36.13

The Milton Paper

FEBRUARY 22 , 2019

VOL. 36 NO. 13

MILTON’S INDEPENDENT WEEKLY STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Opinion

Forest Bathing: Thoughts on The Mountain School Fall '18

By MALIA CHUNG '20 While I hate the idea of hunting, I found the act of tracking with Alden, The Mountain School’s Head of School, to be humbling.

Before we set out, Alden taught us to walk like hunters, to move with quiet care, padding across the dried-leaf ground. He led us in loops around the forest; we crossed brooks on fallen tree limbs and intruded on a young patches of ground where the long grass had been matted down by resting animals. Along the trail we observed the two-pronged shape of a moose track and pulled fine bear hairs from the grooved bark of a tree. I was entranced with all of it: the silence we kept as we moved, the fluid shape of the landscape—as though we were yielding to the forest’s larger order. While the underbrush revealed no startled animals, the woods left me with an understanding of journey, my placement in a larger setting—all that I can’t know.

When people ask me why I love writing, I tell them that when I write, I slip into this double consciousness in which I can see the past and present in finer detail. At The Mountain School this fall, I found an infinite number of details to pay attention to: the panoramic view of the White Mountains from the campus’ Garden Hill; the snow-dusted maples in the Sugar Bush; my dorm’s view out across “Siberia,” a huge plowed strip of green, sloping land; the roadside pond all forty-four of us swam in during late August and played broomball on by mid-December. I found that knowing something or someone well allows for compassion and empathy to grow in us—both tools that allow us to fight for what we love. Through all of these lessons of place, I found that I measured the quality of The Mountain School by the connections among people: Jack Kruse, my 6’ 3’’ English teacher; Ben Tiefenthaler, Latin teacher and apple enthusiast; Kit and Comfort, my Underwood dorm parents; my nine dorm mates— how I’d travel any distance to continue our conversations, to feel completely unguarded.

I do not, in my future, see myself living for any extended amount of time in an area as rural as Vershire, Vermont, but at the same time, I found something beautiful in the landscape, its

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Grade Inflation

News

Students' Opinion On Chris Herren

Image Courtesy of Milton Academy

By ELEANOR RAINE '21 When students walked out of the FCC on Wednesday February 13th, leaving what they had originally thought would be a standard ‘don’t do drugs’ assembly, the hallway was dead silent—not a single “where’s your next class” or “I can’t find my backpack” was heard. Chris Herren’s words hung in the air as students wrapped their minds around heavy, heartbreaking stories. However, the stagnant silence lasted for only a few minutes; as soon as class started, the deep self-reflection was over.

Most high school-aged students have been given a talk about drugs that uses data from scientific studies and presents pictures of dying drug addicts, but Chris Herren told a different story. Herren is a former professional basketball player who struggled with a drug addiction for much of his life.

When he overdosed for a fourth time, he decided to change his life around, and for the past 10 years he has been speaking to groups ranging from high schools to well known professional sports teams. Recently, Herren changed the nature of the speech he gives; the speech transformed from a narration of what happened to him into a multitude of stories about people he has met in the past few years. Specifi-

cally, he connected with the Milton audience by telling stories about students who were around the same age as most of our student body Chris Herren proved himself to be one of the most engaging speakers our student body has listened to; when I sent a poll to gauge students’ reactions to the assembly, 97 % of responses said that Herren was more engaging and impactful than other speakers, even going so far as to label him as “the first speaker I have never spaced out in.” Students agree that Herren kept students engaged through his “tone of voice and the way he caught the attention of everybody at the assembly, including kids who never pay attention at assembly.” Herren told stories about kids in prep schools like Milton, and to many students this connection made his message much more impactful. Students in our community felt especially moved by Herren’s “stories of families affected by addiction,” his “powerful presence,” and the way that he challenged the audience to think about their own lives and decisions. About 75 percent of students who responded to my survey said that because of Herren’s speech they will try to change their actions related to drugs and alcohol.

Chris Herren accomplished what few

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Inside This Issue pg.5 || The Hate you give pg.9 || Transitions pg. 12-15

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The Milton Paper

Editorial

The 36th Editorial Board

Respect our Speakers

Editors-in-Chief Opinion Manager Managing Editor News Managers Senior Editors Website Editor Layout Editor A&E Editor Calvin Cheong

Pierce D. Wilson & Rishi Dhir Natasha Roy Lyndsey Mugford Abby Foster & Charlotte Kane Kat Stephan & Serena Fernandopulle Dillon Pang Jenab Diallo & DJ Murrell Opinion Editor Malia Chung

Faculty Sponsor Eric Idsvoog

Humor Editors Sports Editor Associate Editors Katherine McDonough Sarah Alkhafaji Janelle Davis Nate Jean-Baptiste Nathan Smith Financial Manager Evita Thadhani Brian Bowman

News

Brendan Hegarty Susan Urstadt Sarah Palmer Max Litvak Jenn Chen Adiza Alasa Louise Goldenberg Oscar Burnes Annie Wernerfelt Elina Mraz Kendelle Grubbs Ava Scheibler Daniel Siegel Eleanor Raine Neha Modak Shiloh Liu Livia Wood

A&E

Jennifer Lim Grace Li Grace Vainisi Anne Kwok Beck Kendig Gracie Denneen Jasper Burnes Lynn Yuan Dylan Areivan Kenza Chraibi Nara Mohyeddin

Humor

Drew Bartkus Annie Corcoran Andrew Willwerth

Opinion

Willa DuBois Christian Westphal Ella O'Hanlon Emma Bradley Jana Amin Kathryn Fernandopulle Kayla Mathieu Madeline Fitzgibbon Maya Bokhari Nikhil Pande Elena Viciera Eliza Barrett-Carter Tony Wang Erinma Onyewuchi Karol Querido Leydn McEvoy Miriam Zuo Tapti Sen

Sports

Sophia Li Antoine Wiley Eliot Mialhe Luke Monnich Lily Wright Zacary Omar Gianna Gallagher Sam Barrett Tori Choo Alison Blake George Rose Jehan Boer Riya Singh

You’ve seen students rolling into the ACC, baseball caps in hand, prepared to cover their faces and take a nap. You’ve seen students braiding each other’s hair, snapchatting, and otherwise perfunctorily paying attention. You’ve heard your class deans continually lecture you about how disrespectful this behavior is; still, the same attitudes prevail week after week.

We’re completely desensitized to the concept of an outside speaker coming in and challenging our beliefs. We see, for example, sixteen speakers during second semester alone. Those of us who’ve been here for three or four years have seen over fifty incredible speakers, each at the top of their respective field.

Our lives are almost oversaturated with meaningful speakers, to the point where we’re numb to what they have to offer us. As a result, we show up to Wednesday assembly unwilling to give the speaker our attention.

This behavior is often concentrated in certain sections of the bleachers, and we can therefore surmise how intensely our social groups dictate how we behave. If all of your friends are cynically writing off the assembly, you’re going to be more inclined to sneakily use your phone during those forty-five minutes instead of simply listening to the speaker in front of you. Any change, therefore, needs to come from the students themselves because no teacher or administrator can change the culture of an entire friend group.

Not only do we largely fail to offer our baseline attention to speakers, but we often promote a strange culture of trying to prove, somehow, that we’re above it all. We often search for some minute aspect of the week’s speech to criticize, and we expect every speaker live up to our overly high standards—God forbid that they mention how they went to Harvard one too many times. Even with our questions, some of us are trying to prove that we’re somehow more knowledgeable than the speaker themselves. Last year, during the Conservative Club assembly, several people asked questions so pointed that they almost seemed to be asked with the intention of spurring conflict, regardless of what the speaker had to say.

It’s hard to offer solutions to a problem that’s largely self-perpetuated. Asking for fewer speakers feels horribly entitled when we’re privileged to be privy to all the information we’re privy to. TMP could advocate for mandated advisory-based seating to force students to model better behavior for one another, but none of us really want that. We’re not children and we shouldn’t need assigned seating in order to behave respectfully. The onus is on us to treat our speakers with basic respect and appreciation. •

Columnist

Olayeni Oladipo

Milton’s Independent Weekly Student Newspaper “A Forum for Discussion and Thought” Founded 1979 • Publishing Weekly Since 1983 Founders David Roth • Mark Denneen The Milton Paper is an independent, student-produced publication. It does not necessarily represent the views of the students, faculty, administration, or Milton Academy itself.

Please do not copy or reproduce without permission.

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Juniors, Take Nonfictions!

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News

Sustainability at Milton

By MAX LITVAK '20 As the issue of climate change intensifies by the day, Milton strives to be sustainable and reduce its impact on the environment. The sustainability board as well as campus security and other staff works towards making Milton a greener school. One of the main goals is to reduce waste and to deal with our trash more effectively.

