December 2015 Issue

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Evaluating college activism

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Gabe Malek discusses the long-term effects of shortsighted protests

No one puts field hockey in a corner

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Back-to-back corner shots with no time left clinch SPC Championship

What’s Inside News Features Sports Centerspread

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Culture Opinions Odds & Ends.........

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ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER | SJSREVIEW.COM | 2401 CLAREMONT LANE · HOUSTON, TX 77019 | VOLUME 67 · ISSUE 3 · DECEMBER 9, 2015

THREE CHEERS

field hockey, cross country win spc

n June 13, 2015, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into effect a law that has triggered a wave of protests, resignations and nationwide controversy. The issue?

Next year, students will be allowed to carry guns into their college classrooms.

For 20 years, Texans who were licensed to carry a concealed firearm were allowed to walk around college campuses with their weapon. This new Campus Carry law, SB 11, allows students to carry guns inside buildings as well.

SB 11 is scheduled to go into effect on August 1, 2016, the 50-year anniversary of the 1966 shooting spree at the University of Texas, which killed 14 and wounded 32 others.

Lawmakers cited public safety concerns in passing SB 11, arguing that arming students may prevent mass shootings like the recent ones at Umpqua Community College in Oregon and Texas Southern University.

“I am proud to expand liberty in the Lone Star State,” Abbott told the press. “By signing these bills into law, Texans can be assured that their Second Amendment rights will be stronger and more secure than ever before.”

Texas A&M freshman Will Pfieffer (‘15) supports the law and sees it as a deterrent to shooters.

“Law-abiding citizens carrying guns will prevent

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n most sports, when there’s no time left on the clock, the game is over and hope is lost.

For the Maverick field hockey team, the best moments of the SPC tournament hadn’t even happened yet.

According to the rules of field hockey, even if there is no time left on the clock, a corner play may be completed, allowing the offense one last chance to score.

In both the semi-final and the final, junior Kate Copeland scored off a corner with 0:00 on the clock.

“It was our typical corner,” captain Cameron Weiner said. The ball was inbounded to captain Jennifer Trieschman, who passed to captain Lindsey McKone, who passed it to Copeland.

“Kate, like a star, tipped it in,” Weiner said.

The road to SPC was a winding one for this year’s seniors, most of whom had never won an SPC championship.

“We straight-up said that we wanted to win this year,” senior Lizzy Ellison said.

Many players noted that the team had been hesitant in the past to set an SPC Championship as their overall goal.

unlawful citizens from shooting large quantities of people,” Pfieffer said. “Unstable killers generally have been able to massacre a large amount of people without resistance because police are too far away to respond quickly enough. This bill will allow active shooters to be stopped before damage, if any, is done.”

The law was approved 98-47 by the Texas Legislature after being approved in both the House and the Senate.

Not all students see the law as contributing to public safety.

“I think it’ll make things more tense, as you have to start being conscious of whether or not someone’s carrying a gun and how inclined they might be to use it,” A&M sophomore Carlo De Guzman (‘14) said.

“I don’t think the solution to on-campus shootings is more guns.”

UT sophomore Charlotte Amandes (‘13) argues that the law will be abused by college students.

“College students are sleep-deprived, overly caffeinated, and anxiety prone — I don’t think many students are qualified to wield a gun,” Amandes said.

While private universities like Rice can opt out, public universities including Texas A&M and UT will be required to allow concealed weapons.

Continued on Page 3

article by Irene Vazquez photo by Philip Kensinger “I think we’ve been afraid to set [winning SPC] as our goal, maybe because we’ve been afraid of failure,” Weiner said. According to Weiner, this year the team set out to become friends and be a good team but do that through winning SPC. Prior to the South Zone Champoionship, team went 17-0, beating crosstown rival Kinkaid in non-counter play.

“The first few games we played weren’t against great teams, so it was hard not to feel a little arrogant going into SPC,” junior Emily Pedrick said.

Fortunes changed at South Zone on Oct. 21, a game at Kinkaid in the midst of Homecoming week.

When the clock ran out, the game was tied, 1-1.

The game went into overtime.

“We went into strokes, and their whole football team had lined up to watch them play,” Pedrick said. “It was so high intensity.”

The Mavericks lost 4-2 in strokes.

“I cried,” Pedrick said. “It was a little disappointing because, honestly, we were expecting to win.

Most players agreed that, after the initial disappointment passed, the game triggered a positive mental shift.

“To the degree that a loss is a good thing, [the game] helped re-focus attention on the need to prepare and work hard going into SPC,” head coach Craig Chambers said. “It helped hone the idea that despite our strengths, that SPC would be difficult as always and that we would have to earn each victory with good mental and physical preparation.”

On Nov. 6, the team entered the SPC tournament at St. Stephen’s School in Austin. The Mavericks faced Hockaday in its first game.

“Last year, Hockaday knocked us out of the tournament,” Ellison said. “We were out to get them.”

The Mavericks won the game 3-1, with goals by McKone, sophomore Isabel Windham and Kate Copeland, converting off assists by Trieschman, Weiner and McKone.

“We took it one game at a time,” Weiner said.

“Last year we really got ahead of ourselves, thinking about the last game during the second game of the tournament.”

The squad faced Casady School from Oklahoma City in the semifinals later that day.

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THE REVIEW I DECEMBER 9, 2015

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SAC samples Atlanta schedule

Physics II builds chicken coop The tale of Campus Cat

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News Briefs Final exams pushed back one hour Final exams are scheduled to begin an hour later at 10 a.m. in an attempt to encourage students to get more rest.

“Last year, when we had the storms and exams got pushed back an hour, students were appreciative of the extra hour of sleep or to study,” Head of Upper School Hollis Amley said.

Many students applaud the adjustment.

“I will be able to focus better after having gotten more sleep or a little extra time to review the material,” sophomore Daily Desenberg said. “Hopefully [it] will end up bringing my grades up.”

Some students are not as pleased with the time change.

“I’m used to eating lunch earlier, so I’ll get hungry during the test, which will be distracting,” sophomore Caroline Lee said.

According to administrators, the new schedule is not set in stone and may revert back to an earlier start time.

“After we go through the exams at the new time, students can provide feedback to SAC or administration regarding their preference,” Amley said.

Email hack threatens internet security Dozens of SJS email accounts received scam emails supposedly from Headmaster Mark Desjardins, coaches and other faculty members on Nov. 28.

The emails were sent by an online hacker in an attempt to “phish” for information about student and faculty credentials. More than 30 students reported having to change their passwords due to the hack, twenty from the Upper School and the remaining 10 from Middle School.

“This email was dangerous,” freshman Ishan Kamat said. “Nevertheless, I was curious, so I opened the link in an incognito tab; this took me to a fake Google Drive sign-in page.”

These phishing attempts first appeared in mid-October. The scammer then sent test emails before the bulk of students received the messages.

Director of Technology Jeff Ritter advocates caution as the surest way to remain safe on the Internet.

“Most banks, technology companies, and our school never ask for passwords through email or website,” Ritter said.

“These social engineering attacks are not very technologically savvy, and the one thing we can do to prevent them is education.”

Briefs by Kate Habich, Sophie Gillard and Daniel Poag

TIME TABLE Student Affairs Council representatives met with The Westminster Schools’ Interim Head of Upper School to discuss scheduling. SJS’s new schedule will be similar to Westminsters’, which includes four 60-minute sessions and one 80-minute session per day. hold them for too long.”

Students at Westminster enjoy longer free periods as well. If the free period occurs at the beginning of the day, students are permitted to stay at home.

“Their longer free periods allow for more flexibility,” Head Prefect Joseph Hanson said. “Free periods in the morning allow them to sleep in if they want to, and longer periods during the day give them more free time.”

SAC representatives concluded that the schedule played a role in the improved atmosphere among Westminster students.

“We could get more sleep in a more relaxed work environment,” freshman representative Juliette Draper said.

SAC representatives also noted that the extended length of classes presented challenges for teachers to effectively fill class time.

“With longer classes, teachers have to trust students to pay attention the whole time and students have to trust teachers that they won’t simply lecture endlessly and bore the students to death,” Ho said.

According to Jung, longer classes would benefit from more hands-on lessons.

“The long lecture-based classes with little interactive assignments going on can get tiring since class time is increased,” Jung said.

SAC representatives helped provide feedback to teachers on how the schedule might impact the student experience.

“It helped the other chaperones and me to anticipate questions and concerns that St. John’s students might have,” Amley said. “There will also be some inevitable cultural changes that occur — as those arise, SAC will serve a vital role in offering creative solutions to these issues.”

SAC members sensed a less frenetic pace on the Westminster campus, which is the key goal for administrators.

“Wellness and balance are at the heart of our schedule change, and the sense that the Westminster students and faculty had time to reflect and to transition from one class to another was palpable for all,” Amley said.

The new schedule represents a significant change, but the underlying aim remains to help students.

“We want to set the students up for success,” Headmaster Mark Desjardins said. “That is the ultimate, fundamental goal of the schedule.”

Sophomore leads SPCA fundraiser

by Gracie Blue After raising $22,000 for the Houston SPCA last year as chair of the city’s iWalk, sophomore Ella Rose Arnold aims to top that amount with this year’s event.

While the iWalk has been an SPCA fundraiser in Houston and many other cities, it has changed over the past two years to become a community-building event with Arnold as its chair. This year’s event was held on Dec. 5.

“Last year was great,” Arnold said. “We were shocked by the money raised and number of people that came out to support us.”

Arnold has three goals for the iWalk: topping the $22,000 she raised last year, raising awareness for the SPCA, and uniting people behind the cause. Originally, the iWalk was an event for people to donate to the SPCA and walk their dogs on their own, but Arnold wants to change that.

“I wanted the walk to have a united feel and to have people coming together and walking together,” Arnold said.

Servicing over 50,000 animals a year, the SPCA is the only shelter in the Greater Gulf Coast area that provides humane treatment and shelter to not only cats and dogs but exotic animals such as lions, tigers and bears, as well as farm animals such as horses, donkeys and goats.

The SPCA responds to more than 7,000 reports of animal abuse, neglect and cruelty each year, and is the only agency that provides injured animal rescue ambulance

for stray animals that are injured or in distress. In 2014, more than 3,000 injured animals were rescued.

“The SPCA specifically does so much good and affects so many lives of both people and animals,” Arnold said. “People should donate their time and money because even just the slightest contribution can impact the animals so much.”

Arnold’s passion for animals began at a young age.

“My mom has been rescuing animals from the street her whole life,” Arnold said. “I have three dogs and two cats and each one of them we have rescued from the streets.”

Arnold also receives valuable support from her mother and a student committee to plan the event. The committee consists of some of her closest friends, who have worked for months on the project to send letters to families across Houston.

“This is a crucial part of our process because every donation counts. We don’t take those lightly, because every donation saves an animal,” committee member Caroline Ramirez said.

To prepare for the iWalk, Arnold sent

ELIZABETH GALTNEY

Reading Day Dec. 11 9:00 a.m. to noon

Student Affairs Council members started their school day at 8:40 a.m. in Atlanta, where they followed representatives from The Westminster School to hour-long classes – a preview of the impending schedule changes at SJS next year.

