Tower Issue #1 (2022-2023)

TOWER The Masters School

49 Clinton Avenue Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. 10522

VOLUME 79, NUMBER 1

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EVALUATING LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS PAGE 8 @masterstower

November 4, 2022

Learning losses emerge as Covid recedes: Lack of motivation makes back to school difficult survey conducted in 2020, 36% of participants felt unmotivated to do their work during the pandemic.

For Eisenbeis, and likely many others, this has carried into their school year as courses return to normal.

Upper School English faculty and senior class dean Darren Wood also felt this loss in motivation and long-term focus in students.

“Some students I think are struggling to sustain attention for longer periods of time. And I wonder if that’s a function of having spent a lot of time on devices during the pandemic,” he said. Screen time, especially among adolescents, did soar during the pandemic. According to a study by UC San Francisco, the average recreational screen time among youth rose to 7.7 hours a day during the pandemic

munity is the return to regular paced courses. John Boyer, Science department faculty and physEditor-in-chief ics teacher, said, “Classes during Covid were a bit slower than now, oom, online learning, especially during the first year. The remote classes, these second year we pretty much got are all terms which through everything…and now stuthree years ago meant little but have dents are learning at a pace that’s since been added to the vocabucomparable to the way they moved lary of every student and teacher three years ago.” For Boyer and the after the pandemic. Since its start science department, this year has in January 2020, COVID-19 has been about putting the pandemic had significant impacts on edubehind and looking towards changcation as students and teachers es the future may bring. He said, were forced to adapt to new learn“I would say most of our conversaing environments and methods. tions recently have centered around This year, the Masters camthings that are newer. We talked pus has finally returned to a sense about the schedule, about whether of normalcy as masks came off and or not AP classes are going to stay. activities were once again in-perWe talked about DEI and how to son. However, this has also sparked incorporate that into our classes.” conversation around the Senior Ashleigh Woodruff post pandemic learning also felt that the return to norloss and a sense of dismal and fully in-person have alI feel less motivated this year. I think a comfort as students try lowed her to return to the ease to adapt to a speed they lot of motivation is inter-connection. Because we from before the pandemic. “I had not seen for almost were unmotivated for that period of time, it’s hard am a very in-person learner. I three school years. Aclearn better when I can do somecording to the 2022 re- to get back to the swing of things and reconnect thing actively and collaborate. sults of the National As- with what used to motivate us.

So I would say that in that sense sessment of Educational it is easier right now than it was Progress (NAEP), comin the pandemic,” she said.

- Sol Eisenbeis‘23 pared to 2019, assessAlthough Masters is emment scores of students bracing this return to normal between grades four compared to the 3.8 hours before. and adjusting the curriculum back and eight in all U.S. states either Though there are still linger- to its past rigor, an education disdecreased or remained the same. ing effects of the pandemic which parity between schools and across For mathematics, the nation saw students and teachers alike are feel- states is leaving many institutions the “largest score declines in NAEP ing, there is also a joy within the in a more serious struggle against mathematics at grades 4 and 8 Masters community for the recon- the post-pandemic learning loss. since initial assessments in 1990.” nection this year has brought. “I re- The NAEP results show that, while Senior Sol Eisenbeis said, “I member the first day we returned to the reading scores for New York feel less motivated this year. I think campus after the pandemic. It was City saw little change since 2019, a lot of motivation is inter-connec- a very joyful and special moment. those in Atlanta, Detroit, Clevetion. Because we were unmotivated Remote classes are fine and solved land, and many other cities defor that period of time, it’s hard to a problem at the hardest time of the creased. This points to an disparity get back to the swing of things and pandemic; but human beings are in education which is a result of the reconnect with what used to mo- made to be with other human be- inequalities between races, gentivate us.” This lack of motivation ings, not to be in confinement,” said ders, and socioeconomic groups. was shared by many nationwide, Spanish teacher Roberto Mercedes.

This phenomenon can also be especially during the pandemic. AcAlongside the rediscovered seen in the local community. Wood, cording to a Pew Research Center human connection within the com- who is also a member of the Dobbs ELLIE YANG

Z

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RYAN GUAN/TOWER

STUDENTS SIT IN BUSINESS dynamics class with Hank Kim as they learn about financing and investing.

This class teaches students about the market economy.

Ferry School Board, said, “It is one of the reasons it’s appearing has been enjoying the new found something we have talked about in in public schools is because public energy in his class rooms and is the school board. “I think Dobbs schools have standardized ways of looking forward to a better future, Ferry, like other school districts, measuring student learning. But “the energy of Spanish classes can has seen different demographic private schools don’t,” he said. be heard when students sing La populations within the town and The pandemic has had a sig- Llorona, Limon y Sal, Mi Queridistrict. Some are further behind nificant impact on education in da España or when students say than others and learning gaps ap- the past years, the effects of which ¡Animo! We continue building the pear across the population as well.” can still be seen in schools across sense of community in our Spanish However, Wood observed, it is also the country and nation today. classes in order to be the Power for important to recognize the role However, the classrooms’ return Good in this challenging world.” standardized evaluations play in to normal this year can be a first this phenomenon. “It’s interesting, step in recovery. Mercedes said he

Florida’s Parkland shooter lives to see another day GISELE CESTARO

Lead News Editor

N

ikolas Cruz has been found guilty of first degree murder after carrying out the tragic shooting of seventeen innocent lives in the walls of his previous high school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas. The jury voted that Cruz should not be subjected to the death penalty, but rather spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. This decision came as both a shock and a let down for the victims' families, who were eagerly anticipating his execution.

Closing off a sixth month trial, the jury’s decision was not the outcome people expected, as Cruz carried out one of the most brutal shootings in American history on Feb. 14th, 2018. The prosecution on the case expressed to the jury that

ALYSSA WANG /TOWER

Cruz is a sociopath, and that the massacre was premeditated. There was evidence showing that he was searching for online information pertaining to the future massacre: such as the words “shooting” or “murder.” Detective Nick Masters, an electronic data analyst, read his searches aloud in the courtroom. He also mentioned that Cruz would leave comments behind on YouTube, expressing his desire to commit a crime.

The defense argued that he was diagnosed with mental illness, and ultimately the jury found that the mitigating circumstances of Cruz’s case outweighed the aggravating ones because of that factor. This means that although his actions were depraved, his culpability was lessened due to the fact he has irrational thoughts.

Cruz’s mental health issues came to light in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Aug. 16th, 2022, when a defense mental health expert listened to him

talk about his plans on the outside of four years for the trial to comthe prison walls. In alignment with mence, as it was postponed twice his diagnosis of mental illness, Cruz due to a juror threatening the deexpressed little remorse for the lives fendant. Several parents of the he took, which is originally why the victims were seen walking out of death penalty was an option, but the courtroom in dismay when the because of capital punishment’s de- jury read off the decisions. They cline in usage, three members of the did not see the reason for the death jury decided that it wasn’t warrant- penalty even existing if it was not ed. Florida, as one of the 24 states going to be used in a case like this. practicing the death penalty today, requires I do believe that people who commit a unanimous harmful acts should be punished accordingly, but I decision of the jury before also feel that the goal of the prison system isn’t to sentencing kill people, but rather keep them off the streets the defendant to the electric chair or le- Adrien Blanc‘23 thal injection.

Therefore, his life was spared.

The families of the ParkThe shooting instigated an anland victims had waited a grueling ti-gun violence movement, which

“

led to a national discussion on how gun control should be regulated.

Rallies took place across the world, largely led by young people who are tired of seeing and hearing about the massacres. Students involved in this battle are growing impatient as they have yet to see much change surrounding the movement.

Adrien Blanc, a senior, maintains that the death penalty is more of a vengeful act, rather than one that will supply justice to the victims’ families. “I do believe that people who commit harmful acts should be punished accordingly, but I also feel that the goal of the prison system isn’t to kill people, but rather keep them off the streets,” he said.

While Cruz’s case is nothing to be taken lightly, Blanc trusts that the death penalty isn’t the answer that will bring peace to the families of the victims. “Unfortunately, at the end of the day, your

child is still gone. There’s no way to forgive Cruz for that, but I don’t believe the death penalty would bring them serenity,” Blanc said.

Senior Eli West developed a new perspective on the case after hearing the victim’s families respond to the jury’s decision. “One of the statements made by a victim's family member said that society has to re-examine who is a victim. This resonated with me. These teenagers suffered a domestic terrorist and yet everyone is talking about the shooter’s mental health,” West said. Although he believes this is true, he maintains that Cruz was doomed from the beginning of his life, making it a mitigating circumstance in the courtroom.

“I don’t think the families will ever be at peace after this, and I don’t feel that the death penalty would have changed that for them,” he added.

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NEWS

TOWER/NOVEMBER 4 , 2022

Students and admin cannot agree on climate march JOSH MARKOWITZ Photo/Illustration Manager Masters EFFECT—a club that specializes in environmental sustainability — arranged for students to leave school early on September 23, take the train to Manhattan, and participate in a oncea-year nationwide strike to speak out against lawmakers who aren’t pushing to stop climate change.

In the words of Jeff Carnevale, dean of students,“Being an activist is part of being a Masters student.”

However, the day of the climate strike was the same day as the annual Founder’s Day celebration.

Since students who were attending the march would be missing academic classes before the Founder’s Day event began, conflict built up between the student body and the Upper School administration over whether students who missed classes would need to make up work and follow up with their teachers. The administration decided to treat it as a usual excused absence, which would require those students to follow up with their teachers as usual.

Despite the excused absence, students who attended the march were not happy because they still had to meet with teachers for the time they missed. Addressing this concern, Carnevale said, “ [Meeting with teachers] is part of being absent from school. Whenever a student is absent from school, they are expected to connect with

their teachers and get caught up on any work, so that is what the expectation was on that day as well.”

EFFECT’s senior advisor Tyler Hack and Co-Chair Sophia Semczuk see it differently. When asked why there was a conflict in the first place, Hack explained that the march was “an event that is bigger than Masters” while Founder’s Day is a “moveable” event.

Hack said, “The DAA Co-Presidents tried to move Founder’s Day or move it to that morning so the students could participate in Founder’s Day and still make it to the march.” However, due to the scheduling decision that the administration made, there was no budging on the moving of events.

On top of this, Semczuk noted that EFFECT had given administration a heads up about the event happening over a year in advance, and Founders Day was still coincidentally planned for the same day. Once they realized the administration would not shift the date, there was no intent to cancel EFFECT’s participation in the march, but it was a setback.

Semczuk said, “There was defiMAIA BARANTSEVITCH//TOWER nitely disappointment and it felt like A GROUP OF SENIORS march for climate justice in New York City. Behind them, a crowd is gathered before various speakers, addressing the something that could’ve hindered us protests’ goals. 2000 people attended the march this year, marching from Foley Square to Battery Park chanting various songs and role calls for from having success with the event.” the fight against climate.

