The Bridge, Oct. 2020

VOLUME LI ISSUE II

NORTHFIELD MOUNT HERMON

Are You Ready for the Election?

Cecile DelaCruz helped NMH community members with mail-in voting this year. Photo by Clara Guettel ’24

Read more on p. 3

OCTOBER 2020

RBG: The 5’1” Intellectual Giant This article was written by NMH’s Women’s History class: Linh Dinh ’21, Layla Hay ’21, Carina Medrano ’21, Tram Huynh ’21, Theresa Twardosky ’22, Juliet Homes ’21, Ruthie Davis ’21, Gabi Harkless ’22 “RBG should be a household name.” — Dean of Equity and Social Justice Martha Neubert Unfortunately, this is not the reality.

On Sept. 18, the world mourned the loss of a pioneering advocate for women’s rights and the second woman to ever serve on the Supreme Court. Ruth Bader Ginsburg continues to inspire many young women, including Sydney duKor-Jackson ’21, who said, “I am able to envision a future for myself that wouldn’t exist without RBG. She opened doors and showed me that if she can do it, I can do it too.”

Born on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, Ginsburg was the top graduate in her class at Cornell University before she went on to attend Harvard Law School and received her Bachelor of Law from Columbia Law School.

Even so, she experienced discrimination when she entered the professional world and was unable to get hired as a lawyer. “Men with far fewer credentials were getting jobs in elite law firms,” commented history teacher Ted Kenyon, “but she never quit.”

With a history of repeatedly shattering the glass ceiling and breaking down barriers

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Art teacher Lauren Scott Corwin painted this portrait before the Supreme Court Justice passed away.

for women in the professional world, Ginsburg was appointed as the first Jewish woman to sit on the Supreme Court bench in 1993.

Even before her appointment by President Bill Clinton, Ginsburg paved the way for women and minorities alike. As a lawyer, she fought

for numerous monumental Supreme Court cases in regard to women’s rights. While representing the United States in the landmark case United States v. Virginia, which banned segregating women from public higher education, she also founded the ACLU Women’s Rights Project. “She

worked tirelessly to uphold a sense of credibility as a woman and … protected the rights of those less represented and often forgotten,” Dillon Stone ’21 explained.

Ginsburg never self-identified as a feminist, yet as a trailblazer for women in the political world, she was inevi-

tably thrust into the limelight.

Through her advocacy on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg clearly understood that the United States Constitution and the decisions of the court had real-life implications for citizens. In her earnest efforts to uphold the Constitution, she dissented more often than not, with a constant focus on the welfare of every person in this country, especially marginalized communities.

This profoundly “impacted … the daily lives of millions of people and often those of our society who most need these protections,” commented Government and Civil Liberties teacher Jim Shea.

Amidst the unpredictability of the current political climate, many continue to reflect on her life. Ginsburg died on Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the Jewish High Holy Days, which is a period of contemplation.

In that same spirit of reflection, members of the NMH community shared their thoughts on Ginsburg’s legacy. Academic Dean Sarah Warren emphasized that “we have to understand and utilize our power, even when it may feel (and be) limited.” Similarly, Ginsburg inspired students to “follow in her footsteps and do our part,” as Chloe Key ’21 stated. Ginsburg broke barriers, assuring students like Chun-Wen Ko ’21 that he will have the ability to “accomplish what I want to accomplish and not ... let setbacks actually set me back.”

Gen Z: The Generation of Change

By Gina Atwood ’21 When thinking about voting in the United States, my mind goes directly to the older generations, such as the Baby Boomers and Gen X. These two generations constitute the majority of policymakers and voters in our country today.

This is how it has always been… until now.

The younger generations have become much more politically active in recent years, most notably in 2020. Since this year has been riddled with political controversy, human rights protests, a global pandemic, and the ongoing climate crisis, many young voters have been inspired to get involved.

With all this division in our country, voting is vital to the future of the United States.

Gen Z, spanning ages 8 to 24, is the youngest, most educated, and most diverse generation yet, and, according to the Pew Research Center, 24 million of them will be eligible to vote in this upcoming election. This generation has been exposed to highly controversial issues since a very young age, and quietly endured years of divided politics in our country. This November may be one of the most high-pressure battles yet to come, and, with many being old enough to vote now, Gen Z finally has a voice.

Growing up using social media full swing, Gen Z has used these platforms to share individual ideals, jokes, and opinions. However, they have also harnessed these platforms to spread awareness

Madeleine Yang ’21 and Zari Newman ’21 are part of a generation that is finding its voice. Photo by Clara Guettel ’24.

and coordinate larger scale events. Through social media, there is a new level of connectedness and constant communication that has not been present in other generations, which is uncharted territory during political controversies.

Ella Gazo ’22 described

how everyone in her community knew to go to the 6 PM Black Lives Matter protests in Burlington, Vermont, through Instagram. When explaining the positives and negatives of social media, Gazo stated, “Instagram provides a lot of good graphics with statistics on

political candidates, but you still have to realize that those could be biased. I usually try to do my own research, keep an open mind, and continue having difficult conversations.”

