EYEING THE STORM
MFS COMMUNITY MEMBERS FEEL HURRICANE SEASON’S IMPACT
By Jayson Rhone ’21, Liah Morban ‘21, Leah Fulton ‘21, Staff Writers
The Hurricanes of this summer’s 2017 seemed to take a turn for the worse. Hurricane Harvey, Irma, and Maria have caused major damage in many parts of the world. These storms have left thousands of people without shelter, food and aid that they need. Throughout the weeks people have been going out of their way to help clean up, but without much luck
The first hurricane of the season, Hurricane Harvey, developed on August 18 and made its way to the Gulf of Mexico. It developed into a Category 4 hurricane within 8 days of its arrival there. Over the course of 6 days from becoming a Category 4, nearly 27 trillion gallons of water had fallen on Texas and Louisiana. At least 72,000 people were reported rescued and 215,000 kids were evacuated from their schools. The storm has passed, but it is estimated that repairing the damage will cost around $75 billion.
AM Front Desk Coordinator Charmaine Goldsmith told WordsWorth that Hurricane Harvey affected her niece, a dance instructor for the underprivileged. “As a mother, a grandmother, and a great grandmother, [it] really hurts me that there are all these families that are suffering.” She added that she feels helpless because “there is so much that is not being done.”
Hurricane Irma started to form on August 31, during Hurricane Harvey. Fast forward to September 6, and Hurricane Irma was already classified as a Category 5 hurricane. Barbuda, one of the Caribbean Islands, has 1,600 inhabitants who couldn’t go back home because of Irma’s destruction. However, that wasn’t the end of Irma, as it soon hit the south coast of Florida and was labeled as a Category 4 hurricane. On the first day of the Category 4 hurricane a report-
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ing of 34 deaths were reported in Florida. Irma continued on its path throughout the state until it died down to a Category 1 hurricane in central Florida.
After Hurricane Irma, those who lived in Florida and surrounding states had to deal with how the storm affected their neighborhoods. Sinkholes were common, power lines were down, and homes were severely damaged. Residents were left with no pow er, fuel, or other materials that would fulfill basic needs. In response these issues, Roman Gastesi of Monroe County, Florida, told CNN, “The biggest concern is folks come down; they rush down and then realize they don’t have a home they can live in and now they need a shelter.” As the damage was assessed, it was announced that 14,000 to 16,000 homes in the Lower Keys of Florida were without power. Electricity was promised to be restored on September 10th, but did not return until a week later.
The third and final hurricane of the sea son, Hurricane Maria, started as a Category 5 hurricane and destroyed many homes and power lines in Puerto Rico. With Irma-like winds and Harvey-like flooding, Hurricane Maria was one of the most destructive storms seen in a long time. 70 percent of households lost power and 95 percent of Puerto Rico’s wireless cell sites went out of service. Thousands of people were
ordered to evacuate due to the impending opening of floodgates. Sadly, the high water levels damaged the floodgate alarms and 8 people drowned after they opened. Maria managed to cripple communication, decimate buildings, and damage a dam that puts many families living downstream in danger of losing their homes or flooding.
“My oldest grand daughter was affected by Maria. She was stuck on the island and only arrived home [last week],” said Goldsmith. She added that her granddaughter was sick because of all the water. “[S]he is a vegetarian, but had to eat meat so that she wouldn’t starve.” It is expected to take years for Puerto Rico to make a full recovery from the disaster that took place, and an extended bankruptcy and debt doesn’t make things any easier. Kindergarten Assistant and Director of Extended Day Programs and After School Enrichment Norma DeGroat’s parents, siblings, nieces, uncles, and cousins are all stuck in Puerto Rico. She knew they were okay, but was not able to talk to them. “It was very agonizing and I couldn’t get sleep even though I knew they were okay,” DeGroat told WordsWorth.
She had to wait six days to be able to talk to her family and ask exactly
how they were and how they were holding up.
Towards the end of September, many celebrities and politicians have gotten together to send money and help down to those in Puerto Rico. Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez pledged $1 million towards hurricane relief efforts, and Pitbull sent his private jet to bring those battling cancer to hospitals in the US. Many people have expressed opinions that President Trump has not been supportive and helpful. Rihanna, popular singer and social media influencer, tweeted, “Dear @realDonaldTrump I know you’ve probably already seen this, but I just wanted to make sure! Don’t let your people die like this.”
She also expressed her gratitude towards the five living former presidents who were working together to send supplies, tweeting, “Round of APPLAUSE to these gentlemen for taking control of this devastating situation!!!”