“The rationale behind taking the SAC students to Westminster was to give them a taste of and an imagination for a different type of daily schedule,” Head of Upper School Hollis Amley said.

“I thought it would be helpful for the students to go through a whole day with a peer student, get a sense of the campus rhythm, and to have the opportunity to ask the Westminster students questions.”

The school’s new schedule will have a similar structure to Westminster’s. It will feature a seven-day rotating schedule, with classes meeting five times per rotation, as well as an increase in class time, with four 60-minute classes and one 80-minute session per day.

SAC members remarked on the tension that the Westminster’s schedule seemed to relieve since adopting their schedule in 2013.

“Only having four classes and not running around so much just made the entire environment more relaxed,” junior class president Cam Cook said.

Students at Westminster emphasized an increase in time to sleep and finish homework because classes did not meet every day.

“I really like not having to do homework for every class every night,” Westminster sophomore Ryan Suddath said. “It helps a lot, especially if I have sports events.”

Westminster has no bells to mark the beginning and end of classes, a change being considered at SJS eventually.

“The soft tardy schedule, which allows students to enjoy a more flexible bell schedule, makes school life more fluid and college-like,” sophomore representative Kevin Jung said.

The soft bell schedule also establishes a closer link between teachers and students.

“The soft bell idea makes being on time quite ambiguous,” sophomore vice president Samuel Ho said.“Teachers must trust students to arrive on time and students have to trust teachers to not

MARTY THOMPSON

by Dani Yan

letters, set up Facebook pages, and reached out to friends and family.

“Last year, the walk was the first of its kind. We had to build the event up from almost scratch,” Arnold said. “We had to think of everything from getting a cupcake truck to buying trash cans to passing out dog bags for everyone to use.”

Arnold’s committee shares her love for the cause.

“I want to help and take action because all animals are important to me and I’m inspired by the work the SPCA and Ella Rose have already done,” committee member Olivia Reasoner said.

Arnold values the personal experiences she has gained through the event as well as its larger impact.

“I like knowing that I’m making a difference in the lives of the animals and being a part of the community,” Arnold said.

“This money is going to impact the lives of over 50,000 animals that, without this service, would have died on the streets.”

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT A group of sophomores gather at the Houston SPCA’s iWalk at Stude Park.

Sophomore Ella Rose Arnold (center with her dog Titus), the walk’s chair, raised $22,000 for the event last year.

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SJSREVIEW.COM I DECEMBER 9, 2015

by Ryan Chang Physics II Honors students are building an addition to the Berry Elementary science curriculum: a chicken coop.

When physics teacher Franco Posa and his advisory went to Berry for their community service project on Oct. 14, Berry science teachers discussed their plans for a chicken coop that their students could enjoy. Posa and Community Service Coordinator Marci Bahr worked with the Berry teachers and principal to coordinate the project. The class hopes to finish the concrete base by winter break and plans to have the structure and fencing completed in January.

“Before I came here to Houston, I lived on a farm near Washington, D.C., and I was raised on a farm in Italy.” Posa said. “Since I have experience with taking care of chickens, I offered to have my physics students help.”

For the past seven years, Bahr has organized projects at Berry, an environmental science magnet school in north Houston. The first project, which involved tutoring Berry students and redoing their nature boardwalk, took place this summer and served as a way to transition incoming ninth graders into the Upper School

community service program. Students have also judged Berry’s annual science fairs.

“This chicken coop project will have a great impact on both the students here and the students at Berry,” Bahr said. “The chickens’ life cycle will help the Berry students with their studies of environmental science, and the project will obviously help the seniors with their studies of engineering.”

Juniors Irene Vazquez, Austin Zhang and sophomore Elizabeth Awad coordinate all student-led projects at Berry. Zhang has communicated with faculty at Berry to organize the construction of the chicken coop.

“Students will get to interact with the chickens in a way they’ve never been able to,” Zhang said.

“And since the coop will be next to their main building for everyone to see, it will let everyone enjoy it.”

Senior community service officer Sarah Bland won a grant from the community service fund last month “I love this project,” Bland said. “I can tell this chicken coop is going to be really fun. I like that we get to help the kids at Berry and learn what it’s like to serve a client at the same time.”

Posa aims to teach his students the engineering

PHILIP KENSINGER

Physics II class lays way for chicken coop

ALL COOPED UP Physics II teacher Franco Posa displays a 3D print of the Berry Elementary chicken coop. The enclosure will be built by Posa’s senior class in January.

and design process as well as give them some experience with hands-on construction.

“Projects like these are great for teaching engineering students,” Posa said. “Many of my students have never done things like pour concrete, work with wire and other materials that are invaluable as an engineer.”

Posa seeks to promote creative thinking.

“The project helps my students understand the entire process of meeting a client’s needs: finding materials and adjusting costs, and of course planning the construction that the client wants,” Posa said. “The entire planning process helps because my students have to think of ways to make the chicken coop critter-proof as well as structurally sound.”

Bahr views the chicken coop project as a valuable way to connect community service with school work.

“This project is great because of the way it intertwines academics with community service,” Bahr said. “I love it when service permeates our curriculum, and this project does that so well. I hope to see more undertakings like this in the future.”

Middle school entrepreneur partners with Raspberry Pi

by Emily Chen

JARED MARGOLIS

Amidst the maze of shelves and book displays in the two-story Barnes and Noble on West Gray is a cleared-out space by a huge picture window, where two computer monitors are set up in front of two rows of folding chairs. About 20 people are gathered to hear 13-year-old Ethan Saadia speak about Raspberry Pi, an organization that makes tiny, inexpensive computers to promote interest in computer science among children.

Saadia started his company, PCs for Me, when he was in seventh grade. The company sells computer kits with parts, instruction manuals and instruction DVDs, all designed by Saadia.

Its goal is to teach kids how to build their own computers and instruct them on programming.

“He was always very passionate about technology and about business, and the company was a great way for him to learn every aspect of business, whether it be finance, marketing, operations, or building a website,” Ethan’s mother Danielle (‘91) said.

Saadia developed an interest in computer science and technology when he was very young.

“My parents said that I started using computers as young as one-year-old,”

also works with experienced members of the Raspberry Pi Foundation.

“The only thing that’s hard is trying to balance school and a company,” Saadia said. “But I think I’ve managed pretty well.”

Teachers have noticed his concentration.

“The thing about Ethan is his ability to block out distractions and focus on something,” middle school math teacher Bond Millard said. “It helps him succeed in everything — math, basketball, and business.”

Saadia recently entered a working relationship with Raspberry Pi and began producing and selling computer kits containing Raspberry Pi computer chips.

“To actually have gotten to where he’s profitable and moving into a new market with the Raspberry Pi, three years after he started his company, has been a great learning experience,” his mother said.

The goal of the Raspberry Pi Foundation and of PCs for Me is to introduce more kids to computer science and get them interested in the industry early.

“Technology is all around us every day. Everybody uses computers, but they have no idea what’s inside them,” Saadia said. “The field is going to keep growing. We need more people to work in the computer science field because it’s a multibillion-dollar opTECH TWEEN portunity.”

Seventh grade According to Saadia, interest in student Ethan technology needs to be encouraged Saadia speaks because it is important to all indusat the Barnes tries, not just computer science. and Nobel Mini “I work with Girl Scouts and othMaker Faire in er organizations sometimes. I tell front of other all the kids that every industry they young upstarts work in is going to be affected by looking for start- technology,” Danielle Saadia said. ups.

Saadia said. “They helped me every step of the way.”

He began programming when he was in third grade at Shlenker School and started experimenting with electronics in fourth grade before starting PCs for Me. “I’ve just always been fascinated with how all the systems work with each other to create one big computer,” Saadia said. “I remember after I finished building my first computer, I plugged it in, and it came to life and started working. That was pretty amazing.”

Saadia has an advantage in today’s booming technology industry.

“Ethan’s company is incredibly neat because what kids can do today at age eight or nine is what I was doing in college, taking my first computer science class,” Danielle Saadia said.

“Ethan has developed excellent engineering skills given the incredible resources out there to learn about technology.”

Surprisingly, Saadia has not found it difficult to build a company at such a young age. His parents, both of whom are involved in the technology industry, provide him with guidance. He

“Look at Uber. You would never have thought that the taxi business would be affected by technology. It’s great to have that fundamental understanding of tech because it’s going to affect every business.”

On Nov. 14, Saadia spoke at the Barnes and Nobel Mini Maker Faire about Raspberry Pi technology. He described the computer chips as cheap, easy-to-use and useful for teaching children about computers.

“It’s amazing seeing the different things that are online about Ethan. We thought he would be a good partner,” Barnes and Noble Community Business Development Manager Michelle Nelson said. “We’re also having a book fair with Harvard Elementary School, so I thought it would be really great to bring in a young person who has such a passion for science and technology.”

In addition to the Mini Maker Faire and the Houston Maker Faire, Saadia also made the news when his name appeared in an advertisement in the New York Times in a Barnes and Noble advertisement.

“He was actually preparing for the Washington, D.C. trip. I said, ‘How’s it going up there’ and he goes, ‘I’m in the New York Times!’” Danielle Saadia said.

Saadia and his parents are pleased with the success of his company and its expansion.

“I think that he’s already found his passion,” Danielle Saadia said. “He wakes up every day and is excited to go to work.”

Saadia has big dreams for his company.

“I just want to make it easy and fun for kids to learn and love computer science,” Saadia said.

“I don’t really know a lot of kids my age who are interested in computer science, but I want them to get interested.”

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Spotlight on filmmaker alum

SJSREVIEW.COM I DECEMBER 9, 2015

Carswell case goes to Texas Supreme Court

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Kantorei sings holiday carols

JARED MARGOLIS

AWAITING THE VERDICT Eleven years after the death of her husband, Linda Carswell continues to fight for autopsy procedural reform.

The Texas Supreme Court heard Carswell’s case on Nov. 13 at Abilene Christian University. The Court will announce its decision in June, at the end of its session.

by Gracie Blue Following the death of her husband in 2004, Linda Carswell has been fighting for justice in a long legal battle that culminated when the Texas Supreme Court heard her case this November.

It didn’t help her nerves that it was Friday the 13th.

On Jan. 22, 2004, Jerry Carswell was admitted to Christus St. Catherine Hospital for a routine kidney stone procedure. His family was at his bedside during the day but later he was found dead in the hospital bed. In the hours before his death, a nurse had given him a heavy dose of narcotics.

“I’d just seen him a few hours earlier. We I’m educated, I speak were watching basketball,” said Carswell, English, but I didn’t know his wife of 33 years.

The case has been a harrowing ordeal the laws about my rights for Carswell. Initially, the hospital told because most of us don’t know Carswell that there was no justification them until we’re suddenly put in for investigating the cause of death, so this situation. a different type of autopsy was performed. Carswell later found out that Linda Carswell the hospital did not call the medical examiner.

English Teacher Carswell won a fraud verdict against Christus St. Catherine in 2010. When Carswell signed autopsy permission forms, she was unaware that she was signing off on an autopsy that would not reveal the cause of her husband’s death.

