Merionite October 2020

The Merionite

The official student newspaper of Lower Merion High School since 1929 Volume 92, Issue 1 www.themerionite.org

Ardmore, PA, 19003

October 20, 2020

Mastering the response to COVID-19 Caryl Shepard ’22 News Editor Since the district’s evacuation of students on March 12, few students, if any, had sat quietly, anticipating the return of some form of normalcy. Now, with hybrid ing a full return, a hybrid return (in which half the school is in the building two days a week, and the other half is in the school the other two days), and an entirely online approach. However, remaining in school depends on a myriad of factors such as school board decisions, parent testimonials, CDC guidelines,

tion. “Over the summer, we were able to streamline technology and communications and to provide additional training in best practices for remote instruction.

But our goal throughout has been a safe and equitable return to in-person instrucin-person return poses its own challenges, as the district seeks to adhere to health guidelines, “We cannot maintain safe physical distancing if we have all students in our buildings at the same time, so the hybrid models were developed to align with instruction, to provide needed transportation and to mitigate health risks to the in-person instruction, navigating the new aspects of education during a pandemic After receiving the hybrid-learning schedule on Friday, October 2, some students remained confused about the logistics of the new plan. According to Sophie Shin

safety measures to school, including distanced desks in the cafeteria, mandatory mask wearing, and the hybrid in-person or remote schedule. While many students Photo by Sophie Shin ’22

LM is taking many precautions to ensure the safety of its students. At lunch, Please see MASTERING THE RESPONSE TO COVID-19 on page 2 students must sit at desks spaced six feet apart.

Luke Shepard ’24 Every student cherishes the days that they get to miss their COVID-19 pandemic, those wonderful retreats are starting to become something of a distant memory. At the end of the not the only retreats that were cancelled, as many clubs had their state and national competitions. Many scheduled events that students train, study, and practice for, along with events that teachers studiously prepare for, suddenly went away.

Photo courtesy of Mark Piotrowski

TSA will proceed with online competitions. ing, as students often choose classes or join certain clubs -

in multiple events for the State Conference. We were looking forward to improving our projects and preparing ourselves for what would have been a thrilling and rewarding Photo courtesy of Eric Bing ’20

The previous Disney trip lived up to its hype.

NEWS

Photo courtesy of Molly Cutler ’19

Please see THE FATE OF FIELD TRIPS on page 3 Orchestra trip is rescheduled to next year.

Persevere in the process

Spotlight: 2020 Election

OPINIONS

FEATURES

application process and how it is impacting current seniors. page 2

come out on top for the 2020 presidential election. page 7

changed classes to make them interactive during virtual learning. page 8

New ways to te(a)ch

A&E

Seniors in quar-art-tine Highlighting the interesting and cretaken on during quarantine. page 12

SPORTS Final call for fall sports After months of waiting, the rulings are page 15 Graphic by Emma Liu ’22

Graphic by Catherine Roser ’21

Graphic by Katherine Fang ’23

2

October 20, 2020

News The Merionite

Zoom university Michelle Kelly ’23 Copy Editor

The education of children and teens worldwide has been drastically compromised due to the COVID-19 pandemic. to adapt to an all-new learning system so quickly this past spring and fall, colleges have faced even greater obstacles during this time due to the unpredictability of a pandemic, the likes of which no one has ever experienced. With millions of college freshmen boarding away from home and making their own decisions for before, but COVID-19 restrictions still limit their academic and social interactions at school. As a result of college students returning to campus, cases of COVID-19 are exponentially increasing; colleges are sending students home and students are missing out on their freshman year.

Various LM graduates expressed mixed emotions on their experiences at college thus far. Alex Haas ’20 states, “Covid protocols have forced a lot of my classes to be over Zoom when they would Brian Ungar ’19 normally be in person. It makes it harder Brian Ungar ’19 attends an online meetto interact with my classmates. I can’t ing in a socially distanced study hall. have normal social interactions unless I participate in activities on campus.” At her school, the University of Miami, only one guest is allowed in each room or students are placed on probation. However, many students have been freshman at the University of Maryland, says, “My school drastically decreased the amount of students living on campus. Everyone lives in single dorms. They are very strict with not allowing guests in rooms and if you get caught there’s a chance of suspension. Despite these protocols, cases are still rising very quickly.” The rise of COVID-19 cases on college outbreaks showing the variety of ways that administrations have been handling quarantines and treatment. For example, according to Brian Ungar ‘19, at the University

Persevere in the process Maggie Monahan ’21

midst of all this, many ignored the impact it would have on the Class of 2021. Unlike the previous class of seniors, the members of the Class of 2021 had not yet applied to college, and most were still in the early stages of researching and touring schools. Now, as the pandemic continues to spread and much of society remains shut down, the Class of 2021 is going through what may be the most stressful college application cycle to date.

As a result of the pandemic, students are lacking the resources available to previous classes to learn about colleges and universities. The application process is already complex enough and students have found themselves unable to access many of the resources

some colleges, such as Tulane University, have recently resumed their in-person tours ported that they have not been able to tour as many colleges as they would like in-person. quently visiting school websites to learn more. Another popular method of research is reaching out to current college students and admissions counselors. Unfortunately, while these are all helpful resources, colleges tend to blend together when your main Many of this year’s seniors may also feel that the quality and content of their applicahas hindered their college application process, several students mentioned missing out on extracurriculars, competitions, and programs that they had planned to participate in during the spring of their junior year and/or the entirety of their senior year. One student noted that it’s “hard to apply saying I would’ve done something but can’t,” while another stated that, “Everything has an asterisk, as in you never know if you’ll actually get what you sign up for with so much uncertainty.” While many sports are continuing with shortened seasons, so far they have been unable to compete, serving as an obstacle for students hoping Besides a lack of extracurriculars, students may also feel that their applications will for the test when you are unaware of when a test date will be available. One student reported that as a result of limited resources and uncertainty around standardized testing

if tested positive, are put in the hotel above the campus center to quarantine.” Additionally, a 2017 LM graduate stated, “My school’s protocols are about the same as every other college, but more on the looser side since we don’t have any crazy rules. There are rules about the size of gatherings: ten people inside and 25 outside. The school is only super strict on campus where they have already suspended a lot of people for being in a room In terms of academics, this year has undeniably been a tough transition for everyone. ment was necessary to succeed in their classes, others mostly described struggles due to being socially isolated: whether from home, a dorm room, or a socially distanced classroom.

Dahlia Levine ’20, who is attending Brown University, is staying home this year, as are all with other students in your classes because you don’t interact with them at all unless you choose to. This is because most classes are asynchronous, where the lecture is prerecorded so students mainly work on the material on their own.” A college education is generally very via Zoom and the others are self-paced lectures/activities. Finding an environment to work in that was not my room was very important for my mental health and work ethic.”

Despite the way these students took their own paths, they have all ajusted to 2020’s challenges, using the skills from LM to make their mark in the future.

Mastering the response

Graphic by Emma Liu ’22

-

Coninued from MASTERING THE RESPONSE TO COVID-19 on page 1

one of the Commonwealth’s hardest-hit counties at the onset of the coronavirus in March and remains stringent in their safety regulations. In an extensive guide to reopening schools, from high risk states, self-monitoring COVID-19 symptoms for students and teachers, and Tom Wolf’s three phase reopening plan, schools may only resume in-person instruction in the Green or Yellow phases, meaning that case numbers are no higher than 50 new cases per 100,000 people. If case numbers are within that range, school districts must publicly issue their in-person instruction plan on the district’s website and identify a “pandemic coordinator” to oversee all proposals. The state also mandates that districts institute staggered scheduling to reduce the number of students in the school, distance desks and tables six feet apart, and administer daily health screenings for everyone entering the building. Faced with the public pressure to send students back to school, along with the intense guidelines and restrictions to do so, the return to in-person instruction will be daunting for school administrators.

For now, students’ and teachers’ fate lies in the hands of the school board. As case numbers rise throughout Montgomery County, the logistics concerning our safe return to school have become more intricate. As Buckman remarks, “The challenges ahead will require the 2020-21 school year sits in the balance of COVID-19 cases and the safety of students.

their college experience will look like, and whether it will be worth the hefty price tag that comes with attending a four-year university. There is no guarantee that a vaccine will become available between now and 2021, and if nothing changes, the Class of 2021 may have to start college online, as many of this year’s college freshmen have done.

Educationdata.org reports that during the 2019-2020 academic year, the average yearly depending on the type of institution, it would likely be adjusted to compensate for the lack of room and board if students took classes online. Despite this, however, it remains a substantial amount of money to pay for an education spent completely at your own desk, said that if they knew that their freshman year was going to be taught online, they would change their plans. When asked how, many suggested deferring for a year or semester, while others had no solid plans, but knew that online classes would “change everything.”

This pandemic has drastically altered the college application process for the Class of in extracurriculars. It has also potentially harmed their family’s ability to pay for college, and only time will tell how it will impact their freshman year. Despite this, LM’s seniors are making the best of the situation by taking advantage of any and all resources available to help research and eventually apply to colleges. Thankfully, many colleges have promised to be as understanding as possible of the unique struggles that the Class of 2021 is facing. The Class of 2021 has found themselves in a unique predicament, and hopefully colleges will recognize that and make the necessary accommodations.