Though Gen Z has been very politically active and opinion-

ated on social media this year, the actual act of registering to vote has been a prevalent issue with a majority of the young voting population.

NMH art teacher Steve Allison addressed this issue: “Young people do not vote. It has always been a problem, even when I was just starting to get to that age. But, there is a tremendous opportunity to affect policy this year, so hopefully, they [will] take advantage of that on November 3rd.”

According to Allison, the power that this new generation has, whether their opinions are conservative or liberal, depends on their voter turnout. This November, according to The Hill News, Gen Z is expected to constitute 1 out of every 10 votes, which is relatively influential, especially in the close race between President Trump and former VP Joe Biden.

From the perspective of other generations, Gen Z has been pinned as radical and impulsive. With an undoubtedly chaotic upbringing in regards to the political climate of their youth, Gen Z has evolved into a generation that isn’t afraid to speak their minds and make change, whether through social media or the polls. Sage Alix ’21 summarized, “Some issues today aren’t political problems — BLM, climate change, the coronavirus — and they shouldn’t be handled as such. They are humanitarian problems. I think that is what sets Gen Z apart from past generations, because we don’t politicize natural and human rights.”

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A Time to Reflect with Brian Hargrove Interview by Chloe Key ’21

say that hate does not have a place here.

And, we need to learn from it. Sometimes in our community, where we try to be very inclusive and affirming, it’s easy to feel safe and disconnected from some of the hate that persists. We need to model our values and learn from our failures and shortcomings. In doing this, we need to do all that we can to work hard to stand against antisemitism.

So that’s what I would offer: standing with our community, acknowledging that these things exist, and doing everything we can to eradicate it.

On September 5, Brian Hargrove shared in an email to the NMH community that hateful graffiti of a swastika was discovered in a common-space restroom. Since then, the school has worked to address the issue of antisemitism, support the Jewish community, and commit to NMH’s mission statement of acting with humanity and purpose. Photography editor Chloe Key ’21 spoke with Brian to follow-up on the incident and the action that NMH has taken in response.

Below are excerpts from the conversation.

Can you talk about how the graffiti was discovered?

What I can share is that we had an employee who, while in the restroom, discovered it.

What was the school’s initial reaction to the graffiti?

We have a protocol that when something like that is discovered, you take photos of it and then remove it. Following that, you share the news with the community. That is exactly what we did. Once it is shared with the community, we take the time to talk about it.

We started having those conversations and giving support to our community, as we did in an additional email communication, meetings with the Jewish Student Association, a school meeting, and SLS.

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The Bridge Art by Janice Cho ’21.

A JSA leader told us that you visited one of their meetings after this incident. Can you share how it went?

First, I want to acknowledge that it was their meeting and I want to be sensitive to that. I was grateful to be included in it and to be given the opportunity to listen to them, support them, and demonstrate the school’s commitment to addressing this hateful act. I assured them that this is an incident that we must share with the community and learn from as we stand together against hate.

What action has been taken in response to the incident? What action will be taken going forward as we continue this year?

Beyond the immediate reaction, we felt it was important to communicate the nature of the incident more fully. What happened is not tolerated here at Northfield Mount Hermon in any way. I needed to communicate that to our students, faculty, staff and parents, as I did.

We wanted to give an opportunity for our community to hear from our students if our students felt like they wanted to share something.

They did and shared a video with the community. It was really powerful for all of us, I think, to hear how this act impacted them.

Following that, we wanted to provide an opportunity for discussion and time to reflect on it and the fact that [the perpetrator] is not the best NMH member. When hateful

acts occur, we need to address them forcefully.

We will continue to think about programming throughout this year and beyond to make sure that we hold our community accountable and address the fact that antisemitism is something that exists here and in other places. It’s our responsibility to address it and try to eradicate it. NMH is not a bubble immune to hate and the acts it perpetuates.

Is there anything else you want to say to the student body about this?

What I think is most important is we need to be clear in supporting our neighbors here — in this case, our Jewish students — and affirming our solidarity. You must acknowledge it and move forward beyond it. We need to

Founded in 1969 thebridge@nmhschool.org Editor-in-Chief Janice Cho ’21 Managing Editor Celes Moon ’21 Digital Editor Sydney duKor-Jackson ’21 Layout Design Editor Sally Pak ’21 Features Editor Dillon Stone ’21 Opinions Editor Dariya Kozhasbay ’21 Arts Editor Chunwen Ko ’21 Sports Editor Leah Sutton-Smith ’21 Photo Editor Chloe Key ’21 Social Media Editor Tram Huynh ’21 Faculty Advisor Jennifer Sutton

The (Dance) Show Must Go On

By Chunwen Ko ’21 Whether you’re usually a performer or an audience member, many of us thoroughly enjoy the performing arts at NMH. However, given our current COVID guidelines, this year’s program will be unlike any previous year’s.

