The ReMarker | October 2014 by St. Mark's School of Texas

ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS DALLAS, TEXAS 75230 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014 VOLUME 61 ISSUE 2

NEWS

THE REMARKER

A NIGHT IN RíO

After a night of football under the lights, Marksmen journeyed to Edison’s for a Río de Janeiro-themed Homecoming dance. Page 6

LIFE

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Head Photographer Mason Smith spends a day with the new first graders, the Class of 2026. Page 16

COMMENTARY

Airborne. Page 28

‘While we understand that Marksmen don’t necessarily have bad intentions, we want to raise awareness of the perception of some that we can be a sexist community. Page 19

INSIDE

SEXIST LABEL

News Male Call Life Vibe Commentary Sports Backpage Addendum

2 9 10 18 19 22 28 1A

NO ONE’S GIVING UP ON FINDING FORT WORTH WOMAN WHO WENT MISSING IN PLANO | NORTH TEXAS WOMAN MISSING SINCE SATURDAY | CHRISTINA MORRIS REWARD RAISED TO $25,000 | ONE MONTH PASSES WITHOUT SIGN OF CHRISTINA MORRIS | PLANO PD RESPONDS TO FRUSTRATION ABOUT MISSING WOMAN |

Not forgotten I

t’s a situation that every mother fears. She turns around at the park or the grocery store — and her son or daughter isn’t there. Her heart stops. Panic ensues. But five seconds later, her child comes back. The fear is gone. For Development Office Coordinator Anna Morris, whose daughter Christina went missing over Labor Day weekend, the feeling never leaves. Her daughter is still missing. So now, while Plano police, Crimestoppers and Texas Equisearch continue searching for Christina, Morris family members are doing all they can to hold on to hope. Anna Morris sat down for an exclusive interview with The ReMarker, page 14.

After the disappearance of her daugher Christina, Development Office Coordinator Anna Morris and her family are struggling every day to ensure her safe return.

REWARD FOR MISSING PLANO WOMAN RECEIVES $15,000 BOOST | MISSING WOMAN’S FRIENDS GATHER IN REMEMBRANCE| SEARCH FOR MISSING WOMAN WIDENS | VIDEO RELEASED AS SEARCH FOR MISSING WOMAN CONTINUES |NEARLY 300 TURN OUT FOR PLANO POLICE’S PERSONAL SAFETY SEMINAR | DRONE USED TO SEARCH FOR MISSING NORTH TEXAS WOMAN | FAMILY OF MISSING WOMAN RE-TRACES HER FINAL STEPS | TEXAS EQUUSEARCH JOINS EFFORT TO FIND WOMAN LAST SEEN IN PLANO | SEARCH-AND-RESCUE GROUP SUSPENDS ITS HUNT FOR FORT WORTH WOMAN WHO VANISHED IN PLANO | MORRIS FAMILY DESPERATE | NO ONE’S GIVING UP ON FINDING FORT WORTH LOST IN THE HEADLINES After days of Christina Morris’s disappearance being prominent mentioned in n every local newspaper, on every television station and all over the internet, the headlines suddenly began to disappear, taking Christina’s out of the public eye.

STORY MATTHEW CONLEY, VIK PATTABI | ADDITIONAL REPORTING RISH BASU | PHOTOS ALDEN JAMES | ILLUSTRATIONS ABHI THUMMALA

Junior Class to begin McDonald’s Week fundraiser Nov. 17 By Corday Cruz he annual McDonald’s Week, a fourday charity event benefiting Austin Street Centre, will run from Nov. 17 to Nov. 20 at the Preston-Royal McDonald’s. In addition to profits made from the sale of t-shirts and raffle tickets, a portion of every sale at McDonald’s from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and all day Tuesday will be donated to Austin Street Center. Prizes from the raffle include an Xbox One, a PS4, tickets to various professional games and a Nintendo 64. Raffle tickets will be sold during morning events and during lunch periods. Co-chairs Drew Taylor and Kevin Wu hope to increase support by creating a sub-committee responsible for involvement at Hockaday. The juniors hope Hockaday students will be as active in purchasing t-shirts and raffle tickets as students here are and see Hockaday as a key part of the community contributes to McDonald’s Week. Community Service Director Jorge

Correafeels the involvement of the community as playing a crucial role in the success of McDonald’s Week. “I’d like to see a higher level of involvement from students and their families and Hockaday as well,” Correa said. “When more people are involved it’s easier to reach our goals. Our first goal we’d like to reach is more students, families and Hockaday students and families participating.” Working Hockaday into their planning sessions has presented the Junior Class an opportunity to not only involve other schools in the community, but also to improve organization and reap the full benefits of the improvements. “We’ve got the committees on a tight week meeting cycle,” Taylor said. “We’re keeping them busy with tasks and they’re doing great so far. The co-chairs have an incredible role in McDonald’s Week, and I’d argue it’s one of the most rigorous and rewarding leadership positions offered at the school. Me and Kevin [Wu] are both working very hard to pull off a successful

week this year. So far, it’s looking great.” Morning events will include Ken Owen’s ‘89 Chemistry Show Nov. 18, a dance competition Nov. 20 and other events which will be announced in Upper School assembly Nov. 14. Throughout the week, students and families can support Austin Street Center by dining at certain restaurants that donate a percentage of cost from each meal that will benefit the shelter. Monday’s dinner will be at Fish City Grill, Tuesday’s will feature yogurt at Pinkberry, Wednesday’s dinner will be served at Cantina Laredo and Thursday’s will be served at Neuhaus Café. The co-chairs also see McDonald’s week as a chance to elevate school spirit. “It’s a good place to connect,” Taylor said, “especially at morning events because everyone’s going to be there — Lower School to Upper School. I know at least as a lower schooler, you got to know everyone and it’s a very, very cool experience.”

FREAKY FRIDAY A

s ghosts roam the campus and Science Department faculty members turn into creatures from the walking dead, the campus has transformed into a haunted house in observance of today’s Halloween bservations. So throw on your costumes and scare your friends as you spend the night gathering candy from neighbors and eating it until your stomachs can’t take it anymore. For places around Dallas to celebrate, see “Today” listings, pages 2, 10.

THE REMARKER | FRIDAY, OCT. 31, 2014 | PAGE 2

COURTESY OF SCHOOL WEBSITE

EASTERN ADVENTURES

Teaching Fellow Myles Teasley talks about his amazing experiences in the African countries of Morocco and Tunisia. Page 5

Upcoming

“The idea is that it’s kind of like breath mints for clothes. It’s a new idea, and we wanted a parter to help explain what Reviver does. — Eric Kusin ’00 Page 8

TIM O’MEARA PHOTO

USED WITH PERMISSION OF MYLES TEASLEY

’ve learned a lot during my four years on the Robotics Team. When you spend literally hundreds of hours each year doing something, it’s kind of impossible not to. I could tell you the whining sound a stressed servo makes, or demonstrate how to solder leads on a motor or explain why turning something off and then back on actually is an effective method of problem solving. But most importantly, I could categorically claim that here, at 10600 Preston Road, we think differently. That statement seems grandiose, arrogant, maybe even elitist. In some ways, it is all of those. That doesn’t make it any less true. A couple weeks ago, I found myself pacing back and forth in the periodic table room, tired, frustrated and fed up. Our local competition was only a few days away, and, surprisingly, everything worked. The robot was intact, functional and driving, a feat which hasn’t happened since 2004. And yet I was ticked off. Before I explain further, let me give you an idea of the challenge assigned to us — among our many possible tasks was the option to transport some PVC parts across a ramp for a small number of points, or transport them and then install them in another structure for even more points. As a team, we had opted for the more difficult strategy — to install the parts and earn more points (because that’s how competitions work, right?) . My confidence in our team was shattered after talking with one of the girls on the Hockaday team, who told me their strategy was to score the PVC pieces in addition to picking up some other items on the field — they would be able to outscore us. My hopes for a first place trophy were slipping away. And then she added that all they do is transport the pieces, and occasionally have difficulty doing that within the time limit as well. Putting aside the technical aptitude or skill of either our teams, I was shocked by my initial assumption — because our strategy was the “highrisk, high-reward” one, I assumed that was theirs as well. In fact, the idea that another team would try for the easier, lower-point plan legitimately never occurred to me. When competition day rolled around, I spoke with the coaches of several other teams about how they approached the competition. Surprisingly, all said the same thing — their teams identified the easiest pieces to score and tried to do that before working on anything more difficult because they wanted to be able to score something on game day. As for us, sponsors Fletcher Carron and Doug Rummel have a notoriously difficult time every year trying to convince us to restrain ourselves and not design a robot with the intent of scoring everything. Other teams make the solution fit the problem. We try to make the problem fit our solution. Most of these other teams tend to be middle-of-the-pack every year. We’ve had some spectacular successes, but we’ve also had a few failures here and there. Other teams seem to be less ambitious. In some ways, we’re too ambitious, or, as alumnus Steve Jurvetson ’85 said, “We think big.” I couldn’t tell you which strategy is objectively better, but I’m going to keep thinking big anyway, because I can take the failures with the successes. I challenge you to do the same.

SHARK ATTACK

Newsfeed

THINGS TO DO IN THE WEEKS AHEAD

NEWS AROUND CAMPUS

Weekend

Next week

> Halloween is tonight. For a twist on scary activities, try Cirque du Horror, debuting tonight at 7:30 at the Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson. Tickets are available at thetexastheatre.com.

> Saturday is the early col-

>Lower School students

> The Reindeer Manor Haunted House will be open from 7. p.m. to 11 p.m. until Nov. 8 in Lancaster.

> DFW Metroplex Commander Major Ward Matthews will be a guest speaker at Upper School assembly Nov. 7. Matthews oversees the largest U.S. area command of the Salvation Army.

Today

lege application deadline for most schools throughout the nation. Seniors are encouraged to submit applications early to avoid possible issues.

have the day off in lieu of parent-teacher conferences.

> Six Flags over Texas is hosting Fright Fest from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

> The second Lions Pause of the year for seniors will be held in the Eberhart Plaza picnic area Nov. 4 at 10:30 a.m.

INCHES

difference in height between senior Tim Simenc and his buddy Surya Dinesh

Senior Class members met their little buddies for the first time Sept. 30. Talking about things they have in common over breakfast snacks and orange juice, seniors got to know their Lower School counterparts in preparation for many activities to come, such as a trip to the Dallas Zoo or decorating the Christmas tree. ““I’m just looking forward to all the time I’m going to spend with my buddy,” Student Council President Carrington Kyle said. “I loved my buddy first grade year and you remember them as someone you can look up to and hang out with so that’s what I want to be to my little buddy.”

...

Open House, where the school hosts prospective students and their parents, will be held Nov. 5 in the Great Hall at 5:30 p.m.. Boys and their parents will have the opportunity to see the campus and look at a variety of programs. It is also the main event of the year for the Lion and Sword Society, which works with the Admission Office to get students involved in the process. “It should a really exciting time for Lion and Sword,” Jackson Cole, vice president of the society, said. “It’s a great opportunity to show off all the school to potential parents and brag about all the great things we do here at St. Mark’s.”

...

ALDEN JAMES PHOTO

Thinking different.

The Río-themed Homecoming brought the majority of the Upper School and their dates together for a fun night of dancing, gambling and pictures at Edison’s in downtown Dallas. Page 6

NEWS

VIK PATTABI

HOMECOMING WRAP-UP

SHOWING HIM THE ROPES Senior Tim Simenc helps first grader Surya Dinesh, his little buddy, with a personality quiz during the seniors’ visit to the Lower School Sept. 30.

overheard COMMENTS MADE BY FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS AROUND CAMPUS

Senior

Case Brabham “I remember Middle School dances.” (while listening to Stairway to Heaven)

Senior

Vignesh Babu “Mr. Houpt, can you be my ride to Sonic happy hour?”

Vicotor F. White Master Teaching Chair

Physics Instructor

Stephen Houpt “Luckily, I am Batman.”

David Brown “Those are some sexy lines.” (on a passage from Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself)

History Instuctor

Junior

Johnny Hunter

“I’m going on a chair hunt.”

Will Diamond “I go to St. Mark’s. I’m Dill. I am king.”

PHOTOS ARNO GOETZ, MASON SMITH, MATTHEW CONLEY

This November marks the second annual school-endorsed No Shave November. For the entire month, Upper School students who purchase wristbands are allowed to grow their facial hair out in order to raise awareness for men’s health. All money raised will go to the Testicular Cancer Society of America. Student Council President Carrington Kyle hopes to see even more involvement this year. “I hope that more students really get involved in the cause,” Kyle said. “Last year, mostly juniors and seniors decided to support, but this is an Upper school event If we get more sophomores and freshmen, we should raise twice the amount we did last year.”

...

The Robotics Team will move on to the Texas Boosting Engineering Science and Technology (BEST) Regional robotics tournament Nov. 15 after a second place finish in the BEST award category and a third place finish in the game at their hub tournament Oct. 18. The team is captained by seniors Vik Pattabi, Aakosh Pattabi and Vignesh Babu. “We slipped up in the first couple of rounds as we accustomed ourselves to the field,” Babu said. “After we got going, we stayed hot and closed out with some clutch rounds.” Newsfeed stories by Crawford McCrary, Vik Pattabi, Daniel Cope and Phillip Montgomery.

NEWS

THE REMARKER OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 3 4 EBOLA STRIKES DALLAS 6 HOMECOMING WRAP-UP 7 MAHOWALD DIABETES 8 KUSIN BROTHERS AND SHARK TANK

corruption AP U.S. HISTORY EXAM

Racism

Violence

tion

soliders

Washington

Turning away? With The College Board’s release of the new advanced placement U.S. history exam curriculum in wake, dissension has risen across the country. As teachers and politicians alike fear for the future of a now-successful U.S. history course, the History Department stands firm in its pedagogical faith.

Scott Gonzalez Advocates the change to concepts over facts

Byron Lawson Has faith in his teaching standards

“But we are going to cover what we think is appropriate,” History Department Chair Byron Lawson said. “And yes, while that might be more than what the AP requires, its none of our jobs to teach to the exam. We don’t do that in this department. We don’t do that at this school.” Amid months of controversy and national discussion regarding the newly modified AP U.S. history course curriculum, hundreds of teachers and politicians believe that The College Board’s new exam leaves out vital pieces of American history and casts a negative light on the United States as a whole. Lawson, however, believes what the AP exam does and doesn’t cover has no bearing in what the History Department teaches to its students here. “I believe the new AP exam is going to help students be better at the new AP exam,” Lawson said. “I think the onus is on us, as instructors, to continue to teach a good U.S. history course that meets the standards of St. Mark’s School of Texas.” Moreover, Lawson feels that, rather than teaching The College

While the AP exam skills cannot be ignored, Lawson trusts that the holes left by the new course curriculum will be filled by the expansive, in-depth nature of a traditional U.S. history course and believes a course supplemented by the instructor’s own choices will go beyond what The College Board has to offer. “If a kid takes an AP class at St. Mark’s, he’s going to get a good U.S. history course.” Lawson said. “Even if the AP exam is more tightly focused on skills, our job is to make sure the kids take a good, strong history course that both prepares them for the AP exam and whatever may come: for the juniors, whatever may come for their senior year, and for the seniors who are taking their last history course, we want them to be prepared for college.” Furthermore, the limitations of preparing students for an AP exam are eliminated in the atmosphere of the non-AP level U.S. history courses offered at the school, which Lawson believes allows instructors to teach students in a more personalized, focused way.

that no change to the AP exam curriculum will drastically alter the information that students take away from an AP U.S. history course. “U.S. history hasn’t changed,” Lawson said. “The big and important questions have not changed. What has changed is the way we assess your knowledge, because as an AP course, we have to take these skill developments that they require into consideration.” At the end of the day, though, Lawson recognizes that a changed AP exam means a changed AP course, and believes the History Department is prepared to give students what they need for success on the new level of thinking demanded. “You want to be reasonably well versed,” Lawson said. “I think St. Mark’s students will be comfortable with it. We prepare students for the AP on a regular basis, this is not unusual. But there’s no doubt about it: in some respects, it’s not that the stakes are raised, it’s that the stakes are new.”

that it helps a number of our students, but we don’t think it should be the ‘end-all-be-all’ to learning and assessing.” On top of simply balancing the AP curriculum and a personalized course, however, Gonzalez believes that the new AP U.S. history exam, and those like it, have less of a focus on drastic content changes, and instead put an emphasis on the changed method of evaluation. “What we are more moving towards is concepts and ideas, as opposed to stringent dates and regurgitation of facts,” Gonzalez said. “The same thing is happening in almost all of the course work. They are not going to be asking you, for example, in physics: ‘Do you know this particular formula?’ They will actually say ‘What is the reasoning behind this formula, how does it work, when do you apply it, and why do you apply it?’” awson agrees with the greater focus placed on changing the assessment of knowledge, but believes

“In our non-AP course, because you don’t have to do what the AP needs you to do,” Lawson said, “you can be more adventurous in your skill development and your pedagogical stance. You can ask highly unique questions, because you’re not preparing them for something outside of the class, so you really have more freedom to reach the goals.” Provost and Dean of Campus Scott Gonzalez agrees that non-AP courses often experience more freedom of choice when it comes to material, but also acknowledges the need to develop a balance between the AP curriculum and a self-devised curriculum. “I think what happens,” Gonzalez said, “is that we are going to have to decide how much of the test we are going to cater to and how much we are going to add or remove from our current syllabus. The other issue is that we don’t really want to be directly led by the AP. We think that it is a valuable tool, and we know

Board’s curriculum first and expanding a course from that point, the AP U.S. history instructors for juniors and seniors will accomplish the skill development needed for the exam by teaching the course like they always have. “We believe that if you teach a good U.S. history course,” Lawson said, “you will cover what you need to cover, content-wise,and concept-wise, for the AP exam. Where things get unique is on the particular set of skills that the AP exam requires.”

ationwide, teachers and politicians say that the new advanced placement U.S. history exam hates America. That it casts aside the monumental impacts of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King, Jr. and dozens more. That it calls Manifest Destiny — the foundation of American pride — nothing more than a falsity built on racial superiority. That it reduces the proclaimed valor of U.S. soldiers to acts of questionable ethics.

What you will see on the AP U.S. history exam Multiple choice

Short answer

Document-based questions

Long essay

Students will be given primary or secondary sources such as pictures, graphs, or maps. Questions will prompt students to respond to these materials, often forcing them to draw multiple time periods of history together, relate them to the source and draw conclusions about the connections.

AP U.S. history students will be asked to take historian arguments, maps, hard data, and other sources and analyze them as a group. A good short answer response will tie in the source material given with specific historical evidence form the course.

A document-based question, often abbreviated D.B.Q. by the History Department, will require students to fuse together an analysis from many different documents into a prompted response longer and more detailed than a short answer but less personal than the essay.

The AP exam will present students with two options for the long essay, allowing them to put their best food forward. While questions will be taken from The College Board’s curriculum concepts, such as racism or corruption, students may pull from classroom discussions to compliment their argument.

STORY NOAH KOECHER, BRADFORD BECK | ILLUSTRATIONS ABHI THUMMALA, JOON PARK| PHOTOS ARNO GOETZ, MASON SMITH

N THE REMARKER NEWS OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 4 THE EBOLA CRISIS

Too close for comfort After four cases of Ebola in Dallas in three weeks, tensions on campus are higher than ever. But as hysteria and anticipation rack the country, medical advisers of 10600 Preston Road stand ready for what may come.

ne. Two. Three. The number was growing quickly. Every case was different. But these cases have made it to our soil. This is ground zero for the U.S. The Ebola virus is in Dallas. Dr. Gary Weinstein, father of senior Kyle Weinstein, was tasked with treating the first three diagnosed Ebola patients after being appointed to the emergency Ebola Task Force. “This represented the first time in the United States that a patient was presented to an emergency room ill and was diagnosed with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD),” Weinstein said. “This is significantly different than a patient already diagnosed with EVD transferring to a hospital in the U.S. This was Ground Zero for the U.S. We were on the front seat in the first row of a speeding roller coaster that had never been ridden before.” Weinstein, chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas and the Medical Director of the Intensive Care Units, feels the Center for Disease Control (CDC) was tasked with a difficult job in managing the disease. “Ebola in Africa is a different disease than EVD here,” Weinstein said. “We were all learning together as we went and making adjustments when it became apparent they needed to be made. To quote a favorite Harry Truman saying, ‘Its what we learn after we know it all that counts’ (original quote by “Kin” Hubbard, 1913).” Weinstein thinks that the medical teams in the U.S. started off in a tough position and believes that what they learned from these first cases is key. “Since St Marks is going to the SPC playoffs, I will make a football analogy: We caught the ball deep in the end zone and starting running it out on the field,” Weinstein said. “I’m not really sure how far upfield we have carried the ball, but we

‘AT SCHOOL, AND AS ALWAYS, WE’RE GOING TO FOLLOW THE SCIENCE. WE’RE NOT GOING TO FOLLOW THE HYSTERIA.’ NURSE JULIE DOERGE

all (the medical community and CDC) need to continue to move the ball further upfield as we all get more experience with EVD in America. Hopefully, along the way we will get some new plays sent in from the sidelines, like new drugs and therapy, to improve the survival of this disease and eventually we will score a touchdown.” However, Weinstein believes there will be more EVD cases in America. “I think it is likely that there will be more cases from West Africa, and since EVD is now on our radar, hopefully we will all be better prepared to pick up these patients quickly, so they can be isolated and cared for quickly,” Weinstein said. “We also need a quick, reliable screening test that can be done locally at a hospital lab and we need a proven treatment. I believe that Gary Weinstein Medical Director of I.C.U. where all three Dallas Ebola patients were treated.

