The Coat of Arms Issue 45.1

The Coat of Arms

Volume 45, Number 1

Menlo School, Atherton, California

Thursday, September 27, 2018

serving Menlo's upper school since 1975

Senior Retreat Bonds Class, Proves Successful

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE We Have a New Website!

Visit our brand new website, which we opened at the start of this school year: www.menlocoa.org

Local Angle on Kavanaugh-Ford Debate Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual misconduct. One of his accusers is a Silicon Valley local; get educated about this political debate.

Students participate in various team building activities, including high and low ropes courses. Photos courtesy of Meredith Power and Staff Photographer Bella Scola.

by KATE JEFFRIES

From Sunday, Sept. 16 to Monday Sept. 17, the Class of 2019 traveled to YMCA Camp Campbell in Boulder Creek for the annual Senior Retreat.

While the Senior Retreat is known for being a nice time to relax and take part in fun activities such as ropes courses and hikes, ultimately the goal of the trip is to create a closer-knit senior class and to start the grade’s final year at Menlo off on the right foot.

Many of the activities were related to ropes courses, such as the high ropes course, the “leap of faith,” the “flying squirrel” and the low ropes course.

While some students were more comfortable balancing in the air or jumping off a platform than others, many students agreed that these activities created a sense of teamwork and support. “I really

enjoyed the [high] ropes course because it pushed me out of my comfort zone [since] I’m afraid of heights,” senior Maddie Bernheim said. “Despite my inability to finish the whole thing, everyone in my group cheered for me and made me feel good about what I did manage to accomplish. Even people I didn’t know super well [supported me], and I feel closer to them because of that.”

In addition to the exciting outdoor activities the seniors and faculty members took part in, students also got a chance to revive old friendships and create new ones both during and after “The Web," a bonding activity that involves the entire senior class in one room. One member of the class starts with a large ball of yarn which symbolizes the connections between everyone in the class. The first person throws the ball to another member of the class who they want to compli-

Three Seniors Travel to Morocco, Israel, Mexico

by CRYSTAL BAI

Summer comes with almost three months off of school that students can use however they want: academics, vacation, work experience and more.

Four Menlo seniors– May Li, Kayla Zamanian, Walter Li and Andrew Kim– chose to use their summers to travel abroad after receiving grants from the HAND Foundation.

According to the Menlo School website, the HAND Grant is an award “to fund selected upper school students to undertake an in-depth investigation, scholarly research or social entrepreneurship project within the U.S. or abroad over the summer.” Each awarded project is granted up to $4,000 from the HAND Foundation, a grant-funding organization dedicated to building better communities by enabling the growth and advancement of individuals.

May Li stayed in Mexico City, Mexico, exploring the history, culture and art of the city and country in general.

She spoke with fine artists in professional studios and street artists at their homes and on the street. She also learned from and discussed urban art

with professionals who were not artists but were experienced in the field.

Along with interviewing artists, May Li also interviewed ordinary Mexico City residents for their opinions on the art lining the walls of the streets that they lived and worked on. For more historical and cultural

ment, apologize to or reconnect with and talks to that person in front of the rest of the class. The pattern continues from there. Since each student can only talk to one person and can only be talked about once, there was also a chance to shout out whoever you wanted to after “The Web” was completed.

“My favorite part of the Senior Retreat was the moment right after ‘The Web,’” senior Simon Oros said.

“While ‘The Web’ for the most part feels genuine, you can’t really escape the fact that you’re forced to stand up and pick someone to say something sentimental to. However, the moment after ‘The Web’ ended, there was no structure or order. I’m so happy to have [had the chance to] let people

Continued on page 2

Menlo Implements New Finals Policy

by SARAH NORUM

Over the summer, Upper School Director John Schafer and the math, science, history and language department chairs decided to implement a new finals schedule consisting of one final a year per class, whether that be at the end of the winter or spring semester.

According to Schafer, there were two main reasons why they changed the schedule. He "It was a great way recalled that last December many students were stressing to experience my over tests just days before a final exam, due to the lack of a independence, blackout schedule. He also remembered how the new school meet interestig schedule cut down class time.

Schafer is hopeful that this new people and new finals schedule will help live a different solve both of these issues.

By cutting down the numway of life." ber of exams administered in total throughout the year, the context on Mexico, she visited school is planning to use that places like the Secretariat valuable time to continue to of Public Education and the teach and learn. "Why spend National Museum of Anthroeight days on exams when we pology. can give some of that back “It was a great way to to classroom learning time?" experience my independence, Schafer said. "We are lookmeet interesting new people ing to recapture instructional and learn to live a different time." way of life,” May Li said in an Since the new schedule has Continued on page 2 been implemented, there has

been a significant amount of classes lost per week, so this new finals schedule could be a way to fix that issue. "Recouping teaching days under the new schedule has been a goal of many teachers for some time," History Department Chair Ryan Dean said.

However, the new finals schedule also has its flaws.

"For some teachers, there's a lot of value in giving students more than one ‘cumulative’ assessment such as a final exam," Dean said. "Those teachers who believe two finals tell a richer story about student learning than one might rightly feel like they have less data to help them understand how much a student has grown over the course of the year."

While this is a valid argument, it did not stop the committee from implementing the policy. "The committee understood this concern, but felt like there were ways other than a designated fall or spring exam period for teachers to collect data about what students are learning and how well they've mastered certain skills," Dean

Continued on page 2

Update on the Building of New Performing Arts Center Since 2008, Menlo has been planning for a new performing arts center.

Although the plans were delayed for the Commons, the project is still in discussion.

Student and Faculty React to AdvocacyTutorial Switch

With the recent change of Advocacies meeting on Friday instead of Thurday, students and teachers have expressed their opinions.

