of the deciding factors for recruits. Coffey’s passion lies in the game.

“Although I’m passionate about history and English, especially writing, soccer is what I’m going to do after college because it’s my passion and my life, and I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else,” she said. a weekend program with the other recruits, Coffey said she “just knew” and “had the gut feeling” it was the place for her.

In some respects, being recruited by a college is like a sports game itself: points are scored, points are lost; recognition is the outcome of hard work.

Anonymity vs. legitimacy AbigAil CostigAn Editor in Chief

ben sibley On October 20th, one of the greatest was absolutely and utterly scathed by ESPN the Magazine, Abbott explored been toxic to his own franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers. The article made bold tance to appease others and his tremenof the recent demise of both Laker talent and subsequent Laker wins.

The article was without doubt very well written. However, I was angered

by Abbot’s use of the anonymous source, which I feel is indicative of a widespread problem throughout sports journalism.

The current Associated Press Stylebook deems that: “Anonymity is a last resort.” Mr. Abbott clearly does not feel this way. He backed up claims that using “an agent who has had numerous NBA stars” and when asserting that ers have fallen off, he quoted “sources both in and around the Lakers' organization.” The vagueness of Abbott’s sources verges on absurd. Journalists have a responsibility to their readers

RAjAn Cutting Op-Ed Editor The championship game against Green Farms Academy was tied at 0-0 until the 83rd minute, when sophomore Geoffry Foxhall tapped in an assist from Levyant ’15. Everybody was in awe, the crowd was exhilirated.

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to provide interesting stories, however the juicy headline should not be prioritized over the credibility of a source.

It shouldn’t be easy to acquire incredulous information because the impact of such statements can denigrate somebody’s reputation.

Imagine if you had the anonmity to say whatever you wanted about your least favorite teacher or student. Most likely, you would say things with reckwords would not merely be based on ant is often described as one of NBA’s hardest working stars, yet without any consequence his reputation can be assailed from behind the cloak of anonymity.

By no means am I suggesting that the anonymous source be banished from journalism; in fact without it stories may never have been broken: I am suggesting however, is that the anonymous source be used less liberally and, perhaps, maybe even just once in while, that the veil of anonymity be used to illuminate the good rather than the evil.

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The Rusoff sisters, Jordan ’16, Samantha ’16 and Ariella Spending time with each other in this new context has given them a better understanding of each other and improved their game.

Freshman Ariella joined the team this fall season. “It was really nice coming into the team having the support of my sisters and knowing some of the other girls from watching their games last year,” she said.

“Both of my sisters help me bebecause I see when they mess up and I know they’ll always give me honest feedback because they don’t play, I keep a closer eye on them, because Sam is my role model, and so is Ariella!” Jordan said. This experience allowed them to generally learn more about each other and grow closer. Jordan said, “I also learned Ariella could draw!”

Adding this layer of team-mate enced their home lives. “Since joining the team, we have more to -

I had no doubt in my mind this was a championship team.

-Captain Max Ishmael ’15

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THE RUSOFF SISTERS POSE for a photo after a home game. Jordan ‘17 ( middle) wears “star beads,” necklaces awarded to players after each game who have played especially well. Ariella (left) and Sam (right) sport their basic field hockey apparel. mantha said, “Our mom also loves it because she can pick all three of us up from one place.”

However, the Rusoff sisters ar-

game and mostly put everything else aside.”

Senior Olivia Gibson is a capplays with all three sisters.

She said, “They’re clearly very bonded, you can tell they feel each

We knew all we had to do was stick to our game plan and execute.

-Richard Franklin, Head Coach

other’s pain. After one game, Jordan got sick on the bus and threw up. Ariella was so upset she cried because of it. “ Going to school with each other, living together, and playing together is a lot of time spent together, and can be a challenge for the Rusoffs.

“I’ve learned patience from playing with my sisters. Even when I’m frustrated with them, we still have to work together as a team,” Sam said.

“

I’m very proud of the boys’ team, they were able to bond and play hard together.

-Kevin Verson, Athletic Director

This year we played as a team, we all shared the common goal of a championship.

-Issac Sampson ’15

This was our first year winning a championship but we look forward for the repeat next year.

- Karl Hirt ’16

TOWER

TOWER

SENIORS CELEBRATE WITH THEIR championship trophy. This is the last game they played with each other and the rest of their team. The final score was 1-0 against Green Farms Acadamy.

ATHLETIC DIRECTOR KEVIN VERSEN smiles as he watches the team celebrate their recent victory. Team members gather to receive the FAA championship trophy.