Merionite February 2023

The Merionite

Ardmore to Harrisburg: PA Education Secretary Khalid Mumin

At the LM Class of 2022’s graduation, Dr. Khalid Mumin stood tall in front of the LM community. His gaping smile guided the graduates of of the stage and into the next phase of their lives. In his frst year as superintendent of LMSD, Mumin not only adjusted to his role but quickly focused on the issues concerning the LM community. But Mumin’s focus now extends beyond those of the LM community.

On January 9, Governor Josh Shapiro nominated Khalid Mumin as the Secretary of Education for Pennsylvania. In the press release, the Shapiro Administration cast the Mumin appointment as part of their initiative to select a cabinet that “refects the people and the communities that [Shapiro] is sworn to serve and protect.” The Governor’s ofce noted that Mumin’s selection was sparked by their commitment to ofering “thorough and efcient” education to all Pennsylvania students.

Upon his nomination to the role, Mumin remained humble in his response. “It is an honor to serve Governor-elect Shapiro and the people of Pennsylvania as Secretary of Education and help him carry out his vision so every child in Pennsylvania—regardless of race, class, or zip code—receives a quality education and the opportunity to shape their own future,” commented Mumin in the governor’s press release.

Mumin, like many other education secretaries, is known for his extensive experience in education. Yet, Mumin remains distinguished by his diversity of experience. Having served in LMSD, one of Pennsylvania’s wealthiest districts, and Reading School District, one of the state’s poorest,

Wake up, LM!

Zoe Hassett ’23

News Editor

Only one full month into the new year, LMSD is already taking great leaps to solve an ongoing issue: changing school start times. On January 23, during the monthly Regular Business Meeting, the Lower Merion School Board approved a resolution aiming to progress investigations and engagement opportunities related to healthy start times. The most signifcant aspect of this unanimous decision, however, was the establishment of September 2023 as the targeted implementation date for new start times. This marked a huge development in LMSD’s commitment to ensure the health and wellness of its students.

As recommended by medical organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, adolescents should be receiving eight to ten hours of sleep per night, making the current 7:30 a.m start for LM and Harriton students incompatible with an adequate amount of sleep. Due to these fndings, LMSD began to seriously look into changing school start times in 2019, with more recent activity beginning in 2022. Within these last few years, several potential plans of action emerged and were discussed by

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OPINIONS

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Mumin brings a range of diferent understandings to the position. Mumin has previously afrmed his aims for equal opportunity for students regardless of the neighborhood they live in. Upon his ascent to superintendent, Mumin received further statewide recognition. The Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators awarded Mumin with 2021’s Pennsylvania Superintendent of the year. Mumin also became a fnalist for the National Superintendent of the Year commendation. The Governor’s office notes their educational priorities as preparing students for careers, improving postsecondary education opportunities, and offering quality early education to all Pennsylvania residents. Mumin offers a perspective in accomplishing these aims of greater educational equality, in part due to his diferent perspectives regarding the direction of school districts of varying wealth.

On a more personal note, those who worked with Mumin mentioned his approachability and unique ability to work with others and the community. “He has a great skill of…really truly listening to people and building bridges to beneft our students [and] really to beneft the whole community,” mentioned LMSD Director of School and Community Relations Amy Buckman. This ability to work with others proved an integral part of his success as superintendent. Within the brief time he served, he moved forward with the initiatives that he had originally intended to accomplish. As initiatives such as start times and Full-Day K moved forward, Mumin’s guidance proved integral in these program’s mate-

rialization. However, recent compromises with students on the use of Oakwell were indicative of his approach to leadership. Reflecting on the new Oakwell plan, Buckman stated, “[Mumin] stepped in, he used his listening skills and energy to bring diferent groups of people together to the table to come up with a solution.”

However, as he exited the district, Mumin expressed remorse at his departure from the position. While looking forward to his new role, he remained grateful for the opportunity to serve as superintendent for the district. “I want to thank everyone who welcomed me and supported me during my time in LM. Being a part of this community has been a dream come true,” wrote Mumin in his letter to the community announcing his departure from the district. Yet, Mumin remarked that he would look back to LMSD as an example for the state. “LM is a premier district, from which many others in our Commonwealth can learn,” mentioned Mumin. He noted that the district’s commitment to cultivating academic excellence through embracing “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” as well as the “opportunities for meaningful professional development, innovation, and collaboration” served as models for success. These perspectives are likely to infuence Mumin in his new position. School Board President, Lucy Klain, ofered that while the district is “saddened to lose Dr. Mumin, we know that his energy and expertise will be benefcial to students across Pennsylvania.” Mumin, even in his short time as superintendent, left a meaningful impact on the community and the district itself.

Please see ARDMORE TO HARRISBURG: PA EDUCATION SECRETARY KHALID MUMIN on page 4

the Research and Development Committee and the Sleep, Health, and School Schedules Advisory Committee. One of these proposals, called the Modifed Re-order, was presented in 2019 and consisted of a three-tier schedule, starting elementary school frst at 7:45 a.m, then high school at 8:25 a.m, and fnally, middle school at 9:05 a.m. Currently, a diferent proposal, known as the Secondary Swap, is moving forward, which places middle school in the frst tier from 8:00 a.m to 2:50 p.m, high school second from 8:40 a.m to 3:30 p.m, and elementary school third from 9:20 a.m to 4:20 p.m.

During her presentation at the January board meeting, Acting Superintendent Megan Shafer emphasized the necessity of fnalizing a schedule that best suits as many members of the LM community as possible, also acknowledging that there will be trade-ofs and obstacles. For instance, some express concern over the potential negative impact that the Secondary Swap could have on middle school adolescents’ health, since it shifts their start time ffteen minutes earlier from 8:15 a.m to 8:00 a.m. This especially worries some Black Rock Middle School parents, who claim that their children already have to wake up before 7:00 a.m to make it to their bus on time. As a result of the discourse surrounding sufcient sleep for middle school students, some school directors and LMSD community members urge the reconsid-

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SPECIAL FEATURE

A recipe for rizzing

The best pickup lines for the most romantic time of the year pages 12-13

A&E Operation AA: Amazing Ace

LM’s annual performance attempted to fnd a new planet page 14

After school board members voiced concerns about the “Secondary Swap,” they ultimately agreed on the proposed schedule.

eration of the Modifed Re-order plan, which would switch middle school to the third tier and elementary school to the frst tier. Those in support of this solution argue that younger students tend to be more awake at the earlier hours of the day compared to adolescents, and having an early start time for elementary schools may also eliminate early morning childcare needs for certain families. Elementary school parents went on to mention that a start time as late as 9:20 a.m may harm students who rely on earlymorning school breakfast. Though, as explained by Shafer, there are also trade-ofs associated with the Modifed Re-order, noted by various other members of the school board.

Please see WAKE UP, LM! on page 4

SPORTS

Analytics: the secret to the Aces’ success

The statistics that lead the boys’ basketball team to win after win page 24

Luke Shepard ’24

Graphic by Eliza Liebo ’25/Staf

Photo courtesy of Samiullah Fatih ’25

News Editor

Graphic by Ilana Zahavy ’24/Staf

Photo by Dylan Elgart ’23/Staf

Artifcial Intelligence: A virus infecting learning

Vivian Collins ’24 News Editor

Trends are common in high school: TikTok dances, fdget spinners, and now Stanley Cups. But, the most unprecedented trend that’s been sweeping through the hallways of LM is artifcial intelligence (AI). The new accessibility to services that can write essays, complete lines of code, and carry out conversations, have become extremely tempting for students. Within the past few months, teachers have observed an alarming increase in the amount of plagiarized work being submitted, all thanks to AI. The sites are free, and most do not even require the user to make an account. All one has to do is supply a prompt and wait a couple seconds for a response. The most well-known, and possibly most advanced, AI site is ChatGPT.

ChatGPT launched in late November of 2022 by OpenAI with the goal of changing the way humans connect with computers. OpenAI is a company that focuses on the integration of AGI (artifcial generalized intelligence) into the modern day workplace. AGI was designed to complete the same cognitive functions that humans are capable of, such as solving a series of math problems. The website functions as a conversation between the user and the AI. ChatGPT interacts with the user by answering questions, refuting false information, and even identifying its own errors. A system this advanced not only has the ability to ignore queries about illegal actions, but can also cite its sources, making it much more difcult for teachers to identify.

While ChatGPT is certainly a step forward in the scientifc world, the world of

education shows a prime example of its consequences. English department chair Brian Mays states that “it’s defnitely going to erode our ability to think critically and just think in general.” Mays has found examples of students turning in work that’s been generated by an AI service saying, “I have a pretty good sense of my students as writers and their vocabulary and sentence structure and just general writing patterns so, when something feels of, I have a sort of feeling about it. It’s hard to prove, but it’s at least a start.” Mays adds that sites such as ChatGPT have basic writing styles so the work they produce is very similar, which is another way that he can tell when work has not been written by a student.

Despite teachers having ways of discovering the use of AI, students continue to visit the sites. English 2H and Film & Literature teacher Meredith Dyson thinks that a way to combat the use of AI is to remove the motivation behind it, claiming that a major reason students turn to AI is because “they feel like they have to.” She proposes changing the way assignments are evaluated, stating that, “There’s value in the process…If we can see the process and reward the process of learning, I think that’s good for education.” Dyson suggests that, at least in an English classroom, focusing more on the process rather than the fnal product could be a more accurate way to grade students, especially when the fnal product can be fabricated in a matter of minutes.

ChatGPT is not blocked on any LMSD one to one laptop, meaning students have

easy access to the AI on computers provided by LM. When asked if he thought that text generating softwares including ChatGPT should be blocked, Mays said he did not and that it’s important for teachers to have access to the sites, stating, “Instead of trying to bury our heads in the sand, I think it’s useful to play around with it, see what it’s capable of, and perhaps even integrate it into our classrooms for certain things if necessary, much like one does with a calculator or other forms in other disciplines.”

Even if the site does get blocked, many students still have other devices that will provide access. Dyson believes blocking the site, “would be a good idea to make it very clear that we don’t want students using it, but I don’t know that that would make much of a diference, practically speaking.”

So, what does this mean for teaching moving forward? Both Mays and Dyson have used ChatGPT to better understand its function, capabilities, and limits. Dyson states that, “One of the things we talked about as an English department is that you can only get a good quality response out of it by talent. You have to kind of direct it and tell it how to revise and make it better and that could even be something we could one day use as a tool to help students think about the revision process.” Artifcial intelligence is not something that’s going away and not something that can be completely censored from students. Instead of running from it, LM teachers aim to adapt to it, bettering the education of their students and preparing them for the everchanging future.

Graphic by Eliza Liebo ’25/Staf

Assessing educational disparaties

Sam Abella ’24 Opinions Editor

In the previous years’ Pennsylvania Standardized Student Assessments (PSSAs), the number of students across the state that received a proficient score was low, declining from previous years. According to the PA Future Ready Index, a database providing scores and demographics of PA students, highschoolers achieved 51.4% language arts and literature profciency and 35.7% algebraic mathematics profciency. LM students performed impressively well relative to the statewide results in the previous school year. Far exceeding standards, 94.7% and 79.8% of LM students scored a profcient mark in English and math assessments, respectively. However, these numbers fail to tell the whole story.

When the data is subdivided by demographics, the numbers reveal racial disparities in the test scores. Focusing on the English exam, the scores from the white and Asian students from our school are similar. White students achieved 96.4% profciency, while Asians recorded 95.8%. Hispanics followed with 91.7% profciency on the test and Black students lagged behind, with 80% achieving profciency.

The math test data reveals this unfortunate trend to a further degree. LM Asian students topped the scores, with 93.9% of students achieving profciency, and white students fnished with 86.4% profciency.

Hispanic and Black students had signifcant diferences in scores in comparison to Asian and white students, logging only 60.9% and 33.3% respectively. In addition, both Hispanic and Black students saw drops from the previous year, indicating worsening racial disparities with regard to the test scores.

Another notable difference observed was the ways in which economic realities contributed to scores, as they represent major factors in academic performance. Different financial situations greatly affect whether students have adequate materials, books, computers, stable internet access, and other resources to facilitate learning.

However, with the generous funding our school receives, economic disadvantage seems to have less of an impact at LM than at other schools. For instance, while 80.6% of LM’s economically disadvantaged students scored proficient on the Keystone exams, only 2.4% at Overbrook High School achieved this level. The difference is that Overbrook High School is 99%

A new future for Oakwell

Olivia

Over the past several months, LMSD’s use of the Oakwell property has remained a major concern of the township. It has become a battle between School Board members planning to use the space for fields and environmentalists advocating for the preservation of the tree population. Recently, however, the School Board seems to be reconsidering their original plan for Oakwell.

LMSD’s initial plan was to cut down over 450 trees on the Oakwell property to build a baseball and softball feld as well as two auxiliary multi-sport felds. To ease the feld planning process, the school district divided the property in two sections, the front and back. The front section contains about 500 trees and was the proposed location for the baseball and softball felds. The back section of Oakwell contains around 100-150 trees and was the intended site for the auxiliary felds. To make enough room for all four felds, over 400 trees would need to be cut down. Some local citizens accepted this decision because they want Black Rock students to have an accessible place to play school sports. Some environmentalists, however, expressed outrage over the district’s plan due to its potential to add to the vicious cycle of global warming and climate change.

On January 11, former LMSD Superin tendent and current PA Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid Mumin met with LM’s Environmental Club to discuss the future for Oakwell as he left the district. Mumin came back with new ideas for the future of BRMS athletics and the environment. Upon further consideration, the School Board decided that their original plan is not wise for the district and cutting down 400+ trees is excessive. To avoid jeopardizing Black Rock athletics and the planet, the Board has been working on a compromise. The auxiliary felds are still needed and would be built at Oakwell under the new plan. However, the baseball and softball felds are no longer a necessity on the Oakwell property. Instead, the school has been looking to partner with the owners of existing felds to provide students at the new middle school a place to play. This is how LMHS and BCMS ofer their baseball and softball programs, and it has worked well for those teams. The school would not own the felds, but

economically disadvantaged, and is not able to provide the resources that LM can.

Multiple factors present as explanations for these diferences. LM is predominately white (65.0%), and has three minority groups largely making up the rest of the student body: Asians (10.9%), Blacks (12.0%), and Hispanics (5.8%). There are multiple potential explanations for the imbalance. Perhaps LM minority students are not receiving the educational support they need. Another possibility might be the economic differences within racial groups play a major factor that is not shown in the available data, as the demographics of those considered economically disadvantaged are not available.

LM is not the only school experiencing this trend. Schools across the country have begun to observe the racial disparities in both standardized test performance and cumulative GPA. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports the following for average GPAs on a 4.0 scale across U.S. high schools: Asian (3.26), white (3.09), Hispanic (2.84), Black (2.69). Even in our well-funded and progressive school, national data remains consistent with our test scores. It would be important to know if GPA averages at LM track with the national data, but this information is not available.

Taken together, the local and national data suggest that high schools could put more efort into understanding and rectifying racial disparities. According to the National Library of Medicine, “evidence consistently suggests that schools can play an active role in the provision of opportunities for social mobility or in the exacerbation of social inequality, depending on how they are structured.” LM has taken recent strides however to promote educational equity. The district hired Shawanna James-Coles to be the new Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Director back in April. LMSD has recently also introduced initiatives and practices to close the educational equity gap. This includes the District’s Equity Policy, which will be conducted through January 2023.

It is no secret that school districts across America have struggled to close the gap in grades amongst different races. Clearly, LM and LMSD emphasize the need for educational equity. Will our new initiatives help to solve the problem, or will the cycle be perpetuated? That is left to be determined.

students would be given access to use them similar to how LM boys’ baseball plays at South Ardmore Park. Haverford Township, Lower Merion Township, and LMSD have announced an agreement that they formed that will allow BRMS students to practice at the Polo Field in Haverford Township. At the moment, this agreement is only tentative, however, some feel this decision is a huge breakthrough for the future of Oakwell.

At one of the recent School Board meetings concerning Oakwell, the heads of LM Environmental Club, Noa Fohrer ’23 and Willa Godfrey ’24, and the heads of LM’s SAGE, Julia Dubnof ’23 and Sam Donagi ’25, handed the board a proposal, entitled Action Center for Organizing Resillience and Natural Sustainability Education (ACORNSE), that they had created with the help of both clubs’ members. The ACORNSE proposal included the use of the Oakwell property to educate students on the environment and sustainability rather than the initial designation of the property for fields. As a result of the student persuasion, the school board is planning on turning Oakwell’s greenhouse into an educational center. Fohrer reflected on this decision, “I feel so proud with how far this movement has come in such a short time, and am grateful the Board modified their original plans after taking our proposal into consideration. However, I believe there is still much that can be done. We will continue to fight for our vision until we sit down with all members of the board agreeing upon a compromise. It emboldens me to see the change we have influenced within our community, and I’m excited to continue pushing forward on this movement with my peers!” The persistent students of LMSD were integral in sparking the changed role of the Oakwell property.

