Merionite February 2022

The Merionite

The official student newspaper of Lower Merion High School since 1929 Volume 93, Issue 3 www.themerionite.org

Ardmore, PA, 19003

February 14, 2022

Scanlon’s new LM? Julia Dubnoff ’23 and Caryl Shepard ’22 News Editor and Editor-in-Chief

With confusion regarding teacher absence policies, students are often forced to find remote corners of the school to do work.

Photos by Jonathan Xu ’22/Staff and Julia Dubnoff ’23/Staff

In the three months since Sean Hughes’ passing, LM has been forced to continue the 2021-2022 school year without its integral head. While the space left by Hughes is undeniable, Dr. Jim Scanlon has taken up a post as interim principal until the position can be permanently filled. Having initially retired from his post as superintendent of West Chester Area School District this past August, he decided to temporarily leave his retirement to work at LM. In

an interview with The Merionite staff, Scanlon described how he was drawnback to work partly because of his previous experience with the passing of a principal during his tenure as superintendent: the year prior to his retirement, the principal of West Chester Middle School passed, and reading about Hughes resonated with him enough for him to come back to work and help out at LM. No transition in leadership is without

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Lila Schwartzberg ’24 Arts & Entertainment Editor In September 2022, the new middle school, recently named Black Rock Middle School, will open its doors to students living in Penn Wynne and Gladwyne. The middle school’s name was voted and chosen by staff, administrators, and other community members. On the LMSD website, they explain how the name was decided on because of “its connection to the distinctive serpentine formation of black rocks in the area, which were noted by the indigenous Lenni Lenape in what is now Lower Merion Township.”

Before Superintendent Copeland retired, he named Sarah Stout—current principal of Bala Cynwyd Middle School—future principal of Black Rock Middle School.

Stout has also previously served as Assistant Principal of Welsh Valley Middle School, administrator at Hatboro Horsham School District, and a social studies teacher at a Cheltenham middle school. Until a successor is found for Stout, she will remain the principal of BCMS.

NEWS

complications, though. Since Scanlon has taken up the role of interim principal, disciplinary and organizational policies have brought frustration and confusion in the LM community. Some concerns come from the notable change in enforcement of previously relaxed policies, but others have sprouted from rumors.

Scanlon claims that he ultimately aims to restore LM to its state pre-lockdown: a state of school he has not himself seen.

Black Rock’s architectural setup encourages an open environment. Featured in the architecture of the school’s digital illustration, there is a main entrance which is close to public areas such as the gymnasium and auditorium. “The school will also feature a ‘heart’ area, where students can congregate to socialize and collaborate. And traditional single classrooms will be replaced by ‘learning communities,’ which are flexible spaces that can be used for large-group team teaching, small group instruction or student collaboration,” says Amy Buckman, Director of School and Community Relations. The process of building the school has come along very smoothly, with the construction being below budget and on time.

Black Rock and the rest of the LMSD middle schools will transition to serving fifth through eighth grade students, unlike the current sixth to eighth grade model. The new middle school leadership and staff is working to create a safe and welcoming school environment for every student. The structure of the new school allows for individual learning communities to grow and the educational programs and activities will be different within the grade levels.

Please see SCHOOL LOADING... on page 3

Dr. Mumin and students visited the new Black Rock Middle School to witness its construction progress.

LM loves Lunar New Year

OPINIONS

The gender gap, racial rift, Celebrating Black voices See how students feel about how the LM & intensifying inequality

SPECIAL FEATURE

Read about the way that LM students observed Lunar New Year this February page 2

Emmi Wu ’23 and Anika Xi ’23 evaluate the intersection of racism and sexism as students at LM page 6

community marks Black History Month pages 12-13

FEATURES

A&E

Check out the comic section just like your valentine is checking you out! pages 18-19

Find out how the beloved LM event went down and get the inside scoop on each contestant page 11

Comics & Pick-up lines Photo courtesy of Anika Xi ’23/Staff

Much of the student body has been left wondering if LM students are at risk of losing their independence, a core tenet of former principal Hughes’ philosophy.

As stated by Scanlon, he has not really “put any new policies in,’’ since taking over. Despite that, rules regarding teacher absences and the library have seemingly shifted. Previously, when a teacher was absent, underclassmen would be expected to sign into the cafeteria and upperclassmen in the library. Scanlon has worked towards returning underclassmen to classrooms even when teachers cannot attend themselves, bringing back coverages and substitutes. “Many students were not going to the cafeteria, they were wandering around and not doing their work,” Scanlon says, emphasizing the benefits of a structured setting.

While underclassmen are experiencing a return to coverages and substitutes, similar to the pre-COVID-19 era, many upperclassmen are suddenly unsure of where to go during a teacher absence. The policy of juniors and seniors signing into the library changed to them signing into the cafeteria but students were not explicitly informed. Recently, students have gone to the library to sign in, but often find that they are not allowed in. “The new rules and communication are not clear at all,” says Maria Dymek ’23. “Every time a teacher is out, I have no idea where to check in, so I have to go to the classroom, library, and cafeteria–which is such a hassle.” With such confusions, students lose valuable time, or get marked absent for a class they mean to attend. In response to this first concern, Scanlon says adamantly that the library is still meant to be open for students who either have a free or an absent teacher–as long as it remains under capacity of 120 students, which is a COVID-19 related policy.

Please see SCANLON’S NEW LM? on page 4

Photo courtesy of LMSD Newsroom

SPORTS

Swingin’ in the season Read about the upcoming baseball season and team page 21

Amazing Ace Photo courtesy of The Enchiridion

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News

February, 14 2022

The Merionite

LM loves Lunar New Year

STEM spotlight

Emmi Wu ’23 Graphics Editor

Jonathan Xu ’22 Editor-in-Chief

Lunar New Year marks the first new moon of the lunar calendar. Because the holiday follows the lunar calendar, the date varies from year to year. This year, Lunar New Year fell on Tuesday, February 1. To celebrate, practices range from food, dance, and gifts. Most importantly, all emphasis is on the discarding of bad luck and the bringing of good luck. Although most commonly known as Lunar New Year, the holiday goes by many different names, such as Chinese New Year, Spring Festival, Tết, Losar, and Seollal. Customs, such as eating traditional food, also vary in different cultures.

For example, dumplings are eaten in China, dodol keranjang is eaten in Indonesia, bánh chưng is eaten in Vietnam, and tteokguk is eaten in Korea. While the specifics of certain customs may differ from place to place, all festivities have a common thread: reuniting with family. While outside of school, this entails dining on festive meals, opening red envelopes, or watching performances.

Students may also celebrate within the LM community, especially within the Asian Culture Club (ACC).

One of the most well-known Lunar New Year traditions is the gifting of the red envelope, usually from elders to young children. In China, the money is given when children “拜 年/ bài nián”— offering words of gratitude and longevity to their elders in exchange for the red envelope. The new year’s money, otherwise known as “money to anchor the year” in Mandarin, passes on a year of good

fortune and blessings.

On February 1, ACC hosted a red envelope fundraiser, organized like a typical Valentine’s Day candy gram event. Students could write notes to their fellow peers and teachers, and then these notes were distributed by the ACC student leaders. Officer Yaya Wang ’22 emphasizes, “Asian Culture Club wanted a fun way to get the school hype about Lunar New Year while also raising money for a great cause.” All of the profits for the ACC red envelope fundraiser are being donated to Asian Americans United, a youth organization in Philadelphia that focuses on community building and social justice.

Such advocacy has become part of ACC’s mission. Anika Xi ’23, another officer, states, “For the past two years, hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have drastically risen due to COVID-19.

For this reason, we’ve felt it is necessary to include social justice in our club as well.”

The fundraisers that the Asian Culture Club are hosting not only serve as a fun method of allowing the LM student body to learn more about Asian culture but also as a form of social action. Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays for many Asian communities, so spreading awareness and celebration at LM is an important effort that can lead to greater inclusivity in our school community.

Photos courtesy of Anika Xi ’23/Staff Graphics by Emmi Wu ’23/Staff

Mock Trial is on the case!

Shaine Davison ’23 Opinions Editor Even though the spike in Omicron cases is slowly decreasing, clubs at LM are still taking precautions despite the fact that the student body is still learning in person. Sports teams, like basketball, swimming, diving, wrestling, and squash, all have the opportunity to compete in-person in a somewhat normal way, but other clubs have different limits. Their competitions and events that were once lively and exciting have been held through a computer screen.

Students have waited for nearly two years to return to their normal club activity, but unfortunately there is no sign of normalcy in the future.

LM Mock Trial has faced their fair share of obstacles these past years. Members express that trials that were once in-person and intense experiences are now unspirited and dull. Mock Trial President Aniah Gagliano ’23 shared her thoughts about virtual competitions: “Mock Trial going virtual for the second year in a row has no doubt been difficult. The biggest parts of Mock Trial are the presentational skills that are developed and brought to the courtroom.”

Over Zoom, it has been incredibly challenging for the team to make sure they are being loud enough, using hand gestures for emphasis, and properly enacting what would normally be so easy in-person. She has had to adapt, even in regards to making courtroom guidelines and processes proper for Zoom, but the team has still been incredibly successful. Despite their setbacks, their dedication has allowed them to become a strong team. Gagliano’s experience from the virtual competitions last year have undoubtedly helped her when competing. Sadie

Liebo ’23, the club’s secretary, admits that “it’s been a little different with the virtual format, but the season’s been going really well.” The team just started competing officially on Tuesday, February 1. In the future, Liebo is looking forward to both the JV and Varsity teams making it to regionals and states. Even though there have been setbacks, Gagliano remains optimistic: “We have a long way to go, but I’m extremely hopeful about what the future holds. Hopefully, next year we can be back in-person–at least one last time for the rising seniors–but whatever happens, we plan for the team to go far!”

The Debate team also must compete online.

Luckily, the club is able to meet in person and get valuable face-to-face time, but they are still debating through screens. However, Debate President Jack Shapiro ’22 voiced that the club’s format “translates very well to a Zoom call, so debates with other schools are as competitive and rigorous as they were in-person. Unfortunately, other extracurriculars don’t function quite as well virtually.” But, this does not mean that it’s smooth sailing. Maria Dymek ’23, the club’s secretary, expressed that “it’s obviously harder on Zoom to communicate, especially during practices or during competitions, but you are also not able to talk over other people online.

It’s impossible to hear anything unless only one person is talking at once. Let’s be honest–it’s fun to talk over other people.” Hopefully, club activity will return to where it was years ago pre-pandemic, but for right now they are pushing through these challenging times. Luckily, students are still able to do what they love.

Last year, trekking through the deserted hallways of LM after school, you might find the only sound to be the lone echo of your voice. Fast forward to a year later, and those same hallways are buzzing with life. LM STEM clubs are back in business, eager to make up for lost time and reach new heights.

A virtual Regional Conference was the last thing students in the Technology Student Association (TSA) had been looking for, but amidst a surprise snowstorm over competition weekend, LM TSA members came prepared to give their all from the warm comfort of their homes. Following a day of interviews, presentations, and project demos, LM TSA emerged victorious, earning 42 event placements and nine first-place finishes in events such as Architectural Design and Tech Bowl to soundly dominate the conference. Through hosting a series of robotics workshops for students at local elementary schools, LM TSA members also hope to inspire the next generation of young learners, while “having fun with these tech-savvy kids” in the process, as club officer Eric Yang ’22 fondly recounts.

TSA’s perennial partner-in-crime, Science Olympiad, has also been grinding hard throughout the last few months in preparation for competition. “Scioly” members compete in events ranging from Anatomy and Physiology to Codebusters, bringing together a community of aspiring scientists, engineers, and problem-solvers. In their competitions so far, they have had stellar results: in addition to a litany of top ten placements at several invitationals over the past few months, the team placed first and second in Cybersecurity at the virtual BirdSO Invitational among 160 challengers.

If Scioly members thrive in the sciences, then LM’s Math Club excels when it comes down to the numbers. Despite weathering an early loss to their Radnor counterparts, Math Club members keenly look forward to continuing their season with a matchup against Marple Newtown. Now, LM’s best and brightest—Nathan Donagi ’24, Andrew Slattery ’25, and Bole Ying ’25—take on the nation’s most prestigious math test in the form of the American Invitational Mathematics Examination. Wish these boys luck!

An update on STEM clubs wouldn’t be complete without the Dawgs—or, more formally, FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 1712. This past fall, during the offseason, Dawgma reached victory in the winning alliance at the Ramp Riot competition among 40 FRC teams. Dawgma is now going full steam ahead with their robot for this year’s game, Rapid React, which involves shooting oversized tennis balls into different-sized goals. On January 8, Dawgma hosted their kickoff meeting at LM to introduce the game and commence their build season.

Director of Operations Macy Donahoe ’22 notes Dawgma has also been busy spreading their passion for robotics at Judith Creed Horizons for Achieving Independence (JCHAI), an organization that provides vocational needs to adults with disabilities.

Dawgma isn’t the only club in town taking a deep dive into robotics. As part of their annual Program.IT event in 2021, the LM Computer Science Club brought in faculty from the University of Pennsylvania’s IoT4Ag research center to give up-and-coming LM coders insight into the advanced applications of their field. Heading into the spring, Computer Science Club is now focused on preparing for its biggest events, Girls. hack(“LM”) and CodeLM, which will unite students from across the nation to compete for the chance to win enticing prizes.

Amidst the ongoing success of LM’s established STEM clubs, a new contingent of LM students dedicated to business fundamentals is on the rise. LM’s DECA chapter, led by junior brothers Cam and Eli Gordon, is a club focused on preparing students in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. At DECA’s most recent showing at Districts in January, the club captured four district championships and seven placements in events such as Financial Services and Entrepreneurship. The DECA team now enthusiastically awaits its return to the State competition in Hershey on February 17, where they’ll be sure to put on a show.

Photo courtesy of Anika Xi ’23/Staff

Scioly competitors Poppy Wagner ’23 and Ivan Sanchez ’24 show off their lab coats after competing in the Forensics event.

News

February 14, 2022

3

The Merionite

Teachers get grades, too Luke Shepard ’24 Sports Editor The proper method for assessing teachers accurately has plagued school districts for years. Teachers often adjust lessons during evaluations- which makes finding how teachers actually instruct their classes without a supervisor’s presence is near impossible. If an administrator stops by a classroom, especially during a scheduled visit, teachers can easily showcase their best teaching practices for the hour.

They can reach far into their mind to bring out the best facts, jokes, and examples that make their classroom seem like a nurturing learning environment. However, it is hard to know whether or not that is actually how the teacher spends most of their class time. While standardized tests can account for what a teacher has taught their students, test scores can vary among students based on their different work ethics, drives, and test-taking abilities. Student reviews can help to form an opinion on a teacher's performance, but these evaluations may be filled with inaccurate assessments based on opinions on the grade they may have received. The many outlets each have their own small benefits, but the ineffective issues creep in with every method.

A new, state-approved form encapsulates more than just a standard check into the teacher’s performance and draws from many different types of reviews.

The PA-ETEP, created by EduLink, is a comprehensive review of a teacher’s entire skills from many different sources. In an effort to combat the problems that plague districts who simply assess teacher’s based on administrative check-ins, the PA-ETEP system collects many different bits of information to draw a review of the teacher. The different categories include Walkthrough and Anecdotal Notes, the ability to store Attachments, Dynamic Reports, Principal Performance Goals (PPG), and Formal Observations with 82/13 Rating Forms.

These individual categories contribute to the overall assessment of the teacher.

Formal Observations are similar to the traditional method for assessing teachers as they involve an administrator arriving at a classroom and reporting on teachers’ behavior and lessons. However, the Walkthrough and Anecdotal Notes piece attempts to combat the issue of the planned visit. Walkthroughs include the tiny pieces of information on teacher’s professionalism, while Anecdotal Notes include comments from an educator regarding their own behavior and teaching. Teachers are also able to respond to the feedback that they receive on the site to reflect on how they can improve. The Principal Performance Goals (PPG) section of the review makes it much easier for principals and other administrators to examine how well their ideas are implemented in their schools and districts. This section of the evaluation examines if teachers are following supervisor directions and rules in their classroom, giving administrators an idea of how their policies are being distributed throughout the school.

Ultimately, all of the information that was compiled from the many different platforms is summed up in the Act 82/13 Rating Form with a final score. The goal of this final form is to simply have a summative rating for the teacher with all of the evidence readily available. Teachers are given a rating of either Distinguished, Proficient, Needs Improvement, Failing, or a separate rating category of Unsatisfactory or Satisfactory. The final form simply serves as a summative review of the

Graphic by Emmi Wu ’23/Staff

teacher. Administrators popping in on teachers can serve like safari cameramen in the middle of the Serengeti, as the interactions are never fully original. The PAETEP system tries to curb the issue by drawing from a wide range of settings in order to determine whether students are getting the most out of their time in class.