Rihanna, along with many others, have been moved to help and speak out about their views on the situation in Puerto Rico. DeGroat says while a lot of organizations and celebrities have come through to help in Puerto Rico, she doesn’t feel like Trump is helping much. “I think it is one of the most devastating things they are going through and I hope that as human beings we could come together and help them out. I’m just praying and hoping.”
Within MFS, the Upper School Spirit Week Dance proceeds will go to benefit hurricane victims. When asked what she thought could be done to help out, Goldsmith cited the creativity and inspiration of all the students, saying “I believe [the students] are the generation of change.”
DHC Patrons Notice Decrease in Food Quality, Survey Shows
By Andrew Shah ‘19, Social Media Director & Andrew Rowan, Editor-in-Chief/Multimedia
“Where’d everybody go?” one Upper Schooler was overheard asking on the first day of school as he walked into the Dining Hall, shocked to see so many familiar faces gone. Over the summer, the Dining Hall staff underwent massive personnel changes. Many retired, one found a new job to advance her career, one is expecting a baby, and one suffered an injury that prevents her from working in a cafeteria setting. Like any business that undergoes a widespread change in staff, the changes are being felt by their customers. For Healthy Foods by Choice, the business that runs the Dining Hall, that change has turned out to be a perceived decrease in the food quality as the new staff gets acclimated to the work environment.
Director of Finance and Operations, Lisa Carbone Warren, responded to these claims by pointing out that the new staff spent the beginning of the year adjusting to their new environment, and that the food quality has been steadily improving ever since.
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In early October, WordsWorth sent out a survey asking Middle and Upper School Students, and Faculty and Staff to rate the quality of various offerings in the Dining Hall. In this survey, WordsWorth asked participants to rate the Dining Hall’s Entrees, Sandwiches, Salad Bar, Grab n’ Go Items, Snack Bar, Portion Size for Cost, and Overall Food Quality on a scale of 1-5 (1 being poor and 5 being excellent).
Each of the three groups that were polled (US, MS, and Faculty/Staff) viewed the food quality in the Dining Hall in a similar light; the ratings of each aspect of the Dining Hall were almost identical across the board. The survey also included a “Free Response” section that allowed for participants to leave any additional comments they had about the Dining Hall. One Faculty Member noted that “the quality and the flavor of the food has declined this year.” Another member of the faculty responded, “There seems to be a lack of originality in the preparation [of the food], and some choices from last year are gone and have not been replaced.”
Another prevalent concern among the students and faculty was the length of the lines in the Dining Hall, as multiple participants pointed it out in their responses. Carbone Warren offered a description as to why the lines were seemingly longer at the beginning of the year, noting that the made-to-order deli section had been reconfigured, and that the closing and reopening of the Snack Bar added to the confusion. Although Carbone Warren acknowledged that the problem was one that needed to be addressed, she stated that the situation would never be fully resolved, because the cafeteria was designed prior to the decision to expand the number of students in the Upper School.
Many Dining Hall patrons made a note about the freshness of the fruit and the items on the salad bar. A number of
faculty members added that they eat there everyday, and while they are generally satisfied, some have noticed that there have been “vegetables [that] aren’t fresh,” while others say that the vegetables appear to be out too long. “I’d like to see improvements to the salad bar with new items,” commented one faculty member. Other students and faculty echoed that sentiment. Grains, tofu, variety of beans, and different low fat salad dressings were all suggestions that were entered. Another concern of many Upper School Students and Faculty was the fresh fruit. “The fresh fruit needs to be washed. Children should not be eating unwashed fruit because
of the buildup of pesticides in their bodies,”wrote one Faculty Member Carbone Warren told WordsWorth that this is an issue that “[Healthy Foods by Choice] can do better with, and they said that they would.” She adds that Dining Hall Manager, Kimberly Watson, randomly inspects pieces of fruit for quality. Healthy Foods by Choice buys fruit from local farms, a request of the school. Fruit that comes from local farms “doesn’t always look as pretty as the [fruit] that you get from the
market,” Carbone Warren concluded. Another big issue for Dining Hall patrons was sanitary concerns. “They use the same wet rag that is sitting on the counter to wipe the knife off when making sandwiches, without washing it or changing it between use.” This claim was corroborated by another Upper Schooler. Healthy By Foods by Choice did not return our repeated requests for an interview. Another response talked about the metal ice bowl. A particular critique from a faculty member was that the scoop falls into the bowl, creating a puddle of ice and germs. “This is a great thing for [the school] to talk about,” Carbone Warren says, because... This story continues on Page 4
Photo courtesy of MFS Marketing and Communications Students bustle during a lunch period in the Dining Hall Commons.
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