News

October 20, 2020

3

The Merionite

Teachers bid farewell News Editor LM is currently going through an unprecedented time in history. The pandemic has resulted in new, unforeseen changes for both teachers and students. However, even in

because it made me more comfortable with speaking French.” Rios and Allen both created ideal environments for students to prosper and become immersed in another language.

Another beloved teacher that left us this fall is the Art teacher Louise Pierce.

English teacher Bill Quinn is among eight teachers who recently left the school. Quinn’s style of teaching, which involved group discussions and collaboration, will certainly be missed by many students.

According to Maggie Hollis ’21, the discussions were one of her favorite parts of his class. “He would arrange the desks in a circle, sit with us, and help to facilitate a conversation about whatever we were reading at the time,” Hollis recalls.

English teacher Jeanne Maestriano also left after over 30 years in service to her students. Maestriano held strongly in the idea that storytelling could change the world, and inspired her students to explore the power of words. She left an impact on many students over the years, including an NBA superstar. The teacher helped the late Kobe Bryant ’96 kindle his interest in

Additionally, she served as the girls’ volleyball coach, founded the boys’ volleyball team, and sponsored the Amnesty International Club. Her long occupancy had an immense impact on many students.

Shoham Gilad ’92 expresses that “[Pierce’s] class where; [she] had created a magical, engaging space, where our eyes were opened to new worlds.”

Unfortunately, LM lost three more members of

his kindled love of literature by writing and directing the Academy Award-winning animated short “Dear Basketball.”

Two valued world language teachers will also be missed. Spanish teacher Myra Rios, and French teacher Lisa Allen, were veterans of their respective departments. Each had their own styles of Victoria Bermudez ’22 remembers Rios as an energetic teacher who was always excited to work with her students. “Señora Rios was such an enthusiastic teacher. I always enjoyed the ambiance of her class,” she says. Rios was also admired outside of the classroom, as she ran Mock Trial for three years. Maayan Barsade ’21, a member of the club, appreciated how “[Rios] always spoke her mind and would go above and beyond for her students,” and says that her favorite memory with the teacher was when Rios helped relieve her stress after a long meeting. Alex Bullard ’22 notes that Madame Allen created an environment that allowed students to master the French language. Bullard stated, “I liked how Madame Allen enforced a no-English classroom

Serving the community

Pavia, a health and physical education teacher, was a leader of the Partners in Adaptive Physical Education program. The class allows any student to take a leadership role and support students who need assistance with physical skills. Eliza Rudy ’22, a member of this program last year, states that “[Pavia] clearly loved what he did. He was always so excited to work with everyone and Another staff member who left was the Special Education teacher Debra Cherkas. Autistic support teacher and Special Education department chair Heather Van Horn describes Cherkas as a source of “sunshine and support” to the department.

“When you entered [her] classroom, you felt retiree, John Hyman, served as the instructional aid to communications teacher Diane Werder for eighteen years before he retired this fall.

Werder cherished his dry sense of humor and amusing story telling, and loved how he participated in class meditation even though he hated it. Hyman’s plans for retirement include long walks on the boardwalk down the shore and watching lots of sports. The departure of these beloved faculty members will leave a void in our school’s exceptional educational staff. LM is fortunate to have had such amazing and dedicated staff members, and we wish these retirees the best in their future endeavors.

Photos courtesy of The Enchiridion

with no students present to buy lunch, what is happening to the cafeteria workers?

First, it appears that LMSD cafeteria workers are keeping busy and maintaining a safe environment by following recommended safety procedures, such as washing hands, wearing masks, and wearing gloves routinely. Recently, the district announced its free Student Meal Pickup Program. Although most students were not at school since March, teachers and special needs students still received lunch provided by the cafeteria faculty. Those who are eligible can preorder their lunch through myschoolHarriton High School, Welsh Valley Middle School, and Bala Cynwyd Middle School.

In an interview with Mary-Anne Castellente, the Cynwyd Elementary cafeteria manager, she made clear that everyone is working normal hours and that she “feels it is a safe environment,” adding that the “kitchens are big enough to spread out to prepare the food.” Karen Castaneda, the Director of Nutritional Services at LM, explained that initially, when the cafeteria faculty returned to work, they took everyone’s temperatures. If they ran higher than 100.4°F, which is considered a fever by the CDC, they were sent home. However, procedures have since changed, and workers are no longer required to have their temperatures taken. Of course, they still must wear gloves, wash hands, wear masks, and social distance. Castaneda

Graphic by

/Staff

Cafeteria workers must wear gloves, wash hands, and wear masks.

Coninued from THE FATE OF FIELD TRIPS on page 1 in contact with someone who has tested positive. Additionally, many of the cafeteria and distributed them at Suburban Square, which, at the time, was relatively empty.

Castaneda said that it made her day when students would pick up their meals. Seeing students in person and how thankful they were made her feel like she was giving back and helping the community. Castaneda said that she is most excited to see students pressed that going to work helps her feel a sense of normalcy despite the instability caused by the pandemic. She describes this new way of working as a challenge but not particularly harder than prior to March 12, LMSD’s last day of in-person learning before schools were shut down due to the virus. Castaneda remains unsure about the future procedures involving the return of students in the latest hybrid scenario, There were many exciting initiatives within LM’s cafeteria that were preparseveral green initiatives planned, including replacing plastic water bottles with reusable ones. The water bottles were able to have a logo on them, which prompted the ing back into in-person instruction, they will hopefully implement these new ideas.

If all goes well, someday they will be able to return to all of their amazing projects.

Numerous students at our high school, such as freshman Taylor Axelrod, are “thankful to have these hard working individuals in the district and appreciate

The concerts that the orchestra typically allocates months to practice for, along with other competitions, were also gone. The orchestra instructor, Jessica Villante, remarked, “We (the music department faculty) were heartbroken about our students losing so many opportunities and events that we had been working towards, but it’s important to note that all of that pales in comparison to the need to keep everyone safe.”

With all of these field trips cancelled, the question becomes if and when students can expect to make a return to their respective activities. The Athletics and Activities Director Jason Stroup is unsure about a timeline for their return.

According to Stroup, “This decision will come through the school board via the district health and safety committee.” Additionally, corresponding school districts’ decisions may affect the choices of ours. “The district does look at and explore options of surrounding districts but makes recommendations to the school board that meet the needs of the students and families in our school district,” says Stroup.

There are already initiatives to switch many concerts from the old model to virtual settings, as Villante says, “We are collaboratively building virtual performances. These projects have already started, and while it’s certainly a different music-making process than what we’re used to, it’s great to be making music together.” Despite the decision of the district, there is no way to compete in a competition if other schools do not attend due to their own safety protocols.

The vast majority of LM students are not allowed in the building until the hybrid model starts on October 19. Even while the hybrid model is in place, visitors will not be allowed to enter the school. If possible, there may be some virtual events in various areas for students to participate in instead of in-person events. However, until further While the fate of these once-beloved educational retreats remains undetermined, many clubs and classes rely on them making a swift return.

4

October 20, 2020

Opinions The Merionite

The Merionite Official newspaper of Lower Merion High School since 1929 www.themerionite.org Columbia Scholastic Press Assocation Silver Crown 2013 Editors-in-Chief Elliot Ginzburg ’21 Dhaval Sharma ’21 Sydney Zelinger ’21 Senior Design Editor Cate Roser ’21 News Editors Victoria Bermudez ’22 Philip Gao ’22 Spencer Rosenbaum ’22 Caryl Shepard ’22 Opinions Editors Jackie Munis ’21 Ike Mittman ’22 Emily Shang ’21 Jonathan Xu ’22

Editorial: Quarantined but united To say that the last six months of 2020 have been unusual would be the understatement of the century. What began with an international lockdown and heated discourse over the COVID-19 pandemic transformed into a global movement decrying police brutality sparked by the death of George Floyd and a litany of record-shattering natural disasters ravaging the earth both at home and abroad. While some people were faced with the isolation of their own abode for what seemed like an eternity, others confronted a deadly foe on the frontlines of the pandemic, or rallied in the streets against injustice. As a presidential race more looms and revered Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away, a new conundrum arose within a deeply divided legislature.

These last several months have fundamentally transformed America, for better or for worse, leaving so much unknown for what lies ahead.

It is through such adversity that we have

Senior Web Editor Teresa Lu-Romeo ’21 Web Editor Katie Fang ’23 Business Manager Madison Li ’21 Assistant Business Manager Mona Vakil ’22 Advisor Charles Henneberry The editors believe all facts presented in the newspaper to be accurate. The paper acknowledges that mistakes are possible and welcomes questions as to accuracy.

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

our beliefs to those we know will agree with us. We have to possess the bigger hearts in side to the table. Only together can we win.

because at the end of the day, this is not only a

United States we all can love and cherish. But we

of February, Trump said that the virus was per-

He now claims he said this simply to calm people down. While a president should want to make the public calm, we count on honesty when it comes to our personal health and safety. Trump attempted denial of the deadliness of the virus because he was afraid public fear would trigger a decline in the stock market and jeopardize his reelection, so he kept up his lies. On March 6, Trump said that we were doing a very good job at keeping the virus down. However, this wasn’t

Davis Giangiulio ’21 Jonathan Sommer ’21

Graphics Editors Emma Liu ’22 Emmi Wu ’23

are clearly not perfect, as the past months have shown. But we must remember that whatever

-

single editor.

