November Issue

NOV 13, 2018 | VOL. 70. ISSUE 2

SPECIAL WELLNESS ISSUE

Story by Laney Chang and Abigail Poag / Design by Stephen Kim / Photo by Leila Pulaski

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

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NEWS

THE REVIEW / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Fletcher wins TX-07

By Sophie Gillard and Indrani Maitra

T

hree hours after the polls were scheduled to close, Mia Murillo pushed her way through the celebratory crowd at the Goode Company Armadillo Palace. Tears streaming down her face, she had one mission: revel in the victory of Lizzie Pannill Fletcher (’93), who had just unseated eight-time Republican incumbent John Culberson.

Fletcher, an attorney, flipped the 7th Congressional District, beating Culberson 52.5 percent to 47.5 and becoming the first Democrat to win the seat since 1966. The race garnered significant national attention because the district, which traditionally leans Republican, voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. Future president George H. W. Bush once held the seat from 1967 to 1971.

Murillo was a Winter Fellow with the Fletcher campaign and continued to volunteer extensively over the last year.

“It’s been a really emotional and hectic 12 months for us,” Murillo, a junior, said. “We put in a lot of hours towards this one goal of getting her elected.”

Fletcher’s victory was part of a blue wave in Harris County on election night. By flipping the district, which encompasses a wide swath of affluent West Houston neighborhoods, she contributed to the Democratic party gaining the more than 23 seats needed to control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 2010.

Fletcher was also one of the record number of women who ran and were elected to Congress. The significance of the election was not lost on Fletcher.

“This is the most important election of my lifetime, but not because my name is on the ballot,” Fletcher said during her acceptance speech. “My name is on the ballot because this is the most important election of my lifetime.”

Fletcher is the youngest of three daughters

of Deborah Detering (‘59) and William Pannill. Her sisters, French teacher and Review adviser Shelley Stein (‘88) and New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center (‘90), are SJS alumnae who worked tirelessly on the campaign.

Brant Richards (’93) has been friends with Fletcher since their freshman year of high SHELLEY STEIN school, when she introduced herself to the Lizzie Pannill Fletcher ('93) addresses supporters at her watch party after defeatnew kid in advisory. ing incumbent John Culberson. Several students served as Winter Fellows on Once he heard that her campaign, including senior Sara Lichtarge (seated) and junior Mia Murillo.

Fletcher was running for office, Richards, who lives in Germany, re-registered to vote O’Rourke. Through months of campaign- also participated in the 2017 Winter Fellowin Texas. Five days before the election, he ing, O’Rourke captured the hearts of liber- ship. als nationwide, while the biggest names of “I was really nervous and honestly didn’t flew in from Berlin to support his friend.

“It’s still a little surreal,” Richards said the Republican Party establishment came to think this could happen considering how after Fletcher won. “I kept thinking about town to support Cruz, whose two daugh- traditionally Republican Texas has been,” going to formals with Lizzie and watching ters are students in the Lower School. On Feldman said, “but this is so exciting.”

“We are ecstatic,” Lichtarge added.

"90210" together at her mom’s house — and Oct. 23, President Donald Trump held a campaign rally at Toyota Center during According to Fletcher, it is “essential” that now she’s going to Congress.” which he endorsed Cruz. young people engage with democracy and Tuesday was also a big night for Harris In the most expensive U.S. Senate race in participate in politics.

County Democrats, who swept every local “What we’ve seen with the Winter Fellows judicial race as well as Harris County Com- history, Cruz maintained control of his seat and helped the GOP expand its majority in is just so inspiring,” she said. “It is so excitmissioner, where 27-year-old newcomer the Senate.

Texas Democrats were quick ing to watch.”

Lina Hidalgo beat longtime Republican into point out that Cruz’s margin of victory Her supporters and volunteers who filled cumbent Ed Emmett.

Republicans, led by Governor Greg Ab- was within 3 points, the closest in any state- the Armadillo Palace were tired but overjoyed after the long campaign. In her vicbott and Senator Ted Cruz, dominated wide race in Texas in 40 years.

Back at the Fletcher election night party, tory speech, Fletcher reassured them that state-wide elections. Abbott routed Democratic challenger Lupe Valdez by 13 points. the news of O’Rourke’s loss was met with their effort was essential to the victory: Down ballot races for attorney general, ag- boos and groans, but the dour mood quick- “Our country is worth it, our democracy is ricultural commissioner, and state Supreme ly shifted as the results of the TX-07 race worth it and we are worth it.” trickled in.

From deep in the crowd, a voice shouted Court went to the GOP. For many students, Fletcher’s victory was back, “You’re worth it, Lizzie!”

The race that captured national attention personal.

Seniors Sara Lichtarge and Rachel Fletcher will be inaugurated in Washingwas the Senate battle between incumbent Cruz and El Paso Representative Beto Feldman volunteered many hours on the ton, D.C. on Jan. 3rd. campaign, especially last winter, when they

By The Numbers / Midterms

Data from CNN, NPR, and Business Insider

TAYLOR BRITTON AND MATTHEW HENSEL

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SJSREVIEW.COM / NEWS / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

LEILA PULASKI

Aline Means, Chair of the World Languages Department, checks on Consuelo Chaverria and Melchor Ayala as they practice writing in English. The class primarily focuses on learning basic grammar structures and developing a more extensive vocabulary for employees.

Spanish teacher leads ESL class for staff members

By Sophia Lima

S

panish teacher Aline Means surveys her classroom, making sure all students are speaking in the target language as they engage in a vocabulary game. But her students are not upperclassmen, and the target language is not Spanish.

Her weekly class is comprised of maintenance and facility workers hoping to improve their English.

Last May, Director of Community and Inclusion Gene Batiste and Richard Still, Director of Safety and Facilities, wanted to find a way for the staff who speak English as a second language to improve their communication skills and feel more present on campus.

Batiste reached out to Means, Chair of the World Languages Department, to find an English as a Second Language teacher for staff members. Means didn't bother looking for an instructor; she took the job herself.

Before becoming a full-time teacher, Means taught ESL during her evenings and summers as a graduate student at Rice University.

Means and her class of nine have been meeting in her Quad classroom every Wednesday after school since mid-September. Their primary focus is to learn basic grammar structures and develop a more extensive vocabulary.

“I really want them to put it all together and develop their vocabulary so they can express their ideas more fluidly,” Means said.

Facilities worker and housekeeper Isa Pablon wants to improve her pronunciation and learn enough English to have a long conversation.

Marco Gonzalez, Facilities and Event Coordinator, wants to completely understand the exchanges between all the facilities workers when they communicate on their walkie-talkies.

The class primarily consists of oral work, which Means considers the most useful in making connections within the community.

“Sometimes, if you don’t know the native language, you might be a little more skittish talking to people,” Means said.

Means says that one of the hardest topics to grasp when learning a new language is discovering how to turn a statement into a question and vice-versa.

There is some writing involved in the class, and Means is currently developing ideas for organizing papers and worksheets. She also uses task cards that require the students to see written words and then pronounce them.

According to Means, most of the students can understand English adequately, but many struggle when it comes to talking for fear of embarrassing themselves if they cannot pronounce the words correctly.

The biggest challenge Means faces stems from the differing levels of English comprehension. She finds it tricky to challenge those who already have a solid understanding of English while also bringing up the skill levels of those who do not. Her teaching style caters to those who need the most help because, even for those with stronger language skills, repetition is key.

“It’s a great opportunity for all of us, especially for those who knew zero English before this,” Gonzalez said. “We all want to get better in our English and have better communication.”

Although Means knew some of the workers prior to teaching the class, she is getting to know them well and appreciates their enthusiasm.

“They have such a great attitude, which makes it enjoyable for me,” Means said. “It’s always fun to teach people who are eager to learn.”

Members of the class said that they value her commitment to teaching and expressed their admiration for Means as a teacher.

“She is a wonderful teacher, and she is trying to help us and show us what to do in every way she can,” Pablon said. “She’s doing a great job with us.”

Review earns second Pacemaker award

By Sophie Caldwell and Iris Chen

P

acemaker awards, the highest honor in scholastic journalism, were announced at the annual National Scholastic Press Association convention in Chicago on Nov. 3. The Review was one of 28 newspapers to receive the award, the second time in school history.

"We are thrilled to learn about The Review being singled out as one of the best high school newspapers in the country,” Headmaster Mark Desjardins said. “It’s a wonderful reflection of the talent of the students and the faculty that sponsor them.”

At the time, The Review was led by editors Ashwini Bandi, Gracie Blue, Claire Furse and Dani Yan (all '18), as well as faculty advisers David Nathan, Shelley Stein (’88) and Chuy Benitez.

"There are so many phenomenal student publications, so you can never take a Pacemaker for granted, but after winning a Best of Show award last year for our first issue, I knew we were on the right track," Nathan said.

The Review first won a Pacemaker in 2015 under editors Megan Routbort and Rebecca Chen. Bandi, who was a sophomore at the time of that announcement, was elated

Means knows that getting a better handle on the language will be extremely useful at work and beyond.

“I have the sense that it’s so important to them, which means a lot,” Means said.

Means feels reassured that her class is improving when she sees moments of clarity. Still, she aspires for her students to continue to improve.

“I would love for them to use the language among each other, but we aren’t there yet,” Means said.

Means said she does not know how long the class will continue and therefore cannot determine how much material she can cover. For now, she plays it week by week and is enjoying her time spent with her class.

“I am so lucky that I get to end each of my Wednesdays on a high note,” Means said.

Fast Facts / ESL Class

CLARA BROTZEN-SMITH

to win again.