Peter Newcomb, head ately about and it’s not our place event. In response, Newcomb said, Despite EFFECT students of the protest and having the willof Upper School, had a different to say this qualifies [for a certain “We are not treating this different- still not being happy with the deci- ingness to leave on Founders Day perspective. When he was first ap- level of absence] and this doesn’t.” ly, but that doesn’t mean it’s not sion from the administration, both to support this cause,” Semzuk said. proached with making a unique This approach made both important. It’s just we’re not posi- the march and Founders Day were On top of that, Newcomb said, excuse for the students attending march attendees and EFFECT lead- tioned to say, ‘This is an important deemed successful by participat- “I think they did a great job. They the march, he said, “What qualifies ership feel that Newcomb, adminis- one that you believe in and this is ing students. “It was really great to didn’t get the result they wanted, but as a larger event? There are lots of tration and Masters as a whole was an important one that we [Masters see people expressing genuine care I thought they did a wonderful job of once-a-year events that happen that not valuing the importance of this administration] don’t believe in.’” about the protest and the message articulating a rationale for this event.” people feel strongly and passion-

TEDx The Masters School returns after COVID hiatus MATTHIAS JAYLEN Opinion Editor After a three-year hiatus thanks to COVID-19, TEDx The Masters School is return-

ing. In 2017, Upper School History teacher Lisa Berrol was approached by Head of Upper School, Laura Danforth, with the vision of bringing the TEDx program to Masters. That vision became a reality when the first TEDx

talk was given in the Experimental Theatre. The program was a massive success, but things got difficult when the pandemic hit in 2020. TEDx was attempted over Zoom, but according to Berrol it was impossible to do. Fortunately,

the program is making a comeback. of giving a TEDx talk can be very or when the camera is rolling.”

“I’m thrilled,” Berrol said. “I challenging. Berrol said, “I think Though the process is rigthink TEDx gives students such an it's very difficult because stu- orous and challenging, it’s treimmense opportunity; those stu- dents start with an idea that's just mendously rewarding; as Berrol dents who dive in can really inves- a paragraph long, and it builds to said,“I think that there's nothtigate an idea that they've had, for a five to eight minute talk that has ing that a student will do at Masa long time like a suspicion, philos- to be memorized and researched. ters that will compare to this.” ophy, or a way of going through the The research has to be thorough, Junior Elijah Brooks is ecstatworld that they're eaic about applying for the ger to share with more TEDx program, though than just our commuhe’s still not sure about I think TEDx gives students such an immense nity. I am very excited his topic. He said, “I’m opportunity; those students who dive in can about the potential, not exactly sure what topand it's always a thrill ic I want to do yet, but I really investigate an idea that they’ve had, to work with students do want to share somefor a long time like a suspicion, philosophy, on their research.” thing that means a lot to or a way of going through the world that Stacy Van Beek, me; I want a crazy attenthey’re eager to share with more than just co-advisor to TEDx, tion grabber that gets the shared Berrol’s excitewhole crowd shocked.” our community. ment. “I'm looking Brooks also noted that he - Lisa Berrol forward to just learnwants to take advantage ing what the students of the opportunity to help are interested in. I'm his public speaking skills. also looking forward to helping it has to be corroborated, and it The TEDx application and the students practice and rehearse has to be really well crafted. Mr. audition process is open to all the physicality and the vocal stuff. I Ebersole has been instrumen- Upper School students as a winhave a background in theater. As a tal in helping our students to go ter co-curricular. Though the teacher, I've never really been able off script because it's very dif- application is open to anyone, to use it, so this is theater-adjacent ficult. There are also some stu- however, there are only a limitand that will be fun,” Van Beek said. dents who can write really well but ed number of spots available and In spite of this, the process have a hard time being onstage the process may be competitive.

“

MICHELLE WEI//TOWER

SOPHIA FORSTMANN ‘20 GIVING her Ted Talk, “Before the Grocery Store: Understanding the Value of Food.” Throughout her time at Masters, Forstmann involved herself in various sustainability initiatives and served as vice chair of EFFECT. Her Ted Talk aimed to raise community consciousness of unethical food sourcing.

Boarders gather for October community weekend CARLOS HEREDIA Marketing Director The October 14-16 weekend marked the third community weekend of the 2022-23 school year. Seven-day boarders were required to stay on campus and five-day boarders were allowed to stay and be a part of the activities that weekend. Activities included a museum trip, community brunch, and apple picking. The weekend started strong with a performance that night in the CBT from mentalist Robert Channing. His accurate guesses and descriptions of random objects, numbers, and answers to questions written on paper captured the crowd’s attention and kept them engaged.

“It was very fun. He read a lot of people’s minds and it was insane how he was able to read off of people’s cards without using his eyes, that was pretty cool”, said senior Luna Minnifield. My favorite part was with Matthias and Eunice when he told them to go out in the crowd and collect six random items from the crowd. He guessed the first four, and didn’t mention the last two until the very end when he told them to give it back to the crowd.”

Later that night, Thompson hosted the first open dorm of

the year, during which people ate snacks, danced in the common room, and got to visit friends’ rooms.

“I’m new, so I’ve never really had an open dorm before, but it was an enjoyable experience and I think it was fun for everyone else to see mine and the rest of Thompson dorm’s living space,” said sophomore Brody Dubilier.

On Saturday, boarders and some day students went to visit the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Students got to see works such as Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory, and even Frank Ocean’s Blonde album cover.

“I wasn’t part of the trip at first – though I saw that my friends were in the city – but they invited me and I pulled up. It was pretty fun; my favorite exhibit was the one with the Frank Ocean picture. It was really cool,” Matthew Hantgan, sophomore and day student, said. “I liked being around the art, it had such a great vibe.”

On Sunday morning boarders gathered in the Dining Hall for Cole Dorm’s community brunch, the second one this year following Strong’s brunch in September. The Dining Hall was decorated to suit Cole’s Halloween theme with cobwebs and ghosts, and an all black dress code was set. Students in Cole

decided to assign people to random tables to encourage people to form new connections with people that they might not speak to regularly.

“The idea to sit with people

you don’t know with random table assignments was pretty nice. I got to sit with Ms. Jansen, Ms. Danforth, Demo, Bob and Jerome. It was pretty good, we got into a deep conver-

sation.” junior Elijah Brooks said.

Later that Sunday a smaller group of boarders stopped

by Wilkens Farm to do some apple picking.

“It was pretty good, I really liked it,” sophomore Velizar Lazarov said, “I got to spend time with my friends and overall it was really fun.”

RYAN GUAN//TOWER

EILEEN KANG ‘26 CELEBRATES COMMUNITY the Dining Hall during Heads’ Brunch. The brunch allows boarders to bond with their friends and forge relationships early in the school year, holding a special significance for many in the Masters community.

NEWS

TOWER/NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Amnesty:

3

the progressive health policy for an evolving community XavieR Rolston Web Editor

D

uring the 2021-2022 school year, Masters’ policies on substance abuse changed dramatically. The previous punitive model — a zero-tolerance procedure in combination with a non-disciplinary “sanctuary” policy for students who approached the school for help with a substance abuse issue — was abolished, allowing room for the implementation of a newer progressive model. The school’s new, expanded, procedure regarding students who come to the school for help with substance abuse or other issues is called “Amnesty.”

The administration’s goal in creating this policy was to encourage students who are struggling with issues where their health or safety are at risk to seek help without worrying about disciplinary consequences. Dean of Students, Jeff Carnevale, said that while sanctuary had existed for a long time, it was outdated.

“Sanctuary only focused on issues involving substance use, for which there might be a violation of Masters rules that would prevent a student from getting help,” Carnevale said. “Amnesty takes a broader lens, and incorporates more than just drug and alcohol-related issues, but anything that would put a student’s health or safety at risk, that might also involve a violation of school policy.”

Masters developed the Amnesty policy over the course of several years, consulting sources both within and outside of the school.

Katie Koestner, a prominent activist who aided Masters in developing the Family Handbook’s policies on sexual misconduct, also worked to develop the Amnesty

policy. After careful consideration by the administration, they changed the new term to “Amnesty.” Carnevale expressed the connotation associated with the term sanctuary was not ideal, potentially driving students away from seeking help.

“Sanctuary implies something that needs to be sought out, whereas Amnesty is something that exists,” he said. “We want it to be a place where students feel they can get the help that they need.”

The switch to a more progressive, restorative practice is certainly in line with Masters’ mission statement. Carnevale remarked that “the Amnesty policy falls in line with what we believe as a school and an institution.”

Masters is actively engaged in restorative justice conversations, making sure students can learn from their mistakes and correct their wrongdoings. John Boyer, a faculty advisor of Community Council, delineated the importance of restorative practices. He stated that Community Council’s goals with restorative justice work involve prompting students to “reflect about whatever incident has brought them in front of us, and try and learn from their mistakes and grow from it. We also talk about the kinds of things that we can do to repair harm, when that has occurred.”

While substance use cases are not sent to Community Council, the same principles Boyer highlighted are applied by the Dean’s Office when dealing with these cases.

Carnevale elucidated the importance of prioritizing restorative practices over punitive models.

“This is a more humane response that respects the health, wellness, and dignity of each individual, rather than being a draconian punitive response,” he said.

Nevertheless, critiques of the

Amnesty policy are prevalent among the student body. A student who entered the Amnesty program last year (who wished to remain anonymous) stated that “The main reason students are reluctant to use Amnesty is it’s supposed to be a non-disciplinary approach, but is in every single way characterized as a disciplinary approach.”

The anonymous student elaborated that mandated health evaluations and counseling, communication with parents, and financial burdens from drug testing and psychiatric evaluations are factors that generate fear among the student body.

“The continuous drug testing — which is going to be throughout this year, and then throughout the next year, as well — we have to pay for every single one of those tests,” the student said. He added, “The Counseling Center is free, however, one requirement in my Amnesty contract is you have to get continuous outside psychiatric help.”

However, the school’s case-bycase approach to Amnesty helps students and families who are in difficult situations, financially or otherwise. Carnevale said in these situations, “the student and their family start working with the Counseling and Health Center, who have connections, and often can help a student and their family find and locate and work with an outside provider. And in many cases we have.” He continued, stating that “[Masters does] have some providers who work with our families on sliding scales or some even pro bono. We do the best we can to support a student and their family through that.”

Carnevale also clarified where disciplinary actions are still taken.

“If a student is caught using substances, that’s a different matter.

But if there’s a concern about another student’s safety and health,

New gender-diverse affinity group forms on campus Rooke WiseR Accountability and Media Advancement Manager

O

n Friday, October 7, Jayde Bennett–director of residential life and associate dean of students–alongside history and religion teacher Brendan Collins-Jordan spoke to the upper school community during morning meeting about the newly formed Gender Diverse Affinity Group on campus.

The group is designed to create a safe environment for community members–including students, faculty, and staff–who identify as transgender to discuss and share their thoughts and experiences. “It is a space for students, faculty and staff, of trans, non-binary and gender diverse experience to be together. We don’t have a space like that currently, at least not one provided by the

school,” Bennett said.

During the spring of 2021, Bennett and Collins-Jordan were a part of a subcommittee in Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)–the gender task force–and helped plan focus groups with students and staff on the topic of gender. While facilitating the groups, it became clear that students not only wanted but needed a place to affirm and discuss gender. “There is a lot of information about how you can be affirmed on campus that is just not public knowledge, and a lot of [kids in the focus groups] were asking, ‘How do I change my name in the LMS? How do I change my pronouns?’ It was clear that we need a space to discuss these things,” Bennett said.

Furthermore, students shared potentially traumatic experiences and wanted a place to lean on one another. In response to the growing demand, Bennett and Collins-Jordan initiated the Gender Diverse Affinity Group.

JENNY XU/TOWER

THIS SYMBOL REPRESENTS THE people that identify as transgender or non-gender identity. The new gender-diverse affinity group is the first space at Masters for trans and nonbinary students.

Although spaces that facilitate an inclusive environment of community for LGBTQ+ students already exist on campus, such as the Q+ club, these spaces are also open to heterosexual and cisgender members. “Q+ has a wider umbrella of identities that the club is talking about and programming about, and much of that programming has to do with sexual identity,” Collins-Jordan said. On the other hand, the new affinity group is limited to exclusively transgender community members.