Recently, Ms. Engstrom spoke in assembly about some of Milton’s sustainability initiatives. During a follow-up interview, she explained how her last school, the Millbrook school in New York, was very eco-friendly and had a solar field. After coming to Milton, she became the faculty sponsor for the sustainability board. This year, the sustainability board has been working on improving our means of composting. Milton works with two composting companies: Bootstrap, a residential and commercial food scrap pickup service in the Greater Boston area, and Troupe, a more general waste and recycling business. The dorms use Bootstrap composting, and the dining hall uses Troupe. All of our compost goes to hidden acre farms in Medway where it decomposes in windrows, long rows of compost. Impressively, all of our food waste, including Sage’s and the community’s waste, is composted. On average, Milton produces about eighty pounds of food waste every day, but this number has been down about ten percent in the past week.

Although all of the food waste from Forbes is composted, not all food waste on campus goes through this process.

Milton is working towards adding composting services for the junior building, Elliot commons, Pritzker, Kellner, and the offices in the CSG. With compost’s being one of the sustainability board’s biggest projects, the board has accomplished a lot and plans to improve its services further.

In addition to composting, diversion of waste from landfills and recycling as much as possible have become foals of Milton, too. Two of the companies that Milton works with to accomplish this goal are Baystate, which started working with Milton in 2016, and Terracycle, which only recently started working with Milton. Baystate recycles all kinds of fabrics and textiles no matter their condition.

The Baystate dumpster is next to the Junior Building. Terracycle collects waste and then works with other companies to repurpose it. Milton uses two of Terracycle's programs: recycling of Burt’s Bees products and recycling of tooth care products. The sustainability board is working to include more of Terracycle's services, although no other services are available at the moment. Milton has also had days designated to e-waste recycling and is going to have another one soon. Milton will bring a dumpster to campus for any old electronic devices. Properly disposing of e-waste is important because poorly disposed e-waste can release harmful toxins into the atmosphere.

Milton’s staff works to improve sustainability at Milton in many ways. Campus security is trying to limit Milton’s use of energy by working on optimizing the lighting and heating systems. The book store is trying to limit plastic bottle sales

by ordering more glass bottles and cans.

In addition to the bookstore’s selling fewer plastic bottles, the sustainability board is trying to better understand students’ beverage needs so that the student center renovations can include appliances that promote reusable water bottles and fewer bottled drinks.

The Sustainability Board and Milton staff are doing a great job to lessen Milton’s carbon footprint, but they can do only so much. Some of the responsibility rests on students to make good choices to help the environment. To raise awareness for these issues, the sustainability board is planning to release a newsletter every other week and to bring in a speaker in April. Our community’s attitude towards sustainability does seem like it has improved this year. When asked, Brendan Hegarty, class II, said that although he thinks that sustainability is not usually a pressing matter to many students, he has been thinking about it more, especially after Mrs. Engstrom’s talks in assembly.

Milton has already accomplished a lot in terms of reducing waste and making the school more sustainable, but there is still more work to be done. Pierce Wilson (I), a co-head of the sustainability board, said that some of its greatest accomplishments have come from bootstrap composting, eco-olympics, and earth months. He also said that as the year goes on, the sustainability board plans to expand the bootstrap composting system, decrease the use of paper plates and disposable bottles on campus, and gear up for Earth month.•

Is SAGE a Culture Club?

By BRENDAN HEGARTY '20 The club SAGE, or Students Advocating for Gender Equality, meets on Fridays during activities period from 3:00-3:30.

Co-head Seth Gordon (I) states the club wants to “educate and discuss issues around gender equality” and “take what is discussed” in meetings and “bring it to the broader community.”

Beyond the club’s specific goals, Gordon sees the club’s role in the community as having “a responsibility to engage the community in conversations and dialogue around gender identity,” and he thinks that it has a responsibility to not only “advocate for gender equality” but also “bring those issues into daily dialogue,” reminding the student body of its “responsibility as a community to push for gender equity and equality.”

The school considers the group a culture club, and Gordon explains that this

label can be “complicated” depending on the definition and conceptions of a culture club at Milton. Gordon thinks “most culture clubs surround a certain identity,” but the label depends upon one’s definition of culture. To a certain extent, feminism can be seen as a form of culture. The co-head is unsure if the label accurately represents SAGE, and he recognizes that it could create an idea that the club is for only women.

In this case, labelling means more than a mere summation of the club, as culture clubs get $500 a year in funding, much more than normal clubs receive.

According to Gordon, this money is a reason the club is “reluctant to change” its label. The money is needed for speakers that are often very expensive due to their acclaim and it also helps with other events the club runs over the year.

English teacher Olivia Robbins, one

of SAGE’s two faculty sponsors, finds that SAGE “does not easily fit with the label of ‘culture club’” when compared to other clubs that are spaces “for students to share and learn about those with marginalized identities,” especially racial or ethnic identities. At the same time, Robbins thinks there “should be a space to learn about the experiences of cis women, trans people, non-binary folks, and others with marginalized gender identities” on campus, continuing that “SAGE aims to be a space that facilitates this learning in the service of promoting gender equity.”

The question of a proper title has split some members of the Milton community. Willa DuBois (II) finds the label of “culture club” strange because she thinks that “being a woman is not a culture” and is confused about what specific culture the club aims to represent.

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Chris Herren

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other Milton speakers have; he “was able to relate to [those of] us sitting at the back of the bleachers listening…[and that made] all the difference.”

Despite these positive reactions to the speech and the praises of Herren’s ability to connect with the student body and convince them to rethink the use of drugs and alcohol, the assembly left other students with mixed emotions. While they understand that shocking adolescent minds when talking about topics like drugs is a way to get students to pay attention, some students still felt that “trigger warnings were necessary.” One student in particular suggested that the school, “please, please urge speakers to consider the topics and the depth at which they [speak about them] and decide if [the speech] should have trigger warnings or not.” Herren spoke often about suicide and self-harm in a way that “was way too triggering for people who have struggled with or who do struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts,” one student noted, and another similarly wished that “he had warned us about how emotional and serious that [speech] was going to be.” Additionally, students wished that they had gotten “time at the end [of the speech] to process and debrief instead of going right to class.”

This lack of time to process the speech can be attributed to the fact that the adults who organized the assembly weren’t entirely aware of what its contents would be; in regards to the more emotionally taxing parts of the speech, counselors were “not happy with that aspect of it all.” Ms. Morin stated that she was taken aback by the mentions of self-harm and suicide, stating, “as a counselor I feel that I am here to protect the most vulnerable in the community,” and that she “would have been sure to provide a content trigger warning to those who would need it” had she been better informed about the exact changes in his talk.

Despite some controversy over the content of his speech, Chris Herren delivered the Milton student body a powerful and thought provoking speech that reached even the students in the back of the bleachers, and very few students disagree with the goal of his speech—to reduce drug and alcohol addiction in teens. The only disagreement lies in the way he chose to relate that goal. •

News

Working on Your Socials

By LIVIA WOOD '19 On Tuesday, February 19th, students and faculty attended an assembly on social media given by Laura Tierney of The Social Institute. It was her second visit to Milton; around this time last year, Tierney gave a similar presentation, introducing students to ideas she expanded on during the assembly on Tuesday.

The Social Institute—of which Tierney is founder and CEO—aims to “empower millions of students nationwide to win at social media,” according to its website. The organization hopes to “reinforce character and leadership strengths like empathy, integrity, and teamwork.”

During her two visits to Milton, Tierney used sports as a metaphor for social media; both presentations included “warm-up” and “cool down” exercises, and during last year’s assembly Tierney engaged the audience in “social sprints” which focused on seven tactics for maximizing social media reputation. Tierney began this year’s assembly with a recap of those seven tactics, paying special focus to the idea of “cyber-backing”—the opposite of cyberbullying—and encouraging students to use social media as a microphone to amplify their voices and passions. Just as she had in the previous assembly, Tierney then asked students to take part in an activity which would made them think about their own use of social media: students opened their phones to their favorite social media app and passed each phone to the student on their left. That student was then responsible for analyzing their classmate’s social media page and describing the page using three adjectives.

This year, Tierney also introduced a new activity: her presentation this year involved three “face-offs” where students debated questions related to social media. In each face-off, she had students in the audience pair up with a neighbor and asked one to take the “yes” side and one the “no” side. She would then reveal a question and each student would argue the side they had chosen, regardless of their actual opinion. The point of the exercise, she noted, was to see both sides of each issue. The four questions she presented covered many aspects of social media usage, from the implications of liking a tweet or photo to the act of sending explicit photos. After the students in the audience had debated with their neighbors for sixty seconds, she had one pair of student volunteers present both sides to the audience.

Students had had mixed opinions about the assembly. Of 61 students polled, 93.4% said that they did not like the presentation. Some students who had attended the assembly last year cited the repetition of ideas as a source of dissatisfaction. Some had more general issues, though; Elliot Smith ‘22 felt that “[Tierney didn’t] shar[e] any new information or offer [him] a new perspective on how to look at social media.” On the other hand, some students enjoyed the assembly. Evan Jenness ‘19 said that “the scenarios [Tierney] proposed were really interesting,” and that he enjoyed “briefly discussing” them with his classmates.