“It’s nice to see that we got a Pacemaker, especially because the last time we did was when I was a brand new editor,” Bandi said. “It’s cool to have the experience again and know that we all had a large part in the work that got the award.”

Individual award winners from The Review included Noël Madland ('18), 4th place in Editorial Cartoon; Lilah Gaber, 4th place in Opinions; Ashwini Bandi ('18) and Stephen Kim, 5th place in Front Page Design; Thomas Hunt and Alex Tinkham, honorable mention in Broadcast Feature Story; and Sophia Lima and Will McKone, honorable mention in Multimedia Sports Story Package.

"We had a special year and I'm really glad that our hard work has earned such a high level of national recognition," said Yan, a freshman at Duke University.

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THE REVIEW / NEWS / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Statement on Community and Inclusion unanimously approved To ensure that every member of the community feels valued, the School recently released a Statement on Community and Inclusion. After conducting a climate survey for students, parents, faculty and staff, adminstrators worked with the Board of Trustees and the Task Force to draft the Statement. There are plans for it to be displayed in classrooms alongside the Honor Code.

PHOTO / LEILA PULASKI DESIGN / SIENA ZERR

By Max Beard

O

n Sept. 8, the St. John’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved a document that will act as a guide for the community.

The new Statement on Community and Inclusion affirms the School’s commitment to ensuring that every member of the community feels valued. It articulates the importance of multiculturalism and the value of different points of view, emphasizing that unless all community members feel included, the School can’t achieve its mission.

According to Director of Community and Inclusion Gene Batiste, the Statement makes St. John’s part of a larger trend among private high schools.

“It’s been a growing movement among independent schools for 15 to 20 years to develop a statement to partner with the overall mission statement of the School,” he said.

The School spent a year administering a climate survey — the Assessment on Inclusivity and Multiculturalism — to students, parents, faculty and staff. Administrators also worked with the Board of Trustees and the 23 members of the Task Force charged with writing the document.

Batiste says that the variety of people who influenced

16-BKS-023-ROCCad-FullPage_8.5x11_Final.indd 1

the crafting of the Statement is a testament to its importance in the school community.

“We had a small working group — including two students — who spent the spring semester drafting this statement. Over the summer we refined it. We introduced it to our faculty and staff in August. They did some reflection over what the Statement means to them, then the St. John’s Board adopted this statement as policy on Sept. 8,” he said. “That’s how important this statement is.”

Chaired by Board member Mark Rodriguez and English teacher Clay Guinn ('92), members of the Task Force who drafted the Statement included then-juniors Warda Mohamed and Lilah Gaber as well as teachers Ivana Brown and Estella Guien.

In writing the Statement, Guinn used his expertise in corporate communications, where he helped companies craft mission statements similar to the Statement on Community and Inclusion.

According to Guinn, working with Rodriguez as cochair was an engaging task.

“It was great,” Guinn said. “He was so easy and available to work with and really cared about the process. His perspective as an attorney was very useful. He’s invested in the School as a dad.”

1/22/18 10:00 AM

The Statement references “ability, age, ethnicity, gender identity, race, religion and belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and thought," yet the purpose of these distinctions was not to exclude or de-emphasize certain important aspects of identity, but rather to underscore those which are listed.

The School’s roots and values played a role in drafting the Statement. The School plans to make poster-sized Statements to display in classrooms, just as it does with the Honor Code.

The Statement has also been placed in an informational packet given to all prospective families.

A broader goal of those writing the Statement was to ensure that it is applicable to athletics, academics, arts and interactions between all members of the St. John’s community.

After the release of the Statement, Director of Athletics Vince Arduini and six coaches met to discuss the meaning of the Statement as it relates to athletics.

Head Prefect Juliette Draper stressed the importance of events like the South Asian Affinity Group Chapel.

“We want to include everybody," she said, "and by showing everybody’s beliefs [in the Statement], we can do that."

SJSREVIEW.COM / NEWS / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

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PHOTO / LEILA PULASKI DESIGN / CLARA BROTZEN-SMITH AND LEILA PULASKI

Revised this year, the Employee Handbook states that faculty and staff cannot follow students on social media or post information about members of the school community. Faculty should also use #sjslearns at the end of social media posts regarding school activities.

By Izzy Andrews

T

wo and a half pages of this year's Employee Handbook detail faculty conduct regarding social media. These pages make up Section 8, which is a clarified version of the School’s previous social media policy.

Although the policy is not new, Head of Upper School Hollis Amley felt that it was due for an update.

"It's not intended to be a 'gotcha' policy but a means to get people on the same page to understand what the expectations and guidelines are," Director of Communication Susan Munson said.

Munson, along with Chief Information Officer Jeff Ritter, wanted to be aware of which teachers use social media in their classes, so they asked faculty members for updates on the accounts and platforms they use.

Amley said that updating the policy was not prompted by any wrongdoing but instead by the reality of today’s intense social and political climate. Administrators wanted to ensure that SJS faculty, staff and students followed the "best practice" policy for an educational environment.

The Handbook states that "while social media tools can be a powerful and positive force, they must be employed with knowledge and care in order to protect students, employees and the School. While there is a sense of privacy

on social media sites, in fact no information is private, and all online communication needs to be treated as public."

When updating the social media policy, administrators looked at peer schools — schools with similar sizes and programs — around the country to compare policies. According to Amley, a committee reviewed those standards and then crafted a policy for St. John’s.

"We didn't need to reinvent the wheel," Amley said.

"We knew there were other schools out there with great ideas and policies, so we thought, 'Let's reach out and see how other educators are handling it.'"

The social media policy recommends that faculty keep their social media accounts private, and it prohibits faculty from texting students one-on-one, posting information on their social media about SJS community members or following or accepting "friend" requests from current students. Additionally, the guidelines request that faculty add #sjslearns at the end of any school-related post. While blogs, Instagram and Twitter are deemed appropriate for school-related accounts, Facebook and Snapchat are not.

Beyond social media, issues surrounding texting were foremost on the minds of some faculty members. When the policy was discussed in an August faculty meeting, it became clear that some teachers and coaches were aware

of the existing rule that faculty should not text students, but others were not sure if the policy applied to co-curricular activities on campus.

To settle the issue, department directors and chairs of these co-curricular areas detailed specific boundaries that encompass all departments of the School. One-onone texting between students and faculty or coaches is not allowed, Amley said, but they are welcome to add a third person onto the chain if texting is absolutely necessary. Preferred methods of communication are SJS email, which is school-sponsored, or GroupMe, which administrators have chosen as the "school-vetted" app.

"We're just setting students and adults up for success by creating clear boundaries," Amley said.

Faculty members interviewed agreed with the reasoning behind the revised policy.

"My favorite thing about working at SJS is the fact that we cultivate strong and sincere relationships within the community," English teacher Clay Guinn said. "That said, though, those relationships shouldn't extend to certain types of communication, which by their nature are too familiar."

Peer Leader program revamped to improve support system

By Katina Christensen

W

hen she was a freshman, Julia Hoff barely knew her peer leaders: they were nice but distant, never taking the time to learn the names of the students in their assigned advisory.

Now a peer leader herself, Hoff says that she already feels far more connected to her assigned advisory than she did with her own peer leaders.

The revamped Peer Leader program aims to build a bond between seniors and freshmen in order to acclimate new students to the Upper School. Seniors regularly visit freshman advisories to discuss school, wellness and the social situations students experience. Juniors may apply to be a peer leader in the spring, and those who are chosen are paired with a freshman advisory.

Danielle Iseli, Assistant Dean of Students, is a leader of the program. One of her goals is to better involve peer leaders with their freshman advisories.

“This year, we are trying to add a little more structure so that the peer leaders go into their freshmen advisories with a plan," said Iseli, who also has a freshman advisory herself. "Instead of just hanging out with [the freshmen], the peer leaders are asking questions and leading discus-

sions on pre-planned topics."

Discussions in advisories led by peer leaders range from the best use of binders to what to expect at the Homecoming Dance.

According to peer leader Angela Whittle, the new schedule, adopted in 2016, has changed the program for the better. She said that when she was a freshman, peer leaders would pop into the seven-minute advisory meetings a couple of times over the year, and that was the extent of their involvement.

“Now the peer leaders even teach and lead lessons," Whittle said.

Iseli said feedback indicated that many past peer leaders were not helpful to or even present in their assigned advisories, and some peer leaders would only show up at the beginning of the school year. The program was modified last year under the guidance of Quadrangle faculty sponsor Susan Barthelme.

This year, Upper School counselor Ashley Le Grange joined the team to oversee the program and draw from the experiences of seniors.

Iseli, Le Grange and Barthelme made changes to im-

prove these issues and ensure that everyone gets the most out of the experience.

“My peer leaders have been a great support system,” freshman Mac Bechtol said. “They’ve been talking us through navigating high school and helping us with a bunch of topics like time management.”

For some, the Peer Leader program benefits the seniors as much as the freshmen. Senior Andie Kapiloff said that being a peer leader has allowed her to branch out and meet people she would not otherwise hang out with, especially those who are quiet.

“They are not kids I would normally get to interact with at any club or social event,” Kapiloff said.

According to Iseli, the new program seeks to take better advantage of the unique and useful perspective that seniors have on high school.

“I can tell my freshman advisees how I like to organize, but it’s nothing compared to a senior telling a kid how to organize, how to study, how to write papers, how to plan projects,” Iseli said. “They’ve lived it just so much more recently.”