These ideas and plans regarding Oakwell are very new. The logistics and legal aspects are still under discussion, so nothing is final, and information is subjected to change. A particular issue that is still being debated is parking and where buses will drop of students at Oakwell for sports practice. Such decisions still need to be considered, but more information is expected to be discussed and revealed to LMSD community members at upcoming School Board meetings.

Race ’24

In recent months, students and community members have traveled to Oakwell to learn about the dis trict’s plans for the area.

The LM enviornmental club has been an important advocate for saving Oakwell trees and fnding new locations for athletic felds.

Graphic by Julia Zorc ’24/Staf

Ardmore to Harrisburg

Continued from ARDMORE TO HARRISBURG on page

The district moved quickly in nominating the former Assistant to the Superintendent for District Administration, Megan Shafer, to the position of Acting Superintendent. In the January 23 board meeting, Shafer was confirmed by unanimous decision to the position of Acting Superintendent. Shafer expressed honor and gratitude for her selection. “I believe deeply in the value of public education and I am honored to lead a team of over 1,500 people dedicated to supporting all students at the highest level,” she commented. Prior to her time in LMSD, Shafer worked with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights while taking various positions in education along with labor and employment law. As a part of LMSD, Shafer has spent time as the Director of Human Resources and Senior Director of Policy, Personnel, and School Programs. Following her selection to the role, Shafer stated, “I’ve put a lot of my heart into Lower Merion School District.” Her various roles in LMSD have offered insight into the character of the district. “In serving in various capacities over the past 10+ years, I’ve seen the power of teamwork and our collective resilience through challenging times,” Shafer acknowledged.

While her appointment to the position is merely temporary, Shafer will definitely aim to provide security and consistency for the district. She offered, “My immediate goal is to provide steady

Judge Slomsky visits LM

Noah Barkan ’24 Opinions Editor

How can we best initiate student involvement in law and public policy?

How can the next generation of leaders be properly introduced to these fields of study? What is the best way to initiate legal studies for the youth?

These are the different questions that LM’s Government teachers wanted to address this past December in an inspiring discussion with Pennsylvania Federal Judge, Honorable Joel Slomsky. Civic Engagement Club sponsor and Government teacher, Erin Laney asserts the importance of engagement in pub lic fields. In speaking to her role in the education of students within the scope of government, she relays that participa tion “is not innate, it is built and learned and we must nourish it with education, with events and activities, and with a small dose of peer pressure.” Specifi cally, Laney speaks to the importance of political involvement in high school and its transfer to life-long behaviors. “The most important part of student civic engagement,” she simply puts, “is keeping students engaged.” Such has clearly been defended in academia; one study ran using the National Educational Longitu dinal Study as empirical evidence notes a correlation between youth voter par ticipation—along with a myriad of other factors such as community service—and lifelong voter status. That’s why when Judge Slomsky reached out to LM’s Government teachers, Laney jumped at the opportunity to have him speak.

Students had a lengthy Q&A section in which they were able to ask questions pertaining to Slomsky’s day-to-day life, experiences as a judge, and career pathway. Slomsky then shared in a later interview that his pathway to becoming a federal judge started with his work as a federal prosecutor, which was followed by his work as a defense lawyer for over 30 years. He notes with heartfelt sincerity that even after years of experience,

Wake up, LM!

By placing middle school in the third tier with the latest end time, it may limit the ability of these students to participate in various after-school activities. In fact, later start times also receive pushback due to the impact they have on student athletes and their ability to practice outdoors, as evenings become darker earlier in the fall.

Transportation and staffing implications also seem to play a major role in finalizing a plan for new start times. The district is currently facing a bus driver shortage, which could potentially be exacerbated by delaying school start and end times. Particularly, the Board mentions that planning must take into consideration the effect that new schedules will have on the bus driver workday and compensation, especially if late buses will continue to run. In terms of staffing, questions arise regarding how teacher contracts may change due to a ten minute increase in the day for elementary schools and a twenty minute decrease in the day for high schools, according to the Secondary Swap model. In spite of the many challenges, the Board is committed to finding compromise and moving into a healthy future. Shafer explains, “LMSD has addressed the ‘if:’ The Lower Merion Board of School Directors is committed to making a change that will benefit our students. They have targeted September 2023 as a goal for implementation. The question of ‘how’ we do it often leads to debate about the best way to maximize the beneficial impact.” One method being utilized to ensure the success of the September 2023 implementation is the collection of surveys from students, staff, and community members. District residents are also encouraged to voice their opinion on the topic via email (SLEEP@lmsd.

org) in the coming months. Additionally, the Board plans to hold various engagement forums to educate the public on the Secondary Swap proposal and the importance of healthy start times. Nearby school districts that have already installed healthy start times, such as Radnor School District, also provided LMSD with references to help its transition into new schedules. Communication between the Board and the public will play a major role in the success of new start times, so Shafer advises, “please share your voices with us – it matters!”

Individuals across LMSD agree that sleep deprivation is detrimental to students’ physical and mental wellbeing. Junior Dylan Spivak, an advocate for later start times, comments, “I am extremely excited for the long, overdue implementation of the school start times. The mental and physical health of our students are finally being prioritized. The effects will be immediate and evident.” Fortunately, with major developments underway, it seems new beginnings are approaching in 2023.

Honorable Judge Slomsky serves as a Senior United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylva nia where he presides over civil, criminal, appellate and non-appellate cases. Throughout his speaking event, Slomsky emphasized the importance of the Constitution in his job. Slomsky handed students in attendance a miniature pocket Constitution and directed their attention to several articles spelling out their influence in daily life. When asked about the Constitution’s importance after the event, Slomsky states that, “the US constitution is what brings together a diverse society of 330 million peoples.” Slomsky shares a truly inspiring sentiment: “you go through your daily life, you don’t think about the US Constitution, but the US Constitution is thinking about you.”

Graphic by Annie Zhao ’24/Staf

enthusiastic to learn about the legal system and the US Constitution and governmental processes.” Laney adds, “law is the foundation by which our country functions and we charge one another with the task of interpreting the law.”

The event as a whole aimed to leave all students educated and inspired. It seems it did just that. LM Mock Trial President Aniah Gagliano ’23 stated, “I’ve always thought about going into the field of law, but Judge Slomsky defnitely made that interest concrete for me.”

Slomsky’s emphasis on civil engagement was impactful to a body of future leaders, and students appreciated the chance to learn from a Federal Judge.

Shocking news

On January 8, Norristown Resident Chaine Jordan was pulled over by a police officer and tasered multiple times. The incident happened right outside the Wawa store on Conshohocken State Road in Bala Cynwyd. After the footage was released, the Lower Merion Police Department launched an investigation into the causes. The police officer, whose name has not been released, reported asking the driver of the maroon Volvo to pull over after supposedly tailgating another vehicle. The 36-year-old woman put on her hazard lights and reportedly missed several available spots to pull over before finally stopping at Wawa.

Following her stop, she refused to get out of her vehicle. Jordan also refused to put down her windows—which were heavily tinted—and two other passengers refused to cooperate. Jordan then claimed that a passenger needed urgent medical care, but the passenger later refused medical attention after an ambulance was provided. The officers, with guns drawn, had a two minute conversation where she refused to provide her license and registration, and instead requested that a supervisor arrive at the scene. Jordan’s attorney, Nadeem Bezar, defended her refusal to exit the vehicle, saying that “[He thinks] guns drawn on a traffic stop is a bit aggressive.”

However, the Lower Merion Police Superintendent insists that the incident was a legal use of force, but notes that the officers didn’t follow the best

approach for the situation. The Superintendent mentioned that “[They] can sometimes fail, [their] officers are also human.” The officer is currently facing disciplinary review and undergoing additional training. Lower Merion Police Captain, Gene Pasternak, also defended the officers actions, saying, “there is an unknown risk here. You have the pursuit, you have non-compliance of the occupants. You have an inability to see in the car…These are all concerning.”

Following the tasering, Jordan was taken to the Lankenau Hospital, although she reportedly suffered no injuries. She is facing several charges including drug possession, driving with a suspended license, fleeing an officer, and resisting arrest. In response to the arrest, the NAACP Main Line Branch started its own investigation, where they then revealed that “the LMPD has a history of tension with residents of color in Lower Merion Township.” Community leaders held a meeting on Wednesday January 18, at the Lower Merion Township Building at 7 p.m. where members went over details such as the timeline of events, how the situation escalated quickly, and when to de-escalate such situations was shared to the public.

While the Police Department justifies the actions as legal use of force, the officer has been placed on desk duty. At this point, the Police Department has not revealed any futher disciplinary action to the general public.

Continued from WAKE UP, LM! on page 1

Graphic by Emmie Luo ’24

Oyindotun Okunade ’25

Photos courtesy of The Philadephia Tribute and Fox News

Mumin won the 2021 Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year Award.

As the previous Superintendent of Reading School District, Mumin made it a priority to work very closely with students in the district.

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Editors-in-Chief

Julia Dubnof ’23

Angela Ge ’23

Emmi Wu ’23

News Editors

Vivian Collins ’24

Mia Hail ’23

Zoe Hassett ’23

Michelle Kelly ’23

Luke Shepard ’24

Opinions Editors

Sam Abella ’24

Noah Barkan ’24

Joy Donovan ’23

Madeleine Fiks ’23

Features Editors

Ava Cohen ’23

Crosby Johnson ’24

James Korin ’24

Olivia Lee ’23

Lila Schwartzberg ’24

Arts and Entertainment

Editors

Dia Ahmad ’23

Sebastian Havira ’23

Siobhan Minerva ’24

Gabby Tepper-Waterman ’23

Sports Editors

Shaine Davison ’23

Sarah France ’24

Nathan Grunfeld ’24

Gideon Wolf ’24

Copy Editors

Ben Cromer ’24

Jessica Dubin ’23

Dani Itkin-Ofer ’24

Lela Miller ’24

Senior Design Editor

Ilana Zahavy ’24

Graphics Editors

Eliza Liebo ’25

Matilda Szwartz ’25

Annie Zhao ’24

Julia Zorc ’24

Senior Web Editor

Katie Fang ’23

Web Editor

Sasha Murray ’24

Claire Wang ’23

Business Manager

Cam Gordon ’23

Eli Gordon ’23

Assistant Business Manager

Anna Costantino ’24

Photographers

Dylan Elgart ’23

Anika Xi ’23

Social Media and Outreach

Julia Russel ’23

Nolan Shanley ’23

Podcast Editor

Amelia Candeub ’26

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.

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Editorial: Challenging a fawed system

The pinnacle of elitism is exclusion based on a notion of inherent exceptionalism. The pinnacle of elitism is nation-wide gifted programs. Challenge and Academic Seminar are Lower Merion’s local lens into the destructive system. From elementary studies on Phineas Gage, to bridge building contests, to additional college essay writing support provided to our oldest super-geniuses, LMSD has long been plagued with a false sense of superiority through Challenge. The fallacy of intellectual ability as an inherent trait has been shoved down students’ throats since the second grade qualifying test. The selection process for Challenge follows a cryptic cross between IQ measurement–an innately flawed test–and “other factors” that leave the program’s admission utterly subjective and, all in all, hard to formulate a cohesive argument against. However, the program’s function within our community isn’t one invisible to controversy.

The true issue we take with Academic Seminar, or Challenge, doesn’t lie in its function, students, or teachers. It is in the basic ideology. Academic Seminar and other nationwide “gifted” programs rest on the concept that individuals with natural-born intelligence must be separated from the general public to offer them additional resources and opportunities. That is the crux of the issue.

It is first and foremost harmful to recognize some individuals as inherently intellectually superior to others. This is not to say some students don’t have certain levels of neurological development in areas of their brain pertinent to school work or test taking and it is not to neglect genetic influence in its entirety. It is to say that these simplistic understandings of test taking undermine extensive research into the influence of one’s

environment on their brain development. If one student was born into a high socioeconomic family and has had Kumon tutoring and encouragement to read from a young age, there is no disputing that their perceived “intelligence” would be deemed higher than a student who was not offered those same opportunities. How then can we lay claim that the wealthier, more advanced student should be the one to receive additional support and lesson plans. The same can be said for any student within the program. Why should a student already proficient in a given field–in second grade we might add–be given further support when another is struggling.

Conceptually, the LM community understands the importance of equity. Every year, the county votes in favor of equity oriented policies, disappointed with the state of Pennsylvania’s education disparities. We read New York Times articles and listen to WHYY episodes on racial segregation and the lack of fair treatment of marginalized groups. We defend affirmative action at the Thanksgiving dinner table and claim to be better than our privateschool neighbors. But when it comes to our own children, our own communities and our own education systems, the real practicality of our so-called action is revealed.

Gifted programs not only propagate inequalities between students on the basis of ability, but also on the grounds of class and racial identity. Studies from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and The Hechinger Report, both concluded extreme departure from the general demographics of several schools and their gifted programs. Students who score in the top 20% of test takers are far less likely to be sought out for gifted programs if they are Black or Hispanic. This is

even more concerning in systems like that of LM where students are only able to enter the program after second grade if their parents or educators request for them to apply.

The divides in class and race shouldn’t surprise us. The fundamental basis for programs like Challenge is separating the intellectually elite from others. As is evident, this isn’t on the basis of natural intelligence but rather the environment of the students. Lack of access is a cycle. LM pervades it. Perhaps most shocking about these programs is that they are not a choice for LMSD. Chapter 16 of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Code stipulates that gifted programs such as Challenge and Academic Seminar are a requirement for Pennsylvania school districts. These wedges shoving the student body apart, exacerbating pre existing inequalities are systemic and enforced.

Challenge and Chapter 16 of the code are two examples of prevailing cultural flaws. Our commonly agreed upon understanding of intelligence and performative take on equity work is damaging. The first sentence of the LMSD Equity Policy reads, “The Lower Merion School District is committed to providing a safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environment for all people.” Challenge, the so-called “gifted” program, does the opposite; alienating students who aren’t deemed worthy and creating a sense of otherness. We cannot expect to stop the cycle of inequality between students while perpetuating it.

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 refect the viewpoints of individual contributers and not neccesarily those of The Merionite editorial staf.

Start them young

I remember my elementary school Spanish class quite vividly. We learned all the days of the week and “cómo estás,” and even sang about seahorses in our Spanish play. I had a lot of fun. But I also remember going to my friend’s house after school, hearing her speak Spanish to her mother, and not understanding a word. Merion Elementary School’s Spanish program was largely ineffective. And this year, after fifth graders were moved up to middle school, the progam was eliminated altogether; Foreign Language in Elementary Schools, or FLES, was removed throughout LMSD.

LMSD was able to recognize that students weren’t learning enough from the FLES classes. Despite this, they failed to rectify the issue. Instead of throwing out the program entirely, LMSD should’ve dedicated the resources to investigating and improving language education, ensuring that young students could develop their skills prior to middle school.

The theory behind the change is well-intended. According to LM Spanish teacher and Language Fair organizer Allison Mellet, language education has been reallocated and teachers moved across schools, enabling “30 minutes of daily language class starting in fifth grade and again in sixth grade” and then “45 minutes in seventh and eighth grades.” While seventh and eighth graders have had this class time daily, fifth and sixth graders had previously been in language classes once every three or four days. Regardless, daily language study in middle school does not compensate for the time that these students have lost since having classes cut earlier on in their schooling.

It’s no secret in the linguistic world that children possess the ability to absorb a language, far easier than adults, due to a cognitive advantage in their still-developing brains. It’s been demonstrated in studies since the sixties, reaffirmed again and again in numerous experiments. As discovered by an MIT study in 2018, utilizing a database of nearly 670,000 respondents, beginning language studies prior to the age of ten is crucial for a student to understand and utilize the language like a native speaker. Under the new LMSD program, students are no younger than ten years old when beginning their studies. This threatens a student’s ability to master a second language. While it is

undoubtedly beneficial that fifth and sixth graders now have more consistent study, the lack of education until then puts these students at a disadvantage to learn a new language fluently.

Even with the minimal FLES education I received at Merion Elementary School, I do feel like those years were useful for me: having grown up exposed to Spanish phonetics, forming the sounds of the language comes far more naturally. In comparison, with languages that I’ve begun studying more recently, such as Dutch and Hebrew, there are certain phonemes that my throat cannot wrap itself around regardless of hours of practice.