“I’m educated, I speak English, but I didn’t know the laws about my rights because most of us don’t know them until we’re suddenly put in this situation,” Carswell said.

“

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After researching the subject, Carswell learned about the Code of Criminal Procedure that requires a Medical Examiner investigation when a death occurs under certain situations, three of which were present in her husband’s death.

“I began to think about people who wouldn’t know their rights,” Carswell said. “I tried to think about what would have helped me in my situation and keep anyone from being in that same situation of not knowing what the law was and what their rights are.”

In 2011, the state legislature passed the Jerry Carswell Memorial Act, which resulted in the creation of a standardized autopsy form. This form explains to people their rights and the rules in place regarding an autopsy—all the things Carswell wished she would have known.

“Out of the whole experience, the Jerry Carswell Memorial Act is most important because the law is a lasting tribute to my husband, and it also will save other people who are in the same situation I was.”

The jury found the hospital guilty of fraud, awarding Carswell $2 million, but the hospital appealed, arguing there was insufficient evidence that hospital l administrators had misled her or knowingly made false statements about the autopsy.

The case was in the appellate courts for five years, where the Appeals Court decided in Carswell’s favor by upholding the jury’s verdict of fraud. Yet again, the hospital appealed the case.

“A court’s mere say-so or ‘logic’ is not sufficient legal basis for a multimillion dollar judgment,”

Christus Health’s lawyers wrote in court briefings.

On Nov. 13, the Texas Supreme Court heard Carswell’s case at Abilene Christian University.

“From time to time the court goes across the state to hear cases to allow people to see what the process is,” Carswell said.

The main issue currently in question is whether or not an autopsy is considered medical care.

Carswell’s side says it is not healthcare, while the hospital argues it is.

Unlike a jury trial, each side had twenty minutes to present their case in front of the justices.

“They asked some very good questions about the issues they were most interested in,” Carswell said.

If the court considers autopsies medical care, they would be included in the state’s medical liability act, which would make it considerably harder for people to file a lawsuit if they have been harmed by medical providers.

The judges are set to make their decision in June, at the end of their session. Carswell anxiously awaits the final verdict.

In a statement to the Texas Tribune, Neil McCabe, an attorney for Carswell, said he hoped the Texas Supreme Court would decide that an autopsy is not health care, as a number of states such as New Mexico have already done.

“When I look at everything, I know I’ve stood up for what is right,” Carswell said. “Hopefully that will be beneficial for other people.”

SJSREVIEW.COM I DECEMBER 9, 2015

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by Claire Furse The room is dim and cozy, lit only by strings of lights and the glow from colored signs lining the walls. A teenager walks slowly across the stage to take the mic, which glints in a ring of spotlight.

When he opens his mouth, it is not to sing or act, but to take part in a different type of performance: spoken word poetry.

This art form is gaining popularity both in the school community and across the country.

Local slam poets, including several students from SJS, frequent cafe events like Write About Now at Avant Garden or upload their spoken word performances to YouTube using channels like Button Poetry.

“Poetry can live outside of the page and be performed, so it’s really kind of a hybrid art,” creative writing teacher Rachel Weissenstein said.

Unlike traditional written poetry, spoken word poetry is performed in front of an audience, enhanced by elements like body movement, music or beatboxing.

“If the piece means a lot to the performer, you can see it in their face and in their hands as they’re performing it,” senior Jordan McLemore-Moon said. “Pieces reach a whole new level of connectivity.”

Spoken word poets often focus on the rhythm of their words, using tone and repetition to emphasize their meaning.

“A lot of rap leans towards poetry, so spoken

portunity to hear and express themselves more openly and less self-consciously,” Kemp said. “It’s ironic because you’re saying the poem aloud, and it does take a lot of confidence.”

The public setting helps teenagers and budding poets find their voice.

“Spoken word is a very young art form that seems to touch something unique and powerful in teenSLAM DUNK Senior Jordan McLemore-Moon attends poetry slams agers,” Weissenstein and open-mic nights in his spare time. said. “There is a real ability to test out who scared off by the prospect of performing in front you are and which identity you feel most comof a large audience, especially one filled with fortable with through writing and performing strangers, but according to Kao, the initial disyour own poems.” comfort fades with practice, leading to a unique Although some poets choose to post their work intimacy between poet and audience that is difon social media, performing their poems live officult to attain in written poetry. fers poets immediate feedback.

“People have a better understanding of me be“I started out writing poetry on a blog, but it cause you lay yourself bare; you open yourself felt like something was missing until I stumbled completely,” Kao said. “It’s a very raw experiupon spoken word. It’s more intimate because ence.” it’s face to face,” junior Justin Kao said.

Students who are uninspired by written poetry Some potential spoken word poets can be may be able to appreciate the often greater personal connection of spoken word poetry.

“Written poetry has a bad reputation because of the school system in general. We try to analyze poetry to death, and it kills people’s vibes for poetry and reading,” McLemore-Moon said.

“I finally took one of my friends who doesn’t like poetry to a poetry slam, and he was able to connect with the slam and feel the emotion of the pieces.”

Spoken word poets also take advantage of the versatility of the art form, using spoken word as a platform to discuss anything from their love lives to weighty topics like social and political injustice.

“I started writing spoken word poetry in ninth grade as a form of self therapy because I needed an outlet,” Kao said. “Spoken word poetry is my way to cope with reality. When a social or political issue affects me, I can effectively describe it through my perspective.”

Both Kao and McLemore-Moon plan to continue with spoken word poetry in college and hope to perform a group spoken word poem during the year. Kemp hopes to organize a similar event with Imagination.

“I’m hoping in mid-spring to combine the literary magazine and the coffeehouse group to create a big community event in the Great Hall,” Kemp said. “We could have song, spoken word, rap or any kind of reading to champion the creative writing that a prep school like this doesn’t have built into the curriculum.”

Spoken word poetry isn’t just for creative writing types. Some poets suggest that thespians try out the art form, as theater and slam poetry require similar skill sets.

“Since they’re already in acting, they have the ability to convey emotions,” McLemore-Moon said. “All they need to do is get past the barrier of letting themselves out on paper and from there, they just go.”

Spoken word poetry is also gaining popularity in Texas. On Nov. 21, high school students gathered to compete for a chance to perform their poems in the Bayou City Poetry Slam Competition, and in October, the fifth annual Texas Grand Slam Poetry Festival attracted crowds of spoken word poetry enthusiasts. McLemore-Moon attended last year’s slam with his family.

“My grandmother told me, ‘Oh, this is so shocking’. And I was like ‘Yeah, it kind of is, they curse and they have fun, but they still express themselves,’” McLemore-Moon said.

Aside from having a good time and releasing stress, some say there are even more benefits in Oxbridge Academic Programs trying spoken word poetry.

45th St, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10036, USA “If you can learn to flex those muscles in creative writing or spoken word, those skills can be ■TEL: +1-800-828-8349 ■+1-212-932-3049 adapted in other disciplines or different classwww.oxbridgeprograms.com es,” Weissenstein said. “Being able to think in info@oxbridgeprograms.com a creative way, being able to put words together in a way that will move people, being able to Facebook speak uniquely and also being able to speak and Twitter: @oxbridgeprograms touch the universal in everyone. There’s a lot to Instagram: @oxbridgeprograms be gained.”

word poetry is a natural extension of teenagers’ voices based on what they’ve been conditioned to in their generation,” said Kemberly Kemp, sponsor of Imagination literary magazine. “They might be even mimicking or imitating those forms that they’ve been listening to in music.”

Many poets also use imagery and metaphor as they would in a traditional written poem.

“At first, I used a lot of flight imagery, like wings, but then I gravitated towards water imagery, which I try to stay away from because it’s hard to avoid being cliche,” McLemore-Moon said. “The most important part of slam poetry is making a metaphor work with life and making that metaphor elegant and powerful yet still relatable so that the audience can understand it.”

The writing process varies for each poet. A poem can evolve into a spoken word poem, or a spoken word poem can be written after imagining the performance.

“Sometimes I’ll write poetry with slam in mind, like if it’s for an assignment, but if it’s just me up late at night, it’s a torrent of words that comes out and I’ll go back and craft it later,” McLemore-Moon said. “It’s like the Hemingway quote, ‘write drunk, edit sober,’ except for me, it’s write sleep-deprived.”

Spoken word poetry can be performed at open mics, where anyone can take the stage and share an original poem, or during poetry slams for a more competitive atmosphere.

“Spoken word poetry gives students an op-

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Beyond the page: Poets express emotions in slam

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FEATURES

THE REVIEW I DECEMBER 9, 2015

by Amy Liu Christine Chen (‘03) became a filmmaker due to her “love of storytelling.”

Chen founded her Austin-based video production company Moth to Flame in 2010, specializing in short films.

Last year, “Bird’s Nest” was selected to appear in several film festivals. Her most recent short film, “Two Roads,” won awards at film festivals in Louisiana, Cincinatti and Canada.

Chen’s cinematic interest developed after making a movie in elementary school. From there, she experimented with her parents’ VHS camcorder.

“I’ve always enjoyed film as a hobby, but pursuing it never crossed my mind,” Chen said.

“From elementary to high school, I was just exploring and playing. I had no training or professional editing software.”

Chen became serious about filmmaking when she took a documentary filmmaking class at Rice University her freshman year.

Chen says she spent a disproportionate amount of time on the film class compared to her other courses.

“This film stuff just came naturally to me,”Chen said. “Time would pass and I would have no clue. When I worked, everything was at a standstill.”

Chen studied abroad in Lijiang, China for five weeks her junior year. She made her first hourlong documentary, “Li Jiang: A Cultural Evolution,” which followed the city’s transformation and recuperation from a 1996 earthquake. Her

film won the Russell Grant and Raymond Swift Awards at Rice.

“The moment Lijiang got open to tourism, modernization changed everything,” Chen said.

According to Chen, Lijiang became extremely commercialized like Disney’s Epcot Center.

Originally a pre-med, Chen switched to Economics and Management, adding a Visual Arts major in order to continue filmmaking. After graduating from Rice in 2007, she attended the University of Texas McCombs School of Business in Austin, where she launched Moth to Flame.

“In traditional Asian-American families, success is always put on a pedestal, and that put a lot of pressure on me. But I had to realize that [filmmaking] made me the happiest,” Chen said.

“My parents weren’t keen on film school but would certainly be OK with business.”

Chen recruited students from UT’s department of Radio-Television-Film and networked with other filmmakers at film contests and festivals.

Before Chen’s second year at UT, her family thought that Moth to Flame was a side project, not her main job.

“When I told them that this was my fullblown, running company, it didn’t go over too well,” said Chen.

Because she was financially independent, there was nothing her parents could do about it.

“My parents had to see my devotion in order to accept this as my career. I had to set a lot of my own concrete personal goals to prove it to them.”

christine chen

fast facts

a bird’s nest

two roads

funemployment

(2014)

(2015)

(2016)

JASON CATES

Making movies: Producer defies expectations

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION Christine Chen (‘03) holds a clapboard on the set of her upcoming film ‘Funemployment.’ Actors Adam Duncan (left) and Dunte Hector (center) star in the latest production from Chen’s production company Moth to Flame.