COVID cover up

Arts and Entertainment Editors Noa Cutler ’22

Copy Editors Mia Hail ’23 Michelle Kelly ’23 Ezra Thau ’22

learn from our mistakes, how we adapt to the changing times, how we strengthen ourselves in spite of the odds. No matter how harrowing or unbecoming everything may seem in today’s world, we should be conscious of the fact that we are standing on the shoulders of those who have faced similar struggles before, struggles that paved the way to our world today.

Sure, this is not to say that our nation is with-

allies, and the common ground that we scarcely consider far outweighs the polar divisions that dominate our contemporary world. We must remember that the best way to enact change is not to dispel the other’s claims, but to convince them that they are on the same side as you; it is not to emphasize disparity, but to highlight community.

This pandemic is something we must all

contributors and not necessarily those of The Merionite e

Features Editors Maya Christianson ’21 Angela Ge ’23 Ella Johnson ’22 Eric Yang ’22

Sports Editors Rebecca Altman ’21 Elijah Bloch ’22 Ellie Ward ’21 Ben Wolf ’22

cannot achieve this future alone. Our adversara people with steadfast values and a shared faith in our ability to overcome, no mat-

Liam Shack ’22 Our world has been turned upside down since early March. With approximately 200,000 coronavirus deaths and counting, it is clear that the pandemic is nowhere near an end.

Since its start, most Americans have sought cials about how best to protect themselves from this new, deadly virus. It seems clear that while the school district and the state made informed decisions based on science, the president did not make many right decisions and did not base decisions on science. While the district did the right thing by closing down all LMSD schools, and the state provided new laws to reinforce social distancing and mask wearing, it seemed only half of the nation obeyed the new guidelines while the other half felt the guidelines violated human rights. Throughout the pandemic, President Donald Trump failed to be a leader and instead delegated all responsibility to the states. He also called the coronavirus a, “Democrat hoax,” claimed that it would soon go away, and urged schools and states to reopen sooner and the state handled the pandemic properly for the most part, the president did not.

A couple of weeks into the pandemic, it was clear Trump was not interested in leading a

Graphic by Emerald Wu ’23/Graphics Editor

true at all. The only reason why cases weren’t higher at the time was because school districts, such as LMSD, shut down all of their schools and switched to virtual learning, and many states provided new regulations to minimize the spread of COVID-19. Although LMSD should have switched to online school much sooner because a teacher and two students got the virus, they were uninformed because there was absolutely no national direction. Trump didn’t tell schools what to do at all and kept saying the pandemic was a rumor spread by Democrats.

This left schools, such as LM, to do their own research and to go by advice from organizations such as the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

In the beginning of the pandemic,

Trump did not tell individual states what to do. He did not even give states the proper support they needed. This is part of the rearegulations to keep COVID-19 cases under control. In addition, Trump did not do a thing to increase the number of masks available to the public and relied entirely on small businesses to produce masks. Although Trump did help hospitals by using the Defense Production Act to produce more ventilators, he did it very late in the pandemic. However, before he put in place the Defense Production Act, hospitals were quickly running short on ventilators. In addition, Trump should have used the act to provide money to more companies than just the six listed on the act. He also should have included personal protective equipment (PPE) in the act because there were many doctors and nurses relying on homemade, reused ing this lack of support early on, Pennsylvania was doing surprisingly well in their pandemic response, as only a couple months ago we were able to have 1,410 actively running ventilators. This lack of support also contributed to the late start of the new law in Pennsylvania which forces the use of a mask in a public space. strongest of us to deal with, so it’s the job of the district, state, and federal government to make this situation more tolerable. The district and the state are doing a very good job in that they are getting no support from Trump.

Even though LMSD and Pennsylvania are doing their part, if Trump does not start doing his part in helping the nation, cases will continue rising and deaths will reach beyond 200,000.

If Trump never takes charge and gets reelected in November, we may very well have to bear a full year of another nationwide shutdown.

Daring yet distanced

Isaac Mittman ’22 Opinions Editor With the coronavirus rampaging across the should people be out demonstrating? While the First Amendment must always be ensured, there is a time when individuals must make

informed, rational decisions. No matter the topic, everyone deserves the right to protest what he or she deems important. However, this is no ordinary time. People across the world are dying at an alarming rate, and public gatherings are not helping matters. It can be hard to stay quiet when there are perceived injustices, but now is no time to be social. Every individual

disease. Their survival is within our hands, so stay away from large in-person gatherings. This does not mean that you should

and that includes staying away from one another. While these protests have largely been run by young individuals who are not at high risk, those same people can spread the virus to their parents or grandparents, who are at risk. Before meeting up with other protestors, consider the risk passed along to the

for an issue, it can be hard to maintain. An

Under no circumstances should anyone stay silent on his or her views—instead, people ions. A proper socially distant protest could

to protest or perhaps use the various online resources available to gather support. Such out, especially in a nation where public protest stay distant, as these are unprecedented times.

Opinions

October 20, 2020

The Merionite

The privilege of protests questions, maybe: “Considering the history of our administration, is protest afternoon going to create the change I want to see? Does the fact that police fect on the strength of our message?

If we’re protesting without public,

accountable for our grievances?”

Perhaps the most important to be asked is, “How do we use the systems around us to our advantage?”

Claire Sun ’21 While I’d like to avoid being too Most students have probably heard of critical of the wonderful work that is this summer’s local Black Lives Matter happening around me, I can’t help (BLM) protests. You’ve seen them on Ins- but notice that our (predominantly ries, and speeches. Perhaps you’ve been to one or even all of the events. But why are people out there, really? Why are students protesting in LM when their actions do little to cause real change?

Most people have an intuitive sense of how protesting is supposed to work. You gather a group of people to voice their concerns, and then, somewhere along the line, things change. It seems pretty simple. However, get into the more intricate details of demonstration, and weaknesses reveal themselves. As Zeynep Tufekci from The Atlantic puts it, protests create social pressure by trying to “force a conversation about the topic they’re highlighting.” The presence of a crowd demonstrates that there is an issue that demands attention and discourse. The participation of community members proves that said issue is worth changing policy over. This is why, when the stakes of attending a

majority of its attention to the fun sort of activism. From the banners and posters, to white students chanting “I can’t breathe” and “f*** twelve,” to posts on social media, students seem to be enjoying rather than championing a cause. I can’t help but notice that the most recent protest in our area was organized by non-Black students, despite being explicitly about education inequity, an issue inseparable from race. I can’t help but call these protests “woke parades.”

Looking at everything that is going on, I can’t help but ask, “Are we doing

social landscape are usually much more profound and long-lasting.

Taking this into consideration, why does so much of the LM community begin and end their activism with local protest? Have we all collectively done the mental gymnastics to convince ourselves be generated when police cars are escorting us down the street? That policy will change when crowds are mobilized with no public demands of any sort? If you look at any of this summer’s local protests, they have been legitimized and supported by the system. Police cars aninherent detrimenttoaprotestbutavery obvious sign that you need a change of tactics. If the establishment is already supportive of your activism, there is a need to push harder for concrete change.

Despite the weaknesses of protest in our community, I can’t criticize the social pressure and support that students have been able to bring about. It is undeniable that attending a LM protest is still activism. However, students are tivism when it does not seem to work.

Our school board and administration have proven to be slow when reacting to social pressure in any capacity. Even with school start times, an issue that was on everyone’s mind, the school board spent years deliberating. In regard to the issue at hand, the district’s ad hoc dress racial inequality within our school district, met one time over the summer. 1500 people gathered at Vernon V. Young Memorial Park on June 7–a single meeting over the entire summer.

With everything in mind, members of the LM community need to sit

all of this because we want to feel good about ourselves, or do we genuinely There are many ways to be an activist, though not many of them are der the sun, a sign clutched to your palms, throat hoarse from screaming.

And I understand that showing up to a school board meeting to demand change protest. More consistent advocacy can be frustrating, time-consuming, and tiring.

But glory is cheap and only lasts for so long.

People of color have no appetite for glory if equity isn’t served on the same dish.

If we look back at the issue of school start times, the LM community was able to reach their desired outcome. They harassed (with civility) the board unrelentingly and persisted for months. It seems that this is what it takes. And I know that it can happen. I know that our community can give racial injustice the attention it deserves. Because, if switching schedules around can raise such a fuss from so many people, racial inequity might as well end our suburban dream. Right?

The power of protests the Philadelphia suburbs had the biggest impact on me. At the protest, we listened to speeches at a local park in Bala Cynwyd, then marched from Bala Cynwyd to Overbrook High School to listen to more speeches. During those speeches, we learned about the extremely large inequalities between LM and Overbrook High School.

Despite being separated by only a few miles, the two schools are incredibly different. At LM, each student is provided with a brand-new Macbook, while at Overbrook, a classroom with anywhere from Sonia Laby ’22 twenty to thirty kids would be given “Injustice anywhere is a threat around eight iPads to share in school. to justice everywhere,” Martin Lu- At Overbrook, the athletic facilities ther King Jr. wrote in his “Letter do not even compare to the plethora From Birmingham Jail” after being at LM. At Overbrook, teachers float arrested for peacefully protesting in and out, while at LM, the jobs during the Civil Rights Movement are much more stable. Before this in 1963. This quote can be applied protest, I knew there was a divide to the current growing issue of between the districts but I never paid racism and police brutality in our attention to these types of details. country. Black people around the These speeches educated me about country, and even at LM face in- inequalities that I never knew were justices, big and small, every day. so severe. The first step towards This inequity is purely awful and change is education, and going to must be stopped. A few months protests helped me in that manner.