EVD today is like HIV/AIDS was 20 years ago and hopefully, we can make the same great progress with EVD that has been made with HIV/AIDS, but in a much shorter timeframe.” Weinstein stresses these first patients were a wakeup call for America. “These patients and the events surrounding them, will likely impact all who are paying attention. Those of us on the front lines will be forever changed, many in ways they may not even be aware of,” Weinstein said. “It is impossible to go through an event like caring for the first EVD patient in this country and not be affected. We all live in one world now.” Weinstein emphasizes that with safe care, the virus can be contained. “Ebola virus disease (EVD) is certainly a serious infection with a very high mortality. But, with appropriate precautions, these patients can be safely treated,” Weinstein said. “The risk for people who have had no [contact], or casual contact with patients is extremely low. Contacts of people who had contact with a patient are at no risk. I am aware of a husband of a friend of a nurse who

got sent home from work and can’t come back for three weeks. That kind of behavior is irrational.” einstein considers it extremely unlikely for EVD to mutate into an airborne disease. “Diseases that are airborne, like tuberculosis (TB), can be spread in the exhaled breath of a patient with the disease,” Weinstein said. “I think it is unlikely that EVD will become airborne. But, when people with the disease sneeze or cough, small amounts of their body fluids (snot or sputum) come flying out and could possibly spread the disease.” The protocol, in case the disease spreads

to 10600 Preston Road, would be dictated by the Communicable Disease Policy. If the situation is urgent — as in the case of seriously transmittable diseases — faculty will communicate directly with parents through email and voice contact. Director of Communications Katy Rubarth stresses the school community is following all the steps outlined by the CDC. “We have protocols ready for any emergency,” Rubarth said “For something like Ebola, we want to inform our community of the steps we’re taking through following all the steps suggested by the CDC and our Medical Advisory Board.”

STORY BRADFORD BECK | ILLUSTRATIONS ABHI THUMMALA | PHOTO COURTESY OF GARY WEINSTEIN

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4 diagnoses 1 death

diagnoses Liberia and deaths across the world

2705 deaths

Sierra Leone

1259 deaths

54% total

deaths

death rate around the world

4665 diagnoses

3223 diagnoses

2new diagnoses per infected person

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THE REMARKER NEWS OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 5 N MYLES TEASLEY

Myles

With a desire to understand the complex cultures and societies of the Middle East, history instructor Myles Teasley traveled to Morocco and Tunisia. In a conversation with The ReMarker, Teasley retells his unique story.

FROM HOME

ACROSS THE DESERT Riding his camel on his way to theTaureg Oasis Village, Teasley takes one of many trips through the Sahara desert. In the cities, his experiences abroad were not only classroom-based learning but also focused on trips.

MOROCCAN MAN Dressed in a traditional turban to block the sweltering heat, Teaseley shows off traditional gear. According to Teaseley, he was easily assimilated into the African country because he looked like the average Moroccan person with his skin tone and young age.

ORIGINS Teasley overlooks the holy city of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun on one of his travels in Morocco. Idris, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, first introduced Islam to Morocco in this city.

e sits on the couch, twitching with excitement. He’s deciding whether or not he should turn on the television, knowing well enough that he’s not allowed to watch without his parents’ permission. The nine-year-old jumps off the couch and bounces to the TV. He turns it on and hops back to the couch. What fellow Myles Teasley sees next will change his life. He’s dumbfounded. His nineyear-old self cannot comprehend why the planes crashed into the buildings. Since 9/11, Teasley only wanted one thing: to understand why those planes crashed into those American icons. From this desire arose a passion within Teasley to study Arabic and learn more about the Middle East. While attending Davidson University, Teasley jumped on the first opportunity to study abroad in the Middle East in Tunisia and Morocco. Staff writers Anvit Reddy and Gopal Raman sat down with Teasley to talk about his experiences in Tunisia and Morocco. Your experience in the Middle East seems very interesting. Where did you go and what exactly did you do? I was a political science and Arabic double major. I was studying politics and Arabic so classes just transferred over. My first trip out of the country in college was in 2012 to Tunisia to work at a research institution called the Center for the Study of Islamic Democracy. The classes in Tunisia didn’t transfer, consequently, I didn’t take any of them seriously, but I was working. Tunisia was a vacation essentially. I wasn’t prepared for rigorous study and then they stuck me in a nice, giant villa with a semi-professional soccer player who was 22. Next to the beach. So I did nothing [laughs]. Until my actual job started. I was there for eight weeks. I followed that up with a trip to Morocco where I lived in the holy city of Fez for four months. Immediately, I got the chance to go back and I jumped on a job for eight weeks that was basically a community organizer of some sort. In Rabat, I was organizing labor

unions and doing a lot of research on the World Bank and helping local organizations get a handle on what lending practices existed between multinational corporations and the country. There must have been some funny or awkward moments either when you came back to the states or while you were in the Middle East. When I got back, I had forgot the word for goodbye; I forgot the word for bathroom. On the other end, oh my gosh, the Tunisian word for bread is the same thing for something incredibly inappropriate in Moroccan. So I asked for hot bread at a café to a veiled woman. She dropped her glass and the café silenced. I kept trying to say it in different accents. And this was my first time in Morocco. Clearly, I had broken every taboo by living and insulted a woman’s honor just by staying in Morocco for three weeks. I also forgot how to speak to a woman in Arabic. So when I came back to school, when I spoke to my Arabic teacher, who was a woman, I kept addressing her as a man. After going into two completely foreign countries by yourself, you must have had moments in which you were scared or confused. There was some sketchiness in Morocco that occurred. I ended up getting lost in the middle of the oldest traditionally Muslim city still existing in the world, now that Damascus is a pile of rubble. And the way Fez was built was that it was a bowl and there is a giant, 1,000 year-old wall around this bowl. You can’t see in, you can’t see out. I went to the bathroom and everybody left while I went to the bathroom. I saw the movie Taken twice. I could just be taken and no one could see. I ran into a guy with a young son like ‘He has a kid! He won’t kill me with his kid,’ and asked him where do I get out? And he walked me to a taxi on the opposite side of the city that I entered on. And that was the second day I was in Fez. Any unusual moments? Anything that you would not expect to see in the US? I can think of things like jumping off of trains because I missed my

stop, sitting on top of trains because there weren’t enough seats on the train. Knowing I could get a full meal for 80 cents was the greatest thing, I ate whenever I vaguely felt hungry. How about the Islamic heritage? What was surprising or interesting about religion? Being in Fez, it truly is the holy city of Morocco. It is, by Western standards. You might even call it oppressive, but they don’t think it is oppressive at all. I lived in a twelfth century house. A 900-year-old house. It was right in the middle of four different mosques. Listening to 268 mosques sounding the call for prayer at different times, you have 268 different versions of the equivalent of church bells ringing. Teaching and living in the Middle East seem like two completely different things. What made you want to teach? I taught English in Morocco. Telling them to sound it out, they hate English — it is so hard for them. Because when you tell them to sound it out, they’re spell knight n-ig-h-t, no not k-n-i-g-h-t. They are like, ‘You just lied, you are a teacher and you just told us an untruth, you are not the fountain of all knowledge, you just try to get us, English doesn’t make sense.’ As a history teacher, you must have been able to incorporate your travel experiences into your classes. Right now, we are about to start the Middle Eastern 1300’s-1800’s in my world history class, I have anecdotes, I have my own pictures, not just Google pictures. And I have my own recordings on my phone from walking through an old city and listening to the call to prayer and filming Muslims as they start praying. Sounds like your experiences were fulfilling. What have you learned from your experiences about Islam and other cultures? Our conception of Islam in the West tends to be of what the news shows us. We see a bunch of angry people protesting. We don’t see the context. We don’t know the situation. It affects our view of the Middle East and Islam. Do not judge unless you have actually experienced that kind of region or culture.

STORY GOPAL RAMAN AND ANVIT REDDY | ILLUSTRATIONS KILLIAN GREEN | PHOTOS COURTESY MYLES TEASLEY

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N THE REMARKER NEWS OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 6 HOMECOMING WRAP-UP

A rumble in the

jungle

Following a 42-13 victory against Holland Hall, the Homecoming celebration ended with the Homecoming dance. The dance themed around Río, a city fueled by its night life, and concluded with the crowning of King senior Jake Holder and Queen Hockaday senior Elizabeth Farrow.

JAZZIN’ IN JANEIRO

1. At half-time of the Homecoming game, the nominees were introduced. 2. Crowned king and queen of Rio, senior Jake Holder and Hockaday senior Elizabeth Farrow stand amid the dancing crowds. 3. Cheering as the Homecoming dance continues, King Jake Holder and fellow senior Luke Hudspeth get rowdy. 4. Senior Justin Jones busts a move in his signature golden suspenders. 5. Senior Andrew McClain brings down an opponent at the Homecoming football game. 6. Juniors J.T. Graass and William Caldwell shake the hand of Homecoming King Jake Holder after his win.

STORY JAMES HANCOCK | PHOTOS ALDEN JAMES, TIM O’MEARA, DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

Literary Festival will bring four novelists, poet to classes and panel discussions Jan. 9 by Abhi Thummala

he eighth annual Literary Festival will feature writers Blake Bailey, Robert Zorn ‘75, Anne Napolitano, Annu Subramanian and Ed Mabrey Jan. 9. The five writers vary in their genres of literature, from autobiographies to slam poetry. Bailey’s most famous works are his biographies of John Cheever and Richard Yates. Zorn’s Cemetery John sheds new light on the Lindbergh Kidnapping. Napolitano’s novel A Good Hard Look: A Novel of Flannery O’Connor places Flannery O’Conner, whose work is studied in junior and senior years, as a character in the plot. Subramanian’s 2013 novel Another Heaven confronts the issue of human trafficking. Mabrey is a slam poet, which means he uses rhythm and beat to nar-

rate poems. “For a number of students who already are interested in literature, it encourages them to continue their pursuit of writing,” sponsor David Brown said. “It gives them ideas about what it means to be a professional writer. So I think it encourages those who are interested in that to pursue it along with whetting the appetites of those who aren’t interested and hadn’t thought of it before, but find these people interesting, smart, funny, moving, whatever.” While the festival begins Jan. 9, Mabrey will perform for the Upper School during the mid-morning break Jan. 8 in Decherd Auditorium. In addition to the panel discussion, the writers will meet students and members of the faculty, which presents unique opportu-

nities. “More than anything, it’s just to, as the stated goal of the Literary Festival, celebrate the pleasures of the written word,” Brown said, “and I think the writers we bring in typically help that to happen by getting in the classrooms, [with the students] getting to talk one-on-one with these published writers and getting a chance at the reception to talk one-onone with them, to get their books, have their books signed, those sort of things.” Student chair of the festival is junior Will Garden; vice chair is sophomore Gopal Raman. The festival includes a breakfast, a panel discussion for the Upper School in Decherd Auditorium, classroom presentations and an after-school reception in the library.

A POETRY MENTOR During last year’s Literary Festival, poet Ron Koertge spoke to Upper School English classes about his poetry career. This year’s festival will follow the same format, with writers such as Blake Bailey and Anne Napolitano visiting classes throughout the day on Jan. 9.

THE REMARKER NEWS OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 7 N LIVING WITH DIABETES

Suga r

men yearbook and a varsity water polo and swim captain. “Diabetes gets a reputation of being ‘that disease fat people get.’ I can’t even count the number of times I’ve gotten surprised looks from people—shocked that I’m not obese—or questions wondering how much weight I’ve lost.” Mahowald believes this lack Matt Mahowald Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes

of public knowledge relates to how dangerous the disease appears to be, especially with the ever-present threat of hypoglycemia: the chronic lack of sufficient blood sugar levels responsible for far fewer deaths than most think. “Hypoglycemia is the cause of death of as few as 2 percent of Type 1 diabetics per year, as opposed to something like cancer,” Mahowald

said. “People obviously have an understanding of cancer. That’s scary. It’s real. Someone with cancer could fear losing his or her life every day. You just don’t have that with Type 1 diabetes.” Even though Type 1 diabetes is genetic, Mahowald is the first in his family to display the condition. However, Mahowald, who has two brothers, worries about the effect his condition will have on future generations. “I fear for my family,” Mahowald said. “Although I have made this such a huge part of my life, I would prefer this condition stay out of the rest of my family members’ lives. My brothers, my future children, grandchildren and nephews and nieces will all be at risk.” Mahowald’s mom, Ann Mahowald, former president of the school’s Parents’ Association, isn’t as worried about her future family members because Matt’s case was viewed as an anomaly.

s i s exerpiciese

tr ol

pa n r c

con

a t

swe t

dia otess e eat luc e g

a day?

n tr

ins

Healthy c o be

dia g n o

At age 18, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes — the first person in his large extended family to contract this disease.

oglyc

an apple t’s probably nothing. No one else in my family has it. There’s just no way. With the excitement of his family’s World Cup trip to Rio de Janeiro still pumping through his veins, Matt Mahowald ‘14 completed a routine checkup expecting the ordinary. But the next day, the doctor issued a diagnosis that would change the 19-year-old’s life: juvenile diabetes. Juvenile, or Type 1, diabetes is usually diagnosed early in the patient’s life and results from a lack of insulin, the hormone that breaks down sugars. The condition, which is genetic, is relatively uncommon, with only five percent of all diabetes patients dealing with this form. “I honestly couldn’t have told you the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 before I was diagnosed, which is not uncommon,” said Mahowald, editor of the 2014 Marks-

n i l u enile uv nes

hy p

Despite living a healthy lifestyle as a two-sport athlete here, Matt Mahowald ‘14 received shocking news this summer.

hea

“We don’t really have Type I diabetes in our family,” she said. “I know Type I diabetes is on upswing or surge in young people, but I Ann Mahowald Mom is encouraged by treatment options

heard that there has been research on stem cells to cure Type 1 diabetes. I think if you’re going to get Type 1 diabetes, now is as good of a time to get it as any, because there are so many great studies and devices to help you manage it as opposed to twenty years ago. ” Ann is also happy that her son got diagnosed after puberty, because now his hormone levels are more stable and he is better able to care for himself. “I guess its better to be diagnosed later rather than younger so you [have an] ability to understand the condition,” Ann Mahowald said.

“I think having gone through puberty its better because you’re blood pressure isn’t as erratic as a young man going through puberty. It is better to have it diagnosed earlier. ” Matt has also found positives in his community at Stanford, where he is enrolled as a freshman. “But for now,” Matt Mahowald said, “I am reaping the silver-lining benefits of my diagnosis nearly every day,” Mahowald has already joined a community in the Juvenile Diabetes Research, participating in a cycling ride around Lake Tahoe this summer in support of a cure. Moreover, he has joined the Young Leadership Committee for his region of the Bay Area. “The communities are fantastic,” Mahowald said. “Everyone is so supportive — I already have found a couple of mentors through the organization — the condition as a common ground makes connecting with people that much easier.”

LIVING WITH DIABETES: MAHOWALD’S DAILY ROUTINE

9:00 am

Checking blood sugar on glucometer, Matt reads the miligrams/decliter of glucose in his bloodstream. Counting the carbs in his breakfast, he takes units of insulin accordingly.

1:30 pm

5:30 pm

After checking his blood glucose level relative to the carbs in his dinner, Matt once again doses the insulin he needs Water polo practice causes a drop in blood sugar, and Matt must account for this at mealtime.

Check blood sugar on the Continuous Glucose Monitoring ststem. As Matt hits his post-meal high, he waits for the earlier insulin dosage to counteract the imbalance.

1:00 am

Matt checks his blood sugar levels to calibrate the Continuous Glucose Monitoring system in case he has an imbalance overnight.

STORY BRADFORD BECK, ABHI THUMMALA| ADDITIONAL REPORTING ANVIT REDDY| ILLUSTRATIONS ABHI THUMMALA | PHOTOS COURTESY MAHOWALDS

Advisory-driven food drive ends; donations to benefit Salvation Army by Corday Cruz he annual Food Drive concluded Oct. 20 and collected one box of food from each advisory to benefit The Salvation Army., which will distribute the boxes to impoverished families in the Dallas Metroplex. Food Drive co-chairs juniors Corbin Walp and Mitchell So hoped to see more organization when turning in items in the future. “I’d like to see more organized people, in past years we’ve had half filled boxes, people would come after fourth period to turn in items they forgot to give,” So said. “I’d like to see people get more active, maybe take two boxes instead of one for their advisory.”

Community Service Director Jorge Correa sees individual responsibility as a key part of the Food Drive. Correa thinks that the responsibility lies on the student to remember their items and bring them to the drive. “I think it’s important to bring your items and to have a complete box, but it’s more important for the boys to learn responsibility,” Correa said. “And that it’s up to them to do it. It would be very easy for us to collect the money and fill the boxes and take them to Salvation Army. It’s more important that each person assumes their responsibility.” Correa believes that a key part of the drive is actually involving advisories and the responsibility the Food Drive

puts on them. “It would be very easy for us to collect the money and just fill the boxes and give them to the Salvation Army,” Correa said. “But that’s not the point. The point is the advisory, guided by their advisor, can organize themselves in a way that they can fill the box in a timely manner and as completely as possible. The quantity is important, but it’s also important that each person satisfies their responsibility.” Correa feels that participation from each advisory to bring at least one box is a feasible goal, but everyone in the community must cooperate to achieve it. “A good goal would be 100 percent involvement,” he said. “And rather than

the advisory collecting money and going to the supermarket to purchase, the boys should think about what they need to bring, going to the pantry to find it or going to the store, buying it themselves and bringing it to school. That’s learning responsibility. It’s more than just helping somebody else, it’s helping yourself, to commit to something and follow it through all the way.” Because Marksmen already have so much to do, Correa feels the Food Drive is only one more little responsibility to fulfill. “There are so many things happening at school, everyone has many responsibilities,” Correa said. “This is one more.”

Food drive items Collected through advisories, the food boxes included: Spam Rice Spaghetti Candy Pinto beans Instant potatoes Green beans Peanut butter Dried milk Cooking oil Macaroni and cheese Crackers Biscuit mix Can openers

N THE REMARKER NEWS OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 8

KUSIN BROTHERS

SWIMMING WITH THE

Sharks

Alums turn to popular television series to boost their entrepreneurial prospects

ith their new product and a good audition, they just might make it. They needed a way to present their creation, Reviver, a company which developed odor eliminating dry swipes. Something to make it stand out from other startups. And now they had their chance. They had already created their product, now they just had to get it on the shelves. With the widespread fanbase of the popular television show Shark Tank, in which aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their product to potential investors include Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, their dream became possible. Ben Kusin ‘97 and Eric ‘00 Kusin had beaten out hundreds of other applicants in order to get the opportunity of a life time. “The show is kind of like a Super Bowl commercial [in terms of publicity] and on top of that there are really some great investors who have proven track records of success in bringing products to market and that opportunity was too much to pass up,” Eric Kusin said. “Once we thought it was actually an opportunity that could happen, we jumped on it.” Along with the publicity, the show has other benefits as well. “If the sharks like your product, they can become an investor and partner with your product going forward,” Eric Kusin said. “We have been fans of the show from early on,

and my family and I never thought it would happen, not to the extreme of American Idol, but it’s kind of similar. A lot of people want to audition and get on it because there is immediate exposure. It is really hard and really expensive to get your product known [without a platform like Shark Tank]” Although Shark Tank was an advantage, Eric Kusin believes that entrepreneurial success comes from adaptability. “I think the most defining character trait of an entrepreneurial startup is you just have to be on your toes and be ready for every day to be different,” Eric Kusin said. Kusin believes his past business experience helped him with the Reviver venture but also thinks there were many aspects that were new. “It [past job experience] helped prepare me for those meetings where you’re talking to buyers of retail stores and you know what you need to do to make it a good partnership but in other ways it couldn’t be more opposite [from an entrepreneurial venture],” Eric Kusin said. Kusin spent five years at Neiman Marcus as a buyer for over 40 stores but believes that there are key differences between entrepreneurship and buying for an established company. “It was very challenging in of itself and you’re kind of constantly having issues that you have to address, different strategies you have to lay, but the infrastructure is there,”

SURVIVING THE SHARKS Smiling with pride as they point to the camera, brothers Ben Kusin ‘97 (middle) and Eric ‘00 (right) Kusin share a light moment with shark Lori Greiner.

Eric Kusin said. “Neiman Marcus is a multi-billion dollar company with a great infrastructure in place, and you kind of know what it takes to be successful, and the comparison of that to a startup of a totally new product is night and day. Even though the Reviver startup has been difficult at times, Kusin still believes family businesses are special. “It’s not without challenges,” Kusin said. “It’s rewarding if you can make a family business work — that’s the best kind of business. It was kind of a no-brainer for me to try and help him make this dream a reality.” Although the Kusin brothers had certain goals they wanted to accomplish on Shark Tank, they also had a philosophical debate with the Sharks, parts of which were edited out before airing. “Barbara Corcoran, who is one of the sharks, takes a lot of pride in coming from very humble begin-

nings, which is very understandable, very admirable, and what’s often characterized as the American dream,” Eric Kusin said. “I think that when it became apparent that Ben and I were looking for a partner versus looking for capital based on need that that was a big turnoff for her. So she had a line saying, I don’t invest in rich kids.” Although Kusin sees the validity in Corcoran’s statement, he believes that her assumption is too general. “I totally respect her intention but I think, especially growing up at St. Marks, where I attended from first through twelfth grade, you see all different kinds of socioeconomics, like my class spanned all different socio-economic profiles, and that was one of the great things about St. Mark’s, because a lot of that baggage could be left behind,” Eric Kusin said. “When you go into the classroom, you go in as a Marksman, and that’s just what you are.”