Implementing this system in LMSD could allow the district to draw accurate conclusions on the performance of teachers. It captures a wide range of information based on teacher performance and could help the district to single out which teachers are performing exceptionally and which are not meeting district expectations. The new program could ensure that teachers who are given long-term employment are qualified for their positions, especially before providing teachers with any tenure. The PA-ETEP system aims to guarantee that LM teachers are effectively instructing their classes and benefiting their students’ education.

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Continued from SCHOOL LOADING... on page 1 Penn Wynne Elementary School and Gladwyne Elementary School will feed into the new middle school because, according to the LMSD website, Black Rock “is in the catchment for GES, so it will be the closest school for those students. All PWES students are already bused to middle school so busing to the new school will not be a major change. The other four elementary schools have students in the walk zones for BCMS or WVMS. It is most efficient to avoid busing students to a farther school when they could walk to a closer one.” Additionally, the website explains that studies have shown that long commutes for students on the bus increases socializing, relaxation, and more. As for the sports fields at Black Rock, there will be off-site fields, but they will most likely not be ready in time for opening. In the meantime, the new middle school will use other locations, such as other LMSD schools, in order to conduct sports practices.

After the tragic loss of LM’s principal, Sean Hughes, a petition on Change.org was created to rename the new middle school “Sean Hughes Memorial Middle School” in honor of his dedication and hard work to make LMSD a better place.

However, district policy explicitly prohibits naming buildings after people. According to Buckman, the school board and administration will “work with the Hughes family and with students to create an appropriate way to memorialize Mr. Hughes as the dedicated high-school educator … he was.”

A mascot was recently chosen to represent the school by Mrs. Stout along with a group of student ambassadors. According to Black Rock’s most recent newsletter, they decided upon the Royals, the school colors being black and gold with purple accents. The students said the nickname reflects qualities including strength, being welcoming to all, being smart, and being spectacular. They also liked that their mascot goes well thematically with the Bala Cynwyd Knights and the Welsh Valley Dragons.

Mrs. Stout will soon begin work with a designer to create the official Royals logo, after which items such as athletic uniforms and school gear can be ordered.

Featured in a video tour of the school on the LMSD website, student ambassadors reveal their excitement to attend Black Rock, as the tour of the building has exceeded their expectations. Multiple students explained how they liked the small “nests” or rooms that bump out of the sides of the building. These spac-

es will be used for collaborating on projects. One student in the video is looking forward to all of the books in the two story library. The recent newsletter goes more in-depth on the “‘gathering stairs,’ dining hall, courtyard, auditorium, library and gymnasium spaces, and the flexible ‘learning communities,’ where teams of students can gather in large labs and classrooms.”

The recruitment for teachers at Black Rock has been ongoing. The school states that “Human Resources is keeping ‘an eye toward increasing diversity among all the schools’ excellent staff, so that every student sees adults in their building with whom they can identify. This is a complex process, but all of the principals and district administrators are committed to working together to create the best outcome for students.”

As far as scheduling goes, “The 5-8 Committee has been reviewing several options for middle school schedules, which may be different for the ‘Lower House’ (grades 5/6) and the ‘Upper House’ (grades 7/8).” In addition, students will have the option of taking Spanish, French, or Latin starting in 5th grade. Black Rock explains how this will cause students to “end up with more minutes of world language instruction by the end of 8th grade than they have under the current program.” This will allow for students to begin at Level 3 of their language at the start of high school. In the news and announcements on the LMSD website, it explains how the “FLES program (where students are only getting one period of language per week) will be discontinued in grades 1-3 in favor of an exploratory language year in Grade 4, where students will be exposed to Latin, French and Spanish.”

Due to issues involving rites of passages from the combination of fifth through eighth grade students, unlike the present sixth to eighth grade model, Black Rock Graphic by Kayla Bogui ’23 assures parents and students that “Both the K-4 and 5-8 committees have subcommittees that are working on how rites of passage such as promotion ceremonies, traditional 5th-grade activities and end-of-year celebrations, will change.”

Additionally, “Some events/activities may move with 5th graders to middle school and some may become 4th grade activities, depending on what is developmentally appropriate.”In the fall of 2022, Black Rock Middle School will welcome in its first class of students, many of whom will eventually attend LMHS.

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News

February 14, 2022

Policies to protect

The Merionite

Vivian Collins ’24 Copy Editor

Photo by Aiko Palaypayon ’23/Staff

LM schools are continuing to enforce masking mandates in classrooms.

The LMSD community has done a lot in the past two years to ensure the safety of students and staff. This includes virtual and hybrid learning, shorter class periods, up and down designated staircases, and even separate lunch periods. But despite the district’s best efforts, positive COVID-19 cases continue to rise. While the case numbers are rising, so are the vaccination rates. Per CDC recommendations, everyone over the age of five should get vaccinated and those who are eligible should get their booster dose. Over the course of the past two months, COVID-19 cases within the district have hit an all time high.

As of January 31, according to the LMSD COVID-19 Dashboard, the total number of reported cases is 1,440 (1,114 student cases and 326 staff cases). LM currently

has the highest number of reported cases at 144, followed by BCMS at 111. Cynwyd Elementary School has the least number of cases at 33. From September 2021 to now, the number of reported cases in the district has increased by 3248.84 percent.

The COVID-19 Dashboard also lists the vaccination rates for the district by grade level. As of December 20, 2021, the following vaccination rates for the district were reported: 85.5 percent of ninth graders, 84.73 percent of tenth graders, 85.1 percent of eleventh graders, and 86.5 percent of twelfth graders. At Welsh Valley Middle School and Bala Cynwyd Middle School, the combined average rate of vaccinated students is 70.3 percent. In all six LMSD elementary schools, 48.3 percent of students are vaccinated.

According to the Health Services Letter written by Lead Supervisor of School Health and Student Safety Terry Quilan and posted on January 13, 2022, LMSD is continuing to enforce masking mandates in all buildings and school buses. The school district is not requiring vaccinations but is strongly recommending that all eligible people do so. Everyone is still asked to isolated at home if they are exhibiting symptoms. Quilan writes, “Anyone with a positive COVID-19 test or a probable positive case can return to school five days after symptoms begin, as long as they are no longer symptomatic and are fever-free for 24 hours.” Public Health isn’t requiring people to be tested before returning to work and after isolation periods.

The district has introduced two testing programs called “Mask to Stay” and “Test to Stay.” The Mask to Stay program applies to situations where an individual had close contact with someone outside of their household who tested positive for COVID-19. So long as the individual is asymptomatic, they may continue to come to school in person, granted they complete daily symptom screenings, wear face masks, and complete COVID-19 tests four to six days after exposure. This program applies to both students and staff. In addition, individuals do not need to be vaccinated in order to qualify for this program. The Test to Stay program only applies to staff members. In accordance with this program, a staff member exposed to a member of their household who tested positive for COVID-19 can continue work in person as long as they are vaccinated, screened daily, and complete COVID-19 tests each day for ten days. They must comply with distance and masking requirements.

As the number of cases continues to rapidly increase, the best thing to do is to follow the safety guidelines in place. In order to avoid another semester of virtual learning, please continue to wear masks properly, practice social distancing, and complete daily symptom screenings. With the higher vaccination rates and new testing programs, hopefully the year can end normally and in-person with everyone in the district continuing to learn safely.

Voces de la vida Isabelle Chapman ’22

At LM and Harriton, there are currently five levels of Spanish and French including AP which is taken by a large number of students in each grade. Most levels are associated with certain grade levels, but some students are ahead of their grade level. This is why, starting next year, there will be six levels of Spanish, French, and Latin. Latin already has a sixth level, so the district is developing curriculum with both LM and Harriton teachers to have the new Spanish 6 and French 6 classes available for the next school year.

In both Spanish and French classes, there are a number of native speakers or higher level speakers who are at either a level or several levels above what their normal grade level would normally be. This includes students who are native speakers and students who learned the language elsewhere. For example, there are five students who are not seniors in AP French at LM, around fifteen in AP Spanish, and even more at Harriton.

Currently, these students do not have a way to continue with their language next year if they want to. Similarly, there is a larger number of Spanish students who are currently at the highest level who will now have an opportunity to continue their Spanish next year.

French 6 and Spanish 6 would give those students a way to continue learning their language at school. Also, it would be an opportunity for students who speak those languages at home and are not currently taking them at school to have a new class if they want to. Both courses would have a focus on culture, literature, film, art, and music in their language and cultures. Spanish teacher Sean Capkin, who is working on developing Spanish 6, said that he wants the course to focus on the majority and minority voice in the subjects the class would study (literature, culture, etc). French teacher Laura Vargas, one of the teachers at LM who is developing the curriculum with French teacher Julia Schrader, said that the course would focus on different kinds of literature (plays, novels) throughout different centuries.

Both Vargas and Capkin would like to turn their conversations on culture and literature into potential community service projects. Vargas suggested a French 6 class might make a children’s book and read it to students at Cynwyd Elementary, or interact with French or other French-speaking communities in Philadelphia. A student who is currently in AP French as a junior, Carolina Schillinger, gave some insight into her

Scanlon’s new LM? Continued from SCANLON’S NEW LM? on page 1 It is unclear as to how this COVID-19 policy relates to where juniors and seniors should sign into class. Additionally, the amount of students allowed at each table in the library is another COVID-19 policy that has recently become strictly enforced.

Many students are upset that this limits their ability to be social during lunch. As Aiko Palaypayan ’23 remarked, “There was no need to be four to a table when the school is at a 100 percent capacity rate. There is no social distancing in classrooms or hallways, so why do we have to social distance in the library?” To clarify any confusion from the student body though–these policies were not created by Scanlon, but have been enforced to a greater degree than before, to the dismay of many students. In fact, some students cite strict regulation of the library as a reason for breaking rules.

According to a student who wishes to remain anonymous, “The changes have definitely made people more rowdy to push back. Everyone is confused, unhappy, or both.”

According to library aide Maura Gorman, administration ultimately aims to morph the library into a space conducive to both studying and collaboration, “We would like to have more of a working space, learning space, it can be collaboration. But we don’t want those students who are trying to work and study to be interfered with as well as those in classes who are troubled.” This sentiment is echoed by Scanlon, who supports the benefits of student collaboration in the library that does not inhibit the ability of other students to learn. However, the misinformation surrounding the shifting library situation also comes to the frustration of the librarians themselves. Gorman further reiterates, “I feel like we don’t get to rebut things that are said about the library. Things are being put on Facebook and other community groups, if you aren’t telling our side of the story there will be misinformation out there.” With increased speculation regarding the current situation and potential future of the library, the LM staff and students remain caught in a state of confusion until the situation is clarified.

Photo by Anika Xi ’23/Staff

Señor Capkin and his Spanish 6H class focus on culture, literature, film, art, and music in their language and cultures. opinion, saying “I’m glad there’s an alternative next year because I don’t want to lose my French after I’m finished with AP. I will definitely be taking the class next year.”

While there are a number of students who would automatically advance into Spanish 6 and French 6, both would be offered as an alternative to AP Spanish and would be at an Honors level. Students who are currently in a level of Spanish and French 4 and don’t think they would want to take AP Spanish or Spanish 5, could opt to instead go to Spanish 6, where they would be more focused on the themes the curriculum has. While this wouldn’t provide a long-term solution to underclassmen currently in AP Spanish or AP French, it would fulfill the three years of language most colleges like to see, and they could try another language senior year if they wanted to.

Both Harriton and LM students who are ahead of their grade level in a language are highly encouraged to take French 6, Spanish 6, or Latin 6 to continue their learning.

Furthermore, a legitimate shift in the LM community is in discipline. As seen in the library, Scanlon has not created new policies regarding discipline, but still seeks to enforce them. This includes that of the closed campus; students are not permitted to leave and return during the day. He described, “During the day we want kids to be in the school for accountability purposes so we know we’re everyone is. It can be a question of safety.” He says that students can still come late or leave early when they have free seats as usual, but beyond that, any discussion of an open campus is for a future principal to decide. “I don’t think it’s my role to open the debate up. I think we have to get through COVID-19 and get to the end of this year and see where we are.”

But strict enforcement of the closed campus is not where the discipline seems to end.

Dymek, a swimmer who often sits near the pool during free sets, reports that campus aides have started banning her from sitting there. Furthermore, she is unnerved by an apparent growth in policing. “I’ve seen more cops in and outside the school,” says Dymek.

“It makes me really uncomfortable, because LM is a place to learn, not to feel unsafe.”

As subtle shifts in library regulation and discipline occur, many students worry over their independence. Will they lose their free sets? Is Lunch and Learn, a beloved creation of Hughes, at risk of elimination? On those notes, students can breathe easy. No such restriction is set to occur. Scanlon has no plans of eliminating Lunch and Learn, and feels it is a policy that the LM community should take advantage of.

Overall, many changes in the school since the transition in power are not quite as concrete as they seem. Much remains unclear about the actual rules in place, and the source from which they come. Many students describe a changed school atmosphere, but how much of that is due to a new principal? Additionally, students and staff both have mixed opinions on the discipline. Will stricter discipline enforcement help? Or is it the cause of students acting out? Regardless of such questions, though, Scanlon has four goals for the last four months of the school year: to prepare the building for the new principal, to have seniors finish out the year strong, to put together an equity team with an equity director to evaluate district equity work, and to ensure everyone is learning to the best of their ability.

Opinions

February 14, 2022

5

The Merionite

The Merionite Official newspaper of Lower Merion High School since 1929 www.themerionite.org Columbia Scholastic Press Assocation Silver Crown 2013 Editors-in-Chief Victoria Bermudez ’22 Caryl Shepard ’22 Jonathan Xu ’22 News Editors Noa Cutler ’22 Julia Dubnoff ’23 Phillip Gao ’22 Ben Wolf ’22 Opinions Editors Shaine Davison ’23 Sonia Laby ’22 Ike Mittman ’22 Spencer Rosenbaum ’22 Features Editors Angela Ge ’23 Ella Johnson ’22 Olivia Lee ’23 Eric Yang ’22 Arts and Entertainment Editors Mia Hail ’23 Julia Russel ’23 Lila Schwartzberg ’24 Nolan Shanley ’23

Editorial: Consequences of censorship The McMinn County School Board in Tennessee recently made national headlines when it decided to ban the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Maus. The book follows the author, Art Spiegelman, as he illustrates his father’s experience in Nazi Germany. This graphic novel depicts Jews as mice and Nazis as cats. Despite the fact that the book has won multiple awards and received a great amount of recognition, the school board objected to eight curse words and nude imagery of a woman, used in the depiction of the author’s mother’s suicide. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only case when a school has banned a book about a sensitive topic. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird has been banned from many schools because of its use of racial slurs and adult themes. There are several other books in the same boat. The issue at heart is whether or not books should be censored in the classroom.

The answer is clear: books consisting of sensitive topics should not be banned from schools such as LM because they expose students to the reality of the world’s history, and without them, navigating the real, cruel world after high school would be puzzling and difficult.

Elements of our past as both a country

and a planet are nothing to be proud of. Discrimination, torture, and mass murder are themes that have, unfortunately, made an appearance on many different occasions. So how do we cope with this difficult knowledge?

Historical writers do this through literature— they use it as a means to display the past in a safe way. However, banning the books that they wrote puts a blockade on the flow of knowledge to high school students. It is crucial that this does not occur, because high school students must understand the horrors of our past to ensure they do not occur again.

The Holocaust, one of the greatest tragedies of mankind, began with a leader taking advantage of his citizens who were minorities.

Nobody knew that it would lead to the murder of six million Jews, but the clues were there. By implementing this knowledge into the minds of high schoolers, we can ensure that the clues are never misunderstood again.

Another reason why sensitive books should not be banned in high schools is that exposure to difficult subjects is crucial for students and their ability to find their way after they graduate. The reality is that the challenging topics that are in banned books, such as rac-

ism and antisemitism, are part of our current world. Mr. Mays, the chair of the English department at LM, said that “limiting exposure is not preparing students for the real world.

These things are unfortunately part of society.” If the message we send to students is that we live in a perfect world and that there are no evils that we face as a society, we are setting them up for failure. Students could and will be faced with situations in the workplace involving hatred towards a specific ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, and more. Mays went on to explain that “high school is meant to be an opportunity to learn about these things in a safe and supportive environment.”

Mays couldn’t be more right—exposure to difficult subjects before having to deal with them in adulthood is helpful and necessary.

It is crucial that books are not banned at LM or any high school in the country. Books are essential to the process of learning our history of wrongdoings and they are crucial to navigate our future.

Unsigned editorials reflect the general opinion of the staff and not the opinion of any single editor.

Articles and letters featured in the Opinions section reflect the viewpoints of individual contributers and not neccesarily those of The Merionite editorial staff.