Protests have also completely ago, a man named George Floyd was cruelly suffocated by a police changed my emotional outlook on officer. The scene was caught on racism. Throughout the protests, video and it sparked protests around we heard many speeches, some of which made me feel angry, and even guilty. I thought to myself, why didn’t I know any of this before? More importantly, as I heard each speech, I was also thinking, why isn’t more being done to fix these problems? Another emotion that took control of me during these protests was passion. As we marched through LM and into Philly, everyone was screaming anti-racist chants in unison. Being a part of that, a movement much bigger than myself, took me to another level of passion for the cause.

It made me want to donate, spread awareness, and do everything in my power to bolster the movement and permanently end racism.

Participating in protests was thoroughly helpful to me and would be useful for many others. If you are debating attending one, think about Graphic by Emerald Wu ’23 it from this angle: protests the globe, including those about are a free way to educate yourself racism and police brutality, as well about a large number of racial isas those about other social justice sues, and at the same time become a issues in the USA and the entire part of something much bigger than world. Here on the Main Line, I’ve yourself. They allow us to come been to a few protests, the most together as a community and fight recent being August 30 when LM for what we believe. They show students marched from Bala Cyn- the community that we are not wyd to Overbrook High School in okay with the inequalities in our Philadelphia to peacefully protest the town. Am I saying that one prounfair discrepancy between LMSD test will solve every racial proband Philadelphia School District. I lem in our country? No. Change found these protests to be beneficial happens slowly and takes years. because they were both educa- However, change begins with each tional and emotionally powerful. person becoming educated, recI found the protests to be ognizing or finding a new outlook beneficial because they were on the problem, and developing a very educational for me. Before I passion for that problem to go away. attended the protests, I never put Since participating in protests on a lot of thought into certain as- the Main Line brought me those pects of inequality. I always knew three things, it is my belief that there was inequality between the going to protests is beneficial and LMSD and the Philadelphia School effective. Finally, I urge everyone District, but I never realized just reading this article to get involved how vast the difference was. The in the BLM movement. Even if it’s August 30 protest against the just by doing something small, it’s educational disparities here in better than doing nothing at all!

5

6

Opinions

October 20, 2020

The Merionite

Where did you go?

Our generation has more social capital and power than any other generation of young people in modern history. Thus, it was not surprising when LM and Harriton students led the way in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Students organized and led a protest against racism in LMSD on June 7; students planned and hosted a town hall to address racist practices on July 16; and students organized a protest in solidarity with Overbrook High School on August 30. During the time in between these events, a small group of students spoke with LM and Harriton teachers, parents, and students. These students met with 22 clubs over the course of two weeks in August to discuss racism, equity, and inclusion. They proposed hate speech policy changes, addressed isolaJacqueline Munis ’21 tion of students of color in classes, and Opinions Editor formed two new student organizations.

Nevertheless, the LM community doesn’t seem to be ready for real change. It is always the same group of twenty students and twenty teachers who commit time and energy to combating these issues. It can be hard to take students seriously, but our flappable support makes that even more difficult. While I was originally content with the support that the community at-large gave the Black community in June, as time went on, the crowds of supporters thinned out. The meetings went from hundreds of people to a few dozen. The protests went from 1500 people to 150.

People did their part in the Black Lives Matter trend and promptly moved on. The majority of our district values positive, powerful messages, and good intentions over the actual consequences of their actions and the false hope they give. To truly understand why, we must look at what followed the trend.

This summer, a safe reopening was on everyone’s mind, especially parents’.

On Thursday, July 30, a group of sixty or so mostly white parents, students, and teachers banded together for a protest at the LMSD Administration Building to protest the school’s incomprehensive reopening plans. Protests in LM schools aren’t new, but in our district’s recent history, parents did not take part. Before the pandemic, this school year’s hot topic was school start times.

Parents petitioned, attended school board meetings until midnight, and made yard signs. But protesting at that time was unimaginable. While I agree with the sentiment behind their campaign, their means of operation undercut the previous two months of anti-racism work. White parents developed a mob mentality, discrediting carefully planned protest tactics in the name of “we’re supposed to be the best of best.” At the school board meeting on July 20, over 240 public comments from parents and students were submitted to the School Board about reopening; there was just one comment about race and equity in our district. These are the same white parents who posted pictures of their nine-year-old turned ten-day-activist with a homemade Black Lives Matter placard in their hand. They shouted “Black Lives Matter,” but won’t fight for them. Where were all the emails from white parents demanding a hate speech policy? Where are the white parents and students when we demanded more comprehensive cultural proficiency and implicit bias training for teachers? They were standing on their soapboxes and waving their fists at the glorious, brass doors of our administration building because someone suggested that their child should receive a free, online education.

I find it increasingly difficult and painful to be a part of this community, as the community chooses to be ignorant to the Black bodies murdered on the streets, the opportunities Black students are robbed of, the police and white supremacists who take advantage of this moment to further polarize our nation. It may be in Minnesota and Kenosha and Portland, but racism and white supremacy — they’re here too. They’re in your classes, your neighborhoods, and your clubs and activities. They’re here. How many more calls to action do we need to make real change? How much more evidence do we need to finally do something? In June, many people were doing what Victor Luckerson of The New Yorker perfectly described as “intellectual triage.” Reading about racism or antiracism does not make you anti-racist or a good ally, in the way that reading about science does not make you a scientist. So, please, do not spread false hope. Do not say “Black Lives Matter” unless you are ready to do the work to make sure that mantra permeates every aspect of your life inside and outside this school.

I dissent: do not replace RBG In the weeks following Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing, much of the nation has been in a state of mourning.

The loss of the Supreme Court’s former liberal wing leader has been incredibly saddening for her supporters, and deeply disturbing for those concerned about the future of our country. In her 87 years of life, Ginsburg served as a towering presence on the Supreme Court, a trailblazer for women’s rights, and above all, a role model for so many young people. Her dying wish, as conveyed by her granddaughter, was that she should “not be replaced until a new president is installed.” In Teresa Lu-Romeo ’21 order to propSenior Website Editor erly cherish and advance Ginsburg’s contributions to American democracy, it is critical that the American people and their elected representatives in Congress honor this wish.

Ginsburg fought against discrimination throughout her entire life. She was one of only nine women in her year at Harvard Law School and one of less than twenty female law professors in the country. In crimination cases before the Supreme Court as the general counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Women’s Rights Project. During her incumbency on America’s highest court, Ginsburg was similarly ing policies which paved the way for generations of women to come. In her thirteen years as a justice, she helped strike down laws which allowed public colleges to bar women from admission, judges to women for their pregnancy. She also became known for the precedents she set through her dissents,

tion that abortion is “always immoral.” According to reporter Sophie McBain, there are currently seventeen abortion cases one step away from reaching the Supreme Court.

Should Barrett be appointed in the next month, she will almost certainly rule against abortion rights in each of these cases, stopping only when the landmark Roe v. Wade represents everything that Ginsburg fought so hard against. As Brown University professor Leigh Gilmore articulated, “replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a woman who is anti-feminist is just as cynical as replacing civil rights titan Thurgood Marshall with restriction of reproductive rights. In her past rulings as a federal judge, Barrett has defended a rigid, narrow interpretation of the Constitution that has been used to hold back civil rights advances, place more power in the hands of the wealthy, and overturn regulations meant to help combat climate change. In terms of healthcare, Barrett has gone on record arguing that courts should invalidate the The New York Times, her determination to vote against the ACA would result in 23 million Americans losing their healthcare coverage in the middle of a still-raging pandemic —ironic for a woman who claims to be “pro-life.” Many of Barrett’s projected rulings in areas like environmental law, Second Amendment rights, and LGBTQ+ protections promise to be similarly detrimental to marginalized Americans, disproportionately impacting the people who need her protection the most.

It has been said that the road to power is paved with hypocrisy. This truth has never been more evident than it is today, with Senate Republicans appoint Barrett to the Court is a blatant power grab, designed to entrench conservative power for decades to come. When McConnell denied a Senate hearing to Merrick Garland, President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, he established a precedent he ought to live by today. His refusal to abide by his own precedent, despite the fact that only 39 percent Graphic by Emma Liu ’22 of Americans approve of his decision to replace Ginsburg so promptly, has revealed the extent of the Republican party’s illegitimacy.

Regardless of what one thinks about Ginsburg’s beliefs, her fans, adversaries, and critics alike cannot ignore the huge strides she made to advance the would thus be a disgrace to her legacy for Republicans to embrace a double stanrights of American citizens. The victories Ginsburg championed on the Court are invaluable to many of our nation’s most vulnerable, and are currently being jeop- burg fought ceaselessly to protect the rights of the American people and to advance the scope of American democracy. As she was fond of saying, “Real change, enduring If the ultra-conservative Amy Coney Barrett is appointed to the Court, women change, happens one step at a time.” To ensure that Ginsburg’s battle for equality was not fought in vain, we must use this opportunity to take a step forward, not a step back.

With the 2020 presidential election right around the corner, the question of who will become the next president is fresh on everyone’s minds.

What will a political future under the next president entail? Find out how the LM student body answers the most important questions of 2020.