On campus, LGBTQ+ information centers primarily around sexuality. On the other hand, this new affinity group brings attention to the gender aspect in order to stop the conflation of sexual identity and gender identity. “There are a lot of ways in which trans and non-binary identities don’t necessarily get celebrated and talked about as part of the normal course of school events, either in classes, presentations, or clubs,” Collins-Jordan said.

Additionally, the group provides a common ground for transgender individuals that doesn’t require repetitive explanations of their experiences to non-transgender individuals. “This is a space where there isn’t a burden of processing cis-feelings or having to educate cis people; the sort of burden that trans and non-binary people do in day-to-day life,” Collins-Jordan said.

Since the group is so novel, the objectives are not yet thorough, and the group is still figuring out the central aim. “We’ve been asking the students and folks in the group, “What do you want to see out of this?” Bennett said.

The group is intentionally left open so that it can be as responsive to the community’s needs as possible and potentially make adaptations on campus to better support transgender individuals. As Bennett said,“There’s not really one specific goal. I think it’s always shifting. Like our identities, it’s always in flux.”

that’s how we’re going to address it: As a health matter, and not a disciplinary one.”

Jayde Bennett, associate dean of students and director of residential life, further added that if a faculty member catches a student using substances, the situation will not be handled as an Amnesty situation.

“If a faculty member is going around and doing check-in, for example, and they happen to walk in on a situation, that’s not Amnesty. That is [a student] caught doing something [they] were not supposed to be doing. There was no attempt made to reach out or seek support based on a student’s wellness.” However, situations where students approach a faculty member — either on their friend’s behalf or on their own accord — do qualify for Amnesty, Bennett not-

proactive you’re being.”

Student’s feeling that Amnesty proceedings are disciplinary in their effects are not uncommon, Carnevale noted. “It’s really important for students to understand that it is a non-disciplinary process. And that means that things happen, but that doesn’t mean that they’re disciplinary in nature.”

Students such as the anonymous interviewee have described Amnesty as feeling like a suspension, which Carnevale clarified is not the case.

“They may involve needing to be away from the school for a period of time while you’re going through a health process, but that isn’t disciplinary,” he said. Amnesty leave is not reported to colleges or left on a student’s transcript.

“I think that it can be a challenge sometimes to reckon with [the fact

pen. They’re not necessarily disciplinary, but sometimes they feel punitive.”

Fear and outrage within the student body often come from a lack of information about the school’s approach or how these issues are handled. But in most cases, information on individual cases cannot become public knowledge.

“I wish students gave a little bit more grace to the fact that these are delicate situations no matter what. There are a lot of privacy concerns that go into this, and quite frankly, being a student here doesn’t automatically make you privy to certain information. There are certain protocols in place that we have to follow,” Bennett said.

JENNY XU/TOWER

ed, saying, “The key here is how

that] things hap-

Itaewon crowd crush

The deadliness of overcrowding MaRianna Gu Lead Features Editor

O

n Saturday night, a deadly incident happened in Seoul and took away at least 151 lives, the deadliest peacetime incident in Korea since the sinking of MV Sewol. The Itaewon district is known to be a popular place for Halloween celebrations given its stylish restaurants and clubs, but this year, the supposedly cheerful and exciting festival ended with dozens of dead bodies lying on the side of the streets.

Right outside exit two of the Itaewon subway station, as many as 100,000 people crowded the narrow alleyway. The deadly crowd crush began with people on the back pushing forward and people on the

front pushing back. Then someone at the front fell and the rest of the crowd collapsed like dominoes, one piling onto another. Kim Seojeong, a victim who survived the crowd crush, said, “We shouted and screamed for help, but the music was so loud in the alley our shouts were drowned.”

While some blamed the government for lacking to deal with crowd management and planning for such festivities, others think that the end of the pandemic is the main reason for the unusually large number of people who poured into the narrow streets of Itaewon.

Senior Youri Lee who was born and bred in Korea said, “For the past two years, we couldn’t go out to celebrate Halloween because of Korea’s strict quarantine policy, so people just really want to go out and most of them are college students.”

Some members within the Masters community are closely attached to the incident. Eileen Kang, ‘26, who is from near Itaewon said, “Because I attended international school and was exposed to foreign cultures, I have many foreign friends who live in Itaewon. As soon as the news came out, I texted one of my friends who went to the parade and she didn’t reply. So for a few moments, I went as far as thinking she might have been one of the victims, and I was actually freaking out, but later she texted back saying she was fine.”

In an interview with The New York Times, Choi Jae-won, a senior Seoul health official, predicted that the death toll could continue to rise as police and medical workers are still performing resuscitations to people sprawling on the street.

THE MORNING CALM/CREATIVE COMMONS:

ITAEWON IS A NEIGHBORHOOD of South Korea’s capital and largest city, Seoul. Well-known for its bustling shopping and dining scene, Itaewon hosts a Halloween celebration where the tragic deaths occurred.

OPINION

TOWER/ NOVEMBER, 4,2022

OpiniOn

TOWER 2022-2023

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF MAIA BARANTSEVITCH ELLIE YANG

EDITORIAL

Vote like your education depends on it O

n Nov. 8, millions of voters in the U.S. will be filing into local voting stations, including many seniors at our school. In the upcoming midterm election a new topic has risen to become a priority for many voters – education.

On Oct. 31, The Supreme Court held its most recent hearing regarding the lawfulness of affirmative action policies. Since the beginning of midterm elections, debates have been rising in the U.S. as the Supreme Court moves to overturn affirmative action – the practice of favoring individuals belonging to groups known to have been discriminated against previously. If this decision to overturn affirmative action is made, the course of college applications will be altered for the

upcoming classes, making the class of 2023 the last to be influenced by its process. As a diverse community of high school students, many of us will be negatively affected if this decision was to be made. Though it is not a prominent part of many students’ lives at the moment, any changes in affirmative action will inevitably affect us all. On the other hand, President Biden presented the Student Debt Forgiveness Program on Oct. 14. With the pandemic’s lasting effect on the U.S. economy and the rise in college tuition, the cost of receiving a higher education has become a burden to many students. This program, sponsored by the government, will provide targeted debt relief to address the financial stress of university students and families.

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As deadlines approach for both college applications and midterm election voting, many students are being affected with these life altering political and educational decisions. Apathy is not an option. We as students have the opportunity and responsibility to make an impact in this election.

Tower wants to encourage all those who can to vote, and those who are approaching the voting age requirement to register. For those who are not yet old enough, you still have the power to make a difference. Follow the news, work for local campaigns, and spark conversations with family members, as long as you are willing, you will be able to contribute to decisions that can impact your future.

MARKETING DIRECTOR CARLOS HEREDIA NEWS LEAD EDITOR GISELE CESTARO NEWS EDITORS ALEXA MURPHY OLIVER KREEGER OPINION LEAD EDITOR MAYA PHILLIPS OPINION EDITOR MATTHIAS JAYLEN FEATURES LEAD EDITORS LUCAS SEGUINOT MARIANNA GU FEATURES EDITORS LILY ZUCKERMAN TARA PHILLIPS SPORTS LEAD EDITOR NOAH KASSEL-YUNG SPORTS EDITOR ADAM BELLO

A crisis communication divide creates confusion OLIVER KREEGER News Editor

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n a school of over 600 people, communicating during tense situations is always going to be difficult. In the past year, for instance, Masters as a community has grappled with two unprecedented situations: in December of 2021, panic spread for a day as talk of a student bringing a weapon to school spiraled out of control, and recently, in September 2022, as a “Sexual Assault At Masters” Instagram account shared anonymous stories of sexual misconduct by student victims.

In both cases, some students perceived the administration as doing little to nothing in the immediate aftermath. While administrative actions have in retrospect proved to be well-managed and well-meaning, during the heat of the moment, because the school administration often cannot share specific information, the perception among students can be that little was done by the administration.

“My first thought was confusion,” said Serena Sharma, ‘25, recalling the panic over rumors of a student’s threat to bring a weapon to school in mid-December 2021.

“There wasn’t much information going around, so I heard most of the information I got from ru-

mors, they were all over the place…one person said a punch was thrown, one person said that the person who did it threatened to shoot up the school, they said that he had a gun on him - there were all kinds of rumors going around, so my first thought was confusion and wondering what was the true story that happened,” Sharma said. Eden LISA YAO/TOWER Leach, ‘23, had a similar experience SOME STUDENTS FEEL LIKE they’re not on the same page as administraand recollection. tion during intense situations and events on campus.

“What I found was that they weren’t really communicating very well there was a more clear saying that mation they had about the event.” with the parents, they were omit- ‘this is a thing’, because I think The day of the rumored weapting very important details,” Leach that was something that was not on threat incident - it did turn out said, “I told my father about it, communicated.” The Dean of Stu- there was no such threat to bring in and later that evening he received dents and the Head of School did a gun - Head of School Laura Danone or two emails that mentioned address the entire Upper School forth said this in an email to faman incident, but barely mentioned twice in the days after the Sexual ilies: “Earlier today, several upper at all the then-potential shooting Assault at Masters account was school students were involved in a threat.” created, as well as sending emails confrontation regarding a series of Sharma, who heads the Masters about the account to the entire inappropriate social media posts, Domestic Violence Awareness school community. to which the School was recently Club, also recalls the perceived Sharma said, “For the alleged alerted and which we are investilack of clarity as revelations about gun threat, what happened is that gating. Following the confrontasexual misconduct emerged on so- there wasn’t a lot of communica- tion, which took place in the Foncial media this September. “About tion, and there were rumors flying seca Center, one of the students Sexual Assault At Masters…I everywhere, and I think what need- involved in the confrontation made hadn’t really gotten that informa- ed to happen was for someone to a troubling remark. While the retion, but I wish I had. I wish maybe say, at the beginning, what infor- mark did not threaten any specific

physical act, or make any mention of weapons, we took it seriously and will continue to do so.”

Peter Newcomb, the head of the Upper School, offers insight into how the administration handles situations where lots of students are searching for answers. A key issue during crises is that, according to Newcomb, students can be told “very little” during the event and immediately afterward. “We make sure we’re respecting the privacy of those involved, and communicating where we think it’s appropriate, but in some of these instances, be it sexual assault or drug and alcohol use, by and large these are handled without engaging the entire community, but there are times where we feel it’s in the best interest of the school to have some specifics,” Newcomb said. Newcomb does feel that a communication divide is inherent between administration and students in these situations, mainly through the sources of information people seek - official school communications (or lack thereof) versus social media. When there is no school communication, Newcomb encourages students to not immediately seek out a full answer. “You can certainly inquire, but when we don’t share information it’s intentional.

I understand the desire to know, but it’s not peoples’ prerogative to know about individual disciplinary cases.”

ED vs RD: the crossroads all seniors face SANDRA LIU Social Media Manager

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arly Decision (ED), is a type of early admission used in U.S. college admissions for first year students in undergraduate programs. ED is a great opportunity for candidates to show universities that they consider that school to be their first choice. However, ED involves many things to consider, such as binding policy, earlier submission deadline and financial aid, and behind the ED’s seeming ability to increase admissions rates also lies the disadvantage of time limitation.

Therefore, there is no right answer to this question, weighing the benefit from both side and follow the heart is the most helpful way to make a choice that people won’t regret.

“It gives me the best chance of getting into the school I want,”

senior Cesco Desiderio said.Applying early decision will result in a greater chance of admission to most colleges; in the 2020 to 2021 admission cycle, Brown University accepted 38% of Early Decision applicants, while on the other hand they accepted only 17% of Regular Decision (RD) applicants.