Furthermore, even for students without a vested interest in maintaining foreign language skills, FLES has undeniable benefits. Various studies by the American Council for Teaching Foreign Languages have shown that language education in younger grades especially boosted students’ performance in English language arts and math. LMSD teachers have taught us the cognitive benefits of learning languages for years— why would we deprive our young students of those benefits?

The new system both robs students of the ability to learn proper pronunciation and process the language at a potential, eventual native or near-native level and denies them increased cognitive development by eliminating FLES from LMSD schools. Rather than replacing FLES with more time in middle school, the district should focus its resources on expanding the elementary school language program. Such was affirmed by experiences of LMSD students who underwent primary school outside the district. Luke Shepard ’24, for example, has skipped ahead years of Spanish due to a thorough elementary school education. He claims, “The most influential factor in my ability to learn foreign languages was my immersive instruction at a younger age.” As a former Texas resident, Shepard grew up attending an international school that offered an hour a day of language instruction. “With my instruction in Spanish and experiences practicing with Spanish speakers in the area I lived,” he elaborated, “I was able to not only speak cohesively, but I began to form an accent while speaking the language.”

What if, instead of limiting students’ ability to learn another language by disregarding FLES, the district expanded it? What if language learning was prioritized at a young age, so that students wouldn’t have to play catch-up later? If LMSD truly intended to teach its students another language, they would listen to the cognitive scientists and linguistic research, and find a way to reinstate elementary school instruction.

The Merionite

Julia Dubnof ’23 Editor-in-Chief

The Merionite | Opinions

Mumin moves on... what’s next?

Following 2022’s long winded election cycle, newly inaugurated Governor Josh Shapiro has made his picks for his new cabinet. Among those appointed, LMSD’s superintendent Dr. Mumin was given the immense honor of being appointed Secretary of Education. Following Shapiro’s decision, LMSD will shortly be on the hunt for a new superintendent. With that in mind, LMSD needs to look for candidates who are student centered, forward thinking, and a unifying leader for our school district. In this new era of post COVID-19 life, students are still struggling to assimilate to life without masks and Zoom. Lasting efects such as changes in lifestyle and behavior as well as delays in fundamental psychological development threaten high schoolers across the district. Additionally, our generation as a whole is facing a massive blow to our mental health. Mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, as well as social phobias, are on the rise for teenagers and high school populations. With that in mind, it is crucial that we have a superintendent that will listen to our students and center their focus on not only our successes, but most importantly, our mental health. So how can a new superintendant work to better students’ lives? We need leadership who will implement policies like routine wellness days for students scattered throughout the year. We need someone who is open to creating programs and seminars for teachers and administrators on how to really be aware of the mental health plummets in their students, as well as introducing and implementing ways that our administration as a whole can make decisions signifcantly centered around the mental health of students. Being aware of the mental health of students also fts into needing a candidate who is mindful about constructing a brighter future for the students. We need someone who is accepting of

Prioritize preparation

Medical emergencies are frightening; they can be serious, and they can impact anyone. It was terrifying when Damar Hamlin, a football player for the Bufalo Bills, suddenly collapsed from cardiac arrest and required cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). It made me think about possible sudden medical emergencies that my friends or family could experience. Would I be prepared to administer CPR at a moment’s notice? Would people around me be prepared to deliver CPR if I needed it?

Hamlin experienced cardiac arrest (the sudden loss of heart function) after a blow to the chest. Medically known as commotio cordis, the condition is triggered when one is hit forcefully in the chest, which could occur to any student athlete.

The risk that someone in LM, could collapse from cardiac arrest without warning, is alarm- ing. This raises the question: is LM prepared for its students or staf to experience cardiac arrest during a football game, in the halls, or during class?

I have observed that there are automated external defbrillators (AEDs) throughout the school, which are used to deliver electrical shocks to the hearts of cardiac arrest victims and hopefully restore heart function. There is also a clearly marked AED located at Arnold Field, well-placed at the base of the scoreboard. In addition, Athletic Trainers are CPR certifed, and these trainers are present at every varsity football game, to respond to medical emergencies or any other injury that might require immediate care.

While LM is, according to local law, adequately prepared if a student or athlete were to have a sudden health issue, I believe that just adequate is never enough, especially when it puts students and staf at risk.

There are many possible strategies to better prepare our community for medical emergencies. Jason Luty, the head Athletic Trainer, said, “each member of the training staf is CPR certifed.” However, CPR certifcation isn’t currently mandated for teachers, which could potentially put students’ health in jeopardy regarding cardiac arrest. Another possible strategy to exceed adequate preparations for a potential cardiac arrest case is to increase the amount of AEDs throughout the school. Our campus is extensive;

all and makes impactful decisions for the present and future generations of students. For example, installing mental health programs for teachers.

Another thing is making sure that the money being spent on the schools is not harmful to students or the environment. For instance, instead of spending money on removing the nature on the Oakwell property and replacing it with more sports felds, we can use that money to invest in renewable energy and locally sourced food for school meals. Instead of promoting something harmful to the environment, this said candidate could help lessen the impact of our schools and oversee positive environmental changes that will make a diference in the long run.

Throughout the past three years, LMSD and the surrounding community have sufered many massive losses and changes. Everything from the passing of our former principal Sean Hughes, to the grievances and new policies associated with COVID-19, we need a leader who will unify teachers, students, and the community at large in order to heal. We need someone who listens to teachers and students alike and makes us all feel welcome. Now, more than ever, we must emphasize the importance of communication and relationships. We need someone who will help unify schools in order to strengthen the LMSD community for the success of all students.

additional AEDs would provide for better response times and improved safety during crises. Now, whether or not it is realistic for LM to have every staf member CPR certifed, to place more AEDs throughout the school, or to at least increase training or awareness surrounding cardiac arrest is debatable. But, I believe that LM should be better prepared for immediate health issues that could occur during school, sports, or after school clubs. Preparing for medical emergencies in other school communities poses an even greater challenge. There are many other public schools that don’t have adequate funding for emergency medical situations, such as cardiac arrest. Some schools don’t have CPR certifed staf, nor have as many AEDs as our school. I believe that this problem is therefore not unique to LM, but requires

Just toss it!

Pick it up, walk a few steps, drop it in the can, walk away. That is the simple process of disposing of trash in the trash can. Unfortunately, many LM students have either forgotten how to do this or are just too careless to take this simple step of human responsibility. Tables cluttered with trash are all too common a sight in the cafeteria, proving students’ disregard for the custodial staf who work tirelessly in order to keep the school clean. One LM custodian remarked, “Treat here like you would your home. You wouldn’t leave trash on the table at home, so don’t do it here.” He also emphasized the importance of building good habits now in order to prepare for a future of self-sufciency. At home, students may throw their clothes on their bedroom foor, leave their shoes in the middle of the living room, or walk around shirtless. However, no one would consider doing such things in school, for it would simply be inappropriate and disrespectful. Likewise, leaving trash on tables or the foor is simply an unacceptable behavior in a school environment. It speaks to a person’s character when they decide to neglect the easy task of disposing of their used plates and empty juice bottles, and rather,

leave them on tables or on the foor.

The solution to this problem is simple.

First and foremost, students must take the step to dispose of their own garbage. And, if you happen to notice that a friend has left behind their lunch tray, give them a nudge to throw it in the trash. If they are too obstinate to listen to you or speed of before you can give them a hint, then be the bigger person and throw their garbage away for them. Finally, disciplinary measures ought to be put in place for those who neglect the basic responsibility of throwing away trash. If disrespecting a teacher can be punished, then surely disrespecting the custodial staf by leaving trash on the foor can be punished as well. As a com munity, let us work together to restore proper behavior for the sake of our school, custodial staf, and basic human decency.

Graphic by Tillie Szwartz ’25/Staf

Alexa Saler ’25

Graphic by Eliza Liebo ’25/Staf

Graphic by Annie Zhao ’24/Staf

Asher Abella ’26

Anthony Labbad ’25

McCarthy election speaks to Republican disunity

McCarthy may be the Speaker, but the question remains; at what expense? Widespread controversy over the Speaker of the House election has led to extensive commentary regarding the damage done to the Grand Old Party (GOP). However, congressional inefcacy is nothing new to the American people. Throughout history, we have seen our branches of government grow further divided, often leading to gridlock within Congress and an overall inability for representatives to provide results for their constituents. This past January, the election for the Speaker of the House left millions of Americans on the edge of their seats as Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R) lost fourteen rounds of elections in a Republican-dominated House of Representatives before emerging as speaker. The consequent restraint of the Rep ublican Party in the chamber has long been talked about, but often overlooked is the shift in power within the party from moderate Republicans to the extremist right. The efects of this chaos in Congress will ripple throughout the next term, providing these extremist Republicans with more of a voice than ever before, but at the expense of their own party and the functionality of the government. November’s midterm elections created near perfect conditions for a GOP sweep of Congress, the expected outcome when the executive is a Democrat. Despite this,

the Republican party performed poorly in these elections relative to historical patterns, barely achieving a slim majority in the House, and even losing a seat in the Senate. The party’s inability to perform during the past midterms foreshadowed the mess that became the Speaker of the House election, and presents a difcult future for the Republican party within Congress over this next term.

The razor-thin majority that the Republicans hold in the House is what allowed for nineteen far-right Republicans to blockade McCarthy from speakership across fourteen tedious ballots. Most can attest to the ideological division that exists within parties, but this battle made the gap between moderate Republicans and right-wing extremists more evident than ever. Many of the nineteen Republicans have outspokenly denied the results of the 2020 election, and embraced conspiracy theories rooted in racist ideology. What we are seeing now is, in part, the ripple efects of the insurrection that took place two years ago, as those same extremist and anti-democratic groups are entering and infuencing mainstream politics.

To achieve his position, McCarthy accepted numerous alterations to the traditional roles and abilities of the Speaker, not only sacrifcing his power in the role, but putting the country at great risk of having to function with a paralyzed chamber. This compromise with the extremist right has placed McCarthy in an overwhelmingly constrained position regarding his ability to rule the House, and has left millions around the nation to wonder what this means for the future of the GOP.

With the close numbers in the house, only a handful of Republicans could be the diference between a piece of legislation advancing through Congress. Knowing that even the smallest opposition from right-wing extremists could kill a bill, Republicans in the House will have little wiggle room when it comes to furthering their agenda, and will likely need to appeal to the extremes of these house members in order to see anything pass through the chamber. This likely also means that we will slowly see the legislation pushed forth sway farther to the right as the term progresses, as there are few other ways in which the views of Republican representatives can be established.

The frst large test to see how much power these extremist Republicans really gained in this election is projected to happen in the upcoming months, when the US hits the debt limit. The same nineteen Republicans who held out in their voting for McCarthy have spoken of their commitment to blocking any increase in the debt limit and cutting domestic spending programs such as Social Security and Medicare. As this deadline approaches, and the nature of the new GOP House is slowly revealed, it will be up to the Republicans to prevent the economic stress that would be brought upon the American people if federal spending is curbed.

McCarthy has compromised, persisted, and ultimately assumed the role of one of the least powerful Speakers in modern history. Not only is the Republican party jeopardized by this inefcacy, but if things continue on in this chaotic manner, both the livelihoods of the American people, and the functionality of the government are at risk.

Afnity groups ofend parents

What do you do when you’re an entitled parent in LM with free time, disposable income, an excess of self-importance, and a Daily Wire+ subscription? File a complaint.

After years of trolling the left for their sensitivity training, identity politics, and intolerable tolerance, the Right has returned to their beloved pastime of platforming issues that nobody who thinks critically cares about. Though critical thinking, at all, seems to be a trigger word these days; Critical Race Theory, for example, has evidently lost all meaning and become a strawman for the Right due in no small part to buzzword enthusiasts like Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan. Their new slingshot in the perceived David-andGoliath culture war comes in the form of an organization called Parents Defending Education (PDE). Int- entionally vague, their website is bare of any tangible action or change made on behalf of the group because, as far as Internet is aware, they haven’t caused any. Despite their identifcation as a grassroots organization, oppositional activists have labeled PDE “astroturf,” a colorful alternative parading as a political movement. Their

essential causes against vaccines, masking protocols, CRT, and most recently, gender ideology, all stem from the same anti-establishment vigor that plagues the American Right today. Their newest target: race-based programs in LM. For many racially-marginalized students, being in a supportive environment that reafrms their identity can ameliorate the discomfort they may feel attending a predominantly white institution like LM. But when you explain in plain terms the means that are necessary to make up for the diference between the high school experience for white and minority students, it can look ugly. It’s not super “color-blind” to acknowledge that sometimes what helps students of color most is a space to feel belonging within the school community and learn about the history of people who look like them–two things that classes outside of these programs can’t guarantee. If parents are upset about groups like REACH, Becton, and POWER teaching under-represented history only to minority students, they should advocate for the inclusion of these lessons in classes accessible to everyone. But they don’t. Instead, they grab onto buzzwords and throw them at necessary support systems until something sticks. This is how panic infltrates our collective psyche. Through half-baked psy-ops funded by the Koch brothers. This is how programs designed to support students of color become the target of campaigns

that pass quietly through communities like ours, but leave irreparable damage. Coming in the form of Fox Nation guest appearances, scathing op-eds, or in this case, civil rights complaints fled to the U.S. Department of Education on the grounds of segregation, they chip away at community confdence in these programs’ purpose and existence, and over time, it becomes easier for these programs to become deprioritized. It’s what happened to the student-run Council for Racial Equity and Inclusion, to the ad-hoc School Board committee, to the teacher-stafed committee CARE–and if it happens to other afnity groups and programs, hundreds of students throughout the district will feel the efects. These programs are already over-exhausted and used beyond their initial purposes, responsible for supporting minority students in LM in every way the district administration fails to. Without any systemic change, they are the rope bridge mending an otherwise uncrossable gap between education for diferent groups of students. Still, the lawsuits will never cease. The incessant news cycle will always produce new fodder to use as ammunition against progress in our schools. However, LM has the power as a community to deny these non-issues the attention they seek, to refuse to validate hate as a diference in opinion or anything worth entertaining, and most importantly, to defend the few protections for marginalized students that actually work.

Indoctrination, education: who decides?

New College of Florida has long served as a fantastic option for students seeking a quality education at a lower price. Besides the high value education, New College is notorious for a liberal political identity. Minorities compose 36 percent of the student body while the school features a sizeable LGBTQ+ population. However, surrounding the campus is the conservative Sarasota county and far right local government spearheaded by Governor Ron DeSantis. New College’s status as a public university gives DeSantis authority over its board and say over its operations.

The Florida governor did not see eye to eye with the status of New College. DeSantis appointed six new conservative board members in hopes of modeling the school after Michigan’s Hillsdale College, a notoriously rightleaning university. DeSantis’ Communication Director Taryn Feske laid the basis of the decision in claiming “this institution has been completely captured by a political ideology that puts trendy, truth-relative concepts above learning” but the intent is clear; DeSantis and new board members aim to fundamentally alter the political ethos of the school. The school’s liberal status was a result of the student body’s identity. Attempts to cultivate a conservative ethos are wrong not based on the political orientation, but rather on the active eforts to infuse politics into the school. Headlining some of the

nominations to New College’s board are Matthew Spalding, the former vice-president of the Heritage Foundation, and conservative activist Christopher Rufo. Rufo, boasting a bachelors from Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, does not have a background in education. Although Spalding has served as conservative Hillsdale College’s Associate Vice President, his B.A. relates to politics while his Phd. is in philosophy as related to the government. Prior to his role at Hillsdale, Spalding was merely part of conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation. Both are emblematic of national conservative movements that attempt to restrict the instruction of critical race theory and LGBTQ+ culture. Instead of allowing for the free spread of ideas on a campus, DeSantis has stepped in to enforce his education, or rather, his ideology. The new school board includes activists instead of experts whose purpose is to change the direction of the school. DeSantis has moved on from the restructuring of New College’s board by ending instruction of the Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies class in Florida. He commands that he wants “education, not indoctrination.” However, the instruction on aspects of Black history and replacement of college administrators with education “activists” begins to force students down a specifc ideology. Instruction on topics such as the KKK or the Black Lives Matter movement is not disposing students to support opinions in either group. It is merely broadening perspectives, merely educating. DeSantis’ use of his power to regulate what is taught in schools forces students to learn about only specifc topics. Indoctrination involves the

use of instruction to teach a group to believe in certain topics. DeSantis, through his alterations to college administration and various curriculums, is attempting the indoctrination he simultaneously disparages.