The gender gap, racial rift & intensifying inequality

Sports Editors Michelle Kelly ’23 Luke Shepard ’24 Gabby Tepper-Waterman ’23

Ezra Thau ’22 Copy Editors Vivian Collins ’24 Madeleine Fiks ’23 Zoe Hassett ’23 Senior Design Editors Emma Liu ’22 Emmi Wu ’23 Graphics Editor Ilana Zahavy ’24 Senior Web Editor Katie Fang ’23 Web Editor Jessica Dubin ’23 Business Manager Mona Vakil ’22 Assistant Business Manager Noah Barkan ’24 Photographers Aiko Palaypayon ’23 Anika Xi ’23 Advisor Charles Henneberry The editors believe all facts presented in the newspaper to be accurate. The paper acknowledges that mistakes are possible and welcomes questions as to accuracy.

Inquiries regarding accuracy should be directed to the editors of the paper. Editors can be contacted via e-mail at merionite@ gmail.com or in Room 200A. To represent all viewpoints in the school community, The Merionite welcomes all letters to the editor. Letters can be sent via e-mail or dropped off outside The Merionite office. The Merionite reserves the right to edit letters to the editor for length or clarity. All unattributed images are courtesy of WikiCommons.

Emmi Wu ’23 Senior Design Editor Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, otherwise known as STEM, are marked with cutting-edge knowledge and innovation. STEM has been deemed the industry of the future. Ironically, while STEM is marked by growth, the environment it facilitates is not. It’s commonly accepted that women in STEM are treated differently than men. Often, women in STEM are undermined and overlooked merely because of their gender. In more severe cases, many women in the workplace also undergo harassment or assault. But this sort of overt misogyny, where women have felt unsafe in their workplaces, doesn’t seem to reign rampant at LM as it may in other institutions.

Instead, LM is riddled with covert forms of marginalization. Instead of an apparent appearance of sexism, microaggression, and hidden misogynistic conceptions thread throughout our day-to-day activities.

Instead of a teacher directly saying that one’s work isn’t acceptable simply because of their gender, there are minute discrepancies between how teachers treat their female students versus their male students. Diminutive actions, such as dubbing female students by pet names, reinforce that we aren’t being taken as seriously as our male counterparts.

But most noticeably, women at LM aren’t usually alienated by their teachers, but their own peers. Even from students who aren’t as heavily involved in STEM, women in STEM are viewed as outsiders. Penny Cohen ’25 states, “When it comes to my outside peers, I’m sometimes seen as ‘nerdy’ or ‘the one who does STEM.’” However, from the perspective of students in STEM, women trek along a thin tightrope. While women struggle to combat the stereotype that successful scientists typically sustain masculine stereotypes, they simultaneously balance the expectations of acting “feminine.”

This constant struggle to find balance is

Graphic by Nina Aagaard ’22

not the only factor that ties women down in STEM. There is tension between women themselves because of stereotypes that construct gender biases. This conflict highlights not only the covert sexism that exists at LM but also covert racism. Women of color (WOC) have a vastly different experience at school compared to white women.

Recently, there was a “women in STEM” speaker panel held at LM, encouraging women to pursue STEM, a field dominated by men. A student who attended the conference, Anwen Underwood ’24, recalls an experience that many of the speakers spoke of: “Women are more likely to use phrases that make them seem like they doubt themselves when expressing their opinion (e.g. ‘I’m pretty sure that….’), while men are more likely to speak as if they are 100 percent confident even if they aren’t.” This incident is commonly highlighted when discussing inclusion in STEM. After all, shouldn’t we question why most women in STEM feel the need to inflict self-doubt?

There was one major issue with this panel: there were no women of color. Every single speaker on the docket was white, and therefore, female students of color could not have the same takeaways that their white peers could. How a black woman would answer the question of working in a male-dominated industry is simply different than how a white woman would. Although the panelists have faced discrimination in their work, they can only offer insight on a white experience. The lack of women of color on the panel is very jarring because this eliminates the inclusion of the experience of women of color. As a whole, when we advocate for women in STEM, we should be advocating for all women in STEM. A survey that a group of STEM teachers sent out to gather opinions about gender inequality in STEM classes at LM ties into these ideas. One of the questions asked on the survey, “Do you think LM should

Anika Xi ’23 Photographer

have a section of an intro engineering and/ or computer science class exclusively for people who identify as female/nonbinary?”

While creating safe spaces for marginalized groups is helpful, it will not solve the problem. We can’t make a class for every marginalized community. Instead, we need to foster inclusivity in what already exists. Making a separate class would not serve to break down any gender barriers. Instead, reformative work should be the main emphasis.

Enabling inclusive academic environments means looking at all aspects of one’s identity.

Claire Wang ’23 describes how her experiences as a woman and her experiences as an Asian-American intertwine: “I have found that my gender has held me back in expressing my thoughts and ideas, preventing me from showcasing my capabilities, while my race seems to highlight my failures as I am expected to fail under my stereotype.” The model minority myth is a common trope among Asian students, just as gender barriers are present among female students. When intertwined, Asian women seem to be stuck in a battle of a multitude of forces: gender stereotypes serve to lower the expectations of our capabilities as racial stereotypes lead others to point out our shortcomings as “gotcha” moments.

The relationship that a WOC holds with her race and gender is defined as a “double jeopardy.” The impact of this relationship can multiply when a person is part of many marginalized communities (e.g. race, gender, class, sexuality, etc). The patriarchy creates different experiences for women based on a myriad of factors, particularly for women of color. Multiple overlapping factors can contribute to one’s alienation, and to fix one factor, we can not ignore the others. This is intersectionality, and it is something LM strongly lacks understanding of. To move towards a gender-inclusive future, we must also move towards an anti-racist future.

6

Febuary 14, 2022

Opinions The Merionite

Why mask? It’s time to ask

Thomas Swope Mathematics On March 8, 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, Dr. Anthony Fauci stated during an interview with 60 Minutes that “there’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.” On April 3 of that year, the CDC updated its guidance on facial coverings, recommending Americans wear facial coverings “in public settings when around people outside their household, especially when social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.” Dr. Fauci also appeared on Fox & Friends and stated that viewers should “wear some sort of facial covering when you’re in public and can’t socially distance, because of new information that the virus can actually be spread even when people just speak as opposed to coughing and sneezing.” In July of 2020, the CDC said “cloth face coverings are a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19 that could reduce the spread of the disease, particularly when used universally within communities.” Dr. Fauci and the CDC have credited a growing understanding of the virus and new evidence for these changing guidelines.

The CDC’s website cites nine studies as evidence for the efficacy of wearing masks to slow the spread of COVID. The first study cited was done in Bangladesh in late 2020. In the study, approximately 340,000 individuals from 600 villages were broken into a control group and an intervention group. Over an eight-week period, the study did find increased occurrences of COVID in the non-masked control group. The control group had 1,106 symptomatic individuals.

The masked group had 1,086. There was a difference of twenty cases. This represents 0.0059% of the study’s population, or a 1.8% increase in infection rate. Additionally, the CDC failed to mention that the masked group also socially distanced and received additional education, while the control group did neither. If we were to apply the change in spread that was seen in the Bangladesh study to our school, we would see an increase of approximately 0.09 COVID-19 cases over an eight-week period based on the Bangladesh population’s infection rate. Extended over the school year, there would be 0.44 more cases of COVID-19 if the school did not socially distance or wear masks. Alternatively, you could multiply the number of COVID cases by 1.018.

A recent study in Denmark which consisted of 3,030 participants wearing masks and 2,994 not wearing masks found that “the difference observed was not statistically significant.” A study conducted by the University of Louisville College of Arts and Sciences, which made use of data from the CDC, found that “case growth was not significantly different between mandate and non-mandate states at low or high transmission rates, and surges were equivocal.” A May 2021 study from the CDC from 160 Georgia schools found that incidence of COVID-19 for students in schools mandating masks “was not statistically significant compared with schools where mask use was optional.”

In addition to the growing evidence that mask mandates do not slow the

Compliance with the science

spread of COVID in any meaningful way, experts have increasingly begun warning about the side-effects of masking students, citing negative impacts on social, emotional, and mental development. These side effects should not be understated or ignored. Drs. Neeraj Sood and Jay Bhattacharya recently asserted, “Masking is a psychological stressor for children and disrupts learning. Covering the lower half of the face of both teacher and pupil reduces the ability to communicate. Specifically, children lose the experience of mimicking expressions, an essential tool of nonverbal communication. Positive emotions such as laughing and smiling become less recognizable, and negative emotions get amplified. Bonding between teachers and students takes a hit. Overall, it is likely that masking exacerbates the chances that a child will experience anxiety and depression, which are already at pandemic levels themselves.” There can be little argument that teens have been heavily impacted by the interventions that have been put in place to fight COVID. Increased isolation and stress has led to a 22.3 percent increase in ER trips for suicide attempts in the summer of 2020 compared to the summer of 2019. There was a 39.1 percent increase during the winter of 2020 compared to the previous winter. An NWEA study showed that the average student was three to six percentiles behind in reading and eight to twelve points behind in math, which translates to being four months behind in reading and five months behind in math.

The CDC’s guidance on masks has continued to change throughout the pan-

While 2022 has brought relative normality to school life so far, elements of school during the peak of the pandemic are still evident: mask mandates, case counts, vaccination rates, and the lingering threat of returning to virtual school all inhibit the prospect of fully returning to pre-2020 LM. Naturally, many people have started to question whether LM can begin to lift mask mandates as vaccination rates increase and case counts decrease in order to regain a sense of normality.

While some now consider the plastic garments that adorn our faces more of an accessory than a necessity, it is essential that LM continues to uphold its mask mandate in order to protect public safety and uphold our duty as citizens.

demic. On May 13, 2021, they advised that fully vaccinated people can stop “wearing a mask or physical distancing.”

CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters that “anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physically distancing.

If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that we have stopped doing because of the pandemic.” In December, she also tweeted that “cloth masks are little more than facial decorations and should not be considered an acceptable form of face covering.”

We’re now almost two years into what was initially billed as “two months to flatten the curve.” During these two years, businesses and schools have closed.

We’ve been told to socially distance and wear masks. At LM, we’ve canceled field trips, graduations, and sports seasons. We now have vaccines that greatly reduce the severity of COVID. Ninetynine percent of new infections are currently Omicron, whose main symptom is a runny nose. COVID is not going away; it’s here to stay, just like the flu. We need to decide how we should address it moving forward. Emotions and fear should not drive such important decisions; instead they should be made based on science and data. The science is clear—it’s time to end the mask mandate.

Even as vaccination rates in our community continue to climb, it remains undeniable that the threat of COVID-19 lingers behind the rapid tests and booster shots. Despite the decreasing case numbers nationwide (even in the wake of the Omicron variant), the Center for Disease Control still recommends universal indoor mask use for all faculty and students in K-12 schools regardless of vaccination status, and the American Academy of Pediatrics urges that all students above the age of two wear a mask. These recommendations are not voiced without sufficient evidence: numerous studies have shown that mask wearing notably reduces the spread of COVID-19. A study of North Carolina districts found that, of over one million students and staff members in public school districts from March to June 2021, over 7,000 adults and children acquired the virus but still attended school while infectious, resulting in more than 40,000 fellow student and staff members having to quarantine. However, through testing and contact tracing, only 363 children and adults exposed to those 7,000 infected peers actually contracted the virus. This is indicative of the effectiveness of masks: had all members in the study not worn a mask, the 5 percent rate of transmission would

Caryl Shepard ’22 Editor-in-Chief

Graphics by Emma Liu ’22/Staff

have been much higher. It is important to note that in all of these districts, no additional cautionary measures besides masking were taken, and rates of vaccination were not uniform among every school. Masking, however insignificant it may seem, clearly mitigates the spread of the novel coronavirus.

What would happen if masks were not mandated by the school district?

Despite LM’s remarkably high vaccination rate, this move would still present a gamble to the already-transitioning district. As evidenced by a high school in Israel, reopening without mask mandates remains a risky move. When the school reopened without instituting masking requirements and social distancing, they promptly had to shut down again after ten days after reporting a large COVID-19 outbreak of 153 students (13.2% of total student population) and 25 staff members (16.6% of total faculty population).

Even in the era of the vaccine, lifting mask mandates does not guarantee a lower rate of transmission. Recently, when mask mandates were made voluntary in states like Missouri and North Carolina, both COVID-19 cases and days missed due to quarantine increased, prompting many districts to reinstate mandatory mask mandates.

Thus, the data is clear: wearing masks reduces the spread of COVID-19 and creates a safer schooling environment.

Aside from the plethora of data emphasizing the efficacy of mask-wearing, it is our duty as citizens of a functioning society to look out for our fellow humans. By living in a society, we relinquish certain freedoms in order to maintain a society. We give up a sense of complete freedom to live peacefully with others and maintain a governing body. As stated by renowned philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau in his work The Social Contract, we relinquish our natural freedom for a new sense of civic freedom. Part of this civic duty is ensuring that you do not willingly harm your neighbors or acquaintances.

While you may not be concerned as to whether or not you catch COVID-19, or consider it your personal right to not wear a mask, it is your duty to take the necessary precautions to ensure that your neighbor does not acquire the virus. Just as you would not inflict violence on a neighbor, you should not expose your neighbor to a public safety risk. Therefore, it remains essential to undergo the minimal personal discomfort associated with wearing a mask to uphold our end of the societal contract.

Finally, some who still oppose mask mandates despite the innumerable evidence and pleas to consider the more vulnerable members of society point to other evidence which undermines the efficacy of mask-wearing. But, even if masks are not 100 percent foolproof, what is the harm in continuing to wear them? According to the Mayo Clinic, numerous studies have shown that wearing face masks produces no negative effects. Therefore, even if masks seem somewhat uncomfortable, LM guarantees its safety and ability to uphold its end of the social contract by maintaining its current masking guidelines. Additionally, while case counts in Montgomery County continue to decline, eliminating mask guidelines now could result in a return to midDecember case count numbers, where the Omicron variant led cases to average 1,532 daily, over 1,000 more cases than today’s average. To protect others in Montgomery County and keep case counts low, it is imperative that LM maintains its current masking guidelines. With substantial evidence supporting the benefits of mask-wearing in schools and the necessity to uphold our end of the social contract, LM must continue to operate with its current masking guidelines.

Disclaimer: The opinions above are not indicative of LMSD health policy guidelines and are merely expressing the thoughts of the authors.

Opinions

Febuary 14, 2022

7

The Merionite

Libraries: silence is the only way

Mia Hail ’23 Arts and Entertainment Editor The LM library currently serves as a collaborative environment filled with boisterous students clamoring together at the small round tables. During free periods and lunches, dozens of students seek out the library as a place to gather with their friends, not necessarily a place to do some quiet studying. But should the library become a quiet study area dedicated to focused

Graphics by Emmi Wu ’23/Staff

work? Typically a library is a place to study, but LM is unique in the sense that most use it as a space to hang out with friends. LM should retain that idea, but perhaps not throughout the entire day.

Libraries are universally acknowledged as spaces where people go to be productive, yet at LM it’s hard to find a quiet spot in the library at any point during the day. While LM has plenty of tables around the hallways designated for students to use during free periods, the hallways can be distracting: people constantly walk by and the voices of teachers carry through their open doors.

Right now, it can be difficult to find a spot during a free period to work undisturbed. However, if the library was available as a quiet space throughout the day, it would provide a great location for students wishing to work in a designated area.

Understandably, the library does provide a spot for students to work collaboratively, which is an aspect that should definitely remain in place. Students should be able to collaboratively work on something like a group project or the same assignment, not just goof off with their friends. During Lunch and Learn, the library should definitely maintain its location as a prime spot to eat lunch with friends.

But currently, any time you walk into the library it feels like lunch for the people who are in there, which isn’t the learning space some people search for.

Though many students vehemently oppose the suggestion of making the library a quiet learn-

ing place, it’s important to remember that the purpose of a library is to be a quiet learning environment. Noah Barkan ’24 shares his thoughts: “I’m all for collaboration but there are plenty of areas around the school where people can chat. The library should be an area where people can find some peace and quiet. That being said, it’s hard to keep an area quiet when so many people are shoved in there.” There are so many areas outside of the library open to students that want to talk aloud and not bother others, such as the courtyard or the upper atrium, but the library truly should be kept for people who want a space to focus.

Switching the library to become a permanent study area would help boost student motivation and focus. For those struggling to be productive during free periods, seeing other students working or at least promoting a learning

environment in the library could potentially help increase their own motivation. In the past year, the library has become a spot where students are expected to go when teachers aren’t there. This can actually help students complete their assigned work in the time given instead of becoming distracted. Overall, there are already many spaces throughout LM where students can go if they want to take a break from school work, but the library should not be one of them. The library should be a space where students can find guarenteed quiet and focus, not groups of people shouting.

School spirit - more vocal and more visual

Joy Donovan ’23 Seventy kids pack into four rows of bleachers at 7:00 p.m. on a Tuesday night. They don matching face paint, Santa hats and Halloween costumes alike, all for the chance to watch the state championship-hopeful LM boys’ basketball team send another Central League rival out the KBG doors with their tails between their legs. LM has a lot to brag about, and for upperclassmen who haven’t had any in-person games since winter 2020, there’s a lot to celebrate.