However, ED is not always helpful and not always the right choice for all students. “The acceptance rate of each university cannot be judged by simple numbers alone,” Adam Gimple, Director of College counseling, said. “Some schools, such as the University of North Carolina, have fixed quotas for the number

of students from their own state and may not be as friendly to students from other states, so the acceptance rates for ED and RD will not be very different.”

Gimple also mentioned that only half of Masters School students chose to apply ED from 2018 to 2021, a figure that is less than many might think.

Another reason which makes applying Early Decision seem less appealing is the binding policy. Students who are accepted as ED applicants must attend the college. “For ED, I know that you have to make a commitment to one school, and I would want more time to prepare for regular decision. Because regular decision allows you to take time to choose what school you want,” senior Delilah Vega said.

Another reason for applying ED is financial aid. Some students who need to apply for financial aid often choose to apply RD because it gives them the opportunity to choose the college that gives them the most financial aid.

Conversely, the single choice of ED stifles their opportunity to compare.

Overall, the ED application is a double-edged sword, and it is important to bear in mind some of the benefits it offers while also considering the limitations JACK PARSONS/ TOWER it provides, both in terms of MASTERS’ COLLEGE COUNSELING OFFICE and their counselors aid and guide students school choice and major selection. through the college application process. An ED application is contractually binding.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERS LYDIA ETTINGER SANDRA LIU WEB EDITOR XAVIER ROLSTON STAFF WRITERS ALLY PAGANO VIKTORIIA SOKOLENKO PHOTO EDITOR JOSH MARKOWITZ ADVERTISING & DISTRIBUTION MANAGER JUSTINE PASCUTTI EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, TOWER BROADCAST NEWS CAROL QUEIROZ HANNA SCHICHIANO LEAD COPY EDITOR AURORA ROSE HORN COPY EDITOR AVIV EMERY ACCOUNTABILITY & MEDIA ADVANCEMENT MANAGER ROOKE WISER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS & ILLUSTRATORS ALPHA ZERFU JACK PARSONS CHANA KIM LISA YAO HARRY XIONG RYAN GUAN JENNY XU ALYSSA WANG SONALI RAO SYDNEY STARKEY EUNICE WANG FACULTY ADVISERS ELLEN COWHEY MATT IVES Online Media For more information, follow Tower on the following platforms: Website: Tower.MastersNY. org Facebook: MastersTower Twitter: @MastersTower Instagram: @MastersTower distributiOn PrOcess Tower is hand-delivered on the day of publication to the Upper School. 650 copies are printed. A copy is sent to each of our advertisers. schOlasticPressaffiliatiOns,letters andeditOrialPOlicy Tower is the winner of the Pacemaker Award for Overall Excellence, an award-winning member of the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), Journalism Education Association (JEA) and Quill and Scroll.

We encourage Letters to the Editor, which can be submitted to the following email address: Published TowerEditors@MastersNY.org. approximately five times a year, Tower, the student newspaper of The Masters School, is a public forum, with its Editorial Board making all decisions concerning content. Commentaries and opinion columns are the expressed opinion of the author and not of Tower and its Editorial Board or its advisers. Furthermore, the opinions conveyed are not those of The Masters School, faculty, or staff. Unsigned editorials express views of the majority of the Editorial Board.

OPINION

TOWER/NOVEMBER 4, 2022

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Meet our 2022-2023 Tower bloggers and columnists Eugene Hwang

Matthew Hantgan

COLUMNIST

COLUMNIST

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wang’s column will cover a variety of individual reflections on race issues in America from the perspectives of students from all races, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds. He hopes that his column will enable students to explore and think critically on the topic of racial injustice while providing students with a different perspective. He plans to feature Masters students and alumni.

H

antgan’s column will focus on the world of fashion. He plans to discuss the increase in trend cycles, the rise of small clothing brands, and the influence of social media on the fashion industry.

Hantgan will interview Masters students on their personal takes on fashion and emerging trends. Additionally, Hantgan will discuss the process of building a personal style.

XAVIER ROLSTON/TOWER

EUGENE HWANG/TOWER

Eli West

Tyler Hack

BLOGGER

BLOGGER

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n this blog, Eli West will explore his interactions with various members of the Jewish world, dive into the Talmud and Torah’s perspective on homosexuality, and hopefully let other LGBTQ+ students know that there is a place for them within their religion. Despite this, the lessons he uncovers relate to everyone. He hopes that each person taps into a new or renewed sense of community, identity, and self-pride, and that his story empowers Masters students to remain true to who they are.

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yler sees his blog as a platform to explore how Masters can better itself for its students and faculty, with pieces being in response to events at Masters — like the guest presentation on substantial equivalency — and regarding administrative positions toward activism — such as citing the climate strike as “political.”

He will also explore pieces about how he believes the “cum laude” designation is unjust and how he thinks the school Board of Trustees should be revised. As a member of Executive Committee, he will tie pieces to bills he’ll propose later in the year but his goal for this blog is to create discourse around issues that aren’t discussed enough.

ELLIE YANG/TOWER

ANDREW MITCHELL/TOWER

Standarized testing encourages learning... the wrong kind of learning News Editor

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very year, hundreds of thousands of students file into dimly lit testing rooms, where the sounds of ticking clocks and whirring fans are just loud enough to muffle quick heart beats, awaiting the ScanTron sheet that will help decide their academic futures.

For upperclassmen, just hearing the acronyms “ACT” and “SAT” often yield a visceral response.

Students cringe, or groan, or shift uncomfortably. It’s the same sense of dread that becomes plainly visible when one asks a Junior where they plan on applying to university.

Standardized testing and college applications are two facets of high school that are simply too stressful to dwell on in our daily lives. More than that, they encourage a kind of short-term learning that favors a small number of very privileged students, and undermines the passion for learning that schools hope to instill in their pupils.

We as students assign excessive gravity to standardized test scores, despite its decreasing value in the college admissions process. The so-called objectiveness enforces the notion that one’s grade on the SAT is a measure of one’s overall intelligence, never mind the fact that standardized tests are only designed to measure academic value in a manner digestible for university admissions teams. On the SAT and ACT websites, the ratio of correct to incorrect answers as indi-

cated by a series of bubble letters is said to reveal one’s readiness for college.

This understanding of what it is that college admissions-based standardized tests measure tends to foster unproductive academic environments, as students obsess over how one arbitrary grade will reflect their educational performance after highschool. For students, the format of standardized tests does not lend itself well to missions promulgated by schools across the country, missions prioritizing critical thought, skill development, and perseverance.

“Throughout life you’re taught to have smaller incentives to build up to a larger goal, but standardized testing doesn’t support that sort of method that school teaches you otherwise,” said junior Eli Savage. “It’s weird and contradictory and puts a lot of pressure on students who are young teenagers.”

These young teenagers are impressionable, and to teach students to interpret their intellectual capacities in reference to a number out of 36 or 1600 means to limit their ability to grow as a learner.

The other day, I was faced with the choice to complete two hours of ACT prep or spend those two hours reading a Hannah Arendt book that had spent months collecting dust. I opted for the ACT prep, because I knew that it would serve me better in the short term. The other thing I knew was that my family can’t afford a tu-

tor, so just in order to be on par with many of my peers in the exam room, I would have to put in the extra hours.

That brings me to my next point. When colleges can discern a child’s entire intellectual value in one number, many families quickly realize that the only way in which their child can be accurately represented in applications is through extra tutoring and counseling. This is fine logic, and it speaks, more than anything, to a medium that prioritizes ScanTron-centric critical thought over real-life intellect.

These advantages thus create an academic hierarchy within the very top level of an existing academic hierarchy. We at Masters are extremely fortunate to be here. Just by nature of attending this prestigious institution, we as students represent the peak of educational opportunity in America. In accordance with this, shouldn’t we then expect to earn the highest test scores in America, sans tutors?

In reference to this, Adam Gimple, director of college counseling,

said, “There is nothing about our pedagogical approach as an institution that prepares students to sit for 3+ hours and take a standardized test. Our final exams don’t go for more than 90 minutes. So what is it about our experiences as an institution that is standardized in a way that is the equivalent experience of a standardized test?”

The test doesn’t care about the critical thought we’ve honed through years of Harkness discussions. The test doesn’t care that we’re restless for the 70 minutes we spend in history class, forget about three consecutive hours.

The test wants us to train ourselves how to take it, not through reasoning and creativity, but through bubbling in the correct answer, and through sitting still for longer than any lecturer could talk in university. The exam demands very specific test taking skills only really accessible through textbooks distributed by the testing organization itself, or by professionals who have dedicated significant time and resources to understanding the

mechanisms by which the test grants you a clean 36.

Students do not need another arbitrary metric by which to rank their intelligence, particularly when this metric is merely a reflection of various forms of privilege and luck. If factors such as wealth, neurotypicality, and cultural background, can play a role in the number that appears on your SCOIR profile, perhaps we should consider a future in which we not only feel comfortable applying test optional—which many students already do— but in which we allow ourselves to rethink the way we conceive of intellect.

AARON_ANDERER/FLICKR

AARON_ANDERER/FLICKR

ALEXA MURPHY

FEATURES

TOWER/NOVEMBER 4, 2022

A Look Inside Masters’ Unique Traditions LILY ZUCKERMAN

Features Editor

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Tradition! Tradition!”

As once said in “Fiddler on The Roof”. Masters is a place where its traditions are celebrated by the community. The creativity of our School sparked many unique traditions, some of which have stayed throughout the years, while others have faded away. Others

have evolved through time, but all of our traditions strengthen the unity of our community.

Upper School Dean of Students Jeff Carnevale reflected on how this rich history makes the School as special as it is.

Carnevale said, “Every school has their own unique set of traditions that highlights who they are. I think Masters is who we are because of where we’ve been in the traditions

As students go through the school year these days, they will often communicate to their peers via phone. Before technology was so accessible and everything was on our phones, Masters Hall held the A-Z board.

“Before cell phones and email we had a Board in Masters Hall called the A-Z Board and you could leave notes by the letter of someone’s last name. On game days captains would leave bags of candy for teammates.

A-Z Board

we have. I don’t think that it can be replicated in the same way at another school.” He continued, “Our Halloween traditions highlights the quirkiness at this school and all its unique glory. As for Great Gig in the Sky, it highlights the arts in a different way than most schools. For all these traditions, it’s the way in which we gather that make them so special.”

Like many other schools, Masters has traditions such as Pack the

Den (a rallying of fans for a particular game) and senior privileges. However, Masters has certain traditions that are distinctive from many other high schools.

Here, Tower takes a look at some of these Masters-specific customs chronologically throughout the school year, recognizing how some have evolved, emerged or passed away.

Faculty could leave notes for students etc,”said Jaggi.

Now, the board holds less of a practical purpose and instead is a way for clubs to share their schedules and events. On occasions, letters and notes can still be seen, a call back to the board’s traditional use.

This tradition is an example of not just evolution but it actually faded away.

Halloween Likewise, Masters does not take Halloween lightly. Even a month before Halloween, the halls will be filled with spooky decorations. Every year, there is a Halloween video competition among the grades/departments in the Upper School, although it used to be Halloween skits back in the day.

“I think the tradition of the Halloween videos is really special.

It allows for the entire class to come together and work collaboratively on a project,” said sophomore Juan Torres.

He continued, “It’s something that brings our grade together as a whole, because we have a responsibility to complete something for the entire community to see in the end.”

Upper School English teacher and Masters alumna ‘12, Pilar Méndez Cruz, had a similar opinion on the Halloween customs at Masters. Méndez Cruz said that the video tradition was her favorite in high school and still is her favorite Masters tradition.