STORY BRADFORD BECK | PHOTOS COURTESY OF DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

What is Shark Tank? Premiering in 2009, Shark Tank is a television show featuring a panel of potential investors, called “sharks,” who consider offers from aspiring entrepreneurs seeking investments for their business or product.

Show airtime Shark Tank airs Fridays at 8 p.m., Central Time. The panelists Mark Cuban owner, Dallas Mavericks Daymond John entrepreneur, CEO of FUBU Kevin O’Leary entrepreneur, founder Genstar Capital Barbara Corcoran Manhattan real estate broker Lori Greiner QVC marketer, investor Kevin Harrington inventor of the infomercial

THE REMARKER NEWS OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 9 M

MALECALL

THIS ISSUE: BEARDS HANDSHAKE TIPS WEIRD WAYS TO MAKE YOU BETTER

Taking you back to the fundamentals of manhood.

MAN SCHOOL

Sberna

GROWS HAIR LIKE A

MAN

WEIRD WAYS TO MAKE ABETTERYOU 1 STAY UP LATE Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” He was wrong. Studies show that students who go to bed at an average of 11:30 and slept until 7:30 did better in school than those that went to bed at 10:30 and woke up at 6:30.

2 CHEW GUM While gum is forbidden on campus, it actually makes you look more likable. A project by an art museum in Buenos Aires placed identical twins side by side and asked people to choose the more likable one. 75 percent chose the gum chewer. It might not be a foolproof experiment, but if it’s cool enough for leather-clad members of 1950’s New York City street gangs, its cool enough for you.

SMILE MORE

People who smile appear to people to be more intelligent than people who don’t, according to a study that tested how people reacted to facial types. When shown a picture of a man smiling, they perceived him as more intelligent than a similar looking man without an expression or a frown. It’s never a bad thing to smile, and after this new research, it makes you seem smarter.

4 GET A SHORT NAME Studies show that the shorter someone’s name is, the more consideration they get for jobs. When you think about it, my name is... it makes sense. Shorter names get remembered more easily. The human brain also believes things that are easy to understand are more trustworthy. Congratulations, Cam Lam, you made it.

(and so can you)

Male Call editor Philip Montgomery sits down for a Q&A with beard sensei Nick Sberna to get the student body ready for No Shave November, where facial hair roams free and testicular cancer is put to the test. Philip Montgomery: What kind of maintenance do you do? Nick Sberna: Well, Philip, growing a beard is like raising a child in that it needs constant attention if you are to nurture it into its fullest form. For the most part, you don’t have to do much, but there’s a standard degree of “manscaping,” if you will, in order to maintain the illustrious sheen and the dreaded beard dandruff. I recommend a strict routine of standard shampoo and conditioner and exfoliating a couple times a month. There’s a seaweed extract you can find online. There’s actually a number of beard websites out there. One time, I was at the Apple store, and this weird guy was so pumped about swapping beard stories, and he was like, “dude, have you heard about Beardbrand.com?” Anyway, there’s a whole lineup of beard care tips, grooming kits and propaganda. Some of this strikes me as snake oil stuff, but some of it just gently massages the skin and looses the dryness. Plus, it smells fantastic. There’s also the Norse meditational thing I’ll tell you about later. PM: What’s the longest it’s ever been? NS: For this year’s Pecos beard, I stopped trimming in May, so I got a head start. I just think about what I could do over the course of a year. PM:You’d be like Gandalf. NS: I know. That’s the dream actually. I told my wife when we’re old, and it turns grey, I’m just going to go full on Gandalf style, dress up as a wizard every Halloween and Santa for Christmas. PM: How does your wife feel about it? NS: Well, she has mixed emotions. She has no

It’s probably not a surprise that people who worry a lot tend to have higher IQ’s than people who don’t. They work harder because they fear negative consequences, and they do better as a result. So, next time you’re up all night writing an English paper, appreciate the fact that your stressed out ways are what will eventually put you ahead in life.

Weird ways to make a better you by Philip Montgomery

too. As long as I’m wilderness director, you got to have a beard. PM: Well, how does it feel to have the best beard on campus? NS: If it were something that I controlled, it would be more fulfilling. There is a sense of pride, but Ty Montgomery [‘11] was given this beautiful ability to command the football field, and Glen Stroh can play a beautiful organ piece. Growing a beard is really the only genetic gift I’ve been given. If I don’t do anything, stuff grows on my face at an alarmingly thick and dramatic rate. Is there pride in that? I don’t know.

problem with it, actually likes it, when its at regular length*. When it gets to the point when it gets really scratchy, she doesn’t like it very much. There’s also social consequences to that like, “Oh my god, you’re dating a homeless man.” Its not that she minds it, but socially it becomes harder for her to manage the expectations of my facial hair. My mother-in-law also can’t stand it when it’s that length. PM:What about your kids? NS: For them, it’s just a big play toy. I can’t pick them up without them grabbing onto it.

PM: Are you going to shave during No Shave November or are you going all the way? NS: I’ll tell you what: I won’t trim. Solidarity. Last year, Charlie Golden called me out because I wasn’t wearing a wrist band. My excuse was that every month was No Shave November for me. His response was that I must not support a cure for testicular cancer. My answer to that was, “Well… ok fine.” So I actually feel like I’m getting fined for my beard. Fined is a harsh word because I obviously support the cause. I love No Shave November.

PM: How long have you had it? NS: Since 2007. Right now, I would be scared to shave it because its only going to make me look younger, but I’m getting to the point where I don’t really see that as much of an advantage anymore. I actually started growing it because I was so tired of people treating me like a “sport.” So, originally, you grow it to look older but now its kinda like well, let’s back it up. My guys actually think I’m ancient. One time, they went out in the hallway, and they came back and said “Hey, Sberna, were you teaching here in 1964?” I didn’t actually respond, but the sweetest kid in the class tried to come to my defense and said “Guys, he wasn’t teaching here in 1964. He was probably born in 1964.” Just to establish, I was born in 1980. They think I’m in my fifties. That’s the point where you start to question the beard. Is it thrusting me in a direction that I don’t want to go now that my hair is thinning? Anyway, if I were to shave it now, my three-yearold daughter and four-year-old son would not know who I was. It’s kinda part of my shtick now

PM: What is the meditation thing? NS: I can’t actually pronounce it (skjeggveskt), but it’s a way for you to actually channel your energy such that the hair on your head moves to your beard. The Vikings had helmets, so they didn’t really care about the hair on the top of their head. As you can see, I’m pretty good at it. It’s thin up here but pretty thick on the beard. PM: Am I allowed to call you a beard sensei in your introduction? NS: Yeah, that’s cool.

*Mrs. Sberna was called during a point in the interview that does not appear in the story. Surprisingly, she is a fan.

STORY PHILIP MONTGOMERY | ILLUSTRATIONS ABHI THUMMALA | PHOTO COURTESTY OF NICK SBERNA

PRO TIPS DOC’S HANDSHAKE

BOB

5 WORRY, A TON

HE’S THE MAN The wilderness and beards go together like BBQ sauce and a rack of pork ribs, and no one knows that better than Humanities Department Chair Nick Sberna. His Pecos beard is the stuff of legend, and he deemed this his best yet.

DOs

Athletic trainer Doc Browning’s handshake lesson to first graders is something of their lives. Here are the basics. that stays with the kids for the rest

Firm Grip

Doc First thing is obviously a good, firm grip. Make sure you get in deep. That’s a mistake a lot of people make. You want to touch webbings. Our Take As Doc alluded to, this is the most important part. A firm squeeze is all you need to make a solid first impression.

Six Shakes Max

Doc I heard this on the radio one morning on the way to school. Never shake more than six times. After about six it starts to get a little uncomfortable like “Wait a minute. Give me my hand back.” Our Take This is where you can really make a handshake weird. Don’t be that guy.

Eye Contact

Doc Try to give them a good nice look in the eye and say, ‘glad to meet you’ or whatever you want to MASON SMITH PHOTO say with some confidence. Our Take A handshake from a guy looking directly at the ground is downright wimpy. No eye contact is literally a sign of submission in nature.

DON’Ts

The Dead Fish

Doc We always talk a little bit about this, and it almost just grosses me out when I’m teaching somebody that because it’s just so weird. Our Take A light grip is the biggest problem with people’s handshakes. It makes you appear weak and unconfident. There’s no need for a vice grip, but a little squeeze goes a long way to show you’re a man who gets things done.

The Crab Claw

Doc No one wants to shake hands like that. I hate it. Even if it’s firm it’s just not there. Our Take It’s not a common problem, but squeezing before the hands are interlocked makes for a really awkward handshake. Your partner can’t get a grip and you’re stuck there holding his flimsy hand. Just make sure you fully connect hands before you start the actual handshake.

THE REMARKER | FRIDAY, OCT. 31, 2014 | PAGE 10

FIRST GRADE IN PHOTOS

First grader William Taylor III (right) is one of 32 new members of the Class of 2026 enjoying traditions such as meeting their senior buddies. Page 16

SHARING HIS ART WITH THE WORLD

LIFE

Upcoming

Next week

> Dan’s Haunted House, 501

> The annual “I Am Second”

> Salvation Army DFW

Church, 3801 Glade Road, Colleyville, TX 76034, is celebrating its heritage with its Romanian Food Festival at 5:30 tonight.

What’s you favorite color and why? Red. Because it goes fast. Do you have any special skills? I can tell who people look like. Bradford Beck is 40 percent John Gruden, 30 percent Byron Lawson and 30 percent Jim Furyk. If you combine them it’s like exact. Roby Mize is half Stanbury and half Rahlson. I don’t know about Jackson Cole, but all I know is that his haircut is majestic.

Series performs The Billy Goats Gruff Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Winspear Opera House

> Uncle Uber’s restaurant

Commander Major Ward Matthews will speak to the Upper School at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 7.

> The Stars & Stripes film

festival at the Angelika Theatre at Mockingbird Station will display Armed Forces themed films benefiting the Sons of the Flag Organization next Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m.

ITEMS OFFERED

eventh graders will travel to Lake Texoma Nov. 6 for their annual camp-out, one of the first offered in the Wilderness Program. The students will learn how to make tarp shelters, practice the “leave no trace” wilderness ethic and participate in team-building exercises. “It’s going to be a great experience,” seventh grader Paxton Scott said, “and it’s going to be nice to have a day off from school.” The camp-out familiarizes students with the gear and skills necessary for the Pecos trip and also involves several miles of hiking. For many students, this will be the first time they go backpacking.

at the Senior Auction

ORCHESTRATING THE SALES Senior Justin Jones conducts the seniors of the Upper School orchestra to help sell a private concert at the Senior Auction Oct. 5. The skits, in addition to keeping the event lively and entertaining, helpedboost sales.

ACTION

...

he Candy Drive begins Nov. 3 and runs through Nov. 7 — members of the Community Service Board will collect donations at Nearburg Hall and the Lower School from 7:15 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. “Well, everybody needs candy,” Community Service Board Director Jorge Correa said. “Everybody likes candy. Some people ask, ‘Why are you giving homeless people candy?’ Because homeless people also like candy. It’s very simple.” The bulk of the donations will go to two community centers: Martin Luther King and West Dallas. Other recipients include Austin Street, Jubilee, Genesis and The Salvation Army.

ALDEN JAMES PHOTO

E CO MM ON S ISS IO N CR EA TIV US ED WI TH PE RM

What would you do if you were royalty? I would make some changes.

> The Dallas Opera Family

What was the inspiration behind Sally’s Fiddle Boys? Well I’m a big fan of the South, and we just thought the best way to support the South is through bluegrass music.

Do you have royal blood? No. Perhaps. Possibly. I haven’t looked into it.

run will take place Saturday from 7 to 11 a.m. at Oak Point Park in Plano.

is hosting a “Taste of Deep Ellum Walking Tour” Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Senior Walter Johnson is known not only for his quarterbacking skills but also his membership of the renown musical group, Sally’s Fiddle Boys. Life Editor Will Clark caught up with Johnson to talk about the head inside the helmet.

What do you think majestic means? Of majesty. Of the royal bloodline.

ARNO GOETZ PHOTO

Weekend

with Walter Johnson

What is your favorite bluegrass song? I’d have to go with Man of Constant Sorrow from O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Probably because George Clooney’s voice is majestic. I know it’s not his voice, but I was under the belief for quite a while so that’s probably why. Eventually I found out it wasn’t, and it was very disappointing, but I still like the song.

LIFE AROUND CAMPUS

Today

> St Mary’s Romanian

FCD instructor James Lingo was an alcoholic from age 13. After a wake up call in the form of a seizure, he now dedicates himself to preventing others from reaching his lows. Page 17

the Inbox

THINGS TO DO IN THE WEEKS AHEAD

Swisher Rd, Lake Dallas, TX 75065, is hosting its annual Japanese-themed attraction tonight at 8.

HANGIN’ OUT

FROM HOPELESS TO HELPING

MASON SMITH PHOTO

“You know how most art, not street art, is well thought out and well planned? There’s like some design to it, like why this thing is there and this thing is there. For me, street art is just the thoughts in my head that I want to put down on walls. It’s very spontaneous.” — Senior Miguel Plascencia Page 13

RTISTS in

SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON ONE OF ST. MARK’S FINE ARTS STUDENTS

...

ock Trial captains Jackson Cole, Anvit Reddy and Philip Smart have changed the format for the club, now allowing all students to join. Other changes include the trial subject, which switches between criminal and civil every year. “Our goals this year are to have a stronger presence in the tournament and to set a strong foundation,” Cole said. “Last year, we were kind of rushed and we didn’t really know what we were up against. This year, we want to set up a dynasty for mock trial.” This year, the case will be criminal. Once the registration process is finished, the team will be able to run through practice trails and discuss the case in complete detail.

...

THE ARTIST

Zak Houillion

THE ART

Ceramics

WHAT

Submissions for the Young Arts competition

HIS WORDS

“What’s inspiring about ceramics is that you can sit down and take a worthless piece of material and turn it into something beautiful that’s influenced by anything from social events to nature. Including trees.”

ollege algebra and trigonometry instructor Marjorie Morrison is now using a set of TI Nspire CX calculators in her classes. The calculators are capable of graphing both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional functions, performing operations on lists and spreadsheets and constructing geometric figures and animations. “I am delighted,” Morrison said, “to use this enhanced technology to help my geometry students achieve an even richer understanding of topics studied.” The calculators can also connect to Morrison’s computer wirelessly during class, allowing her to send students tasks and assignments and display student’s work on the class’s Promethean board. Inbox Stories by Will Clark, Gopal Raman, and Aidan Maurstad

LIFE

THE REMARKER OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 11 12 LUKE JACOBS 13 MIGUEL PLASCENCIA 16 FIRST GRADERS 17 JAMES LINGO

H E A LT H M Y T H S

Know your health In matters of wellness, it’s important to know fact from fiction. Here are some commonly held notions about health that everyone has probably heard of. Which ones are truth and which one’s aren’t?

ARNO GOETZ PHOTO

Five second rule The sugar rush W

PHOTO COURTESY COOPER AEROBICS CENTER

HEALTH GURUS Serving as heads of the Caduceus Club, seniors Case Brabham and William Su are the campus leaders in health knowledge. Su also serves as president of First Aid Club.

hen food falls, some say you have five seconds to pick it up before an army of germs attacks, some say it is instantly contaminated. Still, others don’t abide by either of these rules and eat whatever they find, wherever they find it. It’s a dilemma that perplexes even the best and the brightest.

Student Opinion

FITNESS EXPERT An active alum, Dr. Tyler Cooper ‘89 received a Bachelors of Business Administration from Baylor University, then worked overseas and in business development for Cooper Aerobics until deciding to enter medical school a few years later. Cooper went on to earn his Doctor of Medicine from UT San Antonio and a Master of Public Health and Health Administration from Harvard University. Beginning in 2006, Cooper practiced preventative medicine at the Cooper Clinic. In 2007, he was named CEO of Cooper Aerobics Enterprises.

“If I drop some good food on the ground, and the ground looks clean, I’m going to pick it up and eat it. But if I dropped a piece of asparagus, I wouldn’t pick it up. It’s not worth it.”

—Senior Case Brabham

Fiction

t’s not uncommon to see kids gain a burst of energy after eating a handful of candy. The question is: does the excitement come from the sugary sweets or just from pure delight?

Student Opinion No, scientifically it probably does not cause a sugar rush. I kind of doubt it though, because if you just take a look around St. Mark’s you’d see that not the case. I would say visit the Lower School and give them candy and see what happens. They’ll get hyper.

—Senior William Su

Feed a cold, Don’t double dip starve a fever L

ike grandma always said. This traditional piece of advice recommends increasing caloric intake during a cold and decreasing caloric intake during a fever. Dating back to the 16th century, this idea is all about the belief that digesting food produces heat that adjusts body temperature.

ouble dipping: taking a half eaten chip on a return visit to the party-salsa. A taboo ever since the beginnings of chips and dip in the 50’s, the faux pas of double dipping gained recognition when the term was popularized in a 1993 episode of Seinfeld. As gross as it may sound, is double dipping really all that bad?

Student Opinion

“We don’t think this one is real, but we think that it comes from a person’s appetite loss when they have a fever. But in reality you should eat your normal amount.”

“All I know is that I’ve double dipped, and I’m still around. I’m sure medically you shouldn’t do it, but I’m sure the risk is low.”

—Senior Case Brabham

—Senior William Su

Fact

“I

don’t know of any studies off the top of my head that are related to that. Certainly, again this is related to infection, exposure and what you could possibly pick up. It also depends on what it falls onto, if it falls onto a perfectly clean table that has just been sanitized that is not so concerning, certainly if it falls into food that someone has already been eating out of, or fall into a heap of trash it could. here were some But the likelihood of a virus studies that came out spreading that quickly, certainly time in the seventies about that plays a role, I don’t know if it is directly possibility that sugar could linear to the amount of time.” activate some hyperactivity, —Dr. Cooper and I think what you will find is anecdotal exposure, my kids absolutely. If they have a lot of sugar then they have a heck of a lot of energy. Which makes sense, you are slamming your body with excess glucose which is energy to the body which is why you crash so hard as well.”

Fiction

Fact

“N

o, my understanding and belief is that your body needs nutrients to fight a disease. Now I would absolutely say that you need to be eating healthy especially when you are ill, it is analogous to a car, you can put any kind of gas in a car and it will probably run, but the higher the quality of the gas the better the engine is going to run. Hydration is absolutely a key component whether you are fighting either a cold or a flu.”

“T

—Dr. Cooper

100 °

—Dr. Cooper

STORY AVERY POWELL | ILLUSTRATIONS DANIEL BYEON, ABHI THUMMALA, WILL CLARK

“I

t exposes the risk to infection, so if someone is ill and has an illness that is contracted through saliva, then by all means it is increasing the risk of spread of that disease. It is more the communicable nature of double-dipping that increases the risk of infection, that is the primary reason. So absolutely that can increase the spread of infection.”

—Dr. Cooper

L THE REMARKER LIFE OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 12 LUKE JACOBS

Filmmaker uture

Seventh grader Luke Jacobs’s love of cinema fueled his desire to make movies, landing him a spot in Greenhill film instructor Corbin Doyle’s summer class where he made a comedy-horror film, Gifted — one of six finalists in the Austin Film Festival.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION During the filming of his movie, Jacobs faced challenges like rain, forcing the young filmmaker to shoot scenes inside.

GRAPHIC USED WITH PERMISSION CREATIVE COMMONS

Austin Film Festival numbers

Number of days of panels and workshops

13-18 Number of years the festival has existed

Age of filmmakers in Young Filmmaker Program competition

screen writing,” Doyle said. “It’s right before people come back to school, so the kids have to be on their game.” Jacobs enjoys all forms of storytelling and hopes to pursue film making throughout high school. “I guess film making is just an interesting way of storytelling,” Jacobs said. “I think it’s really interesting how much you can convey in under four hours and how much you can get attached to characters.”

PHOTO COURTESY LUKE JACOBS

eventh grader Luke Jacobs is hard at work behind the camera, directing actors and trying to get the perfect shot. Even though he’s just in Middle School, he’s already handling expensive filming equipment and trying out sophisticated movie-making techniques. All throughout his summer film class, Jacobs, who comes off as a charming and polite kid, drops references to graphic R-rated horror films, shocking his teacher, Greenhill film instructor Corbin Doyle, and showing off his vast movie knowledge. Now Jacobs has his own comedy-horror film, Gifted, and it has grabbed the attention of the judges at the Austin Film Festival, earning a spot as one of six finalists in the festival’s Young Filmmakers Program. “I’ve been doing this class for about eight years,” Doyle said. “It goes for two or three weeks during the summer, and it’s been Greenhill people forever. I think our success the last few years has opened it up to people from other schools.” This summer Jacobs worked with Greenhill students Emily Budarapu, Grace Doyle, Anusha Rao and Jennie Ross and immediately showed his enthusiasm for film making. “Luke came in not only wanting to make a horror movie, but also having a script already written,” Corbin Doyle said. “We ended up not using his script because the group built something on their own, but that sensibility and that initiative was great.” Jacobs worked mainly on the cinematography of the film, which involved shooting the scenes and overcoming challenges such as lighting in order to get the most visually appealing movie possible. “The whole experience was really fun,” Jacobs said, “but my favorite part was filming the very last scene because we had to make a lot of fake blood, and it was kind of fun learning where specifically to put it and what kind of mixture we were going to use.” Jacobs’s work paid off, and his film received good comments from the festival’s judges. “The judges said Luke’s film was great comedy and great comedic timing,” Doyle said. “The vision of the story it told was so clear that they kept watching it over and over and kept laughing at how funny and well done it was, especially for a bunch of young kids.” The Austin Film Festival is one of the best-known film festivals in the U.S., and this year it features panelists such as Dave Andron, executive producer of Justified, and Cary Fukunaga, the director of True Detective. “Austin Film Festival is a great film festival in the U.S., and part of it is that it focuses on writing and

SEVENTH GRADE HORROR STORY Although gruesome, this final, bloody scene, taken from Gifted’s movie still, gave the art piece a strikingly unique end to the story.