Many criticize the majority liberal ideologies in schools and universities. They cite overwhelmingly liberal student bodies at various institutions and accuse them of restricting the free fow of ideas. While the restriction of ideas is problematic, bias will inevitably creep into classrooms regardless of teachers’ and schools’ eforts to remain bipartisan. In class discussions on current events, the way that one recounts an event is infuenced by the political status of their source. Experts even recognize that when instructing on current events, it is seemingly impossible for teachers to not mention their political values. The problem with the change of administration at New College is not the school’s switch from liberal to conservative values, but rather the state attempts to use the college to expand their political aims. The resistance to the trend of education is not being led by experts on the feld of education, but rather by self-ascribed education activists.

The acceptance of political activists who are more focused by the ideological stance of education than the interests of students is troublesome to broader educational trends. Students often joke about making themselves “more liberal” on certain class assignments to try to recieve higher grades. Yet, what would students do in the face of a curriculum that enhances certain political ideals? Allowing for the circulation of beliefs is diferent than cementing them in the curriculum.

Luke Shepard ‘24

Aliyah Brownstein ‘25

Joy Donovan ‘23 Opinions Editor

Graphic by Annie Zhao ‘24/Staf

To fund...

The size and budget of the military has always been a hotly contested question, with constantly changing coalitions on both sides of the issue. Generally, Republicans wanted to expand the military budget, while Democrats wanted to maintain or shrink it. However, a lot has changed since Reagan called on Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall in 1987. The left wing has continued to call for reductions in the military budget, with an emphasis on more spending for social programs. The fringe right however, has adopted a new stance. They call for less spending on the military not because they want to spend more on other programs, but because they want a smaller federal government. Thus, it is the establishment wings of both parties that tend to support additional or maintained military spending.

Usually, I fnd myself situated in the ranks of the progressive caucus on many issues, from Universal Healthcare, to Social Welfare and equality more broadly. Yet, I believe that foreign policy is one (and potentially the only) issue where the progressives and I do not see eye to eye. Perhaps it is my upbringing as the son of 2 immigrants, or maybe it is watching regions and countries around the world come under siege when America either abandons them (the Kurds) or chooses not to intervene in the frst place (Myanmar). With China, Russia, and others increasingly acting in a bellicose manner, with regards to Ukraine or Taiwan, it is the duty of America to defend these nations. America is the global heart of democracy, and I believe, as FDR once said, that we must once again become the “Arsenal of Democracy.” When FDR made that statement, he was watching as two authoritarian powers, Japan and Germany, began to make gains throughout Europe.

Once again, we are confronted by two main adversaries, Russia and China. Military force, and diplomatic pressure more broadly, has resulted in numerous democratic victories, such as Kosovo or diplomatic pressure, especially in this day and age relies at least in some way on military spending. The refusal of much of Western Europe to meet the 2% NATO required GDP spending until recently has prevented signifcant aid making its way to Ukraine. However, claiming to defend democracy means that

...or not to fund

Yet again, the military-industrial complex has gripped Congress and forced them to pass a massive 100 billion dollar increase in military spending, on the order of 100 billion dollars. This increase comes in a volatile atmosphere of global geopolitics and represents the fear of the ruling class as the American empire and its colonies wither away. The increase in “defense” spending is at the expense of the American people, tax dollars sucked down the endless vacuum of military demands. Such vast resources could and should be spent elsewhere, as they currently beneft nobody but the arms manufacturers.

In October of 2022, President Joe Biden ominously warned of nuclear “armageddon” if Russia used such weapons in Ukraine. The threat of nuclear war has not declined since, and although during the Cold War made it clear that a nuclear exchange would result in the efective destruction of civilization, many modern pundits speak to the contrary. We live in dangerous times, and the solution is not more saber-rattling. Increases to the military budget and the continued funneling of billions of dollars and war materiel to Ukraine–and Taiwan–is not a solution. Instead, the US and NATO should be encouraging a peaceful resolution to conficts, lest the world be led to disaster.

Those in favor of increased military spending would argue that the US military budget covers more than just the American military. Many argue it is protection for our allies, helps supplement humanitarian aid, and presents a strong America to the world in response to aggressive adversaries. While I don’t dispute that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is unjustifed, cruel, and must end nor that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be disastrous, increasing military spending and counter-

we must break our alliances with rogue dictatorships such as Saudi Arabia, unless they commit to increasing the democratic nature of their nation. This means cultivating alliances with formerly “socialist” nations, who are small “d” democratic in nature, such as Armenia, while helping others such as Pakistan transition to democracy.

Too often, we defend allies we shouldn’t and abandon or don’t even try to make allies with those we should. Our teachers watched as the nations of the Former USSR collapsed into civil war, with spillover from former conficts into Afghanistan and Yugoslavia. The lack of substantive aid given by the United States, particularly under the Clinton administration, allowed Russia to slip back into autocracy. As our generation fnally reaches the age to vote, or even run for ofce, we must advocate for a more robust approach to democracy. Funding for the military can (and should) provide jobs for Americans. It can (and should) lead to a more democratic world. It can (and should) lead to a freer, more equal world. It should not be used to support rogue dictatorships. It should be used to support democratic nations. However, military funding doesn’t need to be at the expense of welfare programs. The economy, like civil rights, is not a zero sum game. Taxation on those who are the richest can more than pay for the funding we need to defend ourselves and our allies and also the welfare funding to ensure that we can grow as a nation and as a people.

Funding can’t be reduced, not until we have made the entire world that shining city on a hill. It is not enough to simply declare that we are democratic, pledge to vote for the party that espouses those ideals, and advocate for democracy and civil rights at home. We must do the same abroad, and defend those who are doing so.

aggression will only worsen the situation. Undoubtedly, the decision threat ens to make a country like Russia feel that it is fghting an existential and desperate confict, pushing the world even further to the brink of annihilation.

In the face of climate disaster, worldwide food shortages, the break down of supply chains, and the threat of nuclear war, the global powers need to attempt to cooperate with each other. Solutions cannot be created if they push each other away. Europe is sufering a recession and struggles without Russian gas imports. The Middle East, which relies on Ukrainian and Russian grain, may soon sufer mass starvation (a country like Yemen is a tragic extreme of what could come). Within the United States itself, the cost of living is growing intolerable and social conditions are deteriorat ing in many areas. Not enough is being done to mitigate disastrous climate change. Some may argue that cooperation is futile, but it cannot hurt to try.

Much of the money given to the military is used to purchase equip ment that will never be used or doesn’t even work. The benefts for becoming a soldier in the present are not good enough, and as a result military recruitment numbers are very low. The US spends more on its military than the next sixteen countries combined, most of them our al lies, which alone displays the gargantuan overspending on the armed forces. So, the question fnally arises: where should this money be spent?

Education funding, for a start, to increase and equalize opportunities for students across the country. A massive investment in giving the coun try a fast and efcient rail network beftting of a modern, industrialized nation. Not only would it help to connect the country, it would also take cars of the road for the beneft of the environment. More money could be spent on at least the very beginning of a single-payer universal health care system that would counter the extortionate healthcare apparatus that currently exists. And of course, money should be invested in clean energy and environmental protection. The military budget could be halved and still be greatly sufcient. This money can be spent better, for a better future.

We’re doing this again?

On January 8 in Brazil, the rhetoric that has dominated right-wing America for the last few years found a foreign home. Supporters of the country’s former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings in Brasilia, the capital, in protest of the new president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva taking ofce. The mob of people occupied the meeting place of Brazil’s Congress and destruction of governmental materials was conducted in attempt to convince Brazil’s Supreme Court to overturn the election results. For many Americans, this was an all too familiar sight stirring fatal recognition of the January 6 insurrection. The events in Brazil occurred just two days after the two-year anniversary of January 6, but the similarities don’t end there. Many have drawn parallels between the rhetoric from former leaders of both countries that undoubtedly led to violence. The truth is, the American public wasn’t the only audience of former President Donald Trump’s hateful lies. Is it really surprising that Bolsonaro did the exact same thing?

Throughout his presidency and well into the 2022 Brazilian election cycle, former president Bolsonaro repeatedly claimed he was the victim of a fraudulent voting system, very similar to Trump’s claims of a stolen election. Even though allegations of widespread voter fraud in both the US and Brazil have been completely disproven, both leaders portrayed themselves as victims of a rigged election and convinced thousands of supporters that they were victims as well. It is highly unlikely that riots to the caliber we’ve seen in Brazil would have occurred if it wasn’t for January 6. It reveals a trope all too often discounted–America’s decisions impact more than American citizens. America sets an example, whether acknowledged or not, and by setting a precedent for insurrection with little consequences, we are all responsible for inspiring what happened in Brazil. But it seems America’s infuence hasn’t completely dismantled legal accountability. Brazil is handling the aftermath much diferently than we have in the US. On January 6, the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol were mostly allowed to leave peacefully and nearly no arrests were made. On the other hand, the rioters in Brazil’s capital were quickly apprehended and as of January 17, there are over 1,200 people in custody

Connor Kleinman ’24

Nour Blankinship ’23

Sam Bergheiser ’25

Graphic by Eliza Liebo ’25/Staf

Crush-ing Valentine’s Day

Alexa Saler

With January coming to a close, we are nearing a holiday that people usually have a love-hate relationship with. If you are celebrating this holiday with a signifcant other or friends, do you know what you’re doing to celebrate it? This list is a small guide to some fun activities and date ideas that might work for you and your valentine.

1. Have a picnic: This may be a cliche idea, but picnics are a fun way to either go on a date or hang out with friends. Bringing holiday-themed foods like chocolate strawberries and heart shaped treats are a great touch. There are so many places in Lower Merion Township and Philadelphia that are perfect for the ultimate picnics. My personal recommendations for places to have picnics outside of Philadelphia are Merion Botanical, Longwood Gardens, and Chanticleer Garden. Within Philadelphia, the best spots are Rittenhouse Square, Spruce Street Harbor Park, and Fitler Square. All of these places have a romantic ambience for a fun evening with your friends or valentine.

2. Baking Date: Circling back to making treats, a great Valentine’s/Galentine’s date idea is baking with someone. Whether it be making cakes or cookies, baking is an enjoyable way to

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show someone love. For Valentine’s/Galentine’s specifc baking dates, some treats that are delicious are chocolate covered strawberries, jam-flled heart cookies, any red velvet baked goods, and heart shaped cookies cakes. All of these baked goods are super easy and cheap to make and you can fnd these ingredients anywhere; Target, Rite-Aid, Giant, Whole Foods, etc. In all, a baking date with any person of your choice is a great option for Valentine’s Day.

3. Rom-Com Movie Night: I personally love rom-coms and one fun way that I spend a galentine’s day with my friends is having a rom-com movie marathon. Even if you’re in a relationship, movie nights are always a relaxing date idea. Especially since this holiday is centered around love, watching a good rom-com with friends or your date is a nice way to spend a special night and have a great time. Some rom-coms I recommend are The Proposal, She’s the Man, Love Rosie, Set it Up, and 10 Things I Hate About You

I hope that this list at least gives you a few ideas of how you want to spend this holiday. No matter what you chose to do, I hope that anyone who is planning to celebrate has the best Valentines Day with the people closest to them!

Valentine’s gift guide

James Korin ’24 Features Editor

Valentine’s Day is the symbol of friendship, passion, and of course, love, so it requires the utmost thoughtfulness. However, fnding the perfect gift always seems to cause stress. For those who lose sleep over the trivial idea of a gift, wor rying about the price or whether it accurately represents the relationship, look no further. First of all, it should be said that any gift can be considered perfect as long as it is meaningful, and oftentimes this is specifc to a relationship. Nonethe less, there is a plethora of general gift ideas that will surely earn you some points with the person on the receiving end.

1. You can never go wrong with a photo album; it is a clas sic for a reason. Photo albums take some time to assemble, whether digitally or manually, so they show care and meaning. Of course, the contents are what really matter. The included pictures should depict fond memories, and a few goofy photos are always wel come. Furthermore, brief notes beside the pictures add a nice sen timental touch. Photo albums, however, are not only for signifcant others. They can help show how much you value a friendship as well.

2. A Valentine’s Day candy gram sold at LM is simple, cheap, and efec tive. These surprise gifts ofer an opportunity to let someone know that you were thinking of them. Also, although it is somewhat beside the point, it feels good to let everyone in the class know as well. However, please consider giving an additional gift because, while candy grams are cute, they do not involve much efort.

3. Chocolate is a staple of Valentine’s Day because it is sweet, comforting, and loved by everyone. For this reason, it is almost guaranteed that a decorative chocolate item, such as chocolate covered pretzels, will make a great start to the gift giving process. If inclined, give something homemade to really demonstrate commitment.

4. Sometimes the best gift is a fun experience that both people can enjoy. Those who appreciate art could visit Painting with a Twist in Ardmore, a leisurely painting class. Anyone who likes to cook could partake in a couples cooking class, such as Let’s Cultivate Food in Philadelphia. Are they into puzzles? Spend an evening in an escape room like Project Escape in Conshohocken. There are endless possibilities.

5. A customized blanket, flled with cute pictures and impactful words, is an easy, unique present that everyone can use. What represents Valentine’s Day more than this cozy gift that will always be a symbol of comfort? The blankets are cheap too; options are available on Amazon for as low as $10! Regardless of the price, this gift will certainly convey how important a special someone is.

Valentine’s Day should be a day of compassion, not a day of consternation. Do not let gifts be the cause of stress. Hopefully these ideas provide a foundation for selecting the perfect gift, but if that is not the case, all it takes is a little determination and creativity to fnd one.

Singing valentines

Ava Cohen ’23 Features Editor

Love is in the air and, LM Players and Choir are getting ready for their annual fundraising event, Singing Valentines! This is a way for students to show their love or gratitude for another student, teacher, or faculty member by purchasing a Singing Valentine. This means that a group of singers will come to the selected person’s class and sing a love song to them. Students who purchase a Singing Valentine get to choose the song, if they want it to be anonymous, and what class they want it to occur in. This fun activity tends to get the whole class laughing and sometimes even singing along! Rose Solga ’23 is the treasurer of Players and says that it requires a lot of organization beforehand because they have to “recruit people to be a part of it, make the schedules for groups, plan out the day, and make sure everyone gets their valentine.” This

year Solga plans on recruiting Players production manager Ethan Plon ’25 to help out. The event usually raises around $800 to $1,000, and Solga calls it one of Players’ “mid-tier” fundraisers, but in the past they have raised up to 1,300 dollars! In the years where they raise more money, Solga says that it is typically a result of more advertisement and overall a large number of singers and people interested. Anyone, no matter how good they are at singing, can participate, and the singers dress up in fun Valentines Day attire that are up to them to choose. As for the songs, a fan favorite is “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede. The Players production of Little Women may cause this year’s Singing Valentines event to be pushed back so that there is enough time for Solga to plan things out, but look out for the fnalized date to come!

Graphic by Tillie Szwartz ’25/ Staf

Graphic by Sarah France ’24/ Staf

Graphic by Tillie Szwartz ’25/ Staf

Doing the impossible: my journey from Afghanistan

My name is Samiullah Fatih. I came to the USA on October 12, 2021. I’m one of the people you heard about in the news who was attempting to jump the gate at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Once I was in the Kabul airport I waited two nights before I could get on an airplane. There were many problems such as waiting in long lines without food, water, or sleep. The weather was very hot and there were thousands of people.

I did not get over the gate on the frst try.

I tried six times to pass the gate. I went to the airport in the morning and stayed awake throughout the night. If I slept I knew I would die. No one believed I could get to the airport, and past the gates. Many people in my life were laughing at me and thought I was foolish. No one believed that I would make it out of Afghanistan. No one believed that I would make it to the United States. Today I am writing this note in my ELD class at LMHS from my laptop given to me to help with my studies.

I remember those challenging days very clearly: I wasn’t able to pass through the gate and the Taliban sent me back home. Despite all of that hardship, I never let myself feel hopeless or think about quitting. I never stopped trying. I did not let them break me.

I gave myself pep talks “Sami, don’t give up.”

Afghanistan has 34 provinces, a province is like a state in the US. Can you imagine all 34 provinces rushing to the one single airport? Kabul was the only airport that was fying people out of Afghanistan. The other airports in Afghanistan were not equipped to handle the amount of people desiring to leave.

Because I never gave up on my goals, I made it here. If you have a positive attitude you can achieve anything. At times, getting into the airport and passing the gate seemed impossible. I felt I had nothing to lose. There were so many people with the same goal as me. The crowd was huge and everyone was competing to be the ones to make it through. Again, what got me through was believing it was possible. Remaining positive, even though it was hard, was the thing that saved me.