Katherine Shih ‘22 “liked that [the assembly] was interactive,” although she also acknowledged that it “didn’t tell [her] anything [she] didn’t already know.”

The Social Institute strives to engage students and to involve them in all aspects of the presentation; according to the Institute’s website, “all material is co-developed with students.” Regardless of whether or not students found the assembly enjoyable or informative, it’s undeniable that Tierney’s presentation forced the community to think more about social media than we normally do and made each student contemplate their relationship with social media.•

Shoutout To The Coconuts!

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News

Grade Inflation at Milton

By ANNIE WERNERFELT '20 When I was a freshman, classmates and teachers loved to give the reminder “Cs are average!” Although I didn’t believe this average to be fully true, I thought that Milton’s students’ average was probably around a B. With this idea in mind, most students will think their grades are either average or above, and therefore they may not strive to improve their grades. Now, as a junior suffering from the well-known college-induced-stress, I want to look into grade inflation and its implications. According to the small group of teachers I’ve had who shared their students’ averages, Milton’s average is likely a B+. The grade distribution chart that juniors were given on college weekend further confirms this estimate; in their junior year, the Class of 2019 earned 216 As, 201 A-s, 193 B+s, and 134 Bs, among others. The numeric average of the grade distribution chart comes out to 90.06, so the average grade earned in the class of 2019’s junior year was a high B+ or low A-. This result is a considerable difference from the C-average rumor which circulates.

Grade inflation is a two-sided issue.

On one hand, having high grades on your transcript will impress colleges. However, college admissions officers have access to the aforementioned grade distribution chart, so they can see how your grades compare to those of other Milton students. So, is grade inflation a problem we need to solve?

According to Ms. Bonenfant, the academic dean, Milton isn’t very concerned

with averages. Instead, departments try to focus on helping new teachers set appropriate expectations for students and making sure that there aren’t discrepancies among teachers’ expectations for a course; achieving these goals would ensure that the grading system is fair to all students. Milton has “a pretty strong mentoring program. Every new teacher has a mentor and so there are always opportunities for new teachers to talk with people in their department and just to make sure that they’re calibrating in a way that makes sense.” Ms. Bonenfant says that she doesn’t get worked up when kids have high grades. “If kids are meeting standards that teachers set, then that means they’re learning, and for me, that’s a good thing. So, I wouldn’t mind if anybody got As, and if that happened, I don’t think that that would mean that we should make things harder so that there were fewer As. I think, as teachers, we should have some understanding of what we expect in our class and where the bar is and if students understand where that is and they meet the bar that’s good.”

Those of us who have talked about teachers with upperclassmen know that some teachers have a reputation for having more challenging classes than others. When asked how Milton manages these discrepancies, Ms. Bonenfant says that “Department chairs have access to all of the grades that the teachers in their department enter into our system, so it really is department chair responsibility to pay attention to those things and to make sure that the department chairs have con-

The Mountain School CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ability to create a sense of place, a topic of discussion which many of my classes—particularly my English class—focused on.

Over the course of this past semester, I saw this theme again and again in our Mountain School English curriculum: in Adrienne Rich’s “In Those Years,” Annie Dillard’s “Living Like Weasels,” Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese,” Robert Frost’s “Directive,” Reverend Nathan Perkins’ narrative tour of Vermont from 1789 (his conclusion that “woods make people love one another & kind & obliging and good natured”). All of these accounts tell us to look at nature to see ourselves more clearly and

fully: to see ourselves in context, which is to acknowledge our own evanescence.

But more than anything, I think, the outdoors, tracking with Alden, helped me see that I can never know a place completely.

To know something well is to understand the limits of knowing.

Perhaps, to know what we don’t know and to live (at ease) with this uncertainty, this vulnerability, is what it means to belong, to understand a place, to love a place, to understand yourself.•

versations with teachers if they see something about which they have a question.”

Department chairs can show teachers the exam and semester grades for each course so that the teachers can think about where their grades fall in that range.

In general, Milton students place an overwhelming emphasis on grades. The reality of the college admissions process is that college counselors do compare your grades to those of other Milton students; if that weren’t the case, Milton probably would not give grades at all. So, even though the average grade may have increased in years past, college admissions officers look at more than just your individual grades. In addition to seeing the holistic view of Milton Academy’s grading system, admissions officers also look at a holistic view of you. So, while you can rest assured that your department heads are vying for equality in your grade-earning potential, you should have access to the facts on grade distribution and also keep in mind that your potential goes far beyond your grades. As Ms. Bonenfant put it, “one grade is one grade.

It’s not an indicator of who you are as a student; it’s an indicator of what you happened to do on what piece of work on one day. The question for me is: what are you learning from that experience and how are you moving forward?”•

SAGE

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Jonathan Cao '21 believes that “gender inequality and the fight to get rid of it” are inherently “cultural,” because he thinks many parts of sexism are “ingrained” in our culture. At the same time, Cao believes the advocacy for gender equality is not “directly a culture.” Overall, he does not think that the specifics of a club’s classification should matter too much.

Although there is some difference of opinion on how well the label of “culture club” fits SAGE as an activity, this classification’s monetary benefits are undeniable. To many, the precision of a club’s classification seems irrelevant, but the precedents of what is and is not a deemed “culture” on campus could hold greater implications on the Milton climate. repurpose it.•

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The Importance of the Arts in our Day to Day Lives

By ELLA O’HANLON '21 Despite their importance, the arts are slowly dying in our larger community outside of Milton Academy. At almost every school around the country, students take music lessons on just one day and visual art classes on just one day. However, classes such as Math and Science, which are part of the “core curriculum”, are given more importance and frequency in a student’s schedule.

The Milton public elementary schools are running out of classroom space; thus, they are considering turning art and music rooms into classrooms.

Rather than adding more kids per classroom or renovating the school buildings to make them bigger, the schools are considering taking away the students’ arts and music classrooms; schools seem to think that those classes are less important than the classes in the “core curriculum”. What these schools don’t know is that an art class could be the most important class a student takes.

Art is very important for a highschooler, especially in order to relieve stress. Between stressing out about getting good grades, going to a good college, and participating in a plethora of extracurriculars, students have no time to express themselves and get an escape during their stressful days. Furthermore, these repetitive, stressfilled days take away all aspects of creativity in a student’s life. Here is where the arts can come in!

People have a natural desire to express opinion, but with all the stress on students, they don’t have the chance to. According to bebrainfit.com, “Activities like painting, sculpting, drawing, and photography are relaxing and rewarding hobbies that can lower your stress level and leave you feeling mentally clear and calm.” In a long and stressful day--as most high school school days are--the arts are very much needed in order to relieve this stress and add the creativity and expressiveness needed for one to express themselves.

Though some people may be annoyed by the mandatory arts requirement, Milton does a very good job at encouraging the arts. 43 of the 69 high schoolers surveyed said they would’ve taken an arts course had they not been required. 23 people (33% of my survey!) would’ve missed out on the arts had they not been required at Milton.

Only 66% of the surveyed students would have taken an arts credit, yet 80% of students said, after taking an arts course, they were very glad they took it. Had Milton not required mandatory arts courses, 24% of students would have missed out on a class they so very much enjoyed. In addition to relieving stress, the arts open up a lot of doors, in students’ lives. Given all of the Scholastic prizes awarded to Milton students, students clearly strive in arts and creative writing, thanks to Milton’s encouragement. After taking their required year of an art, many students continue to pursue art at Milton even though it is no longer required; students must simply take the first class

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Opinion Monetization of Beauty

By WILLA DUBOIS '20 In 2019, beauty is a privilege of the wealthy. From expensive beauty products to plastic surgery, conventional beauty has become a commodity to be purchased, not a natural phenomena. In fact, it is now possible not only to purchase beauty but also to sell it. The body positivity movement may be gaining traction, but, without addressing the commercialization of conventional beauty, we can never be truly accepting.

According to the Business Executive, companies with attractive representatives sell more, attractive political candidates gain more votes, and beautiful people are seen as more likeable and trustworthy. If beautiful people are seen as more likeable and trustworthy, they are more likely to receive offers in subjective assessments like college acceptances and job interviews. Thus, being conventionally beautiful gives someone an advantage in the non-media market.

Media only exaggerates the importance of beauty. Not only does beauty help actors and singers gain fans and fame, but the emerging social media and influencer industries have skyrocketed the commercial value of attractiveness. We like looking at beautiful people, so we choose to consume visual media content containing beautiful people. Consequently, those people become more successful and more wealthy.

Beauty sells, in both the conventional and media markets. If beauty sells, the natural question is, “Who sells it?” One might assume that only the genetically blessed can market their looks, but, in fact, anyone can buy beauty.

