March Issue 2019

MARCH 1, 2019 | VOL. 70. ISSUE 4

THE REVIEW ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL 2401 CLAREMONT LANE HOUSTON, TX 77019 WWW.SJSREVIEW.COM

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NEWS

THE REVIEW / MARCH 1, 2019

Government shutdown puts school families on edge

By Ella West

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hile the majority of St. John's parents and guardians were cycling through their daily routines and earning a paycheck, the 35day partial shutdown of the government — the longest in the nation's history — impacted millions, including several families within the St. John's community.

When the shutdown first began on Dec. 22, Peter Mosbacher ('02), a NASA employee and father of two St. John's first-graders, received an email from his boss telling him not to come in for work after the holiday break. Because his job entails computer security for NASA, Mosbacher was called in to work for several days during the shutdown, all without pay.

Since 2008, Mosbacher has been furloughed during previous government shutdowns, although most did not last longer than a week.

His wife, Lucy, is also a St. John's graduate ('02) and the older daughter of math and science teacher Dwight Raulston ('71).

"Peter is the quintessential St. John's student," Lucy said. "He is working all the time, so it was really hard for him not to be allowed to work. He was also worried because there are so many things that could go wrong in his absence."

For the Mosbachers, the shutdown was rarely addressed at home; they found it easier to avoid discussions about the difficult subject matter. To fill his free time, Peter assisted friends with computer programming, spent time reading and helped out around the house.

"The shutdown put the whole family more on edge," Lucy said. "We tried very hard to keep our kids from finding out about it because they are very young, but they found out, which ramped up the stress level. We were definitely a much calmer place to be once he realized he could go back to work."

Financially, the shutdown was extremely taxing for many, including the Mosbachers. Without the support of their extended family, they would not have been able to pay their mortgage or tuition for their twins.

Friends of the Mosbachers also faced challenges due to the shutdown. One Coast Guard family was hit with a medical emergency in the middle of the furlough, completely draining their savings. Others had to apply for unemployPHOTO / ANDREA PETERSON ment or take up Over the 35-day partial shutdown, which coincided with her first month in Congress, Lizzie Fletcher met with side jobs such as representatives of the American Federation of Government Employees in Houston. She helped pass legislation to dog-walking. give federal employees access to funds and to get reimbursed after the shutdown ended.

In order to seek a part-time job reticularly the ones who were furloughed. almost 3,000 NASA employees who were lating to what government workers do in Typically, the winter holiday break al- out of work during the shutdown. their department, government employees lows employees to return in the new year "People don't realize how many people must be cleared by the US Office of Gov- ready to work, but the shutdown altered live paycheck to paycheck or are in that ernment Ethics. During the shutdown, this pattern. sort of situation where if one bad thing however, the ethics office was also fur"Coming back to work rested and re- happens it wipes out their savings," Lucy loughed, so they could not authorize any- charged means that January to February said. "People need to take a step back and one to pursue other work. is probably my most productive time of think about what they are saying, even if "You are left with either trying to get the year," Peter said. "I have more energy they mean it in the best possible way." part-time work doing something different for work and greater opportunity and deLizzie Fletcher ('93), Congresswoman enough that you are confident you won't sire to work longer hours when necessary. for Congressional District 7 in Texas, was run afoul of agency ethics guidelines, or Instead, I lost one-twelfth of a productive sworn in on Jan. 3 during the shutdown. you have to run that risk, a very uncom- year. Even though I got paid for that time, Because Congress was funded, Fletcher fortable position," Peter said. that productivity is lost. Now, here I sit, at was able to do much of her work, includThe timing of the shutdown had a sig- the end of February, still feeling like I'm ing keeping the government from another nificant impact on federal workers, par- trying to get traction on the many goals I shutdown and helping to make the best of have for this year." a bad situation.

NASA faces competition from priFletcher spent most of her first month in vate industry, particularly in fields Congress meeting with federal employees of cyber security, information tech- from the Houston area who were affected nology and software development. by the shutdown.

"Whether you are trying to attract "It was a very frustrating situation for top students into accepting or stay- people like me who want to make sure ing in an internship with NASA or that the government is running efficiently trying to lure experienced talent in and doing all of the things that we expect industry, any shutdown, much less and need," Fletcher said. "It was a chalone that long, sends a really bad lenge to start that way, but it was also an message," Peter said. "Why would incredible privilege to help people." someone accept less pay than they Fletcher helped pass legislation to give could earn in private industry to federal employees access to funds, enable not work?" them to take money from their retirement During the shutdown, many gov- plans and reimburse them after the shuternment employees considered down ended. moving to the private sector.

While many government workers were "There was a sense of disbelief impacted, some were impacted less than that the shutdown could continue others. Jennifer Elrod, a federal judge on to sustain itself, or you would have the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and seen a lot more movement in that mother of Catharine ('19) and Elizabeth direction," Mosbacher said. ('15) Elrod, worked during the shutdown Even after the shutdown end- without interruption. ed on Jan. 25, there was a serious As a part of the Fifth Circuit, Elrod's threat of another just three weeks work is considered essential, particularly later if Congress and President pertaining to the exercise of constitutionTrump had not agreed on a stop- al powers. The shutdown did affect the gap spending package. court dockets, so oral arguments had to "If there had been a second shut- be postponed. In order to pay the Fifth down, you would have seen a lot of Circuit Chamber staff, funds put aside for people, including me, at least look- other uses were diverted. ing at opportunities, if not actively After 35 days, many federal employees seeking offers in the private sector," were frustrated by the state of the governPeter said. ment.

According to Lucy, most Hous “I swore an oath to support and detonians disregarded the shutdown fend the Constitution,” Peter said, “and it and offered little support until she doesn't seem unreasonable to expect that explained the full consequences. my government, my employer, would Few people were aware of how honor my loyalty and my service with the lives were affected nor did they same seriousness.” know how many government workers are in Houston. There are

SJSREVIEW.COM / NEWS / MARCH 1, 2019

Salhotra campaign aims to represent youth, minorities

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PHOTO / LEILA PULASKI Raj Salhotra is running for City Council. If elected, he would become the youngest, first Hindu and first Indian City Councilman in Houston's history. Salhotra returned to campus on Feb. 20 to talk about his campaign platform.

By Roosh Bhosale and Indrani Maitra

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hen history teacher Wendall Zartman accompanied the Class of 2009 on their eighthgrade trip to Big Bend, one Middle School student stood out. Every day at dinnertime, this outgoing student would actively seek out peers he could help with chores, even after he finished his own.

This student’s unusual altruism, curiosity and eagerness to help left a lasting impression.

That student was Raj Salhotra.

Today, Salhotra has an ambitious goal: to be the youngest, the first Hindu and the first Indian City Councilman in Houston’s history.

Salhotra is running for Houston City Council At-Large 1. Rather than representing one of Houston’s 15 City Council districts, the five at-large positions represent all of Houston.

There have not been any South-Asian candidates for the past 10 years. The only South Asian candidate elected to City Council was M.J. Khan in 2003.

“I hope my campaign will help bring the South-Asian community together and give them a voice,” Salhotra said.

Houston has five at-large city councilmen, and only one is a person of color.

This is a large disparity for one of the most diverse cities in America: Approximately 70 percent of Houstonians are people of color.

“Even beyond just race and ethnicity, none of the city council members are younger than 35,” Salhotra said. “I hope

to be a voice for the millennial youth as well.”

While at St. John’s, Salhotra participated in several government-oriented activities, including Model United Nations, Quiz Bowl and a politically focused book club.

Barack Obama was elected president during his senior year.

“It was especially inspiring for me,” Salhotra said. “Knowing that a person of color could be so successful in politics was a big motivator for me deciding to pursue policy in college.”

Salhotra majored in economics and public policy, graduating from Rice University in 2013. While a student, he interned at the White House in spring of 2011.

Salhotra conducted policy briefings for White House staff and worked on processing on-boarding of new hires and employees leaving the White House. The experience cemented Salhotra’s interest in policy.

While at the White House, Salhotra was assigned to tutor a lower-income Nigerian high school student at a Washington, D.C., public school. For six months, they worked on SAT preparation and coursework. The student attended Carnegie Mellon University on a full scholarship.

“Interacting with him was amazing,” Salhotra said. “I played a really small part in that, but it convinced me of the power of a teacher and what a teacher can do.”

Salhotra said he believes that increasing access to higher education is the first step to improving social inequality.

After graduating from Rice, Salhotra taught for Teach for America at YES Prep.

He taught math to low-income students; as a second-year teacher, he and his former students founded Students with Ambition Go to College, a non-profit focused on providing mentorship to help students from underserved communities and schools attend college.

The idea for SWAG to College began while Salhotra was waiting in line at a Subway. Salhotra asked the cashier about his plans for college; he wanted to attend the University of Houston but was unsure if he could afford it. The cashier was unaware of government-funded financial programs such as Federal Pell Grants and the FAFSA. To Salhotra, the cashier personified the struggles that low-income students face compared to higher-income students. Students from both backgrounds have similar ambitions, but higher-income students are better equipped to take the first step towards their goal, he said.

In 2018, Salhotra graduated from Harvard Law School. During law school, he represented low-income tenants who had been evicted from their homes. The experience gave him a first-hand view of what low-income families face on a day-to-day basis.

In October, Salhotra returned to campus for South-Asian Affinity Group’s assembly, where he spoke about his experience as a child of two immigrants and shared stories about his time at St. John’s as a

South Asian student, emphasizing the importance of friends and family.