My sister tried to escape with me on my fnal try. We were successful, but with all the chaos rushing into the airport we lost each other. She ended up in Italy.

Once I was inside the airport there were many people waiting in line to be processed.

I felt like I was in that line for years. Once

I was cleared to go onto the plane I realized I only had ten Afghani, which equals one cent in the US. I thought if this didn’t work and I was taken to another place in Afghanistan, how would I fnd my way back to my family in Kabul with such little money!

The plane was full of complete families. I felt so alone as I had no family with me. I had no idea where I was going, but I was still very happy to be on my way to somewhere safe. This was no ordinary plane ride. All passengers were standing and taking turns sitting. It felt like 600 people were on the plane with me. Two hours into the plane ride there was an announcement that any person on the plane without proper documentation would be taken to another place in Afghanistan. I had a sick feeling in my stomach, because I did not have any of the papers they were looking for. I am not sure–and I still do not understand–why I was not removed from the plane. I did not have any documentation, but for some reason I was allowed to continue on the journey. It was such a relief. I had many mixed emotions while on the plane, and my eyes were flled with tears. I was happy that I could have a bright future and study to become a person that could help my country and my people. On the other hand, I was also very sad to leave my country and my family, not knowing when I would see them again.

My frst stop outside of Afghanistan was supposed to be Germany, but the plane diverted to Turkey because there was a sick person on the plane. It was a quick stop, maybe one hour. We headed to Germany shortly after the sick person evacuated the plane.

Once I got of the plane in Germany I went straight to the bathroom to look in the mirror to see the condition of my face and body. Before I was able to get inside the Kabul airport the Taliban had kicked me to the ground. After I looked at myself in the mirror, I instantly began to record my voice on a phone to document my experience. I felt relieved and free. I understood that my hard work and hope had brought me to this place where I felt safe and free.

I spent ffteen days in a camp in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The camp did not have basic amenities like a shower or luxurious amenities like the internet. After ten days we were fnally able to shower. Food was also scarce, we were fed two times a day and the food was tasteless. Within ffteen days of arriving at Kaiserslautern we were transported to another camp called Frankfurt. The conditions in Frankfurt were better. We had access to food three times a day and could connect to wif. Connecting to wif was extremely important because it allowed me to contact my family. It was the frst time I was able to speak to them since I jumped the gate in Kabul. They were worried as to be expected, because they had not heard from me in nearly seventeen days. My frst wif call was to my mom and dad. They were so relieved and very happy to hear my voice. They were equally worried as they were proud that I was able to make it out of Afghanistan. Next stop, Philadelphia. Since I was under eighteen I was able to get of the plane sooner and start the process with the United States government. Within hours I was on another plane headed to Michigan. I stayed in a shelter in Michigan for four months with roughly 120 other children: twenty girls and the rest were boys. We were all staying there until someone sponsored us. At some point all the children were scattered throughout the US into diferent shelters. I was sent to Pittsburgh. I was there for four months before an Ardmore family sponsored me.

This has been a dream come true for me. There are many challenging moments. The biggest concern I have is worrying about my family who is still in Afghanistan. The Taliban is extremely dangerous. My family left our home to stay in a hotel for a month and a half. Most people who are in the hotel are able to leave the country within a few days, but not my family. I feel that they are stuck because we are Hazara. I talk to them every day through WhatsApp video calls. The Taliban does checks through the hotel often. Most of the guests at the hotel are people who worked for the Afghani government. The US is protecting the hotel, but the Taliban is still searching to see who is there. Both my parents, three brothers and one sister are in the hotel. My other sister is in Italy. They are trying to come to the US, but the process has stopped and I am not sure why.

There is a lot of discrimination of the Hazara people in Afghanistan. There are groups who want to destroy the Hazara people. This is absolutely impossible.

This experience in my life has reminded me to keep big dreams and I can achieve anything. I tell my story so that all who read it can feel hopeful and positive about trying to do the impossible.

Many people in the world may think that Afghanistan is a bad place, but I love my country. I had a very good life there until the Taliban took control. While living in Afghanistan I had the opportunity to study English and eventually teach English to young kids. I went to school and loved to study. I trained to be an MMA fghter. I had many plans to attend matches in other countries. The Taliban stole these opportunities from me. At this time, I am still adjusting to life in the United States, but grateful to be here and for all the love and support I have received.

Photo courtesy of Samiullah Fatih ’25

Samiullah Fatih ’25

Photo courtesy of Samiullah Fatih ’25

Fatih merely minutes before departing from Afghanistan. This flight marked the beginning of his arduous journey to the United States.

Graphic by Julia Zorc ’24/Staf

Graphic by Eliza Liebo ’25/Staf

The Best of Black History Month

Julia Dubnof ’23, Siobhan Minerva ’24, and Ilana Zahavy ’24 Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Senior Design Editor

BSU events: a full calender

Siobhan Miverva ’24 Arts & Entertainment Editor

As your calendar makes the switch to February, Black History Month is brought with it. This is a time of refection, appreciation, and celebration. It brings awareness to the enslaved people who were brought to the United States against their will during the seventeenth century, as well as life in the African diaspora since. There’s a wealth of history, resistance, culture, and endurance that is worth respecting as well as celebrating. At LMSD, the Black Student Union (BSU) has events all month planned to mark the important occasion.

BSU represents the Black community here at LM. Their goal is to empower, teach, and advocate. They have worked to organize an array of club events taking place throughout the month of February.

When did Black History Month begin? Why was February chosen? What is the signifcance of songs from the Civil Rights movement? To both quiz and educate students on questions such as these, BSU hosted an exciting game of Jeopardy during Lunch & Learn on February 3.

Students were divided up into four groups with the goal of winning a gift card. Competitive edge flled the room as questions arose on topics relating to Black culture such as music, slang, his-

for about forty kids, everyone had fun and enjoyed spending time with their friends.

Following a successful jeorpardy game, students can sit back and enjoy a show with performances showcasing the talent of your peers. The Black History Month Showcase will take place on February 15 at 6:30 p.m. Show your support and enjoy performances, presentations, and interactive stations. There will even be refreshments to accompany the spectacular evening. Chefs, bakers, and foodies alike are called to join BSU in a cooking night. On February 22 at 6:00 p.m, students can show out and display their skills in making chicken and biscuits with the club. Finally, in order to end this eventflled month with a bang, BSU will be hosting a party on February 24 at 7:00 p.m. Students can bring their friends for a night of memories, while also celebrating Black History Month. With so many celebrations, it’s easy to get involved and have some fun. The annual MLK day of service brought out many people from the community, and this energy should continue through the month of February, and thoughout the entire year. Look to the announcements and fyers around the school for any chang-

LM students’ favorite media showcasing Black voices

One way to mark Black History Month is through Black art. Read books by Black authors, celebrate Black musicians, and watch movies and TV shows that tell Black stories.

Books:

*The recomendations here were collected from students via Instagram and Google surveys.

Movies: Black Panther, Get Out, Moonlight, Hidden Figures, Just Mercy, Boyz in the Hood, Menace to Society, The Hate U Give

Musicians: Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Frank Ocean, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Giveon, Brent Faiyaz

Voices in African

TV Shows: BMF, Power, Black-ish, Rap Sh!t, Moesha, Family Reunion, Raising Kanin

How do students feel?

Literature (VAAL) students reflect on the class, Black History Month, and LM education

“Learning about historic and current Black authors and studying their novels alongside getting a perspective on what was going on during the time periods that they were released has increased my understanding about Black life across a multitude of time periods and perspectives.”

-Sulaiman Mathew-Wilson ’23

Q: What is the value of studying Black and/or African American studies in school? A: Learning about my culture and history

-Ira Dixon ’23

“I believe [VAAL] should have more information about African American Culture, and how we were kings and queens well taught. Not the more diminishing side where we are slaves and are always against each other.”

-Tyquezz

Thompson ’23

Photos by of Anika Xi ’23/Staf

On February 3, BSU jeopardy was attended by over forty students. On the same day, posters designed by Student Council and BSU celebrating important Black fgures in pop culture and history were posted in the Upper Atrium.

Operation AA: Amazing Ace

Inbal David ’23 and Oyindotun Okunade ’25

contestant was introduced through a catwalk, participated in a Q & A, raised money for a charity of their choice, danced, and performed a one

Each year since 2010, LM has presented the Amazing Ace. What is the Amazing Ace you may ask? Well it’s part talent show, part charity fundraiser, part dance performance, and part pageant. Each event has its own theme, this year it was Lost In Space. The show started out with a short flm introducing the confict: Earth has become uninhabitable and LM needs to relocate to a new planet. The ten contestants for the 2023 Amazing Ace were: Julian Allen ’23 as Earth, Inbal David ’23 representing Saturn, Simona Fisher ’24 as Pluto, Grady Gardner ’23 representing Uranus, Camille Halbert ’23 as Venus, Alveena Khoday ’23 representing the Moon, Jacob Ross ’23 as Jupiter, Daniel Vossough ’24 representing Mars, and Amber Wong ’23 as Neptune. You may have also caught our incredibly talented emcees hosting the show: Eden Dizengof ’23 and Andrue Herold ’23. Each

the next Amazing Ace. The sidekicks this year were Bob McLaughlin ’23, Etienne Idol ’23, Roxy Charap ’23, Taryn Kimmel ’23, Maria Dymek ’23, Anika Xi ’23, Gus Walls ’23, Benjamin Snyder ’24 and Addison Garner ’23. David’s sidekick, Idol, says that “the role of being a sidekick is not only extremely fun, but important in taking the load of of the contestants. We help raise money for their charities, attend practices, and some are part of the talent portion too. It’s just been awesome from the start.” Aside from the people you see on the stage, there’s a crew of people working behind the scenes to make this show come to life. The Stage Manager, Lily Greenberg ’23, and her assistants, Dylan Elgart ’23 and Nicky Silverstein ’25, coordinated all of the performances from behind the curtain. A team of helpers backstage, the runcrew, all wore alien antennas during the show and were a huge help in getting the props, sets, and microphones in place. Rose Solga ’23, the Costumes and Props Coordinator says “I really love the Amazing Ace because it’s a lot more arts and craft-y than what I usually work with. It involves a lot more people, so it’s really exciting to explore the ideas that other people have, making their wild plans come to life.” She worked with assistants Danielle Gesser-Sapir ’24 and Isabel McMullen ’26. With talented Aelen Gallagher ’25 on sound, and Liam Cunningham ’23

and Talia Earl ’25 on lights, the show ran seamlessly. Although, none of this would be possible without the mastermind behind this operation, Nora Christman. The cast and cast and crew are so fortunate to have such a vibrant and dedicated coordinator, she is truly an inspiration. Not only does she put so much time and efort into this event, including creating the contestant posters you may have seen hanging on the library windows, she also cares for each student who chooses to participate. It is very rare to hear Christman turn down an idea, no matter how outlandish it may be, in fact, she encourages everyone to be themselves and showcase talents, creativity, and personality. Most importantly, she frequently reminded contestants to have fun, and that the Amazing Ace is about raising money and putting on an entertaining show. At the end of the performance, the contestants lined up on the stage to fnd out who would be this year’s Amazing Ace. But before that, Ross was awarded a prize for raising the most money for his charity, the American Association of Cancer Research. Then, they announced David as the winner of this year’s Amazing Ace. She received an honorable donation to her charity, Planned Parenthood, a crown, and a bull dog bobble head trophy. Every year as this tradition passes by, the school is reminded of how satisfying it can be to work for a charitable cause, while having fun. This year’s contestants produced an impressive performance and raised a

“We

“One of my favorite parts of the year…[The] contestants [are] one of the nicest and friendliest groups ever.”

-Nora Chistman

make a bunch of inside jokes and we have become a family, it’s really worth the effort.”

-Grady Gardner ’23

“It’s exciting to explore the ideas of others, and watch them make their plans come to life.”

-Rose Solga ’23

Graphic by Ilana Zahavy ’24/Staf

Graphic by Tillie Szwartz ’25/Staf

“We help raise money for their charities, come to practices, and some of us are a part of the talent portion too. It’s just been awesome from the start.”

-Etienne Idol ’23

“My favorite part is how it really embraces everyone’s talent in a creative way.”

-Alveena Khoday ’23

“Several weeks of work was put into this production, it was exciting to see it all come together.”

-Liam Cunningham ’23

Photos courtesy of Legacy Photography

Golden Globes ft. the orchestra

Sebastian Havira ’23

Arts & Entertainment Editor

The 80th Annual Golden Globes ceremony took place on January 10th, gathering all nominated actors and crew members for a vibrant night. Although the night was flled with laughter and acceptance speeches, there were certainly moments of awkwardness. The show was hosted by comedian Jerrod Carmichael, who (in my opinion) lacked confdence and strong delivery skills with his jokes. The comi cal part about Carmichael hosting was his agitation directed at the crowd when they failed to give him any notice once the commercial breaks ended. The only time the crowd turned their attention to the 35-year-old comedian was when he made ofensive remarks about celebrities (specifcally Whitney Houston and Tom Cruise). His shallow “jokes” caused the Golden Globes to receive the lowest viewer ratings in history (6.3 million). For the 81st annual Golden Globes, I sincerely hope that Carmichael does not return, yet again, this opinion is subjective.

On a lighter note, many actors and actresses were recognized for their out standing performances in television and flm. For some, the acceptance speeches were short and direct, however, others seemed to ramble over the allot ted time for each acceptee. Actors such as Austin Butler (Best Actor in a Motion Picture—Drama, for Elvis), Michelle Yeoh (Best Actress in a Motion Picture— Musical or Comedy, for Everything Everywhere All at Once), and Colin Far rel (Best Actor in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy, for The Banshees of Inisherin) accepted the Golden Globe, however, they stopped mid speech to address the annoying instrumental music that played over them. Michelle Yeoh even went as far to yell, “Shut up!” to the orchestra. Thankfully, these comments were taken humorously by the crowd.

One acceptance speech that stood out throughout the entire night was Jennifer Coolidge (who won Best Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Television Show for The White Lotus). Coolidge gracefully accepted the prestigious award, still managing to make the audience laugh even with her vulgar and sporadic language. Coolidge received more laughter in her acceptance speech than Carmichael did throughout the entire night—good for her! Another win that I caught myself applauding was Cate Blanchett’s win for Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Drama, for her role as Lydia in Tár. However, it was accepted on behalf of Henry Golding (who presented the awards for this category). Other stars, such as Zendaya (who won Best Actress in a Television Series—Drama, for Euphoria), Brendan Fraser, Taylor Swift, Kevin Costner, and Amanda Seyfried (who won Best Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television, for The Dropout) were also not present. Fraser, who received a nomination for his role in The Whale spoke out against the Golden Globes and how he will “not participate.” After being sexually assaulted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s president, Phillip Berk in 2003, Fraser has declined all invitations to the Golden Globes since. Even without some of Hollywood’s most recognized actors and actresses, the show was an overall success (in some ways). The night ended with Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans winning Best Motion Picture—Drama. With a roaring applause, the crowd stood and honored the win. Although there was defnitely some competition between the flms, it was great to see all of the actors and actresses supporting each other, despite some losing. Hopefully the Academy Awards will be even better.

Valentine’s movie night

When the calendar hits February, the very frst thing that immediatly comes to mind would be Valentine’s Day. If you’re looking for something to do, whether it be alone or with others, watching a movie is always a good idea. Depending on if you want to curl up for some laughs or cry over a heartbreak, there’s a movie out there for you. Here’s a list of six must watch Valentine’s day flms to make your search for the perfect movie a little easier.

Valentine’s Day: Starting of quite ironically, the movie Valentine’s Day is the perfect romantic comedy from 2010. It follows intertwining couples and their expectations of the pressuring day. It shows you the true ups and downs a relationship can bring, and keeps you guessing whether they will make up or break up. You can’t go wrong with the cast which includes Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper and even Taylor Swift, making her acting debut. In this outstanding movie, there’s not much to not adore.

La La Land: La La Land is a 2016 romantic musical comedy-drama flm, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. It takes you on an emotional roller coaster as their love story overlaps with their passion and dreams about making it big in LA. The cinematography, costume design, and music bring the story alive, and make it a flm you will never forget.

The Notebook: Starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, The Notebook is a classic that must be viewed on the most romantic day of the year. It is a touching story about the true power of love, and the miracles it can bring. By the end, hearts will be full and I doubt that there will not be a single dry eye in the room.

Dirty Dancing: Have you ever heard your parents rave about Dirty Dancing but wonder if it lives up to its fame? Well, Dirty Dancing, a romantic dance flm from the 80’s, certainly lives up to its hype.