What is your political affiliation?

How interested are you in politics?

3.6% 100

75

16.7%

50

7.2%

72.4%

25

0

Not at all

A little

Moderately

Fairly

A lot

Who do you support to be the next president?

86.5%

6.7%

67.7%

22%

Who do you think will win the election?

Spotlight Issues in the 2020 Election

60

What issue is most important in this election?

How important is voting for political change?

How do you think this country has handled the pandemic?

40

Terribly

Perfectly

1 20

Not at all

1

5

Will there be foreign interference in this election?

Biden

Trump

Which administration will handle pandemic better in the future?

0

Not at all

Economy

36%

Health Care

20%

COVID-19

SCOTUS

Civil Rights

How are you voting this year?

Voting by mail Voting in-person

44%

1

5

Definitely

No chance

1

5

Will voting by mail produce a fair outcome?

How important is this election for the future?

Environment

5

Definitely

No chance

1

5

Will there be a peaceful transfer of power?

How political is LM?

No chance

Not at all

1

5

Definitely

1

5

How do you feel the Trump administration has handled the pandemic?

Terribly

Voting early in-person

1

Perfectly

5

Spotlight Opinions I choose Biden as much as I am choosing not Trump.

- Joy Donovan ’23

I have no worry about Biden making decisions as a president in an attempt to pay off debt and favors he owes, nor do I suspect him of using the presidency for personal gain more than for the nation's.

- Anonymous

I focus on two things in a good president: that we are safe and the economy is good. Donald Trump has done both of them very well.

- Nick Serafino ’24

This is much bigger than who gets to be president: it's about women's birth control; it's about the Black Lives Matter movement; it’s about condemning white supremacy; it's about our failing economy; it’s about our environment that is on a steep decline.

- Maia Earl ’21

LM's general political culture is one of passively hostile liberalism, where while differing viewpoints may be tolerated, they make others more wary of you.

- George Lauri ’22

Graphics by Cate Roser ’21/Staff Background graphic courtesy of WikiCommons

8

Featu

October 20, 2020

The Me

Quara

Old school vs. new school

Cecelia Kurland ’22 On March 12, we were told that we were not going to be able to go back to school for two weeks, this then became four weeks, which then became the rest of the school year. On-

-

-

-

-

cern as we return to what we considered “normal,” but some questions are left unanbetween what we used to call “normal,” and now our “new normal” are going to be big.

New ways to te(a)ch Mia Hail ’23 Copy Editor

school with new classes, teachers, and schedules has been a challenge for uation. In a classroom, the teacher can always look around to see if the students are focused and engaged, whereas on Zoom students

-

-

-

-

ures

October 20, 2020

erionite

anteens

BusinAces Crosby Johnson ’24

-

-

Check out these quarantivities!

Shane Davison ’23

Katherine Fang ’23/

she taught me some basic skills and I stuck with it for a while and had a lot of

rides with my friends. I think it’s a really good way to stay in touch with friends while being outside and staying distanced.”

-

Cate Roser ’21/

9

10

October 20, 2020

Features The Merionite

Fun fresh fall!

Olivia Lee ’23

Fall is here and it’s the best time of the year to eat, so let’s check out some delicious recipes that everyone can cook!

Crunchy Churro French Toast Sticks The ultimate recipe to make on a chilly Sunday morning: crunchy churro french toast sticks! They’re warm, rich and most of all, sweet. Begin by removing the crust from a loaf of brioche bread and cutting them into large square pieces. Set aside the bread and crush two cups of cornflakes in a baggie and then pour them into a shallow dish. Now that the bread and cornflakes have been prepared, set it aside. Mix three eggs, three tablespoons of milk, two teaspoons of brown sugar, two teaspoons of cinnamon, and one teaspoon of vanilla in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine half a cup of granulated sugar and two tablespoons of cinnamon into a bowl. After preparing and setting aside all the ingredients, continue by heating up a skillet with a tablespoon of butter. As the butter melts, dip the bread into the egg mixture on all sides and coat it in crushed cornflakes.

Grill the french toast until it looks golden brown, then immediately roll it in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Once all of it is cooked, enjoy with syrup and chocolate sauce!

Butternut Squash Soup Who doesn’t like a good butternut squash soup for a fall afternoon? Butternut squash is one of the best comfort food out there! To start, peel and remove the seeds from one butternut squash, then peel two potatoes and cut both the butternut squash and potatoes into cubes. Next, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a large baking sheet, toss the butternut squash and potatoes with two tablespoons of olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.

Once the oven has been preheated, place the large baking sheet in the oven for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, begin chop-

ping one onion, one stock of celery and one large carrot. In a large pot over medium heat, melt one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil. Add the vegetables, and cook for seven to ten minutes or until the vegetables have softened, then season with salt, pepper, and one tablespoon of thyme. Pour the butternut squash and potatoes into the pot along with one quart of low-sodium chicken broth, and allow the contents to simmer for ten minutes.

Then, finish off by transferring the mixture into a blender, creating a smooth consistency. Finally, garnish with thyme and serve!

Honey Salmon Sweet and savory is the perfect blend for the fall season and a honey garlic glazed salmon will surely satisfy that craving. First, with paper towels, pat dry four, six ounce salmon fillets and then set them aside. Begin finely cutting three garlic cloves and slicing a lemon into round pieces. Then in a medium size bowl, whisk together one third a cup of honey, one fourth a cup of soy sauce, two tablespoons of lemon juice, and one teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Set the mixture Graphic by Emerald Wu ’23 aside, and heat a skillet on medium to high heat with two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Wait until the oil is hot (but not smoking) and add the salmon skin-side up. Then, season each piece with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Once the salmon has been cooking for about six minutes or until deeply golden, flip and add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil.

Continue to cook the salmon and add the finely cut garlic for a minute. Add the honey mixture and sliced lemons. Let the salmon cook until one third of the sauce is reduced, turn off the heat and allow the salmon to baste.

Garnish the dish with sliced lemons and, of course, enjoy!

Fall is a wonderful time of the year to gather with friends and family and these dishes are perfect for making together!

Octivities Julia Russel ’23 Due to COVID-19, this year’s fall traditions will be celebrated very differently. First of all, a lot of annual LM fall activities won’t be happening in the same way this year, such as Radnor Week. Radnor Week is an entire week dedicated to getting LM students excited for the big football game against our rival. The various events during the week include spirit days, daily lunch competitions, hallway wars, powder puff games, and more. It’s a great opportunity for students to be actively involved and it’s such an exciting part of the school year. Alina Morin ’23 is “disappointed about events like football games and other LM fall traditions like Radnor Week being canceled because they are an important part of our high school experience, but hopefully we will have more opportunities soon.”

From trick-or-treating all the way to apple picking, everything will be changed due to the new guidelines and restrictions. There are tons of Halloween traditions that LM students usually take part in. One of my personal favorites would be “Terror Behind the Walls” at the Eastern State Penitentiary. Here, my friends and I are constantly frightened, as we walk through the Halloween

themed penitentiary halls filled with people dressed in scary costumes. Along with this haunted house, there are multiple others in the area, such as the Bates Motel. Sadly due to COVID-19, these houses will be suspended and students will need to get creative with getting their “scare” on. Regardless of age, the most classic halloween tradition, trick-or-treating, will always be exciting. Seeing all the decorations on the houses and picking through bags to find your favorite candy will always be a favorite memory of mine. This is the season when students browse through Pinterest during class, “claiming” Halloween costumes hoping no one else will choose an identical outfit. It is a festival that cuts across ages and cultures, with everyone just wanting to have a good night of fun and be something that they’ve always fantasized about. Like so many other traditions and festivities, maybe Halloween in its traditional form will also be canceled, but those who insist on not letting this holiday slip by without any memories will experience a very different Halloween this year. Just like every LM Ace, I am excited to see how we will transform this Halloween and defy the constraints of COVID-19.

Graphic by Emma Liu ’22

Arts & Entertainment

October 20, 2020

11

The Merionite

From the top...from home: How to learn music virtually Angela Ge ’23 Features Editor Virtual learning has posed a massive challenge in many classrooms this school year. However, music classes have had to make especially drastic changes in how they teach and learn. Like most other classes at LM, music students began the year by making Flipgrids, introducing themselves, and getting to know each other, then got started with a lot of preparations in order for the year to go smoothly.

Despite a similar start, it has been quite

different participating in a virtual music class as opposed to a virtual core class.

One of the most obvious differences between music classes at school and at home is the environment. For choir students, when at school and rehearsing in the choir room, there is a safe, welcoming environment to sing in. However, at home, singing alone can be distracting to others or even embarrassing to do in front of family members. This is why one of the class’s first assignments was to learn how to set up a work-

space where students felt comfortable singing. Orchestra and band students also learned to create practice spaces where they could eliminate distractions and minimize the distraction they might create for those around them.

Another new challenge that has arisen in virtual rehearsals and classes is that it is much harder for teachers to sync all of their students together. Due to these complications, most music teachers have decided to have students practice

with mics off while teachers conduct or play a metronome. When practicing at home, it is incredibly difficult to listen to others and adjust accordingly, which is compounded by the inability to hear how loud everyone else is and mesh sounds with the surrounding musicians.