Cruz said, “I have a bigger perspective on all the work that my teachers put in to keep these traditions alive and make it fun. It was always a funny moment to see my teachers weren’t the strict people who gave me detention, making fools of themselves.” She did note one key difference though. She said, , “To, at least in my experience last year, there’s definitely more use of technology and filmmaking than there was when I was here. A lot was done on stage.”

Alumna ‘01 and current Director of Alumnae Engagement, Sujata Jaggi has seen the Halloween rituals alter through her years at Masters.

She said, “Halloween has evolved through the years. When I was a student in the 1990’s, Halloween involved skits on stage and I really enjoyed how technology has made this tradition evolve, to videos.”

Senior Stella Simonds has been looking forward to her senior speech since freshman year.

“I can still remember a lot of the seniors and what they spoke about when I was in ninth grade.

It’s a special tradition that allows seniors to share their Masters experience. I’ve been planning the ideas for what I want to say since I was in ninth grade.”

Simonds said, “It’s pretty unbelievable that I’m already a senior and I’m already going to be like the one doing the senior speech, but I’m really excited to do mine.” She added, “I hope people remember mine and at least take some advice to heart, how I’ve taken

MAISON MCCALLUM/TOWER

MASTERPIECES

Senior Speeches

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from other people’s speeches.”

Alumnus Leo Psaros ‘17 echoed the sentiment. “I think it’s a unique tradition. When I tell most people outside of Masters that seniors have the opportunity to share [their thoughts] for five minutes with the community about their time at Masters, they are always envious. I believe it’s a nice gift from Masters to give every senior the special chance to share their story,” he said, “Because Masters requires juniors to take public speaking, senior speeches are a great opportunity to take the skills you learned junior year and put it towards something you are passionate about.”

JOSH MARKOWITZ/TOWER

Founder’s Day Although beginning in 2004, Founders Day honors the founding in 1877, according to Alumna ‘01 and current Director of Alumnae Engagement Sujata Jaggi. Everyone in the community gathers in their respective team colors. Generally, this is a day where faculty awards are given, and the entire school body, from grounds keepers to faculty, from kitchen staff to administrators, all gather together to remember our founders. Each grade and faculty participates in a tug-of-war between the two teams within their

grade, and at the end of the day, scores are tallied. Students and faculty are assigned a team for their time at Masters; Delta is navy blue and Phi is red. Why red and blue? –when combined, they make purple, our school color.

Sophomore Rebecca Troy said, “I think it is an event that brings everyone of Masters together as a whole community. The friendly competition connects people from different grades together when they fight to win.”

Morning Meeting JOSH

Currently, the Upper School gathers every other day for Morning Meeting. Besides presentations, Morning Meeting includes Senior Speeches, Matters of Spirit and DOPA Days( formerly called Musical Mondays) practices that many look forward to.

MARK OWIT Z/TOW ER RYAN GUAN/TOWER

Senior Steps

DOPA Days Once a month, students have a different type of morning meeting that they are not used to seeing every other day: a DOPA Day. This is an opportunity for anyone, no matter the talent or experience to sign up and perform in front of the Upper School during Morning Meeting.

Junior, Teddy Meyer enjoys performing and observing performances.

He said, “Opportunities to perform at other schools are hard to come by and DOPA day makes it very accessible and open. It also changes up the rhythm in listening to people speak for thirty- minutes or presenting.”

JOSH MARKOWITZ/TOWER

Take a look at the photo gallery including these photos and more under Lily Zuckerman’s article at tower.mastersny.org

MASTERPIECE

Alumnus Leo Psaros ‘17 attended Masters since fifth grade. Even after graduating from college and beginning a job, he still recounts a Masters tradition.Traditions come and go, the idea that the senior steps are forbidden until graduation is a discontinued tradition. “I went to Masters

all eight years and I waited for the bus by the senior steps everyday. I was always told never to go on the senior steps,” said Psaros. He continued, “It was a very surreal feeling. I walked down the steps for the first time, and it was my last year at this school; my time had actually come to an end.”

FEATURES

TOWER/NOVEMBER 4, 2022

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Mainstage celebrates Chinese culture in its adaptation of “Journey to the West” Jenny Xu

Viktoriia Sokolenko Staff Writer

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Journey to the West”, a beloved fantasy story from China, finally came to Masters. The mainstage production presented their adaptation of the story to the school community last week.

Meg O’Connor, Upper School theater teacher and director of the play, credited the idea to former Masters student Zara Zhang, ‘22.

For Zhang and many of the other Chinese students who grew up listening to or watching the story, “Journey to the West” is an essential part of their culture and considered one of the most well-known books in China with adaptations produced almost every year.

O’Connor said, “There’s a long tradition in China of taking aspects of the story and changing it and adapting it. So we are just part of that tradition.”

T h e 16th

CAMILO BITAR- RACEDO ‘24 plays Sun Wukong who accompanies Sanzang on his journey to get the scriptures.

century novel attributed to Wu Cheng’en combines adventures, humor, spiritual and fantasy elements.

It tells the story of Buddhist monk Sanzang who has to overcome 81 ordeals on his journey to find the sacred scriptures. For the characters, it is also a personal journey towards enlightenment and inner peace.

Before coming to Masters, O’Connor had already worked to direct “Journey to the West” in another school. The script was then based on the literary adaptation by a famous American playwright Mary Zimmerman. O’Connor recalled that many Chinese students in the school felt that Zimmerman’s adaptation missed some of the most important characters. This year, while working on her own adaptation, O’Connor drew from that feedback and collaborated with Zhang and other Chinese students in the school to make sure that the play actually felt like an authentic telling of “Journey to the West”.

Despite having to simplify some plotlines for the time’s sake, O’Connor worked hard to preserve the story’s traditional spirit and make it engaging and comprehensible for the modern American audience. She read about five different English translations of the book and worked closely with her students as well as friends and relatives to make sure that the script represented the book’s most important elements. To better reflect the author’s writing style and the story’s tone, s h e a l s o

watched a famous “Journey to the West” mini-series.

“I spent a lot of time watching that to understand the Chinese humor, because there’s a lot of very slapstick humor. It’s very physical, it’s very over the top…” O’Connor said. “In addition to all of the comedy, there were also moments where I wanted to incorporate poetry, because the original is very poetic in its language. And then for the portions where there’s actual Buddhist text, there are several sutras in the script that are taken from the actual text.”

Jessie Xie, a Chinese student, who played Sanzang and helped to bring the play to life, said that they wanted to get people interested in the show by presenting how those modern elements play into the ancient texts.

Besides the script, O’Connor has also worked alongside several students to design the show’s costumes. Considering that the cast is mostly American, the mainstage had JAKE LEFORT ‘23 AND MORGAN Young ‘23 cast as Yellow Robe Demon and Princess respectively perto make sure that the costumes rep- formed last week for the Masters community. Thanks to the humorous dialogue, interesting lighting effects resented the culture in a respectful and great acting, their scene was one of the most memorable in the play. way. Since the characters’ dialogues were modernized to fit the twen- work with different plot lines but correctly represent the story and ty-first century, it also did not make still gave some signification of the not disappoint their international much sense to have the characters in Chinese heritage. audience.

Photos by: overly old-fashioned clothes.

“The most prominent things that “Making sure you hold it up to Meg O’Connor “Our costumes are a very strange we see are the headers, which are an the standard without making fun mix of modern and ancient and Chi- adaptation of what we see in Chinese of the culture is a really important nese and American, which is sort of rooflines of that architecture and thing,” Asiedu said. like our theater company. We’re a time period,” Wylie said. “And then Reflecting on this experience, mix of so many different cultures bringing in elements of the Chinese Xie said she felt really proud of all and different countries,” O’Connor lanterns. And then the banners that the hard work put into the producsaid. we worked to … pull from the types tion to get the original idea down Amaris Asiedu, an American stu- of Chinese nature one would find, and to make it creative and fun dent who played Sha Wujing and for example, bamboo leaves.” for the audience to watch. helped with the costumes, said she Besides constructing the set, the Despite the concerns of tried to incorporate more modern mainstage also worked with the cast possible cultural appropriChinese elements to be respectful. to make sure that they correctly rep- ation, she thought the play For example, she researched the sil- resented their characters. Since the is rather a homage to the houettes from modern subcultures play decided to use the characters’ culture. and the dynasties relevant to the sto- original names instead of American Xie said, “I feel like we ry for inspiration and included red translations, a group of Chinese come from a good intention, as the color of luck in the clothes of students helped the actors with pro- because we were trying to pilgrims. nunciation. preserve and present this culSince the show is abstract in For many Chinese students, ture that we’re proud of and terms of its time and setting, the “Journey to the West” is a part of want to correctly represent.” tech director Peter Wylie tried to their childhood. That is why it was create an environment that could really important for Mainstage to

School takes Halloween spirit on the road T

his year, the senior class decided the overall theme for Halloween as “Road Trip” and each department was assigned a different theme. The History/Religion Department had Massachusetts, the Visual Arts Department had California, and etc. One of Masters’ traditions is that seniors are not designated a certain theme so they can dress freely. In addition, each department has to make a Halloween video according to their respective theme.

Pictured: Photo 1: Dayan Battulga ‘23, Giselle Meskin ‘23, and Sophia Semczuk ‘23 (from left to right).

Photo 2: Austen Smith ‘24 and Baruch Hidalgo ‘24 (from up to down).

Photo 3: Amelia Von Jan ‘23.

Photo 4: Hannah Schapiro ‘23 and Stella Simonds ‘23 (from left to right).

Photo 5: Alexis Estime ‘23, Kuorkor Ashie ‘23, and Rachel Mafuru ‘23 (from left to right).

Photo 6: Zahali Vauclena ‘23 andVelizar Lazarov ‘25 (from left to right).

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OP-ED

TOWER/ NOVEMBER, 4 2022

Lot rage: The war on parking MAIA BARANTSEVITCH Editor -in- Chief

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ever, I have no idea,” Ayala said.

There is also the issue of faculty and student parking relations.

It has been made clear by administration that students are not allowed in the Fonseca Center (F.C.) parking lot as that is reserved for faculty only. But quite often, the F.C. lot is not full, but the senior lot is.

Ayala has noticed this pattern as well. She said, “It’s a big problem with faculty cars, which is understandable because there is a lack of parking for our faculty.

But it’s frustrating because students aren’t supposed to park in the F.C because that’s for faculty

only, yet the lot that is meant for faculty is never full and our lot is.”

Masters has an additional gravel parking lot near Estherwood Mansion that students and faculty are allowed to park in. Since juniors are not allowed to park in the senior lot, they are allowed to park there as a last resort but are encouraged to park along Clinton Avenue.

However, many juniors do not want to trek up the hill to classes, or are uninformed about their rights to park in that lot, leaving them to take spots that are meant for seniors.

There are two obvious solutions to this dilemma: expand the

senior lot or enforce the monitoring of the lot and registration of cars. I understand the time, money, and maintenance needed to expand an entire lot which is why the latter is a more reasonable solution.

The monitoring of the senior lot does not begin until around the first week of November. Students, faculty, and on-campus residents are still applying for parking permits. The permits come in three forms:one is for students, one is for residents, and the final is for faculty and staff. Each permit is color-coded for each category, which helps security monitor who is parking where.

Director of Security, Victor Seguinot, has been a parent at Masters for eight years and has been working with the school for two and a half years. Seguinot works with students,faculty, and on-campus residents to help register their cars, and monitor the senior parking lot.

The first step in weeding out unregistered cars will be putting a warning sign on cars that don’t have the parking permit sticker on their windshield letting them know they are illegally parked.