I spoke to Taylor King and Gretel Schatz, NMH’s two dance teachers who lead the Senior and Junior Dance companies, to see how dance rehearsals and performances may look different under COVID guidelines, as well as how they’ve responded to these changes.

For starters, dancers aren’t allowed to touch each other or travel in the airstream of another dancer. “You would normally be traveling all around and finding different ways to locomote,” said Gretel. However, “Junior Company is too big to be in the space, I’m going to do two separate pieces” for the fall dance concert.

Both teachers are also experimenting with holding rehearsals outdoors. “We’re going to film [a piece] outdoors because there is going to be a large traveling part,” Taylor added. Performances are also going to look very different.

Live performances are only open to people who are “a part of this already-created community,” said Taylor. “Whatever we do will be streamed,” added Gretel, “so we can have a limited number of people watch a performance live, and we can have people watching it live elsewhere.”

However, Taylor and Gretel prefer to see these challenges

Senior Dance Company is back to dancing this year, but they are masked and in socially distanced boxes due to new COVID regulations.

Photo by Chloe Key ’21.

imposed by COVID as learning opportunities. “The thing about being a dancer and a choreographer in this world,” said Gretel, “is you have to learn how to adjust to situations that were not meant for you. There’s just this mindset of, I’m going to improvise and take what I have. I’m going to take these rules, and then I’m going to improvise within these new rules.”

Taylor responded, “Each day, I’m realizing new things about what it is I’m creating with this new structure, and

I’m trying to work with it, but I’m not allowing it to make me feel like I’m suffocating. At first I did feel a little restricted, but now I’m feeling like, ‘I’m starting to get a little bit of a handle.’”

Some students are disappointed that they may not be able to see these performances in person. Eliza Voorheis ’21, a member of the Senior Dance Company, wishes people could see her perform in-person. “It’s such a different experience seeing something live than on a video… I feel

like it captures your attention more. [When] you’re watching a video, there are so many other things distracting you: you can stop in between, you can do these other things. A live performance really takes you completely in and you’re only focused on that.”

However, students also recognize that the Performing Arts Department is doing its best to ensure that everyone, performer or audience member, stays safe. Chanjun Ju ’21, a member of Concert Band and the Honors Jazz Combo,

feels grateful for the opportunity to continue creating music and attending performances, even if virtually. “The faculty in the arts department have been working incredibly hard to figure out all the challenges that come with making sure that we have safe spaces to perform and safe spaces to practice, and so I’m really appreciative. And although it might suck right now, I know things are going to look better in the future.”

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What’s It Like Being a Lab Student?

By Fontis Hsieh ’23 “You’re already working on your homework?! You slept at twelve last night! This will damage you!” Since the start of school in September, Tory Tran ’23’s mother has walked into the living room several times at 5:30 a.m to find her daughter staring at her computer screen as she reads her online textbook.

Lab students like Tran typically have a total of seven classes a week, with each period being either 30 minutes or 55 minutes long, followed by 3 to 5.5 hours of homework, depending on the course level.

“We need to make sure that

students are able to have a similar academic experience, so there is less class time compared to on-campus learning, but there will be more of an expectation for homework load,” Lab Director Grant Gonzalez explained.

The time that students spend on homework can vary from just a few hours to a majority of the day. Some students argue that such variations are due to teachers’ misinterpretation of students’ capabilities within the time available to them, especially with work coming from multiple classes and outside commitments. “Some teachers tend to underestimate the

time students spend on homework,” Tran reasoned.

Others explained that they face difficulties with the Lab program because they are still adjusting to the new format.

“We are literally doing most of the learnings by ourselves and it is a brand new way of studying for me,” Mary Yang ’23 said. “It is really stressful, though I am getting used to it.”

Meanwhile, Teresa Chang ’22 acknowledged, “I do think that I am actually guilty for some of the pressures because I am not a really disciplined person and I often find myself not able to concentrate through Zoom, which defi-

In the Lab program, bedrooms become classrooms and laptops become teachers. Photo by Tram Huynh ’21.

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nitely keeps me less engaged.”

According to most students, stress doesn’t only come from academic learning but also from trying to communicate with teachers. Due to time zone differences and communication issues, it is often difficult for students to get immediate and comprehensive responses from their teachers.

Tran mentioned, “If I was at school, I could just email my teachers and arrange a meeting with them within a couple hours; but now, I have to expect a late reply because I have to be mindful of their sleeping schedule.”

The same matter applies to upperclassmen. “I’m pretty

stressed about the college application process though it hasn’t begun [for me],” Nikolai Charlier ’22 related.

“I don’t know if Lab will help me enough to apply, since everything is virtual.” The Lab program has also stressed some students with leadership positions like Elizaveta Nikiforova ’21. She explained, “I am a RL and I really want to be in the dorm with people, but I can’t, so it’s just really stressful to think that I am missing out so much.”