For choir, because fall concerts are most likely not able to occur in person, students will each be recording themselves singing, after which the recordings will be put together, creating an album out of the music they learned. For that reason, the way of learning the songs has changed from learning all of the pieces the same time and practicing each song for a little every class, to focusing on one song, recording it, and then moving on to the next one. Also, since many people don’t like hearing their own voices, students were tasked with analyzing how voices that are recorded differ from what one hears in their head, and how to adjust accordingly. These assignments have helped facilitate a smoother start to virtual practices and provided students with enriching musical experiences that can be hard to come by in these difficult times. As orchestra student Amy Huang ’23 stated, “Although no virtual experience can measure up to the joy of making music alongside your friends, I deeply appreciate all the effort the music department has been putting into allowing us to have the most enjoyable experience possible while virtual learning.”

Graphic By Emerald Wu ’23/Staff

The fall of the blockbuster Davis Giangiulio ’21 Arts & Entertainment Editor Avid movie-goers and film-buffs beware: there likely won’t much new content coming to the silver screen until 2021.

In March, when COVID-19 started spreading rapidly across the country, movie theaters, like most businesses, closed, halting the release of some of the year’s most anticipated films.

Movies like the much awaited No Time To Die, the latest installment of the long-running James Bond series, were delayed for an entire year, now being released in April 2021 instead of April 2020. Black Widow, the anticipated addition to a Marvel fan favorite backstory, was also delayed a year until May 2021.

But with theaters closed, there was hope that streaming platforms would be able to come out with blockbuster films. Netflix and Hulu have released original content on their platforms for years and other organizations were trying to wade into these waters.

One of the biggest attempts to do this was with Mulan on Disney+. The film was a live-action remake, a style preferred by the studio in recent years, and had much excitement around its release. Despite controversy surrounding the lead actress, backlash after she backed Hong Kong police against pro-democracy protesters, trailers had millions of views and fans were eager to see Disney’s latest installment in their live-action remakes of classics.

Mulan’s premiere was on March 9, which was unfortunate timing in relation to the pandemic. After months of trying to schedule a summer release, Disney came to the conclusion that September 4 would be the debut over Disney+. However, in order to watch the film, subscribers would have to pay 29.99 dollars. Unlike other movies that came out over streaming platforms, Disney wasn’t going to provide this for free. be

“I get that they were trying to make a realistic price to what it would’ve been [in theaters], but you’re paying partially for the experience at a theater which you don’t get at home sitting on a couch,” said Ellie Ward ’21, who purchased and viewed the movie on Disney+.

This was, to put it simply, a horrendous decision on the part of Disney.

Few wanted to pay an extra price on top of their subscription, and it led only to criticisms of Disney. Even worse for the company, their decision to release it for free on Disney+ on December 4 has led many subscribers to just wait a few extra months to see the film.

Disney therefore made only made $6.88 million dollars off of Mulan, very little money compared to its budget of two hundred million, and its controversial release only led to less people wanting to see it.

Ward also thought that the movie’s cost “wasn’t worth it,” from a quality standpoint, continuing that she, “liked the original much more.”

With Disney proving that blockbuster franchises will struggle with new releases, and with movie theaters like Regal shutting their doors again, it seems unlikely that we’ll get any new films until it’s safe enough for theaters to have large audiences once again, not to mention that more films will be additionally delayed because filming for many productions up in the air due to COVID-19 precautions.

So if you’re looking for new films beyond Netflix originals, you’re probably going to have to wait, as Disney’s struggle shows there’s no good way for studios to release big films at this time. However, what you can look forward to is late 2021 and early 2022, when there will be a flood of new releases, as things, hopefully, return to normal.

Graphic By Noa Cutler ’22/Staff

12

October 20, 2020

Arts & Entertainment The Merionite

Seniors in quar-art-tine Ishana Baboo ’21 I’m not the first to say that quarantine gave students an unusual amount of free time. Many LM students took the opportunity to make up sleep, others baked excessively, and some took the time to pursue their passions for various forms of art. In that aspect, LM seniors excelled. After spending this long break delving into such interesting projects, they definitely deserve some recognition, so get excited to learn more about these talented artists!

Music can start things off. Leo Steinriede ’21, a talented guitarist, did a livestream during which he and a group of other musicians improvised along to the award-winning movie Parasite. When asked what motivated him to do something of this nature, Steinriede elaborated that “the idea to improvise to Parasite came because I hadn’t really played music with anyone in months and discovered during quarantine that I really love film. So I decided to combine my passion for improvised music with film, and improviswe with the movie Parasite because it’s an explosive movie.” On a more serious note, Steinriede also composed a musical piece in memory of the late George Floyd. He explained that he “was so moved by the protests and felt so much despair for the country that [he] felt like [he] had to create something that would be a force for good.” However, he says that the piece is something he grapples with every day.

“I still struggle with ‘Eulogy for George Floyd’ because as a white person, it’s my privilege to be able to make art about racism and not be affected by it everyday,” Steinriede says. “I don’t want ‘Eulogy for George Floyd’ to be virtue signaling or for people to think it absolves me from anti-racist work. To me, art is the opposite of evil and as an artist, I need to strive to make my art a reflection of what I want the world to be.”

Samples of his music can be heard on Instagram

Graphics by Claire Lu ’21 When asked what type of art is her favorite, Lu says she prefers digital art.

Photos courtesy of Claire Sun ’21 Sun sews stuffed animals, such as penguins, as well as other items for charity.

Baboo has drawn over a dozen separate pictures in various colors.

Graphic by Ishana Baboo ’21

and on his Facebook page under Leo Steinriede.

Moving on to textiles and sewing, the gifted Claire Sun ’21 started a donationbased business on Instagram, in which she would sew anything from handmade masks to stuffed animals based on the amount that a customer donated to a charity of their choice. “I got up every morning and saw so much stuff happening on Instagram and all of these links to petitions and protests,” Sun said. “I wanted to contribute in my own way, and I just happened to be going through a sewing phase so it worked out.” She ended up generating about $450 in donations to various charities, including the Minnesota Freedom Fund and Save the Children for Yemen.

Delving into the web of digital art, Claire Lu ’21 says that she has “always been doing art, and quarantine seemed like an opportunity to explore different styles since there was a lot of time spent in the house.” Lu stated that she “started looking at other artists’ work online more and was inspired by them, especially Skottie Young and Tillie Walden,” which motivated her to create more art. When asked about her preferred drawing styles, she continued to say that she enjoys “drawing in a bunch of styles, sometimes cartoon and sometimes more realistic, depending on the type of paintin Her lovely work can be seen on Instagram.

Finally, when it comes to abstract line art and mandala-style designs, I’m your girl! I have been drawing intricate designs since childhood, inspired by my Indian culture. During quarantine, I was inspired to create more drawings and explore more styles of design due to the extra time I had. After seeing so many charities and petitions highlighted on social media and television, I grew motivated to give back to my community, so I started my own small business! I began selling my drawings on Instagram in July so that I could donate the net proceeds to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. It feels good to do something you truly enjoy for the purpose of helping others; it’s the best kind of win-win situation!

Arts & Entertainment

October 20, 2020

13

The Merionite

Staying connected amid COVID-19 Katie Fang ’23 Website Editor Even during the pandemic, many LM students have found creative ways to communicate and have fun with their friends. Whether it be through FaceTime, Google Hangouts, Discord, Zoom, or party video games, it is safe to say, that with modern technology, it’s easy to remain social in times of isolation.

Last spring, some students stayed in touch via Minecraft servers.

Minecraft was the perfect game to play during quarantine because there are simply no limits. Alumnus Asher Goodwin ’20 created one named “CoronaCraft” with a few of his friends. “I didn’t really know what the server would become until a large amount of people started playing, the majority of them LM students,” said Goodwin. “I’ve been playing Minecraft since I was a child and every time I come back to the game, it triggers a deep sense of nostalgia.” The server served as a platform to bring students together to pass time, with up to 25 people on at once.

LM students were even able to watch the morning announcements from home. Alumnus Joe Plavin ’20 an iconic figure of the morning programming, had been livestreaming on Instagram to broadcast the content that many would have looked forward to on a typical school day. “Doing the announcements was one of my favorite things to do at school, so when school was cancelled I was really disappointed,” he said. “The response from everyone both touched my heart and motivated me to do them daily. I’ve heard from a couple people that they looked forward to it as a highlight of their day, and although they may be being hyperbolic it meant so much to me.”

Currently, many LM students enjoy video chatting with their friends. Just as if they were speaking in person, various platforms allow students to see and hear each other no matter the distance. To abide by social distancing, this activity has become something that many LM students reported using more often during quarantine. FaceTime is a popular option if students wish to communicate with one another, as is Zoom which can fit many people in a meeting at once.

Alternatively, some prefer using Google Hangouts or Discord, which have call and chatting options. “Google Hangouts is very convenient for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is included when you create an email and can be accessed from many devices,” Anika Xi ’23 commented. “This makes it really easy to communicate because I use my email on a day-to-day basis, and with the Hangouts function I can also use it for instant messaging with friends.”

“Discord is the best method of communication,” disputes Aiko Palaypayon ’23. “You can have stable voice and video calls with your friends. I’ve made group chats with people in my classes to make sure we all get our tasks completed.” She also enjoys the customization aspect of Discord; for example, you can change your status by adding a written description of anything, which is visible on your profile.