The most obvious route to beauty is the astronomically expensive plastic surgery. According to West Lake Dermatology, the average national cost of a basic facelift is $12,125, and we can assume that a talented and trustworthy surgeon would be significantly more expensive than the average. However, plastic surgery is far from the only route. Designer makeup products are drastically more expensive, charging $54 for Yves Saint Laurent foundation instead of $12.99 for the same quantity of Revlon foundation. Skin care is even more shocking: $250 for a La Mer face mask pot, and $5.07 for the same quantity of a L’Oreal

face mask. Though some drugstore dupes are effective as products, these huge price gaps show how expensive high quality beauty products can be.

These are only a few examples, but in every beauty-related industry the 1% have the advantage. Designer clothes tailored to fit in the most flattering way, professional hairdressers, stylists, and so forth— in every aspect, beauty can be purchased. From the best products to the most talented and experienced professionals, the rich are able to buy beauty. According to People Magazine, Kylie Jenner is not doing her own hair. Instead, she is purchasing custom wigs from a stylist whose off the rack designs run up to $950. Products aren’t the end, either.

Editing software like photoshop and facetune are used by celebrities and our friends alike, but they aren’t free.

Purchasing editing software allows someone to make themself look more beautiful in media. Since many of us see only celebrities in media, we come to believe that their edited self is their real self.

We feel uncomfortable addressing the financial aspects of beauty. Especially in the era of body positivity and increased acceptance, no one wants to admit that beautiful people have an advantage, and in a culture that generally talks about beauty as a natural gift, it is awkward to suggest that beauty can be bought.

However, addressing these realities is essential to creating a healthier and kinder culture around appearance. If we can’t acknowledge that beauty is a privilege, then we can’t change that fact. If we can’t acknowledge that beauty is expensive, then we can’t change that appearance has become an industry either.

Conventional beauty isn’t the only kind of beauty, and the idea that only a very specific appearance is “beautiful” hurts the majority of us. We must confront the commercialization of conventional beauty to become truly body positive: start consuming media produced by people that don’t fit the narrow standard, encourage your friends and yourself to post pictures not produced with expensive products unaffordable for 99% of people, and actively work to combat your internalization of the privilege of beauty. Directly address the standard, and change it. •

Opinion

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Communication Breakdown: Talbot Speaker does more to hurt than help Community

By MARGOT BECKER ‘20 Author’s Note: This article is not to discount any of the positive lessons that may have come out of Mr. Herren’s talk; it is a reflection on the negative emotions and feelings that may have emerged as a result of certain sections of the talk.

Any students distressed by this article or still in distress in regards to the assembly, please contact the health center at 617.898.2470 Chris Herren is not what we expected he would be. Billed as a speech about drugs and addiction, Mr. Herren’s talk strayed far from its anticipated track.

His speech touched on topics such as domestic abuse, suicide, and self-harm, topics which the community had not been prepared for in advance of the speech itself. In a conversation with an ISS representative who wishes to remain anonymous, it was revealed that “Mr. Herren did not give any forewarning to any counseling staff of what the content of his speech would be, therefore losing the possibility for a trigger warning.” Far from integral issues in the context of addiction, Mr. Herren’s unexpected discussion of these sensitive concepts left many students focusing more heavily on the presentation of Herren’s talk than on its message. Additionally, the use of stories

about suicide and self harm in Mr. Herren’s talk was unwarranted by the subject matter at hand in that just five years ago, Mr. Herren spoke at the Academy and did not rely on any of these topics. While the Counseling staff had anticipated a talk about Herren’s inspiring story of overcoming addiction, they were surprised to find a set of dark stories with a somewhat confused and unintelligible message.

The same ISS representative stated that: “I expected him to use his platform to tell his own story and shed light onto major issues through his own experiences, which I believe would have been very successful and engaging. His actual presentation felt a lot more like a usage of clichés and the stories of others to convey a point that felt a lot less like a message and more like a warning, which I believe did not leave the community in a productive place after the presentation.”

While a discussion of domestic abuse, self harm, and suicide could likely strengthen our bonds as a community and inoculate us further against unpredictable events like this one, Mr. Herren’s talk was not the appropriate place for the community to have a learning experience surrounding these issues. The lack of a decompression space following the assembly only compounded the problem as students who had been deeply affected by

Herren were left the choice of making a trek to the health center or ignoring their experience and attempting to go on with their day. Though some of these emotions may have been productive for certain students, the lack of a space to examine them simply changed the nature of the experience to one that was more likely traumatic than healing. This forceful effect promoted an attitude more inclined to dismiss his message than accept it, leaving students tempted to make jokes about the uncomfortable subject. By the end of the day, students who had been silent leaving the ACC for fear of Herren’s selective wrath were joking about his attitude in the Stu. On the whole, Mr. Herren’s talk was filled with potential good for the community, yet ended up causing considerably more harm than anticipated. While a discussion of addiction—and its greater context in terms of goal setting and leading a healthy life—would likely have been productive for our community, Herren’s speech came off as one about fear rather than healing. If Herren reached his one student in our community, than I admire and am glad for that student, but we have to ask ourselves whether the collateral damage he caused to other members of our community balances the reward.•

Shutting Up Can’t Be that Bad//Why We Should Embrace our Speechlessness

By JANA AMIN ‘21 Ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I don’t know how to shut up. It’s true; whether it be answering questions in class or talking at the bottom of Stu, I love to talk. Yet, I fear that our collective love of talking at Milton has forced us to push away the moments in which we are left speechless, leaving behind a culture that shuns learning, growth and progress.

Last week alone, I encountered two moments where I was left speechless. Walking to chemistry with friends after Mr. Herren’s talk, I struggled to find the words to explain the emotions I was feeling. I could sense that those around me were similarly grappling with the intensity of the past hour. Yet, instead of each taking our time to reflect and process, my friends and I forced ourselves to start an unrelated conversation. We ignored our speechlessness and moved on

with our lives. A few days later, I again found myself speechless on the bus back from a squash match at St. George’s. This time, I was still thinking about the drama of a valentines-crazed week. As I stared out the window, I became very aware and even self-conscious of my unusual silence. When we got back to Milton, I felt guilty for not having maintained a steady conversation for the entirety of the bus ride. Unusual as it may seem to us, we all face moments when we are speechless. And I believe that it is through these moments that we should learn to more deeply connect with and build a better environment for those around us.

Whether it’s a question that has caught us off guard or a day too intense to process, we all have our reasons for being speechless. So first, let’s explore when and why we are left speechless before understanding how we must embrace our speechlessness for the good of ourselves

and those around us.

In our school’s environment, a week can often feel like a roller coaster.

On some days, good grades and funny jokes can make classes engaging and school uplifting, leaving one feeling unconquerable. On other days however, fights with friends, failure in the classroom, and unfortunate losses in sports can leave one at a loss for words. In just one week, Milton gives us so much—and sometimes too much—to think about.

Thus, it is only natural that we require, at certain points in our Milton journeys, a moment to step back and shut up. We need moments to appreciate both our own silence and the silence around us.

By understanding the moments in which we are speechless, we can dig into the complexities of our lives and grapple with the nuances with which we live.

From the little moments to the big ones, we must use our speechlessness

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A&E

Anderson .Paak’s Success at the Grammys

By BECK KENDIG '20 As I’m sure you all know, the 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held a few days ago. This event honors artists across all genres based on albums, music videos, singles, and performances.

Although controversy surrounding the “Album of Year” decision might have stolen the show, this year’s Grammys symbolized an important transition in the rap industry, as it recognized artists like Cardi B, Childish Gambino, and Goldlink. Although I have not listened to every rap album and song this year, I feel that they were correct in recognizing one rap artist in particular: Anderson .Paak On the night of the Grammys, I chose to put off my work and watch a solid chunk of the show out of my love of rap. Since fifth grade, I have been a fan of the genre. Every day, I looped a questionable but now nostalgic mix of Eminem, Soulja Boy, and Wiz Khalifa on my iPod touch. Since those days, I’ve branched out, delving into rap’s plethora of styles and subgenres. Today, I mainly stick to artists like J Cole, Joey Bada$$, Kid Cudi, Mac Miller, and SABA, among many others. These aside, I have grown to consider Anderson .Paak as one of my favorite artists. From Venice to Malibu and, most recently, “Oxnard,” Anderson .Paak has been consistently putting out incredible projects for years. In addition to “Oxnard,” he put out two notable

singles in 2018: “Tints” with Kendrick and the featureless “Bubblin.” To my joy, Anderson .Paak won a Grammy for his performance of the latter song. I personally wasn’t surprised, as Anderson .Paak is not only an amazing musician but also a unique and necessary artist in the modern rap game. Acknowledging the Middle Child generation, the industry remains saturated with new school rappers. I have nothing against these artists, but their stylistic similarity is irrefutable.

Often times I struggle to differentiate a lot of rappers these days by flow, lyrics, or beat. Although he exists within the same time frame, Anderson .Paak adds a taste of sweet individuality in his music. A drummer, songwriter, rapper, and singer, he has a part in every step of the production process. This versatility conjoins with his lyrical ability, unique voice, and undeniable talent in a fusion of hip hop, funk, soul, and R&B. The result is well worth a listen. I can go on and on about how amazing Anderson .Paak is, but this year’s Grammys have shown that his music is finally being appreciated on a worldwide scale.