Many Lab students are also involved with activities outside of school, such as standardized test preparation, academic courses outside of the Lab program, extracurriculars, and sports training. “I take IB chemistry lessons outside of school because I personally am passionate about it. Being able to take classes outside of school, I do think that I am taking advantage of being at home,” Yang stated.

While additional courses are definitely a secondary source of work and stress alongside the Lab Program, many students are grateful for the opportunities.

Despite some of the inconveniences and outside sources of stress, students have appreciated NMH’s response to the unpredictable dilemma of the pandemic. The 30 Lab students surveyed rated their Lab experience an average of 7.5 out of 10. Tran concluded, “Overall, the Lab program has trained me to be a lot more independent and responsible for my own education.”

The Good Kind of Positives in COVID

By Lulu Calame ’23 When I left my room for class in the mornings of freshman year, I used to check that I had four things: my phone, keycard, laptop, and water bottle. Fast-forward to sophomore year, and there is one more thing on the list: my mask. I am no different from any other student, adult, or human in the world right now in the midst of the raging pandemic. We have been jarringly forced into a completely new way of life and, in an intimate boarding school environment, life is almost unrecognizable.

I can confidently speak for everyone in the NMH community when I say that I miss the soft-serve ice cream machine, sports events, and hugs. There is a lot to miss and to complain about and very little to do about it. So I am taking this moment, with the help of other NMH students, to find a silver lining in our current situation. To them, I asked, “Is there any silver lining that has come out of our new situation with COVID at NMH?” Some had more trouble than others in finding an answer, but I appreciated all the responses I got, no matter how small.

People talked about the new schedule: “I didn’t expect to like having trimesters with only two classes per trimester, but I really like it because it gets me to focus more on two individual classes. This is really good, not only for my homework stability, but also my test scores as well. I got a 99 on my latest test.”

“More time in the morning.”

They talked about friends: “Because we have four class blocks a day and I only really use up three of them, I have all this extra time to see

my friends. I haven’t really been able to see my friends throughout quarantine so I really appreciate the times I do get to spend with them, even if it is only a few minutes before class.”

“Being able to bond with others who are in the same situation as I am.”

They talked about themselves: “It has forced me to spend time learning more about myself. “[I know] that everyone is struggling to adapt to new schedules and protocols [which] pushes me to be

the best, most caring, and supportive version of myself possible!”

And they talked about their dorms: “Becoming closer with dorm pod mates!”

“I became really close with my roommate very quickly.”

“My dorm has food in it, so I don’t have to go to the dining hall for breakfast every day.”

This last response was my favorite — it felt shockingly honest: “I have to social-distance from my brother.”

nies is because of their profit reasons. If they are able to develop a vaccine by themselves, they will be able to snag all of the profit.

On the other hand, if they were to cooperate with other companies and scientists, they would share the credit and the profit. Because they are members of the medical and pharmaceutical community, the leaders of these companies are the people who are the most aware of COVID’s destructive capabilities. If they are members of society with an acute sense of morality, they should realize the importance of urgency and swiftness in solving this problem.

While the companies may not have considered the consequences of their actions to this level, their lack of sharing information with the public may directly affect the rate of

COVID even after a vaccine is produced. According to an article in the New York Times, a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 62% of Americans believe the FDA approval will be rushed by President Trump.

When over a majority of Americans doubt the safety of the vaccine, pharmaceutical companies should share their current progress in an effort to calm the public.

Without shared information and evidence of the vaccine’s safety, the majority of society, including those who are not anti-vaxxers, will be skeptical of the vaccine’s legitimacy.

Dr. Harlan Krumholz, a cardiologist and health care researcher at Yale University, told the New York Times, “Trust is in short supply. And the more they can share, the better off we are.” Dr. Krum-

holz has spent years pleading with companies and academic researchers to share more trial data with outside scientists. Scientists believe they will be able to contribute to the vaccine if they have access to this data. Even while these scientists are begging companies to help with the vaccine, companies refuse to share information out of pure greed.

Companies also have a responsibility to share information with the public because of their funding.

The New York Times reports that currently, most vaccine research programs are funded

by U.S. taxpayers’ money. If a private entity was to fund such vaccine programs, these companies would be entitled to share their progress with said entity. It is ludicrous that these companies assume they are not responsible for shar-

ing their progress with the vaccine. According to the New York Times, scientists and health experts say, “American taxpayers are entitled to know more since the federal government has committed billions of dollars to vaccine research and to buying the vaccines once they are approved.”

Life has changed drastically over the last few months.

While COVID has become the new norm, researchers tirelessly search for a vaccine that will help salvage the world. It is everyone’s duty to contribute to reducing the impact of this pandemic.

Similar to noblesse oblige, a concept that says the nobility should bear social responsibility, researchers and people in power should drive and affect change. They should be partially held responsible for the final result of this pandemic.