In 2012, Chen earned her MBA and received the Dean’s Leadership and Service award, given only to two people in the class. She earned the award by making films promoting the business school.

“My parents could see that people really care about what I do. They saw that I had an impact.”

A year later, her brother graduated from medical school. As a gift, Chen brought along her camera and documented the day he was matched to his hospital. After watching the film, her parents decided to encourage her film career.

“I got a phone call from them telling me that the film made them cry. I was able to elicit an emotion that they hadn’t felt before. They realized that this is what I was meant to do. Although they were still going to worry about me, I had their full support. Since then it’s been nice because I can always share the things I do.”

Chen’s work treads the line between drama and comedy, and she is interested in some day producing a feature-length thriller or sci-fi film.

“It’s very rare to have a medium that touches upon all your senses. Many filmmakers tend to gravitate towards an additional storytelling method like photography or painting. Film is something where you can mold together all these other forms of art.”

Chen bases her films on people she knows, including herself.

“Movies are either action-driven or people-driven. I fall in the latter,” Chen said. “I like characters based on grains of truth. They’re flawed and

learn from it. Filmmaking has made me a better person because I’ve been able to separate myself into different perspectives of a story.”

Chen is still working on her first feature, “Funemployment,” which began in 2013 and will premiere in 2016.

She is currently in pre-production on a short film on location in Louisiana.

“This film is about the coming of age of a girl going through the awkward stage of puberty.”

Chen believes that people often have an incorrect perception about artists.

“The biggest challenge is letting your client know why your project is valuable. Many don’t understand the value and the time we put in.

Some think that art should be free or that artists do what they do just for fun. That’s why there are so many starving artists.”

She considers the support of her peers as crucial.

“We love our craft and breathe it. A lot of people in this industry take advantage of that. You have to know your game to make sure you’re not taken advantage of and surround yourself with people you trust.”

Chen tries not to be discouraged by setbacks.

“Filmmaking comes with a lot of rejection because it’s so subjective and opinion-based. You can pour your heart into a project and still get rejected,” Chen said. “By remembering that you love the process and that people care about your stories, it doesn’t hurt as much.”

Catching up with

Johnnycake Presidents

Hannah Worscheh (‘13)

McKenna Gessner (‘15)

Janine Louie (‘14)

I started off my freshman year at Yale not doing any theater, but somehow by second semester I had found my way back to it. I now serve on the Yale Dramatic Association’s Executive Board as the Fall Mainstage Producer.

Founded in 1900, the Dramat is one of the oldest undergraduate theater groups in the country; with a seven-show season, we operate as a small production company and often interact with the students at the Yale School of Drama.

As a producer, I oversee every element of the production process: I make and manage the budget, schedule meetings, hire our professional design team, and, of course, send a lot of emails. The fall mainstage this year was Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along.” I’ve loved my experiences with the Dramat thus far, and can’t wait for more.

I am currently a Plan II and Chemistry double major at the University of Texas at Austin. So far, I have been really enjoying my time at college.

In addition to just getting used to college life and focusing on my studies, I have gotten involved in the Plan II theater organization, The Broccoli Project, and was the assistant director for one of their plays (Edward Albee’s “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?”). I am also a member of the American Chemical Society chapter here at UT. Apart from all of the academic preparation, I think my time at St. John’s has made me really open to all sorts of new activities and experiences. I learned to step out of my comfort zone, so now in college it is much easier for me to join organizations on my own.

I am currently majoring in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University with a minor in Game Design. I split my time between coding, doing homework, spending time with friends, and helping my school’s theater group, Scotch ‘n’ Soda. It’s a lot of fun and we’ve put on several great shows like “How to Succeed in Business,” “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” and my favorite, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog.”

I think one of the most useful things that SJS taught me was a sense of perspective, what’s important and what’s not. It can be really difficult finding a balance between personal life and school life, and I think that going to SJS really helped me figure out what I wanted and should focus on in college.

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Online

Profile of the new athletic trainer

Center

Kelsey Bing outside the box

SPC

Triple Crown

Center

Sports Shorts WRESTLING

Mavs grab War on the Floor victory The wrestling team left War on the Floor victorious Dec. 1, defeating Kinkaid, 124-47, in their annual matchup.

“War on the Floor is a big part of the wrestling season,” sophomore captain Layo Laniyan said. “It is important to come away with a victory in such a long-standing tradition.”

According to junior Josh Thomas, War on the Floor was a good victory, but the team still has a lot to accomplish before they reach their goal of being SPC champions.

“It is one of the most unique athletic experiences available to SJS,” coach Alan Paul said. “It couples the middle school and varsity teams and creates a rare connection between the two.”

BOYS’ SOCCER

THE REVIEW I DECEMBER 9, 2015

Undefeated season ends at SPC

by Sophia Li Heading into the SPC tournament the boys’ volleyball team was undefeated.

The team was experienced with a core of 10 seniors. The team is coached by Chaz Hulett.

“Coach Hulett is a mastermind at maximizing our team’s potential on the court,” senior Joseph Hanson said. “He places each player in positions that amplifies their abilities. In this way, we’re able to play smart, not just hard.”

The talent and coaching paid off as the Mavs went through the regular season undefeated, including winning the Houston Cup. They entered SPC, Nov. 6, with confidence.

“We thought we would win it all,” senior Hunter Hasley said.

The Mavs defeated Fort Worth Country Day, 3-1, in the first round. Parents and cross country runners cheered from the sidelines.

“Everybody kept on stumbling during the game because the floor was slippery and felt like it hadn’t been waxed in years,” Gajewski said. “But we all pulled through and played our best. It was a really good game.”

The semifinal game was against Greenhill, which had defeated Episcopal 3-0 in its previous match.

“Going into the second match, we weren’t as confident of a win as we were with Fort Worth because Greenhill was a strong team,” Gajewski said. “But we had beaten them in the past, so we were pretty optimistic about winning and making it to the finals.”

They lost the first set.

“After the first loss, we weren’t too worried because a good team sometimes drops a set,” Hanson said. “It wasn’t much of issue, and we were all looking forward to coming back and winning the next three.”

Then they lost the second set.

“We were a little bitter about that set, especially because we were neck-and-neck the entire time. Greenhill barely won. It was that close,” Gajewski said. “At that point, we’d already been playing for one-and-a-half hours.

We were sweaty and extremely tired.”

In order to move on, the Mavs had to win the next three sets.

“I have to give our captains Paul [Labanowski], Marcus, and Gabe [Malek] a lot of credit because while we were all in a down mood,

JENNIFER HASLEY

OR TS P S

HUDDLE UP The Mavs gather on court before the Houston Cup championship game against St. Mark’s. The Mavs won the Sept. 12 tournament for only the second time in school history and finished the regular season undefeated (14-0).

they were still motivating us as we passed by to get water, telling us not to give up, that we could still win this,” Gajewski said.

The team’s spirit revived when they won the third set.

“We got really optimistic when that happened. We thought we were on our way to a comeback,” Hanson said. “Even though it was still 2-1, we were prepared and motivated to come back.”

The fourth set ended in a disappointing loss, eliminating the Mavs from championship contention.

“We had 10 seniors on the team this year for whom it was the last chance at winning SPC,” Hanson said. “And we’d just lost.”

Hasley considers SJS and Greenhill equally skilled.

“We just weren’t able to execute our potential during that game,” Hasley said. “We were all really disappointed at the end.”

In the SPC Championship, Greenhill swept Casady.

After their first loss of the year, the Mavs returned to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner.

“We got onto the bus to go to a nearby diner, and all I remember was that it was really

quiet. We were still pretty shocked by what happened with Greenhill,” Gajewski said.

“There was a sadness with us at the time. To be honest, it’s still sort of with me to this day.”

The atmosphere soon cheered up.

“We realized that losing to Greenhill wasn’t going to bring us down, so at the dinner, we weren’t depressed anymore. We started laughing, joking and flicking food at each other,” Gajewski said. “Afterwards, we went back to the hotel. I had a great night of sleep, woke up at nine and went to cheer for cross country at their meet.”

On Saturday, the team played a consolation match with St. Mark’s School for third place.

St. Mark’s won, 3-2.

“It was an extremely close match, one that was very well played by our team,” Gajewski said. “We weren’t as upset about this loss. After the game, we went over to the St. Mark’s team and hung out with their players. Despite the rivalry, I got to know a few of them.”

Hanson is still proud of his team.

“Our team is strong, and we’ve performed well this entire season. We’re not going to condense success into one game that we lost,” Hanson said. “I couldn’t be happier with what we’ve done this season.”

Tournament wins kick off season

Briefs by Henry Still and Prithvi Krishnarao

james southwick michael meaux

1st place houston cup 4th place spc

JENNIFER HASLEY, PHOTO | MATTHEW NEAL, DESIGN

The SPC competition will be tougher than ever for the boys’ soccer team.

Following a 3-1 win in the season opener against Concordia Lutheran, the Mavericks tied St. Pius X (1-1) and later suffered a 4-0 loss to Awty.

“It was a hard loss. We look to improve on it, and hopefully we can come out on top next time,” freshman Thomas Hunt said.

The Mavericks hosted a tournament Nov. 20-21, placing second.

Sophomore Lucas Tyler said, “After one or two tough games at the start of the season, we are starting to figure out a comfortable style of play.”

The Mavs scored decisive victories over Emery Weiner, 4-0, and Homeschool Christian Youth Association, 2-0.

“We have a good chance of making SPC this year, and once we figure out a solid lineup, we can hopefully maintain a winning record,” Junior Owen Torczon said.

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THE REVIEW I DECEMBER 9, 2015

three’s company

fall sports clinch triple crown at spc

Crossing the finish line by joseph hlavinka As senior Lillian Chen tore through the muddy track, she heard the roar of the crowd and resisted the urge to surge ahead: she had a race plan to consider.

Her uniform was soaked in rain, and her thighs burned as she crossed the second hill.

“There’s always a point when you hit the wall and you feel like you can’t run any faster. Those moments are hard, but I fought mentally over it and somehow surged up and over the hill ahead of my opponent,” Chen said. “You have to be courageous and decide who wants it more.”

Chen came in second place at the SPC girls’ cross-country championship Nov. 7, with both the boys’ and girls’ teams coming in first place overall.

“All season we talked about ‘what if ’s.’ We said, ‘What if we won? What if both us and the guys won? ‘What if we swept 2nd through 6th? How cool would that be?,” captain Margaret Trautner said. “But nearing the end of the season, these ‘what if ’s’ turned into real possibilities.”

The boy’s team won SPC for the second year in a row, and the girl’s team has won for three out of the last four years.

“When Julia [Moody] and I found out that we pulled it off we started crying with happiness,” Trautner said. “As far as we knew, we had the best girls’ score in SPC history. We all got in a huddle to

hug each other, and we were so happy I could feel tangible joy emanating from my teammates.”