Jennifer Gray plays the young adult named Baby, who at the end of the summer would classify herself as a hopeless romantic. However, she surprisingly realizes that she’s catching

feelings for her summer dance camp instructor, Johnny, played by Parick Swayze. This movie has not only many realistic apects, but nostalgic ones as well that will completely captivate you. Anyone who watches it, especially on Valentine’s day, is sure to love it, and also might feel the sudden motivation to spend the rest of their lives at their local dance studio!

10 Things I Hate About You: 10 Things I Hate About You is a fan favorite which stars Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger. When Cameron, a new student at Padua high school, desperately wants a date with Bianca, he does anything he can to bend her father’s strict set of rules. This even means trying to set up Bianca’s cold and uptight sister Kat, with the school’s bad boy, Patrick. You are sure to be on the edge of your seat as these two teens learn they have more in common than they frst perceived. You are guaranteed to fnd something entertaining, whether it’s Kat’s consistent sarcasm or Cameron’s absolute desperation to win Bianca’s heart.

How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days: Lastly, How To Lose A Guy In 10 days is another iconic 2000’s movie perfect for Valentine’s Day. Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) is an advice columnist who is looking to write a piece on how to get a man to leave you in ten days after she gets the thumbs up from her editor. As she attempts to scout a man for her experiment, she fnds Ben Berry (Matthew Mcchonugy), a confdent executive who thinks quite the opposite. He believes he can make a girl fall in love with him in just those short ten days. When their worlds collide, their plans don’t necessarily go as smoothly as they presumed. This rom com is a light and fun watch, and has something for everyone.

This crafted list of movies brings romance and comedy as you venture for the perfect watch this February 14th. If you only watch one, or attempt all six, you’re sure to take quick attention to the loving stories they bring. Have a fantastic Valentines Day!

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

If you have not seen Glass Onion yet, this is your sign. Spoilers ahead! Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery came out September 10th. It takes place in the same universe as its predecessor, Knives Out, which was released in 2019, and Daniel Craig returns as detective Benoit Blanc. The cast is absolutely stacked. Edward Norton plays tech billionaire Miles Bron who invites his closest friends, the “Disruptors,” played by Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr., Kathryn Hahn, and Dave Bautista, to his private Greek island residence, the Glass Onion. The truth about their relationships comes to light, and a murder is committed. There are technically two murders involved in the story, but one happens before the movie even begins, and that is the murder of Andi Brand, Miles’ former partner. Many claim the movie is predictable and not as interesting as Knives Out. Personally, I don’t think it should be compared to Knives Out in terms of its “goodness” (writing-wise) because of their clear narrative diferences. The setting of each flm accounts for the careful ambience that both movies distinctively provide. Others claim that the plot is predictable, and I agree with this somewhat. Although, the plot isn’t always the whole point of the movie. You have to look closer and spot all the little details and easter eggs. I’m not gonna lie, I watched the movie like three times in a week, but for good reason. Every time I watched it I noticed new things. I realized that what changed the movie for me is that Miles didn’t come up with any original ideas, everything he has ever done was stolen from someone else. The main plan by Andi’s was to send puzzle boxes

to the disruptors. He hired a puzzle box maker, which was Miles’ original murder mystery for the group to solve. It was written by murder mystery novelist Gillian Flynn, based on his attempted murder of Andi/Helen, in which he got the idea from Blanc! A crazy chain! It’s suggested that Miles lacks integrity and originality. In my opinion, Glass Onion was great. If you didn’t love it, try rewatching to catch more little details. Those details are what make the movie so genius, like the mural of Kanye and the drawing of Miles’ face on Brad Pitt’s body. The main criticism is that it wasn’t as good as Knives Out, which, as stated previously, isn’t a fair comparison. They’re just not the same! This movie focuses less on the actual murder and more on the story. Further, the characters are well-developed, allowing you to dive deeper into the plot. As the viewer, you know why each character would have a motive, so you begin to construct your own ideas on who could be guilty. My favorite part was at the end with the fre and destruction. When Helen said, “you did get your wish—to forever be remembered in the same breath as the Mona Lisa.” And the song choice for that scene was just absolutely perfect. Not only was it about the Mona Lisa, but it contrasted amazingly with all the fast-paced action in the scene. Another really good visually appealing choice was the use of the light house when the power was out. Due to the absence of light, a good portion of the movie would have been dark, and crucial points in the plot would have been lost. The lighthouse light adds interGlass Onion is a must watch, whether you liked the original or not!

Avery Ender ’24

Graphic by Ilana Zahavy ’24/Staff

Graphic by Julia Zorc ’24/Staff

Hannah Cohen ’25

Graphic by Ilana Zahavy ’24/Staff

Five years ago, the up-and-coming artist SZA was catapulted to stardom after the release of CTRL, her debut album. Ever since getting a taste of her music, fans have been desperate for more. Naturally, when SZA returned to the spotlight this past December and released her second album, it immediately rose to the top of the charts. SOS held the number one spot on Billboard’s Top 200 for more than fve weeks. With this album, SZA explored a diverse range of genres, including R&B, rap, pop, rock, and more, seamlessly molding her voice to match each one. This stylistic versatility allowed her to show how much she has grown as an artist, and solidifed her reputation as a major talent in the music industry. Although SZA featured a diverse group of artists on the album, she didn’t let herself get lost amidst their voices. Her presence is felt through the beat, fnding harmony and balance between artists like Travis Scott, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Phoebe Bridgers, and Don Toliver. Setting the tone, the album begins with the song “SOS,” a deep dive into SZA’s inner monologue, dealing with a mix of everyday problems, from relationship issues to insecurities. The singer crafts heartfelt lyrics that capture her thoughts and emotions. Her listeners

can form a personal connection to the music. When asked about the album, SZA herself said “it’s about heartbreak, it’s about being lost, it’s about being pissed.” And she conveys these themes masterfully.

As the album advances, SZA dives deeper into her personal life; it’s full of self discovery, self refection, and growth. Being famous comes with many struggles, but instead of singing about them, SZA chose to write about parts of her life that fans can relate to. The song

“Kill Bill” is a fantasy about killing her ex. “Seek and Destroy” reveals how SZA navigates her emotions in a breakup. “Special” details her giving all of herself to an ex and having to fnd ways to accept herself in the aftermath. “F2F” is about accepting her feelings about her past relationships—and that’s only the beginning.

At frst, the mixed genres of SOS make the album seem scattered and unorganized, but listening to all 23 songs from start to fnish reveals its true unity. SZA skillfully tied together a wide scope of genres in the album, managing to unite the songs with smooth and efortless transitions. By letting herself be open and vulnerable, SZA created an album that every single listener connects to. She lets herself work through her emotions, while allowing her audience to do the same.

A new jeaneration

Amy Lee ’24

Strings to success

After two years of COVID-accommodating festivals, the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) returned to the regular three-day festival format for this year’s District Orchestra. Last year, auditions were held online in video format and the festival was a day long, with around six hours of rehearsal. This year, auditions were held in person, and the festival lasted three days with a culmination of more than ffteen hours of rehearsal. While this return to normal scheduling was exciting for participants, it also evoked stress throughout the musician’s auditioning and performing process. On December 10, 2022, hundreds of highschool students from Bucks and Montgomery County attended auditions at Upper Dublin High School for PMEA’s District 11 Orchestra. Around ten students from LM auditioned on string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments alike. The audition process entailed preparing a solo piece and nine scales, from which random excerpts and scales would be chosen at the audition. Also,

SZA saved our souls

Dani Itkin-Ofer ’24 Copy Editor

K-Pop continues to grow in its dominance in the global music industry, infuencing related industries such as makeup, fashion, and graphic design. For those unfamiliar with K-Pop, it’s an umbrella term, short for “Korean pop,” featuring a wide range of genres, such as hip-hop, dance, rhythm & blues, ballads, and several others, originating in South Korea. During the emergence of new girl groups, NewJeans headed to the top of this revolution. The fve members are remarkably young, consisting of Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein. In their initial appearances, the audiences doted on their youthful and stylish teen looks, characterized by bright Y2K outfts, long dark hair, and natural makeup.

Aside from appearances, NewJeans’ innovative music style is the key factor of their success. Ofcially debuting on August 1, the group’s EP New Jeans— consisting of four songs “Attention,” “Hypeboy,” “Cookie,” and “Hurt”—hit #1 on iTunes in nine diferent nations, just eleven days after its release.

“Attention” combines calm and lower-range vocals with a groovy beat. Fans were captivated by this composition: Samantha Mai ’24 commented, “I haven’t heard this sound from any fourth generation group… I also love the choreography.” The lyrics refer to the exhilarating stages of teen romance. This combination of playfulness and purity adds to the group’s charm perfect for their predominantly teenage audience.

The other two title tracks “Hype Boy” and “Cookie”

the students had to sight-read one randomly chosen excerpt of music. While this audition process was common procedure in the past, it was brand-new for juniors, sophomores, and freshman, who had only experienced video auditions in which scales and excerpts were predetermined and sight-reading was not included. Not only was this element of surprise new, but in-person auditions eliminated the ever-useful ability to restart after making a mistake while playing. In the past, nearly every student could re-record until they perfected their video. But, as Adina Olson ’24 describes it, “with in-person auditions, if you mess up, there’s no redo. You’re stuck with that performance and it will afect your score.” Most students agreed that the auditions were extremely stressful and time consuming. Junior Emily Zhang reported waiting and practicing for “over four hours before it was [her] turn to audition.” Despite many being unaccustomed to the audition process, LM students Olson, Zhang, Henry Koban-Payne ’25, Joseph Fiore ’24, Lela Miller ’24, Natalie Chen ’24, Jennifer Yang ’25, Nathalie Bordon ’23, Yiguo Zhou ’26, and Liana Yau ’26 were all accepted and participated in the orchestra. Having this large number of students accepted into the orchestra is a refection of the high level of musical talent at LM. Abby Kaufman, from George School said that, “I’m the frst freshman violinist from my school to make it into District Orchestra in eighteen years.” At LM, there were two freshman violinists this year, one last year, and two the year before. On January 25, LM and Harriton students were bussed up to Perkiomen Valley Middle School, where they promptly began the process of seating auditions. Unlike the initial auditions, seating auditions only involved excerpts from the orchestra music. However, much like the initial auditions, the excerpts were a complete surprise upon entering the audition room. Of the close to twenty pages of music the students had to learn for the festival, a random half of a page was chosen. Those who placed in the top half of their section based on

also got their own music videos on July 23 and August 1. “Hype Boy” is my personal favorite, with its vibrant electropop sounds and genial lyrics. “Cookie” has a minimalistic and bubbly instrumental, accompanied by lyrics that supposedly refer to giving cookies to express one’s love. However, listeners quickly caught on to the inappropriate connotations. This alarmed fans as the majority of the members are still minors. The last track on the EP is their B-side “Hurt,” a soft ballad with lof beats. Maintaining their pure image, NewJeans expresses their sense of vulnerability through a mellow and heartfelt melody.

The EP album sold over 300,000 copies the frst week of its release, setting a new record of the highest sales for a girl group’s debut album. As their popularity skyrocketed, they won many awards, including Melon’s New Artist of the Year, The Fact’s Next Leader, and the K-Billboard’s Hot Rookie in 2022.

After an impressive hit with their frst promotion, fans were thrilled upon hearing news that the girls would have a winter comeback on November 10, 2022. ADOR announced the new single album “OMG” to consist of two songs, one that had been planned since their debut as well as a completely new track.

Despite debuting less than a year ago, the girls have certainly impressed their audience with their musical versatility and engaging themes. As a part of their ever-growing fandom, I too am excited to see what other projects the group has to ofer.

their scores from the frst two auditions received the opportunity to audition for State Orchestra, and an invitation to Region Orchestra, of which fve LM students will be attending. While the audition process was a lowlight for many participants, the length of the festival was celebrated. Harriton violinist and concertmaster of the District Orchestra, Hannah Gao ’23, said “it was defnitely more fun in-person than before. I got to meet a lot of new people from other schools. It was more stressful too but that’s part of the fun I guess.” From January 25 to January 27, the orchestra rehearsed Smetana’s “The Moldau,” Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” Hugosson’s “Lament,” and Mendolsson’s “The Hebrides.” Many students were pleased with the music selection. Chen, an LM violinist, said, “the pieces were so pretty and I had so much fun learning and playing them. However, it took a lot of practicing.” Led by the guest conductor Timothy Schwarz (accomplished violinist, soloist, and head of strings at Rowan University), the young musicians from 35 schools came together and worked hard to produce a spectacular concert on January 27. Chen said, “I was really proud of how we played as an ensemble. I am very excited for Regions.” With so many exciting opportunities, these talented LM musicians can look forward to another great year of PMEA festivals.

Graphic by Ilana Zahavy ’24/Staf

Graphic by Tillie Szwartz ’25/Staf

Lela Miller ’24 Copy Editor

The festival allowed for opportunities to meet new friends between schools. Hotel rooms mixed students and ice cream parties were enjoyed by the group.

CompSci Chaos

Bennett Schweickert ’24

Lunchtime woes

Sofa Viatour ’26

LM’s Computer Science Club recently held one of its biggest events of the year, Computer Science One Day (CS1 Day). The event was held in the Down’s Gym and was led by teachers Thomas Swope, Justin Mansor, John Vaccaro, and a select group of leaders of the Computer Science Club. The goal of the event was to encourage current CS1 students to continue their studies in the rapidly expanding field of computer science.

The event featured a wide variety of activities for students to engage in, which were designed to futher expose them to endless possibilities and opportunities ofered by the feld of computer science.

The day consisted of presentations and activities led by a diverse group of professionals in the field, former students, club members, and current students involved in the computer science courses offered by LM. These speakers all demonstrated the various applications of computer science in the real world and discussed the need for continued interest in the topic.

As well as hearing from experts in the field, students were also given hands-on opportunities to experiment with technology involving computer science. Students participated in a collaborative activity designed by University of Pennsylvania’s Engineering program using microbit technology and machine learning to help students code a robot able to navigate an obstacle course. Students also attempted to complete various tasks using block coding to program drones to accomplish varied tasks that require collaborative efforts. The final task was a coding competition among all participants, where the students were split into small groups. Students received credit for completing problems when they proved the functionality of their code to any event organizer.

Along with the CS1 Day, the Computer Science Club has held various other events including Program.it and Teach Python. Program.it, an event similar to CS1 Day, was an event designed to promote computer science among underrepresented groups in LM. The event was an incredible success, receiving extensive positive feedback from its participants; 80% of students reported that they were more likely to begin studying Computer Science or take a computer science course as a result of the event.

Teach Python was an event designed to engage middle schoolers from Bala Cynwyd Middle School and Black Rock Middle School. Students were given instruction on coding in Python using Turtle, which allows students to create unique patterns using simple lines. Students were then prompted with challenge designs to code themselves and were even offered a block of time to create their own unique designs and display their creative ability through coding. Overall, the recent events have been incredible successes and students greatly improved their coding skills. We hope to see you at the next club event!

Almost every school day of the year, students at LM have an hour of free time called Lunch and Learn. During this time they can chat with other students, talk to teachers, eat lunch, participate in clubs, etc. Lunch and Learn was designed specifically to be beneficial for students’ education, but what do the students themselves think about it? On January 19, The Merionite conducted a survey to seek an answer to this question and received many responses. This is what we found out. Ironically, the lowest-rated Lunch and Learn location on campus was the cafeteria. When asked why, most students responded with the same three reasons: noise level, overcrowding, and hygiene. LM has a whopping attendance of about 1,500 students, who all use the same dining facilities at the same time. Even if all students don’t sit in the cafeteria, a large number still have to go in to pick up school lunches. The result is an extremely loud room packed to the brim with students. With so many students in one room, there is a lot of litter left behind, which raised a lot of complaints from survey takers who said they would prefer a cleaner environment.

When taking a look at the top of the list, the best-rated location was the hallways. One student describes, “The hallway is much quieter, there is more flexibility on where you sit, and there are nice teachers nearby.” About three-fourths of students who voted for this option genuinely liked this location, while others simply said there weren’t any other better options. The runners-up for best locations were classrooms and the library, both for the same reasons as the hallways.

Due to the fact that Lunch and Learn is an everyday occurrence, people develop different habits on how to spend their time. Based on the survey, 81 percent of students consistently sit with the same people and 76 percent sit in the same spot day after day. One of our final questions was, “How would you improve Lunch and Learn?”