Corporate Greed over COVID Vaccine

By Matthew Kang ’24 The spotlight has never been brighter on the pharmaceutical industry. Thirteen companies have never before affected all 7.8 billion people in the world at once. If they are to succeed under the scrutiny of the world, they should work together to solve the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and AstraZeneca are not sharing information regarding their vaccines, even after a trial run resulted in a patient suffering from serious neurological symptoms.

By not sharing their information with other scientists and companies, companies are delaying the solution of this pandemic. The reason they are not sharing data with outside scientists and compa-

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SATs in COVID: Tried and Tested

By Janice Cho ’21 As I waited to be admitted into the SAT testing center, I did not expect to get sprayed from neck to toe with disinfectant. Yet, after eight months of witnessing the turbulent narrative of 2020, it wasn’t surprising either. As I stood in line, admission ticket in one hand and negative COVID test in the other, I couldn’t help but think: standardized testing this year is, to put it simply, different.

The coronavirus has inevitably turned testing organizations like the College Board and ACT on their heads — after all, an enclosed space packed with students for several hours is risky business during a global pandemic.

In May, the College Board attempted to respond to this dilemma through online AP exams, but faced backlash as many students experienced technical difficulties or, if living abroad, took their tests in the middle of the night.

After this disastrous precedent, in-person standardized tests have returned in more locations, including NMH, which recently administered the September SAT and ACT. With this growing availability, more and more students have been able to take the tests, but their experiences have varied significantly.

One factor that has influenced students’ experiences was the test that they took. In particular, “ACT has been hit pretty hard by the coronavirus in terms of the level of customer service,” according to Academic Dean

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After months of planning over the summer, NMH successfully administered its first socially distant SAT of the school year on September 23rd. Photo by Sarah Warren.

Sarah Warren.

When some of the exams for NMH testers didn’t arrive on time for the September ACT, Warren “needed to call the ACT at least 3 times, and never waited less than 4 hours to get a person on the phone.”

These behind-the-scenes difficulties were reflected in the experience of Thalia Schodel ’21, who stated that sudden adjustments to her test “stressed [her] out.”

Ayna Galtseva-Bezyuk ’22 also faced trouble when taking the ACT in July and September in Moscow, but for a different reason. Galtseva-Bezyuk “[expected] precautions to be held because [the ACT is] an

American test,” but arrived at the center to find that she was the only student wearing a mask. The only precautionary measure was a cursory survey for symptoms — “but people can lie obviously,” said Galtseva-Bezyuk. She attributed the lack of caution to a general feeling of indifference toward the virus in Russia.

Thousands of miles away from Moscow, my own experience taking the August SAT subject test in Eumseong, South Korea revealed a completely different atmosphere.

In order to even set foot in the testing center, I had to be tested for COVID two days prior, wear a KF94 mask, be sprayed with disinfectant, and

fill out a form for contact tracing. As I waited in line, test administrators also held back an angry mob of parents and students who didn’t know that a COVID test was necessary for entry.

With the differing experiences that students have had — or couldn’t have — with standardized tests, many colleges have gone test-optional.

“They want it to seem fair,” stated college counselor Peter Jenkins. “That’s an important word distinction. They care that it seems fair. We all know, of course, that it isn’t fair.”

Despite this change, some students still feel pressured to take standardized tests

because “it’s better to have it,” as Galtseva-Bezyuk described.

She added, “Since I’m a junior, I don’t know how it’s going to be like the year that I apply, so I’m taking [tests] anyway because I think they might require it.”

For students looking to take standardized tests on campus, the SAT and ACT will continue to be available at NMH throughout this school year and into the future, “even if we [continue] to be under pandemic conditions,” stated Warren. “As long as we have kids on campus, we can give tests to those students, so that gives me confidence for going forward.”

Dismantling Unconscious Racial Bias

By Sunny Pak ’23 As the days go by, I surprise myself when I look back at what I used to deem as normal and ordinary, and now I see it to be tainted with normalized racism. Memories of group work in classes are now not memories of the project or the teamwork. Instead, they’re memories of the normalcy of teachers putting all the Asians in one group; of constantly being confused with any other Asian in class or school; of teachers never trying to actually learn my legal name, yet learning to pronounce the hardest of Western names.

These are just some of my memories of a normal class setting, not from years back,

but in the last two years.

These are memories of classmates who were loud and never managed to wake up on a Monday morning — a normal class. These are the teachers who assign too much homework, who give students great feedback, and who are hard on students but give them the grade they deserve — normal teachers. They are ordinary people. But sometimes “ordinary” carries subtle but clear and unintended discrimination due to their unconscious racial bias.

Am I calling these people racist? I assure you, I am not.

But didn’t I just accuse them of having “unconscious racial bias?” Firstly, I didn’t simply accuse them of having racial

bias. I know that they have it, as everyone, including me, has unconscious racial bias. To clear the air, according to the Kirwan Institute at Ohio State University, unconscious racial bias means “the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.” To me, this does not equal racism. I also want to emphasize the “unconscious” part of this term means that people don’t recognize that this mindset is embedded in them.