Jacobs’s passion for film making stems from his lifelong hobby of watching movies and his immense knowledge of films and filmmakers. “My favorite movie right now is Mysterious Skin by Gregg Araki,” Jacobs said. “I think it’s really deep and complex. The night after I watched it I watched it again. I was really held by the movie.” Doyle agrees that watching movies is a great way to get better at making movies. “I tell people in my class all the time that you can teach yourself how to be a really good filmmaker from watching films,” Doyle said. “It’s the thing [Quentin] Tarantino always teaches people which is you watch the film the first time, you have a story told to you, you watch it the second time to see how they told the story. Luke is a testament to that.” Jacobs’s eye for the cinema and his motivation during filming helped create a film worthy being represented in a major film festival. “He was having a blast every second and he made something really darn good,” Doyle said. “I love when people who work hard make something good and then are recognized for that. He’s in a major film festival at the beginning of seventh grade, and that’s pretty good.”

STORY WILL CLARK | PHOTOS MASON SMITH

Rehearsals underway for Sherlock Holmes play by Avery Powell he St. Mark’s/Hockaday Theater Program will present Samuel French’s Hound of Baskervilles Nov. 14, 15 and 16 in the Eamonn William Lacey Black Box Theater. Directed by drama instructors Rod Blaydes and Marion Glorioso, the play will show Sherlock Holmes and John Watson’s investigation of a village’s local legend on a mysterious moor. “I’m thrilled that we have the opportunity to put it on,” stage manager Kathryn Banks said. “Sherlock Holmes has always been one of my favorite characters ever since I was a kid.” Banks, a Hockaday senior who is in charge of keeping both the cast and the crew organized and on task, is in the Black Box every day to assist the actors in rehearsal. “This play has a very talented group of actors,” Banks said. “They’re learning their lines quite well. They’re working very hard.” The production will feature junior Avery Powell as Watson, senior Jacob Chernick as Sherlock Holmes, senior William Sydney as Sir Henry, sophomore Zach Cole as Barrymore and sophomore Gray Wood as Jack, in order of appearance. “[The actors] are very dedicated to learning the various dialects and accents,” Banks said. “For

ALDEN JAMES PHOTO

PLAYING AROUND (above) Fall play actors sophomore Zach Cole and junior Avery Powell rehearse lines alongside (below) senior Jacob Chernick and drama instructor Rod Blaydes.

example, we have two members of the cast that must be Scottish and the rest are British of various classes. It’s quite an effort.” The actresses, in order of appearance, include Hockaday sophomore Cameron Giles as Lady Agath Mortimer, junior Julia Pasquinelli as Perkins, junior Mercer Malakoff as Mrs. Barrymore, senior Avery Baker as Kathy Stapleton and senior Monique Byars as Laura Lyons. The production crew works every Tuesday and Saturday striving to make the show better, even taking out a full section of the seats to increase the size of the stage to accommodate for the larger set.

THE REMARKER LIFE OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 13 L STREET ART

LEAVING HIS MARK Senior Miguel Plascencia puts up a copy of his trademark samurai-with-a Mexican-vibe piece on a wall.

Everywhere’s a canvas

Presenting his work to the public, senior Miguel Plascencia leaves his art all around town. From garbage bins to alley walls, his drawings are becoming a natural part of the city.

earching for the right spot on his first outing, senior Miguel Plascencia and his friends make their way through downtown. Carrying the backpack he prepared the night before filled with ample copies of his artwork and his homemade wheat paste, Plascencia walks to a parking lot between two buildings. Deciding this is the perfect place to set up, he sets his supplies down and starts to put the paste on the beaten brick wall deep in downtown Dallas. Just before posting his masterpieces on the wall, four police officers stroll through his temporary studio. Terrified, Plascencia throws his supplies back in his backpack and walks away from his first attempt at street art. Starting small with making stencils and cardboard, Plascencia finds satisfaction in placing his art in peculiar places. “It all started when I had some cardboard leftover from cereal boxes and stuff like that,” he said. “I realized that I could repeat a piece of art over and over again. The best form to repeat that art was with a spray can, and you hold it up against something, spray it, and then it was there — and you can do it over and over again. I guess I just started getting a little risky, and I did it on a wall, and I liked the feeling of putting my art on a wall where it wasn’t supposed to be.” His love for street art sprung from an abstract design he made sophomore year of a bear in a glass casing and eventually led to his

involvement in computer design. “I started off with this design that I had in my sketchbook, which was this radical bear that had his tongue out, and his head was captured in kind of like a glass case,” Plascencia said. “That was easy to cut out into cardboard stencils. That became my first piece of street art.” He would go up to Denton with his brother and would walk outside on the concrete of the parking lot and imprint it on every parking space. Eventually the senior would get involved with computer designing for more complex artwork, and he would be able to create multiple copies effortlessly. “The beauty of that was that it still preserved the repetition that I liked from the stencils,” Plascencia said, “because I could print out a piece of art and literally make a hundred copies of it and not have to repeatedly spray paint and take off the stencil. The mediums that I worked in were evolving. So were my designs. I started doing more and more characters, more and more art pieces, and it just grew from there.” As Plascencia’s designing skills improved, he could create larger and more elaborate pieces such as one of his most recent pieces “Aztec Future.” “Basically, it’s like a mix of Aztec, Mexican art and made with very bright, techno colors, like neon,” Plascencia said. “It’s complicated, and it’s very, very layered because after doing

some messing around on the computer I started experimenting with layers, textures, different types of brushes on the computer that I could use, different pen styluses that help the brush seem more natural on the computer, and it all just came down to the Aztec Future piece. I would say that that’s my most elaborate piece.” aining slight fame due to his street art, Plascencia became known under his pseudonym, Miklo, which was placed in all his artworks. “I started using a street name because I saw that all street artists had their own names that they would tag beside their street art,” Plascencia said. “I went by Miklo. When I first started off, I wanted my name to get out there, and the best way to do that was to just basically go around the whole city and put up one piece of art that, when you would pass by it, you’d see them and you would go somewhere else and see that one, and you would start to wonder who’s putting this up.” Along with the name Miklo, he’s become known for his signature samurai with a Mexican vibe. “The samurai that was mixed with Mexican colors was a mixture of two cultures that I really liked — my own and the Asian culture,” Plascencia said. “I used that design primarily to enforce the whole ‘Miklo movement’ and make myself more known in the Dallas area for my art.” As his most elaborate work took only two

hours to design, Plascencia sees his works as representations of his feelings or emotions in the moment and urgent rather than thought out. “Honestly most of my street art is very compulsive,” he said. “It’s in the moment. If there’s an idea in my head I need to get it down in that moment and get it done and then print it out and put it up. You know how most art, not street art, is well thought out and well planned? There’s like some design to it, like why this thing is there and this thing is there. For me, street art is just the thoughts in my head that I want to put down on walls. It’s very spontaneous.” Plascencia views this art form as a way of self-fulfillment and self-expression, no matter the public’s view of the piece. “Whatever you want to put up on a wall, you put it up and if it’s stupid, it’s stupid and if it’s not, it’s not,” Plascencia said. “People are going to pass by and look at it and they’re either going to think it’s cool or it’s not and you won’t be there to know so it doesn’t even matter.” While his first attempt at placing his designs in downtown Dallas failed, he returned the next day to post his masterpiece. “We put up the piece of artwork that I had made and I felt very proud of what I had done,” Plascencia said. “I felt like I had added some spice to that wall. Like I had added something of myself to the walls of Dallas. It was a very good feeling putting up that first piece. I’ll still remember it until the day I die.”

STORY DANIEL COPE ADDITIONAL REPORTING AIDEN BLINN| PHOTOS ARNO GOETZ, COURTESY MIGUEL PLASCENCIA

Five new clubs and organizations make their campus debut this year CLUB

Engineering eSports French Culture Mental Health UNICEF — Information compiled by Alex Kim

PURPOSE

MEETINGS

WHEN

This club focuses on immersing the students in a world filled with different types of engineering problems and ideas. It wants students to pursue a career in this field in the future.

Members cover basic topics in different types of engineering relevant to projects that we would like to pursue. They will move onto building products that may help the community.

The eSports Club hopes to establish a place at school for those involved with the eSports community to discuss the development and strategies that come with eSports.

Club members analyze and talk strategies in various games as well as discuss pro tournaments and news.

Mondays or Wednesdays 3:10

This club to give people a chance to encounter a very rich culture of which they have certainly heard a lot but probably never accessed for themselves.

The average meeting consists of a snippet of media, followed by rules learned through group interaction.

Wednesdays 3:10

The Mental Health Club strives to inform others about how people suffering from mental illness feel and how it is a difficult thing to control. The purpose of UNICEF Club is to promote UNICEF's goals and ideals (lowering the number of daily preventable child deaths from 18,000 to zero) through awareness campaigns.

Mondays 3:10

The meetings are organized to promote open discussions. Members can ask specific or general questions and be able to receive answers.

Thursday 3:10

So far it has had only introductory informational meetings but in the future it will have guest speakers, presentations, discussions and meetings to plan events.

Every other Tuesday 10:30

C THE REMARKER COVER OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 14-15

‘HAVE YOU SEEN CHRISTINA?’ ‘HAS SHE TEXTED YOU?’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

The questions keep coming, but Jake and Anna Morris don’t think anything of them. It’s Labor Day Weekend. Her phone is probably dead. She’s 23, and they don’t need to talk to her every day. But Monday rolls around and the phone calls keep coming — Christina’s boss calls. She is not at work. Christina never misses work. No one has seen Christina Morris since Friday night. Panic sets in. Anna Morris picks up the phone and calls the Plano Police Department. Her daughter Christina, the petite 23-year-old girl with beautiful brown eyes, is missing. The Plano Police Department, now days behind on starting a search, throws itself into the case. Christina’s name and face appear on television stations across Dallas, in local newspapers and on billboards. “We felt really good about that and talking to the police — they really care,” Development Office Coordinator Anna Morris said. “They have told us it’s become personal to them. They want to find her as much as we want to find her.” As the weeks pass, her name appears less and less. Her story stops running in the newspapers. “It’s not on TV every day like the first week, and people think it’s okay now,” Anna Morris said. “But it’s actually worse every day.” The sheer lack of any information regarding her disappearance makes it difficult to keep Christina’s name in the forefront of everyone’s mind. After leaving her friends to go to her car at The Shops at Legacy in Plano at 4 a.m., Christina was never seen again. All that remains from the night is a sole security video of her walking with a friend to the parking garage. “The problem that we have is that we don’t have any information beyond that video that everyone saw of them walking into that garage,” Anna Morris said. “We’ve been unable to find her phone, her hat, her purse, her bag — anything — anything to give us any clue. So she is technically a missing person’s case.” And therein lies the problem. Since there is no evidence of a crime, police technically cannot handle Christina’s case as criminal. With no evidence and no clues for investigators, the entire Morris family has found it difficult to maintain hope. Assistant controller Sherry Yates has been Anna Morris’ best friend since age 17 at Longview High School.

The day Christina went missing, Yates was on vacation. As soon as she got back, Yates went directly to the Morrises’ house. “By that time it was just full-on panic,” Yates said. “At that point, they figured out something was very wrong.” Yates knew she had to be supportive; she had to have a clear mind ready to help. “I had had my panic moments before I got home,” Yates said, “but at that point you just want to be supportive and stand beside them. There’s nothing that you can really do to help and that’s still really true today. You can put up posters and help with fundraisers and things like that, but you just try to be supportive and just hope that they find out something.” But the support Anna Morris received from her coworkers in Nearburg Hall has been paramount to keeping hope alive. From bringing meals to her house to doing dishes, friends like Yates have tried to understand the struggle the Morris family faces. “The support came early on as food because clearly she was not cooking meals,” Yates said. “Christina’s birth mom was in town from Oklahoma and they were staying with friends. So there were a lot of MISSING As search efforts for Christina Morris continue, her friends and family have created signs, shirts and wristbands to help spread the word.

people here that were in the house that needed to be fed. I was there washing dishes every day, doing laundry, cleaning the house because all they were doing was looking for their daughter. Breathing was hard. All they were able to do was look for her.” And apart from the meals and help with searches, Anna Morris found some comfort just being around her coworkers and following the same daily routine as before, especially after the business of the first few weeks wore off. “It is good to be [at St. Mark’s] around school, around the people I work with,” she said. “They are my friends, I’ve been there for 14 years, so they are practically family. I’ve known a lot of them almost as long as I’ve had Jake. I can concentrate on something else, and the great thing is, everybody at work understands my attention span isn’t what it used to be. It does give me a little bit of normal and that does help.”

In addition, the help of hundreds of people, many of whom she had never met before, kept Anna Morris from collapsing into despair. “The amount of support we have gotten from people who don’t know us or her is incredible,” she said. “It’s just unbelievable. You try to keep your mind out of the dark side in a situation like this, and to see so many good, caring people who come out and go out of their way and give their time, their money, it’s amazing. “And that keeps us going. That keeps us moving forward. It keeps us from shutting the door and pulling the covers over our head.” The tragedy is all too real for Anna Morris’s son Jake. “Sometimes when we go to different events [searches], it hits me, and I’m like, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of people here, and this is happening,’” he said. Despite Christina’s actually being his half-sister, the two were very close, and with his sorrow came another realization. “It makes you appreciate what you do have and take every moment as something special and not for granted,” he said. “The last time I was with Christina I was at her apartment celebrating her birthday and I’m like ‘Okay, this is just one of the 23 birthdays she’s had.’ It makes you cherish those moments more.” While his mother organized searches and made fliers, Jake spread the cause through social media in an effort to reach out and get more people involved. “It’s just something that when I first found out, I put out on Twitter and within 30 minutes, over a thousand people shared it and throughout the course of the whole thing, more and more people see it,” he said. “In our world today, people are dependent on technology and social media, and through those websites, it hits a lot of people.” With no information from anonymous tips despite the hefty reward offered by Crime Stoppers and the Morris family, Anna and Jake Morris believe the best way to find Christina is to keep her image in the public eye. “It’s a great big world, and if everyone would stop what they were doing and just look right there, somebody would see her right now,” Anna Morris said. “Sadly we can’t make that happen, but if we keep saying it and keep telling her story, somebody is going to see her.” Until then, however, they try to keep up hope by supporting each other, knowing that their work isn’t done until Christina is safe with them. “Giving up is not an option,” Anna Morris said. “We are not going anywhere. We are going to keep thinking of things and doing things.” And Jake and Anna Morris have only one thing to say to Christina — “Stay strong, we love you, and we will bring you home.”

IN THEIR OW

WORD ‘I was devastated for the Morris Family, so I started praying immediately. Anna and I sit next to each other in the Development Office. We are both mothers who would do anything for our children. It does not surprise me the effort, devotion, and commitment this family has for one another. They just want answers, because Christina would never put her family through this agony on her own. Someone needs to come forward and tell the truth.’ — Development Assistant Patti Winston

‘Imme to Ann hope t and th just ha that ha and its where news v

EMPTY SPOT Donning a #ComeHomeNina shirt made by her son, Ann that with enough support from friends, family and various other peopl the chances of finding Christina will increase. The shirt, which displays favorite quote, James Dean’s famous saying “Dream as if you’ll live fore

TIMELINE KEY EVENTS

While Anna Morris stayed home with family as they searched for Christina, the many faces of the Development Office assisted in nearly anything they were needed for. After returning to work, Anna Morris has always had a strong community to look to her in time of need.

‘My first reaction was shock… and horror. I think it’s any mothers’ worst nightmare not to know where your child is and my heart went out to Anna and her entire family and I think everyone wanted to help and there was seemingly nothing we could do but love, support, and pray. ‘ — Director of Communications Katie Rubarth

since Christina’s disappearance

August 30 Christina is last seen at The Shops at Legacy

WEEK 2

‘The unknown is awful, and I was just so frightened for the family. As a parent, it’s hard to even think about something happening to your kids.’

ediately, my heart went out na and her family and just that everyone is alright hat everyone is safe. You ate to see something like appen to good people s just one of those things e you hope to hear good very, very quickly.’ — Director of Alumni Relations Alex Eshelbrenner ’04

na Morris knows le eager to help, Christina’s ever. Live as

— Director of Development Jim Bob Womack

‘When I first heard about Christina missing I was just really shocked about how this could really be happening to someone in our offices.’

WEEK 1

September 9-10 Texas Equusearch joins the search for Christina and implements drones

WEEK 3

WEEK 4

— Director of The St. Mark’s Fund Christina Jarke

September 24 Plano PD holds a crime safety meeting with record attendance

October 9 The reward for any evidence increases to $10,000 with a donation from Crime Stoppers

if you’ll die today,” also features a photo of Christina on the front. The #ComeHomeNina hashtag was one of the many ways Jake Morris tried to expand the search effort through social media. Even after nearly two months of searching, Anna and Jake Morris have not given up hope.

WEEK 5

WEEK 6

WEEK 7

WEEK 8-9

TODAY OCT. 31

September 4-5 Plano Police begins search for Christina, Jake launches a Twitter page

September 19 Plano PD gets involved in social media by posting a picture of Christina on its Facebook page

October 1 One month has passed without any evidence useful to finding Christina

October 20 An anonymous donor adds $15,000 to the reward, making it $25,000 total

L THE REMARKER LIFE OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 16 FIRST GRADERS

The year of

Firsts MASON SMITH PHOTOSTORY

HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER MASON SMITH SPENDS SOME QUALITY TIME WITH THE NEWEST BATCH OF FIRST GRADERS Cooper Guiler answers a question in Language Arts.

Reagan Graham tosses a ball across the court.

William Taylor learns the rules of volleyball.

First grade instructor Terri Broom hands out Little Fuzzies.

First Grade Top Picks

favorite

CLASS of the day

the best

Language Arts Math Recess

13 16

GAME

in Docâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s P.E. class

First grade instructor Terri Broom teaches her Math class.

Lion Ball

11 21

Dodgeball (Star Wars)

Hank Vig

THE REMARKER LIFE OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 17 L FCD — JAMES LINGO

A safe way forward

FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE The influence and impact of the FCD program explained by its target students.

INSTRUCTOR JAMES LINGO HOPES TO ARM STUDENTS AGAINST DRUG ABUSE THROUGH FCD’S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM.

Bill Dannenmaier — Eleventh Grade I had James Lingo as my FCD instructor. The best part of FCD this year was that James didn’t focus on drugs, just what DAVIS MARSH PHOTO

people do to replace happiness. James was incredibly enthusiastic and pointed out that we shouldn’t get angry and instead just talk out our problems and discuss when something is wrong. I think FCD is a great program, but I’m not sure if the message gets through to everyone.

RETROSPECTIVE In his talks, James Lingo tells about the consequences of drug use.

“When it comes to academics we talk about figuring out your learning style,” Lingo said. “That also applies to social life. What’s your learning style? What things do you enjoy? When I had an opportunity to start investing my time in learning who I was and what I liked to do, it was a vital part of my growth.” Lingo, who feels that the taboo nature of addiction forced him to tackle his issues by himself, believes that loving yourself is important to being mentally sound. “I’ve often realized that the person in our lives that we spend the most amount of time with, but neglect and know the least, is ourselves,” Lingo said. “So when you reverse that, you began to do things to make yourself feel good and you don’t have to wait until you’re sixty years old that you can pamper yourself and enjoy yourself.” Now that he has been clean for more than a decade, Lingo finds motivation to be a part of the FCD program in his interaction with students. “My motivation is the teenagers that are here,” Lingo said. “I enjoy the dialogue and the conversation, and I enjoy helping keep kids healthy, and pointing to that is a major thing for me. My motivation is strictly seeing and being

able to converse with the healthy kids that are trying to make the right choices and right decisions.” Director of Counseling Barbara Van Drie sees that FCD best helps students understand consequences through real-world experience. “The hardest part of educating adolescents about substance use is that people are trying to help you anticipate consequences,” Van Drie said, “and that’s the part that adolescents can’t really see yet, and don’t believe will happen to them. In some ways, these guys are real life examples of consequences. That’s not to say that they don’t have a good life, but there were doors that were closed for them because of substance abuse.” In the end, for Lingo, FCD is all about prevention. It’s about education. It’s about keeping healthy kids healthy. That way, students don’t have to wait for a frightening sign or wait for something worse, like a seizure, to admit to having a problem. “FCD has been around for a while,” Lingo said. “We’re definitely glad that St. Mark’s is a part of that and that we’re able to contribute to this area of prevention as best we can. I think it’s a great relationship and we hope it continues to grow.”

STORY DAVIS MARSH | ADDITIONAL REPORTING ANVIT REDDY | PHOTO ARNO GOETZ

Favorite 23% 25%

18%

31%

grad e

15%

19%

17%

20% 7% 17% 13%

28% 25%

33%

14% 6% 24% 26%

24% 23%

18% 33%

gra de

24%

16% 10% 30% 30% 3% 27%

30%

Twi tter

gram Insta

m gra Insta

Vi ne Sn ap cha t

eb Fac

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33%

1 1t h

e rad

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14% 8% 25%

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9th g rad e

19%

33%

Anthony Andrews — Seventh Grade José was my FCD teacher. I like when he showed us a video called the marshmallow test where kids were put in a room with a marshmallow and told not to eat it. Only two of them obeyed, but those two got another marshmallow, so the video taught us about instant gratification.

Twi tter

ven with the cell phone trial period, which began two years ago, still in effect, students somehow find time to use social media. Students were asked to rank five social media sites in two categories: favorite and most used. The number of students who chose each form of social media is represented with a percentage and a line to that social media.