Though the boys’ victory was a tight one last year, only winning by two points, this year head coach Richie Mercado felt more certain about success. “[When I saw the results], the guys were way over at the tent,” Mercado said. “So I went over and said ‘Are you all just going to hang out here and talk, or are we going to go get our championship trophy?’”

“Boys and girls have excelled these last few years, and it has been amazing to be a part of it,” said sophomore Zach Boroughs, who was injured with a broken femur this season.

Not only did both teams win, but many of the runners placed All-SPC for finishing in the top 20.

On the boys’ side, All-SPC runners were captain Joe Faraguna (1st), Drew Woodfolk (9th), Sam Faraguna (11th), Jake Schick (13th) and Jayan Hanson (19th).

“Our runners are all just super good and work super hard, and it’s amazing the things both these teams did throughout the year and especially at the championship,” senior Daniel Shebib said.

For the girls, who swept 2nd the All-SPC runners were Lillian Chen (2nd), Peyton Brown (3rd), Trautner (4th), Julia Moody (5th), Olivia Havel (6th), and Maya Bhandari (12th). Not only were the first five runners on the girl’s team All-SPC, but they also placed, in a row, second through sixth at the championship.

“We went into the race knowing it was possible and knowing that we had to run together and be really mentally tough to pull it off,” Trautner said.

According to Chen, running is both physically and mentally challenging.

“People think running is a simple sport, but I’d argue that it’s one

of the most complex and mentally challenging — even exhausting — sports out there,” Chen said.

“What is sometimes even harder is realizing when your opponents have a faster kick than you. That’s what happened near the end of SPC when the Hockaday girl [Adoette Vaughn] surged ahead of me. I tried my best to keep up but had no gas left. She even looked back as if to prove that even if I caught up, she could still outrun me.”

Chen strategized, trying to focus on the people ahead and behind her, and her comparative pace.

“It felt electric,” Chen said. “Did her speeding up mean I should follow now? Should I kick now?

How can I separate myself from my opponents as much as I can and last to the finish?”

The boys’ team finished 16 points ahead of St. Stephen’s, and 37 points ahead of St. Mark’s.

The girls placed 64 points ahead of the runner up, Hockaday, and 78 points ahead of third place, Greenhill.

“Up until the end of the race, I had no clue everyone was right behind me,” Chen said.

These scores, earned as much by a strong senior class as by the deep freshman and sophomore classes of boys’ and girls’ cross country, represent a season of what senior Daniel Shebib describes as “super hard work.”

“We have two stellar cross country teams, and I think that will definitely continue,” Shebib said.

“I firmly believe that boys will get the three-peat, and that the girls will remain very strong.”

Both teams featured a strong underclassman presence, with athletes like Woodfolk and Sam Faraguna for the boys, and Jordan Kramer for the girls, as well as strong juniors like Schick, Hanson, and Brown, all of whom placed in All-SPC. “St. John’s will always have talented runners,” junior Jayan

Hanson said. “For the past two years though, we’ve also had an inimitable drive to succeed. That we were able to produce another championship was a testament to how hard we worked all year.”

Some, however, are not so sure about the future of the girls team.

“The girls are going to take a huge hit, since we’re losing a strong senior class. The boys have a lot of good younger runners, so I think they’ll be great next year too, ” sophomore Kramer said.

Either way, this past season is in the books, and it was a special one for Maverick Cross Country.

“Not only was it special to win with the girls for the first time

since 2000, but I think one of the most magical moments in my 32 years [at SJS] was to be there at the end of the hockey game,” Mercado said. “After the girls got their trophy, the hockey girls and the cross country girls and cross country boys all packed together, jumped up and down with the three trophies and sang the alma mater at the top of their lungs. I think it says something about the entire school.”

BING BRINGS DEDICATION TO THE GOAL

by Christian Maines Senior Kelsey Bing’s last high school field hockey game was her most memorable. But for Bing, SPC was only just end of the beginning.

Since seventh grade, Bing has played for SJS and honed her skills as a field player and goalie. Today she is a goalie for the United States U-21 Junior National Team and signed a Letter

PHOTO BY LINDSAY BING

SIGNING STAR Kelsey Bing, flanked by her parents, signed her Letter of Intent, Nov. 17, to play field hockey at Stanford University.

of Intent on Nov. 17 to play at Stanford University.

According to Bing, her mother convinced her to play field hockey because it was most like soccer.

“I played it because it was mandatory and because I liked sports. It seemed like a lot of fun.”

Bing has become one of the best goalies in the country. She has been playing at the national level since ninth grade, when she made the Under-17 Junior National Team. Currently, Bing is the only high school goalie on the U.S. U-21 team.

Bing is well known for her prowess as a goalie, but this season she spent a lot of time out on the field.

“Kelsey’s goalkeeping talent is far above the high school level, and in this regard she wasn’t often tested in our games,” goalie coach Terrie Warren said.

“During the really important games, I’ll play goal, but because our team often beats teams 8-0, it’s really boring to stand in goal,” Bing said.

According to Bing, since last year’s team had another standout goalie, Libby Manela (‘15), she could play the field.

“I had just picked up a little bit here and there freshman and sophomore year, so I decided to ‘try out’ and I made the team as a field player,” Bing said. “The coaches loved it because they called everyone over individually, and they called

me over a second time and they said I made the team as a field player.”

Despite her prowess in the field, Bing found her calling as a goalie.

“I definitely prefer playing in goal, but I like to be challenged,” Bing said. “It’s really boring when I’m just standing and not doing anything, so this just gave me the opportunity to do something else and find something new.”

Bing credits the defensive unit for the team’s success.

“We have a very good defensive core unit between Audrey Ledbetter, Reese Vogel, Cameron Weiner and Jennifer Trieschman. And leading our attack is Lindsey McKone and Kate Copeland and Isabel Windham,” Bing said. “But honestly, everybody is so good.”

For Bing, one of the most enjoyable parts of playing with the team is the synergy of the players.

“We’re all friends, and it’s a cohesive unit,” Bing said.

Bing credits head coach Craig Chambers, assistant coach Gordon Center and goalie coach Terrie Warren with keeping up morale and helping the players improve.

“They’re so funny. Of course we put in the work, but they’re great motivators,” Bing said. “They make sure that if you’re having a bad day at least you’re having a good practice.”

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SJSREVIEW.COM I DECEMBER 9, 2015

(cont. from front Page) “They’re a pretty aggressive school, and we knew it was going to be a tight game,” Ellison said.

The semifinal was the first time the Mavericks had faced Casady since the 2014 SPC tournament.

Bing has faced a number of serious challenges.

“It definitely has its ups and downs,” Bing said. “It takes up a considerable amount of my time.”

Bing’s toughest experience was losing against Uruguay as a member of the US Junior Olympic team sophomore year.

“We got to the one game that mattered in the tournament, and we lost to them, and we played a terrible game,” Bing said. “It was possibly one of the most devastating moments of my life. When it’s a game at St. John’s, I don’t necessarily feel like I’ve let down a lot of people, but it felt like I let down a whole group of people that had invested so much time in me.”

Next year Bing will join a Stanford field hockey team that finished the 2015 season ranked No. 14 and qualified for the NCAA Division I Tournament.

“Kelsey’s work ethic, drive and passion for the game will be exciting to coach,” Stanford head coach Tara Danielson said. “We are looking forward to developing Kelsey into a top collegiate goalkeeper and strong leader in the pursuit of excellence.”

Another memorable experience was making the U.S. National Team her junior year.

“One moment was when I found out I made the under-21

yellow card, the team is penalized and a player must leave the game.

With the time running out, the Mavericks faced the possibility of having to enter overtime with five players to Casady’s seven. Then the Mavericks earned a game-ending corner. With time expired, they had one final play.

“I wasn’t even thinking about overtime,” Weiner said. “I was just focused on that corner.”

Weiner passed the ball to Trieschman, who passed to McKone. McKone took a shot, but the Casady goalie deflected it. Kate Copeland was in position by the goal and scored off the rebound, thus sending the Mavericks to the championship game.

“It was one of the most exciting moments of my entire life,” Weiner said. “I’ve never cried after a game, and I just started bawling.”

The Mavericks faced one last challenge against Kinkaid. The game was the first time in decades that two South Zone teams had faced off for the SPC title.

“Going into the game [against Kinkaid], we were like ‘Okay, we lost the battle, but we’ll win the war,’” Ellison said.

The Mavs had beaten the Falcons before, and, according to Weiner, they knew how their rivals operated.

“We set up on a field with grass cut for field hockey at St. Andrew’s, but the Kinkaid coach chose to play on the other field,” Weiner said. “We play on bad grass all the time, and Kinkaid plays on turf, so it was really a disadvantage for them.”

Many felt ready to avenge their only loss.

“Going into the final game I didn’t feel too much pressure, because I was confident in every single player,” Copeland said. “I knew that together we could get it done.”

The Mavericks took the field at a rainy St. Andrew’s.

“We were playing in total muck,”

team because I didn’t think I was going to make it, and I found out, and I was almost at the point where I was crying tears of joy,’ Bing said. “It was nice because I put in so much work and it felt like something had kind of paid off.”

The crowning achievement of Bing’s SJS career was winning SPC in dramatic fashion.

“Our end goal was to win, and we set a goal, and put in so much work, and we won in the most exciting way, too,” Bing said.

The Mavericks won back-to-back 1-0 victories in the semifinals (Casady) and finals (Kinkaid), and each time SJS scored on a corner play with no time left on the clock.

“We had the sense that we were going to win, and I think Kinkaid thought we had the upper hand because they saw us do this to Casady the day before, it was so exciting,” Bing said. “I will probably never see this happen again in my field hockey career, and it happened twice.”

Despite all the excitement and achievements, Bing chooses not to rest on her laurels.

“Athletics gives me another time to focus on something else that’s not school, and now being part of the Junior National Team, I’m motivated,” Bing said. “I want to continue to succeed in their system and to do well at Stanford next year

Weiner said. “It was raining, and the lines drawn on the field were messed up.”

Once again, the game was tight, remaining scoreless through regulation play.

“There were a few moments during the game where I couldn’t believe we were playing for the championship because it had been our goal the whole season,” Copeland said.

And again, as time expired, the Mavericks were awarded a corner.

“Kinkaid had watched us win

games, the Mavericks were SPC Champions.

“We were completely blown away,” Pedrick said. “In the pictures, everyone’s up in the air, screaming and crying.”

For the six seniors, the Championship was the last of their SJS field hockey career, one that stretches back to middle school.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better last game,” Ellison said.

the same way the day before, so they went into the play super nervous,” Weiner said.

Like the day before, Weiner passed the corner in. But while Kinkaid’s defenders expected her to recreate the previous day’s play and pass to Trieschman, she passed to McKone, who passed to Copeland, who was there to finish the play and score the game-winner yet again.

“Kate Copeland wants to get the ball in the goal like no other person I’ve ever met,” Weiner said.

“She’s so incredible at that.”

Copeland acknowledges the support of her teammates in her success.

“Both times Lindsey passed the ball perfectly for me, so she really deserves a lot more credit than she’s given,” Copeland said. “Both goals were unbelievable, and I couldn’t have done it without the team, especially Lindsey.”