This concept of unconscious racial bias is quite strangely misunderstood or unknown to many people. However, unconscious racial bias and blatant racism have enor-

mous differences. Being racist is when a person or group of people acts with the full intention to discriminate. It is racist to call a Black person a racial slur or accuse an Asian person of eating dogs.

Meanwhile, actions due to unconscious racial bias have no intention to discriminate, but this doesn’t mean they’re acceptable. While such actions come from a different mindset, they still play a huge part in normalizing racism.

Unconscious racial bias is, in fact, as hard to realize and fix as an actually racist mindset. Most people have been exposed to a culture where microaggressions aren’t even considered racism. For example, if a TV show we watched

as children had racist stereotypes, we would absorb those biases as we grow up. Just as we believe that our own grandmother cooks the best because we grew up with her cooking, people have unconscious racial bias because they grew up with it.

Nevertheless, unconscious racial bias must be fixed no matter how embedded it is into our identity. The effect that it has on normalizing racism is astronomical. Although everyone and anyone can have racial bias, people can fix their mindset through self-reflection along with awareness that they have a bias in the first place.

idence that social media isn’t a reflection of who people are, for better or, in this case, for worse. This is performative activism. Posting something doesn’t automatically mean that you have resolved that situation of injustice.

When there are social injustices, we want to speak out to resolve the issue and seek justice. However, it becomes a problem when people pretend to care when they really don’t.

Those who falsify their support for a group just to make themselves look better simply cause more harm than good.

Differentiating those who care about an issue and those who use it as an “aesthetic” can be frustrating. While an

issue such as police brutality is something that is a very real topic that should be addressed, performative activists show falsified support for the issue everyone else is talking about it.

Performative activism can range from reposting a thread on Instagram without knowing the full meaning of it to going to a protest and taking pictures to show ingenuine support for a cause. Performative activism comes in more forms just as activism comes in many forms.

Let’s take a look at protests, for example. At a protest, someone might show up and take pictures and later post them on social media. Pro-

tests are a serious form of activism to fight injustices. They shouldn’t be somewhere to go for pictures on an Instagram feed.

Performative activism can lead to marginalized or oppressed groups feeling frustrated because others simply can’t understand their struggles and only use their platform to make themselves look or feel good. Spotting performative activism versus true activism has become difficult.

Performative activism may come from the place of lack of education on a topic. Instead of performative activism, people must educate themselves on a topic and unlearn biases

so that they’re able to fully understand and speak against the issue.

In situations of injustice, people must take the time to understand the issue if the performative activism comes from a lack of knowledge. It is important to understand the severity of an issue before posting about it or engaging in performative activism. We must recognize the importance of being able to differentiate activism and performative activism so it can stop more issues from branching out. Activism should be a way to express your distaste of injustices and a way to fight and speak up; not to do it just because everyone else is.

Performative vs. True Activism

By Ashley Rakotoarivo ’24 Scrolling through Instagram, we often see posts with quick information that seems to be broken down easily; but what does the information mean, and is it accurate?

When I see the same Instagram reposts about an issue that I am directly impacted by with a clear lack of research, comprehension, or urge to solve the issue, it is frustrating.

Such posts are a clear example of performative activism. Posting something on social media and continuing to engage in racist, sexist, homophobic, or xenophobic behavior on a daily basis is ev-

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Alumni Hall’s New Status Quo

By Jessi Shin ’24 Since December 2019, many things have changed. Schools started closing in early 2020 and have struggled to reopen.

As of now, in late 2020, some schools have reopened and allowed students back on campus, and NMH is one of them. However, several safety measures have been taken to keep everyone safe. Those changes are especially noticeable in daily life and in the dining hall.

Director of Dining Services Rich Messer stated that “guidelines [were] being offered by the federal government and the Massachusetts Governor” and protocols were created in communication with the local Board of Health.

The dining hall staff made several changes in the dining hall, including the removal of self-serve buffets, the addition of plexiglass, and the de-densification of students. Currently, the dining hall offers half the seating available to comply with the COVID-19 measures.

When students first arrived on campus this August, there were arrangements made to provide quarantining students with appropriate meal

Previously, the dining hall was alive and full of people, but now, because of COVID regulations, there is more plexiglass than there are people.

Photo by Thomas Pindelski (left) and Melina Coy ’21 (right).

services. The dining hall staff received special hygiene and health training. These changes were confirmed by the local Board of Health and the school administration checked Alumni Hall for the first week to ensure that the dining hall has appropriately met the requirements. They have also offered suggestions to improve the dining hall’s flow and efficiency.

“Alumni Hall will continue to change throughout the

“The dining hall staff will ‘remain committed to keeping our students, our faculty and staff, and our community as safe as possible.’”

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year — not only to fine-tune Covid practices, but to meet the demands of the operation, including weather.”

Rich mentioned creating an entrance that is unexposed to the weather for the grab-andgo line and removing unpopular menus.. They are expecting to change the grab-and-go menu, adding more food such as hot oven sandwiches and salad options.