New Make-a-Wish Club Hopes to Grant One Child a Wish

Senior Abby Doll has started a new club called MakeA-Wish. Partenered with a St. Ignatius student, the two students hope to grant one child a wish.

Photo of the Issue

Junior Sophie Golub looks to pass the ball during game against Burlingame High School. Staff photo by Bella Scola.

News: 1-3 A&L: 4, 8 Spread: 5-7 Opinions: 9-10 Sports: 11-12

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The Coat of Arms | News

September 27, 2018

Senior Retreat Continued

so happy to have [had the chance to] let people know the way in which they impacted me.”

Although the Senior Retreat has been a tradition in the Upper School for many years, this year marks the first year the senior class departed for the trip on a Sunday morning, rather than on a Monday. Unfortunately, since the departure date was moved to a weekend, 19 students were absent. 13 of the missing students were unable to attend due to Rolling Loud, a popular three-day rap music festival in Oakland.

“I think their presence was missed,” senior Charlie Hsieh said. “‘The Web’ was impactful as is; however, the people who couldn’t come are all important members of the community, and I’m sure there

was a lot to be said about them and they [would have] had a lot to say.”

While the entire grade can agree that these 19 members of the class were individually missed, the sense of community amongst the rest of the grade remained strong. “[...] Although the people who didn’t come on the retreat were missed, I didn’t feel like the overall dynamic or spirit of [the] grade was affected,” senior Dillon Grady said. “I loved how everyone came together and [was] able to have an amazing two days of strengthening old connections and making new ones.”

Student Body President Marianne Siulangapo agreed with Grady. “As much as myself and other members of the senior class would have liked the entire Class of 2019 to be present

for the retreat, it is what it is,” Siulangapo said. “I don’t think there’s ever been a time where I’ve seen my classmates so connected to one another. [However, we aren’t] going to leave our appreciation, leadership and love for one another back in Boulder Creek.”

said.

As for the language department, the new finals schedule change positively affects the teachers and students. “When we moved to year-long grades last year, it seemed like the best time to move away from breaking up grading into parts and look more toward the global performance of the student,” Language Department Chair Rebecca Mouser said.

“We realized that all of the assessments were comprehensive, so a winter ‘final exam’ appeared to be unnecessary.”

Collectively, the department chairs

made the decision to fix some errors with the new schedule, but also to make it easier on teachers and students.

“Teachers should have less grading at the conclusion of at least one semester, making it easier for them to close their grade books, write comments and attend to other duties according to school administrative deadlines,” Dean said.

“This is also [a] great way for Menlo to show that it cares about student stress by consciously working to avoid an end-ofsemester pile up.”

For students, the new policy seems

like it will help them manage their time during finals week and take some stress off of their backs. “This will help us have more time to study for each final because we won’t have to stress over as many assessments at once,” sophomore Toby Thornberg said.

Students from different grades seem to be on the same page. “I like Menlo’s decision to change the finals schedule because it will ease the stress of finals week and make it easier to focus on the tests we do have,” junior Grace Wilson said.

Lastly, although many think this change will only affect students and teachers in the classroom, it also will hopefully positively affect Upper School registrar Julie Hammack and the proctoring team during finals week. “This exam calendar should reduce the logistical burden on chairs and Dr. Hammack to coordinate conflict exams and testing logistics, and it will definitely reduce the number of days teachers find themselves proctoring, which isn’t exactly a highlight of being a teacher,” Dean said.

cultural solutions?

“Throughout all four weeks, I volunteered at an English day camp in Jerusalem for Israeli and Palestinian school children,” Walter Li said in an email. “In my spare time, I visited many different organizations working to build bridges between Israelis and Palestinians, conducting numerous interviews [with organizations such as] Roots in the Gush Etzion settlements of the West Bank, an organization working on dialogue between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank.”

Walter Li expressed the amount of power and perspective that living in Jerusalem provided him with. “I interviewed so many different kinds of people with diverse opinions that opened up my mind and allowed me to see the nuances of the conflict,” he said in an email. “[...] Here in America, we are quick to take a side on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, I learned that it is much more than being pro-Israel and pro-Palestine. There are so many different layers to the conflict that are overlooked.”

Andrew Kim’s HAND Grant trip did not go as expected due to political conflict in Cambodia, the country in which

he planned on staying. The Cambodian President, who has been in power since 1985, announced that he would stay in power for another decade, creating unrest in the Cambodian people.

“My organization, Jordan International Aid, contacted me, saying that there had already been some protesting activity,” Kim said in an email. “Because the election was going to be in July, the time that I would have gone, they thought that it [would] be too dangerous for me to go. It was to the point that the conditions were pretty unsafe that even tourists were recommended not to go to Cambodia.”

Instead, Kim will go to Cambodia around Christmas, a time when the protesting activity should lessen. “This experience gave me a new perspective on what global aid is like,” he said. “It is not as easy as you think when you have a single ruler ruling the country,” Kim said in an email. It is really sad, because the villagers expected us to come over the summer and I really wanted to help educate them about clean water. I am still fortunate that my project was able to be extended to the winter.”

New Finals Policy Continued

HAND Grants Continued

way of life,” May Li said in an email. “Absolutely everyone I met was amazingly friendly too, especially the old lady who let me paint a mural on one side of her house.”

Zamanian spent her HAND Grant trip in Morocco. She stayed in Rabat, the capital, and also visited Fes and Marrakech, two other Moroccan cities.

“The purpose of my project, in technical terms, was to investigate Moroccan cultural and linguistic constructs in order to better understand the effects of multiculturalism and multilingualism on the post-colonial Moroccan identity,” she said in an email.