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THE REVIEW / ADVERTISEMENT / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

SJSREVIEW.COM / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

FEATURES

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As Houston becomes more diverse, SJS strives to keep up

LEILA PULASKI

Upper School faculty members who sponsor affinity groups include Joseph Soliman (East Asian Affinity Group and Multi-Racial Affinity Group), Kimberley Roquemore (African American Affinity Group and MRAG), Sarwat Jafry (South Asian Affinity Group) and Harold Baber (AAAG). As some of the few faculty members of color on campus, they assume the added responsibility of mentoring students of color.

By Noura Jabir

F

or 30 days each spring, English teacher Kimberley Roquemore ('87) is consumed by club duties.

Club leadership applications flood her desk, and affinity group meetings fill most free periods. By the end of April, Roquemore will have selected new leaders, thrown farewell parties for departing seniors and met with newly-appointed leaders, all while keeping up with her teaching responsibilities.

As the only African-American teacher in the Upper School, Roquemore has co-sponsored both African American Affinity Group and Multi-Racial Affinity Group for the past six years. For Roquemore, sponsoring two major clubs presents a unique challenge.

“If there were more teachers of color, then non-white — specifically, black — students would have more perspectives to relate to because every person of color’s experience is different,” Roquemore said. “My support alone is inadequate.”

Roquemore said that there are many experiences MRAG members have had that she does not share. Although she is multiracial, her parents are of the same ethnicity, which is not the case for most mixed-race students.

“These students have two separate families with different cultures and histories coming together, and my parents are both Creole, so it’s very different for me,” Roquemore said. “It would really help to have more faculty sponsors who are not only multiracial but also multicultural.”

Teachers and students unite over 'shared experience'

Joseph Soliman, a history teacher who also co-sponsors MRAG and East Asian Affinity Group, is one of four East Asian teachers in the Upper School. He explained that given the lack of faculty diversity, additional weight is placed on the few faculty members of color.

When Soliman was in college, student affinity groups supported him and other Asian Americans in their exploration of identity.

“I absolutely have a desire to provide that same sort of guidance and mentorship for young students of color today," Soliman said. "I certainly feel a sense of responsibility and obligation to help those who want to talk

about, explore and discover identity with someone having a shared experience."

Roquemore said that the advantages of increased racial and ethnic representation extend beyond the School’s communities of color — white students would benefit from the change as well.

“I have to delve into issues of race [in class], but most of my students are white, and I don’t want them to feel uncomfortable or guilty in my classroom,” Roquemore said. “I’m constantly watching my words, my tone of voice, my phrasing, my facial expressions — because I know I’m one of the few people having these discussions, and [students] are not used to it.”

The obstacles for independent schools seeking to hire more diverse faculty members

Director of Community and Inclusion Gene Batiste observed that, in addition to normalizing conversations about race and ethnicity, a diverse faculty might provide white students with a more accurate representation of what they will experience after high school.

“We’re preparing our students for their future, what they’ll experience in college and in their professional lives,” Batiste said.

The future Batiste speaks of is becoming increasingly diverse. Texas is one of five states in which minorities comprise the majority of the population, and Houston leads the nation in diversity.

“We want our school to represent the growing diversity we have as a city and as a country, and currently, it does not,” Batiste said. “However, with our new Statement on Community and Inclusion, one of the three strategic initiatives we will focus on is recruiting, retaining and developing a diverse community, which includes faculty.”

According to Batiste, underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in the faculty is not an issue exclusive to the St. John’s community — independent schools across the nation have been mindful of the phenomenon for nearly 20 years and are still grappling with it today.

“St. John’s is not alone in this, and there has been a concerted effort to build a faculty and staff that represents the racial and ethnic diversity of the student body,” Batiste said, “but it’s a complex issue.”

Batiste pointed to competing industries as a contributing factor to the difficulty schools face in building a diverse faculty.

“For driven, highly motivated people of color, so many other industries want them,” Batiste said. “And even as teachers, there is a desire among people of color to give back to their community by working in urban areas or charter schools.”

Roquemore noted that coming to an affluent, predominantly white neighborhood in Texas might be a tough sell for teachers and administrators looking for a job.

“It’s hard to find people who want to come here, to the South, and immerse themselves in this very specific culture the school has,” Roquemore said.

Despite efforts, underrepresentation persists

Robert Pringle, Middle School Dean and math teacher, is the only male African-American teacher across all three divisions of the School. He said that increased faculty diversity in the Middle School division is particularly important.

“The Middle School is where students claim their first pieces of identity,” Pringle said. “Students sometimes look for people who look like them. There is comfort in knowing that there is someone who resembles you and may be able to relate to you."

According to Batiste, the Board of Trustees and department heads have focused in on faculty diversity in recent years, and Roquemore agrees that the community seems eager to change.

While there have been effective efforts to increase diversity among faculty, particularly in representation of Latinx, East Asian and South Asian teachers and administrators, underrepresentation of several racial minority and ethnic groups persists.

When asked what she hopes the school will achieve in regard to faculty diversity, Roquemore replied without hesitation: to look like other schools.

“Why do we have to look like the traditional independent schools of the ’80s and ’90s?” Roquemore said.

“Who are we serving when we do that?”

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THE REVIEW / FEATURES / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

CELINE HUANG

By Sara Doyle

A

ccording to Education Week, one in four Texas teachers are absent from the classroom for at least 10 days each year, but teachers at St. John’s — much like their students — feel the need to show up to school even when they are not feeling their best.

Students may often feel overwhelmed and stressed, but they frequently forget that teachers experience similar feelings of stress and anxiety.

The first two weeks of October hit teachers with full force. Aside from the time-consuming mid-semester comments for students, many teachers must also write college recommendation letters for seniors. Many recommendation letters were due Oct. 15, and grades and comments were due just two days later.

“A lot of things are happening at once, and I feel I have the time to get it done; it’s just going to be a really, really busy month,” English teacher Kristiane Stapleton said at the time.

Stapleton, who teaches three junior classes and one senior class, has an eight-month-old baby girl, so she explained that her schedule is extremely full. St. John’s recognizes that teachers' stress levels increase around this time of year, and for those with many recommendation

letters, the administration offers one or more additional days off. Stapleton spent two days in mid-October working on recommendation letters and comments.

“I can spend hours on one letter,” Stapleton said. "Being able to finish the number of letters I have in two days at home isn’t feasible. Having that time at home helps in that it takes what is at least 30 to 40 hours of work and it gives me 15 hours of that back.”

Mid-semester also becomes hectic for department chairs, who must review all comments in addition to writing their own. History Department Chair Wendall Zartman reviews over 600 comments before they are sent to advisors.

“My workload increases tremendously,” he said. “I just stay cool, calm and collected and do my best.”

Like students, teachers tend to vent to their colleagues when feeling overwhelmed during a stressful week.

Teachers recognize the increasing stress levels in their co-workers during the last few weeks of October.

“Sitting at lunch, I know better than to ask ‘How are you doing?’ because I can already see the stress on their faces,” physics teacher Erol Turk said.

As Director of Clinical Services, Tesa Stark sees a rising

number of students and faculty pass through her office in October.

“We are more susceptible to illness when we are sleep-deprived and our stress levels are higher,” Stark said. “Most illnesses that we see are viral and do not require antibiotics. They require rest, hydration and patience.”

Stark notes that all students, staff and parents can help prevent illness by getting enough sleep, exercising and eating “colorful” meals filled with nutrients and vitamins.

To mitigate stress, Upper School counselor Ashley Le Grange recommends focusing on self-care. She says that teachers need to know when to not answer emails and make sure they have some unplugged time to recharge.

Although administrators acknowledge the importance of faculty wellness, especially around this time of the year, teachers still sometimes come to school when they are under the weather, knowing that preparing for a substitute can be harder than showing up.

“St. John’s is aware that there is a need for wellness endeavors, but I wish we didn’t feel the stress and the push as intensely as we do on a day-to-day basis,” English teacher Kimberley Roquemore ('87) said. “I wish we could slow down and take something off the table.”

Wellness Club revived, seeks to broaden meaning of student wellness

By Megan Chang

O

n the surface, Peter Fluor ('07) seemed like a happy, high-achieving Upper School student: He was an Eagle Scout, kept up his grades, earned high SAT scores and volunteered on SJS community service projects. But on the inside, he told a solemn crowd during the Oct. 16 assembly, he was falling apart.

What began as a weed habit in high school became a heroin addiction in college that continued as he began his first job.

Fluor, who is now the president of the Driftwood Recovery Center, spoke to students in the Lowe Theater, then answered questions for the year’s first Wellness Club forum during lunch.

“A bunch of people came and were asking Peter great questions,” Wellness Club co-leader Chase Moye said.

“Everyone seemed to be really interested, which makes me hopeful for the future of Wellness Club.”

Stories like Fluor’s are a key component to Wellness Club’s strategy this year. According to co-leader Camila

Sabisky, many students believe wellness only applies to nutritional eating and stress management. Despite this popular opinion, wellness includes any issue that could affect the community, including addiction, nutrition, sex education, mental health and sleep awareness.

Senior Sophie Caldwell revived Wellness Club this year with the help of Director of Clinical Services Tesa Stark and seniors Moye, Sabisky, Saswat Pati and Naveen Krishnan. Upper School Counselor Ashley Le Grange also sponsors the club.

Wellness Club plans to host one speaker and one forum every month on different topics along with monthly relaxing activities including board games, meditation, yoga and puppy therapy during final exams. The club's leaders stress the importance of educating students and fueling conversations on issues that are rarely discussed.

Le Grange acknowledges that wellness-related issues plague SJS students and said that administrators are not trying to sweep them under the rug.

“They are not only relevant in our society and daily life but are issues that are ever-changing,” Sabisky said.