He formally announced his candidacy for City Council in January.

On Feb. 20, SAAG hosted Salhotra in a co-sponsored event with St. John’s Political Education Club as well as Junior Statesmen of America. Salhotra spoke about his campaign platform and his experience so far on the campaign trail.

The event, hosted in the Frankel Mezzanine, was attended by many of Salhotra’s former teachers, including Zartman and chemistry teacher Sarwat Jafry.

“Raj is someone who strongly believes in doing good,” Jafry said. “He's not hesitant to ask questions to solve problems.”

Salhotra aims to recruit students from every school in Houston to ensure that they feel represented in the campaign and, potentially, on the City Council.

“We want to be the most accessible campaign possible with a focus on all Houstonians, whether they are students, young professionals, working families or senior citizens," Salhotra said.

Salhotra urges everyone, especially younger voters and minorities, to participate in local politics.

“Everybody has a role in our campaign, whether it’s liking something on social media, getting your friends to vote or going to vote yourself,” Salhotra said.

“Everybody has a role to play, because ultimately we are all Houstonians and everybody has a stake in this city.”

DESIGN / ERIC STRAWN

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THE REVIEW / NEWS / MARCH 1, 2019

NEWS AAAG

By Sophie Gillard

PHOTO / MCKENNA GRABOWSKI Female members of AAAG perform a dance inspired by black cultures around the world.

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kylar Williams was in her AP English class when the notifications from her African-American Affinity Group chat began popping up on her phone just after 3 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 4.

“Can someone please explain?”

“Did anyone screenshot?”

“We should go to admin.”

The news was so disturbing that she broke down in the middle of class.

There had been a Snapchat post likening the AAAG assembly to a slave auction. The details were unclear. No one had a screenshot of the post, but several people had seen it — or knew someone who had supposedly seen it.

After school, Williams and members of AAAG gathered in the halls of the Science Building, then a few members went to administrative offices to report the incident.

Just a few hours earlier, at 11 a.m., AAAG had hosted an assembly commemorating Black History Month in which they discussed what it means to be black at St. John’s and how to negate common stereotypes.

Organized by Williams and Jordan Fullen, both juniors, the program featured student anecdotes, discussions about identity and a dance.

According to AAAG co-sponsor Kim Roquemore (’87), this assembly never would have happened back when she attended St. John’s: “The students were so genuine and so vulnerable, and they spoke their heart out. I was very nervous for them.”

The dancers had been rehearsing since winter break.

Choreographed by senior Lena McZeal, junior Subi Farayibi and Williams, the dance featured a combination of hip-hop and Afrobeats, including a mash-up of Drake’s “Nice for What” and “In My Feelings,” Young Thug’s “Now,” K Camp’s “Drop” and DJ KEROZEN’s “La Victoire.”

The goal of the choreographers was to invalidate the stereotype that African-Americans only dance to hiphop.

“It was a perfect balance of grace and strength,” Head of Upper School Hollis Amley said. “It was a beautiful performance.”

Unbeknownst to the dancers, a freshman student was posting a photo of the dancers on a private Snapchat story with the caption, “yo auction lit.”

Just a few minutes later, four students took the stage to share their experiences as African-Americans. The last speaker was AAAG co-President Genson Hooper-Price, who shared a heart-wrenching story from his freshman year. A senior he did not know had posted an image on Snapchat in which a filter had accentuated the size of his nose and lips.

The caption read, “Look, I’m Genson.”

Although Hooper-Price did nothing about it then, he encouraged the entire Upper School to report the next incident in which somebody makes an insensitive or offensive comment.

It didn’t take long for his words to be put into action.

Immediate Responses Although the racist post was deleted before the assembly had even ended, some faculty members and over 30 students from different grade levels and racial, ethnic and gender backgrounds reported the post. After witnessing the initial reaction, Amley said that there was a “strength and conviction amongst the students and faculty” like she had never seen before.

That afternoon was extraordinarily emotional for many.

“It was my first time experiencing anything racist directly, so when it happened, I broke,” Williams said. “It was heartbreaking because it felt like the post threw the meaning behind our assembly in the trash.”

Freshman Joseph DePinho, who was friends with the student who posted the Snapchat, recalls that the incident made ninth-grade students feel “shocked and anxious.”

DePinho expressed that there were many angry classmates who wanted to confront the student and the administration.

“No one sided with [the student],” DePinho said. “It’s just different because I know that I’m never going to see [the student] ever again.”

On Tuesday morning, roughly 12 hours later, administrators met with Upper School faculty to provide an update on the situation and discussed the reports they had received.

At the end of the school day, at 3:35 p.m., administrators met with faculty once again to notify them that, after conducting what Headmaster Mark Desjardins described as “a detail-oriented process… it was determined that this student could no longer remain in our community.”

At 4:22 p.m., the School sent a letter from Desjardins to the entire School community, which read, “This incident was an egregious violation of St. John’s community values and standards of conduct. There is simply no place at St. John’s for those individuals who are not willing to commit toward helping build a culture that upholds, honors, and supports the ideals of empathy, respect, care, and inclusion.”

Amley followed up with an email to Upper School parents and students at 7:39 that evening, announcing a gathering for the Upper School the following day to discuss the “racist and bigoted” incident.

Later that night, members of AAAG collaborated on a Google Doc to write a speech for the assembly. Ultimately, AAAG thought it best that three of the dancers, Williams, Farayibi and freshman Eliot Aiman, should deliver the speech.

At the assembly on Feb. 6, Amley began by acknowledging past incidents of racial insensitivity that were not handled with as much communication and conversation as this incident. Gene Batiste, Director of Community and Inclusion, then recounted a time in elementary school when his father told him that he was the “biggest, blackest thing in the room.” This episode left an “indelible impression” on Batiste that he “must always be mindful of the complexity of being black in America.”

Finally, 48 hours after the performance in which they had been compared to slaves, the three girls returned to the VST stage and reiterated the importance of their initial message.

“I wanted to — as quickly as possible — reclaim that space as an Upper School community and to denounce the offensive action publicly,” Amley said. “There was a solemn and somber tone amongst the students and teachers that was really powerful. There was truly a reverence in that moment for appreciating the severity of what had happened, for the AAAG assembly and for the SJS community.”

The next day, a rainy Thursday, approximately 200 students packed into the Chao Room for a forum to promote dialogue about diversity and inclusion on campus.

“I’m so proud of Unity Council and AAAG for co-sponsoring the largest forum ever in Upper School history,” Batiste said. “Maybe it was serendipitous that we were not able to be out on the plaza because of rain: Being forced into Chao and the Gallery gave us a bit more intimacy to have those awakening moments.”

Batiste said that more uncomfortable dialogue will be instrumental in cultural education.

“Moving forward, it’s going to be those person-to-person interactions that will really be more effective than large-scale talks,” he said. “It’s very difficult to just not care when you’re talking one-to-one or in a small group situation.”

Concurrently, the Middle School hosted a forum in which two dozen seventh- and eighth-grade students discussed the incident.

“It was a healthy session,” Head of Middle School Philip Cannon said. “In talking with a couple of schools that have affinity groups in Middle School, Dr. Batiste and I learned that the initial catalyst for their formation came from the students. Our sense from this forum is that some of our students do want such a safe setting in which to process and discuss these issues. What specific form that may take going forward has yet to be determined.”

Turning Point In the fall of 2016, the Upper School experienced four unrelated, racially insensitive incidents over the span of two weeks involving students, parents and faculty.

Though each situation was addressed, Amley said that “there was reservation among students, faculty and administration” in initiating a forum to discuss the events.

“We didn’t have the structural apparatus to handle the conversation in a productive way,” Amley said. “At the time, we did not have as much of a forum culture — when Unity Council hosted one, 15 to 20 attendees was considered a decent turnout.”

Although no formal discussions were scheduled, the School brought in experts to train faculty, administrators and student leaders in creating thoughtful discussion.

Since then, Batiste was hired in 2017, Unity Council has increased its presence on campus and the “forum culture” has drastically improved.

At the 2018 freshman retreat, the School also led a

SJSREVIEW.COM / NEWS / MARCH 1, 2019

PHOTO / MCKENNA GRABOWSKI Genson Hooper-Price encourages students to speak out when they witness racism. “cultural competency” workshop to help ninth-grade students understand terminology that surrounds the discussion of diversity and realize how strongly the community values inclusion.

Most recently, at the All-School Chapel on Friday, Feb. 1, Batiste and Unity Council presented the new Statement on Community and Inclusion, which emphasizes the importance of respecting differences and establishing a loving environment for members of the community.

According to Batiste, the timing of the Snapchat post — occurring so soon after two events designed specifically to celebrate diversity — only strengthens the importance of the Statement and marks a turning point for inclusion on campus.

“The work that we’ve done over the last 18 months with our Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism from the National Association of Independent Schools, our new Statement, the role that I have the honor of holding, the training that we’ve done for student leaders to facilitate and lead difficult conversations, the strengthening of affinity groups — all those things are components of a new day,” he said.

Batiste also said that the community’s response to the incident sets a new precedent for how to respond to hurtful actions or comments for administrators, faculty and students.

“Moving forward, if there is an infraction on our Statement of Community and Inclusion that impacts our community, there are consequences for those actions,” he said. “Part of the process of reconciling this incident needs to include restorative justice with grace. It’s about doing what’s right for students who have been harmed, and it’s also about doing what’s right because of what we value as a community.”

Many students have commended the administration’s transparency in dealing with the situation.