The International University of Rabat hosted Zamanian’s project, granting her a research team with two professoradvisors, a personal Arabic professor and an Arabic language partner.

Through this one-on-one classroom setting, Zamanian learned the implications of Arabic in a cultural, religious and social sense rather than simply learning mechanics and vocabulary of the Arabic language.

“Aside from language learning, I spent my afternoons either conducting interviews with professors and students on campus, reading scholarly articles

or Moroccan literature, like Amour Bilingue, exploring Rabat or crafting the survey that I disseminated with Moroccan students at three universities in Rabat. It included about 30 open-ended and multiple choice questions, focusing on the effects of education, religion and language on the Moroccan identity,” Zamanian said in an email. “I learned through the lens of post-colonial Moroccans through their language, their unparalleled tolerance and humility, their history and [their] multifaceted culture.”

For Zamanian, the experience was unforgettable. “In simple terms, my experience in Morocco can be summed up as a story of human kindness, generosity and liberated learning,” she said in an email. “My time in Morocco will always be a part of me. I have developed a new family, home and persona [there], and I can’t wait to return.”

Walter Li spent four weeks living in an apartment in Jerusalem, where he attempted to answer this question about the Israel-Palestine conflict: How do grassroots organizations and activists work to ease tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, and how can their work be applied to larger political and

Zamanian went to Morocco with her HAND Grant to learn about multiculturalism and multilingualism.

Photos courtesy of Kayla Zamanian.

Students run during the “Flying Squirrel” activity and prepare to climb the ladder for the “Leap of Faith.” Staff photos by Bella Scola.

Walter Li traveled abroad to Isreal to learn more about and help with the Isreali-Palistinian Conflict. Photos courtesy of Walter Li.

May Li visited Mexico to learn about Latin American muralism and art culture. She also created a mural of her own. Photos courtesy of May Li.

The Coat of Arms | News

September 27, 2018

Meet the New Upper School Faculty Bridget Allard

Bridget Allard is joining Menlo as the new assistant to Menlo’s college counselors. Prior to coming to Menlo, Allard worked in politics, working for a congressman and then becoming chief-of-staff for a Hawaii state representative. She also created a startup that did after-school yoga and mindfulness programs for young children. Most recently, Allard was a freelance graphic designer, but she found herself constantly working. In part, what drew her to Menlo was that she wanted a more balanced lifestyle.

Another reason she came to Menlo was her knowledge of the community: her son attends the Middle School and her husband, Marc Allard, teaches science and engineering classes in the Upper School. “I had already gotten to know the community and the school and knew that I was already liking the environment, the students, the philosophy and the values of the school, so I think I felt like this would be a great

by KYRA GESCHKE & ELISABETH WESTERMANN

place to work as well,” Allard said.

As the assistant to the college counselors, Allard schedules college representative visits and is responsible for making sure colleges get students’ test scores and transcripts. So far, Allard likes being part of the college counseling team.

Staff photo by Bella Scola.

Jake Fauver

Jake Fauver is joining Tracy Bianchi as Menlo’s new Upper School counselor, replacing Nina Keebler, who left the school to pursue a private therapy practice. Fauver is also teaching Identity for Freshman Seminar and hopes to help out with the track team in the spring.

Before coming to Menlo, Fauver taught high school Spanish and psychology and worked as a counselor at Nueva High School.

Fauver initially became interested in Menlo when he visited the school and talked with faculty members about the work Menlo is doing with mental health to help students to lead more balanced lives. “Those are areas that I care deeply about and really like working with adolescents on,” Fauver said.

Fauver hopes to show students that stress doesn’t have to be a part of adolescence. “I can understand why teenagers can’t or aren’t listening to [this idea], but [...] the rat race of feeling like you have to be better than everyone else [is] a large contributing factor [to student stress],” Fauver said.

He also wants to be considered as someone who students feel they can

go to for help. “There are always going to be ups and downs, and there are going to be social [and] emotional challenges. I’d love to be seen as one of the resources for navigating those natural ups and downs,” Fauver said.

In his free time, Fauver enjoys following the New York Yankees, the New York Giants and both the women’s and men’s U.S. soccer teams, in addition to running and hiking.

Staff photo by Bella Scola.

Matt Granoff

Matt Granoff, the new freshman and senior English teacher, joined the Menlo staff this past summer. Granoff is teaching English 1 and a new senior elective called “A History of Ethical Thought” that Granoff designed himself. “[The class] is a survey of ethical theory,” Granoff said. “[The class] will include learning how to read really hard texts and how to talk about the ethical ideas [they present].”

After an English teacher from last year suddenly decided to pursue another opportunity, Menlo found and hired Granoff on short notice. One of Granoff’s goals for this year is to prove his teaching skills. “I want to do a good job and prove that I’m as good of a teacher as one that would have been hired with all of the time there usually is for the [recruiting and hiring] process,” Granoff said. Granoff hopes that he will learn a lot from his fellow teachers and will work off of the feedback from his students. This year, he wants to learn about and contribute to the Menlo cul-

ture he recently joined.

Before Menlo, Granoff taught rhetoric at a school in St. Louis, Mo., for four years. Most recently, Granoff has been at home taking care of his one-yearold daughter. Beyond being a new dad, Granoff enjoys theater and acting in community musicals and plays with his wife, and hopes that his daughter grows up with music.

Photo courtesy of Pete Zivkov.

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Otis Bryant

Otis Bryant is the newest addition to the History Department, teaching Modern World History and U.S. History. What drew Bryant to Menlo were the highly self-motivated students. “I [don’t] like to hear myself talk all the time and Menlo kids are engaged,” Bryant said. “They have a voice, they take initiative and that makes learning organically fun and interesting.

They’re invested.”