I explained earlier that I was surprised with the Grammy results. That night, Anderson .Paak tied Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future, and James Black for “Best Rap Performance.” As the award was specific to the rap genre, Anderson .Paak’s blended style is an

Importance of Art

Speechlessness

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

to realize their love for the arts! 42% of the juniors and seniors I interviewed who take advanced arts courses said they didn’t like art before Milton, and they could never have imagined themselves where they are now. This required year of Milton’s arts program sparked an interest in these students that they could have gone their entire lives without realizing.

Arts are crucial in a student’s life, whether in the form of creative writing, drawing and painting, music, performing arts, sculpture, or any other type of art. Though you may hear a few students complaining about the year of required arts courses, Milton Academy does a very good job in encouraging the necessary arts in a larger community where the arts are dying out. •

outlier among the four winners. The instrumental of “Bubblin” is an exaggerated, fast paced mixture of horns and strings underlaid by a drum set. Striking in urgency, Paak’s vocals walk the line between rapping and singing. The record was never one to appear in any of the top 50 charts. It is boldly different, a product of true talent and individuality. Anderson .Paak’s musical ability is further emphasized by the distinction of his Grammy.

Winning a performance-based accolade requires the highest level of on-the-spot competence. There’s no hiding behind studio quality autotune during a live show. So, whoever decides these awards, I salute you for recognizing a unique talent in an industry that too often sleeps on such gems. This Grammy was not only a celebration of true musical talent, it was also a flare of hope in the genre. A blessing paved over the years, we exist in a time where success in rap is achievable outside the mainstream lens. Ignoring the Grammy’s questionable decisions, I find solace in this necessary recognition.

Appreciation for music like “Bubblin” signifies the possibility for untraditional rappers to exist and prosper in the rap industry. And I don’t know about you, but I’d certainly prefer more artists like Anderson .Paak over another gang of stereotypical SoundCloud rappers.•

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SEND US LETTERS!

to our benefit and frame being speechless in a totally novel light. First, let’s stop viewing speechlessness as a trap but rather an opportunity. Instead of remarking simply that “we were caught speechless,” let’s make an effort to understand why that was the case. It’s as simple as viewing our inability to answer a question in class as a stepping stone to understanding, rather than a hole we must not fall into in fear of failure. It’s as easy as using a loss on the court and the speechlessness that follows as a chance to reflect on your performance and understand what you could have done better. Speechless after a moving assembly? Use the silence to explore how you can change your mindset or actions for the betterment of others. We can all do a better job of embracing our speechlessness and encouraging others to do the same. After all, in a community that doesn’t shut up, and a culture that praises the talkers, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad if we all took a moment to appreciate the silence. •

Ariana Grande’s New Style of Pop

By JENNIFER LIM ‘20 Last summer when Ariana Grande released her album Sweetener, the song “pete davidson” received the most attention. This song was named after her then fiance, Pete Davidson, who was the center of attention of many media outlets after a whirlwind romance with Grande. Only six months later, Grande released a new album, thank u, next, a more personal and in-depth reflection of herself in comparison to Sweetener.

Her new albums have been more successful than her previous. The reasoning behind her success lies beyond the fact that her music is getting better.

One could potentially credit Sweetener and thank u, next’s success to the different vibes and genres that Grande incorporates in her music. For example, her songs are becoming less generic pop-like, and more R&B. However, the majority of her new audience is attracted to the selfgrowth and emotional maturity reflected in her music. Though these elements are more applicable to people’s lives, the focus of the media lies in trying to decode these messages to find out more about Grande’s love life.

Aside from the obvious value in being open and using music as an emotional outlet, another major aspect of the entertainment industry is that vulnerability sells. Sweetener and thank u, next were responses to the self-love and growth Grande has experienced in the past year, and naturally, her journey involved other people and past relationships that started and fell apart in the spotlight. One example of Grande’s lyrics exhibiting emotion is in “ghostin” written about Grande’s coping with Mac Miller’s death while being with Pete Davidson.

Because of what her lyrics revealed to the public, her album received an exorbitant amount of attention from the media, who heavily analyzed the songs and drew external connections to the lyrics. Because people were already so invested in Grande’s personal life, they loved the vulnerability she expressed in her new album. This media attention served for the album as a form of advertising.

However, this media attention circles back to the relatability of Grande’s new music. The themes that Grande sings about, such as denial, acceptance, self-love, and growth, are ideas people can relate to. Once Grande stepped out of her generic pop zone, she received more attention for the lyrics relating to her personal life, this attention encouraging more people to listen to her music. Ultimately, her openness and vulnerability was used by the media to probe into her personal life, but it also appealed greatly to her audience.•

A&E

PAGE 9

Watching The Hate U Give

Image Courtesy of Google Images

By NARA MOHYEDDIN ‘21 For MLK weekend, unfortunately and coincidentally right before exams, ONYX and The Hollywood Filmmaking Club united to screen The Hate U Give, a movie on the eponymous book. The film follows a black high school girl (dark skinned in the book but light skinned in the movie… hmmm… colorism?), Starr, as she balances a double life: while the school she goes to and the boy she dates are white, her community is predominantly black. One night during a “routine police stop,” an anxious, aggressive, and racist white cop shoots her childhood friend as he was holding a seemingly threatening hair comb. The movie deals with her experience between these two communities and her being the only witness to the unjust death of her friend.

The movie grapples with other dynamics and questions as well—her family can afford to move out of their community to a better neighborhood, so should they?

Also, the movie tackles the effects of and relationship between drug dealing and a community, blended families and infidelity, white privilege and ignorance, and the generational and traumatic effect these issues all have on kids, otherwise known as THUG LIFE (the hate u give little infants f*cks everybody).

This was more than a movie. It was an experience. Twenty things would happen at once, and you’d think Starr and her family was finally safe, when, in fact, they never were. Through the film, the strength and pain, the resistance and despair heightened. Righteous anger found a voice. But then, the last five minutes quite literally used a different camera lens, with sun flares making everything bright and warm. The wider community issues were resolved, the family moved past their trauma, and Starr only kept the white friends in her life that were willing to shed ignorance. It was a perfect end-

ing to a movie of extremes, where five minutes ago a child was pointing a gun at a drug lord; nothing made sense! It was just a quick and easy resolution to the crazy big problems that realistically take years to fix.

In a dimly lit Straus, the audience went through all the heightened emotions together—the hilarious and loving moments, of which there were many, rapidly interrupted by tragedy and despair. There was sobbing, joking, and yelling, encouraging Starr to do this or that, muttering for this or that character to do some action to themselves and their mamma. Watching it alone, or even with a small group, would have been so different from seeing an entire audience become so invested in the story; the audience became part of each other’s experiences, shaping how each viewed the film.

The majority of the attendees were black or other POC. There were very few white people. I only wish the crowd was more reflective of Milton demographics.

It’s a shame! What Wednesday assemblies and other mandatory race talks miss is that no matter what issues people understand intellectually, they won’t truly get its importance until they understand it emotionally as well—the pain, the anger, the power, the urgency.

Listening to another speaker’s lecture on the importance of political activism, their life story, or the terrors of history, while valuable, will not help people get any closer to understanding others’ perspectives. But that’s what art is for: understanding what people other than you go through. Movies can change mindsets because they target emotions, something unrecognized at most assemblies (though the defamation case had the right idea).

Please go ahead and stream The Hate U Give online (or read the book), it’s a must-see!•

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Sports

Milton Academy Athletics’ Hidden Gem

By LUKE MONNICH '21 When thinking about basketball at Milton Academy, people picture the varsity basketball teams. After all, those teams have been successful in recent years.

However, there are more than just varsity level basketball teams on campus; many students play basketball at the JV and Freshman level, unfortunately falling off of the radar of most Milton students.

One team in particular, Boy’s JV Basketball, has proven to be worth paying attention to. Although it is not a varsity team, the JV squad certainly play as if it is. They currently have 12 wins and only 1 loss in the ISL, and they hope to only add more wins as the winter season soon comes to a close. The JV basketball team may seem like a joke to some, but their success has come about through hard work.

Many of the players talk about how close they all are. The JV team is certainly not a selfish team, as every player knows and gets along with each other. Cam Babio ’21 says that his favorite thing about the team is the “pre-practice locker room time.”

For teams, a locker room can represent many things. Sometimes, a team’s locker room vibe is not as great, leading to quiet, lifeless game preparation. In those scenarios, the team will have a much harder time winning, as without connections, it will never reach its full potential. However, the JV team has no problem with a barren locker room. Osafu Idahor ’20, or ‘Fu’ to his teammates, says that “[the team is] always having a good time.” Instead, they use the space to have fun and get hyped up for games. The team understands that a locker room is a ‘sacred’ place; the vibe in a locker room can easily determine a season.

