Celebrating 50 Years of Student Voice
THE RIVERS EDGE Vol. L, Number 1
The Rivers School, Weston, MA
October 28, 2019
Revers Center project moves into final stages as Jan. opening nears BY MEREDITH SHAH ’21 ASSISTANT EDITOR
The football team jogs past the new Red Wing statue at halftime during Homecoming. Photo by A. Stephens
New athletics logo features bold lettering and new Red Wing bird BY TOMMY KANTAROS ’20 CO-EDITOR
The Oklahoma Sooner Schooner. The Miami turnover chain. Clemson University’s Howard’s Rock. These are traditions for some of the biggest college football teams that unite the players, which would make some question what Rivers teams do before games to unite. Nothing, until now at least. When the school decided to enter a 10-month project to remake the Davis Fields, the focus of the school was to create something special for all of the community. “We didn’t set out to build a new athletic field, we set out to
build a new community space,” said Head of School Ned Parsons. The two new turf fields now have a pavilion with a patio for spectators to lounge and get refreshments, which certainly worked well on the beautiful fall day that was Homecoming last Saturday. Most importantly, or at least to the football, lacrosse, and field hockey teams, the school created a bronze statue of the Red Wing bird mascot that players will touch on their way out to the field. The bird, as Parsons said, “ties the project all together as it will give athletes the opportunity to make it a part of their ritual before games.” Parsons also mentions that the
statue is “a physical manifestation of pride.” What led to the bird being installed on its platform started long before the project to remake the fields began. For nearly 15 years, Rivers’ athletics logo has been a red “R” with a wing coming off the side. But the old logo had some issues. “The problem our logo had was being able to effectively align it on clothing,” said Athletic Director and varsity girls basketball coach Bob Pipe. Last spring Pipe hosted a focus group with the captains of all teams to get input on the idea of a new logo. Being one focus group out of many, the captains did not have the control to choose the Continued on page 10
tive, respectful, and appropriate learning environment”. The dress code applies to both students and teachers, as they are expected to comply with these thought out rules. According to Upper School Dean of Students Will Mills, the idea of changing the dress code originated from two senior girls from the Class of 2019 who felt that adding blue jeans to the everyday life of students would provide for more comfort yet add more formality to the student appearance. After discussing with the student council and
the grade deans, their request was passed on to the senior administration group. “We want people’s dress to reflect what they do here and to be reflective of who we are as a school,” Mills said. The full impact of how the dress code change of adding blue jeans but taking away leggings affected the school was not known until school began in September and students began expressing their feelings about this change. After a few weeks into Continued on page 8
FEATURES
ARTS
The long anticipated opening of the new building on campus is finally here. Over the past year and half, the speed of construction on the $21,000,000 and 34,000-square-foot building has impressed members of the Rivers community. Now, the finishing touches are being added and students, faculty, and staff alike eagerly await its opening in early January. Many have wondered how the new name for the new building will fit into campus like the existing buildings; Haynes, MacDowell, and Lewis. And though some may have grown accustomed to the working title of the building, it’s old name is a thing of the past. To honor Daniel R. Revers as the single largest donor in Rivers’ history and the lead donor in the capital campaign that made the new building possible, the Center for Science and Visual Arts will now be known as The Revers Center for Science and Visual Arts, or
colloquially, “The Rev”. The building’s new name was officially announced on Sep. 26th in an announcement on the Rivers website. Daniel Revers is parent to Nick Revers ‘15, who enrolled at Rivers as a sophomore. Revers is highly complimentary of the school and what it did for his son. “[Rivers] has a really dedicated faculty who are not only great teachers but are great at connecting with students,” Revers said. He spoke about the new building, saying it is even better than he’d dreamed it would be. According to the announcement about the naming of the building, “Dan really stepped up and showed this community what we can do when we put our minds to it,” said Head of School Ned Parsons. “His belief in Rivers and his willingness to declare that belief in such a public, visible fashion are truly an inspiration.” “The Rev” boasts “stateof-the-art” facilities, including physics, chemistry, and biology labs and classrooms, along with Continued on page 6
Dress code change riles females BY CAROLINE DENEEN ’22 CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Any change in dress code typically results in some form of controversy, and this year’s change has been no exception. Over the summer, students were notified that the Rivers dress code would no longer allow girls to wear leggings or yoga pants of any kind. The negative reactions began almost immediately. The Dress Code Policy found in the Student Handbook states that “Rivers seeks to uphold standards for a produc-
I N S I D E
NEWS
Former BlackRock exec Chris Whittier ’07 kicks off new Delta Alumni Talks. Page 3
Summer in Spain program has another successful year as 12 Upper School students travel to Cadiz. Page 7
Fall drama production: Puffs, Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic Page 8
Eric Liu -A Call to Action
The Hall Family Speaker Series launched last Oct. 3, with a visit from Eric Liu, an author, activist, and speaker who addressed the school community on the topic of civic engagement, power, and the meaning of citizenship. See story on page 10.
SPORTS
Undefeated field hockey team eying shot at league title, return to NEPSAC finals game. Page 9
AROUND CAMPUS
Homecoming featured an abundance of spirit, community, fun, and exciting games. Page 16