Especially for winter, Rich explained that the dining hall has created a new way of controlling traffic flow. He hopes that more people will use the grab-and-go option, which will reduce the need for seatings. There will also have to be an increase of dining hall staff for the sake of sanitation.

If the students follow the given meal schedule, he added, there will be enough seats for everyone and the long lines

will be resolved.

Until further notice, the COVID-19 measures will be present in the dining hall, though Rich hopes that they do loosen by the end of the school year. However, he says that until then, the dining hall staff will “remain committed to keeping our students, our faculty and staff, and our community as safe as possible.”

He remarked that the dining hall is open to student input for further changes and that the student body will be kept informed throughout the year about any important modifications. Many students currently hope for the return of soft-serve ice cream, makeyour-own-salad bar, and more diverse breakfast options such as waffles. Rich notes that when these features do return, they will look different

than last year. For example, “a dining staff member would be the only person able to use the soft-serve machine, so [they] would ‘make’ the cone to hand to a student” and “waffles can be premade and offered to students.”

Rich Messer expressed his gratitude: “Dining Services staff have truly appreciated the students ‘[buying into]’ what this year has brought all of us. This has been a tremendous amount of change for you and for us. We are grateful daily for so many students who have been kind, appreciative and thankful, in words and in action. This has not been easy, but the smiles and the thank yous that come from our students make a world of difference as we work through these challenges.”

GVS Captains: Focusing on Growth

By Carra Fitzgerald ’24 What does it mean to be a captain? What about a captain during a pandemic? According to Google, being a captain means “to be in command.”

For most people, though, this definition doesn’t really express what it means to be an effective leader, especially in the context of a sports team.

For sports teams at NMH, being a captain involves a lot more than having authority or being in command; it involves work on and off the field. It means being a support system for your teammates, and having a willingness to give the team your energy and time not only for your own benefit but also for the benefit of others.

Lucy Flynn ’21 and Ella Gazo ’22 are the captains of Girls Varsity Soccer. “At the end of the season, even if we don’t have any real games, I want to be able to look back and know every player got something out of this season,” said Lucy. The responsibilities of sports captains are one of many things that have shifted at NMH during this pandemic. The focus of the team at the moment is no longer winning games, but under the captains’ guidance, the team is as focused and hardworking as ever.

Being a captain this year means a lot more to Ella and Lucy than it may have been in past years because of these shifts. Now, more than ever, the captains must provide a balance between support and competitiveness for their team. They have taken on the

role of guiding the team to success not only physically, but mentally as well. They are still learning how to do this; as Ella said, “I hope to learn how to lead better because I am far from a perfect captain.

I also hope to learn how to get everyone in the same mindset, which I think will be a big challenge, but I’m ready to take it on.”

Both captains have shown that their goals are purely for the benefit of the team, which

during the process will help them too. Lucy noted, “I want to try and keep things competitive and focused so that we can improve as a group!”

Good insight doesn’t stop at the captains. GVS head coach Peter Albright also had something to say on the role of captains, their leadership, and their effort and devotion to the team: “It has to mean a lot to the captain for it to mean a lot to the players.” Coach Peter coached collegiately for

37 years, so it is safe to say he has had his fair share of good captains.

From the perspective of a coach, the captains need to be a bridge between the players and the coaches. The captains, especially during the pandemic, have to be available and realize what both the team and individual players need to succeed. Captains have the key spot that allows them to simultaneously lead and compete. They are in a position

that makes the emotions of a team easier to understand, so it is their job to communicate that.

No matter who you ask about being a captain, there is one clear takeaway: the captains’ roles as leaders extend beyond the physical sport, and into the mental game and team dynamic. As Coach Peter noted, “Mentally, a good captain is in tune with the emotions of the team.”

The dynamic duo of Lucy Flynn ’21 and Ella Gazo ’22 can be found together on and off the field. Photo by Sofia Lozano ’22.

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“It’s Cool to Care:” Coach Cross Q&A

By Aaron Burstein ’23

our first game. I will always cherish that experience.

As coverage and awareness of social justice movements grew this summer, how did the PLL respond?

There was a huge initiative to support indigenous people, the Black Lives Matter movement, and social justice in the PLL. Every team had “BLM” on their gear. There were halftime interviews and conversations [about social justice issues] throughout the Championship Series, and a tribute to Native Americans on NBC. I loved how the league placed great value and emphasis on these matters.

The whole PLL was committed to making a difference. It was powerful, especially being from NMH, where we have a similar approach and focus.

Rob Cross (also known as “Coach Cizz”) is the NMH Boys Varsity Lacrosse coach and works in Admissions. He has extensive lacrosse experience, having coached teams at the universities Mercyhurst, Harvard, Rutgers, Delaware, Siena, and UMBC, and for the Philippines national team. He is an assistant coach for the Waterdogs team in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL).