The student section, infamously dubbed the Dawg Pound, has been a staple of school culture at LM for years now, and with the introduction of social media, Aces can now join in on the school spirit more easily than ever before. The student-run fan account @lmdawgpound, which began on September 21st of this past year, boasts nearly 600 followers on Instagram and receives upward of 300 likes per post. The account is powerful, moreso than rival accounts on Instagram, and it’s due in no small part to the unwavering dedication of its followers. For each disgruntled comment the account receives, ten comments of support spring up in its place, like a maroon and white-blooded hydra spitting out tongue-in-cheek remarks. This isn’t the act of the managers of the account, nor a few diehard keyboard warriors—this is the act of something far greater: community. This is the LM pride and school spirit that we’ve missed out on these

past few years, and frankly, I think it’s overdue.

I’ve never been a school spirit person. When friends from Haverford and Garnet Valley tried to drag me to football games, I feigned migraines and evil exes just to avoid being crammed onto metal bleachers in the cold. This year, however, I had a sudden change of heart. Maybe it was the months in quarantine, or the weeks upon weeks of changing schedules and closures; maybe I just longed for the nostalgia of high school memories I never made. Regardless, the theme of that first football game in September was whiteout and for some reason—be it the toxic fumes of the communal face paint that had been spread across my cheeks by a person I’d never talked to before or some other act of God—I embraced the overwhelming sense of camaraderie that came with being all together again. I know there’s talk of restorative healing, of the collective trauma induced by the lockdown, particularly on teenagers; quite frankly, this is healing. Doing normal teenager things is healing.

All that being said, we need to take a look at the way we talk about sports at LM. The Instagram account is quoted as saying that “the LM Dawg Pound stands for gender equality in all ways possible,” but when women and girls close to players on opposing teams become bigger targets than the athletes themselves, it puts the whole idea into question. The people running the account are doing their part, but regardless of the nice sentiment, commenters will still make lewd remarks about a player’s mom from the sidelines and suggest that the girlfriends of Marple Newtown athletes perform sexual favors to compensate for a 62-32 loss. This is shockingly tame for high school bleacher banter, and to most of these comments, I didn’t even bat an eye. Unfortunately, misogynistic language is inherent to the way we talk about high school athletics. This “locker room talk” is pervasive and it hurts us more than we may realize. Sure, the Dawg Pound is open to all students, but when girls tell me how uncomfortable they feel walking to their car after a night game, I’m reminded that the bubble of camaraderie won’t protect me from the pointed needle of reality, nor will it protect the

rest of the girls attending these games. At the end of the day, whether you’re an Ace or not, you’re still a girl in a high-intensity, male-dominated environment, and unless something changes about the dialogue surrounding sports culture at LM, the Dawg Pound will never truly be for everyone. How are we any different from the people we argue with in comment sections when our only distinction is the color of our t-shirts? I’m not saying that we can’t make fun of other teams or revel in our wins. I’m not even saying that we have to stray from offensive remarks and jests at opposing teams’ expense. I’m no saint. Some of you have seen my comments on the Instagram account or heard my remarks during games. At the end of the day, I’m a basketball fan first and an empathetic person second. All I’m saying is that it’s hypocritical to act like we’re exempt from criticism. I’m saying that we’re better than the way we’re acting.

That being said, it’s clear that the Dawg Pound Instagram page isn’t going anywhere any time soon, and it’s time we embraced its potential for good. After talking with the various people behind the account, I think they agree.

I have immense faith in the students of LM. I saw you all in the Marple Newtown comment section.

Not only are you upsettingly funny, you support each other tirelessly, even people you don’t know.

I have to commend the Dawg Pound Instagram founders for fostering a space of community like no other at LM. I haven’t seen this level of shared passion in quite some time. It’s clear that this account has the power to connect Aces like no other, and I think that we should do it the right way, so that we can create a more inclusive, more spirited, and more passionate Dawg Pound for classes to follow. “Well being a senior, I think we have to set an example for the younger classes and just instill more school spirit into them because we’ve noticed that it has been lacking in recent years. I don’t think there’s pressure because we love running the account, although we do acknowledge our large following and we try to set a good example,” says one of the founders of the account.

If you ask me, I think they’re doing a hell of a job.

8

Opinions

February 14, 2022

The Merionite

A forum to forge change

Max Fishman ’22 Every inch of LM’s foundation is ostensibly wrought to provide us, the student body, with the best possible education. Fierce school board elections, sweeping administrative policy, and teachers’ union initiatives are forged by the heat of that task.

Despite our direct experience with the effects of educational choices, we the students are formally left out of these negotiations. Recent student polls and feedback forms signify a step in the right direction; however, to truly help students soften the edges of this abrasive system, we need a forum that takes an active role in educating students and pushing for change.

Since the very nature of a tiered school system quickly moves students out of the building, it’s difficult to build lasting and nuanced support for new policy. After all, each of us only care, and only need to care, about the often dissatisfactory portions of our high school experience for four short years. Considering that LMSD is unfathomably well endowed and frequently showered with national accolades, it feels almost contradictory to question its educational approaches. Consequently, it likely takes until sophomore year to begin to grasp why many students feel so dissatisfied. By the time juniors and seniors identify specific ways they’d like to see the school changed, they’re just about packed for college. Maybe they write an Op-Ed article, but soon enough, they’ll be off to Pitt or Penn. In a conversation last month, Kevin Grugan joked about the ever repeating cycle of The Merionite articles on important topics that he has witnessed throughout his tenure at LM. I asked him then–as I ask you now–to imagine a student-run forum, perhaps solidified by a dedicated time slot like that of Lunch and Learn or advisory, and how it could serve to coalesce and advance ideas to transcend the typical short-lived bursts of student support that accompany an ever-changing student body. As campaigns and knowledge of their status pass from upperclassmen to underclassmen, issues normally discovered too late could quickly bubble to the surface. What’s more, by bringing students together to actually discuss issues at hand, we could solidify our collective understanding and focus our strategies for implementing change instead of simply writing about it.

Through research and argument driven debate, a

student forum could help achieve a primary goal of the educational forge: critical thinking. In my experience, AP English Language and Composition (AP Lang) was a formative class not simply because of its intensive course in argumentation, but because it challenged me to deeply understand relevant issues like systemic racism, climate change, and educational practice.

Principally, LM should provide their students with opportunities to be critical thinkers in the most immediate way possible, i.e., by encouraging them to challenge the system that they navigate nearly everyday. A pervasive student-run forum could emulate AP Lang’s critical process of research, discussion, and fabrication of ideas in an environment with tangible stakes. Tasked with uncovering avenues of educational improvement and presenting clear evidence for their proposed changes, students would put their skills to the test in real life. Now, apart from a world of

encouraging self-education and student-led discussion on the most pressing issues, a student forum stands to vastly increase general knowledge and will.

Though our high school has certainly made great strides towards a fairer, less stressful education for students, much remains on the table. Just last year the school board postponed a proposal to push back our start times, citing the need for lights on Arnold Field to accommodate sports. Meanwhile, the Council for Racial Equity and Inclusion (CREI), as well as the administration itself, are striving to improve racial disparities within the district. While start times, lights, and CREI initiatives are the subject of sporadic discussion by students and teachers alike, other potential improvements often fly under the radar.

As I mentioned in my previous essay, fundamental alterations to the grading system–changes that could be expanded by student involvement–are in the works.

Even less discussed are the advances made by other schools.

Some are vastly expanding and improving upon their academic seminar/individualized learning programs to improve students’ motivation. Others have begun dropping AP classes, choosing instead to develop their own flexible yet challenging high level courses–a fact I first learned from an article I read in my AP Lang class. Many of those same schools are weighing the effectiveness of homework and reevaluating certain class structures, all while further emphasizing student mental health as they experiment with alternatives.

Such a list of possible alterations is nowhere near complete and not necessarily full of programs that we want or need. However, the present system will, more often than not, allow the worthy Graphic by Ilana Zahavy ’24/Staff among them to remain unconhypothetical essays, if a policy proposal gains ample sidered. If a student-run forum were properly implesupport, the forum would also need to air student, mented, the issues at hand—and those beyond—would parent, teacher, and administrator concerns–thereby undergo far more intense ideation and scrutiny. forcing proponents of an idea to understand and disA formal student forum would serve to stabilize seminate the nuance attached to a specific change, the ebb and flow of support for potential changlike that which accompanies later school start times. es; encourage students to practice critical thinkFurthermore, by enlisting those most invested ing, research, and argumentation skills; and more in the day-to-day of education to help discover and efficiently share a multitude of complex ideas push for ideas, a wider range of thought would be throughout the student body. By further empoweruncovered, and it would be mulled over by a far ing students to polish the rough edges of our expegreater number of individuals. Here lies the funda- rience, we could finally alleviate Grugan’s woes of a mental issue with LM’s present strategy: when the Merionite Groundhog Day. More seriously though, school depends on observational surveys, it merely a student-run forum would ensure LM alumni “Go samples a small population that is often poorly versed Forth to Serve” with practical experience in hamin educational strategy. However, by purposely mering out changes within the systems around them.

Midterms: send them off

Sarem Khan ’24 January is a month where people are beginning to return to their academic lives. With the weather beginning to drop to freezing temperatures, we are gifted with white crystals and vacations. The month of January should be celebrated and should be a relaxing month, as it is the start to a new year. For LM students, however, this is not possible, as the unpleasant test week known as midterms is just around the corner.

A midterm exam is an assessment given in the

middle of an academic grading term or near the middle of a quarter or semester. In the last week of January, two midterm tests were given to most students each day. Some teachers chose projects or presentations as their midterm rather than paper tests. The format of students’ midterm exams were determined by each teacher and what would be most beneficial based on their curriculum.

No matter if the tests were easy or hard, midterms were still undesirable and put a substantial amount of unneeded stress on students.

If a student had a B in a class, a bad midterm could drop it to a C. This is extremely unfair.

Not only is this system unfair to the students who work hard all year and maintain good grades, but it also has negative physical and mental impacts on students. The mental impacts could include feeling overwhelmed and stressed and possibly sad if a student does not receive a good grade after the exam is over. The physical impacts could include feeling weak or tired due to a lack of sleep.

The idea behind midterms is to prepare

students for college since most college courses have a midterm. In college, this might be fine, but midterms in high school are simply not viable. For seniors, these tests fall near the deadline for midyear grade reports for regular decision college applications. Freshman, who are brand new to the school, are taking midterms within the first five months of being in high school, which they are not used to. Other students, such as sophomores and juniors, already have a heavy workload and all of this extra preparations for midterms are unmanageable during this time of the year.

Some argue that midterms can be a valuable tool for measuring how well a student has mastered a concept. However, teachers give exams all semester long, which are more accurate in reflecting a student’s knowledge than a midterm exam. Grades accumulated throughout the semester are also more indicative of how well a student can study, organize time, persevere, and complete a challenge. Midterm exams need to be dropped from our school curriculum, as the negatives outweigh the positives.

Features

Febuary 14, 2022

9

The Merionite

My life is a romantic comedy Ruby Romano-Lehr ’24 After what felt like forever, the teacher finally came and let us into the classroom. We stepped in and took our seats as he began taking roll.

“Before we begin our lesson on the battles of the Civil War, we will be switching up seats since some of you,” he pointed to the back of the class, “are chit-chatters.” All of the three girls in the back shut up. Everyone groaned and stood up.

I could hear one kid say that at least this will take up some time. The teacher called each Graphic by Ilana Zahavy ’24/Staff student’s name one by one and pointed to where they would be seated for the entire next semester. It was a small class.

A nice bunch of sixteen self-conscious kids in one room. The few good things about it were that we didn’t get an absurd amount of work, and the teacher would sometimes give out Reese’s Cups for getting questions right. It was also at the end of the day, and I could go straight home. Just me with my own thoughts and my cats sleeping on my binder. Depending on my mood, I’d put some music on, which would blare at the loudest possible volume my computer could handle. I’d have a warm cup of chamomile tea, and after I finish my work, I’d watch the new Jaiden Animations video. Maybe depending on the time, I would also make some food or take a nap…

My mind snapped out of it when I realized which students were left to be seated. Me and my friend’s crush. Huh. Well this is fun and oddly cliché. Luckily she isn’t in this class; she’d be having a fit!

I didn’t know this kid. I only knew his name, which was Lex. We shared only one class and that was a whole two years ago. All I did know was that according to my friend, if I could still even call her that, he was popular. Or well “popular,” and that he had TikTok hair. And that he always wore hoodies, took the greatest photos, had a giant house (probably a mansion), and was also kinda quiet. And according to my friend, he was hot. Not my words, hers. To be honest, I didn’t know and I didn’t care. The only thing that was running through my mind was, “PFFFFFFFFFFFT HA! THIS IS SO FUNNY! LOLLLLLLXD” Ok maybe not that last part but you get the point.

The teacher sat us next to each other and went about his lesson. After that, he gave us a small little partner project. “For your homework I want you to continue this with someone of your choice.” Everyone in the room looked around and found a partner, including the one person I knew best. Which left me with this guy. I already felt like a bit of an outcast in this class since the girls in it were so different then me. All I ever heard them talk about were celebrities and makeup. Nothing against that but all I could think was, is that it? But what could I do? I had plenty of other friends but it made picking partners hard since everyone would go straight to theirs and I had none in this class.

“So, you want to work together?” he asked me.

“Sure. Since we don’t have much to finish, how about you come to my LEARN, it’s the classroom over?”

He nodded and the bell rang.

As I walked to my learn room, I noticed my friend Lillie walk out of since that was her last period. “Hey! How was class? Did you get any homework?” she asked me.

“Class was fine. I bet you would have liked it though.”

She looked at me confused. “What do you mean?”

“I have a partner project with Lex.” “WHAT. You need to tell me all about him. What he likes, what he hates, if he’s still dating…”

I laughed and walked into my classroom. “Alright, alright I get the point. Wish me luck!”

After the teacher took roll and I got out my computer, put on some music, and waited for my partner to come into class. I eventually got impatient and started finishing it on my own. Ten minutes later, I heard the door open.

“Sorry I’m late. My teacher was out so I had to go to a different room and then sign out from there,” he said in a monotone voice.

“Oh no worries!” I paused my music and took out my earbuds. “I got started without you so we don’t have much left. Do you want to get started with the coloring while I finish up with the buildings?”

“Sure.” We worked in silence for about twenty minutes, if you don’t count the several times I tried to break the ice and have a conversation. It was really for my friend’s sake, but a few things in the news eluded to me that I wouldn’t be talking to people for a very long time anyways. I attempted to ask him about music, books, even sports, and I know absolutly nothing about sports! And you know what this kid did? He gave me nothing, NOTHING to work off of. This wasn’t an exaggeration, it was a fact, a true statement. “So, do you listen to any good bands?”

“Not really. Just hip hop and whatever’s on.”

Okaaaayy, I know nothing about hip hop and I don’t listen to any pop music. Maybe that wasn’t a good idea. “Read any good books?”

“I don’t like reading.”

Dangit, I’m out of all the staple I’m-not-like-the-other-girls type of questions. I’m gonna have to try some different tactics. “Do you like any sports?”

“Nah I’m not really into them.”

“What do you want to be when you’re older?”

“I don’t know.”

“This might be a bit rude but my friend wants to know why you broke up with-” And then if this situation couldn’t get anymore cliché, another girl walked in the classroom and started chatting him up.

“Heeeeey Lex, are you free this weekend? My friends and I were going to go to Suburban Square and were wondering if you wanted to come.” She then proceeded to sit on top of my desk and plucked a piece of raspberry Ice Breakers gum into her mouth.

If it wasn’t for the fact that this girl sat on my desk, MY DESK WHERE I WAS WORKING, I wouldn’t have minded. Minded as much, at least. See, middle schoolers flirting with each other is cringy. I never really saw what it was like until this point. I had only heard from friends. And then I got to experience this first hand. Plus in this case, it was weird and it made me very, VERY uncomfortable. To be honest, I didn’t care that she was ignoring me. And I certainly didn’t care that she was flirting with him but just the way she talked and tried to get this guy to pay any lick of attention to her… it made me sick. And I was right in the middle of it.

Lex didn’t seem to pick up on what this girl was doing. He sat there nonchalantly doing his work and occasionally looking up from coloring the paper. It was like she didn’t exist. A mirage, a glitch, or an echo. A ghost. “Yeah sounds good.”

“Can’t wait to see you there ;). ” She hopped off of my desk and went over to a group of girls giggling in the back of the room.

I want to die. We worked for a little bit longer until about 75 percent of the poster was colored. After a while I looked up from the section I was working on and saw the girl and her friends leave early. I swore the girl who was flirting with Lex winked at him and then closed the door. I checked the clock and it said three on the dot. “It looks like there isn’t much more that needs to be done. I can work on it at home.”

“Are you sure? I feel like you did all of the work and I didn’t help much…”

“You did a lot actually! If it wasn’t for you we would be losing six of the twenty points for keeping it in black and white. I’m best at sketching and drawing things anyways.”