“That’s a really important part of the situation: acknowledging to the greater community that this is an issue,” senior Sara Lichtarge said. “I also really liked that Dr. Desjardins used the actual quote of what the student said in the email because there’s nothing that speaks to the racism like the actual quote itself. I’m just glad that the administration was not trying to dilute the impact of that student’s words.”

The aftermath of the incident has seen many students share their own stories of insensitivity or discrimination and how they have affected them, magnifying the sense of empathy and community on campus.

“Not only have people been sharing their own stories, but people have been sharing their mistakes,” Amley said. “That’s a major sign of growth. They’ve acknowledged times when they didn’t upstand, they’ve admitted to when they laughed nervously at something they knew wasn’t funny and they’ve acknowledged times when they were silent or turned a blind eye so that they didn’t have to step up. Two or three years ago, people would not have been able to be aware of missed opportunities [to report] because they wouldn’t have known they should have done something.”

The incident also raised important questions about how to treat future incidents. Lichtarge considered whether the action will set a precedent for smaller forms of aggression.

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PHOTO / LEILA PULASKI Hundreds gather for a joint AAAG and Unity Council forum after the incident.

“These kinds of incidents happen all the time and just aren’t reported en masse,” she said. “What is St. John’s going to do to make sure that those smaller incidents are taken care of? They don’t have to be incredibly large, grievous remarks about the whole community in order to still be offensive.”

Lichtarge has experienced hostility toward her Jewish heritage. Last summer, someone made a Holocaust joke, which she did not report because she “didn’t want people to think that one passing comment” had a significant effect on her.

She suggests that creating a system in which students can anonymously report incidents would be an important step in establishing a safe community.

Also concerning to Lichtarge is that any student could feel safe enough to post something so offensive online, especially on a platform followed by other St. John’s students.

“It really meant that it wasn’t just an isolated incident of one person being racist,” she said. “It’s indicative of a much larger problem here at St. John’s. If you want to truly fix what’s happening, you need to understand that it is a large problem.”

Moving Forward According to Skylar Williams, cultural education must begin before high school in order for it to be impactful since the brains of Lower and Middle School students are still developing and absorbing everything they can.

Batiste and other administrators have been working with the Middle School for roughly a year analyzing the viability of implementing affinity groups.

Although Middle School administrators initially intended for affinity groups to be instituted this spring, they were postponed in order to ensure that the strategic planning surrounding faculty sponsorship and training could be further studied.

Roquemore acknowledges the challenge of introducing affinity groups to Middle School students who are still discovering their own identity.

“It was on the back burner, but now, after this incident, it’s back on the front burner for the Middle School,” Batiste said.

Discussions are ongoing with Lower School administrators on ways to deal with racial identity moving forward.

In order to create a more inclusive and understanding environment, Batiste noted that there must be a shift in mindset from the School community when thinking about the hardships of minorities and underrepresented people.

“It’s one thing to say, ‘That’s about them,’ rather than, ‘This is about us as a community,’” he said. “It’s about dealing with the immediate situation and seeing how that impacts the entire School community. One thing we can get past is this whole ‘us’ and ‘them’ thing, which I find very troubling — to think that it’s about ‘them’ and not have to be concerned about it.”

Batiste emphasized the need for diversity education to originate from the School rather than from minority students. He reflected on one African-American student

who told him, “I feel it’s my job to not just be a student here but to educate others about my experience.”

He added that students of the majority culture should strive to educate themselves about diversity.

“That’s such a burden to put on anybody who’s underrepresented, whether it be by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, country of origin or gender expression,” Batiste said. “That’s just really unfair.”

Continuing this year, the longer advisory periods have been designed for social-emotional learning skills such as empathy, which is an important step in understanding inclusion.

Amley also said that administrators are organizing a forum for the entire Upper School to facilitate further discussions. The plan is to hold several simultaneous forums, each with a different topic, and allow students to join the one they’re most interested in.

Amley hopes that this kind of forum would happen once this year and would be implemented more frequently next year.

“This structure allows you to pick the topic you want to talk about and be around people you feel more comfortable with,” Amley said. “It also provides an opportunity for those who might not be inclined to go to a forum just to practice being in a forum, setting community norms, speaking from the ‘I’ perspective and listening to other people’s stories. The hope is that as we do these more often, more students — over time — will gain skills to find their voice and use it in difficult conversations.”

How to React and Support As soon as news of the incident began to spread, Williams said that teachers she did not even know were sending her supportive emails and her “phone was blowing up” with lengthy text messages.

“Everyone was really nice about it,” she said. “I didn’t expect that at all.”

There are similar stories of the community coming together and expressing their frustrations, but for many students who were not directly impacted, it has been difficult to determine how they can help.

“That’s something I really struggle with,” Lichtarge said. “I want to be there for everyone who’s being emotionally impacted in any way by how insensitive someone’s words can be. A lot of times I’m afraid to say something.”

Several members of AAAG and Upper School counselor Ashley Le Grange said that the most important thing is to listen.

“Be able to say, ‘I might not understand, but I can still be there for you and know that it hurts,’” Le Grange said. “It’s important not to jump to solutions because you can’t fix something that you don’t understand. The power of listening has been huge.”

For students who have been affected and need help, Le Grange said that she and any adult on campus is a resource. She can also refer students to professional resources.

“Have empathy. Continue to be open-minded. Have empathy.”

PHOTOS BY LEILA PULASKI PAGE DESIGN BY PRITHVI KRISHNARAO AND CLARA BROTZEN-SMITH

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THE REVIEW / ADVERTISEMENT / MARCH 1, 2019

SJSREVIEW.COM / FEATURES / MARCH 1, 2019

FEATURES Going avant-garde: Students pursue fine arts majors

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For a visual arts major, medicine is in the details

PHOTO / ELAINE DONG

By Celine Huang

B ARTWORK / ELAINE DONG An eye study painted by Elaine Dong, who pursued both pre-med and fine arts concentrations at Harvard University.

By Celine Huang

E

ven though senior Gray Watson has performed in every high school musical, spent seven weeks at a theater program last summer, has put in hundreds of hours into theater this year, is helping direct an ISAS play and is the male lead in “9 to 5,” he hesitates to pursue theater as a career.

Katy Shafer, a freshman muscial theater major at NYU, wavered when declaring herself a theater major because she knew very few SJS alumni who majored in theater.

“It’s not the normal route because so many people are taking pre-med or law or business,” Shafer said. “You feel like a sore thumb sticking out because you are one of the few majoring [in theater].”

Outside the SJS community, Shafer felt that people considered fine arts inferior to more academic pursuits.

“I still get scared telling strangers what I major in, especially if I’m with my best friend, who’s pre-med,” she said. “When they ask both of us, that makes it even worse.”

Despite the stereotypes, Shafer noted that increased media exposure has resulted in greater acceptance of the arts, saying that people are more excited and interested than dismissive

of art majors.

The range and scale of job opportunities in the arts has expanded.

“If you look at film or television or even publishing, there are more chances for people now than there were 30 years ago,” said Bill McDonald, Director of Fine Arts.

The fine arts program at St. John’s has also evolved. Alison Weaver (’89), a St. John’s parent and Founding Executive Director of Rice University's Moody Center for the Arts, compares the somewhat limited arts program that she knew as a student to today’s flourishing art scene.

Weaver said, “The scope and quality of what is offered today is so much greater, which is wonderful.”

The accessibility of the arts program has spread, which allows students to participate in a variety of artistic endeavors. According to McDonald, the new schedule creates opportunities for a wider range of course offerings and in-depth instruction.

Watson’s first Upper School musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” marked a turning point for him.

“St John's gave me lots of opportunities to do all the shows I wanted to do. When I first got into ‘Joseph,’ it

was just the most welcoming environment I'd ever been in,” Watson said.

“I found all my friends from ‘Joseph.’

It changed my life.”

Watson was recently accepted into the Northwestern University School of Communications where he plans to major in theater and biology.

“I love theater with all my heart.

The dream is to be a successful actor,” Watson said. “Acting is risky—you don't know if you will find work or where you will end up. Later on, I’m going to have to decide whether I am going to be an actor or a doctor.”

McDonald said that an arts education can introduce students to a way of thinking that strengthens their pursuit of any field.

“There are all different types of learning, but artistic learning is a special, deeper layer of learning when you take facts, combine it with a physical experience and then interpret it in a way that is new,” he said.

McDonald emphasized that students must have passion to pursue a career in the fine arts.

“Existing in fine arts is a very difficult, challenging career path because you can face a lot of rejection,” McDonald said. “Be tenacious. Make sure you love it.”

orn with a cleft lip and palate, Elaine Dong (’13) struggled with her self-esteem in middle school. She had trouble making and keeping friends due to her lack of confidence. She felt trapped and sought an outlet to express herself.

She chose art.

Dong created many self-portraits by analyzing her face in the mirror, painting every unique contour and reaching into the depths of her own identity.

“It really helped me process how I saw myself and how I wanted other people to see me,” she said. “The better I got at art, the more I could express those types of feelings without having to verbally confront someone.”

At St. John’s, Dong became an illustrator for The Review, was elected prefect and was accepted at Harvard as a biology major. A week into her first semester of college, she decided to major in visual arts and complete her pre-med requirements as electives.

“My goal is to enjoy life, and I was enjoying life in animation, so why not?” she said.

In her math and science classes, Dong was learning what life was. In her art classes, everything was expressive.

Dong graduated from Harvard in 2017 as the first student in seven years to pursue pre-med and visual arts concentrations, then started medical school at the Baylor College of Medicine.