11th

e rad

rad e

hg 10t

Data compiled by John Crawford Graphic by Will Clark

was the “worst” drug. José concluded the debate by saying that the “worst” drug was the one that the individual was most attracted to. We were actually educated about the drugs, rather than just warned about them. José once mentioned that to educate students about drugs, their teachers used to show them videos that just said vague sayings such as “Drugs rot your brain” and stuff like that. I think that actually being educated about these drugs is beneficial to students at St. Mark’s.

Most Used

9th g

The state of social media

DAVIS MARSH PHOTO

Riley Sanders — Ninth Grade My FCD counselor was José. My favorite part of the week was when we discussed three prevalent drugs: alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. Everybody took a side, and we had a debate about which one

DAVIS MARSH PHOTO

urrounded by friends after three long nights of drinking, James Lingo’s alcohol use brought him to a frightening new low. Even as a college student, Lingo had already been drinking for several years — since he was 13. He was invincible. Nothing was going to happen to him. The cravings, the heavy, daily use and his emotional insecurity were red flags in and of themselves. But the seizures made it undeniable. Lingo was an alcoholic. A long-time FCD instructor here at 10600 Preston Road and a recovering alcoholic, James Lingo has shared his story to scores of students to warn about the dangers of drug addiction. But for Lingo, the familiar FCD program isn’t about forcefully preaching the evils of drugs. It’s about prevention, education and keeping healthy kids healthy. “Because of our experiences, we’re able to give the head-heart principle: the academics and the heart, emotion and feelings behind things,” Lingo said. “We’re able to explain the science of what actually is going on and relate it into very simple formats and simple terms that allow kids to understand on the level that they are. I think a lot of teenagers enjoy being met where they are versus another talking head adult come in just talking to them.” After experiencing two seizures following a long weekend of drinking, Lingo quit the habit through traditional rehabilitation and faith-based programs. He believes that had he received an education similar to what FCD offers, his life would have played out very differently. “We did have some people talk to us, but it was more lecturing ‘don’t do this, don’t do that,’” Lingo said. “That didn’t go very well with me, but if I think about having someone that allowed me to be very open, honest and candid about my fears, my curiosities and things of that nature and really talk to me from a practical, humanistic standpoint, I think it would have made a major difference for me.” When he talks to students about healthy highs, which lift one’s mood without the use of a substance, Lingo emphasizes the importance of self-understanding as an effective means of preventing drug abuse.

Sn ap ch at

Vin e eb o Fac

V THE REMARKER VIBE OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 18

THEVIBE

THIS ISSUE: GONE GIRL THE CLASSICS HEADLINERS THEATERS

Reviewing the very best and very worst of it all

Kidnapping thriller twists and turns, lives up to hype D

avid Fincher’s new mystery-thriller Gone Girl has been sweeping the nation for some weeks now, beating out promising masterpieces such as Dracula Untold and The Boxtrolls and leaving behind a trail of surprised viewers and impressed critics. At first, the story seems about as boring and predictable as they come, and to be honest it stays that way for almost an hour. Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) in small-town Missouri suddenly finds himself in the middle of an international media bonanza when his wife Amy disappears from their elegant whitewashed home on their fifth anniversary. Affleck (whose performance is surprisingly commendable in this considering flops like Gigli and Runner, Runner) immediately sets off a few alarms when he seems to personally react to his wife’s possible murder with about the same concern one might give to a lost sock. (Not like your favorite pair either; I’m talking that one with the hole in the toe that you were kind of hoping you’d lose anyway). However, it doesn’t take long for Fincher to reveal just about every character to be an unlikable jerk. This cynical undertone seems to match the constant, highly stylized grayscale cinematography that drones on throughout the film. The entire nature of the story changes abruptly about halfway through the show, and the plot twist that catalyzes this change was so unexpected that I heard about a third of the audience gasp or murmur obscenities like “Oh, shoot!” when it happened. Quirks such as Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor’s subtle, haunting score, the casting of Tyler Perry as Nick Dunne’s serious lawyer and an incredibly bizarre role for Neil Patrick Harris only serve to add to the movie’s intrigue. Every actor shines at different moments, Opened Oct. 2 | Rated R Stars Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike and both Nick (Affleck) and Amy Directed by David Fincher (Rosamund Pike) demonstrate

Gone Girl

Movie Review

Se7en (1995)

amazing skills at creating venomous, unlikeable excuses for human beings. Fincher, the director behind other classic dystopian thrillers such as Se7en and Fight Club, brings his trademark sense of dark humor to Gone Girl. These brief flashes of sardonic wit dissipate some of the movie's natural tension while also helping to make a movie about marriage in Recession-era America appeal to a younger audience. Only too rarely these days does a movie come along that genuinely surprises audiences. With surprises you have to love and characters you love to hate, I expect the popularity of Gone Girl to increase steadily as the fall season goes on, especially considering the total lack of other good options.

B+

FILM REVIEW JACOB CHERNICK | PHOTOS CREATIVE COMMONS

his vintage theater is Oak Cliff’s greatest unexpected treasure. One of the only remaining theaters to use actual 35mm film reels, this place shows everything from silent movies to current blockbusters. If you don’t mind donning glasses without lenses and telling your friends that they “probably haven’t heard of it,” this is the place to see the movies you can’t see anywhere else.

Class up your movie night

ure, you could take your date to AMC and go see Generic Superhero Movie 39, but why do that when you could see something unique, artsy or really, really foreign? Luckily, you’re in the right place. The venue may be the most underrated factor of an enjoyable movie experience, and certain theaters in Dallas play features that don’t appear anywhere else. Ranging from smelly and exorbitantly priced to places people visit when they’re not even seeing a movie, Dallas has several completely distinctive independent theaters. Reviews Specialist Jacob Chernick visited four of them.

REVIEWS JACOB CHERNICK PHOTOS ALDEN JAMES

of this sleek Mockingbird Center theAngelika Staples ater include foreign films and obscure indie flicks that attract just enough customers to fill Film the small theaters inside. It’s not rare for folks here expecting to see a popular movie Center tolikecome Boyhood and get frustrated when they hear it’s not showing. Although I wish they’d play

some big-releases once in a while, the Angelika’s seating, interior and refreshments make it one of the best indie theaters in Dallas.

Inwood Theater

A+

B+

his movie theater is famous for its unique seating, and their investment certainly paid off. The replacement of movie chairs with comfy leather loveseats and bean bags has made the Inwood a unique Dallas icon. Protip: Go to one of the cult-classic midnight showings here. There’s nothing like sitting in a loveseat next to a group of diehard fans throwing plastic spoons at the screen.

B C A

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt star in this legendary 90’s thriller that features a mysterious killer modeling his grotesque murders after the seven deadly sins.

Mentioning it is already breaking a rule, but this mindbending story of an insomniac starting an underground fight club will never go out of style.

Fight Club (1999)

UP NEXT

MOVIE HOUSES

Texas Theater

Give these other Fincher films a try...

lamo Drafthouse, the up-and-coming indie showplace in Richardson, is the newest venue in a theater/restaurant market long-dominated by Studio Movie Grill. Alamo is cheaper than S.M.G. and has a quieter system of ordering food, but the location and the constant smell of beer makes this newcomer more trouble than it’s worth.

Head iners Concerts Alt-J

Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. South Side Ballroom

Wiz Khalifa

Nov. 10 at 8:30 p.m. House of Blues

The Black Keys

Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. American Airlines Center

Albums Neil Young

Storytone Nov. 4

Foo Fighters

Sonic Highway Nov. 10

Eminem

Shady XV Nov. 28

Wu-Tang Clan

A Better Tomorrow Nov. 28

Movies Interstellar Nov. 7

Foxcatcher Nov. 14

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I Nov. 21

Horrible Bosses 2 Nov. 26

COVERAGE. The ReMarker covers topics, issues, events and opinions of relevance and interest to the St. Mark’s School of Texas community. LETTERS. Send submissions to the editor at

10600 Preston Road, Dallas, 75230 or via email at remarker@smtexas.org. Letters should be brief and signed, although the writer may request anonymity. Letters may be rejected if libelous or obscene material is contained therein.

EDITORIALS. The newspaper’s opinion will be presented in each issue in the form of editorials, which are clearly labeled and appear on the Opinion pages. COLUMNS. Personal opinion is expressed through by-lined columns, which appear throughout the publication.Advertising. Contact the business staff at 214.346.8145. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Inclusion of an advertisement in these pages is not an indication of an endorsement by The ReMarker, any of its staff members or St. Mark’s School of Texas. DISTRIBUTION. Press run is 3,800 copies. Copies

are provided free of charge to students, faculty and staff at various distribution sites on campus and at our sister school, The Hockaday School. More than 2,600 copies are mailed out to alumni courtesy of the school’s offices of External Affairs, Development and Alumni divisions.

MEMBERSHIP. The ReMarker maintains membership in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, New York City, NY; National Scholastic Press Association, Minneapolis, MN; and Interscholastic League Press Conference, Austin. ONLINE VIEWING. Each issue of The ReMarker,

along with archival copies, can be viewed online at the school’s website, www.smtexas. org/remarker.

READER INVOLVEMENT. The ReMarker encourages

reader input through letters, guest columns and story ideas. Contact the appropriate editor for submissions. Suggestions will be given due consideration for future publication.

student newspaper of St. Mark’s School of Texas Dallas, TX 75230. 214.346.8000 www.smtexas.org/remarker

WILLIAM CALDWELL PHOTO

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF WHIPPLEHILL Things we don’t use WhippleHill for that we should and how we can communicate effectively through it. Page 20.

PUTTING AN END TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT OVERLOAD Many student announcements in Upper School assemblies are not necessary (see Good, Bad, Ugly). Page 21.

MASON SMITH PHOTO

EDITOR IN CHIEF MATTHEW CONLEY MANAGING EDITOR SHOURYA KUMAR CREATIVE DIRECTOR ZUYVA SEVILLA DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR ALEX KIM HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER MASON SMITH ISSUES EDITOR VIK PATTABI SENIOR CONTENT EDITOR CYRUS GANJI OPINION EDITORS CAMERON CLARK, WILLIAM CALDWELL BUSINESS MANAGER ROBY MIZE NEWS EDITORS BRADFORD BECK, NOAH KOECHER LIFE EDITORS WILL CLARK, AVERY POWELL SPORTS EDITORS ZACH NAIDU, PHILIP SMART GRAPHICS DIRECTOR ABHI THUMMALA CAMPUS COORDINATOR RICHARD JIANG PHOTO EDITOR ALDEN JAMES MALE CALL EDITOR PHILIP MONTGOMERY REVIEWS SPECIALIST JACOB CHERNICK PROJECT MANAGER DAVIS MARSH COPY EDITOR WILLIAM SYDNEY CARTOONIST WALTER JOHNSON STAFF ARTISTS JOON PARK, KILLIAN GREEN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS SAM EICHENWALD, ARNO GOETZ, WESLEY HIBBS, GRAHAM KIRSTEIN, CAM LAM, ADAM MERCHANT, CONNER OLSON, TIM O’MEARA, NICO SANCHEZ, FRANK THOMAS, CORBIN WALP, MATT WOODBERRY STAFF WRITERS RISH BASU, AIDEN BLINN, NICK BUCKENHAM, DANIEL COPE, JOHN CRAWFORD, CORDAY CRUZ, JAMES HANCOCK, CASE LOWRY, AIDAN MAURSTAD, CRAWFORD MCCRARY, PARKER MCWATTERS, MATTHEW PLACIDE, GOPAL RAMAN, ANVIT REDDY STAFF ASSISTANTS ANDRE ARSENAULT, DAVIS BAILEY, KAL BUSCAINO, CARSON CROCKER, RETT DAUGBJERG, BLAKE DAUGHERTY, ALEC DEWAR, WILL FORBES, ELLIOT FORD, ZACHARY GILSTRAP, JOHN GUNNIN, ALAN JIANG, ZOHEB KHAN,HENRY KISTLER, CANYON KYLE, CHRIS MCELHANEY, MIKE MAHOWALD, NICK MALVEZZI, NAFTAL MAUTIA, AUSTIN MONTGOMERY, WASEEM NABULSI, SEUN OMONIJE, ETHAN PITTSON, REECE RABIN, OMAR RANA, JIMMY RODRIGUEZ, KOBE ROSEMAN, SAM SHANE, MOHIT SINGHAL, SAM SUSSMAN, OLAN WARE, WILL WOOD ADVISER RAY WESTBROOK

COMMENTARY

THE REMARKER

THE REMARKER | FRIDAY, OCT. 31, 2014 | PAGE 19

The seeding of the grass this fall= has led to a greener looking campus that should last through the winter (see Target practice). Page 20.

Meeting Margaret McDermott, Page 20

EDITORIAL GENDER EQUALITY

ERADICATE THE

T S I X E s LABEL

ABHI THUMMALA ILLUSTRATION

he Honor Principle, the code that Marksmen strive to live by, specifically states that we must “[treat] each member of the school and community with the same respect and consideration that one would desire for himself.” It sounds pretty simple, right? And yes, we do a fairly good job of abiding by this rule within our community. But what about outside of our community? What about at Hockaday? What about everywhere else? To put it bluntly, Marksmen have a reputation for being sexist. Whether it seems true or not, it’s there. While we understand that students do not intend to ignore the rights of women, we still believe that we can improve our conduct toward them. But every single one of us, including the people who wrote this editorial, has failed to treat the opposite gender with equality at some point because we live in a world where females do not get the same treatment as males, the treatment they deserve. For example, we’re seeing this poor treatment on larger scales in places such as the NFL, where crimes like domestic violence are becoming an even more serious issue than they already were.

what

comes to

mind?

Now, the sexist actions within our community obviously lack the violence and gruesomeness seen in crimes involving domestic violence, but regardless, they are still breaches of gender equality that we overlook on a regular basis. Truthfully, though, nearly every person, regardless of gender, has made some sort of sexist remark at one time or another. Comments that unfairly generalize the female gender like women should stay in the kitchen or even comments that generalize the male gender like all men are slobs are overlooked yet unacceptable. There’s just no denying it. The trouble is, we have a tendency to make these remarks about women more casually and more frequently. And our problem is not that we are blatantly disregarding the value of the lives of women, but rather that we are often quite unaware of what we are saying or doing, largely due to the nearly all-male environment we have spent so many years growing in. So, how can we fix that? Since our problem is our general lack of awareness of our reputation, let’s make ourselves aware. Instead of brushing off comments we hear about this reputation, let’s embrace them as constructive criticism so

Marksmen, it’s time we start acting like true gentlemen. While we understand that Marksmen don’t necessarily have bad intentions, we want to raise awareness of the perception of some that we can be a sexist community. that we may slowly learn what gender equality truly entails. Let’s make the most of the little opportunities, such as encouraging female guest speakers to visit, to improve upon our knowledge of gender equality. We can even improve by simply learning to be gentlemen more often. Many of us may remember Navy SEAL Rorke Denver who spoke at the school a couple of years ago, who suggested that we must be mindful of the manners most of us forget, such as standing women get up from a table. These acts of kindness will not solve everything, but they will send us well on our way to fixing this problem. Let’s eradicate our sexist label. The women in our community, along with each and every one of us, will benefit from it. None of us are perfect, and none of us will ever be perfect when it comes to treating women (or anyone in general) with our utmost respect one hundred percent of the time. But there’s plenty of room for improvement. We are not suggesting putting women on a pedestal and treating them as if they are superior, but rather, we are suggesting simply treating them as equals. It’s an important task all Marksmen are capable of fulfilling, but one that many of us have been overlooking.

We all have a story. Perhaps, as students, we don’t have enough of a story to write an entire autobiography, but we certainly know enough to sum up what we’ve experienced in our life so far in a few words.

The title of my autobiography would be... ...A time in the life of “Lil’ Carrington”

...The bull and his matador

Sophomore Grant Brooks ...D’Oh Marcus Master Teacher Bruce Westrate

....Small stature, big contribution

Associate Director of College Counseling Casey Gendason ...The life of QB three

...Xenith: A life

Sophomore Hyer Thomas

Sophomore Clarke Wood

...Where’s Travis?

Freshman Canyon Kyle

Senior Walter Johnson

NEXT MONTH’S PROMPT

...A life in the time of Graham Kirstein: Witchcraft enthusiast, licensed street vendor and 18th century blacksmith Junior Graham Kirstein

‘Someone should invent...’

Submit your response to 16clarkc@smtexas.org for a chance to be featured in next month’s paper.

C THE REMARKER COMMENTARY OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 20

EDITORIAL

Meeting our woman of the century, Margaret McDermott

t’s not everyday that you get told you’ll be meeting a 102-year-old woman an hour beforehand. But when Headmaster David Dini asked four of my classmates and me to meet Margaret McDermott on a Tuesday afternoon a few weeks ago, I had to say yes. It was a few minutes later that I started freaking out. Margaret McDermott? You mean the wife of Eugene McDermott? That guy whose name is on pretty much every building on campus? The guy who founded Texas Instruments? What on earth am I supposed to say? But that didn’t matter. Because I didn’t have to say anything at all, really. And that’s because you would never guess Maragaret McDermott is 102. She stepped out of the front seat of her Buick and hopped into her wheelchair, and immediately an ear-to-ear smile grew on her face. I could hardly even introduce myself before she became the interviewer. “Where will you all be going to college next year?” “Well, none of us really know yet.” “Well, that’s okay! How long have you all been at St. Mark’s?” The questions kept coming, and after a few minutes I was fairly sure Mrs. McDermott knew more about me than some of my closest friends. She knows where I want to go to college next year, each activity I am part of on campus and my opinion on just about every issue in high school. But I was no longer surrpised after I went home and Googled her to read a few stories about her.

fter an announcement made at Upper School assembly by Paul Mlakar, director of academic information systems, we learned that the school’s website has many more features than we originally knew. One of these features is a club page, a page where club administrators are able to post details on the page in order for club members to see. This is just one of the many features that makes the school’s website convenient and functional. Another feature some teachers have begun to use is the online grade book feature that is available to both the teacher and the student. On the website, teachers are able to enter grades at their convenience and the website’s system calculates the grade and posts it for the student to see. We urge teachers to use this because it gives us immediate feed back on how well we are doing in a certain class. The most important feature offered by our website is the homework assignment section. While we understand that some faculty members believe this section is extremely complicated, we are concerned with the lack of core class teachers who consistently post homework online because it does not allow us to simply organize our work. We ask that if the teachers of these core classes choose to post their homework online, that they consistently do so so that we are able to access the homework at the same place nightly. If we begin utilizing these features, we believe the effectiveness of many aspects of our community will be greatly increased because we will always know what is happening around us. This would be a great positive for all constituents of this busy community.

MATTHEW CONLEY

It is almost expected that rich men all marry stay-athome wives. But that was far from the case with Eugene and Margaret McDermott. It means a lot In fact, in the journalism to see someone world, Margaret McDermott is of such prestige quite the legend. across the entire city of Dallas and She was society editor of all the way to the The Dallas Morning News during Northeast show The Great Depression and into some interest the 1940’s, until one day, accordin my own high school and me. ing to the ‘legend,’ she left.

target practice Water fountains | ice cold

The McDermott family is one of the most well known families when it comes to philanthropy in the entire nation. The family’s names are on buildings from SMU to UT Southwestern to MIT. And Mrs. McDermott, at 102 years old, still wanted to come visit us, a small private high school. It means a lot to see someone of such prestige across the entire city of Dallas and all the way to the Northeast show some interest in my own high school and me. So while it may have been interesting just to meet someone with such an incredible history, meeting Mrs. McDermott made me realize the kind of person it takes to build a place like St. Mark’s. Because it does not just take money. It takes someone who is so willing to commit to something that they will take care of personally. That they will come back and check on how it’s doing 60 years later. That they will visit the new headmaster as he awaits the remodeling the house that has served so many. So as you walk into the Science Building or Mr. Dini’s office, realize where these structures come from. Because they aren’t from someone who just made a donation to the school when their kids were here — they are gifts from those who truly care about our future.

kay, tensions rose between students as “Get off the grass!” echoed throughout the campus about every fifteen seconds (sorry for being harsh, Middle School). But the yelling was worth it. The once over seeded patches of sloppy mud and sand has been covered by lush, green blankets of new grass that make us want to cut across it even more. Even though the yelling caused some blues for those who made the horrific mistake of cutting across the grass, they can hold their heads up now because the grass is green, and therefore we are happy.

Sports attendance | off the mark

’mon guys. This fall season has been pretty bad. Not only has there been a lack in students attending, but the people who are attending aren’t fired up. But at least they’re showing up. It is pretty sad to see about four rows of people at every single sporting event. At the Trinity Valley football game, there were literally (not figuratively) 20-something Upper Schoolers there throughout the entire first half. C’mon. Be early, be loud and be proud!

ALDEN JAMES PHOTO

Y Green grass | nearly perfect

MEETING MRS. MCDERMOTT Checking out the remodeling of the headmaster’s home, which Eugene McDermott Headmaster David Dini and his family will soon occupy, Senior Class President Nathan Ondracek, along with seniors Elton McIntosh, Matthew Conley and Carrington Kyle, assist Mrs. McDermott into the residence.

things that hit or miss their marks at 10600 Preston Road

CAMERON CLARK PHOTO

icture this: A psyched fifth grader has just won his game of football during his break period in humanities class, and a tenth grader returns from a powerful in-school PE sesh on the StarTrac. They both want one thing: water. But wait, what is this? Mold on the water fountain, as far as the eye can see. They realize that there are only certain water fountains without the mold and with cold water, such as the glorious, “legen…wait for it…dary” water fountains of Hick’s Gym. The two students take a couple of gulps, curious as to what they just drank, and head for class with disappointment, wondering where the days of consistently squeaky clean water fountains had gone.