After two once-in-a-lifetime

IN THE NICK OF TIME Field Hockey players celebrate after scoring the championship-winning goal with no time remaining. It was the second win in a row as time expired.

LISA STERNCHUSS

THREE CHEERS

“We’d eliminated Casady last year, so we knew they’d come for us with a vengeance, just like we did for Hockaday,” Weiner said.

Though the game was tight through regulation play, it remained scoreless, thanks to Stanford commit goalie Kelsey Bing.

With a yellow card against junior Carson Copeland, the Mavericks were already a player down at the end of the game.

“The time expired, and Coach Vogel was trying to tell the ref something, and he was yelling at her, and she gave him a yellow card,” Weiner said.

According to the rules of field hockey, when a coach is given a

and in the U.S. program. I definitely practice so that I can do something great later.”

STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER Bing, wearing her U.S. National Team practice uniform, plays in the National Field Hockey program. She has been on the national team since ninth grade and is the only high school member of the current U-21 team.

PHOTO BY KELSEY BING

LTURE U C

C

THE REVIEW I DECEMBER 9, 2015

‘Joseph’ christens Great Lawn

Candlelight Dec. 10 Service, 7 p.m.

Aziz Ansari’s P11 masterful new series ‘Star Wars’ returns

Dec. 18

From lawn

to stage

Culture Briefs

Students packed the lower level of the VST for the annual Student Choreography Showcase, Dec. 4. The dance show is largely a student-run, collaborative effort among the choreographers, dancers and lighting designers.

Choreographers worked to match their dance vision to the nuances of the song they selected.

“My dance is to a song called ‘Jackrabbit’ by San Fermin,” senior Sabina Madland said. “It’s a cool song because it sounds almost innocent on the surface, but it’s really more cynical. It’s also somewhat orchestral, so it goes with the classical ballet aspect, but there are parts that make it more contemporary or modern,” Choreographers worked with a designer to match the lighting to each aspect of the dance and highlight the mood.

“The primary theme of the lighting for one dance would be ‘fierce,’ so I used bright orange lights, and I worked to match the theme of the lights to the different parts of the song,” junior Jason Souvaliotis said.

New club teaches stage combat Junior Hank Lasley started Stage Fighting Club with faculty sponsor and Fine Arts Director Bill McDonald. The club is training with Certified Fight Director Leraldo Anzuldhua, who has also been working with Acting I this semester.

The club is learning about fencing, including the different parts of the rapier, fighting stances and movements.

Lasley learned stage combat in Acting I and II last year, and McDonald encouraged him to to start the club in order to pursue his interest outside of class.

McDonald gauged interest in late October in the Johnnycake Facebook group, and he and Lasley started the club in mid-November.

The club has met twice since its inception.

“I like the club because it gives me a refresher of what I learned about last year [in Acting I and II],” sophomore Katy Shafer said. “It’s also a great skill to have if you’re auditioning for any production outside of school.”

Briefs by Sophie Caldwell and Irene Vazquez

ELLIE DAVIDSON

Dancers craft, perform original choreography

TAKING THE STAGE On Nov. 13 and 14, students performed “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” on the Great Lawn, a first for the new space. The stage underwent extensive preparation in order to be ready. Concerns about rain were unfounded. At showtime the weather was clear and cold (top left). Seniors John Ballard

by Sophie Gillard Five minutes before “Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat” began, flat-screen monitors flashed with a countdown to the show. The first performance to be held on the Great Lawn, the show felt more like a heavy metal concert than a high school musical.

“The show is a lot less musical theatre a lot more rock and roll,” stage manager Sophie Worscheh said. “It was really a much more thrilling and exciting show than we’ve ever had before.”

“Joseph,” directed by Bill McDonald, had a simple set that featured a nearly bare stage and five television monitors, which were used as a backdrop.

“Mr. McDonald’s whole vision for the show, since it’s outside, is for it to be more like a rock concert,” junior Frances Hellums said.

The actors were not accustomed to having their images appear on massive screens.

“You have to be on the whole time. There is no time when you think ‘I’m not in the light, people aren’t looking at me so I can laze around and not do anything,’ because you always could be blasted up on one of these big screens,” senior Kyra Link said.

The set presented new challenges for the actors and crew.

“It has never been a concern before, but now we really have to worry about rain,” senior Hannah Curtis said.

Crew members arrived early before every rehearsal and stayed late in order to remove and then replace the tarps that protected the stage from getting wet. It rained once on Saturday during tech week, prompting the first tech rehearsal to be cancelled.

The people working on “Joseph” had a backup plan in case a performance was rained out. They chose not to move the show into the VST, but instead planned a rain date. Fortunately, amid clear skies, the show went ahead as planned, Nov. 13 and 14.

The cast had to work around a variety of other issues.

“The band was removed from the stage so timing was difficult. If the monitors are malfunctioning, we can’t hear the band, and we miss our cues,” Curtis said.

and Cade Luedde lit up the stage (top right). Ballard played the title role in his St. John’s musical debut (bottom left). Underclassmen Lucian Bennett-Brandt and Ben Cohen stood out as two of Joseph’s brothers (bottom right). Even Lower School students got their time in the spotlight, singing a number with Ballard (center).

Junior Maddie McZeal noted that the show’s tech crew had to adapt to different equipment.

“We had a completely different sound board and light board at the Great Lawn,” McZeal said.

“Having a production outside is difficult, and in the future, we might need a longer tech week. But the idea is fun, and it’s cute to have a show on the Great Lawn.”

Some crew members had to be strapped into harnesses, including junior James Boehme, who operated the spotlight on tall scaffolding at the back of the Great Lawn.

“It definitely was a shift, but we adapted for the show. Overall though, not much has changed,” Boehme said.

The problems that the crew members had to work around were not hard enough to discourage them from doing another outdoor performance.

“The show got good reviews and we also just bought the stage, so I hope that we do another show like this again,” said senior crew member Shane Zerr.

Musically, the show was also different from many of the productions the school has staged. With al-

most no spoken dialogue, the actors sing for virtually the entire show. “‘Joseph’ is a more modern take on a musical,” sophomore Will Ripetto said. “It’s not like the old Rodgers and and Hammerstein shows like ‘Oklahoma.’”

The musical numbers vary in style, ranging from a classic French ballad, to reggae, rap and country.

“The rap song was challenging to learn, but it was still cool to do. It’s a little more ‘hip’ as Mr. McDonald would say,” Ripetto said.

The cast and crew said that the real highlight was working with a great group of people.

“The cast was small, around 25 people, so we got very close, especially between grade levels,” senior Olivia Havel said.

A packed audience spread out blankets to watch the show on the chilly November night.

“When I’ve watched this show before, it’s been very old-fashioned and biblical, so I loved that they had different costumes and incorporated different styles into the musical,” freshman Maggie Ballard said. “It’s very interesting, even if you’ve already seen the show.”

11

SJSREVIEW.COM I DECEMBER 9, 2015

‘Master of None’ gives advice to millennials

by Chris Zimmerman In one of the best new series of the year, writer, director and actor Aziz Ansari redefines comedy.

His new Netflix series “Master of None” cleverly explores life as a millennial and the coming-ofage of an entire generation.

Ansari plays Dev, a 30-year-old Indian-American actor whose claim to fame is a Go-Gurt commercial. Dev approaches everything in life optimistically and sometimes naively, from taco restaurants to systemic discrimination. And he, along with his flannel-wearing, dingy-bar-going hipster posse, Dev exemplifies a generation plagued by choices.

As is the case with many millennials, Dev feels pressured and occasionally paralyzed by his options — which party to attend, which girl to bring to the concert, which taco restaurant to eat at — but his father (played by Ansari’s real father) calms him with an analogy about figs

Dev’s inability to recognize systemic sexism, the couple approaches everything with both optimism and enthusiasm.

Along with the overarching storyline of Dev and Rachel, each episode makes some sort of social commentary on topics ranging from the evolving dating system to feminism to discrimination in Hollywood. Even though the critiques themselves aren’t necessarily that insightful — old people deserve our respect, how profound — it is the presentation in a modern context that makes them effective.

“Master of None” delivers insight similar to that of modern pundits like Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert, using humor to make social commentary easier to swallow. Ansari isn’t actually trying to say anything new or insightful. He’s painfully self-aware and is just trying to help millennials improve and become accountable.

While the series depicts a time in Dev’s life that’s full of change, the show itself is representative of development and growth. “Master of None” shows the evolution of the television industry. The series positioned itself to win several awards this year and will I saw my life follow in the footsteps of othbranching out before er Netflix giants like “House me like the green fig tree in of Cards” and “Orange is the story. From the tip of every the New Black” in the revbranch, like a fat purple fig, a olution against traditional wonderful future beckoned and TV. Five years ago the show winked. would have been released Sylvia Plath over a three-month period, as referenced in if at all — the sensitive topics “Master of None” might have been too much for network TV execs to handle. Now, I can sit at home and binge watch the entire season over a weekend when I should have been writing

from Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar.” You marvel at a fig tree with lots of tasty fruits, but you can’t decide which to eat. Eventually you will starve as the figs shrivel up and rot. Though somewhat forced, this metaphor was one of many clever moments in the series, one that makes me, a millennial often plagued with indecision, stop and think.

As a whole, the show is easygoing and flows effortlessly while simultaneously satirizing Hollywood, hipsters and social mores. Though billed as a comedy, it’s more clever than laugh-out-loud funny — the kind of humor that makes viewers smirk and say “oh that’s so true.”

At its core, “Master of None” is a romantic comedy following Dev and his “adorkable” girlfriend Rachel (Noël Wells). Each episode presents a new fold in their relationship as the pair struggles to deal with a serious adult relationship. Though their problems range from a fight over cleanliness to an argument about

“ ”

BROOKE KUSHWAHA

an English paper (sorry, Dr. Rawson).

Though watching the entire series in one sitting while mindlessly jamming Sour Patch Watermelons into my mouth was nice, one of the things I like most about the series is how well each episode stands alone. Unlike its heavier and more plot-reliant Netflix counterparts, “Master of None” works well for grazing, rather than binging. The series doesn’t require hours and hours of undivided attention while steadily ruining both your academic and social lives.

Like Dev, my classmates and I are going through a transitional time and have to make a lot of decisions about our future. Each essay we write, each test we take, each box we check on the Common App sends our mind whirling into considerations of the domino effect it could have on our future. Ironically, with all the options afforded to millennials, each one intended to make our lives easier, decisions actually get harder. I’ll be the first to admit that the plethora of opportunities in front of us is daunting, and often the fear of failure paralyzes us from making any decisions at all. But sometimes we have to dive in even though we don’t know what will happen next.

As we look towards life after high school, we’re constantly bombarded with questions about the future. “Where are you going to go to college” and “what are you going to major in” are the crowd favorites, yet I can only respond with an unsure “I don’t know.” But the point “Master of None” makes is that that uncertainty is natural.

Not having a plan, learning through experience, being the titular master of none is okay. When you bite into a juicy fig, you don’t worry about the other delicious figs you passed up on. You enjoy it for what it is.

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ON POINT New ‘Star Wars’ without Jar Jar Binks Final exams moved to 10:00 a.m.