She emphasized the importance of art in her medical training.

As an art major focused on considering tiny visual details for many years, Dong became adept at looking at someone and noticing when things didn’t look quite right.

While on her pediatrics rotation, Dong was the only member of her team to notice a baby whose toes were stuck together (a condition known as syndactyly), which led them to consider if the baby had a more serious genetic syndrome.

Dong urges students to hold onto their passions, regardless of what they pursue as a career.

“You have no idea what your future holds. I had no idea that I was going to be an art major,” Dong said. “The more open-minded you are, the happier you will be about wherever life takes you.”

THE REVIEW / CENTERSPREAD / MARCH 1, 2019

8

Everybody Knows Somebody: The silent struggle with eating disorders Story by Sophie Caldwell / Photo by Leila Pulaski / Design by Mia Fares

KNOWING YOUR WEIGHT TO THE DECIMAL

The names of current high school students interviewed for this story have been changed to protect their privacy. Students attend Houston high schools, not necessarily St. John’s. This article will not reveal anyone’s actual weight because according to medical professionals, such information can be a trigger for those who suffer from eating disorders.

Heather* first began to pay attention to her weight the summer after sixth grade. At a classmate’s house, she and her friend decided to weigh themselves.

Before stepping on the scale, Heather estimated her weight. When the real number flashed between her feet, she was horrified.

Her friend said, “Oh yeah, I can see it…Your thighs are kind of big for your height, and your hips are really wide.” t started when Kevin* began high school. He had always been a “bigger It was one of the most embarrassing moments of Heather’s life. kid” and struggled socially, so he wanted high school to be different. At In retrospect, Heather’s weight was perfectly normal for her age and height, his new school, it seemed like everyone was thin. but at her doctor’s appointment the next week, she closed her eyes as she “The people who people had crushes on, who everybody fawned over, were stepped onto the scale. She couldn’t bear to see the number again. thin, so it clicked in my brain: I can’t succeed here if I’m this heavy,” he said.

Heather soon became obsessive about her weight. She endlessly searched for Kevin had recently been diagnosed with ADHD and began taking medidiets and ways to lose weight. She also spent a lot of time on Tumblr, where cation, which suppressed his appetite. He quickly started to lose weight. By she saw a post about weight loss that said if you throw up your food, you the end of six weeks, he had lost nearly half of his body weight, a staggering won’t gain weight. decrease that doctors later told him was almost physically impossible.

Heather remembers exactly what she ate before she purged for the first time.

He would eat a meal every three days and then vomit it back up. He was She remembers her weight to the decimal. After she forced herself to throw up, physically and emotionally exhausted, which led to panic attacks and falling she weighed less. asleep or even fainting in class.

“I had this sick satisfaction that I had lost weight in such an easy way,” she “I had lost control,” he said. “I never really realized how severe it was. I just said. “It felt really good. That’s why I was so ashamed.” thought that it was something people do.”

If Heather ate more than a specific number of calories in one sitting, she His friends and teachers finally noticed something was wrong when they would force herself to throw up. She was careful never to purge when she saw a photo of Kevin from the beginning of the school year and realized how might be caught. drastically he had changed. Kevin refused to open up, insisting that he was “I would feel the food just sitting in my stomach, and I would fine and perfectly healthy, but the reaction of his friends opened his eyes to his feel sick,” she said. “I couldn’t eat in public. I had to get rid self-destructive behavior. of it within 20 minutes.”

One day Kevin looked in the mirror and saw his bones and his ribcage At one point, she was purging four times a day. through his skin.

Heather would often grow faint or feel disconnect“That’s when I realized.” ed from the world, known as dissociating. Once while brushing her teeth, she noticed a brown mark on her front tooth. Her stomach acid had eroded the enamel so much that she While there are many types of eating disorders, the most common ones are ended up getting her teeth capped. bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and anorexia nervosa. The National “I’m so insecure about my teeth Institute of Mental Health defines eating disorders as “serious and sometimes because they are a mark of what hapfatal illnesses that cause severe disturbances to a person’s eating behaviors.” pened,” Heather said.

Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extremely restricted food intake, which Heather finally confessed her results in a dangerously low body weight. People with anorexia also suffer purging to her therapist and began from body dysmorphia — a distorted view of their bodies that can cause them treatment for her eating disorder. to believe they are overweight even when they are malnourished and starving. She also sought help from an eatAnorexia has strict diagnostic criteria; a patient must be in a certain weight ing disorders hotline. By eighth category to be officially diagnosed with the disease. Nearly one percent of grade, she was significantly women and 0.3 percent of men will suffer from anorexia during their lifetimes. better, but her insecurities People with bulimia nervosa usually follow a binge-purge cycle, consuming persisted. Whenever she large amounts of food and then desperately trying to expel the calories by vom- looked at group photos, she iting, using laxatives or fasting. During their lifetimes, 0.5 percent of women would compare her body to and 0.3 of men will suffer from bulimia. other girls and obsess over Binge eating disorder involves large food binges followed by a period of whether she had a “thigh emotional distress. People with binge eating disorder can feel guilt and shame gap.” regarding their loss of control over food. Less than two percent of men and 3.5 “I hated that I put so percent of women have suffered from binge eating disorders. much worth on my body.”

Eating problems that don’t neatly fit the criteria for these three disorders are categorized as Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder. People with OSFED can suffer from many of the symptoms of bulimia, anorexia or binge eating disorder, but they may engage in disordered eating at different frequencies or durations. OSFED is not any less dangerous than a categorized disorder. In fact, many of the consequences of OSFED are as severe as those of a diagnosThe media presents a narrow able disorder. stereotype of people with eating One disorder classified under OSFED is orthorexia, which is characterized by disorders: usually a white, affluent, an obsession with healthy eating. While it may not sound that harmful, people tragically slender female, probably a with orthorexia become unhealthily fixated on exclusively eating certain foods ballet dancer, gymnast or model. that they deem “safe,” such as vegetables. For some people, orthorexia can exist The reality is that eating disorders alongside or develop into anorexia. can affect people of any People who suffer from any eating disorder can struggle with body image, age, size, gender or race. obsess over thinness or panic over even the slightest weight gain.

As a result of this Eating disorders can be deadly. The mortality rate for anorexia is 10 percent, the highest of any mental disorder. Many with anorexia succumb to starvation or metabolic collapse, but women are more likely to commit suicide than with any other mental illness.

I

DEFINING DISORDERS

A NARROW STEREOTYPE

RESOURCES

National Eating Disorders Association Helpline: 800-931-2237 National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders Hotline: 1-630-577-1330

SJSREVIEW.COM / CENTERSPREAD / MARCH 1, 2019 image, people of color often struggle to get adequate help for their disorders.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, black teenagers are more than 50 percent more likely to be bulimic than white teenagers, and a 2003 study reported that people of color were significantly less likely than their white peers to be asked about eating disorder symptoms by a doctor.

In another study, doctors were given identical case studies of eating disorder symptoms in Hispanic, black and white women, yet only 17 percent of doctors labeled the black patients’ eating patterns as “problematic,” and they were less likely to recommend that black women seek professional help.

Another inaccuracy is that all people with eating disorders are thin. While a low body weight is one of the diagnostic criteria for anorexia, people who suffer from bulimia are likely to have a normal body weight, which makes the disorder harder to diagnose.

Eating disorders are stereotypically associated with women, but men also suffer from eating disorders. According to NIMH, eating disorders are more than twice as common in adolescent girls than in boys. Even so, 1.5 percent of adolescent boys will be diagnosed with an eating disorder. Eating disorders often go undiagnosed in men, which leads to a higher mortality for men with eating disorders.

Dr. Anselm Khoo spoke to Upper School parents about recognizing eating disorders on Feb. 6. Khoo works with the Eating Recovery Center, which treats teens and adults with eating disorders. He emphasizes that men may experience eating disorders in different ways, especially when they are in activities that “focus on aesthetics” like dance and gymnastics.

Khoo cited that 20 million women and 10 million men have suffered from an eating disorder at some point in their lives. He says that the number of men may be much higher because they are less likely to come forward with their disorders.

Khoo also said that dieting is one of the main causes of eating disorders; likely due to cultural messaging, twice as many women diet than men.

Khoo noted that athletes can be an at-risk group for eating disorders. A third of female Division I athletes display attitudes and symptoms characteristic of anorexia nervosa. Men are also at risk, especially in sports that focus on diet and appearance like wrestling, running, bodybuilding and crew.

Due to the stigma against men seeking treatment for mental health issues, Kevin resisted help for his eating disorder. Although he saw a therapist briefly, he never felt comfortable opening up.

“I felt like such a privileged white guy — she was probably hearing about people who had really serious issues,” he said. “I could never acknowledge how serious it was.”

A DOUBLE LIFE According to Khoo, living with an eating disorder feels like leading a double life.

“An eating disorder often feels like you’re being stretched in so many areas,” Khoo said. “You want to control everything. It feels powerless.”

Upper School Counselor Ashley Le Grange has also worked with those suffering from eating disorders. According to Le Grange, the disorder leads to isolation, which can prevent people from seeking help.

“The eating disorder continues to thrive in secrecy, cutting you off from your peers,” she said.

People who are willing to talk are making large strides in their recovery. Those who are reluctant to talk to anyone are often still grappling with eating disorders. Le Grange said that people with eating disorders fear that if they open up at all, they can feel like a burden to others.

“They aren’t sure if they want or are ready to get help,” she said. “People think that if they keep their disorders to themselves — and nobody notices — then everything is fine.”