According to Moye and Sabisky, there seems to be a drive to be a “perfect” person.

“What Wellness Club is trying to do is to balance that perfectionism with self-care and self-compassion,” Moye said. “The stigma of being weak is part of the problem.”

Although wellness is not something that everyone wants to address, Moye and Sabisky both believe in broadening community awareness around wellness. After all, it impacts every single student personally, through friends or through interactions with others.

“Some of these issues have signs and symptoms that you can catch early on to get help and to find a solution,” Sabisky said. “If you don’t know what you’re talking about, if you don’t know what these issues are, then you can put yourself and others at risk.”

SJSREVIEW.COM / FEATURES / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

9

GENDER DIVIDE GROWS WIDER IN UPPER-LEVEL STEM COURSES

PHOTO / MAXX SHEAROD DESIGN / STEPHEN KIM

In male-dominated math and science courses, female students often report feeling isolated from their male peers. Differing approaches towards dropping classes and growing interest in the humanities and medicine may contribute to this imbalance.

By Iris Chen

E

arly in her junior year, Sara Kao was working with a male student on a Physics Honors lab when he said, “It’s weird how many girls there are in this class. I can’t wait until we have the first test and they all drop out.”

He was right — after the first test, half of the girls in their class switched courses. According to Head of Upper School Hollis Amley and Upper School Academic Dean Jennifer Kuhl, gender disparities have commonly existed in upper-level math and physics courses, but the discrepancy was especially stark this year.

Kuhl conducts interviews with students who decide to switch courses to ascertain that their choice is based on their interests rather than any issues in the course. Amley, Kuhl and the department chairs have also discussed enrollment trends to inform conversations about staffing and course options.

“We want to make sure students are selecting classes based on what they want to take and that there aren’t dynamics that cause a student not to take a math class,” she said. “At this point, that has not been reported.”

Through conversations and statistics, Amley noted that female students tend to drop out of classes more quickly because they don’t want to get behind in the class they switch into. Male students, on the other hand, wait longer to make that decision and often end up staying in the course out of convenience.

Kao, now a senior, noticed the same pattern, although she attributed it to social pressures.

“A guy might feel that the struggles he is facing are conditional: it’s a hard problem, the teacher is trying to challenge them,” she said. “A girl is more likely to think, ‘I’m stupid. I’m bad at math.’ There’s also the joke that girls are bad at math, and you internalize that to some extent.”

Senior Tara Samson-Williams said that while she never felt discriminated against in higher-level math classes, she felt isolated and intimidated at times. She recalled walking into her Algebra II-Precalculus class on the first day of sophomore year to find that all the male students had created a desk circle and that the three other female students were working separately in the corner.

“When you see them, it’s like they’re all so smart because they’ve combined their intelligence already, but individually we’re all just as smart as they were,” Samson-Williams said.

Kao was in Samson-Williams’s class and brought up the same incident in an independent interview.

“Sometimes, it feels like they’re this community of people that you’re just infringing upon,” she said. “When you see a class where it’s mostly guys and you don’t have friends around you to say they’re struggling too, you feel alienated.”

Kao and Samson-Williams observed a large drop-off

in female enrollment in the highest-level math track between Algebra II-Precalculus and BC Calculus Lab. Samson-Williams was initially enrolled in AB Calculus before math teacher Kimm Shafer approached her and advised her to take BC Calculus. Shafer also encouraged senior Shani Israel to try BC Calculus when she was deliberating between the two options.

Even after they heeded Shafer’s advice, there were only four girls enrolled across two sections of BC Calculus.

“There are girls who could be doing just as well in my math class as the guys who are in it right now,” Samson-Williams said. “A lot of my friends who chose not to take BC Calculus expressed to me that they didn’t want to take a hard math class and do poorly, but the guys don’t go into the class already expecting to do poorly.”

Nancy Perrier, a surgical oncologist at M.D. Anderson and SJS parent, has given multiple speeches to the Middle School about her experiences belonging to a small minority of women in surgery.

According to Perrier, the gap in the number of females and males only widens at each phase of a STEM career, so in the end, few women rise to leadership positions.

She said that students should have more access to female role models in STEM. “The click point is middle school. You have to see it to be it,” she said. “There is not enough exposure in this city. Half of what you see should be powerful women in the sciences, and that’s not happening.”

Data from kff.org, Oct 2018

TAYLOR BRITTON

Perrier recalled that when her daughter Amélie (’19) was in middle school, one of the Eighth Grade Casino Night prizes was a day shadowing a doctor at M.D. Anderson. She proposed that the opportunity be made available to all middle school students, especially girls in STEM. “The perception is that math and science are dry and boring, so that exposure should be happening earlier on,” Perrier said. “What you’re doing should not come out of a textbook.”

According to Amley, Science Department Chair Susan Bigge and Math Department Chair Martha Childress have been facilitating efforts to reach out to Middle School students — girls in particular — to ensure they feel adequately supported in their math and science education.

Administrators moved complicated units that could be intimidating to new students later in the semester to give students time to acclimate to the structure of the class.

They also eliminated the teacher request system by students and parents, which preserves the automatic gender-balance in classes of the scheduling system.

After analyzing the data for the senior class, Kuhl and Amley attributed the lack of female representation in higher-level math classes this year to a growing interest in the humanities and medicine, especially among girls.

They noted that humanities courses are unusually large and that substantial numbers of female students are enrolled in higher-level biology and chemistry classes.

“We just don’t see many people planning to become physics majors and math majors,” Kuhl said, “so you don’t have a large population of students who would look to higher-level math and engineering classes.”

Both Kao and Samson-Williams said that the reasons for the discrepancy in the number of male and female students in upper-level math classes are complicated, and thus it’s difficult to attribute responsibility to anyone. They agreed, though, that male students should be more aware of those numbers.

Samson-Williams pointed to an incident that happened a couple of months into her junior-year physics class, when a male student remarked with surprise that there were only three girls in their class.

“He was so unconscious of it, but it was something that was so evident to me every day and affected how I felt about being in class,” Samson-Williams said.

Kao went a step further and asked male students to integrate female students more and help them feel welcome.

“I don’t think an individual, or even a group, can do anything to solve a problem that doesn’t always feel problematic,” Kao said, “but I generally feel that it should be the people in a position of security reaching out rather than the people who are in a place of vulnerability.”

THE REVIEW / CENTERSPREAD / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

10

ON PENCILS AND NEEDLE

STORY BY abigail poag and laney chang / PHOTO BY leila pulaski / DESIGN BY stephen kim, p The names of the students interviewed for this story have been changed to protect their privacy.

I

t can all start with a pencil.

An everyday mishap occurs: Jesse, a sophomore, finds himself without an extra pencil to lend to a friend during class. While most people might apologize and move on, the incident sends Jesse spiraling into a cycle of worry and self-doubt.

“I’ll start thinking, ‘What if they think that it’s because I hate them and I’m trying to stand up to them?’ which develops into thinking, ‘This person is going to hate me now; they think I’m an awful person.’”

Before long, Jesse can’t focus on anything else.

Unlike an ordinary bout of nervousness, which arises from a distinguishable source, Jesse’s anxiety is unfounded. Even after years of grappling with similarly unrelenting thoughts, he is unable to silence them completely.

Jesse has been clinically diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder, conditions that fall under the broader umbrella of anxiety disorders.

Most people experience anxiety in some form or another on a daily basis, but the difference between anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder is that symptoms persist most days for at least six months.

“It’s hard to get used to knowing that this is just my brain sending the wrong signals for reasons that don’t make sense,” Jesse said. “Even if it feels like something awful is going to happen, I know that nothing that bad will.”

‘It’s like something is staring me down’ Astrid, a sophomore, also suffers from generalized anxiety disorder, as well as social anxiety and depression.

While anxiety has not affected her as much this year, Astrid experienced severe panic attacks as a freshman.

“One thing would take up all the space in my mind, and I couldn’t think of anything else,” Astrid said. “If I were worried about this event I had to go to, my homework wouldn’t matter. I wouldn’t have an appetite. I can’t do anything except think about that one thing.”

Despite grappling with anxiety, Astrid finished the year with straight A’s, managing to operate normally most of the time.

Panic attacks can have a greater impact on academic performance for teens with anxiety. Not only does Jesse experience panic attacks, but he even experiences anxiety about his panic attacks.

Jesse would worry about what people would think if they witnessed him having a panic attack, which became a self-fulfilling prophecy and lead him to suffer two or three panic attacks each day.

Taking tests is especially problematic for Jesse. He may be thoroughly prepared, but instead of focusing on the assessment, he can only worry about what will happen if he messes up.

“Some teachers have just not cared,” Jesse said.

“They thought that if I started crying during a test, I was crying because I’m a wuss and I didn’t study enough.”

As debilitating as anxiety is, Jesse’s fear that his behavior might be misconstrued only intensifies his condition.On some occasions, panic attacks have forced him to take a restroom break where he utilizes breathing techniques to regain some semblance of composure.

“It’s like something is staring me down in a room, and there’s nothing else that matters in that moment,” Jesse said. “My heart rate will increase; I’ll start shaking; I might be crying or sitting with a blank face. At [one] point in my life, it made me not want to leave my room.”

feel that way when she was a kid.

From that day on, Astrid decided tha to learn how to “suck it up.”

Astrid isn’t alone. According to the C Disease Control and Prevention, one in (age 6 to 17) were diagnosed with an 2011 to 2012. Roughly 20 percen with anxiety did not receive a in the past year.

Because it can be difficult t tiate symptoms of an anxiety from the regular stress of sch thought his anxiety was nor “People would talk abou a bad grade, and I assum the same thing that wa with me,” Jesse said.