Seguinot understands the entitlement seniors feel when it comes to parking at school.

n the first day of my senior year, I jumped in my car excited at the prospect of driving to school after years of being stuck on the bus. As I pulled into the parking lot that is, supposedly, dedicated to the senior grade, my enthusiasm quickly diminished. I made sure to arrive early to ensure a good parking spot, but to my dismay the lot was completely filled by the early hour of 8:03 a.m.

At the corner of Masters Hall and the school’s tennis courts lies the well known “Senior Lot”. It is a space on campus that gives seniors a designated area to park, and helps avoid student cars filling up other areas of campus such as the Fonseca Center and Middle School parking lot. But an ongoing issue regarding the Senior Lot is that there are many juniors and faculty taking these spots, leaving seniors to find parking elsewhere.

The reasoning behind this anger is not purely due to the expectations of senior privileges, it is also a space that the security team monitors to ensure senior use only.

All twelfth graders who bring a car to school are expected to register their car with security and place an idenifying sticker on their car. This helps the school make certain that only seniors are parking in the lot, but this rule is often ignored or avoided.

Aimee Ayala, the senior class president, agrees that the monitoring of the senior parking lot can HARRY XIONG//TOWER be precarious when not all cars are MASTERS SENIOR PARKING LOT is overflowed each morning. However, not all of the cars belong to seniors. This has caused outrage amongst registered. “The process of reg- the senior class. The Senior Lot, is located in front of Masters Hall and next to the tennis courts. This problem has affected many seniors. Maia istering your car is quite vague, Barantsevitch expresses her views on the issue. and as class president I should probably be informed of it. How-

“Seniors deserve that tradition. Some seniors have been here since middle school, and that’s one of the perks that you should be able to get here,” he said.

It is difficult to determine whether a car is owned by a junior or senior when not all seniors have a registration sticker. Having a harsher approach may be necessary to ensure that the only students parking in the lot are seniors with stickered cars.

Unfortunately the consequences for students without permits have to be dealt with by administration, not security.

Seguinot said, “It is harder for us from our end, you know, the administration has to communicate with them because when it comes to punitive measures in the school, security is able to report it but it’s really up to the administration to sit down with the student and explain the consequences.”

Although this is a problem that many current seniors find frustrating it must be remembered that student parking is not a priority for the administration. The school has bigger issues to worry about than finding a spot near campus or having to trudge to class from Clinton Avenue.

But something as simple as an explanation and announcement of how to register your car as a student will help security ensure senior parking only, and avoid students getting ticketed. Monthly reminders and clarification of the consequences students will face if their car is not registered, or if they are not a senior, can also be a useful fear tactic in ensuring seniors have a spot every morning.

This may seem like an insubstantial issue, but it is one that can be so easily resolved, and one that can minimize the discontent of students towards the administration.

Language requirement speaks with a forked tongue Masters should make its students feel constrained by its language requirements.”Halprin said she was upset to be taking Spanish at Masters. She feels proficient in Italian and wants to continue her studies to become even better at Italian outside of school. She added, “I feel like Masters is not taking into account my progression in a new language. They want me to pick up from the same place I left sophomore year, even though I have grown in other ways. They don’t understand or acknowledge that.”

Graduation requirements exist to ensure that students

the school recognizes its students' experiences and accomplishments.

Filippo Biscetti, a resident in Features Editor Viterbo, the city that the SYA Italy campus is located, said, “In highschool I studied four different lanasters encourages its guages: English, Spanish, French, students to have exand Italian. I found studying pansive academic exmany languages at the same time periences away from its New York is useless. At the end of the day, campus. It has affiliations with you don’t learn one language.” different semester and year long Biscetti said that learning study programs which students many different sounds and gramapply to. One of the more popular mar rules is confusing. “For exprograms is School Year Abroad ample, I studied Spanish for eight (SYA). Masters also has a language years. I know a little bit. I studied requirement stated on their webFrench for five years and didn’t site: “Languages: Three years of have enough time to high school study, master it. The scope in the same lanof languages got conguage, through fused in my mind. I at least level III.” I wish Masters would make some sort of exception wish my school alJennifer lowed me to acquire Hughes, a Spanish for students that study abroad and study a language they proficiency in one teacher at Masrather ters encourages haven’t studied prior. I think we should be allowed to pursue language, language studies whatever language we come to find and enjoy. I think Italian than over teaching me. I only underabroad. “I strongstand a small amount ly recommend is a language that will benefit me most in the future. of many languages studying abroad in now.” said Biscetti. high school. If you Now, as a seget the chance, nior and proficient do it! It is a fan- Quinn Halprin ‘23 Italian speaker, I tastic opportuniam required to take ty,” said Hughes.

Spanish III at MasWhen studyreach a level ters. I feel as though I have suring abroad with SYA, I lived in of proficiency in a range of top- passed the intention of the gradViterbo, Italy, with a host family ics.

In the US, just 20% of stu- uation requirement. Just because for nine months. I was totally imdents learn a foreign language. In I chose to study abroad, does not mersed in my environment. I lived parts of Europe it reaches 100%. mean I was no longer a Masters with a local host family that only Across the whole of Europe the student. My junior year studies spoke Italian. I took two language median is 92%.

Knowing anothdid not take place in Masters Hall, classes. One focused on grammar and vocabulary; the other was er language is a necessary life but learning was still happening. based on culture. A majority of skill. It pushes your brain to get I wish my junior year studies conthe students who attend SYA Italy familiar with new grammar and tributed to my Masters graduation reach a level 5 or 6 of proficiency. vocabulary. It trains your mem- requirement. I also fear that taking Quinn Halprin a current ory to recall different terms. Spanish this year will have an adMore importantly, it allows verse effect on my language studMasters senior and alum of SYA you to connect with another cul- ies. I am concerned I will struggle Italy said, “I wish Masters would ture and build a global perspective. in the class having not spoken or make some sort of exception for English speakers are privileged studied Spanish in over a year. students that study abroad and a because the world caters to us, but Other students have been studylanguage they haven’t studied priwe shouldn’t use that as an excuse ing the language more constantly. or. I think we should be allowed to to limit cultural contact. It is admi- But mostly, I fear it will interfere pursue whatever language we come rable that Masters helps promote with my dedication to Italian. to find and really enjoy. I think language learning for its students.

Italian is a language that will benAlthough, it is also important that efit me in the future. I don’t think

TARA PHILLIPS

M

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TARA PHILLIPS/ TOWER

TARA PHILLIPS ARGUES THAT Masters student’s experience abroad is not being acknowledged or appreciated by administration. Phillips studied abroad in Italy her junior year. Photographed above is former Masters student Mac Alexander, in a classroom at School Year Abroad (SYA) in Viterbow, Italy.

FEATURES

TOWER/NOVEMBER 4, 2022

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HELPING UKRAINE Masters parent, Roxanne Todor assists war-affected Ukrainians Maya PhilliPs Lead Opinion

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asters parent and neurosurgeon Roxanne Todor went on a two week trip this past September with Harvard Humanitarian Initiative to Kyiv, Ukraine, where she worked directly within the country as a medical professional assisting those affected by the war.

Since the start of the war on February 24, 2022, millions of Ukrainians have been displaced. Over 6 million Ukrainians have fled their homes.

According to the International Rescue Committee, this crisis has led to the largest and fastest displacement since World War II, and the Ukrainian people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. This humanitarian crisis has severely impacted Ukraine’s already weak health system and the Ukrainian people are in desperate need of medical services and equipment.

In collaboration with the International Medical Corps, Harvard’s Humanitarian Initiative recruited certified “Advanced Trauma Life Support” instructors, including Todor, who was joined by five other physicians from across the US in addition to hospital personnel and nurses as part of her medical educational mission.

“We worked as a group and taught three simultaneous courses for both nursing medics, ambulance drivers as well as physicians,” Todor said.

Advanced Trauma Life Support is a standard course that’s taught in the United States. Todor and her colleagues had to translate the course into Ukrainian, in order to provide Ukrainian and English courses. “Most of the people who know how to manage severe traumatic injuries are already at the front taking care of injured war victims,

but they don’t have enough second nature, kind of like an ambulance doctor who said Todor. The father of people,” Todor said. “We CPR,” said Todor. goes out and then they decide Todor’s eldest daughter, Kyla trained physicians who have Todor taught two full class- where the patient will go, but Barantsevitch ‘21, is initially less experience with trauma es of ATLS to about 35 phy- that doesn’t work in a combat from Russia.“My grandparto be comfortable dealing with sicians. Todor also taught a situation or when you have ents have always wanted to it, as well as making sure that course to 70 civilians called multiple casualties or trauma. take my sister and I to Rusthe support teams, the am- “Stop the Bleed”. This course Every hospital needs to be able sia to see bulance drivers, and nurses is equivalent to CPR for trau- to help out so that no one faare all working on the same ma. Todor also documented cility is overwhelmed. kind of paradigm.” She con- a great need for medical sup- So what we were doing tinued,“This is important be- plies. The extra supplies she as part of our teaching cause one in four people who used for lessons were given was not just hands work die probably die unnecessari- away. “I think right now what that focused on how to ly from injuries that could be they need is blood. They need manage individual patreated if they had enough to try to get people to donate tients.” Todor also taught trained people.” locally. They also need the “Triage” and mass casualTodor endured a difficult supplies like tourniquets to ty management. “Triage is process to work in Ukraine: stop the bleeding,” said Todor. how to use the resources first she flew to Warsaw, PoThe crisis in Ukraine has optimally to save as many land and then she bicycled to dramatically limited health people as possible,” said Poesia, a smaller city close services. “I think their sys- Todor to the border. From there tem is in the process of being Todor has personal conthey took a van to the border, modernized but it’s still differ- nections to Eastern Europe. where my family’s where they walked a mile up- ent than the US system. They In fact, her daughter’s grand- from. Obviously, that’s no lonhill into Ukraine. Once Todor don’t have typical emergency mother is from Crimea. “My ger feasible. I was also planentered Ukraine, where a van rooms like we do here. They father also came from Hunga- ning on doing a study abroad was provided for the team of have a very specialized hospi- ry as a refugee In 1956 during next year in Russia, but that’s doctors to reach Kyiv, a nine- tal system. Typically, there’s the Hungarian Revolution,” also no longer a possibility,” hour drive. Todor and her group met with Ukrainian physicians in order to modify their teaching plan based on the Ukrainians’ experience and feedback.

While teaching Advanced Trauma Life Support, Todor led a mock mass casualty exercise, assigning roles to the class including trauma resuscitation. “The best way to teach people after lecturing is to give hands-on practice,” said Todor. In basic lectures, Todor went over head, abdominal, and thoracic injuries. “I always teach breathing circulation as the primary way to save somebody’s life, and so within each injury ROXANNE TODOR we go through, we try and get them to do HARVARD HUMANITARIAN INITIATIVE MEMBERS and Roxanne Tudor left middle gather in Ukraine to help that. So it becomes emergency response efforts. They practiced Trauma Care Training Courses.

CHECK OUT OUR NEWEST TBN SEGMENTS

said Barantsevitch.

Todor’s family was taken by surprise when she first told them about her educational mission.

NE ROXAN

TODOR

“We were worried because obviously we were concerned for her safety. We really did not think it was a good idea,” said Barantsevitch.

She continued, “Initially we were critical of her decision to go, but we were all very proud that she was going. We are so lucky to have someone like her in our lives to look up to who was willing to put herself in a dangerous situation to help others because she cares so much. Although it was hard, I admired her a lot for what she was doing.”