He laughed. “You are pretty good at drawing. I probably would have failed without your amazing skills.”

The bell rang and we parted ways as I walked home with him to the bus. By the time I was able to sit down and get out my brush-tipped markers to finish, I thought to myself, this day didn’t feel real. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was all a dream, and I would wake up at any moment now. I pinched myself thinking that something would have happened. This feels like a story. Some Hollywood or Netflix director’s script.

Whatever. At least it’s funny.

Midterm week or week off?

Crosby Johnson ’24 For some, midterms week is filled with stress and lots of studying, while for others, it is a week that can be taken advantage of, due to the limited amount of midterms they have combined with shorter school days. Midterms week consisted of a four day schedule in which there were two ninety minute testing sessions in the morning from 7:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Students were given the afternoon off as a time to study for their midterms. Freshmen and sophomores both experienced their first midterms week this year, and their thoughts on the unique week varied.

Taking a test is already a stressful and difficult part of school, but having to take multiple tests in the same week can be extremely overwhelming, especially two on the same day. In prior years, if a student did not have a midterm, they didn’t have to come into class. However, this year, students were required to attend every class besides study halls and PE. Sam Serruya ’24, reports, “Midterms week was definitely something out of the ordinary and caught me off guard. The ridiculous amount of studying I had to do was nothing I have ever encountered before in my academic career.” While midterms week has definitely taken off the stress of having to deal with other classes, for students with many midterms, it still was stressful.

Although taking many tests in the same week was challenging for a lot of students, midterms week proved to be a lighter load compared to a normal sched-

ule. Gideon Wolf ’24 describes his experience by saying, “I thought it was pretty easy because the short school days gave me plenty of time to study and most of my classes didn’t have a real test.” The situation Wolf mentioned was common, as the new mandate on class attendance shied many teachers away from giving out a formal midterm.

Nathan Grunfeld ’24 similarly agrees: “I only had a few midterms and the half days gave me plenty of time to study. Additionally, some days I was able to leave school early because of study halls and PE classes.” This extra time out of school is nice for students to recoup after two long test-taking periods.

Personally, as a sophomore, my midterm experience was filled with endless studying, a surplus of tests, and busy work every single day. When I wasn’t studying, it was hard to find something productive to do during the long hours outside of class. I feel that LM can find a better system for midterms week, trying to balance the free Photo by Anika Xi ’23/Staff time and the endless studying while still making it as least stressful as possible. Instead of closing school at eleven, adding an option to meet with teachers or hold club meetings could be a more productive way for students to spend their day. These improvements will benefit both students who thought midterms week was effortless and those who thought it was too tedious. Whether or not midterms week is a grind or a vacation is all in the eye of the beholder… or perhaps your teachers.

10

Features

February 14, 2022

The Merionite

Dashing through the snow

ONCE

Ben Cromer ’24

Sebastian Havira ’23

Have you ever wanted to go skiing or snowboarding with a bunch of friends?

Well now you can, thanks to the LM Ski and Snowboard Club. From transportation to lift tickets, this new club has plenty to offer. Jake Stoller ’24, co-president of the club, described the goal of the club as “bring[ing] together people with the common interest of skiing and snowboarding and hav[ing] fun. It doesn’t matter what grade you are in, if you’re advanced or a beginner, whether you want to ski or snowboard, everyone is welcome.” LM’s newest club has som ething for everyone, whether they are incredible at skiing or have never touched a pair of skis.

Bringing additional people into the club is what the club strives to do. Its mission is to bring friends together over a common interest. Even if your friend has never seen a slope, bring them out and they might find it incredibly fun. These activities will take place locally at Blue Mountain Ski Resort in Palmerton, PA, a short hour and twenty minute drive away from LM. Blue Mountain is a great place for this club because they have the most terrain in the Pocono Mountains. This ski resort includes several Greens (the easiest slopes) as well as many Black Diamonds (the hardest slopes). They even have three bunny slopes to practice on if it would be your first time ever clicking into skis or a board. Blue Mountain provides rentals which will allow those who don’t have their own equipment an opportunity to get their hands on some.

These trips may not occur this year

as it is already February and we are in the middle of the season, but the club will still host meetings to talk about skiing and boarding as well as planning and talking about what future

trips will entail. Listen for meeting announcements on the morning LMTV broadcast, where the co-presidents will go further in depth about what the club has to offer and provide a chance for people to talk about their love of skiing and snowboarding. You can contact the club at skiclublm@ gmail.com and follow them on Instagram; their handle is @skiclublm.

I once remember the days feeling as bright as the sunshine could possibly beam. It was a time of innocence and excitement that never had any sort of limit to its emotion. The young colors

Graphic by Alana Zahavy ’23/Staff

of the sky in all seasons expressed the products of nature. Wind, rain, snow, or sun; the colors were still bright to me. It was a time before everything; knowing others and their darkest sides, or exposure to the crimes of humanity. However, the bits of cluelessness still continued to grow smaller by the years. We all experienced, experi-

mented, and encountered. The shock of stepping outside of our comfort zones was new to us all. I once remember the days of nothing. It was a time of blur, and blandness to the atmosphere. The rain’s puddles were the epitome of gloom and partial melancholy. By then, the space beside me, that once used to be crowded, began to construct an open lane of air to flow through. However, I still kept walking. What engaged me?

The same thing was also happening to everyone else: less. It was less of everything and everyone. It was still gutwrenching knowing that the world that was once controlled by others, became our responsibility. Once they leave, we become. I once remember the days of fear. It was a time similar to the emergencies of the world, and constant crises. The cries of all the living trees and plants turned into a disturbing laughter. It was the center of a blooming universe, with the privilege of life being unpredictable. The tomorrows that we will forget and the yesterdays we could remember, depends on our future’s ability. The sun sets itself into the earth’s nose, and dies. As I sit here, remembering, the birth of a young foal happens, and the death of elders bloom. I understand now that we cannot idolize anything that must come our way, but remember the times we didn’t have control. The time of innocence, staring into a deep space, questioning our forever. Now grown up, the time of guilt, staring into a deep space, questioning our forever. I once remember those days, and you could as well.

SIX MORE WEEKS OF WINTER... OLYMPICS Ava Cohen ‘23 The Winter Olympics are back! Starting on February 4, the 24th Winter Olympics will take place in the beautiful city of Beijing. People from across the world will anxiously watch as their favorite athletes compete for the gold. As we get closer to the opening ceremony, there are some things you should know.

The 2022 Winter Olympics will feature seven new events: womens monobob (bobsledding), mixed team aerials (freestyle skiing), men’s and women’s big air (freestyle skiing), mixed team relay (short-track speed skating), mixed team event (ski jumping), and mixed team snowboard cross (snowboarding). These events were added in an effort to increase gender equality. The mixed team events will consist of equivalent amounts of male and female athletes who have already qualified individually, or through relays. Additionally, the monobob is an event added just for women.

The National Hockey League and NHL Players’ Association have come to the decision to not participate. Due to the surge in COVID cases and the fact that fifty games have already been postponed in the regular season, it is no longer possible to attend. It is difficult to schedule this multitude of games considering the five week quarantine period that players would have to spend in Beijing if they were to test positive while there. Players are upset especially since they have

now missed out on two consecutive Olympics. Penguins star Sidney Crosby, although lucky enough to have competed in two Olympics thus far, says he “feel[s] for the guys who have missed multiple opportunities.”

Some of these players will not have this opportunity again and it is simply out of their control.

No spectators will be allowed at the games.

Once again, COVID has put restrictions on our lives and it has been decided that only a select group of people from within the country will be allowed. These people will have to abide by China’s “countermeasures” which are more strict than the protocols for the 2021 Summer Olympics.

So far Norway is leading in most winter olympic and paralympic medals at 368. In second place is the U.S. with 305, and then Germany with 240.

We will see how this changes by February 20th when the 2022 Winter Olympics come to a close.

Students at LM are super excited to watch! Junior Delaney Sill says she “can’t wait for the ice skating where they do a bunch of partner flips,” one of the most popular Winter Olympic events.

Others are also looking forward to watching their favorite athletes compete, such as junior Andrew McCann, who will be cheering on Canadian hockey player Owen Power, along with the Unites States hockey team. I know that I will be watching the winter Olympics in Beijing, and you should too!

Graphic by Emma Liu ’22/Staff

February 14, 2022

11

The Merionite Mia Hail ’23 Arts & Entertainment Editor

Graphics by Emmi Wu ’23/Staff

After COVID-19 cancellations, the loss of an irreplaceable MC, and two postponements, no one knew if The Amazing Ace would happen this year. On January 30, the event finally took place with tremendous success; all of the senior contestants raised hundreds of dollars for their respective charities. While the auditorium was limited in capacity, it was still a fun-filled night with plenty of dancing, singing, and jokes. The contestants participated in several rounds designed to sway the audience and judges including a catwalk, group dance, Q&A session, talent portion, and partner dance. However, the night also marked a tragic first: Amazing Ace without its beloved MC, fomer LM principal Sean Hughes. Hughes’ loss was felt deeply at the Amazing Ace, and the touching tribute video reminded the audience of everything he brought to the show. It was clear that all of the contestants did their absolute best to honor Hughes throughout the night.

Zev Charlson played Princess Peach. Accompanied by Lillie Abella ’22, Charlson raised money on behalf of the Wildlife Conservation Society. Charlson showcased a variety of juggling talents while revisiting his third grade knack for reciting Pi.

Phillip Gao personified Yoshi.

Accompanied by Aaron Levine ’22, Gao supported the American Cancer Society.

Gao sang a heartfelt rendition of Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man” accompanied by an entertaining duo who took the performance to the next level.

Emi Reed portrayed Princess Daisy.

Accompanied by Pari Petramfar ’22, Reed raised money for Cradles to Crayons.

Reed took the stage to perform a thoroughly choreographed tap dance routine to the tune of well-known pop songs.

Leo Solga was Mario. Accompanied

by Camille Halbert ’23, Solga supported the Trevor Project. Through a wonderfully produced video, Solga took the audience through an elaborate day in the life, joined by his own harmonica playing.

Spencer Rosenbaum personified Luigi. Accompanied by Makenna Sill ’22, Rosenbaum raised money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

His eccentric performance started off with him slowly playing the piano and culminated in a full-scale performance with his band “Lights on the Field.”

Liam Gordon was Donkey Kong.

Accompanied by Ben Scherluebbe ’22, Gordon raised the most money out of any contestant: over 3,400 dollars for Project Home! Gordon’s passionate presentation against the dangers of smoking brought laughter and confusion to the audience.

Jack Shapiro dressed up as Wario.

Accompanied by Sam Aronson ’22, Shapiro competed on behalf of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

His act involved Shapiro serenading the audience with an assortment of friends who provided fun backdrops.

Connor Marsh played Bowser. Accompanied by Ryan Hillis ’22, Marsh fundraised for Philabundance and had some very impressive talents. Marsh first played the piano and then solved a Rubix cube—all while blindfolded. skills left the crowd dumbfounded.

Other vital members of The Amazing Ace included the MCs that keep the entire show running smoothly.

Hughes always held a critical role as MC, and the charisma and joy he would bring to the show was deeply missed. This year’s MCs, seniors Logan Hall and Rachel Zhang, felt the loss more strongly than others, as this year’s initial planning was done together with Hughes. Hall admits, “It was hard to do it without Mr. Hughes and he definitely crossed my mind during it.” Outside the auditorium, banners hung with “Character Counts” written over pictures of Hughes in previous years of Amazing Ace. Wanting to keep Hughes as a part of Amazing Ace was extremely important to Hall as she explains, “Rachel and I (along with the other guest emcees) tried our best to honor Mr. Hughes in the best way possible. One example is that Rachel and I chose to wear gold sequin bow ties in honor of his golden jacket.” The golden bow ties were the perfect tribute to Hughes’s iconic gold sparkly jacket. Along with the MCs, the contestants all tried to honor Hughes as best as they could. Rosenbaum shares his thoughts:“it was a strange feeling doing the event without him. The deficit of not having Hughes—in an event that he championed for such a long time and that I had hoped to be in with him since my brother and sister were in Mr. LM—was certainly apparent. My performance on Sunday was undoubtedly in loving memory of him.” All the contestants kept Hughes’ memory in the forefront of their minds throughout the night, as Gao explains, “We were all obviously very saddened by the fact that he couldn’t be here, and we wanted to be enjoyable and favorable to his legacy and I think we accomplished that.”

Outside of the challenges of the night, to Hall, “The night was amazing. I had the most fun getting to know people I wouldn’t ordinarily have collaborated with! Despite having two date changes, we were still able to have the event and make it a really great performance.”

Together the contestants raised over $20,000 for the various charities! At the end of the night, the audience had the opportunity to vote for their favorite contestant, and choosing Charlson, Rosenbaum, and Solga as the top three contenders for the title of Amazing Ace. Ultimately, Rosenbaum claimed the coveted title and brought an end to the night. When asking Rosenbaum about his experience, he detailed, “I have nothing but positive things to say about the overall experience. Winning is great, but I don’t think it’s what I find most exciting about it. Having the opportunity to perform in that fashion was truly thrilling, and I’m glad that that seemed to be the case not just for me, but for the audience, too. More notably, I was honored to have raised such significant money for a charity that is so important to me.”

For the first Amazing Ace since the pandemic, the event surely did not disappoint—it brought together LM students and helped support a multitude of deserving charities. Now LM can anxiously await what the Amazing Ace will bring next year!

Photos Courtsey of The Enchiridion

12 Opinions

February

Celebrating

Black History Month Emmi Wu ’23, Shaine Davison ’23, Emma Liu ’22, Spencer Rosenbaum ’22

Pictured from left to right are a few of LM’s most notable Black alumni. In order: B.J. Johnson, Julius W. Becton Jr., Johnny Christmas, Kobe Bryant, and Russell Carter.

In honor of Black History Month, The Merionite is exploring various ways LM highlights diversity and promotes equality. Through programs, classes, and extracurriculars LM is fosters an environment for inclusivity and racial equity. Students of color are offered an opportunity to join Becton Scholars, an affinity group that helps cultivate academic excellence and leadership. This program provides students with a safe space to engage in conversations, activities, and projects to voice their ideas, differences, and goals while celebrating their cultural heritage. Entering the 2021-22 school year, the Voices in African American Literature course along with the Black Excellence course joined the school course offerings. Along with academic groups and classes, the student body is also heavily involved in Black culture and activism.

Other student-centered activities include the Council for Racial Equity and Inclusivity, Black Student Union, the Diversity Leadership Council and LM’s “Well-read Brothers,” a book club for Black men.

Representation in education Sulaiman Mathew-Wilson ’23

Black History Month was created in 1970 by Carter G. Woodson as an expansion of what was originally known as Negro History Week. Woodson established Black History Month because he believed that white-dominated history had little interest in Black history and that all Americans should understand the largely overlooked achievements of Black Americans.

Before Black History Month, Black history didn’t receive much attention, and even to this day, it isn’t given the same attention that it deserves in our education. Even in our school district, classes such as Black Excellence: The Politics, Economics, & Culture of an American People and Voices in African American American Literature weren’t introduced until very recently. Courses like these are extremely important for both white students and students of color. Not only is it essential for all students to learn about Black achievements and history, but it is also crucial for Black people and students to learn about their history and heritage.

While Black History Month is important, it’s just as important that we teach Black history all year long.

Q&A with Tyler Goodwin

Teacher for Voices in African American Literature (VAAL) course & Black Student Union sponsor What does Black History Month mean to you?

Black History Month means a time to highlight the culture and achievements of the descendants of the people who came to the United States due to the African diaspora.

What can we do to strengthen diversity & inclusion at LM? We need to create more opportunities for students and staff to interact and collaborate over a common goal with those who are not like them.

In the first semester of the school year, I took the course Black Excellence: The Politics, Economics, and Culture of an American People, and in that short period of time, I learned about more Black history topics than ever before.

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

- Malcolm X

“The class was really important to me because I got to learn more about Black figures like Malcolm X and Langston Hughes, as well as topics and time periods, such as poetry in the Harlem Renaissance. ” Classes like these are examples of ways that schools can incorporate Black history all throughout the school year. Overall, I think Black History Month is important to promote more knowledge and awareness of Black history. However, it’s even more important that learning about Black history is done more than just during Black History Month. Viewing history through the lens of groups of people who've been marginalized, such as but not limited to Black people, is extremely important, so the injustices of the past and present do not repeat.

How should we celebrate BHM at LM?

Each department should have a Black History Month bulletin board to highlight achievements in their discipline. We also need to implement a larger focus on advisory lessons/discussions. Together, students should be brought together with a school-wide assembly educating students on the importance of Black history.

What literature do you read in VAAL?

Their Eyes Were Watching God

by Zora Neale Hurston The Vanishing Half & Passing

by Brit Bennett

Tyler Goodwin, English teacher and sponsor for LMSD’s National Society of Black Engineers Chapter, addresses the Class of 2021 Becton Scholars. Photo courtesy of LMSD.

y 14, 2022

Opinions

What does Black History Month mean to you?