Le Grange said that some characteristics of people with eating

9

disorders are perfectionism, desire for control, shame and lack of a voice.

While working with high-achieving students at another high-performing school, Le Grange discovered how easily eating disorders can flourish: “It can be a breeding ground.”

Le Grange recognizes the role of social media and cultural messaging, including the “thigh gap challenge.” Like Heather, many people seek out eating disorder tips on websites devoted to the subject, which can make matters worse.

In order to recover from an eating disorder, professional help is crucial.

Treatment usually involves both psychological and nutritional counseling. A patient’s medical and mental state is also monitored.

Medically stable patients can be treated in an outpatient setting. Their symptoms are largely under control enough for them to function normally as they continue to recover.

More severe cases may require residential treatment in which patients who are “psychiatrically impaired” receive more consistent treatment away from the stressors of the outside world.

The most dire cases — those who are both medically and psychiatrically at risk — are treated with inpatient therapy.

Peer support can be crucial when someone is suffering from eating disorder.

According to Kevin, his friends played a key role in his recovery.

“What finally opened my eyes was when people noticed how much weight I had lost,” Kevin said. “When I opened up to my classmates, they were so supportive. They promised to love and support me so I could get healthy.”

One student who currently struggles with anorexia said that she wished people would be more cognizant when they talk about food and weight.

“You start to realize when you’re going through this how often people talk about what they’re trying to cut out of their diets and the way they look,” she said. “Constantly hearing your closest friends saying they want to stop eating so much, or that they want to lose weight, or that they wished they looked like you — when you’re struggling with an eating disorder — makes recovery that much harder.”

NEVER ‘ANOREXIC ENOUGH’ Amy Dong (’16) began to struggle with disordered eating during her junior year. She would exercise for hours, count calories, obsessively weigh herself and leave the dressing off her salads — one of the few foods she would eat. She believed her behavior was normal, even as her weight fell and her friends began to notice.

Just before graduation, a friend expressed concern that Amy was too thin.

Amy said her eating disorder “blossomed” in that moment.

In college, her eating disorder worsened. Her hands were always cold from lack of circulation. She hadn’t had a regular period in years, and she could barely keep food down because her stomach was so paralyzed.

Amy had unusual habits toward food. Even though she rarely ate, she began a food blog after moving to New York. She thought about and talked about food constantly. She cooked and baked for friends but would never eat the food herself. She would watch people eat but panic when others watched her. She drank copious amounts of coffee and tea because they kept her full.

Dong would later discover that these behaviors were textbook signs of the mental effects of starvation.

Her older sister Elaine (’13) noticed that something was wrong, so she booked Amy an appointment with a dietician who later referred her to a physician specializing in eating disorders.

Amy was so deeply in denial that she was genuinely shocked when the doctor diagnosed her with orthorexia and anorexia. A physical exam revealed that her stomach was paralyzed from malnutrition (gastroparesis) and she suffered from hypothermia and muscle wastage.

“Almost no one with anorexia really thinks they are ‘anorexic enough’ to be diagnosed with anorexia; that’s why they’re anorexic,” she said.

Her resting pulse rate was 39 beats per minute (60 is normal). According to her physician, it was a “miracle” that Amy hadn’t had a heart attack.

Recovery was difficult. She was placed on a strict meal plan, which included “food challenges” and color-coded plates to teach her portion size and nutrition. At her doctor’s behest, she threw away all her scales and covered up her mirrors. She was prohibited from dancing or exercising during her recovery.

Amy struggled to unlearn the habits she had internalized from her disorder.

“It’s hard to solve a problem when the problem is you,” she said. “I was giving up the body, the beliefs, the life that I (or my eating disorder) had so delicately constructed over two years. And I had to give it up willingly and totally.”

After taking a semester off from NYU, Amy returned to school in January.

“I’m not fully recovered, but I’m more at peace with myself than ever before.”

If you or someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder, please see Upper School counselor Ashley Le Grange, call the National Eating Disorders Association hotline 800-931-2237, or visit the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders website, anad.org.

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THE REVIEW / MARCH 1, 2019

CULTURE

By Sophia Lima

ILLUSTRATION / CELINE HUANG

T

aking a gulp of bitter coffee in an attempt to stay awake, senior Manar Ansari stares at a blank Google Doc on her glowing laptop screen while she pushes through her all-nighter. It’s 3 a.m., and she has an English paper due in less than six hours.

Suddenly, she notices her phone lying next to her.

She decides to take pictures and record herself to make light of her struggle. The Google Doc remains blank.

Ansari is not alone in her battle with procrastination. A survey from StudyMode — a network that provides students with online learning tools — revealed that 87 percent of students delay starting their schoolwork.

Upper School counselor Ashley Le Grange said there is a wide variety of reasons why students procrastinate, from a lack of motivation to being uninterested in the subject matter.

“To know why someone procrastinates, you have to know the student and what’s going on in their world,” Le Grange said.

Certain people thrive under pressure, but for others, the fear of failure creates more anxiety.

“There are students who can successfully navigate procrastination,” Le Grange said. “They do very well in unstructured environments where the pressure of waiting motivates them. It is not usually a healthy tactic, but I have seen it done successfully.”

For some, the anxiety of not getting the task done perfectly makes it easier to push it aside or not start the assignment at all.

“I get anxious about the project and starting it, so I keep pushing it off, which makes things worse,” senior Josephine Dodd said.

As a junior, Dodd typically began her homework at 8:30 but now starts homework around 10 because she has less work and motivation as a senior. She chats with her family or browses on her computer after a long day at school. Dodd says she cannot go

to school for eight hours and then immediately begin five hours of studying.

Dodd once began a final project at 11:30 p.m. the night before it was due after going to see a show with her family. She worked tirelessly through the night and finally turned it in at 7:30 a.m.

“I still did well on the project,” Dodd said. “I’ve kind of trained myself to stay up later, and it works.”

Although Dodd’s grades do not suffer from her habits, she admits that procrastination increases her anxiety and stress levels.

Ansari attributes her procrastination to being easily distracted and wanting to create the perfect working environment. At chaotic Sunday musical rehearsals, she tells herself it’s too loud to do her homework, so she delays it until she gets home.

Senior Caroline Burnett prefers to complete assignments ahead of time to avoid stress. She gets home from school around 4:15 and starts her homework right away in order to finish it as soon as possible.

She always makes to-do lists in her planner and goes to bed by 9:30 on school nights.

Although Burnett does not always begin major assignments right away, she likes to complete English papers about two days before the due date in order to leave plenty of time for editing.

When an assignment seems particularly daunting, she works ahead in her preferred subjects.

Ansari regularly stayed up until 2 a.m. her junior year. Although she sometimes makes an outline a few days in advance, she almost always writes papers the day before, frequently pulling all-nighters.

“If it’s something that seems really scary at first, then I tend to avoid it,” Ansari said. “One of the hardest parts about a big project or paper is starting it.”

The Instagram explore page is Ansari’s procrastination hot spot. While she scrolls for hours, the assignment looms in the back of her mind as her anxiety builds.

“It’s a terrible feeling, and I’m not even enjoying what I’m doing,” Ansari said. “I want to get up and complete the assignment, but sometimes it feels like I physically can’t.”

She also takes long naps after school as a procrastination method.

Underestimating how much time is required to finish a project or paper has caused her to turn in assignments late, whether by a couple of hours or a couple of days. She often faces a last-minute decision of turning in a product she is not completely happy with or accepting a late penalty in order to work on the assignment more.

Le Grange says that when someone's friend procrastinates, it can affect how a student feels about an assignment. If a friend has completed an assignment two weeks in advance — and the procrastinator hasn’t started — stress and anxiety build. Students forget that everyone is different in how they approach studying.

Le Grange says that comparing oneself to others is common in high school, especially one with a strong focus on academics. The anxiety of not feeling good enough, or the stress related to constantly comparing themselves to their peers, can prevent students from starting assignments on time. While others may view

this as procrastination, it could be associated with anxiety or stress.

Psychologist Fuschia Sirois of Bishop’s University in Quebec suggests that procrastination leads to negative thoughts and harmful effects on the body. Previous research linked high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease to those who procrastinate.

Sleep, appetite and thought patterns are important to a student’s mental and physical health. If a student has a negative self-image or lack of sleep and appetite due to procrastination, Le Grange ad- vises them to seek guidance on how to better manage their time.

“The important thing is to become aware of what comes in the way of our happiness and disrupts our overall well-being,” Le Grange said. “If that’s procrastination, then that’s something we have to address."

ILLUSTRATION / MIA FARES

SJSREVIEW.COM / CULTURE / MARCH 1, 2019

11

Fanfiction writers explore alternate universes

By Abigail Poag

ILLUSTRATIONS / CELINE HUANG

The names of the students interviewed for this story have been changed to protect their online identities.

R

iley's stories may not show up on bookshelves, but the freshman is already a published author.

She writes fanfiction — creative stories that draw their characters from other forms of media. Riley publishes her stories online in vast internet repositories such as Archive of Our Own, which hosts more than 1.5 million users.

For Riley, fanfiction acts as a way to merge two of her passions: writing and the Korean boy band BTS. In her latest story, an aspiring journalist takes on a job at a corporation called Avison Associations and becomes romantically involved with his boss, named V, a member of BTS. While she bases her characters on real people, Riley stressed that fanfiction is just that: fiction.

"It's not that I'd necessarily want [these people] in these situations," Riley said. "It's about coming up with different scenarios — like if they lived in a different world, what could they possibly do?"