One day, she received a phone call from a mother of a bride who was not too happy about the coverage in the newspaper about her daughter’s wedding. But Mrs. McDermott listened nicely and hung up the phone. Then she called her travel agent and told him she had $200 to spend and wanted to know where she could go. When she heard about a possible cruise to South America, she booked the trip, handed in her resignation and left. And for years to come, she was considered a legend among female writers for The Dallas Morning News. So it finally made sense to me that this great journalist of years past wanted to ask all of the questions. And I’m glad she did.

MASON SMITH PHOTO

A call for more consistency

Halloween | bullseye

’all, it’s Friday…and it’s Halloween! How often does that happen? [Once in a full moon, most probably (haha); nah, it’d be much less frequent than that] But the hype isn’t just for the holiday – tomorrow, at midnight, is the deadline for early applications to college. That’s right, seniors: the one year you could’ve trick-or-treated, you had to pound out last-minute college essay. Just kidding, we know you’ve all proactively approached the college process and have confidently finished by now. But seriously, tonight’s special – just beware of carnivorous teletubbies and Juice in his fifth-grade batman outfit. Oh, and if an eccentric neighbor hands you a toothbrush as a treat, be sure to thank him/her/ it: hygiene goes farther than clogged arteries.

THE REMARKER COMMENTARY OCTOBER, 2014 PAGE 21 C

The issue with people’s criticism of Spencer has more to do with their absolutely negative perception of him as a person. Though he helped the sickly, saved the dying and placed himself at risk, his one misstep — not taking the necessary precaution in monitoring his health — has endangered others. For that, Spencer is villainized. Realistically, Spencer is a hero, an unshakable humanitarian that made a grave mistake. He’s a good person with a blemish, not vice-versa. In fact, what Spencer’s done — in regards to his service — acts as an example to others. Four U.S. cases of Ebola have spread a case of hysteria throughout the nation; in Af-

COMMUNITY DISSERVICE | CARTOON WALTER JOHNSON

Just a week ago, Nurse Julie Doerge and McDermott Master Teaching Chair in Science John Mead advised the Upper School on the dangers of disease, specifically enterovirus and Ebola. Ultimately, their message called for Marksmen to remain calm, logical and educated. After all, as Mead stated, America is a country equipped with the best medical equipment, doctors and disease prevention centers. In Africa, the sick take care of the sick, the dead are left on the road and the virus is free to spread according to its own will. Our national reaction to Ebola demonstrates how much we, as Americans, care for the wellbeing of our country, how much we’re willing to sacrifice to protect others. There’s no country in the world that can parallel the intensity, responsibility and care with which Americans respond to crises. But can we not share our care? Can we not expand that same circle of concern to include other countries, peoples or places that do not pertain to America? I understand that the homeland takes priority, but are we too insular? Are we too concerned with improving our lives — not the lives of others? Spencer, through his work, personified responsiblity and service. He saw a problem, identified it and decided to act. He cared. Contrary to popular reactions, maybe we should strive to be a little bit more like Spencer. Maybe we should strive to care more for our school. For our country. For our world. Maybe we should care more for others, worry less about ourselves and consider the status of our world in its entirety — not just daily neighborhood events. Maybe Ebola is a shout for us to consider the world community. Maybe Ebola is a much-needed wakeup call.

the good

STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN CHAPEL

Many Marksmen do not get opportunities to speak in front of large crowds regularly (with the exception of senior exhibitions), so we’d like to thank Interim Chaplain Douglas Carter for allowing students and faculty to get involved in the chapel services so far this year. The talks provide the opportunity for students and faculty to hear stories and lessons from different perspectives, as well as a chance to speak about something meaningful in front of a large group of people.

the bad

SIGNING IN AND OUT

The junior/senior sign-out system, which consists of upperclassmen visiting the Upper School office to report a campus leave, is vastly un-obeyed. The Upper School office, due to its location in Centennial Hall (the very tip of campus), is an impractical location for sign-out — especially considering the relative ease with which a student may leave campus without registering an exit. As a solution, we propose that the signout sheet be moved to Nearburg, or perhaps Hoffman, so as to prompt students to begin reporting off-campus visits, thus improving both student safety and campus security.

the ugly

CAMERON CLARK PHOTO

CYRUS GANJI

rica, more than 10,000 have been diagnosed with 4,922 dead. The magnitude of the disease – and the resultant deaths – is incomprehensible. The events of the past month might’ve pointed to a national fault of ours: while international problems merit practically none of our attention, it seems that the slightest of domestic problems have the potential to sound alarms, raise havoc and occupy our national conscious.

CONCISE OPINION ON CAMPUS MATTERS

MASON SMITH PHOTO

ight as it was about to die out, the flaming controversy of Ebola came rushing back to life. I heard varying reactions to the news that New York City doctor, Craig Spencer, had contracted Ebola after a trip to Guinea. “What an idiot, he should’ve known he was at risk!” “Does he just not care about other people?” “Why did he go to West Africa in the first place?” The questions are incessant, and the perceived answers — the ones other people believe to be true — are very removed from actuality. Spencer, 33, was serving under Doctors Without Borders — a Nobel Peace Prize nonprofit founded to aid people in world trouble spots. But Spencer’s time in Guinea was just a speck on a resume packed with service activity: He helped create teaching curricula in Rwanda. He assisted with the creation of a mortality survey in Burundi. He founded and set up pregnancy monitoring surveillance programs throughout the continent. Yet, for some reason, people are set on calling him “selfish.” In our day and age, in our era of excess, people seem intent on uneducated judgment. Spencer — a dedicated humanitarian — has jeopardized his life through service. And we call him inconsiderate. And, frankly, his decision to return to the United States — as a potential carrier of the virus — is somewhat selfish and inconsiderate. I understand that I just reversed my argument; surprisingly, that was intentional.

long STORY short

ASSEMBLY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Let’s be honest. We don’t really have time to listen to the 20-something people lining up on the stage at our Friday assemblies, each announcing the next meeting of the club they created or are running. We understand that the first couple of assemblies are important for clubs trying to gain new members, but let’s not make a habit of announcing every meeting at every Upper School assembly. We agree that student announcements, when important, are necessary to inform students of activities around campus. But we also believe that not all of these announcements have been necessary ones, so let’s try to cut down on them.

ALDEN JAMES PHOTO

Ebola a much needed wake-up call

THE REMARKER | FRIDAY, OCT. 31, 2014 | PAGE 22

hen I joined the volleyball team freshman year, I thought it might help me out with the ladies. I thought it would lead to some canoodling, shenanigans and overall tomfoolery. But it turns out you have to actually be good at volleyball for it to help you with the ladies. You aren’t supposed to be a junior on junior varsity. But I am. I put the junior in junior varsity. Except I’m on varsity, too. Well, kinda. I keep our morale high and the benches warm for varsity home games. You can usually find me with perfectly unsweaty hair making smart-aleck comments with my co-swingman Graham Kirstein near the end of the Lions’ bench. It’s always weird when people ask which volleyball team I’m on. Usually the conversations go a little like this: Fangirls: Hey Philip! You’re really cool. It’s really cool that you play volleyball. What team are you on? Did I already say you’re cool? Me: Relax stranger. I’m on both teams. I play home games for varsity, and I play for the veterans team too. It’s the best of both worlds. So yeah, my volleyball skills aren’t exactly glamorous. Far from it, in fact. Just a while ago, the junior varsity veterans team played against the Hockaday varsity team. Your classic battle of the sexes. Male versus female. Lions versus Daisies. Shorts versus spandex. ast year, we went in with confidence. Too much of it. We all wore fake mustaches, which undoubtedly struck the Daisies with perplexity and fear. We carried signs with words like “MEAT” and “CREATINE” crudely scribbled in marker on poster board bought from the student store just a few minutes before. We sported NBA jerseys that showed off our perfectly undefined biceps. I wore my Dirk Germany jersey. Classic manly man stuff. But it was all to no avail. We faced a furious Daisy team that barely beat us. After that loss, we came into this year’s game serious. No fake mustaches. No manly signs. No uncovered biceps. Some of us still wore jerseys, just soccer ones — those cover the biceps. I wore my blue and white Messi jersey. All business. Once warmups started and our team got to practice spikes, we felt good. We were playing on a girl’s level net, which is only seven feet tall. We, men, play on eight foot nets. A whole foot makes a big difference. Can you imagine the kind of jams LeBron would throw down on a nine foot hoop? Well, it was kind of like that. And yes, I did just compare the junior varsity veteran team to LeBron James. We were hitting volleyballs straight down. There would be no way anyone could return these hits. No matter the gender. Once the game started, we got off to an early lead. We blocked their hits, shout out to PJ “J-Pizzle” Voorheis for that, and Greyson “Grey Wolf” Gallagher smacked some winners for a solid start. But the Daisies roared back (aren’t only Lions are supposed to roar?). That wasn’t supposed to happen. We lost our grip on the game, and the Daisies won. I was angry. I didn’t even know why. Volleyball was just something I had picked up freshman year so I didn’t have to do PE in the fall. But for some reason, I couldn’t stand losing to them. The girls. I looked around for an exit. All I saw was the other team, all smiling. Then I looked at my team, we were smiling once coach Friesen told us the game was all in good fun. Even the crowd was smiling, but they could have been smiling because they just witnessed a bunch of boys lose to their girls. Eventually, a smile crept across my face, too.

CONNOR OLSON PHOTO

ON THE FENCE

Preparing to lunge, sophomore Eddie Yang competes in a fencing tournament at Hockaday. Page 24

After missing six games during the season, senior quarterback Walter Johnson returns to help the football team compete for an SPC Championship. Page 26

CONNER OLSON PHOTO

A woman’s game

COMEBACK

MASON SMITH PHOTO

PHILIP SMART

SPORTS

CLUTCH TIME

As the varsity volleyball team heads into the SPC Championship Tournament, senior Tim Simenc hopes to complete a three-peat and earn another championship. Page 27

Upcoming SPORTING EVENTS IN THE WEEKS AHEAD

ATHLETIC Tip-off STUDENTS’ ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Today

Weekend

Next week

> The Upper School pep rally

> The varsity fencing team

> The football SPC championship game will take place Nov. 7 at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas at 7 p.m. The Lions will compete in the game if they win their opening playoff game tomorrow night.

will be held in Hicks Gym at 10:30 a.m.

> Junior varsity and

varsity cross country teams will have an intrasquad run at Norbuck Park at 4 p.m.

> Tyler Seguin and the

Dallas Stars take on the Anaheim Ducks at the American Airlines Center at 7:30 p.m. The Stars look to get a victory against a very talented Ducks team to move up in Western Conference standings.

will compete in the FIT Epee and Foil Open at the Fencing Institute of Texas in Farmers Branch at a time to be determined.

> Varsity football plays

its opening playoff game away against Houston’s Episcopal High School at4 p.m.

> The O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, part of the NASCAR Nationwide Series, takes place Saturday at the Texas Motor Speedway starting at 3 p.m.

enior Luke Hudspeth has committed to row for Dartmouth. Hudspeth started rowing in the spring of his freshman year and quickly found success in the sport. “I was planning on trying out for the baseball team, but Coach [Will] Forteith encouraged me to come out to row,” Hudspeth said. Several schools had been looking at Hudspeth for rowing, but Dartmouth was his top choice. Ultimately, Dartmouth was the best choice for Hudspeth. “There were about three or four other schools that I was thinking about rowing for,” Hudspeth said. “I chose Dartmouth because it was the best fit for me both academically and competitively.” Hudspeth will row his freshman year and hopes to stick with it through his college career. “The biggest thing rowing has taught me is that even when you think you can’t go any harder or any faster, I have learned you can,” Hudspeth said.

> Varsity volleyball com-

petes in the SPC Championship Tournament at Greenhill Nov. 7-8 at a time to be determined.

> Varsity cross country competes in the SPC championship meet at Norbuck Park at 10 a.m. on Nov. 8.

NICO SANCHEZ PHOTO

TURNOVERS CAUSED BY JUNIOR VARSITY LIONS DEFENSE

ON THE PROWL Dominating on defense, the junior varisty Lions football team defeated its rival ESD in a 14-6 away game Oct. 16. It was the team’s fourth win of the season.

dominatingthe net

JUNIOR PARKER DIXON AND THE VARSITY VOLLEYBALL TEAM THIS SEASON

109 Number of successful attacks by junior outside hitter Parker Dixon during the first 13 matches.

88.2% Winning 15 of 17 sets, the Lions varsity volleyball team has won 88.2 percent of its sets through the first six counter games

...

ed by a talented group of freshmen and sophomores, the junior varsity volleyball “rookies” team has a 5-2 record this season. “This year’s season was a new experience, especially as a freshman in his first upper school sport,” freshman Clay Morris said. “All the games and practices proved that our teams were capable of being great while still having a fun time.” The other junior varsity volleyball team, the older “veterans” squad, also has a winning record, coming in at 9-2 on the season. “Our team was really strong this year because we had five juniors, three of whom swing for varsity, on the team,” junior setter Graham Kirstein said. “Our experience really paid off, and we definitely got a lot of reps to prepare for next year. I would say the season was a success. We proved to be a very formidable team throughout the year.” After losing their first three games, Coach Slade Manos’s junior varsity football team won their next four contests, highlighted by a dominating 33-0 win over Oakridge and a 14-6 victory at rival ESD.

...

oth the seventh and eighth grade volleyball teams have 5-3 records and are having solid seasons. Led by wide receiver and linebacker Paxton Scott, the seventh grade football team finished the season 5-1. “[The season] showed us seventh graders what it’s like to be on a St. Mark’s team and it was a great experience,” said linebacker Camp Collins. Coach Hayward Lee’s eighth grade football team is 3-2 this season including an impressive 28-20 win over ESD, the first time they beat the rival school in three opportunities. Members of the middle school fencing and cross country teams have done a great job this year developing their talents and they look forward to making an impact for varsity teams in years to come. — Tip-off stories reported by Crawford McCrary and Will Forbes

TIFFANY EPPERSON

She’s his

rock

DYNAMIC DUO Cheering on the Lions (above) is just one element of Tiffany Epperson’s job as the coach’s wife. Embracing after a dominant 42-13 win against Holland Hall Oct. 10, the Eppersons (left) enjoy another Homecoming game win.

EVER SINCE HER CHEERLEADER DAYS AT TCU, TIFFANY EPPERSON HAS BEEN THE WOMAN BEHIND BART EPPERSON — BUT SHE’S MORE THAN THAT. SHE’S A HUGE LIONS FAN, A WIFE AND A MOTHER.

iffany Epperson knows more about football than most men. After years of cheering for the TCU Horned Frogs and years of supporting her sons on the field and years of watching Lions’ football, don’t be surprised when she says that the offense shouldn’t run a certain play because the other team is in a 4-3 defense. She comes to every game, standing on the track in her white Lions varsity football shirt, thinking over plays and hoping her team, the Lions, trots into the endzone and adds more points to the scoreboard than the other team. She’s not a coach. But a coach’s wife. Head football coach Bart Epperson, Tiffany Epperson’s husband, knows that Tiffany has a love for football after being surrounded by the sport for many years. “She is a very athletic woman,” Bart Epperson said. “Growing up, she got introduced to all sports. Football was one of them, and then being married to me and listening to me dictate certain plays before and after practice helps. She comes to a lot of two a day practices, so she’s actually able to see and watch the guys out there on the field and understand it. She’d be a great assistant.” But Tiffany knows that her role is to be a coach’s wife. As a part of that role, Tiffany experiences the games as a spectator. “I love being in the stands because I love to see the whole play take place,” Tiffany Epperson said. “I think when you’re on eye level, it’s just a different feel. But when he’s [Bart Epperson] coaching, I like to see

the actual run or pass or whatever happening.” However, being a coach’s wife doesn’t mean Tiffany just gets to come to games and support her husband. Tiffany is also a mother to two kids, Maddox and Matthew Epperson, fifth and sixth graders respectively, and when two-a-days hit in August, Bart Epperson has to spend most of his time away from the family. “The life of a wife means that starting from Aug. 1, when two-a-days start, you’re pretty much a single mom,” Tiffany Epperson said. “Everything revolves around sports and whether the game is in town or out of town, you’re there. Or making plans to go. Then, everything with the kids defaults to me. I think that with being a coach’s wife you have to be prepared during the season.” Bart Epperson also acknowledges that being a coach’s wife means that there will be times where the family will not always be together.

“She’s basically a single mom during football season,” Bart Epperson said. “And it’s a tough transition early on for her, but obviously you get into a routine. She’s really a rock for me. She allows me to do what I want to do.” As a result of the time constraints of being the varsity football coach, Bart Epperson has to miss some of his son’s games. While the couple regrets this occurrence, they both know Bart Epperson’s job has time constraints the two must deal with. “I think the biggest challenge for me, the kids and Bart really is that our kids play on Saturday mornings,” Tiffany Epperson said. “So Bart has to miss almost all of their games. As fifth and sixth graders, its hard for them. They do understand, but it’s also really hard for them to understand why their dad can’t be at their games.” When the fourth quarter ends and the scoreboard shines quadruple zeros, Tiffany’s night is far from over. She gets home, puts the boys to bed and clicks to Channel 21 to watch local high school football highlights. She can’t sleep until Bart gets home. That means she could be up until 3 a.m., 6 a.m., or won’t go to sleep at all while her husband watches film late into the night preparing for next week. Once Bart’s truck headlights light up the windows, Tiffany is there to support her husband. She always asks the same two questions about the game: “who are you excited for? Who can you help get better?” “I always just like to know from his point of view the best part of it and the part to work on Monday,” Tiffany Epperson said. “Then we will go to bed, and he’s usually back to work at seven. Sometimes he will just go home, take a shower and then go back.”

STORY PHILIP SMART, ZACH NAIDU | PHOTOS ARNO GOETZ

These questions help Bart Epperson reflect on the past in order to improve for the next game. Bart Epperson says this input helps him more than the Friday morning pep-rally Tiffany performs with her kids inspired by her past TCU cheering days. “I think she’s trying to, as I’m coming down from the game, win or lose, get me to open up a little on the guys that really played extremely well,” Bart Epperson said. “And the other side of that coin is who do you think didn’t play as well and what areas can they improve on.” In addition to supporting Bart Epperson, Tiffany Epperson is also close to many of his players. Junior Drew Baxley shares a family-friend bond with the entire Epperson family after playing for Bart Epperson, having an older brother, Cameron Baxley ‘14, who played for Bart Epperson and having a 10-year-old younger brother, Keats Baxley, who is friends with the Epperson’s kids. CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

‘THE FIRST FRIDAY WHEN THERE’S NOT A GAME, IT FEELS LIKE WE’VE MISSED SOMETHING. IT’S KIND OF LIKE WHEN THE MOM DUCK COUNTS ALL HER DUCKLINGS — IT FEELS LIKE WE CERTAINLY HAVE MISSED SOMETHING.’ TIFFANY EPPERSON

SPORTS

THE REMARKER OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 23 24 ESPORTS 26 MITCHELL SO 27 SPC PREVIEWS 28 MOUNTAIN BIKING

S THE REMARKER SPORTS OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 24 ESPORTS

GAMING STEAM

lex Enthoven runs the biggest sports club on campus and doesn’t even know what team won the Super Bowl last year. The senior started the eSports club because he kept hearing the same three words no matter where he went on campus: League of Legends. The online game League of Legends serves as the backbone of the newly-formed club that meets on Mondays to discuss game strategies and outcomes from weekend games of League of Legends. Alex Enthoven Founded the new eSports Club

Enthoven felt an urge to create the club after discovering the number of students who play online games. “I started to realize this isn’t 10 or 20 kids in the Upper School, this is like 50 to 60 kids in the upper school,” Enthoven said. “This is a really huge special interest group and it would be a shame for me to leave St. Mark’s knowing that something

WITH MORE THAN 50 MEMBERS, THE ESPORTS CLUB HAS ATTRACTED GAMERS ALL THROUGHOUT THE UPPER SCHOOL. NOW THAT COLLEGES LIKE ROBERT MORRIS OFFER SCHOLARSHIPS FOR ESPORTS, ALEX ENTHOVEN, THE CLUB’S FOUNDER, BELIEVES HIS CLUB COULD HELP BRING THE VIDEOGAMERS INTO THE SPORTING WORLD.

so many people are passionate about was left as a non-organized venture.” With 60 million players worldwide, the popularity of League of Legends has not gone unnoticed by higher education. Robert Morris College in Chicago has begun to give athletic scholarships to players who possess a particular talent for this strategy game. The school defines the scholarships as “athletic,” which means videogame players are considered athletes in the realm of this scholarship. “If everybody considers chess a sport, then there’s no reason not to consider League of Legends a sport,” Enthoven said. “The premise of it is that it’s a strategy game, not really much physical output — all mental — lots of coaching lots of strategizing. Same thing as chess.” The professional gaming world is similar to the professional sports world, with managers, business managers, coaches and high salaries. Also, foreign gamers coming to the United States were issued professional athlete visas for

competitions. “I think competitive gaming scholarships are on the rise,” Enthoven said, “and are a real thing almost because this is something that there are already professional leagues for where these players make six figure salaries, and its just very similar to other sports, yet it lacks the popularity to be an incentivizing or monetization option for other schools.” However, since gaming has limited physical demands, Assistant Athletic Director Josh Friesen believes gaming should not be placed under the athletic category. “Gaming is different than athletics,” Friesen said. “Just like debate and band are different. In my opinion, a sport must be physical in nature, and gaming would not qualify. Video gaming is not a sport.” Friesen, who is opposed to gaming to be considered a sport, finds the scholarships being given out by Robert Morris are warranted. “A college is free to give out its money the way it sees fit,” Friesen said. “Maybe Robert Morris has a really good computer programming

THE LEAGUE As the centerpiece and main game of the club, League of Legends is an online game based on strategy.

department and they wanted some of the top gamers there to enhance that major. I am fine with a student who is exceptional in a given area receiving scholarship money for that talent.” Whether the online game is a sport or not, the popularity cannot go unnoticed. lobally from 2012 to 2014, the interest in the game has shot up dramatically from 30 million to 60 million at a rate of 15 million per year. “We have to get it out of people’s minds that this is just some fad and it’s going to go away,” Enthoven said. “To me it’s important that people who like to watch these and like to play these and like to analyze these are not left out and isolated that is sort of like, ‘Hey it’s okay to talk about this.’ Its not a time-wasting thing that you should never do. This is a real strategic game that’s unbelievably popular and should not just be left out in the shadows.” As a testament to gaming’s popularity, the Grand Finals of the World Championship of League of Legends filled the Staples Center

STORY CASE LOWRY, PHILIP SMART | ILLUSTRATIONS ABHI THUMMALA

last year and had millions more viewers streaming it live online. The club aims to leave its mark on St. Mark’s as one of the biggest clubs on campus for years to come. “The idea of this being more than a game is just coming into reality,” Enthoven said. “Its important to me that people realize this isn’t going away. If our club was only here for one year, then people would just laugh at it like some kind of stupid idea. I also hear a lot of Middle Schoolers talk about it. They’re looking forward to it.” However, the game that has garnered much worldwide popularity has not garnered the reputation as a serious strategic endeavor. “I think time is the only thing that will cure the negative connotation on video games,” Enthoven said. “People have to realize that its more than just a game. People keep figuring out how to play the game better. It feels meaningful for people to start realizing that, which I think will take time and popularity, that’s what has to happen. I really think that will happen.”