Learning to ‘suck it up’

As social media outlets be prevalent, people develop a comparing their lives to thos online, which has caused a s teenage anxiety.

“We’re seeing the effect of young pe ing that these people live perfect, happ cause they’re only seeing what’s poste said. “We’re seeing a skew of what is p is happy, what is reality.”

Even though both Jesse and Astrid ac current condition, they still struggle to emotions with others.

Astrid said she does not want to burd friends with her troubles but nor can s listening to theirs. Hearing about other health woes “can be a trigger sometim through posts on Instagram brings he more.

Le Grange stressed the importance o others for emotional support.

“We’re wired as human beings for hu tion, so when you deplete us of it, we s said. “It’s as important as seeking out a mental health therapist.”

Even small gestures can make a signi ence. During his freshman year, Jesse h who noticed his anxiety but did not pr permitting him to take his tests in a sep to calm his nerves.

Both Jesse and Astrid see therapists t age their anxiety. According to Le Gran sulting mental health experts is benefic they have an outsider’s perspective, he process their thoughts and assess wher mentally.

Fixating on a ‘skewed’ on reality

TAYLOR BRITTON

Although experiences with anxiety differ, comparing oneself to others can be a common trigger for anxiety, according to Upper School counselor Ashley Le Grange.

“Sometimes it’s pressure from home, but a lot of times it’s students not feeling good enough or smart enough or pretty enough or social enough,” Le Grange said. “I see much more of an internal pressure or stress than I do from people putting it on them.”

Astrid’s anxiety manifested when she was bullied

by a girl she liked in Lower School. She said that when she first introduced her anxious feelings to her parents, they were skeptical, thinking there was nothing abnormal about the situation.

Once Astrid told her mother, “I kind of want to kill myself.” Her mother replied that she used to

SJSREVIEW.COM / CENTERSPREAD / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

11

ES: how anxiety affects students

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With information about anxiety readily available on the Internet, fewer people are seeking professional help. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America says that only 37 percent of people suffering from anxiety receive treatment.

“Seeking professional guidance from those trained in psychiatric and clinical mental health is a valuable method to help students thrive and meet their full potential,” Le Grange said.

9 essential empathy habits

‘It will always be something I have to overcome’ When Astrid’s therapist first suggested taking medication for her anxiety, she was reluctant — her parents didn’t want to risk her becoming reliant.

Jesse resisted taking medicine because he perceived it as a weakness.

“I didn’t like the idea of medication because I didn’t like the AMÉLIE PERRIER idea of not being me,” Jesse said.

“People who are not naturally athletic don’t get rocket boots to run faster, so I felt like it was unfair.

I’ve always wanted to be able to overcome stuff by myself.”

Jesse’s therapist helped him see that taking medication gives him the opportunity to not only be himself but also cope with his anxiety so he can function like other teenagers.

According to Jesse, his therapist said that his brain was sending him signals to be anxious, and by taking medication, the voice goes away.

Jesse has learned to adapt to his anxiety, but it continues to have a significant impact on him.

“I used to want to be a normal person, go out to parties and do stuff,” he said. “Now it takes a lot to get me to do anything that has to do with other people. I’m getting closer to the point where it won’t be something that stops me from doing anything, but it will always be something I have to overcome.”

Astrid has managed to find a silver lining to her struggles with anxiety.

“If I didn’t have anxiety, then I wouldn’t be me,” she said. “There are things that need time for me to be able to accept them, but I feel like they changed my personality and how I view life.”

By Fareen Dhuka and Shani Israel On the evening of Oct. 16, educational psychologist Michele Borba spoke to parents about the importance of cultivating empathy in children as a means of counteracting stress.

According to Borba, when stress levels increase, empathy diminishes in order to deal with the stress. As featured in her book “Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World,” below are nine essential empathy habits that students can use to combat anxiety and stress.

EMOTIONAL LITERACY: Be able to read and recognize the body language or tone of others.

MORAL IDENTITY: Adopt ethical codes in order to develop a caring mindset. Model integrity. Share your beliefs.

PERSPECTIVE TAKING: Understand the perspective of others by stepping into their shoes.

MORAL IMAGINATION: Use emotionally charged sources such as literature, film, news and images to inspire empathy.

SELF-REGULATION: Practice breathing exercises to manage emotions and relieve stress.

PRACTICE KINDNESS: Start simple in extending kindness. Ask someone how they’re feeling. Pick up trash. Open the door for someone. It will increase your concern for others and incorporate this virtue into your character.

COLLABORATION: Cultivate teamwork with people of different backgrounds to create a positive outlook on diversity.

Respect those differences.

MORAL COURAGE: Don’t be a bystander. Speak out. Step in.

Help those who need it.

ALTRUISTIC LEADERSHIP: Motivate yourself to make a difference for others, no matter how small. Every single act counts.

Data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Nov 2018

12

THE REVIEW / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

CULTURE Celebrity-sponsored products prove ineffective

By Maggie Ballard

J

uliette Draper bought her first hair supplement product after seeing it endorsed by Khloe Kardashian on her Instagram, which had 81.9 million followers. Underneath a filtered photo, Khloe’s caption read, “Yes I am still in love with @sugarbearhair!

Love how my hair looks and feels ... #ad These amazing hair vitamins are DELICIOUS!!!”

Coupled with sky-blue packaging and a catchy slogan, “For Healthy Hair, Eat the Blue Bear,” this company aims to draw in a young, female audience.

One bottle of vitamins contains a month's supply of gummies, retailing for $30. Soon after Draper, a senior, started taking the little blue bears, she discovered that the supplements affected more than just her hair.

“My face broke out like crazy,” Draper said. “The Kardashians caused my acne, and I will never forgive them.”

Sugar Bear Hair gummies contain biotin, which many people claim has caused them to break out. According to Dr. Jessica Weiser, a board certified dermatologist, an increase in biotin intake may result in an imbalance of vitamins in the body and lead to acne flares.

Draper cautions students to be careful when buying sponsored products: “When it’s a physically altering substance, I don’t think celebrities should be endorsing these items without further research on their part."

Billions of dollars, little oversight

Another celebrity endorsement came in the form of diet supplement lollipops, which Kim Kardashian promoted on her Instagram.

The Flat Tummy Co’s Instagram, which currently has 1.6 million followers, says that these lollipops help “control little snack-attacks between meals” — essentially appetite suppressants. The candy contains an ingredient called Satiereal, a highly concentrated saffron extract that makes the consumer feel full.

According to PLT Health, Satiereal can possibly “decrease sugar cravings and hunger between meals, decrease compulsive snacking, support ongoing weight management, improve emotional well-being and exert a satiating effect.”

Kim's Instagram post prompted backlash from the body positivity community, and she later took it down.

“These endorsements only perpetuate bad body images and ideas of how one should look,” Draper said.

In addition to lollipops, Flat Tummy Co offers shakes that claim to “control appetite and move stubborn lbs."

MIA FARES Because supplements are not under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration, their safety has not been scientifically proven. Business Insider reported that the $37-billion supplement industry is “barely regulated,” and supplements send about 23,000 people to the emergency room every year.

The 2008 documentary "Bigger Faster Stronger" reveals that drug and vitamin manufacturers in Utah produce almost 25 percent of all dietary supplements in the United States.

According to a New York Times report from in 2011, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch helped pass the federal law that allows companies to make general claims about products and exempts them from “federal reviews of their safety or effectiveness before they go to market.” Hatch, the longest-serving Republican Senator in U.S. history, has said he will not seek re-election in 2020.

Charcoal is big business

Several celebrities endorse teeth-whitening methods on Instagram, including kits like Express Smile Atlanta and White with Style, and charcoal teeth whitening.

Many of these celebrity posts include promo codes that

will give discounts on charcoal whitening products.

Blac Chyna offered $20 off a kit with promo code ‘Blac,’ and Snooki told her followers they could get 90 percent off by using ‘SNOOKI.’ When junior Claire Huff began researching teeth whitening methods, she turned to charcoal toothpaste for a more natural method for teeth whitening.

“It was given to me as a free sample from a beauty store, and I didn't notice any change in the whiteness of my teeth after using it,” Huff said. “I realized that [the methods] weren't backed up by any science.”

Experts have expressed concerns about charcoal toothpaste. According to Dr. Timothy Chase, a New York cosmetic dentist, charcoal can be too abrasive and erode the enamel if used too often.

Celebrities including Shailene Woodley, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kim Kardashian have endorsed activated charcoal drinks, such as charcoal lemonade, which Huff tried after one was given to her for free after yoga class.

“The drink tasted exactly like regular lemonade, except it had a pitch black color," Huff said. “I felt like I was being healthy because it is said to be detoxifying, but I'm not sure if those claims are even true.”

Crash course in love: 'Bus Stop' breaks tired cliches

By Bailey Maierson

W

illiam Inge’s “Bus Stop,” the Upper School fall play, follows the intersecting stories of a group of bus passengers who are stranded in a diner during a snowstorm. Over the course of the play, they confront emotional and sometimes uncomfortable issues.

Stage Manager Theo Sanders describes “Bus Stop” as a “powerful and moving" play that "strips all the noise away until just people and their emotions are left.”

The main characters include the diner owner Grace Hoylard (played

by Meridian Monthy); Elma Duckworth, a waitress (Marina Ring); Will Masters, the local sheriff (Zachary Lawyer); and Dr. Gerald Lyman, a disgraced college professor (Alex Ham).

According to Director Kat Cordes, the play focuses on varying types of relationships and love. Cordes and the actors had difficulty staging one particular scene involving Lyman, a man in his mid-30s, who is attracted to teenage girls. Ham had difficulty

grappling with his character's desires.