Riley first read fanfiction at age 13 after becoming interested in the DC universe, particularly characters such as the Joker and Harley Quinn. About a year ago, she was struggling to find more fanfiction to read when she realized she had another option: "If I can't find what I want to read, then why not write it?"

Riley tries to write every night, but she does not follow an update schedule or an established interval at which she publishes new chapters.

Her chapter updates, which amass 100 to 200 views each, also receive comments from her most dedicated readers.

Samantha, a sophomore, likes fanfiction

because it allows her to continue enjoying the universe of a book or TV show after the series has ended.

"It's like having an inside joke with a large group of people," Samantha said.

This community of like-minded fans — known as a fandom — can be a draw for many fanfiction readers.

Frequent readers of fanfiction have adopted lingo to describe the stories they are reading and the topics that interest them: "AU" generally refers to a fanfiction that sets a source work in an alternate universe, while something is "canon" when it actually comprises part of that source work.

With no real length constraint, some fanfics are as long as novels; Samantha once read one work that was 51 chapters long.

Fanfiction also gives aspiring writers a relatively lowstakes environment to try out new ideas. Alice, a freshman, named each chapter of her Harry Potter fanfiction, which has accumulated more than 2000 reads on Wattpad, after songs from the "Hamilton" soundtrack.

"I'm not that great at coming up with a fully original plot, so if I have something like a soundtrack or album, I can build a story around it," Alice said.

Active members of the fandom community are teenagers and young adults, and they tend to be supportive of each other.

"If you really love the subject of whatever they're writing about, regardless of how good it is, you're still going to read it; you're still going to appreciate that someone did it," Alice said. "The people who hate on fanfiction are really set on the canon events and facts of the story and don't respect the author's level of experience. Writers can take as much or as little of the story as they want."

Without the pressure of a critical audience, writers have the freedom to explore niche topics.

"I'm a nerd — I'm more likely to read a book in my room than go do anything," Alice said. "Nothing that happens in any of these fanfictions ever comes true for me so, in a sense, I'm living vicariously through the character. It's nice to know there are other people who think the same thing I do."

In an environment where aliases are the norm, most fanfictions are published anonymously, which can alleviate some of the pressure.

"It feels weird to me that people are able to see whatever creative things I have in my brain," Alice said.

On top of the routine nerves of sharing personal work with others, writers of fanfiction also have to grapple with the stigma that what they are writing is indulgent or embarrassing.

Her work may be read by thousands of people on the internet, but in real life, Riley only discusses fanfiction with her closest friends.

"Most people would consider it weird," she said.

Although ratings and content warnings make it easy to filter out unwanted material, Samantha attributes some of the negative attitudes towards fanfiction to the idea that fanfiction is lewd or explicit.

"You always hear about all the inappropriate stuff," Samantha said. "Sure, there is that stuff out there, but if you didn't want to read that, you could really easily keep from reading [it]."

Others think that because fanfiction is not wholly original, it should not be compared to other forms of creative writing.

English teacher Mary Mitchell disagrees.

"It's absolutely a legitimate form of writing," she said.

"You're thinking about all the things we think about when we're writing — tone and voice and command of your audience and being engaging as a writer."

Practicing any kind of writing, Mitchell said, will help students develop and strengthen their technique.

"If you're thinking carefully about the best way to approach a scene or the best way to alter a character, you're using critical thinking and the same kind of tools you'd need in academic writing, just in a different form," she said.

Mitchell pointed to Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey," a work of fanfiction parodying 18th-century Gothic fiction that is studied in her senior English class.

Many even consider Vergil's "Aeneid" a fanfiction based on Homer's epic poems "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey."

As Alice puts it, "just because you don't own the characters doesn't mean you're not writing."

Behind the scenes, stage managers ensure the show goes on

By Rahul Rupani

A

s Lucy Curtis walked into the Lowe Theatre for rehearsal on Saturday, an onslaught of tasks, from moving set pieces to coordinating light cues and managing props, awaited her before the opening of "9 to 5."

The musical was still two weeks away, but the logistics could not be put off to the last minute.

Curtis, a senior, knows this all too well.

She is the quintessential Johnnycake stage manager, having worked tech on both musicals and plays ever since she discovered her passion for it freshman year.

Stage managers are responsible for verifying that blocking is marked on scripts, all cast members are present for rehearsals and that set builders understand what needs to get done.

Besides preparing and working logistics for each production, stage managers work to ensure smooth rehearsals and effective communication between the cast, crew and directors.

“The thing most people don't realize is that the stage manager is the hero of every show,” said Bill McDonald, Director of Fine Arts.

“Each light and sound cue, each scene shift and each actor entrance is called by the stage manager.”

There is no one path to becoming a stage manager.

Senior Nathaniel Crain, who served as stage manager for the January Black Box

play "Red Herring," tried acting in seventh and eighth grade but did not enjoy being the center of attention. Because he wanted to stay involved in theater, stage managing was a natural fit.

“It is a good experience because it forces you to take a larger role in a production than you otherwise would,” Crain said.

Crain plans to major in technical theatre and has used stage managing as a way to explore the theater community outside of school by attending Stages Repertory Theatre’s summer programs.

“Theater is such an interesting form of art because it is a collaborative form, so everyone is working together to create a shared vision," Crain said.

Being a stage manager also provides students the opportunity to forge relationships with other students. Inspired by Curtis, senior Theo Sanders took on the role of assistant stage manager on "America Abridged" in 2016.

“I got to be really close to the cast, and it was great to have that community,” Sanders said.

Sophomore Natalie Brown relied heavily on the logistical prowess of the "Red Herring" stage crew to help her manage the transition between the different characters she played.

“There is a huge difference going from rehearsals to tech week, and that’s really when the show begins to fully form,” Brown said. “It’s because of the work of

PHOTO / LEILA PULASKI Stage manager Lucy Curtis works in the sound booth, following along in her script as actors run scenes in Lowe Theater. As stage manager, she organizes the show's cast, gives backstage cues and facilitates communication between director and the set crew. the stage managers that the show is fully realized.”

Balancing stage manager duties with academic demands is challenging, especially during the eight to nine days leading up to the final production, known as tech week.

“There’s a lot of stress and anxiety,” Cur-

tis said. “But the final product we are able to produce is just so fantastic that it makes everything worth it.”

The spring musical, "9 to 5," with book

by Patricia Resnick and music and lyrics

by Dolly Parton, runs today and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the Lowe Theater.

12

THE REVIEW / MARCH 1, 2019

SPORTS

Batter Up! Seniors play pickup games around campus

By Bailey Maierson

W

hether it involves sliding to third base on Randall Field or shooting a free throw on Big Red to win the game, SJS students are eager to come to campus on the weekends to play sports with friends.

Around 35 seniors communicate through a GroupMe chat, created by senior Matthew Giordano, that organizes pick-up games using the app’s poll feature. The first game took place during Thanksgiving Break, and the group chat was organized soon after.

Giordano tries to organize a game every weekend, and senior Jonah Pesikoff brings the bases, plastic bats and wiffle balls.

While Giordano has been playing pickup basketball at Big Red with his friends since the summer, his interest in stickball originated from the Physics II (H) class.

During their trebuchet-building project, he noticed that the students had big sticks with which they were building their trebuchets.

At one point, someone asked Giordano to help carry their trebuchet, so he took one of their sticks and went out to a grassy area where the student began launching tennis balls. With the stick still in his hand, Giordano whacked the tennis ball

that was launched into the air.

“Eventually I tossed the ball to a friend and we started doing that back-and-forth more and more during Da Vinci, lunch or even a free period,” he said.

Giordano and Pesikoff were amused by their inventive baseball game and often went to a physics room to get a tennis ball and a piece of wood to continue. Playing baseball with friends on campus led him to other on-campus activities that occured on the weekends.

Senior Hatley Post, who has taken part in three games, typically plays wiffle ball or stickball. Post stumbled upon her first game after a field hockey lesson on campus. A few of the other students invited her to play, and shortly after they added her to the group.

While some might find it odd coming to school on the weekends, Post said she comes to school on the weekends for field hockey practice anyway, so it doesn’t feel strange.

Giordano doesn’t mind coming to school on the weekends. The School is not crowded and is easily accessible which makes for a great environment. “[Weekend sports] are a lot of fun because there’s no pres-

sure, it’s low stress and it doesn’t matter if you’re good or bad,” Post said. “It’s not like you’re trying out for a varsity team.”

As much as Post enjoys taking part in these intramural sports that take place almost every weekend, she finds that sometimes there are setbacks.

“With musical rehearsals and the unpredictability of the weather, arranging games is not always easy,” she said. “As a second-semester senior, these games are perfect because we don’t have that much to do, and we can get bored easily.”

Giordano does sometimes find it difficult to get people to RSVP for games because the group chat has grown immensely.

“I struggle to get enough to people to come for baseball because you need around eight people minimum [for a full game],” he said.

Despite a few scheduling setbacks, these games have allowed students to interact with one another and create new friendships as the teams are never the same each weekend.

“One of the great things about these weekend games is that they give everyone an opportunity to get to know people they otherwise don’t talk to very much,” senior David Seo said. “People are always eager to take a break from schoolwork and have some fun."

PHOTO / MAXX SHEAROD DESIGN / SIENA ZERR, TAYLOR BRITTON, CLARA BROTZEN-SMITH

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SJSREVIEW.COM / SPORTS / MARCH 1, 2019

UNDEFEATED: Soccer wins historic SPC title

By SJ Lasley

T

hings were not working out for the Mavericks in the SPC semifinals. Gusting winds and a game-time temperature that felt like it was below freezing made scoring difficult. A red card ejection at the beginning of the second half meant that the Episcopal School of Dallas Eagles had a one-man advantage.