When describing his teaching style, Bryant says that the classroom should be collaborative. “If the students are passive, you know that they’re only going to retain about 10% of what they hear, so I want conversation. [That way,] I can guide the discussion as opposed to just leading it,” Bryant said.

In addition to creating a collaborative environment, Bryant also hopes to teach students global literacy through his history classes. “I [want students to know] about different cultures and backgrounds such that it will change

their behavior [...] and enable them to live and thrive in a diverse society,” Bryant said.

In his free time, Bryant enjoys travelling, especially to Asia, and is currently learning Mandarin and studying Chinese culture. He also likes attending old school R&B and jazz concerts, going to NBA games and participating in African-American book clubs.

Staff photo by Bella Scola.

Natalie Ford

This spring, Natalie Ford joined the college counseling team following the leave of Quentin MacArthur, who left Menlo to help his wife follow her professional endeavours on the East Coast.

Ford comes from a history of working in college admissions, most recently at Princeton University.

“I think that being in college counseling is definitely a shift from being in admissions, but [it] is one that I have welcomed,” Ford said. After working extensively in college admissions for most of her career, Ford hopes she can bring her knowledge of the admissions process and college life to help her students make decisions on where to apply and eventually what college to attend for the next four years.

Ford also hopes that this year will be a smooth transition as she dives into the Menlo culture. “[I want to] really immerse myself in the community here and learn about all the [colleges] I do not know yet,” Ford said. She is especially excited to get to know her new students on a deeper level, along with their families.

Ford is also excited to move from

the East Coast to the West Coast. “[California] is a great place to raise our daughter, and the weather is amazing.

There is nothing to not like [about living here],” Ford said.

Photo courtesy of Pete Zivkov.

Chris Young

Chris Young, the new Director of Community Engagement, joined the Menlo community this year after most recently working for Berkeley High School. At Berkeley High, Young taught history and led the International High School Program.

After a few years at Berkeley High, Young left for an international service trip to Prague and the Czech Republic, and later travelled to South and Central America. “It was an [extremely] powerful experience. to work in all of these [different] places,” Young said.

Young wants to improve the community engagement program at Menlo. “[I will work to ensure that] Menlo becomes a world-class model of community engagement, where every student is actively involved with purposes higher than themselves,” Young said in an email.

Young also hopes to help Menlo students commit to their passions in the community engagement department.

He hopes to help point students in the

right direction to take action towards global issues that students are passionate about.

In Young’s first year, he wants to connect with as many students as he can on a deeper level. “I’ve never met a young person who doesn’t want to do something good for the world, but they often need support in realizing they can [do great things],” Young said in an email.

Photo courtesy of Pete Zivkov.

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A&L | The Coat of Arms

Sept 27, 2018

On The Quad: What were your first impressions of Menlo?

“Everyone is super nice, welcoming and cool. It’s a really open community.”

-Chris Cook ‘21

“Everybody has a ton of school spirit.” -Sammie Floyd ‘22

“I like how everyone talks at school and on the quad. No one is really in groups.”

-Rachel Gruber ‘22

“When your first impression of the school is Cindy Lapolla running up to you wearing an Edna costume and screaming, ‘Have a good year!’ you know you’re going to have a good year.”

-Sonya Lebedeva ‘20

“[I like] the programs that help students transition from middle school to high school.”

-Marshall Seligson ‘22

Have a Passion? There’s a Club for That!

by VIONNA ESHGHI

Menlo’s clubs bring different kinds of learning opportunities that students do not receive in the classroom. Students are able to share their passions with others and this year’s club additions bring a wide variety to the current clubs list.

Physics Club: Senior Simon Oros contributes his greatest passion of physics to his new club, Physics Club, which meets every Wednesday during lunch in Upper School science teacher Jamie Formato’s room (A117). This club requires no background in math or physics and allows students to simply enjoy the subject of physics without the stress of grades and complex math that typically follows this topic.

“We mainly focus on experimentation and introducing ourselves to the spooky and exciting parts of physics,” Oros said. “Since physics is such a broad field, we will sometimes delve into other sciences like forensics, chemistry, biology and even agriculture.”

Oros created this club out of his excitement and enthusiasm for physics. He uses the club as an outlet to continue his exploration and discovery of physics outside of the classroom. “I started this club because there was no junior year physics class. I couldn’t really survive the year without continuing my exploration of that field and I know many students were in the same position as me,” Oros said.

Oros does not wish for students who attend to get substantive physics knowledge that they could find in equations and textbooks, but rather to appreciate the interesting phenomena physics has to offer and to discover more.

Opera Club: Upper School English teacher Nick Romeo runs the Opera Club

for students to gain a deeper understanding and love of opera. As a pianist himself, Romeo has great zeal for this topic. “I love playing with other musicians, especially singers. It’s definitely a strong interest of mine,” Romeo said.

Romeo’s club meets every week in the choir room to learn arias from great operas and expand one’s knowledge of them.

Speech and Debate Club: To develop your speech and debate skills, visit room A251 every Tuesday during lunch at Speech and Debate Club. Club leaders and juniors Jack King and Connor Enright and seniors Nicolas Hernandez and Kevin Kafayi invite students to learn basic speech and debate skills. If they wish to be more competitive, students are able to join them after school on Tuesdays from 6-7:30 pm. “Having both debated and loved doing speech and debate in middle school and also partially in high school, [Kevin and I] wanted to share our love of debate with the Menlo community,” Hernandez said. “I have always loved debate, as it gave me an opportunity and outlet to voice my political ideas as well as argue and learn about the contrary opinion.” Hernandez explained that he and Kafayi were disappointed with Menlo’s absence of a debate team and were prompted to start their own club with hopes to continue their debate experience.