THE REMARKER SPORTS OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 25 S TIFFANY EPPERSON

He’s her

Continued from page 23

MASON SMITH PHOTO

PHOTO COURTESY OF BART EPPERSON

PERFECT PAIR Attending a Stanford game to see wide receiver Ty Montgomery ‘11 play for the Cardinal, the Eppersons (top) vacation in Palo Alto last Thanksgiving break. Celebrating a touchdown, Bart Epperson (bottom) walks back to the sideline smiling during a 47-19 Lion win over the Trinity Valley School Oct. 10.

man

rew Baxley has known the Epperson family for six years and has grown very appreciative of the Epperson’s unique family dynamic. “I’ve been around the whole Epperson family a lot, and I’ve seen how they work as a family.,” Baxley said. “I think a lot of their working as a family goes into the way coach Epperson runs a sports team and the way Mrs. Epperson supports us a team.” Eventually the SPC season ends, but the Eppersons remain in football mode. Every Thanksgiving break they fly up to Palo Alto, CA to spend the week with Stanford wide receiver Ty Montgomery ‘11 and attend a Stanford game. But, during the holiday, things do begin to change a little bit since the intensity of the school football season has passed. “Every Thanksgiving break we will look at each other and be like, ‘Hi! How are you? What’s been going on with you?’” Tiffany Epperson said. “So we usually take that time that week after Thanksgiving and spend it with the family. But it definitely feels like we are missing something [without the season].” While the atmosphere of a college game is a change from high school football for the Eppersons, it is very familiar to the former TCU cheerleader and offensive lineman who

lettered during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Bart and Tiffany Epperson shared many football moments while in college, the most memorable of those being Bart Epperson’s dramatic victory towards the end of the 1994 season. “We had to beat Texas Tech on Thanksgiving morning to be able to go to a bowl game,” Bart Epperson said. “It was packed and we ended up winning that one and we got to go to the Independence Bowl. That was probably by far the one that really stands out.” Even after Bart Epperson transitioned from college player to high school coach, the accomplishments and experiences he now shares with Tiffany Epperson have been just as special as they were when the two were Horned Frogs. And the rewards of these experiences have extended beyond the football field. “I think one of the really really neat things for me is to see the boys that he has coached. The boys that have become men,” Tiffany Epperson said. “Boys that he coached when they were 15, 16, 17 and 18 and now they are getting married. Or they’re graduating from college.” As a whole, these non-football related rewards are just as valuable for Tiffany Epperson and make her life as a football

PHOTO COURTESY JT

Even though he is very passionate and a dedicated runner, Graass knows that he couldn’t have done it without the time and energy Turek put in to helping him become the best runner he could possibly be this past summer. “I was really grateful that coach Turek was willing to sacrifice so many mornings this summer to train with me,” Graass said. “He lives like thirty minutes away and he would come up there [St. Mark’s] every single morning and we would train.” For Graass, the experience was very rewarding, and made all of those early mornings seem even more worth it now that he had made it to the podium in a national junior olympic championship. “It was really special to know that all that hard work had paid off,” Graass said.

FULL STEAM AHEAD During the final 100-meter stretch of the junior national 1500-meter final race, junior JT Graass (second from left) sprints ahead of the competition. The final push enabled Graass (right) to finish third overall in the nation.

Crew finishes in top 10 at Oklahoma regatta

Junior Graass medals at national championships by Zach Naidu unior JT Graass knew he had a chance to win the 1500-meter national junior Olympic final race, but it wasn’t going to be easy. In his mind, he had a game plan and strategy that would hopefully result in success. He didn’t want to go out too fast at the start and get too tired. He also knew there were guys who would go out faster from the start because they did not have as much raw speed as he did and wanted to create a bigger gap between themselves and the rest of the field. “When I saw that I had gone through those two laps way faster than I had before it was encouraging, but at the same time kind of frightening because I was like ‘I’m going to get tired really soon,’” Graass said. After falling to eighth place during the race, Graass was in danger of finishing outside the top three and not making the podium. However, Graass knew he had trained too hard to let this opportunity go to waste. With an explosive final one hundred meter stretch to end the race, Graass finished third overall and earned a bronze medal for the 17-18 age group at the USA Track and Field (USATF) National Junior Track & Field Championships in Houston, Texas. During the July 21-27 meet, Graass also competed in the 800-meter race but narrowly missed qualifying for the final. Although he did not qualify, Graass knew he still had a chance to medal with his 1500-meter races. But after winning his preliminary race for the 1500-meter final, he was focused, and it showed on the track. “He ran a really good race but got boxed in 150 m into the race, which kind of threw him off a little bit,” head cross country and track coach John Turek. “But he recovered amazingly and finished third overall with his fastest time of the year.” Besides Graass’s great athleticism, Turek believes one of the runner’s best qualities is his drive to succeed. “Unless you have passion for something, it doesn’t matter how talented you are,” Turek said. “So he, on his own, developed this passion for running and it has taken him pretty far and it is going to take him even farther.”

wife that much more special. “For me,” Tiffany Epperson said, “just seeing so many of the relationships that he makes are just really special that you think, he just can’t impact boys lives in that way in another profession.” nce the late Friday nights end, there is a changing of the guard. Tiffany and Bart Epperson switch roles, allowing Bart Epperson to spend more time with his kids, and the couple focuses on the most important part of their lives: their kids. “Bart is an amazing dad,” Tiffany Epperson said. “It’s awesome because when he’s here after the season in the morning, he will take the boys to school and we’ll trade off. After the season is when I do my catch up work and he takes over as Mr. Mom.” While Tiffany is no longer a cheerleader when football season ends, she still has lots to keep up with in the winter, spring and summer. The constant to-do list, however, does not phase her one bit. “I think I’m just really blessed that I’m able to do everything,” Tiffany Epperson said. “There’s nothing special really that I do. I’m just a mom like any other mom. We all have our commitments. No matter what our kids do, our kids are the most important part of our lives.”

by Daniel Cope rew finished eighth out of 24 schools at a regatta held in Oklahoma Oct. 4 and 5. Winning teams include the junior novice quad consisting of sophomores Parker McWatters, August Graue, Cameron Bossalini and Ian Fitzgerald, as well as sopho,ore Aiden Blinn’s victory in the junior novice singles race. Coach Pitts Yandell elaborated on the performance as a non-official St. Mark’s team. “The first thing you need to know is these rowers are all from St. Mark’s but did not row as St. Mark’s,” Yandell said. “Crew is a Spring-only sport at St. Mark’s. The Marksmen who went to Oklahoma City rowed under the Dallas Rowing Club banner as DRC members.” Losing a few notable seniors this year, such as Cameron Baxley ’14 and Nick Brodsky ’14, the Lions will need to find leaders in the rising class. “I think the varsity lineup is definitely just as hard-working as last year’s,” Blinn said, “and their times will only improve as each rower becomes more accustomed to the new format of the boat.” The new challenge of The Head of the Oklahoma regatta,

especially for the novices, was the long distance races. “Our main obstacle was racing against so many boats and for such a long distance,” Blinn said. “The Head of the Oklahoma was my first long distance race, and many of the other novice rowers were competing in long distance races for the first time, too.” Opposed to the rather small meets the team was used to, rowers had to adjust to the rather large challenge of facing 23 other schools. “It was a unique experience because it was by far the largest regatta I’ve ever been to,” Blinn said. “In Austin, we would usually sit in lawn chairs in a tent right on the side of the race course, but Oklahoma’s regatta was much larger than that.” These results set a high standard for the team’s performance in SPC in the spring. “The entire St. Mark’s rowing team has yet to assemble for any official practice,” Yandell said. “It did give us a preview of the competition for the spring and we will again be challenged by ESD who we beat at nationals this last summer. The Dallas Rowing Club is also seating a strong quad this year. “

S THE REMARKER SPORTS OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 26

EN GARDE

POLAND

MITCHELL SO

unior Mitchell So traveled across the globe to Konin, Poland to compete in The International Cadet Circuit Tournament for fencing. So, who is ranked as one of the top 20 fencers in the nation for his U17 age group, qualified for the tournament after placing seventh in the North American Cup in July. Having competed in this tournament last year, So’s main focus was performing well and increasing his cadet ranking, but, to his amazement, something else was on his mind when he boarded his plane back to the U.S.

Wednesday, Sept. 17 Preparing for a 12-hour flight is tough, especially when you fall sleep on Wednesday and wake up on Thursday. Just ask Mitchell So. After taking off from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, So travels to New York and then to Warsaw, Poland with ambition in mind to do well at the Cadet Circuit Tournament. Thursday, Sept. 18 After landing in Warsaw, So rides two hours by train to Konin, Poland, leaving him completely exhausted and yearning for some shut-eye. Friday, Sept. 19 So wakes up early at the Konin Hotel in Poland, eats breakfast and starts the preliminary rounds at the Club of Konin. The competition is tough, comprising nearly 140 participants from several European countries and according to So, “Incredibly talented fencers with different skills.” His first opponent is a young Polish fencer. So puts on his uniform but the nerves don’t go away, resulting in a loss. This unfortunate trend continues throughout the first preliminary round, and So starts the second preliminary round the same day in a much more difficult pool because of it. Winning his first match and losing four in a row until his final match, So needs a victory to go on to the next round. The thought of “win or go home” races through his mind as he prepares for the next bout. He faces the only Italian fencer in the tournament. One touch but no point is awarded. As So advances, he accidently breaks his opponent’s toe by stepping on it, causing the Italian to leave the tournament. So captures the very last spot to qualify for the next round.

HARD AT WORK Advancing forward, Mitchell So practices for future bouts after competing in an international tournament in Poland (top). So poses (far left) with a fellow fencer prior to the Cadet Circuit Tournament in Konin, Poland. So smiles with his mother (left) after a 12 hour flight from the U.S.

Saturday, Sept. 20 Looking at the bracket for the third day of the competition, So finds out he has to face the number one seeded fencer in the tournament for his next elimination match: a Russian named Anatoliy Kostenko. Although So knows that it would be expected of him to lose to the number one Russian fencer, he feels prepared the next morning. He’s motivated. So walks up to the ballet with the entire American team watching and supporting him. He tells himself, “Stay relaxed, I can do this. My opponent has never seen an American like me before.” So starts off incredibly well, winning 7-1; however, So loses his focus due to confidence, loses his first ballet and gets eliminated, ending the third day and his trip in Poland.

Sunday, Sept. 21 Replaying the bout in his head over and over again, So boards a plane heading back to Dallas. On the flight back, the empty feeling in So’s stomach dissipates, and he is surprised by what he feels next: peace. “It is not that big of a deal,” So thinks to himself. “My life doesn’t have to revolve around fencing because I go to an amazing school and I can just return to my studies.” So sits more comfortably and relaxes in his seat now, pondering only how he is going to start writing an English paper for Victor White Master Teaching David Brown.

STORY MATTHEW PLACIDE, RISH BASU | PHOTOS MASON SMITH, COURTESY OF MITCHELL SO

Fencing prepares for final competition With its final tournament this weekend, fencing looks to finish season strong

or Four Fires. ” For next year Weisberg is confident about the strength of next season’s squad, and knows that they will take the discipline they learned this season and introduce it to next year’s team. “What makes or breaks a team is discipline,” Weisberg said. “As the team has become more and more disciplined over the past few years, the fencers on the team have improved. Before long, the current freshmen and sophomore fencers will be the leaders of the team, and it will be their duty to uphold and promote the moral and ethical qualities, notably sportsmanship and discipline, of a St. Mark’s athlete so that the team may continue to prosper. I’m sure they’re up to the task.”

PHOTO CONNER OLSON

by Corday Cruz aving fenced in four of their five tournaments, the fencing team participates in their last tournament tomorrow at the Fencing Institute of Texas. Juniors Mitchell So and Kevin He often competed to a podium finish in saber events. Juniors Grant Uebele and senior Kunal Dixit often progressed far through Direct Elimination bouts in epée events. Junior Brent Weisberg feels that motivation was a key skill that affected their season. “Motivation plays a huge role,” Weisberg said. “You have to really want it and think that you can win it in order to take risks and make the right split-second decisions that separate winning from losing. It’s surprising how much further you can go in fencing if you’re willing to give it the full 110%.” Weisberg feels that the lack of equipment compared to the large amount of fencers the team has was a major setback to their season. “The nature of fencing as a sport that requires electronic equipment and the constant deterioration of said equipment meant that at the same time, the team had to deal with the largest influx of new fencers and the lowest number of serviceable weapons, scoring systems, and floor chords,” Weisberg said. “This didn’t stop us from fencing like usual, but it did prevent each individual from fencing more than two or three bouts per day.” Weisberg cites the camaraderie, especially on the Fridays before tournaments, as an integral part of the season. “Game days are always a blast,” Weisberg said. “Instead of running and conditioning, we spend the warm-up portion of Friday practice playing basketball

ENTANGLED Swords colliding, sophomore Eddie Yang fences in a tournament at Hockaday Sept. 27.

THE REMARKER SPORTS OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 27 S SPC PREVIEWS

Teams in postseason push Volleyball, football and cross country teams look to finish their seasons on a high note as SPC championship play begins next week

STRONG SPIKE Jumping for a spike, senior outside hitter Landon Montgomery eyes the ball during a 3-1 home win Oct. 17 against Cassady, a rematch of last year’s SPC championship game.

and Cha. Together, they add multiple dimensions to the team and each contributes in his unique way. “It’s been a group effort this year because I have Tim, Wesley and Blake as my three captains,” Teicher said. “Tim is the court general, the one who fires everybody up, Wesley gets everybody to chill and relax and then Blake is the spark plug. Those are all good qualities and together, they create a good environment for some of the younger guys who are inexperienced and don’t know what to expect with SPC coming up.”

by Cyrus Ganji is hand resting on his helmet, senior captain and running back Justin Jones knelt down at the 50-yard line. The game was coming to a close. The Lions had just dominated Holland Hall, the final score 42-13. But Jones wasn’t celebrating the Homecoming win. Not yet. Instead, he gazed at the floodlights, at the stands, at his teammates and coaches. It was his last game on home turf. “I was taking in the scenery – the music, the turf pebbles, the crowd – and I was looking around, thinking that this would be one of the last times that I would be able to put on a St. Mark’s jersey and play in front of the home fans,” Jones said. “It was a sad time, but also a happy time.” For the senior leadership corps, however, saying goodbye to Norma and Lamar Hunt Stadium was a necessary step to reach the SPC championship. “What we’ve done as a team – instead of doing what most football teams do, which is start with a lot of intensity and then crawl to the end because of injury and fatigue – is work towards our peak,” senior co-captain and safety Corson Purnell said. “We’re getting better each week.” According to Purnell, the team’s turbulent beginning – specifically the injury to senior starting quarterback Walter Johnson – challenged the squad. But, as the season progressed, the team began to gain momentum and win more games. “This year, with our quarterback getting hurt and going through some tough losses, that sent our intensity down,” Purnell said. “But now, it’s right back up. The past few games, starting with Oakridge, we’ve been real excited, real intense, real pumped up. The most important thing is getting pumped up. For the few games we have left, it’s all about taking your game up that much more.” The Lions have approached the season with a focus on passing attack and pressure defense, as demonstrated by this year’s

switch from a three-man to a four-man defensive line. The result is a durable football team, as demonstrated by its 6-3 record. The most recent win featured a 31-19 win at Greenhill. “We’ve got one of the best receivers in SPC, we’ve got one of the best defensive lines in SPC, we’ve got a great quarterback, we’ve added several things to the running game and we’ve got a pretty good linebacking corps,” Jones said. “If we keep executing, then no one can stop us.” Offensively, co-captain and center Tommy Gudmundsson believes a powerful, albeit relatively inexperienced offensive line is leading the way for good rushing and passing games. “Our offensive line has stepped up a lot, especially with me and [senior] Ben [Naftalis] being the only ones who started last year – the three newcomers [seniors Travis Nadalini, Kyle Weinstein and Sam Daniels] have played really well” Gudmundsson said. “The beginning of the season tested us a lot, but I think we definitely have the tools to make it to the SPC championship.” Despite the team’s recent victories, Purnell accepts that solely the team’s game-day performances will determine the ultimate standing and quality of the squad. “Anything can happen in football,” Purnell said. “If we just play to the best of our ability and just execute , we can win.”

TIM O’MEARA PHOTO

by Gopal Raman he main focus for Coach Darren Teicher’s varsity volleyball team, coming into the SPC tournament as defending champions, is staying healthy. At press time, the team had a record of 20-2. The tournament will take place Nov. 6-9 at Greenhill. “We’ve been loaded with talent the last couple years and the biggest thing for us to go far is to stay healthy,” Teicher said. “We’ve got a couple guys that have been dealing with some nagging injuries and we got to make sure those things don’t become detrimental to the team.” Although the ultimate goal is to repeat as SPC champs, senior captain Tim Simenc values the importance of letting go of the anxiety and just playing with heart. “I don’t want [the team] to have any pressure that there needs to be another SPC championship,” Simenc said. “I want them to do it because they are going to have fun doing it. I want this team to challenge the team in 1979 that had five in a row, but I want to teach my teammates to know the system so that they can win two more championships after I’m gone.” Looking forward to the tournament, the team needs to tighten up its defense and stay mentally sharp in order to play at peak performance. “We are more of a hit ‘em hard and hit ‘em quick type of team, and we are not really the best at finesse,” Simenc said. “We need a better mental attitude so that when we are up five points, we need to be thinking that’s not enough, we need to be up ten.” Led this year by the “brick walls” Simenc and junior Parker Dixon, the team truly stands out because of its key supporting members. “What is going to be key is Landon Montgomery and Matthew Lawson,” Simenc said. “Those guys are playing really well and with them, nothing can stop us. Every one is going to be key, including Parker and I, and they all know Wesley [Cha], they all know Blake [Spangler], but it’s those two guys. When those two guys show up, we do some phenomenal things.” The captains are seniors Simenc, Spangler

MASON SMITH PHOTO

Seniors look to lead volleyball to a three-peat Football hopes momentum will lead to SPC title T H

MEAN MACHINE Diving for the ballcarrier, senior safety Corson Purnell records one of his 12 tackles during the Lions dominant 42-13 Homecoming game win Oct. 17.

Despite lack of depth, cross country hopes experience will help Lions repeat as SPC champions by Roby Mize oming off a key victory at a meet hosted by St. Mark’s at Norbuck Park Oct. 18, the cross country team hopes to live up to last year’s high standards with a repeat SPC championship Nov. 8 at Norbuck Park through strong performances by seniors Christopher Carter and Shourya Kumar. “This year’s team is small but mighty,” coach John Turek said. “Last year’s team was big and mighty, which is really the best scenario. We’re as good as last year’s team but we don’t have the same depth. Last year we were about eight runners deep and this year we are only about five.” As of the last meet of Oct. 18 the team was ranked in first place, Though this year’s team may lack the numbers of previous years, Turek is confident in his top five runners’ abilities to repeat as champions.

ALDEN JAMES PHOTO

HEAD OF THE PACK Leading the other runners, senior Rishi Kshatriya hopes to finish a race strong in a Norbuck meet Sept. 27.

ON TO the next SEASON

As the fall seasons come to an end, the winter teams pick up right where they left off. Here’s a quick preview of the first action in the Lions’ winter season:

“I would say that our top five runners are as competitive as last year’s,” Turek said. “The conference has gotten really good in recent years, and I think we’ve tried to stay in the top four or five in the conference consistently. I’d say we’ve had some good luck, and I know we can live up to last year’s team without a doubt” Even though the scoring results from only the top five runners, Turek believes the seniors will be the difference in a championship team. The fourth and fifth place gaps they have to close will be extremely important. “Christopher Carter and Shourya Kumar will be the deciding factor for this season,” Turek said. “They have to run a very good race in order for us to keep the gap small and our points down. They really are the key to our success. They know that, and they’ve

BASKETBALL

In a matchup against Bishop Lynch, the Lions varsity basketball team plays a home game Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m.