Two overtimes and seven penalty kicks later, the game was still tied 1-1.

When the Eagles missed their eighth penalty kick, captain Stephanie Sarkar stepped up, with a return trip to the championship game on the line.

Having not practiced PKs all season long, Sarkar was nervous, but her goal sailed safely into the left side of the goal.

“The team exploded,” captain Camila Sabisky said.

Soon after, members of the wrestling and boys’ soccer teams rushed onto the field to celebrate with the team.

The victory propelled the Mavs to the championship game and a chance to make school history.

When Sabisky came to St. John’s in sixth grade, the first thing she noticed was that girls’ soccer was one of the few sports without an SPC Championship banner on the wall in Liu Court. At 11 years old, Sabisky promised herself that she would be a part of the team that put the banner on the wall.

For the last two years, before departing for SPC, coach Susan Quill has taken the team into the gym and pointed out their missing championship banner. This year, a Lower School P.E. class greeted the team by chanting “SPC” upon their a r - rival.

“That was what was driving us that weekend, a desire to finally put a banner up and to change St. John’s girls’ soccer forever,” Sabisky said.

After a perfect season in league games, the Mavs entered SPC as the No. 1 seed in the South Zone. Adding to the pressure of securing a championship was the knowledge that Coach Quill would be moving to Dallas at the end of the

FINAL SCORE CHAMPIONSHIP VS. HOCKADAY DAISIES

PENALTY KICKS TO WIN THE SEMIFINAL

UNDEFEATED IN SOUTH ZONE

year.

The Mavericks traveled to Fort Worth on Valentine’s Day. As the top seed, the Mavs received a first-round bye and spent the first night preparing for the quarterfinals against the Houston Christian Mustangs. Sophomore Ka-

LAUREL WILLIAMSON

PHOTOS / FILO CASTORE

tina Christensen scored the first goal in just 18 seconds, which set the tone for the 8-0 Maverick victory.

After their dramatic win against the ESD Eagles in the semifinals, Sabisky knew the team had already conquered their greatest obstacle.

“I just knew that we were going to win it,” Sabisky said.

“If we could overcome that game, there was no way anything could stop us.”

With a new sense of confidence, the Mavericks faced the Hockaday Daisies in the championship game. It was a perfect matchup: The Daisies entered SPC as the No. 1 seed in the North Zone, also with an undefeated season.

Both the Mavs and the Daisies remained scoreless in the first half, but just 10 minutes into the second half, sophomore Carter Hollingsworth scored the first and only goal of the game.

The Mavericks remained on the attack, preventing any Daisy interference with their victory mindset. The game ended 1-0.

“When the final whistle blew, I fell to my knees, sobbing, while everyone else gathered in a dog pile a few feet away,” Sabisky said. “I kept waiting for something to go wrong, but we had won because we had worked for it.”

The victory is particularly sweet for the seniors who have spent all four years on the varsity squad and for Coach Quill in her final season with the Mavs. The team largely credits her for the growth and improvement of the program.

“Coach Quill is practically a family member to me,” Sarkar said. “She will yell at you when she needs to, but she is also your biggest supporter and will always be the first person to fight for you when the referee makes a wrong call or you make a big tackle. I will always miss having her push me to places I never even thought I could go.”

After the victory, Quill announced that she will become head coach at ESD next season.

“I hope she has fun in Dallas,” junior Erin Oldham said, “but not too much fun.”

SHELBY DESROCHES

Wrestling dominance continues, girls' swimming repeats

By Kate Willey and Ellie Monday

Beat Kinkaid by 62 points Won 9 of 12 events

Ella Flowers

100yrd Backstroke

Katie Shelburne

200yrd Freestyle 500yrd Freestyle

Sydney Buchman 100yrd Butterfly 100yrd Breastroke Team Relays

200yrd Freestyle Relay 200yrd Medley Relay

KATIE WASSERMAN PHOTO / BRUCE SCHWARTZ

A

fter tying Kinkaid for the SPC title last year, the girls’ swim team left no doubt that they were the best by winning nine out of 12 events to defeat the Falcons by 62 points.

The Mavs broke seven school records at the meet, including times by freshman Ella Flowers in the 100 backstroke, junior captain Katie Shelburne in the 200 and 500 freestyle, and junior captain Sydney Buchman in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke. Senior captain Lexi Pickens, sophomore Georgianna Matthews, sophomore Ainsley Dodson, Shelburne and Buchman set school and SPC records for their times in the 200 freestyle and medley relays.

“The biggest difference between this year and last year was the confidence,” Shelburne said. “Rather than having the intent to be competitive, we had the intent to set some records."

Texas Prep State Championship Texas State Duals Championships SPC Championship 2 Nat'l All-Americans: Harrison Fernelius Roman Lewis

Won 100th match:

By Ashley Yen and Mac Bechtol

F

resh off victories at the Texas Prep State Championship and the Texas State Duals Championships, the Mavericks approached the SPC Championship with the expectation to win.

The Mavericks ended up finishing first at SPC, becoming the first team in St. John’s history to win all three tournaments in the same season.

“All these boys know is winning,” coach Alan Paul said. All 14 wrestlers at SPC placed in their weight class. Eight were crowned individual champions, and senior captain Harrison Fernelius and junior Thomas Grannen gained their 100th wins.

At Nationals, Fernelius and senior Roman Lewis placed fifth and seventh, respectively, to become the first All-Americans in the school’s history.

“It’s cool to show what St. John’s can do,” Fernelius said. “Going forward, I hope that the wrestling team becomes a force on the national level.”

Harrison Fernelius Thomas Grannen

8 Individual Champions Beat Episcopal by 116 points

HARRISON FERNELIUS PHOTO / BENNY HE PAGE DESIGN / CLARA BROTZEN-SMITH AND LEILA PULASKI

14

THE REVIEW / OPINIONS / MARCH 1, 2019

OPINIONS

THE REVIEW

St. John's School 2401 Claremont Lane Houston, TX 77019

You're not racist? Then stop using the N-word.

By Noura Jabir

I

am angry, and I am black.

I know that makes me a stereotype.

I know that I’m “overreacting.”

I know that I need to see the positives in the incremental progress that we have made.

I also know the pain African-American students have endured at SJS this month, and that pain has been unspeakable.

As one of only 50 black students in the Upper School, I’d like to make a request on behalf of the African-American Affinity Group.

This request is not meant for every non-black student, many of whom are supportive allies of the African-American community. But it needs to be asked, and because I can’t say it specifically to the people that most need to hear it, everyone needs to hear.

But first, let’s consider the context.

A few weeks ago, after a student decided to post a racist comment on Snapchat, black students could not bear the thought of walking back onto campus. We were devastated that anyone would have the audacity to share anything so openly racist and deeply hurtful.

The words stung. The irony is that the AAAG had worked for months to make sure that our assembly would entertain without making everyone feel uncomfortable. Sadly, it was not enough.

Likening our

dancers to slaves in an auction was like a slap to the face, but we were not totally surprised. This is but one of several racially charged incidents to occur on campus in the past several years — that we know of.

Then there are the unrelenting daily microaggressions that are sometimes hard to identify and even harder to prevent, and while they’re not excusable people of color are conditioned to deal with them. What we should not have to deal with is the usage of racial slurs, particularly the N-word.

The N-word carries tremendous weight and is rooted in America’s complicated history with race, and I know you know this — because you’ve been told time and again not to say it — so why do you still say it?

You sing along — loudly — in songs.

You shout it to each other at parties.

You say it “as a joke.”

So here is my request: Stop using the N-word.

I sometimes wonder how one six-letter word can have such a profound impact on the psyche of me and other African-Americans. For many, hearing the word spoken aloud by a non-black person is traumatizing.

If that isn’t enough reason for you to behave like a compassionate ILLUSTRATION / MIA FARES human

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

being and practice some self-control, then at least try to understand that casually throwing around a racial slur is not inconsequential.

It promotes a schoolwide culture of ignorance — whether you experience it or not. It normalizes racial insensitivity and establishes a climate in which people feel comfortable enough to make racist comments in the first place, just like the one made about the assembly. It paves the way for these catastrophic, explosive incidents that plague our school’s history. And it really shouldn’t matter whether you're around a black person or not, or if you’re around anyone at all — no matter their race.

Singing songs with racial slurs while in your car may seem harmless, but it desensitizes you to the word. Using it in front of other people not only desensitizes you but also desensitizes everyone who hears you. And pretty soon, we have a school full of people who either say the N-word or hear it being said and do nothing about it. Maybe they don’t realize how harmful it is, but more likely they are afraid to speak out. I understand their concern; when it feels as though everyone around you has chosen to ignore social norms, speaking out is a daunting task. It's a burden that no student, regardless of race, should carry.

Because a few of you don't care, the rest of us have to. For those of you saying the N-word: Please, please, please stop.

Just don’t say it.

You can watch others get punished for being racist and think to yourself that you are nothing like them, but if you keep saying the N-word — no matter the context or frequency — you are a part of the problem.

Family business: growing The Review Online

W

ith The Review Online’s growth over the past year, this is the perfect time to celebrate the fifth anniversary of our updated website. Between more multimedia content (including our podcast "Pod on the Quad") and more frequent content, The Review Online has been thriving. With our tenure as Editors-in-Chief drawing to a close, we want to reflect on our time with the website and all the fond memories we’ve made.