Something else that many of the boys hinted at was the universal trust shared among them.

Similar to a locker room atmosphere, trust can make or break a team. Fortunately, the JV team overflows with trust. One example

of this trust is how Nicholas Choi ’20 believes that “the bench wins games.” Instead of only depending on the best five players, the team understands that they will function better if they trust each player’s ability. The JV players are also able to rely on their coach, Mr. Jordan. Carson Glew ’21 says that “[our] connection with [our] coach also helps” with winning games.

Being able to relate with one’s coach is essential. When a coach and his players are distant, there is no trust; without trust, a team sport shifts to an individual sport.

Therefore, because the JV team relies on its coach, it is able to come together and produce wins.

Another key to success for the JV team is their mindset.

Unlike other teams that may shut down after a loss, the JV team understands that it is a JV team.

The players do not feel the same pressure to win as the varsity basketball players, so they are able to enjoy the game of basketball. Although this airy feel to a season may seem negative, the JV team uses it to its advantage. The team obviously plays as best as it can and aims to see the positive aspects in every game—whether it be a win or loss. Carson Glew says that he and a few of his teammates “strummed [their] guitars like [they] were Lance Stephenson… [they] lost, but that's beyond the point.” The only thing that this team remembered was how hype the game was. Instead of dwelling on what it could have done better, the team focused on something it did well. This positive thinking allows the players to move forward, have fun playing basketball, and keep on winning.

Babio used the word “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” to describe the team’s season. The craziness of this word perfectly describes how the JV team functions. The Boy’s JV Basketball team is an underestimated group of boys who come together to form one energetic and successful unit.•

Patriots’ Defense Prevails in Super Bowl LIII

By SOPHIA LI '19 Super Bowl LIII, which took place on February 3rd, 2019, is a game that many Patriot fans will never forget.

The Patriots were the underdog for most of the playoff season, and many fans were worried that Brady’s glory days were coming to an end. Leading up to the AFC Championship game, the odds were in favor of the Chiefs. The opening spread for the game was Chiefs -2.5, meaning the Chiefs were favored to win by 3 points.

This was the first time in 69 consecutive games that the Patriots were not favored to win. But Tom Brady proved himself to be the greatest of all time once again and led the Patriots to another AFC victory, securing their spot in Super Bowl LIII. This year the Patriots faced the L.A. Rams, a team with one of the best defenses in the NFC. Not only did the Rams have a strong defensive line-up, but they also had many young players ready to take on the Patriots.

Their quarterback, Jared Goff, was only 7 years old when Brady won the first of his six super bowls. Goff and the Rams were a formidable opponent that threatened to end the Patriots reign over the NFL; but as Super Bowl LIII began, there was no doubt that the Patriots ready for the Rams.

As soon as the whistle blew, the Patriots and the Rams immediately entered a scoring stalemate. Each teams’ defense played their best football of the season.

The Rams shut down Brady’s offense and Goff struggled to break through the defense of Brian Flores, the Patriots defensive coordinator. The first quarter ended with a zero to zero tie. The next two quarters were a continuation of the first, with each team only able to score a combined total of six points. But halfway into the fourth quarter, the Patriots, with help from Rob Gronkowski and Sony Michel, managed to take the lead 10-3. The Rams immediately responded. With a quick succession of passes, the Rams were on the Patriots’ 27-yard line. Goff, feeling the pressure, threw an incomplete pass to Brandon Cooks.

His next attempt was easily intercepted by Patriots’ cornerback, Stephon Gilmore on the Patriots’ 4-yard line.

With the ball back, the Patriots managed to seal their victory with a field goal from kicker Stephen Gostkowski. The Rams made one last-ditch effort to remain in the game, but the Patriots were no stranger to pressure and managed to keep the Rams at bay.

The Patriots won Super Bowl LIII 13-3. According to nfl.com, many believed that the Rams would outplay the Patriots defensively, preventing Brady from making any offensive progress. However, the Patriots, one of the best offensive lines in the league, were able to play around the two strongest Rams defenders Suh and Donalds. By double teaming and quick snapping, the Patriots managed to find gaps in the defense that lead to scoring opportunities.

The Rams offense could not establish a rhythm around the Patriots’ defense. Goff constantly felt the pressure in the pocket and could not find many scoring opportunities. In the end, the Patriots defense outplayed the Rams defense.

This Super Bowl win marked Tom Brady’s sixth ring. He is now the record holder for the most career wins as an NFL player. Now, all eyes are on Super Bowl LIV and many are left wondering if Brady will do the impossible and win a seventh Super Bowl.•

Sports Saying Goodbye To Murray

PAGE 11

Image Courtesy of Google Images

By RIYA SINGH '22 While Serena Williams, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal are generally the household names of current professional tennis players, tennis fans were recently informed of three-time Grand Slam champion and former World Number 1 Andy Murray’s impending retirement.

Murray began playing tennis very early in his life. On May 15th, 1987, he was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to Jamie and William Murray. Jamie was a former pro tennis player who coached both Andy and his older brother—also named Jamie—in their early years. In March, 1996, his school was subject to a shooting where 17 people were killed by an armed man. In his later years, Murray would talk about this event as one of the most traumatic events in his life and that it influenced his tennis career and his identity. Despite this event, his youth was filled with much success in his athletic life. He became the number one junior in the world after winning the US Open junior title in 2004, and, he was named BBC’s “Young Sports Personality of the Year” later that same year. He went on professional debut in April 2005 and surprised fans in 2006 by beating Roger Federer in the second

round of the Cincinnati Open. He would go on to beat Rafael Nadal in 2008 en route to the finals of the US Open. He would follow this defeat of Nadal to later win a gold medal, a US Open title in 2012, a 2013 Wimbledon win, another gold medal, and Wimbledon title in 2016.

Andy is known in the UK as a champion of British sports, making British history in 2013 when he became the first British man in 77 years to win Wimbledon.

Despite the quick successes throughout his career, he has been hampered by injuries. Tennis as a sport becomes more and more physical as players get older, and it becomes increasingly difficult for the older players to keep up with the younger generations. In 2017, Murray was plagued by a lingering hip injury and wound up withdrawing from the US Open in the summer. The following January he underwent surgery.

In June 2018, he returned to competitive tennis, but he struggled to get back into a groove post-operation. At the Australian Open this year, he broke down in tears at his press conference, announcing that the next week’s tournament could potentially be the final one of his career. The former Number 1 said the pain was so great that

it was forcing him to retire. After his surgery about a year ago, he decided to make the 2018 Wimbledon his final tournament but now he feared he could not cope with the physical pain if he continued playing the next few months. “I can still play to a level, but not a level I am happy playing at,” he said. “The pain is too much really.

I don’t want to continue playing that way.

I think I have tried pretty much everything I could to get it right and that hasn’t worked.” Later he talked about contemplating a potential operation, but it would be solely to increase the quality of his life rather than salvaging his career.

In Murray’s tennis career, not only did he win 3 Grand Slams and 2 gold medals, but he also changed Britain tennis by making history with his Wimbledon wins and leading Britain’s Davis Cup Team to their first triumph in 79 years. Despite his tireless work on his rehabilitation, his retirement is not on his terms—psychologically, the last twenty months have drained his love for tennis due to relentless pain and discomfort.

Murray will be remembered forever as a pioneer for British tennis and as one of the best defensive, hardworking, and dedicated tennis players ever.•

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Community Voices

An Insight on Transitions

BY KENDELLE GRUBBS '20 The Transitions Program has been a staple experience for many international students and students of color at Milton.

The program started in 1984 after Milton faculty noticed that a high number of Black and Latinx students were leaving the school due to the lack of inclusivity here on campus; the Transitions Program was then created to provide new students an insight into the culture of Milton, give them time to create friendships and bonds with each other, and provide a space where students of color could celebrate their cultural identities—intricacies that would usually be ignored in a historically white school.

Milton hoped this program would help make all students feel like they belong.

The program has run for about 35 years, and the OMCD (Office of Multiculturalism and Community Development) announced in early February that the whole program would be getting an overhaul. The most buzz about the changes came from the fact that, with the proposed changes, Transitions would now allow white students into the program. Certain affinity groups such as Brother Sister Bonding, Asian Affinity and previous transitions students were told about these changes, while the general public was left out of the loop. This lack of communication and the addition of white students has led to much backlash and worry about the new changes. I sat down with Illan Rodriguez, Director of Student Multicultural Programming, and Jose Ruiz, Dean of Students, to discuss the reasoning for the upcoming changes and to get an insight on what we should all expect.

What impact has Transitions had for students who have been through the program?

Ruiz: I think, just based on my conversations with students who have been through Transitions, that it has been an incredibly positive experience. When talking with some seniors, Transitions is something that they recall all the way back to their first year at Milton, and they can relate to it in a very positive manner and feel that their experiences and relationships with their peers originate from Transitions.