Nutrition Club: Nutrition Club will meet during lunch every Thursday in room B107. Junior Grace Wilson describes the club as a place to find new ways to eat healthy foods and try new recipes. “Every week, different members bring in healthy foods like energy balls or home-

made guacamole that they have tried to make at home, which we eat in the club,” Wilson said. “We also share recipes and ideas and will talk about the nutritional benefits of whatever we are eating.”

Music Debate and Discussion Club: Seniors Maxwell Patterson and Nate Solomon plan to create an environment dedicated to discussing and debating various topics regarding hip-hop music and culture through Music Debate and Discussion Club. “Our goal is that everyone in the club has the ability to voice their opinion on hip-hop and learn more about the culture,” Patterson said.

Patterson remarked that he constantly found himself and Solomon in arguments and discussions with their friends concerning hip-hop.

“We want to be able to extend these discussions to a more formal setting where everyone can voice their opinion,” Patterson said. “We hope that people who attend the club will learn about hip-hop and have a good time talking about the culture together.”

Politics Club: Upper School Director John Schafer and junior Ethan Yan hope to meet in the weeks leading up to the November 2018 midterm elections in Politics Club with the goal of providing a forum for students and teachers interested in politics to discuss current events, share insights and learn from each other.

“We also hope to hold a contest for students to predict Senate and House election results,” Yan said.

“Last time, Mr. Schafer jokingly promised the winner of this contest editing privileges to the school’s grade database for a short period of time. We’ll see if he promises that again.”

Useless Knowledge Club and Frisbee Club: Senior Zak Werdegar incorporated two areas of his interest into Useless Knowledge Club and Frisbee Club. The Useless Knowledge Club explores random thoughts and ideas most people would not expect to learn anything from. “This primarily takes form in articles that we post around campus,” Werdegar said. “Most articles usually begin with a very stupid question, like how long would it take to lick through a bank vault, and then we proceed to do actual research and calculations to get an accurate answer. I would say the primary goal of this club is to spark interest in math and science and break the stigma that creativity is exclusive to the arts. The best part is, we don’t have any meetings. If you want to participate in the club, just email me what you want to write about and then you can just send me an article whenever you want.”

Werdegar explains his Frisbee Club as a place to just have a lot of fun. “I think frisbees are dope, so my goal is that others who share this feeling will join in and we will have a blast,” Werdegar said. “We meet on Fridays during lunch on the loop.”

Seniors Jacqueline Bressie and Izzy Banatao promote Surf Club at the Clubs Fair on Sept. 21. Staff photo by Bella Scola.

Let’s Talk STEM: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

By Sarah Norum

BIOLOGY

ZUMDAHL

EDITION

CAMPBELL

ZUMHAHL

NINTH

EDITION

Paul G.Hewitt

Chemistry R E E C E U R R Y C A I N W A S S E R A N M I N O R S K Y J A C K S O N

PEARSON

SEVENTH

CONCEPTUAL PHYSICS

PEARSON

Here at Menlo, there are many students enrolled in STEM classes for a variety of reasons, ranging from self-interest to pressure from parents to influence from the Silicon Valley society.

Some students, like sophomore Marissa Li, have always been pressured into taking math, science and computer science classes at Menlo. “Since my mom is a software engineer at Oracle, my parents have always put a really heavy emphasis on STEM, so I always had to take it,” Li said. “Normally, I wouldn’t be taking a computer science class like I am now, but my parents continuously tell me I have to take them. They tell me it’s really good for me, especially in the age of technology that we are in now.”

Coming from a different perspective, others, like junior Jackson Aldrich, have always had a genuine interest in STEM. “Personally, I really do like the teachers and classes in the STEM field, and that is the main reason why I have continued to take them,” Aldrich said. “Since Menlo is in the Silicon Valley, it gives us many more resources and options compared to other schools. For example, we have the Whitaker Lab and the STEM teachers are really good here.”

Some students have had a mixed experience, like junior Kennedy Cleage. “My dad used to be an engineer, so that definitely influenced my interest in STEM in the beginning,” Cleage said. “I think he geared me toward it, but it also just happened to be my stronger subjects so that helped keep my interest too.”

Living in the Silicon Valley can also affect a student’s class choices. “Although a lot of the jobs around here are centered around STEM, there are so many people interested, and I don’t feel forced to go into that field since it’s becoming so highly competitive,” Cleage said.

However, other students are actually more drawn to STEM classes because they are surrounded by tech companies. “Because we live in an area that is centered around technology and startups, I feel more pressured to take the STEM classes at Menlo and therefore to pursue those jobs in the future,” sophomore Zak Taube. “Even though I feel compelled to take these classes, so far I have decided to take the classes I am more interested in, including photography.”

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A&L | The Coat of Arms

Sept 27, 2018

Selected Student Profile: Chris Cook

by KATE JEFFRIES

CoA: Where were you born?

Chris: Stanford, California.

CoA: Have you ever moved before?

Chris: Yeah, I used to live in the Los Angeles area for about five years.

CoA: When was the last time you climbed a tree?

Chris: Uhh, probably a few weeks ago. I have a huge tree in my backyard, and I put lights up there.

CoA: Do you have any pets?

Chris: Yeah, I have two dogs.

CoA: What breeds?

Chris: Both are rescues, so we don’t really know.

CoA: Do you have any siblings?

Chris: Nope, I’m an only child.

CoA: What’s the most annoying question people ask you?

Chris: Well, people ask me how tall I am almost everyday.

CoA: How tall are you?