SOPHIA

One of my dad’s favorite movies is “All the President’s Men,” so when I joined The Review sophomore year, my idea of working for a newspaper was based on Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman portraying Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. That, of course, was not the reality I encountered.

Instead, I found myself writing a weekly column for Online and pitching ideas for videos. Somehow, my first video pitch was approved, and I started working with the video crew. I had discovered a brave new world of journalism: multimedia.

By junior year, I was officially a member of the Online team, and I decided to continue down the multimedia rabbit hole. That year, I learned how to produce videos and make podcasts. I embraced the freedom of publishing content online — Hyperlinks! Photo galleries! Spotify playlists! — but especially the large-scale multimedia projects.

Ask anyone on staff and they’ll tell you that I’m always asking people for video and podcast ideas because those are the

things that make online a gem.

RYAN

As an online editor since sophomore year, I’ve also grown to appreciate the website’s ability to post breaking news and share stories that aren’t regularly covered or go unnoticed in print. Just this year, The Review Online has broken stories about events including stolen laptops from the Whataburger parking lot and students running the half marathon in Will McKone’s honor.

With graduation creeping ever closer, I have begun to appreciate the integral role The Review Online has played throughout my high school journey. As a freshman, I loved that I could show off my first article (which has, unfortunately, been lost to the ravages of the Internet) to family around the world, from my aunt in Brazil to my grandparents in Taiwan.

Since then, I’ve fallen in the love with the idea of sharing SJS stories with anyone and everyone, from the classmates and teachers I see every day to alumni living in other parts of the nation and world.

The successes of the website this year largely hinge on our crazy Online family team. The Section Editors do fantastic work, despite dedicating too much time to making memes. We ensure that we use the website to its full potential: a constant stream of multimedia content and timely, quality stories in various story layouts. We love working with the writers and videographers (shoutout to Jack, Alex and Thomas) that do the essential groundwork of creating the content, and did we mention that we especially love

sjsreview.com | SNO Distinguished Site Facebook SJS Review Twitter @SJS_Review Instagram @sjsreview Snapchat @sjsreview

Member Columbia Scholastic Press Assn.

Crown Finalist 2019, Gold Crown 2015, Silver Crown 2014, 2016-2018

Member National Scholastic Press Assn.

Pacemaker 2018, 2015 1st Place Best of Show (Special Edition) 2017 Editors-in-Chief Sophie Caldwell, Iris Chen Senior Assignments Editor Eli Maierson Assignments Editors Sophie Gillard (News), Maggie Ballard (Features), SJ Lasley (Sports), Izzy Andrews (Culture), Lilah Gaber (Opinions) Senior Design Editors Prithvi Krishnarao, Clara Brotzen-Smith Creative Director Stephen Kim Assistant Design Editors Amélie Perrier, Siena Zerr Illustrations Editor Mia Fares Senior Copy Editor Shani Israel Copy Editors Hrishabh Bhosale, Noura Jabir, Sophia Lima, Abigail Poag Photography Editor (Print) Leila Pulaski Photography Editor (Online) Theo Sanders Assistant Photography Editor Reygan Jones Business Manager Andrew Duong Assistant Business Editor Mehak Batra Online Editors-in-Chief Ryan Chang, Sophia Kontos Online Section Editors Laney Chang, Fareen Dhuka, Sinclair Mott Senior Technology Officer Matthew Giordano Video Editors Jack Shea, Alex Tinkham, Thomas Hunt Asst. Video Editor Will McKone, in memoriam Staff

Aatiqah Aziz, Max Beard, Harrison Blanton, Taylor Britton, Megan Chang, Ella Chen, Katina Christensen, Wyatt Cyprow, Michael Daichman, Ryan Doughty, Sara Doyle, Mia Fares, Lucy Haire, Wenqing He, Matthew Hensel, Celine Huang, Cross Kennedy, Ethan Kinsella, Nat Larsen, Russell Li, Bailey Maierson, Afraaz Malick, Sadie McCabe, Lily McCullough, Camille McFarland, Hamzah Mir, Indrani Maitra, Ellie Monday, Davis Rae, Julia Rae, Eloise Reasoner, Rahul Rupani, Matthew SamsonWilliams, Maxx Shearod, Claire Seinsheimer, Gabrielle Solymosy, Eric Strawn, Mira Thakur, Nina Varma, Ella West, Kate Willey, Ashley Yen

Advisers David Nathan, Shelley Stein ('88), Chuy Benitez Mission Statement The Review strives to report on issues with integrity, to recognize the assiduous efforts of all and to serve as an engine of discourse within the St. John’s community.

PHOTO / CLAIRE SEINSHEIMER our Section Editors? We hope that Laney, Fareen and Sinclair enjoy working with us as much as we love working with them (even when we force them to publish multiple stories in one day). They’re the reason we look forward to A carrier every day.

Perhaps most notably, however, this is the first year there have been two Online Editors-in-Chief. Having a partner to bounce ideas off of (and argue with) has been invaluable for both of us this year, and we’ve been able to plan the website’s most productive weeks and most ambitious projects together. Though we’re both sad to say goodbye to the website in a few months, we’re so proud of our Online team and our collective accomplishments this year.

Love,

Ryan Chang

Sophia Kontos

Publication Info The Review is published six times during the school year. We mail each issue — free of charge — to every Upper School household with an additional 1,000 copies distributed on campus to our 695 students and 98 faculty members.

Policies The Review provides a forum for student writing and opinion. The opinions and staff editorials contained herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Headmaster or the Board of Trustees of St. John’s School. Staff editorials represent the opinion of the entire Editorial Board unless otherwise noted. Writers and photographers are credited with a byline.

Corrections, when necessary, can be found on the editorial pages. Running an advertisement does not imply endorsement by the school.

Submission Guidelines Letters to the editor and guest columns are encouraged but are subject to editing for reasons of clarity, space, accuracy and taste. On occasion, we will publish letters anonymously. The Review reserves the right not to print letters received.

Letters and guest columns can be emailed to review.sjs@gmail.com or hand-delivered to the Review room (Q210).

SJSREVIEW.COM / ODDS & ENDS / MARCH 1, 2019

ODDS & ENDS Lifers

Caitlin Ellithorpe

WEARING THE SAME OUTFIT TO A PARTY

15

WORD FOR WORD I didn't know what to say, so I pretended to play the maracas and walked away.

- Warda Mohamed, ON receiving a compliment

I'm making A Quizlet, but IN REAL LIFE. - Shelby Jordan

So... Flashcards?

- Lilah Gaber

60 SECONDS

WITH SAUCY SOPHOMORES

CLAIRE SEINSHEIMER

ANNA CENTER Nickname Alfie Corner Dream Job Full-time Dolan twin Favorite Spot on Campus Underneath the cafe tables Weird Hobby Dragon Racing (spring season only, of course) Quirk Glowing in the dark Theme Song "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" Patronus Ms. Fogler Love to Hate Grimmel from HTTYD3 Hate to Love Scotty Sire music Relationship Status Engaged

Red Carpet Date Tommy Banks Phobia Laser tag Doppelgänger Henry Miller Known For Being pale Book How to Walk Away Zodiac Sign Capri Sun Slogan You gotta look cute so they forget you don't know basic math Allergies H8rs & sk8rs Follow me?

MySpace: annac

CLAIRE SEINSHEIMER

THOMAS CHANG Nickname Tommy Chang Dream Job Traveling the world to eat Favorite Spot on Campus Anywhere there's food Weird Hobby Eating for fun Quirk Typing loudly Theme Song "How Far I'll Go" from Moana Patronus Manatee Love to Hate Badminton and vegans Hate to Love Socks and sandals Relationship Status 832-707-****

Red Carpet Date Emma Watson Phobia All Blattidae (roaches) Doppelgänger Dani Yan, people say Known For Tucking in everything Book Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Zodiac Sign Sagittarius Slogan The church of winning Allergies Tangled headphones Follow me?

Slide in @_tchang_

16

THE REVIEW / MARCH 1, 2019

TRENDING ON Visit us at www.sjsreview.com

PHOTO / CHUY BENITEZ

Annual Big Bend trip proceeds after government shutdown A 35-day-long government shutdown, from Dec. 22 to Jan. 25, jeopardized the Class of 2023's Big Bend trip. After the government reopened, the trip proceeded as scheduled from Feb. 23 to March 1.

Writer: Ashley Yen

PHOTO / LEILA PULASKI

All-School Chapel highlights Statement on Community and Inclusion On Feb. 1, students convened for an All-School Chapel led

by Unity Council that introduced the School's new Statement on Community and Inclusion.

Writer: Max Beard

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAKE SCHICK

Jake Schick (’17) pursues stand-up comedy in Brooklyn Schick, a sophomore at NYU majoring in dramatic writing, performs in comedy clubs and posts comedy and humorous short stories on his website.

Writer: Mac Bechtol

PHOTO / FAREEN DHUKA

Class Act: Biology teacher Neha Mathur From India to Malaysia to Singapore, new biology teacher Neha Mathur's dream was to work in biochemistry as a research pharmacist, but working with laboratory mice every day changed her mind.

Writer: Megan Chang

PHOTO / GABRIELLE SOLYMOSY

Choirs, orchestras perform at annual Choral-Orchestral Festival With less than a month to prepare, Upper School choirs and orchestras collaborated on Feb. 4 in the annual event, which featured a 13-minute cantata, "In Terra Pax." Writers: Gabrielle Solymosy and Russell Li