Rodriguez: I would also add that it’s been a very transformative experience for many students who have gone through the program. We talked to alumni who participated when Transitions first started and they will talk highly of the Transitions program, saying that it was one of their best moments at Milton. It's one of the rare moments where

we have students of color and international students present on campus together, and for their families it's nice to know what Milton is going to look like for their child.

Since Transitions has been such a positive and impactful experience for the many students who have been through it, what was the thought process when deciding to remodel the program?

Ruiz: Part of it for us was looking at the times and realizing that they’re different; when thinking about the original purpose of Transitions 30+ years ago to where we are now as an institution with our current demographic and our discussions about equity and inclusion, there’s a difference.

We’re thinking what can we build upon and improve. Transitions would be the place where we start. We can have students engage in conversations from the very beginning, and say, ‘this is who we are as a community, and if you’re signing on to be a part of this community, then this is what we’re all about.’ The most difficult part when thinking about this was acknowledging what Transitions has meant to alumni of the program and figuring out how we can replicate a little bit of that.

Rodriguez: Adding onto that, this has been in discussion for years. In the last two years in particular with the student demonstrations, there’s been a greater push to consider what we need to do as an institution to better the work of our students and some of the diversity equity and inclusion work. After Rodney Glasgow came to speak with us and Alumni after the sit ins, we heard similar things from both Alumni and students— we need to create spaces for everyone to be involved in this work, because too often the pressure is on international and students of color to educate and have these discussions. When reflecting on our changes to transitions this year with the addition of affinity groups and parent programming, we are coming closer towards a new model that we feel will help the school go towards a new direction.

Why was there such a lack of clarity about the new program? Many students felt out of the loop about the changes.

Rodriguez: We wanted to reach out to students who we felt would be most impacted by this. If we shared this to the whole community, there would have been a lot of questions and we wanted to discuss those questions in small groups like Brother Sister Bonding and Asian Affinity. We realized

that we weren’t able to meet with everyone, and that resulted in the chatter about why students felt that they weren’t included.

Additionally, the program isn’t set yet, and we wanted student and adult input in the process so that we can understand what new students need. The new programming will now be throughout the year so that students can have access to the spaces they need, whether through affinity groups, discussions, or retreats, instead of just being limited to those couple of days.

Recently, affinity groups have been added to Transitions. With the addition of white students and the shift from talking solely about race issues towards more social issues, how will you make sure that there’s a space for everyone.

Ruiz: This is why it’s important for students to be involved with the planning of the new program. Students need to be there working on the back end of the program.

We need student input so that we don’t lose the essence of Transitions while adding on new changes.

Rodriguez: One of the things that will be critical this year is the transitions mentors; before we had about fifteen to twenty students, but now we’ll be moving towards twenty-five to thirty. Every one of those mentors will have a key role in shaping the program and working with our students throughout the school.

How can you make sure that the people who are leading and educating workshops are capable?

Rodriguez: We have a variety of program partners who we’ve worked with throughout the years who have helped with facilitating discussions. We hope to bring them in and help with planning. Additionally, the Transitions mentors chosen will have gone through a completely different interview process from years past. We’ll also have training during the spring and summer to work with the counselors and help them with learning how to facilitate discussions.

Over the year, we’ll supply mentors with the tools they need to continue having discussions, and we’ll provide them with the support and guidance that they need.

How will you be able to keep the spirit and bonding that came from transitions?

Ruiz: We want to keep the bonding that resulted from Transitions, and we recognize that just having one day dedicated to CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

Community Voices

PAGE 13

Insight on Transitions international and students of color is not enough. We need to try something and this is the first time we’re trying the new changes, so there will be lessons to learn.

We, as an institution, will supply students with more spaces that they need than we have in the past so that students can build relationships that others have in years past.

What are the goals for Milton as a result of the new changes? What do you hope to see of Milton five years down the road?

Rodriguez: After five years, every person at Milton—faculty, staff, parents and students—will have participated in some

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

aspect of the program. Everyone will be able to have the foundational knowledge that we hold true to. These changes will take time, and everyone will be committing to working, whether through going to conferences or working in the dorms. The culture at Milton will shift as the work increases, and when prospective students look at Milton they’ll know what we stand for.

What do you have to say to any students who are still worried or have questions after reading this article?

Ruiz: Open dialogue is important. I go back to our cross cultural dialogue and

one of the important ones we talk about is ‘try on.’ Students should think about trying on this new opportunity and being open minded. We should think about what this could mean for the Milton community.

Rodriguez: Don’t be afraid to ask. One of the things I have told students is that if they want to meet or talk about this I will. I’m not going to run or hide behind my office door, because this is something we as a school and I as an individual am dedicated to. When students talk to other people, sometimes the narrative can change, so why not go directly to the people who have an influence on why this happening? Our conversations can go a

The article above details the coming changes to the Transitions Program. We compiled fourteen student and alumni reflections on how they feel about the old program and the coming changes. We tried to collect perspectives that expressed the diversity of the Milton community. Their stories are below. -TMP 36 Maya Bokhari ‘20

After having gone through the Milton middle school, I was invited to attend Transitions in 2016. I had heard about the program from older students in prior years, and I always pictured myself going and having a great time. Once my turn came around though, I finally understood I was invited only because I am a student of color. With that realization came another: my white friends were not invited. I was terribly confused as t why we are so different that Milton thought I would need another week to get acclimated to the school I had known for three years but they wouldn’t. I opted not to participate in the program because I never felt devalued due to my race until I was invited. I can appreciate that historically, students of color were a significantly smaller portion of the community and may have benefitted from a more intimate, supportive transition. However, I felt that, certainly as an existing member of the community, the Transition Program suggested that I am less than a white student and would consequently need more time to “get to know the upper school.” I wholeheartedly agree that conversations around inclusion and community are worth having, but I also believe making those conversations exclusive will not create the positive impact we need. For this reason, I am optimistic that the new Transition Program will provide every new student with an inclusive introduction to our community.• Amaya Sangurima-Jimenez '19 Editor’s Note: This piece was adapted from an interview on 2/19/19.

I know they say that the program is about learning to be in school with white people, but, having gone to school with white people for most of my life, I know how to do that. I was expecting that I’d go there and sit down and say, “hi my parents are immigrants and this is my experience.” Transitions wasn’t like that. It was more like, “oh, you too, that’s cool. Let’s play basketball.” That’s what I liked about it. For so long I’ve had to be well versed in my experiences and in identity politics, but here I didn’t have to be like that, and it was really nice. It was like a breath of fresh air.

My fear is that the magic that was there for me won’t be there anymore. I worry that the problem that Transitions was created to address— the dropout rate among students of color— hasn’t necessarily gone away. I know they say that affinity spaces and all will be included, and those are cool. But since all of the issues like imposter syndrome don’t just go away, I hope the change is handled with care, because that’s the most important thing— that not only are we listened to, but that there’s action that follows.• Joshua Hwang '21

The 2018 Transitions Program listed its first goal as “understanding the role of culture and identity at Milton.” This was an ambiguous statement, but my experience did fulfill this standard. Milton is celebrated as an institution of diversity. However, at Transitions we fixated on the incoming white students and the threats they posed. There was almost a fear-mongering sense to it, an assumption that the white majority was a colossal, antagonistic force. Eventually, it seemed, every ‘non-poc’ was erased in favor of an image of ignorance, racism, and privilege.

I don’t believe that such was an accurate painting of Milton’s community. Although ignorance exists everywhere, the narrative that Transitions builds—the ‘us vs the rest of the world’ mentality—becomes undeniably toxic. One begins to perceive the smallest incidents as racist infractions. How can we cooperate if we villainize each other constantly?

That being said, Transitions’ inherent value came from its raw passion, community, and bonding. Conversations about police violence, Hollywood stereotypes, subtle racism, and microaggressions held meaning… an all-inclusive program may be a little less conducive to this. Ideally, productive dialogue between all students would occur without damaging pre-existing communities and programs. It’s difficult to achieve, however, and, for now, students may have to settle. Milton will continue to grapple with finding a ‘proper balance’ in a turbulent America, and the political tightrope is looking increasingly difficult to navigate.•

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Community Voices

Nathan Smith '20

I have never been fond of Milton’s Transitions program. I can’t say I’ve come across any diversity programs here at Milton that I esteem. I don’t like them—not the speeches, not the advisory discussions, obviously not Transitions. On my first day of school, I noticed that, of the packed freshmen milling about the cave, only the students of color and the kids from Milton’s Middle School knew one another. What seemed like self segregation from students of color was actually the result of Milton’s attempts to acclimate those students to the school’s environment; it’s a human tendency to stay closest to people you know in anxiety inducing situations. This scenario illustrates my problem with diversity programming in general; it emphasizes our differences and drives us apart.