Anisa Pugh ’22

It may be the shortest month of the calendar year, but in the Black community, we use it as a time to reclaim our culture and celebrate all it means to be truly, unapologetically, Black. Every time February rolls around, many feel the need to talk about the lives and achievements of people such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. While both of these trailblazers should be celebrated for the strides and risks they took to further civil rights, we’d like to focus on the culture aspect of Blackness this February. Black people have affected every aspect of culture: clothes, shoes, language, and everything in between. This month, when you walk through the school and take in the culture around you, take a second to think about who built it.

As far as celebrating Black History Month within the LM community, many, including myself, feel as if it’s briefly spoken about and then brushed under the rug. To recognize the achievements of the Black community within communities like ours, we should be doing more than talking about it. Community service should be done, and vigils should be held in honor of the people within the Black community whose lives are taken from them every year simply because of the color of their skin. Trauma is unfortunately a part of our culture, but in order to move past it, it must be dealt with. We need more Black people to step up and tell their communities how to accurately celebrate them during Black History Month. Once others are ready to listen and put the words of minorities into action, only then will we be able to thoroughly celebrate our month.

“BHM means a lot to me. It's our month to learn and celebrate our history even more.

BHM is our time to be in the spotlight and be appreciated for what and who we influence and inspire.”

-Ayanna Easley ’25

“To me, Black History Month is a time for us to celebrate the legacies and excellence that the Black community has provided to the world. It's a time to honor and celebrate achievements, culture, and Black excellence.”

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“Black History Month is the appreciation of Black culture and the oppression we've been through in the past.”

-Kayla Bogui ’23

Of the Pan-African flag, red represents blood that united all people of Black African ancestry, blood shed for liberation.

-Kendall Law ’22

Spotlighting student voices Makai Beadle ’22

Aniah Bethea ’25

What does Black History Month mean to you?

Black History means to me the celebration of Black culture, leaders, artists, singers, inventors–all Black people who made global contributions or contributions to help shape or build America and the world.

What does Black History Month mean to you?

Black History Month means a time to highlight the culture and achievements of the descendants of the people who came to the United States due to the African diaspora.

How should we celebrate Black History Month at LM?

I believe we should celebrate BHM by just giving the opportunity for others, who have not experienced what it is to be Black, to gain some perspective.

How should we celebrate Black History Month at LM?

We need to incorporate Black historical figures into all curriculums and assignments and not just the same few that are always talked about. We need to focus on a variety of figures that relate to the subject.

LM’s favorite role models Aniah Bethea ’25

Tyler Goodwin

Mary Beatrice Kenner was a Black female inventor who made improvements to the sanitary belt, which paved the way of menstrual pads for women.

I would like to highlight the "Divine Nine" fraternities and sororities that are established across the United States for Black people.

Green represents the vegetation of Ethiopia, the promised land.

“I hope that we always have diversity, that we have equality and representation every step of the way.”

- Marsai Martin

Simone Reece ’24 One notable African American that is influential to me is Marsai Martin. She is an African American successful actress at just seventeen years old.

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Kappa Alpha Psi Omega Psi Phi Delta Sigma Theta

Phi Beta Sigma Zeta Phi Beta Sigma Gamma Rho Iota Phi Beta

There are nine historically Black Greek letter organizations (BGLOs) that make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Collectively, these organizations are referred to as the “Divine Nine." Each of these fraternities and sororities is rich in history–ties to one or more of these organizations may be found in many college-educated Black families in the United States.

“Celebrating Black History Month is not only informing and teaching Black History, but also showing Black excellence as well.”

-Simone Reece ’24

Riley Reece ’22 Regina King or Lupita N'yongo, because they are both amazing actresses and are great at portraying emotions on screen.

Gold represents the gold and riches taken from African people.

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Arts & Entertainment The Merionite

The Merionite asked LM students to send in their art pieces for a chance to be featured.

Here are our top picks:

Second Place: “Streaks!” by Joshua Sultanik ’22/Photography First Place: “Happy Birthday, Lǎobàn” by Jessica Zhong ’22

“First Milkshake” by Ava Wolchuk ’22

“Autumn” by Sadie Liebo ’23/Mixed Media

“Altschmerz” by Jamie Oswald ’24

Third Place: “Stotesbury” by Zoe Stern ’24/Marker and Ink

Photography’s revival Siobhan Minerva ’24 Terms such as exposure, development, and 35mm have worked their way back into the everyday vocabulary of teens. Film photography began in the early 1900’s, and in the past few years it has re-emerged as a popular hobby.

In 1907, Autochrome created the first film photography, which initially was very delicate and not for hand held use. As time progressed, the durability improved by the 1930’s. Additionally, film used to exclusively produce black and white photos, but in 1935 Kodakchrome introduced color film. As innovations furthered, this mode of photography became cheaper and was no longer exclusively for the social elite’s use. In 1973, Polaroid sparked this movement with their invention of instant film, inspiring amateur photographers.

Finally, people could take their photos and see the results within minutes!

However film cameras are far from instant, due to the complicated process behind it. When the film is loaded into the camera and the picture is taken by pressing the shutter button, a certain amount of light is let into the camera, which leaves a chemical trace of the photography film. Once a whole roll of pictures has been taken, the camera can be unloaded and film is ready for processing. In this process, the negatives are treated in different chemical solutions and then scanned so the pictures are visible.

As the new generation of photographers returned to the practice of film photography, brands such as Kodak and Fujifilm have seen significant increases in sales. Influencers such as Emma Chamberlain, Hannah Meloche, and Lily Chee have taken up this practice, posting photos to their Instagrams from film.

Seeing favorite influencers posting their film photographs on social media has inspired many teens. However, one might question: if the processing and development of film is such a tedious process, why are people returning to it?

When proposing this question to various LM students, they gave insight to the advantages of film. Emily Zhang ‘24 said,”Film captures a depth and richness in a photo that an iPhone simply can’t achieve.” She went on to propose the idea that, “Because you have such a limited amount of takes, it forces you to focus on the image, producing something much more meaningful.” Overall, the consensus on film

from students is that it can differentiate a photo, evoking emotions of nostalgia.

Many may be enticed to try film photography, but are at a loss for where to begin. A simple disposable camera can be purchased at any CVS or RiteAid, and after snapping pictures you can bring them back to get the photos developed. Having fun with this art and taking the strictness out of taking photos is the key to this practice!

Graphic by Emma Liu ’22/Staff

Features

February 14, 2022

Get up!

Hadia Ahmad ’23 Sometimes I have these random bursts of confidence. I put on a nice outfit, spray it with perfume, and tie the laces of my Converse, oddly becoming motivated for the day. My confidence turns into a ghost and wisps away into oblivion when I enter class and look at the agenda. “Quick write: write about something you’re proud of/your biggest accomplishment.”

I’ve always hated questions like these. It makes me feel small, and when I feel pressured to think about my life and its events, my memory looks at me and shrugs almost apologetically, as it can’t provide me with anything I could possibly write about.

Thankfully, Februrary 1 was National Get Up Day, and I actually have something to share. National Get Up Day takes place every year on February 1, and its purpose is to share inspiring stories of perseverance. And since I had time to think about it in advance, rather than minimizing my own merit, I’m going to share a small story with you. A narrative that I hope will resonate with those who read it.

It was around December 2016, back when my feet could barely touch the ground when I sat in a chair. Once upon a time, when it would actually snow, we would stay up all night; we would check the Blackboard of that one teacher from Bala Cynwyd Middle School who was good at predicting the weather, fingers crossed that the next day would be a snow day. It was my first year of middle school and I felt that I needed to change. It was how life worked, apparently. You’re in a new setting, so you automatically set these high expectations for yourself and hope to completely change the parts of yourself you don’t like.

Come on, it’s middle school. But then again, most people have this mindset, even in their adult years.

I’m glad that eleven-year-old me had the mindset of an innocent child that was noticeably addicted to superhero cartoons, and my goals were very trivial at the time.

I wanted to make the neighborhood’s biggest snowman.

The thing is I didn’t have many friends because I was shy and I assumed everyone hated me just because I still wore Velcro shoes. So what did I do?

It was a snow day, meaning school was cancelled. I decided to slip a piece of paper under my neighbor’s door, inviting her to help me make this snowman in my yard the next day. I didn’t sleep that night due to the intense embarrassment I felt from my desperate attempt to break from my timid state.

My neighbor arrived the next morning, holding a shovel, a carrot for the nose, and accompanied by five other kids from the neighborhood. I was strangely happy but it took a while for me to break out of my shell.

I didn’t know what to talk about, or how to talk, or if my voice sounded weird. Being in a group was a catalyst for overthinking. My neighbor was kind though, and despite her young age, she possessed plenty of emotional intelligence.

We not only talked for hours, but we also made the most noticeable snowman on the block. And to me, that meant I made the best one in the world.

Fresh fashion Avery Ender ’24

Winter is coming, which means that sweaters, puffy jackets, hats, and gloves are right around the corner. While it’s sad to leave behind the shorts and t-shirts of summer, winter fashion is warm and cozy. A few months ago, Winter 2022 collections debuted on the runways.

Here are some of the biggest trends we saw: Expect lots of quilted puffers, vests, jackets, even quilted puffer scarves! This trend will keep you warm all throughout February. Don’t be surprised if there are tons of bright colors.

It’s a callback to summer 2019! “Color therapy,” a term used to describe the use of color to treat mental and physical health conditions, is on its way over. We all need a little brightness in the dead of winter. Mixing and matching, and monochrome outfits will be big. Getting into the height of the cold, we’ll be seeing lots of aprés-ski, on and off the slopes. It’s a fun mix of athleisure and ski wear. Think giant puffer coats with matching snow pants, goggles as sunglasses, and patterned knits.

When you think of winter fashion, I’m sure you don’t think of leather. This season, leather is going to be a big deal. We’re seeing leather puffers and classic leather gloves. These runway trends are stylish, but might not be practical for everyday wear. You probably won’t

wear a bright orange neon puffer coat with leather pants and ski goggles to school. These are some trends that are easily wearable: The early 2000’s are making a huge comeback. The yoga pants trend is still in full swing. Also, thanks to Kim Kardashian and her clothing company Skims, the knit material is huge, and for all the right reasons. It’s soft, cozy, and perfect for winter. Puffer jackets are a classic trend we’ve seen before and they’re not going away any time soon.

But, when we get those days that aren’t quite cold enough for a big puffer, opt for a stylish leather trench coat. For under your coat, knit cardigans are still going strong, and you can elevate them Graphic by Emma Liu ’22/Staff to a cute knit set! Monochrome is a style we saw on the runway that can be easily adapted for everyday life, like a deep green sweatsuit. Green is coming in hot this season! If you are not into the monochrome look, you could choose a floral jacket to spice up your attire. And if a matching set isn’t your cup of tea, try out some dark denim. Give away your skinny jeans and stock up on boot cut, flare, and straight legs, particularly in indigo.

Try out some of these upcoming trends in the last few weeks of winter!

Black businesses Maya Genuardi ’22

Buying Black is a principal tenet in Black nationalism, a movement that calls for Black people to cultivate racial pride and solidarity as well as social, political, and economic independence. The idea can be traced all the way back to Marcus Garvey in the 1920s in his efforts to strengthen the Black race both culturally and financially. Ideologies such as Black nationalism are meant to serve as a lens through which people can make sense of the social world and how they should operate in it, and is a useful tool in providing the cultural framing necessary to motivate a group toward achieving an objective. Together, Black people spend an estimated amount of $1.2 • • • • • • • • • •

trillion dollars a year, an amount that is greater than several nations’ GDP. If Black people were to leverage their spending power, spend Black dollars on Black businesses, the financial uplift would be staggering. With money comes power. Black people have historically always had to run faster, jump higher, and think smarter than their white peers. Wealth opens doors for Black people that nothing else has ever been able to, and it is only through mobilizing economic resources and helping one another build up wealth that Black people can truly achieve financial solidarity. Below, you’ll find a list of Black owned businesses you can support in the Philadelphia area.

Amalgam Comics and Coffeehouse: The East Coast’s first Black woman owned comic shop sells Marvel, DC, and more for all ages. Owned

by Ariell R. Johnson, the spot also offers coffee service.

Amazulu Collections: For more than thirty years, Charita Powell has been selling folk dolls, original paintings, body-care products, and cultural clothing from her own Urban Karma Wear line in this Reading Terminal Market stall.

American Hats LLC: One of the country’s oldest hat factories was rescued by Reverend Georgiette Morgan-Thomas, becoming a retail outlet offering all sorts of old-fashioned and avant-garde styles.

Ceramic Concept: Stefani Threet showcases pieces by more than fifty national and international artists, including herself, in her store that opened in November 2020.

DanceFit: Bria Hodge has been offering Zumba, HipFit, Tone Zone, and more since 2018 at this dance fitness studio.

De’Village: Owned by Jocelyn Parks, this stand offers stone and wooden jewelry, shea butter, natural soaps, and body washes from Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria.

Hakim’s Bookstore and Gift Shop: Founded by Dawud Hakim sixty years ago, one of the oldest Black owned bookstores now belongs to Yvonne Blake, the founder’s daughter.

Mount Airy Candle Co.: Marques Davis opened this shop in 2018 where he sells hand-poured, uniquely scented candles as well as pillow sprays and body butters.

Paul Beale’s Florist: This family owned business offers flowers for every occasion from prom to sympathy bouquets.

Salon A’Marie: Aundrea Watkins opened this hair-brow-lash studio in 2020, where she also sells hair oil, edge tamer, and Black Lives Matter merchandise.

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Features The Merionite

Angela Ge ’23 and Caryl Shepard ’22 Features Editor and Editor-in-Chief Q: I’ve often found myself struggling to stay motivated with schoolwork. No strategies I try on my own work, and nothing other people do to help has any effect. Do you know any tips on staying motivated that are untraditional/new?

A: Our primary distractions are usually our phones, so there are many apps on the market that can help you stay focused. My favorite apps to use are Flora and Plantie. Plantie is a concentration app that blocks the rest of your phone, and plants trees for the time that you work (an environmentally friendly ally!), while Flora is the free version (that unfortunately does not plant trees…).

Fill up your schedule! There are two ways to do this. You could fill up your schedule with fun events, activities with friends, or extracurriculars, as, according to Parkinson’s Law, work expands to fill the time available. This way, since your schedule is already filled, the work does not have much time to expand into.

The other method is taking naps! Taking midday naps is a great way to not feel tired and be more productive when working. When you wake up from these naps, it’ll also be later in the day, and therefore, you’d feel the pressure of staying up late and not being able to get any sleep (even though you already slept), pushing you to work more efficiently. Similarly, you can also think of something to look forward to when you finish your work early, which may motivate you to complete your work faster.

Getting ready and working in new environments or with others also helps! Get ready, change out of whatever clothes you sleep in, since this subconsciously lets your body know that today is a workday.

Working in a new environment is also proven to increase productivity, whether you decide to work in a different room around your house or at a nearby cafe. Working at a coffee shop also has the benefit of people walking around; this creates a feeling of being monitored, which can enforce your learning and can also be achieved when working with friends.

Lastly, make working fun! Multitasking might be bad advice for homework in general, but if you’re ever doing “busywork” or a task that comes to you easily and doesn’t require reading (ex. STEM homework), a method to make it more interesting is to put on a podcast or show to listen to while you work. Although this may decrease your efficiency, it’ll give you more motivation to work and definitely develop your multitasking skills (college resume moment)!

Q: I like this boy a lot, but he’s really, really shy. I’ve studied his actions since I can’t really rely on his words, and I’m pretty sure he likes me too, but I don’t know how to move forward. What should I do?

A: It’s often hard to tell when someone likes you and how to move your relationship forwards, but oftentimes they will subconsciously leave behind some clues. If they do any of the following there’s a high chance that they like you: • They take glances in your direction • They look at you when something funny happens • They text you back quickly • Their body is facing you when you talk • Their friends whisper when you’re around (Be careful though, this can go one of three ways: either they think you like them, they like you, or unfortunately there is a new incident to report to START.) When you like someone you often get into an echo chamber of your own thoughts so it may be a good idea to step out and ask your friends who have a less biased perspective. In the end, you should shoot your shot if you’re seeking closure unless you’re satisfied with the current relationship.

Q: How should someone manage their time after school if they’re very busy?

A: At LM, it seems like there are no shortages of afterschool activities. From crew practice to Science Olympiad, Mock Trial to French club, lacrosse practice to Players, every LM student seems to be constantly rushing from one club or activity to the next. Consequently, striking an even balance between participating in these activities while still managing to complete homework can present a challenge. As a senior and a member of many activities myself, I definitely understand this struggle. However, I’ve developed a few strategies to help successfully manage the fleeting after-school hours. Primarily, I would recommend taking a thirty minute break after returning home from any activity. While it may seem appealing to get your work done as soon as possible, I often find that I can’t focus on homework if I don’t take a mental break of some sort first. This can be through reading a book, watching TV, showering, or making a quick snack. After you’ve taken a quick second to decompress, I would recommend starting your work. For those who have activities everyday after school, it can be helpful to create a schedule to evenly distribute your workload for the week. That way, you can avoid cramming all your assignments until the night before they’re due. Obviously, you should aim to prioritize work with a closer deadline when deciding how to divide up your workload. Once you have finished all of your work for the day, you can use your additional time to catch up on extra work (if you’re feeling productive) or take another breather. Through establishing a routine of some form (whether similar to this or not), these tendencies will eventually become habits that will allow you to better manage your limited afterschool time.