Chris: 6’7”

Piano Prodigy

by KATE HAMMOND

Sophomore Daniel Tan is this issue’s male Artist of the Issue due to his accomplishments and dedication to piano. Since he was two years old, music has been a part of his life. “My mom has always pushed me to do music starting from around age two when she would have me listen to music and take me to kiddy music lessons,” Tan said. At six years old, his mother asked if he officially wanted to start playing the piano, and it ended up being something he grew to love.

Practicing the piano is a part of Tan’s daily routine. “It is usually the time I need to work on my own parts,” Tan said. Along with the time he spends practicing solo, Tan has a lesson with a teacher once a week and is part of a trio ensemble outside of school.

Two or three times a year, Tan travels to New York to take part in piano competitions. “For pianists, there are many different types [of competitions], but all of them run on the same program with different criteria.

Most competitions will ask for one piece from an early period, such as the Baroque [period], Classical [period] or Romantic [period], as well as a contemporary piece,” Tan said.

Although he plays all type of styles on the piano, his favorite is contemporary because he is able to put his own interpretation on the piece. Tan’s

CoA: Do you ever hit the ceiling when you walk in the door?

Chris: Yeah, a little bit. It’s not bad.

Just doorways sometimes.

CoA: Did you have any prior expectations before coming to Menlo?

Chris: I was kind of concerned about the academic workload, but it hasn’t been too bad. There is definitely a lot of work, but as long as I use my time wisely it’s good.

CoA: If you had to describe your childhood as a smell, what would it be?

Chris: I don’t know… uh, a good smell.

CoA: Would you rather live in an amusement park or a zoo for the rest of your life?

Chris: Amusement park, for sure. Wait actually, uh, yeah amusement park.

CoA: Have you ever met anyone famous?

Chris: Yeah.

CoA: Who? Chris: NFL running back Christian McCaffrey.

CoA: What’s the worst injury you have had?

Chris: I messed up my whole knee cap after landing weird from dunking.

CoA: What’s your go-to snack at the movie theater?

Chris: Sweet ropes. Those are hella good.

CoA: Who would win in a fight: a taco or a grilled cheese?

Chris: A taco.

CoA: Defend your answer.

Chris: They have the beef. biggest accomplishment was when he played at New York City’s Carnegie Hall at age 13 after winning a competition. Carnegie Hall is where the most famous musicians in the world perform.

Tan considers fashion designer and DJ Virgil Abloh an inspiration. “He is living such a fulfilled life. He has a passion for music too and loves DJing, while also expressing his full creativity - which sounds like exactly what he wants to do - while [also] designing and creating both of these brands, [Louis Vuitton and Off White],” Tan said.

For the past two years, Tan played with Music @ Menlo. He applied in middle school when he first heard about the program. “It was an amazing three weeks because you get to meet with similarly skilled musicians who are similarly passionate that come from all over the world,” Tan said. “It is amazing for people who love music you don’t get that anywhere else.”

Daniel Tan poses at the piano. Photo courtesy of Andrew Kim.

Spirit Week Start of Fall Air Force 1s Ombré Hydro Flasks Coffee Bar

Leaked SAT Answers

Yellow Jackets at Lunch

Assembly Check-ins

Athletic Artist

by SAMANTHA STEVENS

On any given day, junior Talia Grossman can be found bouncing from the art studio to the soccer field to the baseball diamond. Her ability to balance and blend athletics and art leaves others wondering how she has time for homework. To Grossman, there should be no competition between athletics and art. Instead, the two aspects of her life interact.

Out on the soccer field, Grossman plays goalie, but when it comes to art, she jumps from the guitar to the ukulele to studio art to photography, and most recently, to filmmaking.

Perhaps an explanation for Grossman’s numerous artistic talents is her family’s own artistry, which has been a constant inspiration. “Art has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. From an early age, my family taught me to embrace my creativity, closely observe the world and keep an open mind,” Grossman said.

She has grown up taking trips to art museums in San Francisco with her grandma, who was an art curator at Stanford University. Grossman’s mom is a fashion designer and has taught her to have an eye for art through their conversations about fashion collections and artistic direction. Her brother, Alex (‘14), is a role model of hers and recently graduated from the School of Cinematic Arts at USC and is now working in Hollywood.

Talia Grossman poses for a shot. Photo courtesy of Michelle Arias.

The two share a passion for both athletics and art, even in seemingly meaningless moments. “When my brother and I get together, we can talk uniforms for hours: MLB, NBA, NFL or Premier League. When we play FIFA on Xbox we can literally spend forever customizing our players,” Grossman said.

Grossman has always been an active artist at school. In middle school, she designed the promotional posters for two Menlo middle school musicals, “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.” Then, in an instance of athletics and arts coinciding with one another, Grossman helped design a new Adidas uniform for her club soccer team, Mountain View Los Altos (MVLA). Grossman also designed the annual Valpo Bowl t-shirt last school year. “It was cool to see so many students walking around wearing that [Valpo Bowl] shirt,” Grossman said.

In addition to taking a visual art class at Menlo this year, Grossman is also currently enrolled in an online filmmaking class, with hopes of further exploring her most recent artistic curiosity.

Opinions | The Coat of Arms

September 27, 2018

Protecting Free Speech is Key to Democracy

by ELISABETH WESTERMANN

Free speech on college campuses is a crucial part of the free exchange of ideas that is necessary for our democracy to function.

Last year, my May Term course “Standing Up for Your Rights” visited the University of California, Berkeley to listen to a student leader of the activist group “Berkeley Resist” speak.

A main talking point was about how Berkeley Resist, in collaboration with a more extreme group, “Antifa,” successfully stopped a speech by rightwing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos through violent protests. Some protestors, wearing masks, broke the windows of the building where the speech was being held and started a fire in the quad outside of the building. These actions caused Berkeley to cancel the event for safety reasons.