Students have also used these video call platforms to play online party games with each other. Games like Among Us, One Night Werewolf, Resistance, Fall Guys, and Jackbox Party Pack are popular options among LM students. David Liu ’23 mentions that Among Us, a multiplayer game in which crewmates must work together to discover the impostor among their group is a “great game to enhance your problem solving skills” with friends. Harper Segal ’21 enjoys Jackbox Party Pack, which comes with multiple party video games.

One person streams the game on a computer, which every other player will then connect their device to using a code.

Segal’s favorite game mode is Quiplash, where two players must anonymously face off in writing funny answers to questions while the other players vote for what they deem the funniest answer. “Playing Quiplash with friends is always a blast,” he says. “My friends and I laugh so hard that our stomachs hurt sometimes.” With friend groups often not being able to play games in person, it’s clear why many party video games are so popular right now.

Even during a pandemic, LM students have come together through the internet. Despite friends not being able to see each other face-to-face as often as we used to, technology has made this unprecedented situation a bit more bearable.

Graphic by Emma Liu ’22

A tribute to a king Celine Thomas-Philip ’21 While I relaxed in my room on the evening of August 28, I received a startling text from a close friend. It was an article with the headline “Chadwick Boseman Dead at 43 From Colon Cancer.” I was in absolute shock, and I immediately checked other sources for confirmation. It felt like a nightmare, and I was just waiting to wake up.

The loss of the iconic African American actor was devastating. Boseman had been fighting colon cancer since 2016, but that did not stop him from doing what he did best.

Over the years, Boseman had persevered to accomplish his goals. He graduated from T. L. Hanna High School in Anderson, South Carolina in 1995. Soon after, he enrolled in Howard University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in directing.

He returned to Howard in 2018 to give a commencement speech, and earned an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.

After he graduated from Howard in 2000, he attended the British American Drama Academy at Oxford, which led him to his career in acting.

Boseman went on to do stunning performances and portray groundbreaking roles in the film industry. Year after year, we have seen him in films such as 42, 21 Bridges, and so many more. By far his most influential film and role was in the 2018 film Black Panther. The cinematic perfection that it was had a huge impact on everyone, but it especially impacted people of color, like me.

We finally got to see someone that looked like us starring as a superhero on

Graphic by Cate Roser ’21

the big screen. This movie brought joy, happiness, and laughs to families of all races, but that joy was even greater for families like mine. I could not believe it when I heard that Boseman was going to be the star in Black Panther. I saw the movie countless times in the theater with my family and it never got old.

I will never forget how touched I was the first time I saw the credits roll by.

I still have never seen a movie that has impacted me as much as Black Panther did. The production, the scenery, and the actors were all extraordinary.

Boseman did something that many people of color did not expect but have always wanted. My family and I were changed by his work.

Boseman once said, “To be young, gifted and Black.

We all know what it’s like to be told that there is not a place for you to be featured[…] We know what it’s like to be the tail and not the head.

We know what it’s like to be beneath and not above. That is what we went to work with every day because we knew[…] that we had something special that we wanted to give the world[…] That we could create a world that exemplified a world that we wanted to see.”

People of color strive every day to make their dreams possible.

There are challenges on the way, but they are achievable. Boseman demonstrated this throughout his lifetime, proving to us that we can too.

Boseman undoubtedly left his mark on this world. He left us with unforgettable films and we will forever let his legacy live on.

14

October 20, 2020

Arts & Entertainment The Merionite

Caught in a scandalous spell Arts & Entertainment Editor The Harry Potter Universe has been a major force in pop culture ever since the first book came out in 1997. Children have grown up enchanted by its world, idolizing characters, actors, and even the author, J.K. Rowling. Over the past summer, there has been a resurgence of love for Harry Potter among Generation Z, accompanied by more and more controversy surrounding the author.

Many LM students spent an increased amount of their time this summer on their phones, much of it on the popular social media app TikTok. This platform has been responsible in large part for this Harry Potter comeback, as many students’ find themselves surrounded by content related to it on their ‘For-You Page,’ a personalized feature that shows users certain videos based on the TikTok algorithm. As said by Emmi Wu ’23, “I’m rewatching the movies because of all the videos about it that are viral on Tik-Tok. For example, one thing that’s trending is ‘shifting’, like shifting realities, and people are trying to shift to go to Hogwarts.”

What seems to be a contradiction, though, is how this is happening in the midst of infinite controversy regarding Rowling. This past June, Rowling came under fire—not for the first time—for making several statements that have offended many people. Her recent stream of comments began in June, with her responce to an article that used the phrase “people who menstruate” in the title.

She responded: “‘People who menstruate.

I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund?

Woomud?” This statement implies only women, and all women, menstruate, excluding transgender people. She followed this up by writing an essay defending herself and her views, pushing information that, when fact-checked, is quite often false

(i.e. protesting that trans activists hurt feminism by eliminating the definition of woman, which

Graphic By

is not occurring), only worsening the tension.

This is not the first time that Rowling has faced scrutiny for transphobic comments, or other controversies. Besides transphobia, she has also been accused of anti-black racism, ant-isemitism, Irish stereotyping, South and East Asian stereotyping, and more. According to Sophia

Abdulmalik ’23, a student who overall feels happy about the Harry Potter resurgence due to it encouraging kids to read, “Many and most of her words and opinions disgust me, especially because of her platform and influence, which she chooses to use to spread transphobia, xenophobia, and other forms of hate.

I will always love the series dearly, but it makes me cringe each time I read her name choice for the (few) POC characters and her constant tokenization and trope-ing of characters (Dean Thomas being fatherless as a black boy, Seamus Finnigan blowing everything up as the Irish character).”

Other LM students who were interviewed for this article agreed that Rowling has said and done many problematic and arguably hurtful things. But does that mean they can’t love Harry Potter anymore? Their feelings appear to be mixed. Certain students, including Wu and Abdulmalik, feel it is alright to love the series as long as they watch movies in ways that do not provide extra profit to Rowling. Others, however, strongly disagree. Nick Barr Bono ’23 feels that while in theory you can be a fan of something without supporting the creator, “J.K. Rowling is so culturally and financially tied to Harry Potter that at this point I’m deeply uncomfortable around people I meet in real life who wear Harry Potter merch [or] ask me about my Hogwarts house, [or] otherwise indicate that they’re fans of the Staff series. J.K. Rowling isn’t just the creator of Harry Potter: she’s the owner. And you can’t buy a product without supporting its owner.”

Whether or not the Harry Potter controversy will last is yet to be determined. But in a capitalistic society where success is measured by profit, it’s guaranteed this won’t be the last time this question will come up: can you really support a series or piece of art without—by extension—supporting its creator?

Fright Flick s to watch this season October is arguably one of the best months for watching scary movies. While not everyone may like scary movies, something feels right about getting under warm blankets. on an October night to watch something that will give you chills. And with Halloween around the corner, Hollywood always satisfies our horror cravings with new releases and timeless classics. My personal favorites are supernatural and psychological because of the abundance of frightful choices.

While there are many other horror movie categories, here are the my favorites:

PSYCHOLOGICAL :

Psychological horror movies are less about ghosts, creatures and gore. This category of movies play tricks on the viewers’ minds, leaving audiences puzzled and creeped out after watching them. Meant to mess with your head, this different type of horror is difficult to pull off, but when done correctly can perfectly disturb an audience.

My Top 3 Recommendations: Us This movie is attention-grabbing and has a unique plot with many twists and turns. Us is about a family that encounters another family

Get Out There are a lot of elements to Get Out that make it frightening. A lot of details and foreshadowing are present in the beginning, which admittedly went undetected until my second viewing. Get Out is about a man who gets trapped at his girlfriend’s family home and is written

by Jordan Peele, the same genius behind Us.

The Shining An exemplary film, The Shining stands out because of how well it ages. The CGI and filming techniques coupled with the storyline make for an effective yet disturbing plot line. The story follows a family that become caretakers of a big hotel all by themselves, while the dad slowly goes insane. This is one of the best horror movies ever made.

With terrifying scenes and crazy plot twists, this film is a must watch for all horror movie fans.

SUPE RNAT URAL :

Supernatural horror movies usually involve demons or ghosts. These movies typically go beyond the superficial, supernatural creatures and are filled with tropes that represent good vs. evil. There are numerous subcategories depending on what kind of supernatural creature these movies feature. Examples of such subcategories include zombie, alien, slasher, demonic, among many others. These types of scary movies started to be-

My Top 3 Recommendations:

The Exorcist The Exorcist was brilliant for its time and continues to terrify people today. The movie follows a young girl who is possessed by a demon, maybe even the devil himself. During the production of the movie, several crew members died mysteriously, causing people to believe the movie itself is haunted.

The Conjuring Based on a true story, a horrifying fact for people who have seen this movie to hear, The Conjuring takes place in a haunted house that a family has just moved into. Over time, stranger and more frightening things happen to the family that forces them to hire a famous couple who specialize in demons and bad spirits to visit the house.

Insidious new house, and upon arrival, the son falls into a coma and is soon clearly possessed.

Sports

October 20, 2020

15

The Merionite

Ben Warren ’21 It’s official: LM will play fall sports this year. The LMSD School Board recently voted to formally adopt the Central League’s thought-out plan for fall athletics. Pre-season practices finally commenced for LM on Tuesday, September 29, with league competition officially starting this month. Competitions will be played entirely within the Central League, and, for nearly all fall sports, the PIAA playoffs have been scheduled to begun in late October and November.