A substantial number asked for more time to talk to teachers and eat lunch. Other suggestions included replacing the single line serving system for school lunches, adding more seats around school to combat complaints of overcrowding, sounding an announcement for the beginning of the second lunch, and placing an additional microwave to make wait time shorter. Many people also asked for restrictions on leaving campus to be lifted, the current seating arrangements to be replaced with more comforable seating, and improved school lunches. LM’s lunch situation undeniably draws a mix of emotions from the student body. It will be interesting to see how LM keeps positive aspects of Lunch and Learn while improving the negative aspects. With the population growing at LM, change will be needed soon.

A junior’s guide to college applications

For seniors across the country, January marks a relieving end to the gru eling college application process. Hours of research, consideration, reading, writing, and editing culminate in a collection of essays that represent a student’s entire academic and extracurricular ca reer. In seconds, with the press of a button, all those hours of hard work are submitted to admissions of fices, permanently out of students’ hands. Inevita bly, the college application process will evoke some anxiety. However, students must avoid getting caught up in the life-changing aspects of choosing the per fect college. This habit of overstressing is an easy one to fall into, especially considering the harsh acceptance patterns developing in recent years.

Unfortunately, today’s students face some of the lowest college acceptance rates in history as test-optional policies be come increasingly popular and the yearly total of college appli cants continues to climb. Besides this fear of growing competition, many students carry yet another burden. Internal factors, like a student’s social environment, can also influence the pressure a student feels applying for college. For example, a student whose friends or fam ily graduated from an Ivy League school will almost certainly feel pressured to meet the same high standards. This cook ie-cutter environment is typical at LM, according to Madeleine Fiks ’23, who believes that the school “promotes a very tox ic college application process where people focus too much on their grades and getting into top-tier schools.” Instead of fol lowing these college trends, she urges students to focus on finding “a school that’s a perfect fit for them.” Indeed, estab lishing a mindset that prioritizes school preferences over col lege prestige will ensure the most pleasant college experience.

Oftentimes, the most challenging part of the college applica tion process is figuring out where to start. But taking the proper steps to break down this initially daunting task can result in a considerably less painful experience. Many students begin their journey by creating a list of colleges and universities to research. Websites like College Board and Naviance offer valuable college

search services that can assist in building a college interest list. Simply enter a preferred campus location, size, lifestyle, and academic vigor, and their website will generate a list of colleges that match your personalized criteria. Visiting a college to take a campus tour is another incredible way to get an early feel for a college campus. Vacations, long weekends, and half-days are perfect occasions to take advantage of just a few hours for a college tour. For those unable to visit in person, many colleges also offer virtual tours with similar benefits. In addition to college tours, students at LM have other options for college help. LM’s talented school counselors are undeniably the best resources for any curious student. The most effective way to kickstart your college search is to organize a meeting with your school counselor. They are always available for discussion with a wealth of information and connections for your benefit. School counselors, in addition to teachers and coaches at LM, are also valuable candidates for letters of recommendation, making it worthwhile to become acquainted with all of the school faculty with which you interact. The closer you are to your selected author, the more personalized and higher quality your letters of recommendation will be!

For a more casual, yet equally informative college discussion, try consulting a current LM senior. One such student, Nathan Yu ’23, admits that the college application process “definitely took a hit on my academic life,” mostly attributing his stress to needing “to juggle both school and college applications at the same time.” He adds that for students who apply to many schools, “it can take a lot of time and you have got to plan ahead.” Since most application deadlines extend into the school year, it is easy to assume there will be enough time to finish essays after the summer ends. So for any juniors or underclassmen, Yu recommends, “Start your essays early and make a schedule so you can stay up-to-date with the process.” Ultimately, the stress of applying to college will depend on how well you manage your time. Therefore, although college might seem like a distant future, it is never too early to start thinking about the next steps toward higher education.

An empty LM cafeteria prepared for an imminent crowd of hungry high school students

LM CompSci Club members in the Down’s Gym listening to a presentation at CS1 Day

Graphic by Ilana Zahavy ’24

Photo courtesy of Patch

Photo courtesy of Bennett Schweickert ’24

“I’d ask her to formal but she doesn’t look good in dresses.”

“I asked him to be a cockroach with me…”

“What happens in Roblox stays in Roblox.”

“McDuffy is gonna retire because of the seniors.”

“He’s obsessed with grabbing my feet.”

“Who needs Miss Universe when we have Amazing Ace?”

“It’s a uterus!”

“You asked so politely t .”

“i think i just peed out my iud”

“imagine you say something embarassing and you read it in the merionite. i would probably cry.”

“You look majes c, well… before your haircut.”

“This fruit cup is weak as sh** man–TWO GRAPES!”

Overheard in the hallways

By: Emmi Wu ’23, Editor-in-Chief

**Comments overheard in the hallways are collected om an Instagram poll and may not reflect the general opinion of The Merionite staff**

“Wait, what's that song in Mulan? ‘You can’t be a woman?’”

“I have a fist and I’ll punch you across the face”

“Love you”

“I love me too.”

“...and he’s the FATHER?!”

“I don’t snap him though…”

“But if he still snaps you…”

“I actively feel like I’m dying everytime I walk in this building”

“I AM THE RIZZLER!”

“Chat GPT... more like chat BBL”

“I swear i thought men pulled down their pants to the floor when they peed.”

“I DON’T WANT TO BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND”

“I hate these boat problems”

The scary side of sports

Aine McCann ’24

On January 2, just two days into 2023, the sports world was faced with a reckoning. During a Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Bufalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin completed a routine tackle, stood up, and then collapsed, unre sponsive. In a matter of moments, medical staf were on the feld administering treat ment. Several long, somber minutes passed. Broadcasters cut back and forth between studio and feld, unsure of what to show and say in response to the tragedy happening in front of them. Players on both teams were kneeling on the ground, visibly distraught. Thanks to the rapid response of various medical personnel and CPR deliv ered by Bills trainer Denny Kellington, Hamlin was revived and taken to a nearby hospital, where he remained in critical condition for several days. Now discharged and reunited with his teammates, Hamlin is set to make a full recovery. Whether he will return to the sport remains to be seen, though most agree that what happened during the Bills-Bengals game is bigger than football. While on life support and throughout his recovery, Hamlin received millions of messages from teammates, ath letes, celebrities, fans, and those who had been shaken by his injury. Many also engaged in debate surrounding Hamlin’s injury. Some called out the violent nature of football, while others pointed out that Hamlin’s injury was pure misfortune and could have happened in any sport. Many agreed that athletes are treated too much like commodities, as after Hamlin was removed from the feld, both teams, still in shock, were initially given fve minutes to warm up and return to play. Others praised the quick response of the Bills’ medical staf and noted the importance of having well-trained medical personnel at athletics competitions.

To get a handle on how Hamlin’s injury has afected our LM athletics community, various coaches and athletes were interviewed to see if the event has changed the way they view health and safety in sports at all, and how LM could potentially learn from it moving forward.

LM’s starting quarterback Mekhai Smith ’24 acknowledged that although Hamlin’s injury was “distressing and heartbreaking on a personal level,” it “has not changed [his] perspective on the sport of football,” in any way. Smith simply

views the event as a stroke of unbelievably bad luck—not as a symptom of any sort of concerning systemic issue. “Damar Hamlin’s left chest was struck at the exact instant of vulnerability needed to cause his cardiac arrest, according to cardiologists. Terrible timing.” said Smith. Boys’ soccer coach Nicolas Severini said his takeaway from the event was “be prepared…be aware…and expect the unexpected.” Severini felt that Hamlin’s cardiac arrest “solidifed the philosophy of health and safety as a frst.” LM’s Athletic Director, Jason Stroup, expressed the importance of knowing where to fnd help when necessary. “I think that it is important for both athletes and coaches to know how to get in contact with our athletic trainers, nurses, or other emergency medical staf in the case of an emergency. It is also very important for both athletes and coaches to know where the AEDs are located both outside and inside the building.” Boys’ basketball coach and physical education teacher Gregg Downer had a similar perspective, stating that the event did little to change his current philosophy on health and safety in sports. However, Hamlin’s injury did emphasize Downer’s current philosophy.

“It shows you have to be trained and ready to assist at all times.”

He added that LM’s physical education department is prepared for such incidents: “LMPE (Lower Merion Physical Education), for many years, has been teaching and training in CPR procedures-the hope is you can help in an emergency.” For LM, Hamlin’s injury seems to have emphasized an existing philosophy: preparedness is everything. While risk cannot be eliminated from athletics, we can control how we respond to injuries. It is essential to know where to fnd trainers, AEDs, and other type of support. Medically trained personnel should be present at all athletic competitions and practices: the more, the better. Each CPR-certifed coach or trainer is a potential lifesaver. “Get trained and always be ready to save a life,” says Downer, adding that “Sadly, emergencies and danger can strike at any time or age.”

Power paddlers

For the past two years, the LM Swim and Dive team has faced shortened and modifed seasons due due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2020-2021 season, the team wasn’t able to hold any spirit dinners and only competed in fve meets. Last year, there was an initial return to normalcy, but due to the Omicron variant, spirit dinners were canceled after the frst few weeks of the season. Capacity for spectators at the meets was also down to 25%.

This year however, the cumbersome COVID-19 restrictions have fnally been entirely lifted, resulting in a more close-knit community. According to Addie Lawrence ’24, “practices have become more organized and spirit dinners are more consistent. This year the team feels more like a family.” Coaches Mikell Nigro and Sally Wolfe agree that this has been an important diference this year: “Our goal for this year was to build a strong community. We have been focusing on consistency and communication.”

This goal has been refected in the team’s practice routine. According to Wolfe, the team has “been focusing on breath control, fast turns, and sprints.” Quick dives are crucial for winning any race, especially relay events. Wolfe voiced that “with the addition of two additional starting blocks, we have also been able to spend more time working on our starts in order to prepare for our weekly swim meets.”

With 4-2 records, both the girls’ and boys’ teams are performing extremely well this year. The girls’ team was defeated by Garnet Valley, but they pulled out an unprecedented win over Radnor by just one

Running with the wind

Josh Greenberg ’24

With a promising spring season ahead, the indoor track team looks to improve while also enjoying some competition. Leading the Aces is new head coach Kevin London, who returned to the program after a three year absence, and head distance coach Neal Berman. Coaches London and Berman run the program hand-in-hand, designing a rigorous training schedule to ensure success for athletes in both the winter and spring seasons.

Within the frst several months of the indoor track season, the sprinters and jumpers have gotten of to a fabulous start. After the frst three meets, four athletes—Nicklaus Jeudy ’24, Demari Dean ’23, Ruben Barrett ’23, and Dayandre Miller ’23—have qualifed for the Meet of Champions: a selective meet that takes place at Lehigh University. These strong results in the frst few meets is largely due to the training regiment coach London has set forth. Sprinters run six days each week, mixing in fve, arduous workouts per cycle. Afterwards, the sprinters perform drills every practice, and cut them short twice a week to lift. By completing these post-run exercises, sprinters aim to improve form and increase their power to ultimately run faster. Hopefully the Aces’ hard work at practice will help to propel more of their sprinters and jumpers into the Meet of Champions, and for those who are truly gifted, the even more selective state meet.

As for Coach Berman’s distance runners, they have taken a more gradual approach into the spring season. The distance runners held of on competing in meets for a large portion of the indoor track season, facing of for the frst time on January 21. Still, they have seen plenty of impressive results, leading Sajan Blum ’23 to boast “the boys ran

point. Lawrence recalls the Radnor meet as the most exciting moment of the season. “We were neck and neck with the Radnor team, swimming to either win or lose the meet. We all swam four laps in under a minute, tying with the Radnor relay down to a hundredth of a second.” Had the relay gotten second place, LM would have lost the meet.

The team’s success has allowed the girls’ team to climb up to an impressive tie for third place in this season’s team standings, out of a total of twelve teams in the Central League. The boys are currently in fourth place, as they won over Garnet Valley but could not beat Radnor.

The stellar performance of the swim and dive team would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of each swimmer. More than half of the LM swimmers and divers have qualifed for the Central League Championships. Additionally, several swimmers have already qualifed for District I Championships: Felix Kohler ’25, Jordy Mendelbaum ’23, Ethan Murray ’24, Omar Niazy ’23, Matthew Thomas ’23, Alexa Conner ’23, Anna Dymek ’25, Laney Harris ’24, Katie Potts-Drew ’26, and Iris Xiong ’26. Impressively, Conner has qualifed for Districts in every event she has competed in. The girls have also qualifed for Districts in every relay: the 200 Medley relay, 200 Freestyle relay, and 400 Freestyle relay.

The swim team has had a very successful season thus far, and will likely only continue to improve as they approach the championship meets later on.

some fast times early in the season.” Despite the varying approaches to competing in meets, Berman’s distance runners have been participating in similarly fashioned practices to the sprinters. What’s diferent about the distance team schedule is they only have three workouts for every six practices they have per week cycle, and they also incorporate yoga into their postrunning activities. According to Nathan Grunfeld ’24, “the workout schedule is certainly very strenuous, but I trust that Coach Neal’s workout planning will pay of for the rest of the year.”

Overall, the indoor track season has been a success, at least up to this point. Athletes have been working hard in practices, and the results are visible during competition. Although the indoor track team features many star athletes, the team’s full potential for the spring is yet to be reached. Jeudy, the captain of the sprinters, expressed that, “we have a good, hard working group of guys, and we hope to add

season.”

Sasha Murray ’24

Courtesy of ICON SPORTWIRE

onto this in the spring

Graphic by Calleigh Newbert ’26

In their most recent competitions, both the boys’ and girls’ varsity teams boosted their records with a win over Penncrest.

Photos courtesy of The Enchiridion

Website Editor

Rebounding to success

Nathan Grunfeld ’24 Sports Editor

The girls varsity basketball team has had a season of ups and downs. Despite facing challenges and injuries along the way, the Aces have shown signifcant improvement on the court since last season. A shift in the program’s culture and consistently strong performances by players have given rise to improvement and moments to remember.

Fourth year head coach Erin Laney had a specifc goal in mind at the beginning of the season: improve. She stated that the team’s “expectations were to perform better and be more competitive than we were last year.” Coming of a three and seventeen record from the previous season, the Aces have already improved and reached this goal as they currently hold a fve and ffteen record. Shooting guard Lindsay Gillston ’24 is proud of the team’s successes this year, believing that the season has gone “really well so far” and that they have “improved so much since last year.”

One key to the squad’s newfound success is how the environment and atmosphere surrounding the team has changed in recent years. Laney recalls that when she “inherited this program, players would miss practice and games regularly.” Throughout her tenure as the head coach, Laney has worked hard to eliminate this culture of carelessness and replaced it with one full of dedication and discipline. The importance of this culture shift can’t be overstated. As Laney explained, “The reality of girls’ basketball is that the more aggressive team usually wins – regardless of talent (to a degree).” Thus, an increased drive to win is often all that’s needed to see massive improvement.

Living on the ice

Gideon Wolf ’24 Sports Editor

Following multiple years consisting of disappointing results, the LM Liberty, the girl’s ice hockey team, has fnally managed to see some encouraging signs of success in recent competition. Over the course of the previous 2021-2022 season, the Liberty only managed a lone victory. But thanks to a new coaching staf and an influx of promising talent, that total was bumped up to three victories during the current campaign, with a couple of games still left to go.

As soon as Head Coach Lauren Patterson and the new coaching staf frst took over in June, they noticed an undeniably huge problem: they only had ten players and no goaltender. The previous year, this lack of depth made it incredibly difcult for the Liberty to succeed, resulting in them winning just one game all year. Starting her frst year on the job, Patterson viewed this in a more positive way, explaining, “I came into the season thinking we could only improve from there.” This year, the program has made an incredible leap in the number of participants, and now almost thirty players are skating and practicing with the team, including twelve who had never played hockey before.

Although the expansion of the roster was an encouraging sign, if the Liberty were going to succeed, they needed to get these new recruits as much experience as possible, and fast. In order to accomplish this, the new coaching staf started the JV/Independent Team, nearly doubling the amount of games played by the program as a whole. Patterson believes that this increase of on-ice experience was invaluable for the program, and “a huge factor in how much our team has improved in one season.” Heading into the season, Maya Polss ’23 admitted that she had “never touched a hockey stick before.” But by the end of the season, she was leading the JV/Independent Team, and even netted a game-winning goal against Central League rival Conestoga. The goal, which lifted the Liberty over Conestoga by a score of 5-4, sent the bench into a frenzy, with Patterson even claiming, “I’ve never heard a bench so loud even when I was playing college or profesional hockey,” and that the moment “felt like it was out of a TV show or movie.”