"While for the audience he is riddled with vices and flaws, as an actor I have to be the doctor's number one supporter and not be creeped out by his lines in order to effectively portray him," Ham said.

Cordes explained that while the audience can judge a character, Ham should not, because no actor can successfully portray a character that he hates.

“Working with people to make a story happen is the coolest thing,” Cordes said. “When I work together with people who have their own ideas about the characters, we can create a show that is poignant, memorable and impactful.”

The play’s small cast, which also featured Anna-William Kornberg, Gray Watson, Travis Bouchard and Pierce Glanville, allowed the group to develop strong connections.

Lawyer, a sophomore, was excited to appear in his first Upper School theatre production.

“All the cast members have been

getting along well so far, and we are all having a lot of fun,” Lawyer said before the performance. “We actually have a bad joke jar for every member of the cast.”

Watson's character, Virgil Blessings, sings Hank Williams's "Ramblin' Man" while playing guitar. The only problem was that Watson had never played guitar before. It was only after he was cast that Cordes told him. Band Director Darrell Parrish gave Watson a crash course in guitar.

Because the play explores different types of love in a short amount of time, Cordes expected the fall play to invoke a whirlwind of emotions from audience members. “[The play] has romantic love, passionate love and there is the love between friends — all these different types in one unique little package,” Cordes said. “It’s a classic American play, so it’s shorter, but there’s sweetness, there’s laughs, there’s tears, there’s drama — it’s got it all.”

“Bus Stop” was performed Nov. 9 and 10 in the Lowe Theatre.

THEO SANDERS

Alex Ham (Dr. Lyman) and Travis Bouchard (Carl) rehearse Lyman's entrance into Grace's Diner.

SJSREVIEW.COM / CULTURE / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

The names of the students interviewed for this story have been changed to protect their privacy. Students do not necessarily attend St. John's School.

‘I can’t get through a full 24 hours’

A

fter vaping for the first time at 16, Anthony didn’t think he would get addicted. He borrowed a friend’s JUUL before buying his own, and he limited himself to vaping on the weekends while playing video games.

But by 17, he was vaping every day.

“I can’t get through a full 24 hours without using it,” he said. “Not even close.”

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette use among teens dropped from nearly 35 percent in 1999 to just 10.8 percent in 2015, partially attributable to years of anti-smoking campaigns as well as higher cigarette costs and tougher minimum age restrictions.

While underage cigarette usage has plummeted, teen nicotine addiction persists in a new form: electronic cigarettes.

More than two million students from middle school through college vape at least once a month, and according to a 2016 report, e-cigarette usage by high school students has increased by 900 percent from 2011 to 2015. JUUL vape pens use battery-powered heating components to convert the nicotine-laced liquid in flavor

pods into aerosol, which the user then inhales. JUUL-brand vape products, including vape pens and pods, have cornered 72 percent of the U.S. market share of vaping products. JUUL’s sleek, USB-shaped vape pens are popular among teens — they can even be charged in laptop ports — and the pods offer a variety of flavors. One JUUL pod contains roughly the same nicotine content as a pack of cigarettes.

According to FDA officials, the agency plans to ban flavored e-cigarettes, including JUUL, from the market. Reports indicate that JUUL will pull cucumber, mango, fruit and creme-flavored pods from convenience stores, limiting sales to its online shop and vape stores. The FDA will hold a hearing in December to examine the increase in youth vaping.

‘I didn’t know the risks’

“I needed it,” he said. “I couldn’t stay still — I’d bite my nails, scratch the desk.”

The effects of vaping only last about a minute, “but it was an amazing minute.”

Derek thought that vaping is harmless — after all, his dealer told him that JUULs only emit water vapor. Then he began to notice changes in his stamina. Once an avid runner, he struggled on easy hikes.

“It was a way to relax and forget and feel happy,” he said. “I didn’t know the risks of it.”

According to the Center on Addiction, a science-based nonprofit, vaping releases a nicotine-laced chemical aerosol — not water vapor. The contents can vary and may contain carcinogens. While not as harmful as cigarette smoke, lung irritation from vaping can cause conditions such as wet lung and popcorn lung.

When he was a sophomore, Derek picked up a JUUL for the first time and was immediately hooked. The classmate who introduced him to vaping became his dealer shortly afterwards. The urge to vape soon consumed Derek; he began sneaking out of classes and lunch. He even discreetly vaped during class.

Derek bought a four-pack of JUUL pods for $20. He went through one pod a day, vaping for about five minutes every two hours. When he didn’t vape, he felt unbearably anxious and jittery.

Anthony vapes when he wakes up, while he drives to school and when he arrives at home. During the week, he goes through one pod every two days, but on the weekend he uses a pod a day. He didn’t realize that he was addicted to vaping until he tried to stop. He began to panic.

“I felt so much shame,” Anthony said.

“I’ve met so many other people who struggle similarly, and it’s like a curse, always weighing on you. I feel like a slave to it.”

Despite his constant need to vape, An-

‘I feel like a slave to it’

AMÉLIE PERRIER AND SIENA ZERR

13

STEPHEN KIM thony manages to refrain from vaping at school, motivated by a desire to focus on his education. While he recognizes that students who vape at school are breaking the rules, he empathizes with them.

“Some administrators don’t realize that for some kids, it is not a choice,” he said.

“They’re not vaping in the bathroom because they want to break the rules — they can’t get through the day.”

The SJS Student Handbook classifies vaping as substance use, a Level Three Disciplinary Infraction that carries penalties from in-school isolation to expulsion.

The policy states that “St. John's does not allow the consumption, possession, or dissemination of alcoholic beverages, tobacco/nicotine products (including e-cigarettes and/or vaping devices), or drugs by students on campus or at any activity connected with the School.”

However, any student who preemptively seeks help for addiction will not face disciplinary action.

After seeing his mother suffer from the effects of lung cancer, Derek recognized that he had a problem and quit vaping.

Derek has simple advice for anyone considering vaping: Don’t do it.

“It ruins relationships and it’s a drug — it’ll make you feel worse when you can’t take a hit," he said. "You’ll regret it.”

Data from truthinitiative.org, Nov 2018

14

THE REVIEW / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

SPORTS

PHOTO / LEILA PULASKI DESIGN / CLARA BROTZEN-SMITH Forming an arch during practice, Aleksa Banki, McKenna Grabowski, Bailey Dalton and Grace Meng prepare for their multiple Kinkaid Week performances. Over the summer, the cheerleaders attended the National Cheerleaders Association camp in Huntsville, Texas, where Grabowski was named an All-American.

Cheerleaders lift spirits, each other

By Eli Maierson

W

ake up at 6 a.m. Be outside of your room in full makeup at 7. After breakfast, cheer until 11. Aerobics, jump class, chant class and stunt class all back-to-back. A dance showcase before lunch. Three straight rounds of custom coaching, a pyramid workshop and specialty classes — all before dinner. Finally, three more rounds of custom coaching, an evaluation and skits before everyone goes to bed around 11 p.m.

For a week in early June, two dozen JV and varsity cheerleaders followed this strict daily regimen at the National Cheerleaders Association camp at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville.

The team won Superior ribbons for every cheer performed, and they received the Herkie Team Award — the top award given at NCA — which is voted on by the entire staff.

Senior captain Angela Whittle praised the camp for pushing the team and bringing the cheerleaders closer together.

“We definitely wouldn’t be the same type of team if we didn’t have this experience,” Whittle said. “You’re roomed with someone you’re not usually friends with, so you get to see different perspectives and different sides of people. It’s very sentimental at the end for seniors since this is our last cheer camp ever.”

Senior captain Sophie Lazear bonded with underclassmen and JV cheerleaders during the many group performances at the camp.

While at NCA camp, nine team members were nominated as All-Americans, which are selected at summer

programs nationwide. Junior McKenna Grabowski won for the third straight year.

Lazear and Whittle were JV captains as sophomores. All 16 members of the varsity cheer team returned from their time cheering last year.

“While we always love new people, it does make it easier when everyone knows the cheers and everyone already knows how to stunt,” Lazear said. “We all know how to work with each other and what each other’s skills are.”

Head cheer coach Jamie Everett commended the captains for their reliability.

“I know I can count on them when I give them a deadline to get things done,” Everett said. “They have such great communication skills with the team.”

“There’s always been the stereotype that cheerleaders are not smart and are the ‘typical girl,’” she said, “but being at SJS, I haven’t felt like people think that about any of us.”

Particularly annoying for cheerleaders is the idea that cheerleading does not qualify as a sport, an assertion that Lazear hears “all the time.”

“It gets frustrating because we work so hard, and the material that we perform is incredibly challenging,” Lazear said, “but I guess we make it look easy.”

Lazear observed that this stereotype is reinforced because cheerleaders do not practice during normal sports hours. Instead, they meet from 5:30 to 7:30 every evening except Tuesday.

“People don’t see the amount of work that goes into every pep rally,” Lazear said. “Cheer isn’t something you can just jump into and be immediately good at.

It’s hard to hear people say [cheerleading isn’t a sport] because they’re discrediting something I love and have been doing my whole life.”

Whittle and other team members have a comeback for students who insinuate cheerleading is not a sport.

“Normal sports throw balls. Cheerleaders throw people,” Whittle said. “If that’s not a sport, I don’t know what is.”

“Normal sports throw balls. cheerleaders throw people.”

Making it look easy

From the TV show “Glee” to the “Bring It On” films, cheerleaders are often portrayed in the media as cliquey, ditzy teenagers. Not so at SJS, Whittle said.