Maverick Café’s hot chocolate

OFF TARGET Synthesis papers due Monday morning ‘Spectre,’ ‘Mockingjay’ not at Edwards Theater 80 degree weather in December

SJSREVIEW.COM I DECEMBER 9, 2015

Should STEM take priority over humanities?

STEM learning should be emphasized in school because it prepares students for careers in some of today’s most high-profile and dynamic career fields.

President Barack Obama has called science, technology, engineering and mathematics the future of America.

For instance, STEM education leads directly into some of the fastest growing industries in the United States and can lead to high paying jobs immediately after college.

Along with the quick rise of industries such as bioengineering and nanotechnology, wages for these jobs are increasing in tandem. With today’s mounting cost of a college education, students are increasingly more concerned by their paychecks.

Beyond individual goals, the only way to solve problems such as global warming and expand frontiers beyond the moon is through science and engineering.

Engineers and inventors are necessary to create new sources of renewable energy and prolong mankind’s existence.

Science and math courses can be less interesting at times than those in humanities like history and English, but they give a better foundation for future projects that could change humanity like a zero-emission car.

According to the Bureau of Labor Services, the median entry-level income for an engineer is $54,000 whereas the entry-level income for a historian is $29,000.

Students who major in a STEM subject also tend to have a higher quality of life and be more satisfied with their jobs. In fact, by major, five out of the six most satisfying jobs are STEM-related, with the highest humanities major being architecture.

STEM learning is not just about cramming facts but also promoting critical thinking and innovation.

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PRO CON

STEM majors also help with everyday problems like traffic congestion by creating algorithms to find the fastest route and security by analyzing data for government intelligence agencies.

According to Ericsson, a telecom company, the mobile industry created 11 million jobs, most of which are related to STEM fields, and generated $3.3 trillion.

By 2020, roughly 90 percent of the world will be using a cellphone or smart phones, all because of individuals who majored in STEM subjects.

Most of the devices or comforts we enjoy could have not at all been possible without engineers, mathematicians, and scientists.

The humanities are a vital set of subjects, and those who major in them turn out to have fulfilling, creative careers. But in the grand scheme of progress towards a better tomorrow, humanities are not as important as STEM subjects.

cara maines

As tuition mounts and college graduates struggle to find jobs, universities have come under fire, with humanities in the crosshairs.

Colleges have shifted focus from learning for learning’s sake to career preparation, expanding STEM and business programs while cutting back on the humanities. In some ways, it makes sense — students want high-paying jobs straight out of college.

Rest assured, parents, children who major in Slavic Studies or Comparative Literature are employable. According to a study by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, while liberal arts majors do earn less at the entry level than those who study in professional or pre-professional fields, at peak earning ages, liberal arts majors make on average $2,000 more.

Employers look for people who can think critically and communicate fluidly. And for those looking

to pursue professional degrees, med schools and law schools don’t bat an eye at art history degrees.

The rise of STEM at the expense of humanities is increasingly clear, even in high school. I can choose from 14 honors or AP math courses but only four honors or AP history classes. Sometimes I look around and realize that everyone wants to be a doctor or engineer. And while I admire the dedication to major in these subjects, part of me wonders if something is lost as humanities fall by the wayside.

We can’t predict what skills will be sought after in the future, but some will surely be in the humanities: after 9/11, America needed people who understood Arabic and scholars in Islamic history, proficiency that took years of education. No matter what comes next, our society will need people who have diverse and comprehensive skills, humanities included. If we continue to scale down humanities programs, we will only be harming ourselves.

We must also consider the cultural and societal implications. History helps us remember where we come from; literature who we are; and philosophy where we’re going. Several studies have shown that people who read literary fiction have higher levels of empathy.

How can we make sense of contemporary politics without contextualizing it in the history that got us here?

So the next time someone tells you they’re an English major, don’t tell them they’re unemployable. That’s insulting and, quite frankly, lazy. One day they might be directing your favorite movie, teaching your children or even writing your laws.

STEPHEN KIM

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Respond to climate change now, reap benefits later

I

n “Why You Should Care,” a columnist will discuss some of today’s most important issues — locally and around the word — and Ned make the case for how they connect to SJS life.

This month, Director of Spiritual Life Ned Mulligan takes on climate change issues on both local and global levels.

that the state is more susceptible to severe storms and to drought. The obvious impacts of these conditions have been significant already with property damage, crop damage, loss of jobs in

Mulligan

EVERYTHING’S BIGGER IN TEXAS THE ISSUE: Climate change, regardless of the conclusion drawn about the cause, is a reality that is negatively impacting Texas. Texas is the largest contributor of CO2 emissions in the country by a significant amount, and the issue is how to reduce those emissions by creating wind and solar energy sources for which Texas is well suited.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Texas is

particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming because of its size, varied terrain and gulf shoreline. Recent weather trends demonstrate that summers are significantly hotter, sea levels are rising, there is a loss of natural habitat for numerous species of plants and animals and

various industries and a negative impact on the Texas economy. The Texas legislature has generally been silent on the issue of CO2 emission regulation, which, if not addressed in a meaningful way, will impact Texas and its citizens irreversibly.

IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN THE ISSUE: Texas is obviously not the only contributor to the climate change problem. The

only way the issue can be addressed meaningfully is on a national level, through legislation that mandates reduction in emissions and provides incentives for the development of renewable energy sources. Similar to the Texas legislature, Congress has not passed comprehensive legislation that addresses the issues significantly.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Even if Texas were to substantially reduce its CO2 emissions unilaterally through renewable energy sources, the emission problem nationally, without national legislation, would not be remediated sufficiently for there to be a measurable positive impact on Texas. There needs to be a national initiative supported by all the states toward reducing emissions to a level where ultimately climate change has a chance to be arrested. The economic issues related to responding to climate change aggressively are likely to be significantly less than the costs of addressing the problem now through reductions in emissions and use of clean renewable energy.

IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE THE ISSUE: Even if the United States takes significant steps to reduce its CO2 emissions, the rest of the world needs to participate as well.

In the last week of November and first week of December at the energy summit held in Paris, most countries agreed in principle that they

needed to participate in the reduction of CO2 emissions, but how and under what circumstances that happens remains to be seen.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: The world

needs to take collective action to reduce CO2 emissions to mitigate the serious problems already apparent from climate change. The top ten producers of emissions have made some level of commitment to participate in emissions reduction. One of the issues is, however, that several of the worst offenders are emerging industrial nations like China and India which are attempting, through industrialization, to solve other economic problems for their own people and to improve life for their citizens. Significantly reducing emissions for those countries while working on renewable sources of energy seems, at this stage in development, to be unlikely. Nevertheless, at the summit, several of the world’s wealthiest individuals, like Bill Gates, have offered to assist financially in the development of renewable resources, which may be one way to address the problem more quickly and equitably.

The bottom line is that as citizens of the world we all have a moral and ethical obligation to act as stewards of our natural resources by using them in ways that do not waste or destroy them and by protecting them when threatened.

OPINIONS

13

THE REVIEW I DECEMBER 9, 2015

WAVE OF ACTIVISM

College protests against racism prove misguided

11/13 A sit-in was organized to allow students to speak on their experiences with racism at the college, prompting a list of demands by the protest group Amherst Uprising.

The administration rejected the majority of the requests, but the historically insensitive unofficial mascot, Lord Jeff, was dropped.

11/16

Princeton

More than 1,000 supporters held a “March of Resilience” following a number of racially charged events. Student demands included removing an administrator who wrote a controversial email. Most of the stipulations were met, though the administrator who wrote the email was not fired.

11/18 The arrest of a Dartmouth student by Brown campus police during a diversity conference sparked protests. Students wore black to honor those who have dealt with racial inequality. Brown announced plans to fund a $100 million diversity initiative.

Princeton University’s Black Justice to rename the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs. This act of historical revisionism detracts from the meaningful change the group is attempting to accomplish because, as Princeton sophomore Calvert Chan said, “If the criteria for naming a building for someone was that they’d be perfect, we shouldn’t name buildings.” Students need to focus on improving the present instead of modifying the past.

Activists are not the only ones to blame for flawed reforms. Administrators, who fear losing applicants and donors, have yielded to protest groups, erroneously teaching students that their actions will lead to long-term change.

Following demonstrations at Claremont McKenna College, Hannah Oh, editor-in-chief of the Claremont Independent, co-wrote an editorial with the managing editor and publisher expressing displeasure with Dean Mary Spellman, who quit following student protests against an email she sent to a student who felt marginalized. The editors told Spellman, “We are disappointed that you allowed a group of angry students to bully you into resignation [and] disappointed that you taught Claremont students that reacting with emotion and anger will force the administration to act.”

The editors further stated that the actions taken by protesters are not “how adults solve problems” and acknowledged that President Hiram Chodosh “could have made this a productive dialogue but instead humored the students and allowed them to get caught up in the furor.”

If administrators truly want to promote on campus equality, they should encourage thoughtful, two-sided conversation and not immediately yield to often misguided demonstrations.

I sincerely hope that students will continue to focus on achieving greater racial and gender equality on college campuses, but I also hope that students will refocus their efforts.

Seniors, when you enter college next year, do not turn a blind eye to prejudice. Recognize that many of your peers will face discrimination on a daily basis that you may never have to encounter during your entire life. Stand up, speak your voice, affect change.

Think carefully about the impact of your actions and remain open to opinions that might conflict with your views. Strive to create a world in which not just designated classrooms but college campuses are safe spaces for all to thrive.

Students staged a sit-in of University President Christopher Eisgruber’s office to call for raised cultural awareness regarding former US and Princeton President Woodrow Wilson’s racism.

Eisgruber considered the demands, including the removal of Wilson’s name from campus buildings and the School of Public and International Affairs

11/19

Harvard

After a police officer killed an unarmed black man, students formed the Irate 8, which called for the development of a curriculum based on racial awareness. Their petition has hundreds of signatures so far.

11/12

Yale

Claremont Mckenna 11/11

Students became aware of racial tension after a group requested an increase in faculty diversity and funding for multicultural services. Dean of Students Mary Spellman resigned after student protests against a racially insensivite email. President Hiram Chodosh announced plans to accept the student suggestions

campuses. “Ethnic Enclaves and Social Identity,” a 2004 study conducted by Harvard psychologist James Sidanius, found that “ethnically oriented student organizations actually increase the perception that ethnic groups are locked into zero-sum competition with one another and the feeling of victimization by virtue of one’s ethnicity.”

Perhaps least productive in working toward greater campus equality are demands from

Brown

11/9

ican professor at Purdue, writes that “trigger warnings [feel] like the unnecessary segregation of students from reality, which is complex and sometimes difficult.” In requesting these warning signals, activists are doing themselves a disservice by equipping themselves inadequately for the harsh realities of real-world discussion.

Equally concerning are demands for racial affinity group housing which would ultimately create a form of de facto segregation on college

Amherst

10/20

A series of racial incidents instigated protests aimed against the university and President Tim Wolfe. One student went on a hunger strike, and the entire football team threatened to stop playing until Wolfe had resigned. Wolfe resigned soon after, sparking similar protest across the nation.