As of now the areas where Todor worked are under attack. Russia has intensified its missile attacks targeting energy and water infrastructure. Kyiv was getting back to normal before Russia renewed its attacks. “I’m thinking of the interpreters I worked with who were such wonderful, nice, friendly, bright people who really want to see their country move forward. It’s heartbreaking,” said Todor. In the future, Todor would like to continue her work in Ukraine. “If I find an opportunity where I can be helpful and it’s reasonably secure, then I will hopefully be able to return maybe after the winter,” Todor said.

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Stacey Lacy ‘93 heads Citibank Asian divison

STACEY LACY

PICTURED ABOVE STACEY LACY ‘93, Masters alumn is now in charge of Asia Pacific Operations and Technology for Citibank

Maya PhilliPs & Marianna Gu Lead Opinion & Lead Features On Oct. 17, Masters alumna and Trustee, Stacey Lacy 93’ visited the International Relations class and shared with the students her diverse cultural background as well as her earlier experiences at Masters. Lacy now works as the APAC Managing Direc-

tor and Head of Operations and Technology for Citibank.

She currently manages over 40,000 people, and has been serving in these roles for 23 years. Lacy was born and raised in Hong Kong, before attending Masters. As an International student and sometimes an outsider looking in, Lacy struggled to find her sense of belonging in face of racial discrimination.

Read full story on web

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FEATURES

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

The ins and outs of scheduling classes and Wintermission LUCAS SEGUINOT Lead Features

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very summer, over 550 students in The Masters Upper School anxiously wait to see their schedule. This school year, that lucky day was July 29. Students and teachers’ schedules are done but are the culmination of long hard hours starting in February for Sara Thorn, associate head of the Upper School, and her colleagues.

Scheduling at Masters is mainly run by Thorn. To assist her in the process, Thorn works with Sandra Sclafani, office manager/upper school registrar, and department heads. Communication with all these people is essential to this process; for higher level classes, Advanced Placements and honors classes, department chairs need to verify that a student is appropriately prepared and approved to take that class.

“We just communicate as much as possible during that March to June period,” Thorn said.

The scheduling cycle starts for the next year of classes on February 14, when the department heads present their classes in the curriculum assembly. Once the students hear about these classes, they have until March 7 when the form is due. Students need to gain approv-

and create a grid with all of the stuLooking ahead, a new edition to dents in the Upper School. The pro- the schedule has been created: from cess takes one to two weeks. Thorn January 24th to January 27th, Wingoing over each individual schedule termission will occur. Created by Jato make sure she didn’t unfairly over- son Hult, Director of Learning Initiaload any student in a given semester. tives, and Thorn, this 4-day mini term Even with the classes officially will allow students to pick from 52 approved on July classes. In those 4 days, 29th students did students will only have not receive their class in the one course My hope is that official schedule this Wintermisison expe- they picked. These will until the day bebe different in style fore school started. rience will be a healthy and content compared Thorn explained break for the students and to other classes this that this is because the learning that happens school year. Hult even as new students in them will make the expressed that some come in ,placelearning in other classes a of these classes will ments for classes be able to go to the are still being done little richer.” city and more. ClassThorn exes will be taught by pressed how this Masters teachers inde- Jason Hult process is levied by pendently or in teams. . the use of technol“My hope is that ogy. A grid is crethis Wintermisison exated allowing the department heads perience will be a healthy break for to verify classes in real time. Tech- the students and the learning that hapnology, though helpful, can also be pens in them will make the learning in a hindrance in this whole process. other classes a little richer.” Hult said.

“It is very complicated to make Hult expressed that even with LMS do what you want it to do,” Thorn the complicated logistics of the said. You really have to encourage it.” process that this is a new opporEven with all the chaos in- tunity for the school as a whole. volved in scheduling, Thorn sees “Overall it has been really a positive.“I am meeting a lot of inspiring to see what the teacher the new students and seeing peo- wants to do and this could stretch ple after summer,” she said, “so our understanding of what school while it is very busy, it is a great is and what school can be.” he said. time to welcome everyone back.”

“

JENNY XU//TOWER

THE PROCESS OF SCHEDULE creation is a long and complicated. Sara Thorn, associate head of the Upper School, spends her summer dedicated to preparing for the students arrival on campus and in classes. al from their parents and advisor.

Students then receive their provisionally approved course list in the first week of May; Thorn ex-

plained that this means that students are provisionally approved for higher level classes but are not guaranteed spots in them.

Thorn and her team get into full gear once the school year finishes.

With the help of Math Department chair Michele Dennis, they sit down

Taylor invites Swifties to “meet her at midnight” AURORA ROSE HORN Lead Copy Editor

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wifties, rejoice: TS10 has finally arrived! Taylor Swift’s tenth album, titled “Midnights,” came out on the 21st of October after having been hyped up for months.

The album is, in my opinion, skipless: every single song on it absolutely goes hard. My favorite, though, is “Lavender Haze,” the first track on the album, and what an opener it is! I personally think it’s very à propos how the opening line of the song is “meet me at midnight”, because since many Swifties stayed up until midnight to hear the album when it was released, they were liter-

ally meeting her at midnight. In “Lavender Haze,” Swift speaks to her love- presumably Joe Alwyn, her boyfriend of five years- about how despite society’s scrutiny of her, he has stayed by her side. This is illustrated by lyrics such as “I been under scrutiny, you handle it beautifully” and “They’re bringing up my history, but you weren’t even listening.”

Another track from the album which I adore is “Karma.” When Swift announced that there would be a song titled “Karma” on the album, the Swifties collectively lost their mind; there had long been a theory that Swift had a lost album between 1989 and Reputation called Karma. The song does indeed sound like it fits in between those two albums, with its upbeat tune, trap beat, and lyrics about, well, karma.

Conversely, one song from the album that underwhelmed me was “Snow On The Beach,” a collab with Lana Del Rey. Don’t get me wrong; the track is still a great one. It was just quite disappointing how little of Del Rey was heard in it. It’s not that surprising considering that most of Swift’s collabs with female artists just feature the other artist on backing vocals, but as a passionate Lana Del Rey fan I had had my hopes up, sadly in vain.

All in all, though, on a scale of one to ten I’d give “Midnights” a thirteen, Swift’s lucky number.

The album encompasses every emotion, from making me dance to making me cry — a classic trademark of Swift’s music.

Social media activism

How teens are leading social movements from behind a screen AVIV EMERY Copy Editor

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very time you open social media, there’s always something political popping up. Whether it’s someone’s story, a post, or just scrolling through your feed, it’s hard to not see activism when you open TikTok, Snapchat, or Instagram.

Because people under 18 can’t vote, they use social media to their advantage, talking about any topic which they think is important.

But, it’s important to ask whether what teenagers are doing on social media is really making a difference in the world, or even a difference to themselves. English Department Chair, Geoff Nelson said that “there is a difference between taking a moral high ground just for the sake of amplifying one’s own goodness versus trying to authentically expand someone else’s perception politically that might make them a better person or more aware in the world.”

Masters Accounts In our own community, we’ve had two social activism Instagram accounts arise, @sexualassaultatmasters, in September 2022 and @ blackattms, in June 2020, both of which have inspired real changes to the rules or guidelines at Masters. Senior Mia Romanoff, who wrote her Masters Thesis paper on youth protest, explained that “A large part of the reason why accounts like @blackattms work is because they do threaten the economic position of the school, it’s not just starting a conversation, the existence of that conversation has very real consequences to the school’s reputation.”

She continued, “what makes those accounts different is that negative media attention in

those instances was political and economic versus just generally bringing awareness.”

Summer 2020 In 2020, following George Floyd’s death, social activism spiked. Jake Lefort ‘23 noted “That was not exactly the birth of social media activism but it was the first time everyone was really involved in posting on social media about something that effects law and requires activism.” Every-

where on social media, people were posting about the murder. Tik Toks were blowing up on how to support small Black owned businesses, and people were beginning to be open about their own stories of racism or micro aggressions. They were posting informational slides about where to donate, what you can do, and

generally spreading awareness through social media infographics. “I don’t think it would’ve been seen as such a big deal if social activism hadn’t taken hold then.” Lefort later said.

However, there is a lot of debate surrounding the fine line teenagers walk between performative and non-performative activism. “We can’t make meaningful change if it’s being perpetuated by our need to boost how other people perceive us,” Romy Girzone, ‘24 said.

Romanoff touched on how she sees per

SYDNEY STARKEY//TOWER

SOCIAL MEDIA CAN BE used to spread a message, but is often a double-edged sword. Aviv Emery explores the current way teens are using social media.

formative activism, “I don’t necessarily think that performative activism de-rails any movements. Rather it just makes people think that movements are doing more than they are. Performative activism isn’t harmful, it’s annoying.”

She continued, “I think the average individual actually most of the time isn’t really able to be a performative activist; I think performative activism comes with people who have resources and large platforms and who are trying to appease a larger audience.”

Affects of online activism Despite the sometimes performative side of posting on social media, teenagers have been using apps to create a real change in the world.

Teenagers on TikTok bought tickets to a Trump rally in Oklahoma in an effort to take tickets from people who would’ve actually shown up.

K-pop fans drowned out a #WhiteLivesMatter tag by filling it with photos of their favorite artists, and others have monetized Youtube videos to donate the proceeds to charities or small businesses. Many other movements have been hoisted along by social media throughout the last few decades. #MeToo, the Ice Bucket Challenge, and #LoveWins were all online phenomenons which translated into real life.

Social media can be an amazing way for young people to talk about issues they’re passionate about, but it’s important to note that social media can become performative and corrupt very quickly. People can come across social media activism, and blindly scroll past it, meaning it doesn’t create as much of an impact as hoped. It may be in a person’s best interest to instead directly help a cause through donation or volunteering. As Nelson said, “Sometimes awareness produces political thinking and sometimes awareness produces the status quo, people are aware of what they’re seeing but move on with their life.”

SPORTS

TOWER/ NOVEMBER 4, 2022

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Camaraderie helps girls varsity soccer foster team spirit try to make it so that the game is still fun.”

Schapiro, who has played soccer for twelve years, applauded the dedication of her younger teamhis year, the Masters girls mates and their hard work during varsity soccer team wel- the season. comed eight new mem“Everyone showed up to pracbers. In the end, the team is made tice each day enthusiastic to learn up of seven seniors, two juniors, and get better as a collective and and eleven freshmen and sopho- individually,” she said. “No matter mores. With so many young and the difficulties that came our way, new members, the challenge arose for example, if we were to concede of developing confidence in one- a goal in a game, it only pushed us self and each other. to come back stronger.”

Team’s coach Juan Cobos said For Marlowe, Schapiro, and that maintaining mental tough- Simonds, this season is the fourth ness helps build confidence on the one on the team, but the first one as field. Along with technical skills captains. They felt that their leadand physical strength, the team ership skills really helped them in also spent time developing mental this new role. skills.

“I think I’m able to motivate the “When the ball comes in, some team with warm ups on the field and of us get very antsy and nervous, keeping the morale up and helping and the body starts to break down everybody stay organized and play because the mind to their best and is going too fast,” strongest abiliCobos said. “So I’ve really been thankful ties,” Marlowe it’s training your said. that I’ve been able to connect body to say, ‘Take For Simonds, a deep breath, you with every single player on this the most importgot this,’ and then team, even if it’s their first year or ant part of her make contact with their fourth year. role was making the ball.” strong connecThe friendly tions with others.