“It’s super unique how we all come from different parts of the school,” Whittle said. “We range from theatre girls to ladies who play softball. We’re not all one thing.”

Lazear does not think that the perception of ditziness exists in the Upper School.

- angela whittle

15

SJSREVIEW.COM / SPORTS / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Krav Maga aims to give students a fighting chance

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

Field hockey, volleyball win SPC

By Nat Larsen

I

t’s a school night and Anna Center is worn out — not from studying, but from practicing her side kicks and punches in the Krav Maga studio.

While some students use martial arts such as taekwondo and Krav Maga for fun and exercise, a more compelling motive is self-defense. Prompted by the ongoing #MeToo movement and preparation for college, students like Center, a sophomore, have sought to learn how to protect themselves.

Krav Maga is an Israeli martial art that uses instinctive physical movements, practical self-defense techniques and realistic training scenarios to teach people how to protect themselves.

Senior Juliana Aviles took Taekwondo in elementary school before taking up Krav Maga in eighth grade. Even though she hasn’t practiced Krav Maga in three years, if she were confronted with a real life self-defense situation, Aviles is confident that “some sort of instinct would kick in that would help.”

Aviles sees the value in learning self-defense before going off to college and thinks that it is a good idea for seniors to have some kind of training.

Center, who started learning Krav Maga as a freshman, considers self-defense valuable because safety is not guaranteed: “In Krav Maga, they often talk about how students have been robbed but [were] able to defend against it.”

Physics teacher Erol Turk has an extensive history studying martial arts and teaching self-defense. With the exception of eye-gouging, which he says is the only technique someone really needs to know, Turk says most self-defense “moves” are not valuable in a real-life attack due to the difficulty of performing such maneuvers under life-threatening circumstances.

Turk experimented with moves he learned as a full-contact fighter, and he teaches others more effective self-defense techniques. Knowing that he has already proven himself in the ring allows him to see the big picture and prevent fighting in real-life situations.

Turk notes that even if someone is trained in self-defense, it’s always better to avoid violent altercations altogether because they often escalate when more people or weapons are involved.

“You should never have to fight, but if you’re going to fight, you should win,” he said. “You might not have the option to walk away or de-escalate, and in that case be prepared and know what to do.”

While he hopes no student will ever have to use self-defense, statistics suggest many will have to.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 55 percent of all rape or sexual assault victims were females under the age of 25. Additionally, people between the ages of 12 and 24 make up half of serious victimizations, yet they comprise only one fourth of the U.S. population.

Senior Josephine Dodd has studied both Taekwondo and Krav Maga for three years.

“I really liked Krav Maga because it’s more applicable to life,” she said. “They taught you how to deal with certain situations such as if you’re approached in an alley or pinned down to the ground.”

While the specific moves are difficult to perform under the pressure of a serious situation, Dodd said that “the instinct and repetition of learning how to correctly punch someone or kick someone correctly” has stayed with her.

Dodd encourages people to try self-defense because it involves more than just learning how to fight — it is about being safe and feeling safe.

“You’re with friends and it’s a fun way to exercise,” she said. “But knowing that I can take care of myself is really empowering.”

Junior Alexander Adrogué started Krav Maga four years ago, but has also studied other martial arts such as Kuk Sul and karate for the past seven years.

He started Krav Maga because he’s always enjoyed martial arts, and he wanted to be able to make great friends that he could not make in other activities.

Different from other martial arts, Adrogué found that Krav Maga not only trains you to defend yourself if a situation arises, but is also focused on physical fitness, self-control and how to prevent getting into or initiating fights.

Adrogué acknowledges that under pressure, it is very difficult to remember the techniques taught in class, but “the core principles that they taught and reinforced — that will really help you in a fight, if you get into one.”

Adrogué is in a program to get his black belt in Krav Maga. “I’m hoping by the time I get to college I’ll have my black belt, and if I get good enough I might pursue an instructorship.”

CRAIG CHAMBERS

Mavs field hockey hoists the SPC trophy after capping an undefeated championship season with a 3-0 victory over Kinkaid.

By Sinclair Mott

F

ield hockey won their third SPC championship in the past four years. Boasting a perfect 13-0 record, the team entered the tournament as the No. 1 South Zone seed.

In the opening game, the Mavericks shut out Oak Ridge, 4-0. Later that day, the Mavs blanked the St. Stephen's Spartans, 3-0, in the semifinals.

On Saturday, the Mavericks faced the Kinkaid Falcons for the fourth time this season. With goals

by juniors Mary VanLoh, Sadie McCabe and Kate Ainbinder, the Mavs beat the Falcons, 3-0.

The team, coached by Craig Chambers, took home the trophy and celebrated their perfect season.

“Winning SPC was amazing,” goalie Hatley Post said. “Our team dynamic has been wonderful all season, and we worked hard and had a great time doing it, so winning SPC after our undefeated season really felt like the cherry on top.”

BENNY HE

Mavericks volleyball had an emotional Saturday after defeating the Episcopal Knights, 3-1, to win their first SPC championship since 2009.

By SJ Lasley

G

irls’ volleyball celebrated their first SPC championship title in nine years by defeating the archrival Episcopal Knights in the

final, 3-1.

Coached by Shelbi Irvin, the team entered the tournament undefeated as the No. 1 seed in the South Zone. On Friday, Nov. 9, the Mavs defeated Houston Christian in three sets. In the semifinals, they played the Episcopal School of Dallas and advanced to the finals without giving up a set.

The following day, the Mavericks faced the Episcopal Knights. Their long-standing rivalry had only intensified this season after the Mavs beat the Knights in a counter game for the first time in six years. The Mavericks won the first two sets, but the Knights rallied in the third. The Mavs closed out the fourth set 25-17 and took home the trophy.

“Our whole team knew that this was our year,” captain Alexandra Lewis said. “We wouldn’t let anyone get in our way.”

16

THE REVIEW / SPORTS / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

1 LEILA PULASKI

2

3 LEILA PULASKI

CLAIRE SEINSHEIMER

55 LEILA PULASKI

4 CLAIRE SEINSHEIMER

Brandishing the school flag, captain Michael Spedale breaks through the SJS banner (1). Louisa Sarofim smiles towards the crowd (2). As Kantorei sings the National Anthem, the team readies itself for their final game (3). The student section gets hyped after the Mavs take an early 6-0 lead (4). Wide receiver Genson Hooper-Price prepares to blow past a defender (5).

SJSREVIEW.COM / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

OPINIONS

17

THE REVIEW

St. John's School 2401 Claremont Lane Houston, TX 77019 sjsreview.com | SNO Distinguished Site Facebook SJS Review Twitter @SJS_Review Instagram @sjsreview Snapchat @sjsreview

Member Columbia Scholastic Press Assn.

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

Member National Scholastic Press Assn.

Pacemaker 2015, 2018 1st Place Best of Show (Special Edition) 2017

MIA FARES

Stringent dress code enforcement has potential to stigmatize young girls

By Ella West

S

ixth Grade: I was constantly late to math because I could not walk down one hallway for fear of receiving a detention for a dress code violation.

Seventh Grade: The day after my lab partner was so horrible to me that I cried in the cafeteria, my teacher called me to the front of the classroom, not to discuss what had happened the day before, but to say that my skirt was too short.

Eighth Grade (fall): Cleaning cafeteria tables during lunch duty, I overheard two teachers discussing how there would be a skirt check the next day because skirts were becoming too short. Then one turned, pointed at me, and said, “Just like hers.” I was then told to put my arms down to confirm my skirt was the proper length. It was.

Eighth Grade (spring): Before a major test in one of my classes, all the girls were called out into the hallway where we were told to kneel on the floor. The teacher then measured our skirts, making sure we were not “cheating” by leaning back.

Ninth Grade: Coming into Upper School, I strove to be kind, work hard and participate in the community in a positive way, yet these actions were overshadowed by the dress code. Three months into the school year, I received an email from an administrator summoning me to the office the morning before an Honors Biology test. I was shocked when I was told that my skirt had become an “issue” because a teacher and an administrator had noticed its length. I was told I had one week to fix it.

I exited the office, attempting to smile, while shame crushed me. Class had already started, and I ran into the bathroom to cry before arriving late to biology and beginning my test.

When girls walk on campus, we want to feel as if we are in a safe place, yet persistent fixation on our clothes shifts the focus away from our achievements.

From Lower School on, the Student Handbook states that skirts must be “fingertip-length” or longer. Teachers begin asking girls to observe these regulations as early as fifth grade, even though girls that age still wear skorts.

For many St. John’s girls, the worst incidents occur during Middle School. Girls have been publicly measured and reprimanded in front of their peers. We have been subjected to belittling looks and patronizing comments from teachers.

One teacher called a girl “easy” — all because of her skirt length. Girls have even been told to put their hands on the wall while a teacher measured the backs of their skirts.

These methods impact us negatively at a time when we are most vulnerable. Instead of focusing on our studies, we walk around school wondering whether we will be reprimanded by teachers and administrators for showing too much skin.

Further exacerbating the situation, the majority of the faculty conducting these humiliating skirt checks are female.

We, as girls, need someone who will respect our ideas and value us for our minds, but when the same adults that we are

supposed to trust are the ones shaming us, any chance of developing a healthy student-teacher relationship is destroyed.

The inherent problem with our current dress code is that legislating skirt length sexualizes girls as young as ten years old, right around the time that some of our bodies begin to change. Several studies, including one conducted by the American Association of University Women, have shown that girls’ self-esteem begins to decline during middle school.

Punishing girls for their maturation only furthers the problem.