Cincinnati

Missouri

In the wake of demonstrations at the University of Missouri in early November, protests advocating for increased racial and gender equality have spread through college campuses across the country.

With marches and sit-ins, student groups from Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Brown, Amherst, Claremont McKenna and other universities have demanded that administrators address institutional problems plaguing minority community members. Despite good intentions, by turning to university administrations for solutions, activists are approaching the situation incorrectly.

Instead of desiring school-sanctioned safe spaces or trigger warnings, students must look to themselves to promote an inclusive dialogue and take action against regressive components of campus life.

To be clear, the overarching motivation behind these demonstrations is positive. Even though I cannot speak to the oppression that people of color face daily, I recognize that our society is still far from equal.

As Yale professor Mark Oppenheimer points out, the way students combat inequality makes them “seem incapable of using the leverage that a peer community has.” After hearing allegations that an SAE fraternity denied a girl entrance to a party for being black, Yale students should have mobilized against the Greek institution until changes were implemented. Instead, students of all races continued to frequent SAE social events while the fraternity was suspended.

Meanwhile, student activism is counterproductive. Groups at Amherst and many other institutions are demanding safe spaces to protect students from potentially hurtful rhetoric.

While these protective areas might be beneficial for short-term solace, they do not help these organizations’ overall goals of sustained on-campus equality.

In order to progressively advance campus life and life in the United States in general, students must be willing to hear dissenting voices, difficult as that may be. These movements cannot succeed if members do not work with the people whom they see as hindrances to reform.

Students should aim to make colleges as safe as possible, but they can only do so by confronting sometimes dangerous ideas.

Activists must be careful when demanding trigger warnings. Roxane Gay, an African-Amer-

BROOKE KUSHWAHA

by Gabe Malek

Vandals placed black tape over the photograps black professors at Harvard Law School. Members of the community met to criticize the “unwelcoming, racist environment.” No changes have been announced.

GRAPHIC BY CHRIS ZIMMERMAN TEXT BY MICHAEL VERMEULEN

14

OPINIONS

SJSREVIEW.COM I DECEMBER 9, 2015

STAFF EDITORIAL

Journalism still plays integral role in world events The staff editorial differs from opinions pieces in that it is written by the Editorial Board, which consists of the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editor and Senior Design Editor.

In mid-November, Review editors traveled to Orlando for the National Scholastic Press Association’s Fall Convention, learning about both the power of the press and the responsibility that comes with such authority.

On the first day of the conference, as we were returning to our hotel rooms, news outlets reported that terrorists had killed 120 people in Paris. In the coming days, we watched the narrative shift as social media users decried imbalanced coverage of the attacks in Paris and Beirut.

The fact of the matter is that journalists wrote stories about both Beirut and Paris. Social media users shared the ones about Paris. News outlets cater to their audiences and highlight coverage accordingly. The media should not

be expected to — and is unable to — cover both events equally because we are not equally interested in the events.

Yet we must still hold our news sources to high standards. Eric Deggans, an NPR contributor who gave the keynote address at NSPA, discussed racial bias in reporting. Referencing microaggressions and charged language, Deggans encouraged student journalists to be conscientious of their intrinsic prejudice. In a culture as racially fraught as ours, his message was valuable. As journalists, we must be conscientious that our coverage is both balanced and thorough.

With the urgency to break the news, some journalists have sacrificed accuracy for sensationalism. In an effort to increase traffic, outlets like vying for page views oversimplify stories and undervalue integrity.

Ethics in journalism are more important now than ever before. News networks recently entered the homes of the San Bernardino shooting suspects and exposed the driver’s license of the mother of one of the suspects, a flagrant violation of privacy and journalistic standards.

The function of journalism is not to malign subjects and expose personal information of innocent people. Journalism at its

best exposes society’s flaws, especially the ones we choose to overlook.

The current film “Spotlight” exemplifies how good journalism can confront controversy in a responsible manner. The film depicts the efforts of The Boston Globe to expose sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. The journalists on the Spotlight team spent over a year investigating and preparing their story. While not all stories lend themselves to long-term reporting, journalists should still approach smaller stories with the same sense of ownership.

Print newspapers may be downsizing, but journalism isn’t dying. People will always need reliable, timely, in-depth news. And while the news is being condensed and promoted on social media, Facebook and Twitter cannot replace the consistency and reliability of newspapers. We will always need journalism to hold people accountable and bring the truth to light — in a responsible, conscientious manner.

BROOKE KUSHWAHA

From the editors

Dear Reader, The clock is ticking. Seniors are anxiously awaiting results from their early college applications. Here’s what we think you should know: Seniors: we know that you’re going to stress for the next few weeks, and it’s ridiculous to tell you not to. This is an intense time, and it’s understandable to feel pressure coming from a lot of different directions. Ignore people who don’t understand the situation, and find a polite way to tell them you don’t want to answer any college questions.

For those who are admitted: celebrate. You’ve earned it, and your work has paid off. This is a moment you should be proud of. Though we risk sounding like Ms. Chang’s weekly roundup, tell those who’ve supported you along the way. Thank your teachers, your college counselors and your friends.

For those who are deferred: don’t obsess. The cycle is basically starting over for you, but this time you know a little more than you did before. It’s OK to feel hurt. We know you’ve invested a lot in this process, and it may feel like rejection.

For those who are rejected: there’s no way getting

around it. It stings. This was one of your top schools, and you probably put a lot of effort into your application. It may take you a few days, or it may take you a few weeks, and it may be especially difficult during exams.

Other grades: don’t inflict more stress on the seniors.

This will be you one day, and you need to build up good karma. Your time will come, and you will understand the college process better in a few years. When you do hear where we’re going to college, don’t be judgemental.

Parents: we recognize that you are invested in this process just as much, if not more, than us. We also realize that ultimately, you want the best for us. But for now, please, pretty please, back off. You’re playing the waiting game along with us. Tell the family to stop asking.

Everyone: if you get in early and a friend doesn’t, be a friend. Celebrate on your own time. Recognize that your friend may not want to be around you. If he or she does, bring them ice cream.

If you don’t get in early and your friend does, don’t get mad at them. At the risk of sounding trite, don’t take it personally; your time will come.

We realize a lot of college acceptance advice is unreal-

istic, but hopefully these suggestions sound a little more reasonable. Best wishes for college, and good luck on exams.

Peace,

Love,

Joy,

VIEW

R

RE

JARED MARGOLIS

Surviving early apps

The Review · St. John’s School · 2401 Claremont, Houston, TX 77019 · review.sjs@gmail.com · 713-850-0222 x373 sjsreview.com · Facebook SJS Review · Twitter @SJS_Review · Instagram @_thereview Member Columbia Scholastic Press Assn.: Crown Finalist 2016, Gold Crown 2015, Silver Crown 2014 · National Scholastic Press Assn.: Pacemaker Award 2015; 7th Place Best of Show, All-American 2014-2015

Editors-in-Chief Cara Maines, Gabe Malek, Chris Zimmerman Managing Editor Brooke Kushwaha Senior Design Editor Matthew Neal Senior Assignment Editor Megan Shen Assignment Editors Christian Maines, Irene Vazquez Online Editor Amy Liu Design Editor Ashwini Bandi Photography Editors Philip Kensinger, Jared Margolis Copy Editors Sophia Li, Michael VerMeulen Assistant Online Editor Sadde Mohamed Business Manager Grace Amandes Video Editor Max Westmark

Staff

Roosh Bhosale, Gracie Blue, Gwendelyn Butler, Sophie Caldwell, Ryan Chang, Emily Chen, Iris Chen, Ellie Davidson, Andrew Duong, Sam Foshee, Claire Furse, Shomik Ghose, Sophie Gillard, Catherine Gorman, Margaret Gorman, Kate Habich, David Hammer, Joseph Hlavinka, Nyla Jennings, Reygan Jones, Alexander Kim, Stephen Kim, Prithvi Krishnarao, Kyra Link, Sukul Mittal, Anish Nayak, Saswat Pati, Daniel Poag, Robert Rae, Emily Ragauss, Caroline Ramirez, Emma Shea, Maddie Shen, Henry Still, Gray Watson, Dani Yan, Austin Zhang

Advisers David Nathan, Shelley Stein (‘88)

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.

Publication Info The Review is published seven times a school year. We distribute 1,000 copies each issue, most of which are given for free to the Upper School community of 607 students and 80 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 columnists are encouraged but are subject to editing for reasons of clarity, space, accuracy and good taste. On occasion, we will publish letters anonymously, provided the editor knows the author’s identity. The Review reserves the right not to print letters received. Either email letters and guest columns to review. sjs@gmail.com; give them to David Nathan in the Review Room (Q210); or mail letters to The Review, 2401 Claremont, Houston, TX 77019.

15

ODDS AND ENDS

Word for word

Soundbites around campus

Sixty Seconds

Mr. Turk’s view on vegetarianism

with Cam Cook

Ms. Bigge: Where have you seen Watts before?

Class: J.J. Texans fans are electric Helen Dodd: How long should our synthesis papers be?

Dr. Rawson: A few feet.

Synthesis problems

Dept. Profile

english

Dept. Head JARED MARGOLIS

Angela Flowers 13 years, AP English, EIV

Veterans

NAME GRADE STATE OF MIND KNOWN FOR COLOR HATE TO LOVE LOVE TO HATE HAPPINESS MISERY OLYMPIC SPORT DREAM DATE RELATIONSHIP STATUS COMFORT FOOD PLACE TO LIVE SPIRIT ANIMAL MOVIE PHOBIA I WISH FOLLOW US?

Cam Cook 11 calm before the storm soft smile Green Taylor Swift Houston drivers Watching Netflix standardized tests synchronized diving Beyoncé Lone wolf Chicken fried steak California Golden retriever Jurassic Park Basically any bug I could live up to Eric Gao in Physics class yeah

Dwight Raulston 34 years, AP English, EIV

Kemberly Kemp 23 years, EI, EIV JARED MARGOLIS

David Nathan 15 years, AP English, EIV

Key Additions Clay Guinn AP English, EIV

Allyson LaBorde JARED MARGOLIS

1 year, EII

Janette Hendrix 1 year, EI



Kushwahaha

By Brooke Kushwaha

JARED MARGOLIS

Mr Turk: I’m a secondary vegetarian. My favorite vegetable is cow. Pig is a close second though.

DECK THE HALL

1.

2. ‘Tis the season for synthesis papers and final exams, but since the advent of the Great Hall, the school has found a place to come together and share holiday spirit. Senior Alex Hammerman gets friendly and festive with two Hanukkah bears(1). As a post-synthesis pick-me-up, choir president

3.

Matthew Brown conducts Kantorei in holiday carols outside the Great Hall during lunch, Dec. 7 (Center). Meanwhile, senior Jennifer Trieschman cozies up with a book near the Christmas tree (2), and freshman Michaela Skaribas decorates gingerbread houses with the Art Club (3).

Photos by Phillip Kensinger (2), Jared Margolis (Center, 3) and Chris Zimmerman (1) | Story by Brooke Kushwaha