- Stella Simonds ‘23 and supportive at“I’ve really been mosphere during thankful that I’ve the practices also been able to conhelped to overcome the nervous- nect with every single player on ness among the players. The team’s this team, even if it’s their first year captains Hannah Schapiro, Lau- or their fourth year,” she said. ren Marlowe, and Stella Simonds With the COVID-19 pandemic, worked a lot on making the team the captains noticed the sense of more close-knit. community in the team weakening, “The tight knit unit comes from and made it their goal to bring it them [the captains] being sup- back. Looking back on the season, portive of each other, understand- their efforts paid off. ing that some of our players are “I’m most proud of how we have young,” Cobos said. “They don’t worked together as a team.” Marput pressure on them. Instead, they lowe said. “I think we’ve done realtry to make their lives easier. They ly well communicating on the field

Viktoriia Sokolenko Staff Writer

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ALPHA ZERFU/TOWER

SOPHOMORE ANNA MOSCATO, FRESHMAN Clio Foley and senior Hannah Schapiro celebrating during their away game against Greenwich Country Day School on October 7th. For senior Schapiro this is her last season with the Panthers. She committed to the University of Maryland to play soccer. and trying to prove ourselves as a Master’s girls soccer team.”

Cobos also believes that the ability to rely on each other helped the team to improve on their skills on the field. “Our team is incredible when we start passing the ball,” he said. “When our team decides to pass and use each other and

Girls varsity volleyball builds a new identity

trust each other, their confidence grows. And that’s when the accomplishments are incredible, because we’re able to build the attack from the back or from the midfield.”

With their last game on November 1, girls varsity soccer has had a pretty balanced season with three wins, seven losses, and four ties.

Cobos felt that it was their team spirit that helped the team to win the games.

“The way that we won them was we did it together,” he said. “Everyone got involved. There wasn’t just one player that said, ‘I’m gonna score every goal,’ or it wasn’t just one player that said, ‘You know

what, let me take over.’ We played a team game. And that’s what this sport is. It’s a team game.”

For more sports stories, visit Tower.Mastersny.org

Philly bells are ringing predicting a world series win for the city of Brotherly Love matthiaS Jaylen Opinion Editor

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hiladelphia Phillies or The Houston Astros? That’s been the big question plaguing baseball fans. The World Series is currently 2-1 with the Phillies leading. So far the Phillies have had a Cinderella story playoff run so far beating the St.Louis Cardinals and 2 NL MVP Candidates Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldshmidt, the 101 win Atlanta Braves, and the star studded San Diego Padres.

The Astros have also had an enjoyable playoff run going 7-0 in the American League Division Series

and Championship Series, sweeping both the young and flashy Seattle Mariners and the AL East Champions, the New York Yankees.

The Astros and the Phillies both play excellent defense so the series will most certainly be decided by pitching and offense.

The Astros clearly have the better pitching rotation with Hall of Famer and the 2022 ERA leader Justin Verlander and 2022 All-Star Framber Valdez leading the charge . Despite the Astros elite pitching rotation, the Phillies have gotten excellent production as well from their own ace pitchers: Aaron Nola and Zach Wheeler. The Phillies bullpen has been strong, especially with their closer Zach Efflin.

Ultimately, the Phillies offense will just purely overpower the

Houston Astros. The Philadelphia Phillies will be your 2022 MLB World Series Champions. In the playoffs, their stars are performing well with Bryce Harper having 6 homers and 13 RBI and Rhys Hoskins with 6 homers and 12 RBI, but their supporting cast is contributing as well. As a team the The Phillies lead the MLB in the postseason with 22 home runs, 71 RBI, 42 walks, and 28 doubles.

They also have an OPS of .747 and they only trail the Toronto Blue Jays in this stat.

Though the Astros have a solid offense and are no easy team to beat, they just won’t be able to keep up with the Phillies elite level of offense.

The final verdict: Phillies win the World Series in 7 games.

MATTHIAS JAYLEN/ OPINION EDITOR

SENIORS CAMILLA ARTHUR AND Ashleigh Woodruff in an early season game. Woodruff, shown going for a spike, is a Division 1 commit attending Stony Brook for college next year.

adam Bello Sports Editor As the FAA playoffs approach, Masters Girls Varsity Volleyball is continuing their dominant season.

The Panthers have come into this year with a new mentality and culture around the team largely with the help of new head coach, Bai Zhang, better known to the team as Coach Betty. Though they had shown flashes of being a standout team in years prior, Zhong gave the team what they needed to cement themselves as a top team in their league.

The culture and attitude brought to the table by each and every member of the team greatly affects their performance and the team’s success. When talking to Nayiah Jarret, a junior outside attacker, about the difference in the team’s success this year from years prior she said, “I think the coach

made a big difference because she take on new roles each year as well just wants to make us better. It’s as learn and grow as a leader. She also about our team dynamic, we’ve said, “I think I’ve grown a lot, there bonded so much more this year, re- have been so many players that ally working as a team and being come and gone from the volleyball more cohesive.” It seems as if now program that have all taught me so more than ever, much. From the the team is clicking seniors on the on all cylinders and team when I was I think I’ve grown a is ready for a huge lot, there have been so many young that have run in the playoffs, gone to play club but the change in players that come and gone at their colleges, coaching wasn’t from the volleyball program that to me being a sethe only change have all taught me so much. nior, a leader and helping this new a captain now team dynamic I’ve grown a lot.”

- Ashleigh thrive.

The team has Woodruff ‘23 Senior Capan overall record tain and division of nine wins and 1 commit Ashleigh Woodruff has seven losses securing a spot in the taken a huge leadership role for FAA playoff starting on November this young team throughout the 7th. After a commanding 3-0 vicyear. Woodruff has always been tory during the team’s Senior game a stand out player but the star has against Rye Country Day School found herself flourishing in her on October 28th, the team is hoprole as mentor and leader on the ing to capitalize on this momentum court. Being her fourth year with going into the playoff in the comthe program, Woodruff has had to ing weeks.

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IAN D’ANDREA/ CREATIVE COMMONS

STAR OUTFIELDER BRYCE HARPER looks to catch a fly ball during a game in the regular season. Harper has been a household name in baseball for years formerly playing with the Washington Nationals. The 30 year old joined the Phillies in 2019 and has been playing with the team ever since. He is now a 7 time allstar and has cemented himself as one of the sports greatest talents.

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TOWER/ NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Boys soccer prevented from defending their NYSAIS crown to be better athletes and competitors and we lost a bit of that in losing NYSAIS.” Noah Kassell-YuNg The FAA is a league made up of 10 schools ranging from Dobbs Ferry to Lead Sports Editor Greenwich, with the teams participating in a regular season before a postseason.

NYSAIS is the collection of all the indeyear after securing the school’s pendent schools in New York, and while first ever New York State Asso- there isn’t a regular season league, each ciation of Independent School year there is a tournament with the best (NYSAIS) championship, the Masters schools in the region being placed in a boys soccer team is not eligible to de- bracket, with the winner being crowned fend their title. Masters athletics teams the best independent school in the state. participate in two competitions: the FairLast fall, the boys soccer team finchester Athletic Association (FAA) and ished second in the FAA, and were given NYSAIS; due to scheduling changes, the the first seed in the NYSAIS tournament. tournaments for these The two tournaments two competitions cowere scheduled a week incide, preventing the apart, so the soccer It was disappointing team was able to comteams from competing to find out that we wouldn’t be pete- and win- NYSAIS, in both.

“The team thought able to compete; knowing that before participating in we were going to be another team will take our title the FAA playoffs the folable to defend that tilowing week. without us getting a chance to tle, that championship, Traditionally the and that’s what we defend it.

NYSAIS final has been wanted to do because held at Manhattanville -David Ferrando ‘23 College for both the we worked so hard to win that trophy,” Daboys and girls soccer vid Ferrando, senior teams but due to schedand captain of the boys varsity team, said. uling changes, the final can no longer be “It was disappointing to find out that we held at that location. According to Neil wouldn’t be able to compete; knowing Jaggernauth, the assistant coach of the that another team will take our title with- boys varsity team, the final was moved to out us getting a chance to defend it.”

Randall’s Island where due to permit and The scheduling confict impacts other regulations, the only time the game could sports as well. be played was on Monday, November “Every team can benefit from playing 7th, the same day that the FAA quarter teams from various different skill levels finals are held. This meant that the soccer including their level or better and teams teams were not able to compete in both with more experience,” said Ashleigh tournaments due to NYSAIS not allowWoodruff, senior captain of the girls ing teams to play twice within 36 hours. varsity volleyball team. “It pushes teams With boys soccer, girls soccer, and

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CHARLIE COOPER

THE BOYS SOCCER TEAM gathers for a pre-game huddle. Led by senior captains Adul Salmon and centerback David Ferrando, the team has put together their second consecutive double digit win season, entering playoffs with a 11-2-2 record. The team has gone undefeated against NYSAIS opponents but unfortunately lost their last FAA regular season game–– falling to fifth place. The team will travel Monday, November 7 for the quarterfinal game. girls volleyball all setting their sights on postseason play, this scheduling dilemma will pose a problem for the teams. Not only will there only be one tournament,

the competitiveness of the non-league games will also take a hit.

“Not having a NYSAIS postseason takes some of the competitiveness out

of the games knowing that each game doesn’t necessarily count for a tournament spot; however, this is a very competitive program that knows what

winning feels like and so we’re trying to always continue to win and to expand our goals to win more championships, ” Ferrando said.

Leo Schilling: the Renaissance man from the Cayman Islands aurora rose horN Lead Copy Editor

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or those of you who haven’t already, meet Leo Schilling, a new junior who hails from the Cayman Islands. Schilling is a man with a great variety of interests such as aviation (he knows how to fly a helicopter), film production, and acting, but another one of these interests is running.

Schilling has been running for four years now. “I started running two miles every morning, then fell in love with it,” he said. “It centers me.”

Schilling also cited the YouTuber Casey Neistat as a reason he took on running as a hobby: “He goes out for morning runs every day,” Schilling said, “and I’ve also made YouTube videos before, so those passions kind of intertwined.”

Schilling’s accomplishments in the field of running are greatly impressive: in addition to running two full marathons, he’s also run several half mara-

thons and has traveled to places such as Miami, Florida and Long Beach, California to run. However, despite all of the different locales in which he’s run, his favorite place to run is his homeland of the Caymans. “It’s a place that I’m used to,” he said. “It’s flat, and sure, there’s lots of humidity, but the elevation is low, so the two kind of help each other out.”

Schilling also spoke of how New York’s colder climate has helped him as a runner: “Running in a cold environment has helped me adapt to running in warmer conditions as well,” he said, “because it’s the inverse of what I’m used to.”

During the fall sports season, Schilling was a member of the cross country team, and he expressed gratitude towards his coaches and teammates.

“Here at Masters, I have two amazing coaches that are around most of the time, Coach Allen and Coach Luciano, so shout out to them,” he said. “And the Masters running team, they’ve been there to help challenge me and push me to the best. Having all their support has really helped me for the better.”

Schilling’s career stats: 04:36:07 Fastest full marathon

01:23:47 Fastest half marathon

00:05:03 PHOTO COURTESY OF LEO SCHILLING

JUNIOR LEO SCHILLING CROSSES the finish line in one of his several half marathons. Originally from the Cayman Islands, Schilling has brought his running talent to the cross country team this fall.

Fastest mile time

RYAN GUAN/TOWER

JOSH MARKOWITZ/TOWER

JOSH MARKOWITZ/TOWER

SENIOR CAPTAIN AIMEE AYALA drives the ball in a field hockey game versus Ethical Culture Fieldston school at home this season.

SENIOR PETER VEGA DRIBBLES the ball away from the defending David Medina in an MBA regular season matchup.

SENIOR CAPTAIN ALEXIS ESTIME serves the ball in a singles match this fall. The tennis team finished with a winning 5-4 record.