To avoid detection, some girls wear large sweatshirts so they can unzip their skirts and pull them down low. It seems ridiculous that girls have to worry about taking such measures when we could dedicate our energy to Spanish tests, science labs and service hours.

Oversexualization impacts our cognitive and physical function, health, sexuality and attitudes towards gender roles; it also hinders the ability of boys to interact in a respectful manner necessary for developing close relationships with girls.

While there are rules regarding the length and fit of girls’ uniforms, the handbook does not specify the length and fit of boys’ uniforms. There is even an entire paragraph that addresses skirt length, citing not only length requirements but also nebulous terms such as “appropriate” and “suitable.”

So even if a skirt passes the “fingertip rule,” it can still be deemed a dress code violation.

The damaging message is that the mere sight of a girl’s skirt could compromise the learning environment for boys.

Why are our bodies regarded as distracting or problematic while boys’ bodies are not?

There are significant benefits to having school uniforms if the regulations are implemented properly. Uniforms diminish social class distinctions and make getting ready for school easier, but with unequal enforcement, it becomes a waste of time at best and deeply damaging at worst.

Boys and girls at St. John’s should maintain decorum, but doing so does not require humiliating skirt checks. The school could amend the dress code so all girls must wear a pair of shorts under their skirt, which practically everyone does anyway, preventing anyone from accidentally revealing too much.

Adults should try to be more sensitive when dealing with dress code enforcement. We are your students, and we look to you for guidance. By making us feel ashamed and vulnerable at a time when we are forming our self-concept, the connection is broken.

No girl should be told to put her hands on the wall or kneel on the ground so someone can measure their skirt. We have far more important things to worry about.

Additional reporting by Lucy Haire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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THE REVIEW / OPINIONS / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

CELINE HUANG

'No thank you Kanye, very uncool!'

By Ryan Chang and Eli Maierson

K

anye West's music has been a cornerstone of our friendship. We argue over his best albums, force song references into every sentence we can, sing/scream/rap in the car together and cry every time we listen to “Hey Mama.” Kanye's music is a seemingly trivial but utterly vital reason that we are the realest of friends.

When we enjoy Kanye's music together, we know we’re brushing aside his various public antics, from his longtime feud with Taylor Swift to his status as a Kardashian. The flashing lights of cameras have followed him through every scandal and controversy.

While we are somewhat willing to overlook his many publicity stunts and even his bizarre support of President Trump, it has been hard to support Kanye throughout the last six months.

Before his busy summer, during which he released two albums and produced three more, Kanye made headlines by wearing a Make America Great Again hat, endorsing Donald Trump on Twitter, hinting at his own candidacy for the presidency and releasing a few bizarre

tracks (“poop dee dee scoop” still haunts us). While we tried to overlook Kanye’s statements, his infamous declaration on May 4 that 400 years of slavery “sounds like a choice” was, to use his own song title... yikes.

We appreciate, in theory, a celebrity who speaks their mind and is unafraid of negative feedback. This free speech, however, must be supported by facts and backed by evidence, especially for those with large fan followings and public personas.

Kanye is a self-proclaimed champion of free thought and speech, which sits side-by-side next to freedom of the press in the First Amendment. We would kindly suggest to all citizens, celebrities or otherwise, to do some basic research before ranting publicly. Informed, well-substantiated opinions prevent the spread of dangerous falsehoods, solidify one’s argument and help contribute to a healthy, open society.

Despite our shared love of Kanye's music, we are both so appalled by his uninformed, widely-publicized tirades; sometimes it feels as though he is too famous for his own good. Although it's possible he simply uses

these falsehoods to drum up excitement for new albums, he simply has too large of an influence on music and American culture to spread lies that uninformed citizens or hardcore right-wingers might eat up.

Fortunately, while Kanye has seemingly never cared what people say, he did somewhat apologize for his recent outbursts. In a tweet on Oct. 30, just weeks after his widely publicized and controversial meeting with President Trump, Kanye announced that he has “been used to spread messages [he doesn’t] believe in” and that he would distance himself from politics to focus on music. The world will have to wait and see if that promise is kept.

Make no mistake, we'll still be bumping his tracks and nervously awaiting his next album. At the same time, we sincerely hope Kanye continues to exercise his right to free speech by founding his claims in truth and hard facts. This hope extends to all people as we move into 2019; after all, if you can’t be bothered to back up your opinions with legitimate evidence, then you can’t tell us nothing.

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

Lesson of the Wellness Issue: Take better care of yourselves

Dear Readers, From in-depth stories on anxiety (see centerspread) to vaping (Page 13), we wanted to reflect the issues that matter to students. As we discussed article ideas, we realized that many of the topics shared a common theme: wellness.

As of press time, our staff, like a significant number of students and faculty members, is beset with the flu, strep throat, fever, pink eye, stomach bugs, colds and assorted viruses.

We’re popping zinc lozenges, chugging Emergen-C and fervently washing our hands like Lady Macbeth. What better time to bring you the Wellness Issue?

Over the course of this news cycle, we rode out college early decision deadlines, midterm elections and Kinkaid Week, each of which has an impact on our students. Freshmen turned in their annotated bibliographies in history last week, sophomores are gearing up for their first full AP World History essays, juniors are adjusting to physics projects and seniors are facing the brutal reality that college deadlines just keep coming.

Whether you’re staring down your synthesis paper or biting your nails over AP Biology, we ask you to be cognizant of your physical and mental health. Take the time to eat and hydrate, even if you’re typing through the night.

In our experience, commiserating with friends helps alleviate stress. Making a 34 on your last physics quiz is daunting when everyone else seems so successful, but open up to your classmates and you may find that they aren’t perfect either.

If your stress proves unmanageable, don’t be afraid to reach

out and communicate with your teachers.

Our greatest advice to you is to not work over Thanksgiving Break. Gorge yourself on turkey, catch up on some much-needed sleep and enjoy the company of your family and friends. Don’t spend valuable break time slaving away on that synthesis paper. For seniors, cherish your last Thanksgiving living at home. Give your college apps a rest — they’ll sound so much more positive if you give yourself an opportunity to breathe.

The lead-up to Thanksgiving and winter break (!) can be stressful, so we hope that you all take time to relax. Your friends and teachers care about you, so take care of yourselves.

Love,

CLAIRE SEINSHEIMER

SJSREVIEW.COM / ODDS & ENDS / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

ODDS & ENDS Lifers

Caitlin Ellithorpe

19

WORD FOR WORD What do you guys use to listen to music nowAdays? ipods?

I only hope they confuse my application for someone else's.

60 SECONDS

- Choir director Scott Bonasso

- Senior Jonah Pesikoff on college apps

WITH JUNIOR JOKESTERS

LEILA PULASKI

SUBI FARAYIBI Nickname Subi Dream Job Neurosurgeon Favorite Spot on Campus Anywhere with a couch Weird Hobby Watching anime and learning the Japanese theme songs Quirk Nose unconsciously twitches when angry Theme Song Kim Possible "Call Me Beep Me" Patronus Horse Love to Hate Chocolate Hate to Love Cracking my neck

Relationship Status Single Red Carpet Date Michael B. Jordan Phobia Anything that crawls Doppelgänger Lupita Nyongo in 'Black Panther' Known For Being lit Book Too many to choose Zodiac Sign Leo Slogan You have to get through the pain to get rid of it Allergies None Follow me? ik.islay_35

TAYLOR BRITTON

BRINKLEY MORSE Nickname Brink Dream Job Sneaker Don Favorite Spot on Campus Bench Weird Hobby Meme page admin Quirk Roller Backpack Theme Song "My Band" by D12 Patronus I don't know what this is Love to Hate November Hate to Love Lil Pump Relationship Status Es complicado

Red Carpet Date Gigi Hadid Phobia Stingrays Doppelgänger Kazoo Kid Known For Bowl cut Book What If Zodiac Sign Goat Slogan Swipe up to get iced up at www.supremepatty.com Allergies Mixing brands Follow me? brinkley_2020

20

THE REVIEW / NOVEMBER 13, 2018

TRENDING ON

Visit us at www.sjsreview.com

MIA FARES AND CELINE HUANG

Midterm mayhem: The impact of politics at St. John's Between government classes and political clubs, politics play an important role at St. John's, especially with the midterm elections. This special interactive package features video interviews of first-time voters, a Pod on the Quad interview with teachers and coverage on the many ways politics intersect with life at school.

Package by: Ryan Chang and Sophia Kontos

LEILA PULASKI

Best of Dress Like Kinkaid Day On Monday, Oct. 29, seniors participated in the annual Dress Like Kinkaid Day. Check out some of this year's best outfits in The Review Online's photo gallery.

Photographers: Leila Pulaski, Claire Seinsheimer, Benny He

THEO SANDERS

Girl's volleyball defeats Episcopal for first time in six years For the first time in six years, girls' volleyball defeated Episcopal. Video staffer Ryan Doughty spoke with the captains about the historic victory leading up to their SPC championship.

Contributors: SJ Lasley and Ryan Doughty

LEILA PULASKI

School relaxes rule on fundraising to support ailing junior Will McKone, who is undergoing treatment for a malignant brain tumor, and his sister Lindsey ('16) designed a T-shirt to raise funds for A Kids’ Brain Tumor Cure Foundation.

Writer: Shani Israel

BENNY HE

Friday Night Lights provides support for children with cancer As the football players jogged down the ramp towards the locker room at halftime, they gave high-fives to children with cancer and their families who attended the game against Episcopal. This was a part of Friday Night Lights, an event hosted by St. John’s on Oct. 5 for Candlelighter families.

Writer: Ashley Yen