Graphics by Emma Liu ’22/Staff

Arts & Entertainment Today’s top hits

The Merionite

A musical e s c a p e Gabryelle Tepper-Waterman ’23 Sports Editor

Hadia Ahmad ’23 Dawn FM by The Weeknd I know this is a super popular album by an artist that has more than 85 million listeners on Spotify. Hear me out though— who has the time to listen to complete albums these days? Our current lifestyles are focused on speed. We’re always in a rush, being kept up by homework, studying for a test, and more. This makes it harder to sit down and discover new music in an album format. Maybe you have never listened to The Weeknd, and that’s fine, but there is no better time to start than now. If you need somewhere to begin try “Is There Someone Else?” or “Out of Time” from his latest album. The album is a combination of synth and dance-pop that takes heavy influence from ‘80s music. “Out of Time” uses a sample from a Japanese city pop song titled “Midnight Pretenders” by Tomoko Aran. The album has sixteen tracks. If you like upbeat music with an eighties influence, you should definitely give this albuma a try.

Caprisongs by FKA twigs FKA twigs has definitely grown stylistically over the years. In her previous album, MAGDALENE, she used her distinct soprano in order to lyrically resonate with her listeners. It was emotionally touching, highly rated, and some may even call it a modern day masterpiece. CAPRISONGS, Twigs latest album is unique and innovative. She combined multiple genres such as dance-pop, trap, R&B, electronic sounds, and more. Her usual avant-garde approach to music isn’t shown in her latest work, but is it good? Yes. Twigs’ music continues to have a remarkably wide palette of sounds, versatility, and artistic lyricism that all her work seems to possess. My favorite tracks are “Thank You Song,” “Careless,” and “Oh My Love.” The album contains seventeen tracks, all with unique sounds. Go stream CAPRISONGS to experience something amaz ing.

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“Formula of Love” by TWICE You might’ve heard some of your classmates raving about their upcoming concert. TWICE is a Korean girl group that consists of nine talented members. Their latest release, “Formula Of Love,” takes heavy inspiration from the ‘80s, with its upbeat and nostalgic sound. One of the tracks, “The Feels,” gained a lot of attention

Music: such a simple yet powerful tool to escape the repetitive lifestyle that is being a high school student today. Students that listen to music benefit in ways they do not even realize. Besides enjoying the beautiful vocals and sounds of the instruments, music has lasting and beneficial effects on the human brain.

Music relieves stress, improves memory,

from the app TikTok, as it was TWICE’s first song that was completely in English. Many say this is one of their best albums, and after completely listening to it, I would have to agree. It includes sixteen songs, my favorites being “Push & Pull” and “Scientist,” and their concepts are perfect for the winter vibe.

Graphic by Angela Ge ’23/Staff

maximizes learning, increases attention span, and aids in sleep. It is an essential part of students’ everyday lives.

High school students today are under a great amount of stress. Between classes, studying, extracurriculars, and balancing a social life, it is easy to get overwhelmed.

Listening to music allows students to process their emotions and ease their anxiety.

“Feel good” music (music that uplifts one’s mood), is an amazing way to relieve tension.

Turn on some music that makes you happy, or that you can relate to, and see what happens to your mood. Music puts your mind and body at ease, and has even been proven to cure pain. According to Florida National University, music helps the body relax as it decreases the intensity of pain, lowers blood pressure, and eases muscle tension. The physical and mental benefits of music are extraordinary.

Music can also help students concentrate when studying and doing schoolwork for hours on end. Listening to music in high-pressure situations, like, before a big test, helps students to perform better. Music allows students to focus on their work rather than be distracted by wandering thoughts and electronics.

Whether they know this or not, music also improves their memory. The brain looks for patterns to better understand and remember information. Listening to music while studying helps students remember information quickly and easily (Florida National University). Instead of going in one ear and out the other, it sticks with them.

Another one of music’s wonderful benefits is aiding in sleep. Music relaxes the brain and body, allowing for one to drift off to sleep. It also allows the brain to focus on the sounds and lyrics, rather than bouncing from one thought to another. Tess Millrood ‘24 struggles with falling asleep at night and uses music to calm her brain. She says, “After a busy day filled with school, studying, and dance practice, it’s difficult to fall asleep at night. I toss and turn in my bed for hours before finally getting to sleep. Recently I started listening to music before bed, which clears my mind and calms me down, helping me to fall asleep quickly.”

The benefits of music are incredibly far-ranging and it would help all students at LM to use it in their day-to-day lives!

Busy businesses: turning hobbies into cash Abby Braslow ’23 Nowadays, entrepreneurship is starting earlier than ever, as many teenagers around the world are selling their own unique products on several different platforms. Even here at LM, there are many impressive student-run businesses.Amanda Olin ‘22, creates homemade crocheted sweaters, shirts, hats, bags, dresses, and skirts, which she sells on Etsy and Depop, @amandaolin. Olin started crocheting over the summer of 2020 during all the extra time she found in quarantine. She first opened her shop in February 2021 after deciding she wanted to try and make some money off of her hobby. Each customer has the ability to choose what item they want and customize the color and the size of the item. The products are sold to consumers all across the country. Olin’s biggest advice in starting a business is to realize that you will not be 100 percent most of the time. As a teenager in high school, she has had to find a way to balance running her own business while managing schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and prepping for the SAT. Another struggle she faced when starting her business was setting unrealistic deadlines for herself, which made it difficult to keep up with orders. “I found myself comparing my business to places like Urban Outfitters or other huge clothing stores,” said Olin, “It took me a while to realize that I was just a single high school student and not a multi-million dollar corporation so it was okay if things took me longer than expected and I sometimes made minor mistakes with packaging. Once I realized this, the business became a lot more enjoyable and successful.”Student-run businesses at LM vary from creating homemade clothes, to reselling old clothes, to completely different concepts.

Noa Richard ‘23, has her own baking business called “Noa’s Cups and Cakes” focused primarily on selling custom cakes and cupcakes to members of the LM community. At the beginning of the pandemic, Richard found a passion for baking and, like Olin, decided to turn her hobby into a profitable business. Her self-run business gave her the amazing opportunity to pursue a passion, and so far has been extremely successful. Richard’s business has been extremely successful—baking for an extensive number of events from children’s birthday parties to weddings. One of her favorite parts about running her own business is being able to provide so much joy to so many kids and their families along with just having fun while doing what she loves. She says, “The advice I have for people is if you love something and are passionate about something then don’t be afraid to pursue it more–I never thought I would start a baking business but here I am.” Through Instagram, reached at @ noascupsandcakes, Richard is able to advertise her incredible skills, and make it easy for consumers to reach out and buy her goods. These are just two of many phenomenal student-run businesses that grew out of quarantine. Teenagers are using social media to advertise their remarkable talents and embark on the road to becoming full-blown entrepreneurs.

Photo courtesy of Noa Richard ’23

Photos courtesy of Amanda Olin ’22

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February 14, 2022

Comics The Merionite

Comics The Merionite

February 14, 2022

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February 14, 2022

Arts & Entertainment The Merionite

Thanks, I thrifted it Noah Barkan ’24 Assistant Business Editor

The newest catchphrase heard by almost anyone who’s ever asked “I love that shirt, where’d you get it?” is “Thank you, I thrifted it.” Many still remember when thrift shopping was deemed embarrassing or something to be ashamed of. Now? It’s a full fledged culture with a billion dollar industry attached to its name. The impacts of this rising creative outlet have been widely disputed, but the one thing everyone can agree on: it will change the fashion and beauty industry in a major way moving forward.

The vintage clothing trend is by no means new but its accessibilty and the culture around it has shifted in a major way. For past generations, clothing considered “vintage” has been marketed by bigger brands. The retail industry mainly handled vintage based clothing through revitalization and modernization to a more palatable, centralized look with vintage elements. High end brands like Gucci might release whole collections while more day-to-day brands like Hanes might release certain articles that allude to older fashion, but don’t embrace it.

Well, not anymore. The new access point has now been centralized around antique stores and thrift stores. That being said, brand names are in no way irrelevant. High end thrifters and “flippers” — or people who work to adapt thrifted pieces — still pay careful attention to the brands they are picking up. For those who plan to resell, a Juicy Couture tag can increase the price up to five fold. Rather than branded vintage, the attention seems to be shifting towards vintage brands.

One new aspect of this type of consumerism is, of course, reselling. Though many argue the importance of reselling thrifted pieces online or elsewhere, is it really so productive? Many say not. For a bit of historical context, thrifting was initially started by religious groups accepting small donations for local low income citizens to have members’ hand-me-down clothes. The origins, arguably, were mutually beneficial for both the community and the place of worship. Currently, thrift and antique stores have shed the religious affiliation and now sell to keep the stores open and operating. Criticism has followed the use of thrift stores by privileged individuals who have the means to shop elsewhere. Thrift stores usually operate off of donations and often run short on sizes and articles of clothing that are more needed. Ten cowboy hats and 25 XXL T-shirts aren’t ideal for purchasing, especially by those that need it.

A far more drastic impact of the overuse of thrift stores by those who don’t need them — the industrialization of the stores. The wealthier the general group entering a store, the higher the prices are going to be. As someone who has thrifted clothing since I was five years old, I myself have seen how the prices have skyrocketed. I can’t remember seeing anything in a store over $6. Now, a $10 T-shirt would be considered a steal. As thrift stores center and tailor their prices around a wealthier demographic, the communities they are intended to help are left high and dry.

But thrifting clothing isn’t all bad. In fact, one of thrifting’s driving forces has been environmental activists. The coin term “fast fashion” is used to describe fast moving fashion trends that spread across social media like wildfire and leave just as fast. Fast

Graphic by Eliza Liebo ’25 fashion results in huge amounts of purchased and wasted clothing that end up in landfills after their long lives of greenhouse gas emissions. Thrifting is a direct counter to this. The reuse of clothing allows people to buy and trade eachother’s clothing.

Similar to how Shein, the cheap, ill-manufactured online clothing store, is the boogeyman company of flash fashion, Depop has become that of online thrifting.

Depop is a self described “peer-to-peer social e-commerce company.” It allows teenagers all over the world to buy and sell eachother’s clothing. Though misuse of the platform to exploit small thrift businesses is widespread, the global implications of this type of thrifting are positive. Rather than the constant manufacturing of clothing, Depop acts to slow the production of wasted clothing while still giving teens a new outfit every couple of months. As capitalist as it may seem, the monetary incentive gives teens a reason to keep their clothing in good shape for the next person who wants to buy it. Depop isn’t the only way teens have been able to profit off of their old and unused clothes. While it’s positives and negatives can be debated all day, the culture of vintage clothing and thrift shopping remains prevalent. Its environmental implications and cultural reshaping will affect us for years to come. One thing is clear; thrifting — in its culture and impacts — isn’t going away anytime soon.

The cycle of fashion Dani Itkin-Ofer ’24

Fast fashion: the cycle of trends created by social media and how this affects the quality products, are now cutting corners to make faster delivery times and satisfy fashion industry and consumers. It’s almost exactly what it sounds like. Fast changing their customers. Examples of these shortcomings are the extremely low wages worktrends, production, delivery, and use. The fashion cycle includes a few ers receive along with horrible working conditions and poor quality steps. First, a trend is introduced. It then rises to popularity, of clothing. These factors enable brands to manufacture their reaches its peak, and starts to dwindle. Eventually it beclothes at higher speeds and have an increased profit. To comes rejected by society and seen as ugly, but it ultikeep up with the faster rate of production, consummately comes back in style years later. This cycle used ers are compelled to buy more at a faster rate. to be a slow process, with trends covering a whole The fast fashion industry has detrimental efdecade, but over the years this cycle has become fects on not just the companies, but also on increasingly shorter and social media is partly the environment. According to the United to blame. In today’s age, people around the States Environmental Protection Agency, world are more connected than ever before.

Americans discard about sixteen million Trends, news, and slang shared on social tons of textile waste per year. Although media spread like wildfires and leave a big companies benefit from this fast paced influence on the world. Since fashion cyconsumption, the industry as a whole is cles move in and out at a higher pace now, affected in this situation. Consumers are certain styles can no longer define an era stuck in a repetitive loop of spending while like they have in past decades. Social media the industry faces challenges regarding influencers dictate what’s popular and cretheir operations. The market can help slow ate demands for new trends. An influencer the spread of fast fashion and redirect the wearing something, just once, is enough to industry to a more sustainable path by being bring back an old fashion trend or to start a new more conscious of what they buy and leanfad. After Kendall Jenner was repeatedly spotted ing towards more sustainable options. Buying wearing a North Face puffer jacket, it popped up on second hand or considering the amount of clothes everyone’s Instagram feeds and later in their closets. that an individual buys are both easy ways to start.

Subsequently, items that are deemed “out of style” are seen While social media contributes to the growth of fast as embarrassing to wear. Companies profit greatly off of the fashion, it can also be utilized as a tool to spread awareness quick movement of fashion trends. Products are constantly being addregarding these issues and the message of sustainability, helping ed to stores, which pushes customers to shop there frequently and to reverse the direction of the trend. So next time, think twice before Graphic by Ilana Zahavy ’24/Staff come back for new items. Shoppers want immediacy in everythi buying the newest shirt or trendy bag because it comes at the exng, forcing the industry to evolve. Brands that are usually known for their high pense of the fashion industry as a whole, as well as its workers and the environment.

Sports

February 14, 2022

21

The Merionite

Swingin’ in the season Ben Wolf ’22 News Editor

After an inauspicious conclusion to the 2021 season, the LM baseball team is eager to begin a new era for the program. A fresh, dynamic coaching staff hopes to lead the way with the emergence of younger players, while the Aces’ veteran upperclassmen look to rewrite the story of their careers thus far.

The team’s preparation for this spring started early, as players of all grade levels met for their first practice of the fall program on the first day of school. The Aces have met the autumn season of practices, games, and biweekly indoor winter workouts with an appropriate level of intensity, which, in addition to getting them physically

Spades, Clubs, and Diamonds. Tauber, Krimsky, and Everett Whalen ’23 each sported sterling earned run averages— below 2.40—last season, and will welcome Danny Wellner ’22 back into the fold, a 6’2”, hard-throwing right hander committed to pitch at Vassar College next year. Meanwhile, Alex Frankel ’22, typically an infielder, has emerged as a late-game option on the mound.

The Aces’ “aces” will undoubtedly give them a chance to win game in and game out, but their lineup is nothing to scoff at either. McCormick, who thumped two home runs in 2021, and Rinaldi, a fixture atop the batting order and the program’s all-time leader

Photo by Everett Whalen ’23

Photo courtesy of The Enchiridion ready, has fostered a notable change in attitude. Pitcher, outfielder, and co-captain Ilan Tauber ’22 cites “a palpable energy to this season that there wasn’t before” as evidence of this shift.

“We’re all really excited to get going and we think we can do really well.

The overall excitement motivates us more and brings us together as a team.”

The Aces boast a tremendous talent level this year, including four returning All-Main Line team members: Josh McCormick ’22 (Second Team), Jake Krimsky ’22 (Second Team), Matt Rinaldi ’23 (Honorable Mention), and Tauber (Honorable Mention). They are headlined by their formidable pitching staff, composed of four members who might as well be nicknamed Hearts,

in times hit-by-pitch, have both signed on to play collegiately at Queens University of Charlotte and Stetson University, respectively. They will be joined

by Drew Hollowell ’23, who, although unlikely to pitch this spring due to injury, has a lightning-quick stroke at the plate. This trio, surrounded by a strong supporting cast, has every reason to believe they will build off of their 4.75 runs-per-game average last season.

With speed and athleticism permeating throughout the diamond, the coaching staff is confident in their ability to sculpt a lineup that is both defensively sound in the field and strategically aggressive on the basepaths. If all of these factors come together to meet their potential, the well-rounded Aces

will prove to be a tough opponent to face.

The skill level is undeniable, but this year’s team approaches the season with an unprecedented sense of unity. “I think that our guys are just a lot more focused on the task at hand,” explains Frankel, one of the many seniors to whom the difference from past teams feels clear. First-year Head Coach Colin Quinn adds, “We’ve got a great group of guys who just want to play together, and we have a lot of talent.

When you put that together with hard work, the possibilities are limitless.”