SWIMMING

Varsity swimming has its first meet Dec. 4 at 5:45 p.m. in the Ralph B. Rogers Natatorium.

known it since day one. They’ve been running very well. The championship hinges on them which is a lot of pressure, but you know what, life’s a lot of pressure.” Junior JT Graass also plays a very key role in the dynamic of this team and has continually progressed every year. “JT really hasn’t progressed exponentially, but has progressed linearly,” Turek said. “He’s been a good runner since middle school, but he had a good mentor in Matthew Brown [‘14] who was the epitome of hard work and perseverance, extremely dedicated to the sport. Because of that, he served as a good mentor to JT. JT’s been pretty good since the first day, and he has gotten better every year because he has matured, and he has gained confidence. His work ethic has also improved, which is hard to do. He’s a pretty special runner.”

WRESTLING

Traveling to Martin High School in Arlington, the varsity wrestling team competes in its first tournament Nov. 21.

SOCCER

The varsity soccer team will play its annual preseason game away at Greenhill at a time to be determined.

SPURS OF THE MOMENT

St. Mark’s School of Texas 10600 Preston Road Dallas, Texas, 75230

MASON SMITH PHOTO

Hats high, the spurs hold their flags and prepare for kickoff before the Lions varsity football team takes a 47-19 win against Trinity Valley Oct. 10. As is tradition, the spurs wear Western clothes while leading the school in spirit from the sidelines.

THE BACK SPORTS PAGE THE REMARKER FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014 PAGE 28

KINGS OF THE MOUNTAIN

Led by biology instructor Mark Adame, a Cycling Club meeting is anything but your average get-together. Twice a week, Adame takes members of the club to Harry Moss Bike Trail to let off some steam and do what they love most — bike.

1 THEY SAID IT Bikers Matt Woodberry and Gordon Gunn on cycling

2 THE HIGH ROAD Sophomore Todd Murphy showcases his skills while jumping during a club meeting (1). Senior Conner Olson cruises along the trail (2). Sophomore Gordon Gunn (3) and club sponsor Mark Adame (4) ride along a seesaw, one of the wooden obstacles that fills the Harry Moss Bike Trail. Club president senior Matt Woodberry speeds toward the end of the trail (5). (From left) Olson, Woodberry, Murphy, Gunn, freshman Riley Sanders, and Adame after a Cycling Club meeting Oct. 21 (6).

‘(Mark) Adame helps us a bunch. He maintains all of our bikes for us, teaches us how to change flats tires and is really good too. He really has invested a lot of time in us and really cares.’ — Sophomore Gordon Gunn

3 4 STORY ZACH NAIDU, ZUYVA SEVILLA | PHOTOS MASON SMITH

‘It’s a good no stress way of getting some exercise and clearing your head.’ — Club president Matt Woodberry ‘While you’re riding it’s really a relief. During the school day you are thinking about school and tests and how I am going to measure up. When you’re biking you just have your own style, there’s no right way to do it and there’s no wrong way either.’ — Gunn

‘Nothing is more fun that hitting a great downhill run that has great jumps and good flow.’ — Woodberry

ADDENDUM A REMARKER SPECIAL SECTION | OCTOBER 31, 2014

A n e w fa c e fo r

eminism L avish living rooms, petite terraces, whitewashed bedrooms and massive, white-and-black tiled kitchens. This is her home — her element. But the home would be incomplete without the high-heeled woman adorned in pearls, vacuuming away. It’s her job — and her only job — to make the home comfortable for the breadwinner of the family: her husband. She does nothing more than fill her role as homemaker. Dust the lamps. Prepare dinner for her family. Be Mrs. Mom. In the 1950’s, the sitcoms of the day — popular television shows such as Leave it to Beaver, or I Love Lucy – all had the same sets. Fast-forward a decade, to the era of Mad Men. Now, they are secretaries and assistants to professionals. Bit by bit, women gain rights, proving their abilities and asserting themselves in a man’s world. But they’re still perceived as physically, mentally and socially inferior. Half a century later, the horrid mistakes of the past are almost imperceptible — but the prejudices still linger. You fight like a girl. You sound like a girl. You’re being like a little girl. Like a girl. Continued, next page

THE REMARKER ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER 26, 2014 PAGE 2A-3A

fem•i•nism (n): the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men Continued from page one Even here, in the halls of 10600 Preston Road., sexist comments are unavoidable: in the locker room. In the classroom. Everywhere. But in an effort to make the transition from a sexist past to an equal future, UN Women, a United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and women empowerment, has launched the HeForShe campaign to bring one half of humanity to support the other half—bridging the gap in gender inequality to promote a world of solidarity. As a spokesperson for the campaign, actress Emma Watson delivered a call-toaction speech to the United Nations—a speech designed to bring men into the feminist movement. A speech to show the sexes—long combatants in the battle for rights and equality—are indeed, just that— they’re equal. Watson’s speech aims to free feminism from the “man-hating” label it’s so often associated with. And in order to do so, she challenges men with a simple question. How can we effect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feels welcome to participate in the conversation? An international perspective The HeForShe movement is not the typical feminist movement. For the first time, the conversation isn’t just about women, and it’s not just led by women. “We would like to create a solidarity movement for gender equality that addresses the issue from a humanity standpoint,” Executive Director of UN Women and leader of the campaign Elizabeth Nyamayaro said in an interview with The ReMarker. Elizabeth Nyamayaro Executive Director for UN Women

Even though the movement is barely a month old, thousands of supporters, men and women, have already joined the campaign. The movement gained worldwide attention when Emma Watson launched the campaign in her speech to the U.N. Sept. 20. “Within three days we had reached more than 100,000 men, but that was not the most impressive thing for us,” Nyamayaro said. “All of a sudden, within three days, the whole world lit up. In every country on earth, for the most part, at least one man had heard about the campaigned and activated their country.” The wave of support extends across continents and has ignited a change in the way people think about the movement. Dr. Dilshad Dayani Founder of World Women Global Council

“So HeForShe movement is an open call to action and sharing the space of feminist movement and creating a robust dialogue to action,” Dr. Dilshad Dayani, founder of the World Women Global Council said. “The World Women Global Council supports this solidarity movement for gender equality. The message is the same: to be allies and supporters for human rights which is inclusive of genders.”

It’s not just about raising awareness, though. HeForShe is implementing a seven principle guide to show how people can strive to achieve gender equality in everyday life. “Right now we are really working with gender experts, with men organizations, to come up with concrete actions of how do we move the HeForShe campaign from just raising awareness to where we are able to create impact through policy and legislation,” Nyamayaro said.” According to Director of Counseling, Barbara Van Drie, this type of change happens when people build their empathy skills and are able to take the perspective Barbara Van Drie Director of Counseling

of another group of people. “There are still many issues our society is dealing with in achieving gender equality,” Van Drie said. “Whether it’s violence against women and girls or what they’re dealing with at a more subtle level. There’s the legal threshold of change and then there’s the day-to-day interaction.” From the subtlest gestures to sweeping legislation, the HeForShe plans to change not only the inequality in the world, but also how feminists are perceived. “This has been a woman’s struggle for a very long time and we’ve come to the recognition that the issue of gender inequality can no longer be associated with just women,” Nyamayaro said. “Men have sometimes been the perpetrators, but we also know that they can be the solution.” What is feminism? As society has progressed, the United Nations realized that it needed clarify its definition of feminism, given modern society’s gender stereotypes and the negative connotation that the word has come to acquire. “Feminism is simply a movement to protect our rights as humans and that does not exclude men,” Dayani said. “Modern feminists believe that both men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.” In a similar vein, the campaign stresses that the feminist movement is not just about giving women more rights, but also about working towards equality for both men and women of all walks of life. “Feminism isn’t about the hatred of men, or about promoting women above men” Lower Grades Counselor Gabriela Reed said.“Feminists highlight the ways in which women are equal to men and promote the ways women uniquely contribute to society.” According to Dayani, it takes a courageous man to dismantle his patriarchal jurisdiction, especially since men have time Gabriella Reed Lower Grades Counselor

and again ignored the rights of women. “The HeForShe movement is different in that it is an open call to action—sharing the space of the feminist movement and creating a robust dialogue to action,” Dayani said. “The feminist movement is

about human rights.” Most importantly, however, the success of the campaign depends on male participation. The male population must identify as feminist for society to truly progress. And in reality, the success of the campaign depends on men’s impression of human rights. Any male believing in gender equality is a feminist. “Can men be feminists? Of course,” she said. “The action is now being witnessed, and they need to be feminists in order to make the right progress, in order for the right social justice, in order to bring the right development into the families, communities and nations. HeForShe is a call to action.” What’s our role? According to senior Avita Anand, an outspoken leader on the issue of feminism at our sister school Hockaday, Marksmen’s flawed idea of feminism not only permeates thought, but also action. “I think St. Mark boys talk down to Hockaday girls a lot,” she said. “There’s a common thread of debasing our education system or the work we put out and whether or not they mean it in a sexist manner, it definitely comes across as so.” Anand, who chairs Hockaday’s Junior World Affairs Council and Model UN and has served as a co-President for Youth Initiatives for Women Leadership, a program hosted by the World Women Global Council, believes that feminism must be central to the male identity. “If you’re not a feminist, then what are you?” she said. ”Identifying as feminists would be a huge step [forward]. By not wanting to call yourself a feminist because it has feminine in it, is like perpetuating the notion that being like a girl, or girly, is a bad thing.” For centuries, women have stereotypically received a less fruitful education, keeping many of them from succeeding at the highest societal standards and reaching their full potentials. It is this notion that modern schools, including Hockaday, have tried to dispel. In fact, Anand believes that gender roles can creep into the education setting in coed environments. Avita Anand Hockaday senior

“Hockaday allowed us to grow into the people that we are. Other schools shape girls into a mold. But at Hockaday, we are fully allowed to be who we are, and in that sense, it’s empowering. Because so many other girls in the world are deprived of this education, it’s our job to serve as ambassadors and fully embrace the feminist ideology.” At the same time, boys and young men also benefit in a similar way from the same sex-education. And it’s escaping these gender stereotypes that allows both sexes to realize their full potentials. “As a new faculty member at St. Mark’s, I value that this is a place where boys can be themselves” Reed said. “I’ve seen boys be more introspective and open with their feelings than I believe they would allow themselves to be if there were a girl sitting at the next desk.” Reed suggests that embracing manhood is just as important as recognizing

female empowerment. “Challenging our assumptions about women and their intellectual abilities and strengths is a really good way to combat our stereotypes,” Reed said. “Students need to be exposed to women leaders and thinkers in order to help them see that there is nothing a woman can’t do in this world.” Students in the community also try to combat these stereotypes with clubs that discuss global issues. “One of the things we do at the Amnesty International Club is that we talk about human rights or issues such as gender equality,” senior Rishi Kshatriya, president of the Amnesty International Club said. “Feminism is certainly one of the issues that we have and one that we will continue to talk about over the course of the year. So, I think that the members gain a better perspective on what gender equality truly is. These sorts of educational seminars, such as ‘Peacemakers’ in Lower School, are necessary in order to raise awareness for such an issue.” Rishi Kshatriya Senior

Similarly, students must realize that the perspectives they develop at the school carry forward in their adult lives. “At St. Mark’s, where the community is all male apart from the faculty and staff, it’s very important to refrain from making degrading comments.” Kshatriya said. “It’s important that we, as a community, emphasize gender equality when we step out of the bubble. We know it’s a big issue -comments that you overhear in the locker room or the field are generally R-rated and can be highly punishable outside of the St. Mark’s community.” The feminist movement strives to blend gender roles, removing social obligations to fit a specific role in a relationship. According to Anand, in an ideal situation, men wouldn’t be obliged to hold open the door or pay for dinner. And in the same way, women, if they were to do the same, would not be seen as aggressive. Any such interactions would be seen as acts of kindness. “I don’t think St. Mark’s boys will go out in the world and do anything that will put down women,” she said, “but I do believe that a person can be sexist without actively repressing women. It can be present in their subconscious and attitude, affecting smaller everyday behaviors.” In essence, the male population must strive for balance in approaching gender stereotypes, realizing that there truly are two sides to the coin. Open conversation with the opposite gender is the most productive way to eliminate sexist ideologies. But more importantly, the most important thing men can do to help the movement is raise awareness. “On the pendulum of gender roles, society is still skewed towards male dominance,” she said. “So, people who are in the complete center, feminists, are still seen as extremists. Our generation has been raised to think that girls should be nicer, not always express their opinions—society is still such that both genders have things to work on.”

STORY SHOURYA KUMAR, WILL CLARK | INFOGRAPHICS WILL CLARK, SHOURYA KUMAR | ILLUSTRATIONS ZUYVA SEVILLA

With move thou follow globa occu in so and i supp chan are n in the socia Ther of fem the fa It’s th broth face o

sexist statistics

1 After polling 100 Marksmen, the answer is clear. Ninety-five percent of Marksmen, by definition, held feminist views..

You’re a feminist

25%

cents

earned by women for every dollar a man makes in equal work environments

Are you a feminist?

Yes

/3 77

of all women have experienced a violent relationship

more than

75%

Do you think men and women should have equal rights?

190,000

You’re not a feminist

men have joined the HeForShe movement

2 3

h the HeForShe vement gaining usands of wers each day, al changes are uring — both ocial issues in those porting the nges. Women no longer alone eir fight for al equality. re’s a new face minism. It’s ace of fathers. he face of hers. It’s the of men.

Yes

95%

fraction of the world’s illiterate population represented by women and girls

These statistics, courtesy UN Women, reveal the disparity in the amount women work and contribute to society and their actual statuses in society. . .

percent

equality

of human trafficking situations are accounted for by women and

number of countries that have achieved equal pay for men and women

66%

workforce

50%

food produced

21.8%

Fortune 500 CEO’s

10%

income earned

4.6%

national parliaments

property owners

—statistics courtesy United Nations, compiled by Shourya Kumar, Will Clark

THE REMARKER ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER 26, 2014 PAGE 4A

He’s Mister Mom A

Steering away from traditional gender roles at home, Brian Reich is primary care-giver for seventh grader Parker Reich and sister Avery

s Brian Reich enters the ESD cafeteria — where his daughter, Avery, is a fifth grader — he eerily senses the gazes of students, faculty members and cafeteria workers. And, moms. Puzzled by the apparent curiosity he’s causing, the six-foot-three, broad-shouldered, rugged-bearded Reich dismisses the glances and approaches the cafeteria check-in, prepared to begin his lunch shift. A fellow parent — also a mom — approaches him. Nice to see a guy around here, she jokingly mentions, rushing past him. Reich laughs, suddenly aware of the dilemma. He’s experienced this before with his son, seventh grader Parker, during school functions at 10600 Preston Road: carpool, football team meals, parent • events…the list is endless. Glancing around, Reich scans the working parents, hoping to find another father. It took him no time to realize that he — once again — was the only “dude.” But for Reich, that’s perfectly okay. After all, it’s just part of his job description: besides being an accountant, a dude and a dad, Reich is also something else. He’s Mr. Mom. •••

‘MY MOM WILL USUALLY GET A LOT MORE ANGRY THAN MY DAD WILL. IT TAKES A LOT TO FRUSTRATE HIM. WITH MY DAD, WE GO ON LONGER DRIVES OUT TO THE HILL COUNTRY — TO OUR RANCH. IT’S REALLY FUN.’ SEVENTH GRADER PARKER REICH JUGGLING ACT Striving to manage his home, his kids and his accounting practice, Brian

Reich juggles the various activities that entail the life of a primary caretaker. Reich fathers seventh grader Parker Reich, as well as his fifth grade daughter, Avery Reich.

STORY CYRUS GANJI | PHOTO ILLUSTRATION MASON SMITH AND SHOURYA KUMAR AN INTERVIEW WITH LOWER GRADES COUNSELOR DR. GABRIELA REED

‘Anytime you try to combat early stereotypes, it allows the children to open their eyes’

n the road to gender equality, education is a key element in the success of the movement. Without a gender-educated youth, society will always be playing catch-up to reverse stereotypes rather than eliminating their formation all together. Lower School Counselor Dr. Gabriela Reed admits that, especially at an all-boys school, many gender stereotypes form and are not corrected. “I think that anytime you try to combat early stereotypes, it allows the children to open their eyes,” Reed said. “A school can offer that kind of an environment for a student and can open his eyes. It’s important for students to see things that counteract those stereotypes.” Reed wants boys at St. Mark’s to learn how to interact and work with women in the real world in an appropriate and egalitarian way “I think that some boys have already developed the idea that the leaders and the smartest people of the world are male,” Reed said. “But when students go out into the world and apply for colleges, they will come into contact with girls who are just as smart as them and I don’t want that to be a shock.” Gender stereotypes are formed at a young age, so the earlier someone

can intervene, the more likely those stereotypes will change. “Gender education is important for people to have an accurate idea for college, for a career, for a family,” Reed said. “So if you are a man that believes that men are superior to women, you will probably end up in a relationship where your spouse won’t challenge that because you’ve chosen that understanding. If you aren’t properly educated, you are not only hurting yourself but future generations to come.” It’s processes like these, however, that take society lots of time to adjust to. Society cannot succumb to change overnight, and it takes time, especially in the case of a large feminist movement striving to change the mentality of millions of men around the globe. “The way that I believe change happens and the way psychology believes change happens is you build your perspective taking skills, which build your empathy skills,” Director of Counseling Barbara Van Drie said. “The way that one becomes more aware, the way that one addresses inequality, one approaches social justice, is to take the other’s perspective and to have empathy for the other’s point of view.”

According to Reed, the process of developing that empathy and creating awareness should begin in the Lower School. “[This is] when some of these ideas begin to crystallize and form,” Reed said. “So I have a kid who every time he has a problem with his homework, he goes to dad, but a couple nights ago he came down and saw his mom reading the newspaper and asked, ‘Mom you read the newspaper?’ and his mom was like., ‘Yeah, I’m an educated woman! Why wouldn’t I?’” “But he had already stereotyped that his mom was not as smart as his dad, when his mom had more degrees than his dad. It’s hard to battle that where all the teachers are male and all the students are male.” While instances like these pop up very often in childhood situations, Reed stresses the importance of developing a proper way to interact with the opposite gender at a young age. Eliminating stereotypes and blending the notions perpetuated by common gender roles is most easily accomplished when kids are young and still learning. “I want the students to know how to work with women,” she said. — Shourya Kumar and Will Clark

“The vast majority of the time spent with the kids, between my wife [Misty] and I, would belong to myself,” Reich said. “My wife has a job that requires a lot of travel, and/or late hours, so I’m the primary caregiver as far as the kids go. We figured out years ago, when we had kids, that we both had time-consuming, demanding jobs, and it was hard.” Rather than allowing a nanny, or some alternative caregiver, to take care of the children, Reich decided to assume the traditional homemaker role for himself — a task he complements through continuing his profession. “We wanted one of the parents to be more involved and more available,” Reich said. “And it worked out. I’m an accountant, so I was able to start my own firm. I work for myself and have a lot of flexibility. That kind of frees me up to be the primary caregiver as far as time goes: I do the school run, take the kids in the morning, pick them up in the afternoon and help them with homework.” In regards to the traditional workplace, Reich admits his preference for working at home and taking care of the kids to maintaining an office job. “I don’t miss the office environment at all…I work when the kids are at school, and after school while they’re doing their homework,” Reich said. “I can kind of work anytime. I’m really lucky that I’ve got a lot of flexibility. I get to spend a lot of good quality time and quantity time with the kids.” Nonetheless, Reich is quick to point out the importance of a maternal figure in kids’ lives; despite his experience as the primary caregiver, he believes his wife is the more proficient parent. “My wife is an amazing parent, so they [the kids] would probably get a better upbringing with her [laughs]. She’s much more intuitive with the kids, picks up on what’s going on…it’d just be very different,” Reich said. “You know, moms and dads are different. I think moms tend to be more nurturing. I overhear moms where their son has a test the next day, and they say, ‘we have a test tomorrow.’ They’re in their studying along with them. I’m much more hands-off.” arker Reich acknowledges the differing parental strategies of his mom and dad, specifically the varying degree of involvement each has in his studies. “My dad’s a lot more relaxed than my mom, so I think it’s a lot more fun when he’s around.,” Parker said. “It also takes him a good bit to get angry.” Though Brian Reich defies established gender roles through his status as the primary caregiver, he feels as if his situation is a rarity among most dads; of all the families he’s known, only one other had a Mr. Mom. Nonetheless, statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show that the number of male primary caregivers in the country have increased significantly. Roughly 214,000 married males — with children below the age of 15 — have willingly departed their professions to occupy the full-time job of being dad; four years ago, only 158,000 fathers filled the role of primary caregiver. To give perspective, there is a net total of 70.1 million fathers in the country. Despite the gradual morphing of established gender roles, Brian believes gender equality is far from reach. “Nowadays, I don’t believe society has achieved gender equality,” Brian said. “In the corporate world, I don’t think it’s fair at all towards women. It’s much harder for a high-achieving woman to be taken seriously in business. If a woman and a man take the same actions, he’s praised for it, while she’s called nasty names. There’s a big pay-gap a lot of times as well.” Corporately, gender pay gap has shown shocking trends; as a worst-case scenario, women can make just 66 percent of male income (specifically in financial posts), as indicated by data from economist Claudia Goldin of Harvard University. Though Brian undoubtedly pushes for professional and social equality between the genders, he believes total equality — an equity in all aspects — might be impossible and potentially undesirable. “Gender equality isn’t necessarily something we need to have in everything,” Brian said. “I think guys should still open the door for a lady. It’s necessary to treat women differently, but in a really positive way. It’s okay to have different roles and different strengths, but what is a traditional female role in some family situations could be handled differently by a man, and vice-versa.”