More recently, I’ve had discussions with individuals who support the old Transitions program. These “polite conversations” have forced me to acknowledge that for certain students (for example, students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and poorer schooling systems), the adjustment in coming to Milton is considerable, and habituation is necessary. However, in that regard I don’t see that Transitions actually accomplishes what it intends to. For God’s sake, we had to get rid of freshmen’s grades because the reality of Milton’s challenging academics was underestimated by new students, and then the blow of getting all C’s in the first grading period hit too hard for some.

Honestly, I don’t know everything about what the administration has done with transitions. I briefly heard Pierce Wilson ‘19 tell me “they’re having white people at Transitions now.” Unsure how I feel about the change, at least I can say that if the past is any indication, it’s not going to be pretty.• Sarah Acker-Krzywicki '19

I didn’t attend Transitions. I do have a lot of friends who went to Transitions or are Transitions counselors, and from what I know it’s a place for students of color and international students to bond and become acquainted with Milton’s campus and culture before white students come and inevitably make that more difficult. I think Transitions has an integral impact on students of color and helps them find a community and a voice among what can be an isolating concentration of whiteness.

I fear that this new program will increase pressure on students of color to lead discussions and teach white students about topics of identity. I also worry that, since all new students are going to be attending the program, the white students who don’t want to take part in the discussions won’t engage. Ideally, this program would change Milton’s culture from the ground up by making discussions around identity an integral aspect of the school from day one, so only students who want to engage will attend Milton.

However, by making this change and eliminating the old program, this culture change is happening at the expense of students of color.• Vicker DiGravio '19

Transitions has been a heated topic ever since I’ve been connected to the high school. I can recall my sister coming home from her first day of high school quite frustrated. Her three main friends from middle school seemed to have “ditched” her for a group of new students. The apparent reason? Transitions. While her friends did end up coming back, I can understand the reasoning behind her reaction. As a freshman, my main gripe with the program was seeing all my former middle school classmates meeting what I felt at the time was the majority of the new kids. Leading up to the first week of school, I thought that I would be at a social disadvantage. I thought I would have a harder time making friends because other students already had the time to bond. Flash-forward three weeks into September, and I found that this was not the case. Like my sister, I realized Transitions, or the lack thereof, wouldn’t define my high school social life as much as I thought. Past the first couple weeks of freshman year, what little impact Transitions has on our social landscape is rendered negligible. However, I think the expansion of the program to include all new freshman will produce a more interconnected and socially cognisant freshman class: one that is more cohesive as whole to face their first year of high school.•

Isabella Lora '21 Editor’s Note: This piece was adapted from an interview on 2/19/19.

At first I was totally against the new program, because my initial reaction was, “why are they taking something away from the students of color?” I know that a lot of students of color leaned on Transitions for support, stability, and friendships. Not everyone had that experience, but a lot of us did.

I don’t know why it’s mandatory for everyone to be there. I personally am scared for the students of color, because I don’t know how they are gonna make those meaningful bonds. I also want to know who [the OMCD] talked to. Because the faculty said they spoke to students, but asking around…it seems a bit sketchy.

I also feel that some people don’t want to learn about diversity so early on; some people aren’t equipped to have certain conversations.

Coming in, I wasn’t equipped, I didn’t know how to talk about those things. To throw that at students of color, without giving them any prior knowledge—that could be ineffective. Talking to the faculty, I think the change has the potential to be done well, but I wonder what the relationship between students will look like. Maybe it will improve conversations because the program starts early, but in the first couple of months most people don’t show who they really are. I’m concerned about bonds between upperclassmen and underclassmen and bonds between students of color.• Robert Skinner '19 Editor’s Note: This piece was adapted from an interview on 2/19/19.

I feel like the old Transitions impacted me in a very profound way. Before Transitions, I associated only with people who didn’t have the same background as I do. My friend group was just white people in the middle school. So, when I came to Transitions, I was introduced to a whole new diaspora of backgrounds and identities. Because I was introduced to these people at Transitions, it allowed me to figure out who I am as a person of color and a student of color.

I’m not exactly sure if experiences like that could still take place in the new Transitions program. I’m not sure if the day-anda-half before everybody comes is enough time to make that same impact. But, I know there will be a lot of talk about diversity, so I do hope that within the next five or so years, those institutional changes can happen.•

Community Voices

PAGE 15

Edward Moreta '18

Transitions was a program for the kids. For the kids who have to figure out how to get to and from school every morning (there is still no bus offering that travels to and from the inner city of Boston). For the kids who come from public schools, charter schools, international schools—learning of all kinds. For the kids who have never been promised anything, never been given anything because for once in life someone realized we were special, worth it. For the kids who board at Milton from 16 hours away and for the kids from Dorchester.

Transitions told us we were special. Told us that this place is ours, too. Transitions let us run around with people who look like us, blasting music in the Stu we can all sing along to. Transitions even connected the international community with the domestic community, a problem even the most trailblazing universities have to this day.

Whilst before we black students stood side by side and experienced Milton together after a week of getting to know one another and creating a sense of community, in the years to come the Black, Latinx, Asian, and International first-years will all experience Milton for the most part alone. The result: imposter syndrome, loss of one’s own identity, and, finally, an even more fragmented community of color than already exists at Milton today.

So Milton, I ask you, do you really believe in Diversity work? Don’t be so quick to answer yes; if you really did, you would have already had transportation to the inner city for your black students years ago. If you really did, you would not allow your POC students to become even more disadvantaged by taking away the only ritual not afforded to anyone else at the school. They couldn’t even give us this one thing.• Katherine Prather '22 Editor’s Note: This piece was adapted from an interview on 2/19/18.

At Transitions, I both met people from different places and spent time with old friends of color from the middle school. It was interesting to see the views that some of my new friends brought to the community. I was really excited to get to know all of their cultures and experiences. The new program change will impact how incoming freshman will feel. I get the point, but I still think it’s important that the students of color have some space where they can talk about their experiences just as students of color. So much history and so many cultures often get overlooked. It was really nice for me to have a week where I was able to interact with people who have the same identifiers as me prior to exposing myself to the rest of the community. It’s definitely a loss that the new program will not have that aspect. The new change should be the first step towards making a program where white students can learn and students of color can still feel supported.• Stefan Aleksic '20

I’m cautious to label my opinion of the new Transitions as pro or con because we still don’t know how it’ll turn out. When I attended Transitions a year ago, the program was geared toward acclimating students of colour and international students to a majority white, American school before being thrown into intricate social dynamics. During Transitions, we fostered strong relationships with our fellow attendees as well as with our mentors. The program was a safe space where we could build a support network of people to help us through the struggles of attending a school like Milton. As a white male I’m not at a complete loss. People of colour, especially female-identifying individuals, not only have to deal with work and stress but the added bias against different facets of their identity.

As an international student, I fear for the new international students. Getting used to America is hard especially if you’re thrown into your grade of about 150 Americans, most of whom are white. It would be entirely false to say that Milton doesn’t need to work on inclusivity and respect for diversity. From this aspect, social awareness-geared orientation is necessary. Yet, I don’t believe it is worth sacrificing the only space students of colour and international students are given during their Milton careers. The Administration should try to find a way to balance both the needs of their minority students and the better version of Milton they want to create. I want to applaud the efforts of the OMCD team to try to create higher diversity standards to hold students to. On the flip side, I’m left pondering if losing Transitions was truly worth the sacrifice.• Quinn Smith '22 Editor’s Note: This piece was adapted from an interview on 2/19/19.

Through Transitions I was able to meet other students of color, and that’s how I made most of my friends. Without going to Transitions I don’t think I would have met some of my current friends because they aren’t in my classes. The change is a sort of step backwards. The program was created for students of color to come together before school, but now it just seems like the whole point is going away. White students can always meet each other once school starts. And this new program is trying to educate the white students, but there’s definitely a better time to do that. You can do that throughout the year. And to take away the one thing that students of color had isn’t fair. It helped so many people. I feel bad for the incoming class, because Transitions had such a positive impact on me. I think, with the new program, it will be harder for students of color to voice their opinions on racism if there are white students around.

Many people would feel uncomfortable with trying to be honest if the people who may have caused the issues or been racist are there when students of color are trying to talk.• Nara Mohyeddin '21

Transitions helped me feel comfortable discussing my identity before I was thrown into a space where very few share my background. All the Transitions kids had wonderfully different and diverse backgrounds, and the fact that we were all different from the norm was somewhat of pan-unifier—a community-creator. We found similarities in our experiences and embraced our diversity; difference was a similarity in itself. But with an influx of a couple hundred white freshmen with no reason to talk about identity, and a “mandatory,” not “voluntary,” atmosphere, I can’t imagine Transitions staying manageable, let alone remaining a comfortable, honest environment.

Transitions is great, but it’s not the mythological power people chalk it up to be. Being “excluded” from it isn’t what divided white students from the students of color, and I’m not sure including white students will bring the groups together, either. I acknowledge that Transitions had a large hand in my creating my social circle, but to some extent demographically-disproportionate groupings are natural; people are shaped by their lives and are then drawn to those similar to themselves. Transitions had its faults, but correcting those faults isn’t worth risking its successes.•

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