Do not be mistaken: these Aces work hard, but they certainly know how to have fun. The meshing personalities make the otherwise tiring, often monotonous repetitions of practices a joyful experience that every player looks forward to. Hollowell, for instance, dabbles in TikTok superstardom, as does outfielder and pinchrunner Caleb Epstein ’22. The youthful exuberance and constant chatter of Jack Scholz ’24 are quite antithetical to the much more reserved tendencies of Nate Pearson ’23, who is rumored to have once gone nine consecutive days without uttering a single word as a young child; yet, their friendship is one of many close ties between team members. The upcoming spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is a thrilling prospect for team bonding, as COVID-19 prevented the previously annual opportunity in 2020 and 2021.

Many Aces—including Frankel, Rinaldi, Whalen, Scholz, Hollowell, Pearson, outfielder Henry Rendle ’23, and catcher Cole Tickle ’23—are loyal members of the Dawg Pound, having cheered on their fellow student-athletes at dozens of soccer, football, basketball, and hockey games this fall and winter.

The Aces hope to receive reciprocal attendance at South Ardmore Park, where a small yet vocal crowd rattled opposing left fielders in 2021. That handful of five or six supporters helped contribute to the team’s excellent .571 winning percentage in home games (as opposed to .222 away from South Ardmore). Fans are strongly encouraged to take the five-minute ride after school to enjoy some beautiful April and May weather and some quality Aces baseball.

Talent, effort, and chemistry are all reasons for optimism surrounding LM baseball in 2022. If this season proves a success, each will likely have a case for being the most compelling storyline of the year. The balance between high-performing upperclassmen and LM’s younger players radiating with potential is encouraging for the future of the program, but at the moment, the team has set their eyes on lofty goals in the short term. How lofty? Just ask Rendle to share his expectations for this year: “Win the Central League, win States.”

Dawg Pound on the rebound Julia Russel ’23 A&E Editor

The Dawg Pound is a student-based cheering section that enchants positive motivation during various sporting events, bringing all the grades together through spiritwear and roaring chants. From football and soccer games in the fall to basketball and hockey games in the winter, students have come together to show support of LM student-athletes every season so far this year.

Each game there is recommended attire that is worn amongst the packed section. Some student section themes include the famous baby-blue Dawg Pound shirts, tie dye, maroon & white, and whiteout, among many others. With a wide array of spiritwear, the Dawg Pound delivers positive visual energy as well as verbal encouragement.

Recently, a conflict with an opposing team led to Dawg Pound members receiving temporary bans or full season penalties. Yaseen German ’23 elaborates, “I was pretty upset when I found out that I have a full season punishment. It felt a little too harsh because it wasn’t just a few games, it was all the games for the rest of the year so it is upsetting for me.” German’s actions have unfortunately cost his participation in the Dawg Pound for the rest of the season. He expressed that even though he still has his senior year to cheer with the Dawg Pound, this year also feels personally crucial for school spirit. All his friends continue to support the basketball team by attending the games and he wishes he could too. As a player on the varsity boys’ basketball team, Sam Brown ’23 offers a different perspective: “The Dawg Pound does benefit the team. The energy given from the crowd is something that motivates us. Aside from any incident, the fans who were banned definitely contributed to the energy as a whole of the Dawg Pound.”

Additionally, there is an Instagram account that highlights exciting moments from each game and shares photos of the lively student

section. Although the account is informational—notifying students of game locations, dates, and attire—it is not affiliated with the school due to recent controversial activity. As there are a high number of banned students, the Dawg Pound is definitely less extreme than it had been before. This has not defeated school spirit though: LM athletes continue to look forward to the rowdy cheers and flashy clothing at their games!

Photo courtesy of Alex Frankel ’22 The Dawg Pound sported pink as they cheered wildly for the team.

22

Sports

February 14, 2022

The Merionite

Omicr-on the rise Gideon Wolf ’24 In early December, the first case of the Omicron variant in the United States was identified. As cases continued to rise, and previous all-time COVID-19 daily case highs were shattered, chaos ensued all across the sports world.

Calendar changes became commonplace for athletes at all levels. The NHL decided to pause their season due to the Omicron spike. Outbreaks amongst NBA teams and staff led to postponements or teams playing with as few as eight players available. In the NFL, players also tested positive by the dozen, resulting in practice squad players being thrust into starting roles with only a few days’ notice. Of course, the new Omicron variant affected sports on a more local level as well. At LM, teams were forced to adapt to the new reality in the middle of their winter season.

From November to December, the total number of reported student cases of COVID-19 at LM jumped from seven to 48. That number spiked once again in January when 127 students tested positive in the first 21 days of the month alone. Obviously, these outbreaks forced changes to many facets of the school’s health policies, and athletic events were no exception. One major adjustment made in response to the Omicron variant was to limit spectators at events, most notably at home boys’ and girls’ basketball games.

A maximum capacity of 25 percent was set for most indoor events. The Hope Classic on January 25 was an exception— fifty percent capacity was allowed for the

fundraiser. These new restrictions were a big blow to school spirit, especially after fans were able to return to the bleachers and student section this fall season. As Nathan Dresnin ’24 put it, “It just felt a lot more empty and not as exciting.” Almost everyone who attended any of the limited-capacity games noted the same thing: the vibe just wasn’t the same without a full Dawg Pound. However, while the LM fans were sorely lacking in numbers at sporting events this winter, those who were permitted and able to attend made up for it with their true spirit and intense energy, as passionate support for the Aces was felt from the Kobe Bryant Gymnasium through hallways and to rival schools as the winter season progressed.

January 21 was the official second anniversary of the first acknowledged COVID-19 case in the United States.

Many people would have hoped that by this point, teams would be able to gather, practice,

and play under normal conditions.

Unfortunately, Omicron has served as a reminder of the new reality we live in. In just a few short weeks, the novel variant practically undid all of this progress made towards normalcy over the course of the past months, particularly for athletes, as restrictions for both them and their fans were reinstated. Despite the setback, the LM sports community demonstrated great

resiliency, as athletes remained dedicated and spectators continued their support, all the while continuing to be vigilant with protocols. Many scientists believe hope is on the horizon, as the number of new Omicron cases will likely drop off sharply. But, until we can all unite to cheer for our favorite teams together again, players and fans alike must do their part to make sure everyone stays safe.

Graphic by Julia Zorc ’24

Life in the fast lane Nathan Grunfeld ’24 As the winter sports season begins its final lap, it’s important to recognize the major success the swim team has had this year and what’s still to come in the future for LM Swim and Dive.

Alan Chen ’24 is a member of the varsity swim team with a bright future ahead of him. However, this season was different from “normal.” Chen reports how “despite the rise of COVID-19 and Omicron, the team has continued to practice and compete.” Even though swimming is a very high-risk sport because it takes place inside and competitors are not able to wear masks while they compete, the team has managed to make practices safe in a variety of ways despite the threat of COVID-19.

The team has been able to stay consistent with their daily swim practices along with their weight training. Chen mentions that “everyone has been putting in a lot of work” in spite of the ongoing threat of the pandemic. Chen, who also runs cross country and track, declares that the practices on the swim team are “higher maintenance than running” and more tiring even with COVID-19.

Besides the capacity of spectators at events being restricted to only 25 percent, competitions have stayed relatively normal and competitive. He also notes that throughout the season, the team has had incredible spirit and support for its members in spite of the complications. The only place where the pandemic has truly hurt the team is in the cancellation of their weekly spirit dinners.

Regardless, swimming, one of the most risky sports to play while in the middle of a pandemic, has been able to overcome COVID-19 and continue to push forwards.

Chen has had a very successful season this year.

He states how he has improved greatly since the beginning of the swim season as well as from last year. This is true for many of his teammates on the Photos courtesy of The Enchiridion

boys’ swim team as well. Since they had a much lessestablished season last year, the return to a mostly normal season has been extremely successful, and most swimmers have shown prominent growth. In fact, the team, which won three of its five meets last year, went eight and three this season—a thirteen percent improvement. Meets are scored by giving a certain amount of points to teams depending on which place a player comes in during a race.

Since many people compete in each meet, the dominance of LM means that the team as a whole has been swimming well, not just a few standout players. There are a total of 25 swimmers on the boys team, and twelve of them qualified for the Central League Championship meet. Out of those twelve elite swimmers, six of them had times that make them candidates for the highly prestigious Districts meet. Chen says that they “have a very strong group of swimmers” and that their hard work has been paying off.

In addition to individual successes, the team has dominated the relays as well, as all three have qualified for Centrals and have also been considered for Districts. These include the 200 yd medley relay, the 200 yd free relay, and the 400 yd free relay, which have made LM history. A crucial group of seniors including captains Phillip Gao ’22 and Aaron Levine ’22 are some of the most dominant contributors to these races.

The Central League Championship took place on February 10-11 and the Districts meet is in early March. The team looks forward to a strong finish as they close out their season with Districts. This winter season, the swim team has dominated its meets and had teammates qualify for reputable competitions. They’ve overcome COVID-19 in their practices and worked hard to reach victory.

The season has been an undeniable success.

Sports

Feburary 14, 2022

23

The Merionite

Double trouble Michelle Kelly ’23 and Luke Shepard ’24 Sports Editors

THE GOAL - State Champs. The central goal of any high school sports program is to not only find success at the league and district levels, but to walk home with the state title. This illustrious distiction can both be the framework of a season and the identity of the team for years to come. LM’s boys basketball team has received the title on seven occasions in its long history—the second-most of any program in Pennsylvania. Kobe Bryant led the most famous season in 1996, where Bryant capped off his personal success by garnering the title for the school. LM most recently won the state title in 2013, yet the team is looking to spur their way back to the state tournament this year. This year’s victory at Reading embodied the spirit of the team and their fight for the future.

LM battles Reading “We knew this would put us on the map if we got this win, so it motivated me to get buckets.”

- Guard Justin Poles ’23 “One of the better wins in program history. We knocked off the defending state champs, the top team in the state.”

- Head Coach Gregg Downer “[It was] very intense. We played really hard.”

- Forward Demetrius Lilley ’22 “This team has an amazing chemistry and a brotherhood which has helped throughout the entire season.”

- Assistant Coach Kevin Grugan “Dawg Pound came out and supported.

[They] drove like 45 minutes. That shows our tradition and our culture.”

- Forward Henry Bard ’22 READING, PA - It takes a coordinated army and finely tuned strategy to conquer a beast. When the mission seems impossible, the mighty rise to the challenge and march to conquer the competition.

The quest for the state trophy was aided on January 16 when the LM team pulled off a stunner against Reading Senior High School. The reigning state champions, the Red Knights, could not fend off the Aces from conquering their castle.

Guard Justin Poles ’23 stepped up to the intense moment and led the team offensively, notching a career-high nineteen points against a physically and monstrously huge, state title-clinching defense.

The Aces stormed the defense and were able to beat Reading 61-57. While the first quarter included a barragement of offense from the Knights, the Aces were able to eventually pierce through the pressure to garner a lead. As the game passed, the Aces displayed more strength and valor than the opposing Knights. Led by forward Demetrius Lilley ’22, the Penn State Basketball commit, with 28 points and 23 rebounds, the Aces’ offense proved to outlast the Knights’ defense. Guard Jaylen Shippen ’22 powered LM’s dominating play on the defensive end to ensure the victory for the

All photos courtesy of The Enchiridion

Demetrius Lilley ’22 shows off one of his classic moves, a booming dunk leaving the opposition in awe.

Aces. While the lead at the end of the game was a narrow four points, second half pressure from the Aces held off the state champs from making any sort of a comeback. An in-bounds play that launched the ball backcourt to Guard Sam Wright ’23 was enough to prevent the Knights from any last minute magic on their home court.

This rallying win is one of the many reasons for LM’s high ranking in the state. Currently ranked thirteenth in PA, LM basketball continued their dominant plau.

Since the win against Reading, LM has continued their dominant poise in the Central League. The Aces went on a 8-1 streak before dropping their last regular season game to Haverford High School in overtime. The final games of the regular season consisted of other impactful wins, such as the victory in the rematch against Conestoga. A nail-biting loss in the first affair against Conestoga rallied the Aces to beat the Central League rival in the second game by a score of 50-37. The Aces wrapped up the regular season with an 18-3 record, a record that is reflective of the talent the team possesses. Their 14-2 record in Central League play garnered them a first-round bye as they entered the playoffs. The Aces now look to the postseason where they hope they continue the success that they have found throughout the regular season.

24

Sports

February 14, 2022

The Merionite

Setting the season Zev Charlson ’22 The boys’ volleyball season is on the horizon, and the team is ready for another opportunity to surpass expectations. Last year’s squad, consisting of ten rookies and one lone senior, won an impressive three games by the end of the season. The team hadn’t won in over four years, so the idea of three in one season seemed unthinkable. As experience among the players grew, skill and confidence followed right behind.

Coming into the season, the team holds itself to the highest standards, expecting every player to contribute however they can. Senior Luke Barnett ’22 explains, “Last season was a growing experience for the team, and with in-game action under my (and many of my fellow teammates’) belt, we’re primed for a great year.” Barnett, the team’s star outside hitter, looks to finish his high school career with a strong playoffs run. Although the team is young and full of newer players to the sport, Coach Marie Hamilton looks to piece together this puzzle with an array of powerful pieces. As the sport grows in popularity at LM, more talent finds its way onto the roster.

Senior Spencer Rosenbaum may just be the final key to the team’s success. Rosenbaum, as captain of the LM boys’ soccer team and runner for winter track, is an athletic gem that the team looks to capitalize on.

Although this is his first year on the team, with his athletic background he believes he can find his role on the court. Rosenbaum puts this season into perspective, “I have been on many teams before, and the difference between the success of these teams

is undoubtedly the confidence and energy surrounding them. It is clear that this group feels a playoff run on the horizon and as a new member of the team, I’m excited for that to happen.”

For many players, because this will be their final year playing volleyball, it is particularly important to perform well this season. With three players winning All-Central League honors, Bram Schwadron

Photo courtesy of The Enchiridion

’22 (2nd team), Zev Charlson ’22 (Honorable Mention), and Barnett (Honorable Mention), the team’s veteran leadership is a recipe for a promising season.

The attitudes among the leaders throughout winter open gyms has added a fun and dynamic environment for the team to practice in. Coach Hamilton shares, “My biggest goal this season is to help my seniors have the best and most rewarding season both on and off

the court and help them dominate our competition.”

The winning mindset stems from the coaching staff and radiates throughout the team. The team looks to improve after their impressive three wins in the prior season, with ambitions of playoffs and a state run.

A key ingredient to the boys’ success is the support of the remarkable LM girls’ volleyball team.

Having a successful season in both the Central Athletic League and Districts, several girls look to continue this tradition of success into the spring season with the boys. With the help of All-State players Abiah Lane ’22 and Claire Hamilton ’23, the boys have players to model their own games after. Emily Greenland ’22, setter for the girls’ team and manager for the boys’ team, adds, “The boys’ volleyball team has worked from the ground up over the last few years and has quickly become a powerful team due to the returning seniors. The relationship between the boys and girls team has created two amazing teams, putting the precision of girls’ volleyball and the power of boys’ volleyball together.” The guidance the girls’ volleyball players bring to the team leads to rapid improvement and a chance to emulate the impressive girls’ season.

As the season approaches, it is clear that each player has the same agenda: winning. The chemistry from lifelong friendships between players creates an unbreakable team and a powerful sense of dominance. Competing with your best friends is an unforgettable experience that the team will appreciate for the rest of their lives. Boys’ volleyball is due for the perfect storm and knows that the time to win is now!

as of 2/9/22

LM WINTER SPORTS STANDINGS

W

L

Varsity Boys’ Basketball Varsity Girls’ Basketball Varsity Wresting Varsity Boys’ Ice Hockey Varsity Girls’ Ice Hockey Varsity Boys’ Swimming and Diving Varsity Girls’ Swimming and Diving

18 3 2 2 0 8 7

3 17 18 14 11 3 4

Photos courtesy of respective athletes

Freshman Gus Wright

Sophomore Zeni Bradway

Junior Omar Niazy

What sport(s) do you play?

Basketball and Baseball Who is your favorite pro-athlete?

Alex Caruso What is the best post-game snack?

Chocolate milk What are you looking forward to in your sport?

Basketball playoffs Which class do you want to skip for a game the most?

Biology

What sport(s) do you play?

Diving, Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee Who is your favorite pro-athlete?

Tom Daley What are you looking forward to in your sport?

Central League championship meet Which class do you want to skip for a game the most?

English What is your favorite winter activity?

Sledding!

What sport(s) do you play?

Swimming Who is your favorite pro-athlete?

Michael Phelps What is the best post-game snack?

Gushers What are you looking forward to in your sport?

I’m trying my best to break 53 seconds in the 100 meter fly What is your favorite winter activity?

Chillin’ like a villain

Senior Hannah Blodget What sport(s) do you play?

Soccer What is the best post-game snack?

Any protein cereal bar What are you looking forward to in your sport?

Playing Division I Soccer at Rutgers Which class do you want to skip for a game the most?

AP Bio (Coach Ries is the teacher) What is your favorite winter activity?

Making hot chocolate and cookies!