He talked with The Bridge about his experiences in the lacrosse world. Below are excerpts from the conversation.

What was your personal lacrosse career like?

My dad went to a parent-teacher meeting when I was in 7th grade, and the teacher convinced him that I should be playing lacrosse.

That weekend, my dad came home with a lacrosse stick, and that’s how it started. In high school, I also played soccer and basketball, and had offers to play collegiately for soccer and lacrosse. I decided to go the lacrosse route, and never had any regrets.

How did you get into coaching?

After senior year [of college], I was invited to try out for the Baltimore Bayhawks of the MLL (Major League Lacrosse). Before tryouts, Coach Ryan of Mercyhurst University called about using up my extra year of eligibility playing there. After being accepted to grad school at Mercyhurst, Coach Ryan told me, “The school won’t let me

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Coach Cross with five class of 2020 lacrosse players, all of whom committed to play in college. Photo by Naomi Levine.

give you a scholarship. But the good news is that there is availability to be an assistant coach with a salary.” I accepted without hesitation and never looked back.

What was the selection process for the PLL? I received a call from a close friend and mentor figure of mine, Andy Copelan. We

became friends when we both were climbing the ranks as young assistant coaches.

Coach Copelan called me the day he was named head coach of the Waterdogs team of the PLL and asked me if I would have any interest in coaching with him. I said, “Absolutely.”

What was the atmosphere like in the PLL?

The vibe out in Salt Lake City felt really good. Everybody felt like it’s the time that we can do what we love to do: just be lacrosse players and coaches. Being able to do what you love in that gorgeous place, at a professional venue, was amazing. It’s hard to find the right words to describe it.

It was surreal knowing that 341,000 people were watching

Tell me about the culture change in the boys lacrosse program in your time at NMH. When I started at NMH in 2019, we had 4 players, and you need 10 players to field a team. But I had great support from Rich Casella and Coaches Bates and Czepiel, and for tryouts, we had 50 guys show up. Then, the team was established. We learned to give an outstanding effort and to play for the guy next to you. That first spring, we weren’t focusing on wins — we were talking culture and working hard, [guided by] our mantra, “It’s cool to care.” We established our identity as “trailblazers” — people who blaze trails for others to become elite.

Teaching Fractions in Music Theory

By Cynthia Zhang ’23 “If two quarter notes last for two beats and the eighth note rest lasts for half a beat, what type of rest should we add to make the bar complete?”

Two sets of confused eyes peer back at me through my computer screen. That’s when I realized that my mentees were just starting elementary school, so they hadn’t learned about adding or subtracting fractions yet.

Over the summer, I decided to search for opportunities that would enrich my life at home. As I scrolled through social media, a post about Virtuosi, a music mentorship organization my friend initiated, caught my eye. I had enjoyed teaching younger

students English, and music was something that I would be passionate to teach about as well. Out of interest, I contacted my friend, filled out my mentor application, and was paired up with four different mentees.

Even though I was very enthusiastic about being a mentor, I didn’t think teaching over Zoom was an effective method. Besides that, I had no clue how to get my mentees’ attention for a session of 30 minutes, on Zoom, where there wasn’t any up-close interaction involved.

With two of my mentees, Lucas and Matthew, who were twins, their mom specifically requested me to teach them introductory music theory because she felt it would help

them out in their rudimentary stages of learning the piano.

So, I revisited what I had learned when I was their age.

Picking up music theory was something familiar, yet unfamiliar. Even though I haven’t inquired into the mechanics of music for a long time, I still felt intrinsic joy while picking up the knowledge that I use subconsciously on a daily basis, as a pianist.

When I was trying to convey that eighth notes and sixteenth notes last one-half and one-quarter of a quarter note, respectively, to Lucas and Matthew, I could discern their befuddled expressions on my computer screen.

I had to think of a way to simplify this concept visually for them. I decided to create a

family tree of music notes. At the top of the pyramid was a whole note while the bottom 16 were short, sixteenth notes.

Through this straightforward visual, I could easily ask questions like “How many eighth notes are in a half note?” or “How many more sixteenth notes do you need in a 4/4 bar if you have two eighth notes already?”

As we worked together, I began to notice that I was teaching my mentees more than just rhythm, time signatures, scales, and intervals.

I was guiding them through self-discovery. By making this easy visual on note values, they were also forming an understanding of proportional math. Music is an interdisciplinary area of study, where

knowledge could be transferred and applied to other subjects.

As I continue to teach with Virtuosi, I am always searching for new ways of instruction. Currently, I am trying my best to draw legible notes on music textbooks using the “annotation” function on Zoom.

Because mentoring young musicians has been such an enriching experience for me, I decided to bring this program to campus by creating a branch called Virtuosi x NMH. I hope that as artists, we continue to spread our love of music to connect with and empower young students during these turbulent times.

A pyramid of notes is a visual way to teach music, especially when the lesson is happening on a Zoom screen. Images courtesy of Cynthia Zhang ’23.

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