Student protests have also stopped mainstream speakers like former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, from appearing on campuses. Suppression of speech on college campuses reflects a concerning trend in our generation. According to a study conducted by the Knight Foundation in 2017, fewer than half of American high school students believe that peo-

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Clapping is just hitting yourself because you like something.

ple should be permitted to say what they want to in public if it is offensive to others.

Democracy depends on the free exchange of ideas. In our nation’s history, there have been many times when ideas that were once considered controversial and dangerous have come to be accepted as critical to advancing our society. Just one example is the Civil Rights Movement.

Many universities in the South banned leaders of the Civil Rights Movement from speaking on their campuses.

For example, in 1958, North Carolina A&T State University refused Martin Luther King Jr. permission to speak on its campus. The university’s administration no doubt believed it was “right” to prohibit Dr. King Jr. from speaking. But there is equally no doubt that most people associated with North Carolina A&T University today regret that decision. This shows the danger of letting university administrators determine which speech should or should not be heard by students.

If a student group wants to sponsor a speaker and is willing to pay for the speaker’s presentation, universities should not prevent that speech. It is

the responsibility of a university to educate students by giving them the ability to hear, debate and form their own opinions on all ideas. A 1974 report by the Yale University Committee of Freedom of Speech wrote: “The university must do everything possible to ensure within it the fullest degree of intellectual freedom. The history of intellectual growth and discovery clearly demonstrates the need for unfettered freedom, the right to think the unthinkable, discuss the unmentionable, and challenge the unchallengeable.”

In the past, universities suppressed the speech of progressives and liberal activists. Today, universities are suppressing “conservative” speech. Persons of all political viewpoints should agree that universities should never stifle speech. Thus, it is not surprising that liberal civil libertarians are concerned by the attempts of universities to silence speech with which they personally disagree. For example, liberal foreign affairs commentator Fareed Zakaria recently wrote a column that described suppression of “conservative” speech on college campuses as an “erosion of a core democratic norm taking place on the left.” Zakaria no

Thought Bites: If you work at security at a Samsung store does that make you Guardian of the Galaxy?

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When you clean out a vacuum cleaner you become the vacuum cleaner.

doubt strongly disagrees with most of what Yiannopoulos would have said, as do I. He simply believes that universities administrators should not censor him or any other speaker students sponsor.

The way for the best ideas to prevail in democracy is to win through superior argument. Universities should not try to tell students what to think.

Rather, they should provide students the opportunity to engage with different viewpoints and to learn to think for themselves by working to figure out what they think is right. If some students believe that certain speech might offend them or make them feel uncomfortable, they can choose to not attend the presentation. However, their feelings should not impact the ability of others to hear viewpoints that interest them.

As the Yale report concluded: “We take a chance, as the First Amendment takes a chance, when we commit ourselves to the idea that the results of free expression are to the general benefit in the long run, however unpleasant they may appear at the time.”

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Every phone brand having different looking emojis is like your phone having an accent.

Why Celebrity Deaths Affect Us

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If you got rid of all the loops and rolls on a roller coaster would just be a train.

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by KATE JEFFRIES

Mac Miller, Kate Spade, Aretha Franklin, XXXTentacion and Avicii are just a handful of pop culture icons who have passed away within the past year. While one might believe that celebrity deaths are no different than the death of an average person, when celebrities die, their deaths affect thousands, if not millions, of individuals, not just those who they have directly interacted with. You might be thinking that the death of a person cannot possibly impact someone they never met, but it is easy for people to grieve the loss of celebrities due to our extensive knowledge about their lives, the suddenness of their deaths and the similar experiences we have been through.

Typically, when someone passes away, their family and close friends mourn their loss while the rest of the world goes about their day-to-day activities. However, this is not the case for public figures. Something all celebrities inherently have in common is how much of their lives are shared with the public. With the technology we have today, everything from what they wear, to their personal relation-

ships, to where they live can be found online. This leads us, the general public, to become attached to these people as more than just faces on album covers or in movies, even though we will likely never meet them.

For example, while they are often mocked for being unrealistic, reality TV shows such as “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and “The Bachelor” provide the public with an inside look into the lives of many celebrities.

Watching these people go about their daily lives is similar to spending lots of time with a close friend because you see all the major milestones in their lives. However, instead of getting to know them in person as you would a close friend, the more time you spend watching, reading about or listening to your favorite artist, the more you feel connected to them.

Because of this connection we feel to pop culture icons, if something tragic happens to them, we respond emotionally by grieving or experiencing an extended period of sadness.

The same connection can be felt for celebrities in popular TV shows.

Although they are playing a certain

character rather than acting as themselves, it is easy to develop an admiration for a TV show character. “Even though I was pretty young at the time, Cory Monteith’s death deeply affected me,” senior Jordan Gold said. Gold was a huge fan of “Glee,” a popular TV show about a high school show choir, and felt connected to Monteith’s character, Finn. “Celebrities are held to such high standards and are expected to maintain certain images, but they are really just people. They often experience pain and sadness [too],” Gold said.

Monteith’s death along with the death of XXXTentacion, Mac Miller, and Kate Spade are also tragic for fans since their deaths were all sudden and unexpected. “[I remember] when Michael Jackson died, my dad was working at UCLA and he went on trial about it,” senior Naomi Rubin said.

“I remember thinking that celebrities never seem to die naturally. There’s always issues that follow them to the grave [which is sad] for their fans and families.”

Often, we admire these people for their character and accomplishments,

which makes their deaths even more difficult. More often than not, we may also relate to the life experiences they choose to share online or in their work. For example, Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” has empowered generations of young women, and while XXXTentacion was a controversial person in many aspects, his song “Changes” resonated with his audience, who have also experienced deep loss or sadness.