While the development of a JV program was a big step forward for the future of the Liberty, the Varsity team was also experiencing some immediate success of its own. The Liberty defeated Radnor twice and even West Chester East, a victory which according to alternate captain Julia Dubnof ’23 “would have never happened” in previous years. Even in games in which the Liberty were not victorious, Patterson saw evidence of impressive development. After implementing a new defensive system, the Liberty held Kingsway to just two goals in what Patterson described as “one of the greatest defensive games I’ve ever seen from any team I’ve coached.” Although they were unable to come away with a win, their sturdy defense stifed the opposition for much of the game. Then, against West Chester Rustin, a team chock-full of NCAA level talent, the Liberty had another outstanding performance on every level. According to Patterson, “Goaltending was stellar. Defense was solid and producing ofense, and forwards put on the most aggressive forecheck causing so many quality chances.” If it were not for an impressive display from the opposing goaltender, Patterson believes that the Liberty could have scored four goals against this high level opponent.

After a 43-42 loss to Chichester last season, the Aces took revenge with a monstrous 59-11 victory over the Eagles.

Another significant cause has to be attribued to the players themselves. The team consists of many seniors, a couple juniors, two diferent sophomores, and one freshman. With a blend of returning talent and new faces, the team has worked to build chemistry and to help the younger players adjust to the competitiveness of high school athletics. They’ve accomplished this by practicing hard against one another, but also enjoying each other’s company on and of the court. Through a team trip to Orlando, the players bonded and built stronger connections. Gilston comments how the team has “created a fun and welcoming environment” for its members. The squad is led by the previous year’s team MVP and captain Eva Taberski ’23, who will be continuing her basketball career at Mount Holyoke College next year. The power forward describes that through her leadership, she tries to “keep morale high during [the team’s] lower points of the season and to try to create a close knit community.” Unfortunately, with any competitive sport comes the risk of injury. In December, starting point guard Alexa Braslow ’26 sufered an ankle injury, which would linger and eventually end her season in mid-January. This was a devastating loss as Braslow acted as a foor marshal for the team, helping to organize her teammates across the court. Laney admits, “It’s been a tough season after losing Braslow.” Despite this setback, back-up point guard Morgan Debreaux ’23 stepped up to try to fll the hole, and has competed with confdence and played some of her best basketball to date. Unquestionably, the highlight of the season was the game against archrival Harriton. The Aces came out strong with an early lead, but the gap was closed by a third quarter Harriton run. The two teams battled it out for the remainder of the game, the diference never surpassing one or two scores. With the team down with less than a minute left, Alex Dore ’24 hit two free throws to tie it up at 51 apiece. After a Harriton miss, Braslow went coast-to-coast, securing a place at the line. Thanks to her experience in the soccer season, the signifcance of the moment didn’t evade her. After missing the frst free throw, she stepped up and sank the second, winning the game. Although she’s proud of herself for keeping her composure, she’s “even more proud of the team for playing so hard and so well together to put us in the position to win.”

The girls basketball program has experienced a turbulent season. They’ve been plagued by injury and lost games they should have won. However, they’ve improved as a team and seen success as a result. As time goes on, the program’s shift in culture will only continue to improve and strengthen the team. Overall, the future looks bright for the Aces.

Across the entirety of the program, Patterson noted massive improvement in all facets of play. Although much of this improvement is due to the rise in experience and players, much of the Liberty’s success can be attributed to the dedication of Patterson. As Polss explained, “I can tell you for sure that our coaches genuinely care about us. They have done so much for us individually and as a team, giving us amazing opportunities and we are having one of our best seasons.” Now, with a signifcantly bigger program, including plenty of experienced middle schoolers ready to play at the highschool level, along with the new JV/ Independent Team to help the newcomers develop into stars, it is clear that the new coaching staf has built a program headed in the right direction.

Girls indoor outdoor track

Sarah France ’24 Sports Editor

Despite the title, the girl’s indoor track team has been spending some quality time with Jack Frost as the temperatures continue to drop. While others stay inside enjoying the amenities of a heating system, the girl’s track team has been outside battling the cold regardless of the weather. The sprinters spend practice perfecting their form, distance builds their endurance, and the throwers and jumpers improve their strength and technique. Sprinter Emily Zhang ’24 explains, “We always make sure to do form drills before our workouts and layer up.”

The winter track season is consisted of seven DVGTCA league meets hosted by complexes such as Alvernia and Lehigh University. Every Friday night, the runners choose to give up their free time to compete in track meets that have races going of as late as 10 p.m., causing buses to arrive

back at the school between 11 and 12 p.m. It’s not the most glamorous way to spend a Friday night, but the team likes to have fun with it. Runners Aine McCan ’24 and Faith Law ’24 describe that, “We love our Wawa trips and competing with friends in relays.”

As the season approaches its end in February, the team is more than ready to showcase the strength and speed they’ve been building. On February 5 and 6, the team will compete in New York, running at two back to back high profle meets featuring some great competition. Distance runner Lela Miller ’24 states, “It’s really exciting that I get to run on a banked track for the frst time. The Armory is a super famous track and I think it will be really cool to run on the same track as so many legendary runners.” While winter track is a fun sport, one of its main purposes is to prepare athletes for the upcoming spring track season. Coach Dennis Hagan shares, “We build strength in the weight room and endurance with hills and road workouts so that by spring we are in peak performance.” The team is super excited to fnish out the season with some fast marks, but even more so to carry on their top notch ftness into the spring season.

Photo courtesy of Christopher Bitterman ’24

Photos courtesy of Lauren Patterson

Photo courtesy of Allyson Altshuler ’24

The Liberty’s biggest win of the year came against West Chester East, a 3-2 victory.

Photo courtesy of Imagefo

The Hope Classic is an annual basketball game held in the Kobe Bryant Gymnasium that raises money and awareness for the Angelman Syndrome Foundation & Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics. The tradition was started at LM by math teacher and assistant basketball coach Kevin Grugan, whose daughter Hope lives with Angelman Syndrome. This year, on January 26, the Aces beat Haverford with an astounding fnal score of 70 to 51. Before the game began, activities were available for younger kids, and t-shirts were being sold in the lower atrium; all profts were donated to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation. In addition to the t-shirt sale, student council members collected donations in the gymnasium before, during, and after the game.

The team looks forward to the event every year as, according to Justin Mebane ’24, “The Hope Classic…represents something that’s bigger than basketball. The game presents an opportunity for us as a team to spread awareness for a notable cause. Also, given the personal connection we have as a

Hope Classic

Vivian Collins ’24

News Editor

team to the Grugan family, it makes it all the more special.” In regards to the actual game, facing of against Haverford again, especially during the classic, gave the Aces an increased incentive to beat them. Mebane states, “This one particularly was special because it provided us with an opportunity to redeem our prior performance against Haverford. Also, the stage of the Hope Classic provides the greatest motivation possible for a sound performance, and I think that was refected in our play.”

Every year, the Hope Classic raises money and awareness for a cause important to the Aces family. This year the Aces pulled of an awesome win against Haverford and the Student Council did an excellent job of collecting donations.

Altogether, the Classic impacted Grugan, stating, “We just completed our ninth Annual Hope Classic, and what continues to make an impression on me is the strong support the Angelman Syndrome community receives from Aces Nation. My family and many other Angelman families are blessed.”

All ’bout this season

Wrestling is a must see sport at LM. Not only is it an exciting sport to watch, but it is also home to some of the best wrestlers in Pennsylvania, such as Dick DiBatista and Berry Brooks. This year, the wrestling team won seven dual meets, despite forfeiting a lot of weight classes due to a low turnout of athletes. The team, led by Captains Yannick Segal ’23, Sam Lledo ’24, Hutton Smith ’23, and Reed Braunfeld ’23, have been crushing the competition and they performed “way better than they expected to,” says Lledo. This is quite surprising considering that LM’s recent state medalist, Jack Lledo 22’, graduated from LM last year. Recently, the Merionite interviewed the head coach, Harry Keyser, about his thoughts on the team.

Q: As a successful competitor yourself, is there any advice that you gave to the wrestlers based on your own experience?

A: I give advice on small things from time to time based on an individual wrestler’s current state. There are so many lessons I have learned through competing and coaching and it is hard to think of any one or two things in particular. I would say the most general piece of advice that I give is that you need to put the work in if you want to be successful on the mat. Tayo Seyi David ’24 really stands out this year at heavyweight. He was in the weight room and wrestling room multiple times per week during the of-season (March to November). His work has certainly paid of and he’s doing a lot better this year because of it. He’s going to come close to winning thirty matches this year as opposed to thirteen wins in his frst two years combined.

Q: How has the team been doing so far? Has the team been improving for the past couple of matches?

A: We have seen a lot of improvement this year. We are fortunate to have had several students come out for the team this year. Coupling them with our freshman has resulted in felding almost a full line-up for the frst time in a while. The returning wrestlers worked hard in the of-season and we have improved our record by winning seven duals going into our dual with Harriton. We currently have a record of 5-2 in our last seven duals and we are ramping up to get our wrestlers ready for the individual postseason tournaments.

Q: What are some of your short term goals or long term goals for the team?

A: I have said all of-season that it would be great to qualify six wrestlers for the Southeast Regional tournament. You qualify for that by placing in the top four in the District tournament. Meeting that goal is the biggest short-term goal right now. As for long-term goals, we are looking to grow our roster by increasing participation in the youth and middle school levels while also encouraging high school students to come out for the team and contribute. If we continue to grow our roster, there is no reason we can’t be one of the best teams in the Central League.

Q: What weight classes do you need more wrestlers in?

A: We are graduating a number of seniors this year and will need wrestlers to come in throughout the line-up (lower weights, middle weights, and upper weights). We were really lucky this year having Henry Rendle ’23 and Charlie Coyle ‘23 deciding to come out as seniors. Both of them play other sports and wanted to try wrestling. They were determined and worked hard and both of them have contributed greatly to our team’s success this year. Cole Tickle ’23 also stands out. He didn’t wrestle last year and the year before we had a shortened season due to COVID. This all follows his freshman year in which he was injured and couldn’t compete. Tickle is 12-5 right now, having a great season, and looking to make noise at the 139 lb weight class.

Q: There are a lot of strong and tough female wrestlers out there today. Does Lower Merion have any plans to encourage girls to try out for wrestling?

A: Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. I encourage any girl to come out for our team. We have a few girls on our middle school team and they are doing a great job. I look forward to them joining us when they get to high school and I hope a lot more do. There are so many more opportunities for girls to wrestle these days than in any time in history—even at the college level.

Q: What do you fnd are the greatest strengths of the team?

A: One of our greatest strengths, I think, is strong leadership. Smith, Segal, Braunfeld, Lledo, Seyi David, Tickle—they all provide leadership value in some form. Our senior class is a great group and helps lead the younger athletes in the right direction- oftentimes without me even asking. It helps that they have demonstrated a lot of success on the wrestling mat and in the way they train, so our younger athletes should want to do the same so they can be successful as well.

Photos courtesy Avery Bickell ’23 (top right, bottom right, and bottom left) and Vivian Collins ’24/Staf (bottom) center)

Aaron Silber ’26

Photos courtesy of the Lower Merion Wrestling Facebook account

The Merionite | Sports

Analytics: the secret to the Ace’s success

The LM Boys Basketball team is one of the area’s most renowned programs in the state. Coming of of a historical season last year, in which the Aces ended up only two wins away from a state championship, the Aces have kept their success going as they currently hold the second best record of any team in District 1 (6A).

But what exactly is the secret to the Aces success? One of the longest and most tenured members of the Aces staf and the team’s leading statistician, Coach Lachs, put the answer simply when he said, “Every win we have is a product of our preparation.”

And one of the most substantial aspects of the Aces constant preparation is their devotion to analytics.

Analytics are the efort and tasks to collect and apply statistics to fnd relevant patterns in data. Pertaining to basketball, fnding meaningful patterns in data can lead to specifcally informed decision making on the court.

The Aces Basketball Program is always carefully and constantly collecting statistics through two diferent venues. One is through ‘manpower’ statistics, which are calculated and hand-written by the Aces staff, while the other is done with a sports technology application called Hudl. Assistant coach of the team Kevin Grugan believes that the use of these two diferent venues is very advantageous: “I really fnd analytically what we generate from both our own man power plus what we do with Hudl is really efective.”

Tracking manpower statistics for the Aces is a constant efort. At any time during a game, there are at least six people keeping track of particular statistics. Additionally, during practices, ofseason competitions,

Jack Kartsonis

and even tryouts, important statistics are constantly being kept. Head Coach Grugan reafrms that the program’s tracking of crucial statistics is a “twelfth month journey, I would say, in terms of how we are always tracking and trying to learn from what we do.”

Hudl, on the other hand, does not require the same arduous process. It’s convenient ability to track by the click of a button is much more convenient, but sometimes not as applicable when compared to man power statistics. In addition to the app’s main purpose of providing digital game flm, Hudl also provides some particularly useful statistics for the Aces and can even identify particular in-game situations they feel are specifcally important. In a recent contest, the Aces were able to evaluate their performance, against a certain defensive scheme they faced, because of Hudl.

The Ace’s record two main particular manpower statistics that seem to be uniquely kept and recorded for further purposes by the Aces program. The frst is plus-minus, while the second is the Aces’ very own calculation of a statistic called ‘dirty points’.

Plus-minus is a statistic that seeks to calculate a score diferential for an individual player. As Coach Lachs explains, “If you go into the game and the game is tied, and you come out of the game and you’re ahead by seven–well you got a plus seven for that shift.” Similarly, if you go into the game when the score is tied and leave the game down seven points, then you earned a minus seven point diferential for that shift.

Another statistic that the Aces value highly is dirty points. Dirty points are essentially a statistic used to quantify who hustled the most throughout the course of a given game. To calculate who got their ‘hands dirty’ and hustled the most throughout the course

of the game, the Aces tally every action on the court they consider to be a hustle play (such as defections and dived balls) and add that to their total amount of rebounds. They then take that total number and divide it by the amount of minutes a particular player played to find out who hustled the most on the court in a given game. Because the statistic is an invention of the program, no other team is incorporating hustle points into their regular box scores.

One thing is for sure, the Aces are leveraging numbers and statistics to their advantage and that’s what succesful organizations and programs do. While analytics might not be the only factor in the Aces success, they’re certainly still a big part of the Aces recent and historical success as a basketball program.

To learn more about the Ace’s use of analytics, visit themerionite.org.

Sam Brown ’23 joins the 1,000 points club

Shaine Davison ’23

Editor

On January 7, Sam Brown ’23 made LM history by adding his name to the 1,000 point club, consisting of only nineteen other members. As a freshman varsity starter, Brown played 25 games and averaged 10.4 points per game. As a sophmore, he played in 23 games and increased his points per game to 11.3. During his junior season, Brown played in 22 games and jumped to 16.3 points per game. This season, as a senior captain, he has currently played in nineteen games and has scored an average of seventeen points per game. Brown’s skills, which have clearly improved throughout his high school career, have helped lead the Aces to win back-to-back district finals in 2021 and 2022. Head Coach Greg Downer voiced that Brown is “one of the hardest working players in [the] history of [the] program.” While his talent and scoring ability are certainly impressive, Brown has also developed into a strong leader and a dependable teammate. Downer commented that Brown embodies the Aces Basketball program by staying “humble and hungry.”

Faces of The Aces

Sophomore

What sport(s) do you play?

Soccer and Track

What are you most proud of regarding your sport?

How I’ve developed and stuck with it.

What’s a hobby you have outside of your sport?

Listening to music 24/7.

What’s your favorite pre-game food?

Oatmeal or just a simple apple and granola bar goes a long way.

What sport(s) do you play?

Soccer and Swim

What are you most proud of regarding your sport?

Being apart of a team.

What’s a hobby you have outside of your sport?

Gaming

What’s your favorite pre-game food?

Apples and Peanut Butter.

What sport(s) do you play?

Ice Hockey

What are you most proud of regarding your sport?

Ice hockey has allowed me to travel and compete throughout the US and internationally.

What’s a hobby you have outside of your sport?

Cooking

What’s your favorite pre-game food?

Caesar salad with chicken.

What sport(s) do you play?

Basketball and Ultimate Frisbee

What are you most proud of regarding your sport?

Placing second in states with the school frisbee team.

What’s a hobby you have outside of your sport?

Baking

What’s your favorite pre-game food?

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

All photos courtsey of respective athletes

’23

Freshman

Yasmin Schmieder

Junior Remy Kagan Eva Taberski

Youssef Niazy Senior

Graphic by Eliza Liebo ’25/staf

Downer and Brown celebrate 1000 points.

Photo courtesy of Sam Brown ’23

Sports