If student-athletes had been unsure about their fall seasons until this announcement, they cannot be blamed.

Communication about high school sports in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic has often been contradictory, to say the least, and has changed rapidly. The source of some confusion around fall sports throughout Pennsylvania has been the ongoing feud between the office of Governor Tom Wolf and the PIAA, which governs all of the high school sports in Pennsylvania.

On August 6, Governor Wolf issued a recommendation that fall sports should be postponed until at least January 1, citing, “significant health risks.” That same day, the PIAA released a statement in response to Wolf’s recommedation saying, “we are tremendously disappoined in this decision.”

Since his original controversial announcement, Governor Wolf has indicated that the final decisions for playing this fall will ultimately be made by the administrators and school boards in their respective districts.

Whether LM athletes are in practice or participating in interscholastic competitions, they will be responsible for following the health

and safety guidelines set out by the state, the PIAA, and Montgomery County.

In the weeks after the announcements were made, the governor’s office has published detailed guidelines on topics such as face coverings, limited number of spectators, health screenings, and social distancing. Now in line with one another, the PIAA has published similar information. Additionally, the Montgomery County Office of Public Health has published compatible mandates; districts who choose to continue fielding fall sports teams must be able to assist in contact tracing by taking attendance at competitions and maintaining contact information of attendees.

The county also released a tiered plan that relies on the number of COVID-19 cases and the rate of test positivity in the county to determine the level of activity permitted in low, moderate, and high-contact sports. LM fall sports in the low-contact category include cross country and golf, and examples of moderate-contact fall sports are field hockey and soccer. At the time this article was written, the county’s guidance allows for competition in both low-contact and moderate sports, and distanced pracGraphic by Cate Roser ’21 tices and drills for higher-contact sports.

The two fall sports at LM currently classified as higher-contact are football and water polo. The district has stated that it will follow the county’s guidelines and not play these sports until the correct metrics have been reached.

With an abundance of discontent displayed by both LM and Harriton’s football teams in the days following their announcement, the district has promised to do whatever they can to salvage their fall season.

Behind the Eagles’ slow start Tom Penn ’22 Even after collecting their first victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, October 4, it is undeniable that the Philadelphia Eagles have struggled this season.

Players, coaches, and fans alike have tried and failed to find an answer for the main source of their shortcomings so far this season.

A simple look at their decimated offense could provide one explanation.

They were already missing receivers going into the season, so the COVID-19 opt-out of recent trade acquisition Marquise Goodwin, along with injuries to Alshon Jeffrey– who has yet to see the field–and this year’s first round draft pick, Jalen Reagor, have made matters worse. Dallas Goedert, half of their two-headed monster at tight end, is on injured reserve as well. The Eagles played the first game of the season without Miles Sanders, their star running back, and his absence proved to be a crushing blow in a loss to the Washington Football Team. The play of quarterback Carson Wentz has not been nearly enough to make up for these injuries and the missed time of four of his five offensive lineman. Wentz, who had the lowest passer rating in the National Football League (NFL) going into the Week four matchup with the 49ers, has taken the most heat for the team’s underwhelm-

ing start to the season, with some fans even clamoring for the backup, rookie Jalen Hurts, to take the reins.

Despite all their issues, there is one key factor that plays to the Eagles’ advantage: their membership to the weakest division in the NFL. Entering their Week five showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Eagles reside atop the National Football Conference (NFC) East Division, ahead of the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Washington Football Team, who, combined, only have two wins this season. For comparison, the Cincinnati Bengals, with an identical record to the Eagles, sit in last place in the American Football Conference (AFC) North Division.

It would benefit Eagles head coach Doug Pederson to figure out which offensive play style works best, whether it be a no huddle passing offense or a clock draining rushing attack. On the defensive side of the ball, controlling their opponent’s most important player on offense and minimizing his impact on the game would lead to further improvement. If they figure out these integral elements, the Eagles should begin to finish games without blowing leads and, along with their division’s poor performance, ride their success to a fourth consecutive playoff appearance.

Alex Frankel ’22 On March 11 of this year, the NBA world came to an abrupt halt when league officials made the executive decision to suspend the NBA season following the spread of COVID-19 across the United States.

It happened very quickly: in the span of three hours, the league went from postponing only one game to suspending the entire season as it became apparent that the virus posed a serious threat to the health of the players and fans. This news had everyone in the basketball world wondering what the next move would be for the NBA. The season hadn’t concluded and the entirety of the playoffs had been left undecided.

It was clear that fans, players, and league executives alike wanted the season to continue but a safe solution needed to be found before any play resumed.

After months of planning, the NBA finally announced an extensive plan to continue the season with a select group of playoff-contending teams at Disney World in Orlando. The return-to-play proposal came with a strict set of rules and regulations to ensure the safety of all players and staff. Once news broke of the league resuming, the plan quickly picked up the nickname of “The NBA Bubble” as the key

to playing at Disney World was that nobody could enter or leave the resort. These regulations included daily COVID-19 tests and a two-week personal quarantine for players and staff when they first entered the bubble.

The bubble life didn’t come without its perks, though, as players were given access to a variety of activities around the Disney resort, including pools, gaming rooms, and restaurants. On June 30, players and staff from around the league touched down in Orlando and formally entered the bubble, and shortly thereafter, the NBA season was back in action. After a few play-in games were held to conclude the regular season, the playoff bracket was set, and teams prepared for what would become one of the most entertaining postseasons in NBA history. After two months of playoffs full of exciting series’ and historic individual performances, the Los Angeles Lakers were crowned NBA Finals Champions.

Motivated by years of being stuck in a playoff drought and the tragic passing of LM and Los Angeles legend Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and the Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in a six game series to conclude a postseason for the history books.

16

October 20 , 2020

Sports The Merionite

Club sports vs. school sports Lily Garton ’21 For student athletes, the coronavirus pandemic has brought a lot of players, but the district could be sued if guidelines are broken. concerns surrounding the fall sports season. After the spring season ended This has led to rigid rules to ensure that the damage is minimal. before it truly began, and with winter sports being tragically cut short, many Despite the differences in playing capabilities, one significant challenge of those involved with athletics were anxiously waiting to return to the playing club sports currently have to take care of is finding available field space to field. However, as the season approached, a lot of play on. Owners of property, such as high schools uncertainty came with it. Club sports resumed over the who lend out their turf, are allowed to deny summer, with players now participating in practices training time to any club team. This means that findand tournaments against out-of-state teams. School ing a place to practice can be tricky for clubs who don’t activities, on the other hand, were still up in the air. have consistent access to facilities. The rules for these School sports were finally able to resume practices are mostly decided by coaches of individual hosting organized practices back in August. Howteams. Some have strict rules, requiring masks in close ever, no physical contact was allowed, and social contact drills, while others leave it up to the players. distancing was mandated. Still, the actual season The current rule differences have made the was in question, and dates as far back as January transition between participating in club and school were being thrown around for a plausible start time. sports fairly awkward, and has inevitably left those Now, the final decisions have been left up to each exclusively participating in school sports reasonably individual district, but there are still strict guidelines frustrated. In the end, the vast majority of athletes in place for all practices. For instance, sports have been attempting to take every necessary have specific days when they are allowed to run precaution for ensuring that LM might eventually practices, and no two teams can share the same return to a more “normal” life. It is unclear if we will field space. This means some teams only get time ever get back to our pre-COVID routines anytime Graphic by Cate Roser ’21/Staff soon, or how long sports will be able to play. on the turf once a week, and coaches get less time to train. Meanwhile, club teams are able to play with full As student athletes wait on the sideliens, others Athletes could have their season cut short once again, contact and planning for games in the near future. or they could manage to play through their whole So, what allows for these stark differences in schedule. The only thing we do know is that we must flexibility? A lot of it has to do with liability. For club sports, it is up to indilisten to those whose job it is to keep us safe and follow any guidelines they viduals to decide if they are comfortable or not going back to full participation. put in place. This will give our student athletes the best chance to comWith school sports, not only are coaches held accountable for the safety of their pete for a Central League title without further setbacks or cancellations.

Photo courtesy of Natalie Hillis ’24

Photo courtesy of Jaden Mayer ’23

Photo courtesy of Reid Joseph ’22

Photo courtesy of Talia Bierschwale ’21

Freshman Natalie Hillis

Sophomore Jaden Mayer

Junior Reid Joseph

Senior Talia Bierschwale

What sport(s) do you play?

Soccer What is your greatest athletic achievement?

Winning indoor state cups What is your pre-game pump-up song?

All I Do Is Win by DJ Khaled If you could interview a famous person, who would you choose?

Reese Witherspoon

What sport(s) do you play?

Soccer What is your greatest athletic achievement?

Winning states for my travel team If you could interview a famous person, who would you choose?

Michael Jordan What was your favorite toy as a child?

Tech Deck

What sport(s) do you play?

Soccer What is your greatest athletic achievement?

Central League Second Team You’ve been given an elephant. You can’t get rid of it. What would you do with it?

Train it to do tricks like it was a pet dog What is your pre-game pump-up song?

1942 Flows by Meek Mill

What sport(s) do you play?

Volleyball & Track and Field What is your greatest athletic achievement?

Earning 2nd Team Main Line Times Honors Award for the 2019 Volleyball Season What was your favorite toy as a child?

Elmo What is your favorite Halloween movie?

Get Out