Whether you are feeling empowered or discouraged, it is easy to look up to a celebrity that might share a similar experience to you or inspire you to get through a difficult time. When a celebrity who one may relate to on multiple levels is no longer around to inspire or connect with their audience, it affects everyone who has experienced their work.

At the end of the day, death is a sad topic for all who are involved. However, celebrity deaths hit home more than one might initially think due to the time they have invested in this person and the connection they feel to them.

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September 27, 2018

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Let Basic be Basic

Opinions | The Coat of Arms

by ADLEY VOGEL

In the first days of fall, as the days get shorter and the mornings get colder and our favorite coffee shops roll out their seasonal drinks, I think it’s the perfect time of year to just say one thing: Let basic be basic.

Let people enjoy their scented candles and fairy lights. Let them have polaroids of their friends on their wall and let them have pil-

lows and posters that say “Live Laugh Love” in looping cursive fonts, it’s good advice. Who doesn’t want to live and laugh and love? Let them wear white Vans and Vineyard Vines, and if they still want to wear Uggs, let them they’re warm boots. Sure, pumpkin spice has been overdone, but that’s because it’s delicious. And yes, everybody has a Hydro Flask, but

Retreats: The Ultimate Bonding Experience

by KYRA GESCHKE

to my getting to know each person in my grade better, even though we weren’t new to the school anymore.

The freshman year retreat was also a very fun weekend and helped me build a steady friend group while allowing me to interact with my other peers. The retreats in the middle school along with the freshman overnight both confirm that a weekend retreat with your class is beneficial towards building a community and friendships.

Although I believe the positives outweigh the negatives, I do understand the complications of going on an overnight during sophomore or junior year. Both years are extremely busy and it would be difficult to find a weekend when most of the class could attend. Sports games, performances and standardized test preparation could all interfere with choosing a weekend.

Overall, a retreat would be a great way to get to know one another, a break to the stressful academic pressure, and a weekend that everyone could look forward to. I believe that each grade deserves a retreat and it would be extremely helpful in creating a tighter community within each class, which would improve the Menlo community as a whole.

The Coat of Arms

people, it’s still your preference, and the number of others who also think the Snapchat dog filter is cute or that rose gold is the best color shouldn’t dilute that.

So enjoy your pumpkin spice latte, and let Taylor Swift be your favorite artist. These trends don’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon. We might as well enjoy them while they last.

Retreats: The Ultimate Scheduling Conflict

by KATE HAMMOND

I believe that every grade should go on a yearly retreat. An annual retreat is a great way for classmates to bond with one another outside of school. Retreats also give students something to look forward to as well as give them a break from their daily academic pressure and stress.

Each year presents a new opportunity for students to get to know their peers, regardless of set friend groups. Just because a student is a sophomore or junior does not mean that they have fully gotten to know one another. A one-night retreat would be a great chance to spend time with classmates who they may not talk to otherwise.

Throughout the school year, students only have a couple of things to look forward to that are planned by the school. A retreat would relieve stress and be a great addition to school dances. Sophomores and juniors work extremely hard during the school year and spending the weekend with their class at a non-academic event would be a great way to relieve the stress of school.

At Menlo Middle School, each grade goes on a retreat every year.

I remember those weekends being extremely fun and also beneficial

we have to carry water somehow.

We might as well do it in color blocked, temperature sealed water bottles.

These things are basic because they’re so widely popular, and they’re widely popular for a reason. They taste good and look nice and make rooms more comfortable. Whether you share a preference with one person or a million

With the Senior Retreat having just taken place from Sept. 16-17, there have been conversations around campus about whether or not all grades should have a retreat.

I believe that retreats are not necessary for every grade, except for freshmen and seniors. Finding a weekend that all students would be willing to go away and miss commitments for becomes increasingly difficult as students get older and busier.

Sophomore year comes with more responsibilities and a larger workload for most students. It is the first year students are able to take AP classes, and more honors options and electives become available as well. As a result, students’ schedules become packed with more difficult classes. Additionally, more students participate in varsity sports, which have greater time commitments, longer practices, more games and more tournaments on weekends.

Junior year is another step up with even heavier workloads and higher expectations. With most students taking AP or honors classes, student stress reaches a peak during junior year. Along with extracurricular commitment and heavy course loads, students are

We want to hear your voice!

simultaneously studying for standardized tests, such as the SAT and ACT. Many students find themselves incredibly busy and struggling to get enough sleep during the week, making weekends a very important time to rest.

“It would be difficult to convince students to give up a weekend to bond with a grade they only have one or two more years with.”

I think that for both the sophomore and junior grades, it would be extremely challenging to find a weekend without a conflict for many students. Unless the retreat is framed as mandatory, it would also be very difficult to convince students to give up a weekend of their valuable time to bond with a grade that they only have one or two more years with.

However, I do support having freshmen and senior retreats as a way to start and cap the high school experience. I think that these two retreats are beneficial as a way to foster a community of inclusivity and help the grades bond as they start and end high school together.

Mission Statement

The primary mission of The Coat Editor-in-Chief.........................................................Clara Guthrie Share your opinions with us on any topic, of Arms is to report accurately and Print Editor............................................................Bridget Quigley whether we’ve covered it or not.

Online Editor................................................................Kate Jeffries thoroughly on news that is significant to Send a letter to the editor at: News Editor............................................................Caroline Frantz the greater Menlo School community.

Arts and Lifestyle Editor.......................................Vionna Eshghi clara.guthrie@menloschool.org We will chronicle in context the Spread Editor........................................................Kate Hammond Opinions Editor........................................Elisabeth Westermann different events and perspectives within or to Sports Editor......................................................Samantha Stevens the school, while ensuring unbiased Copy Editor....................................................................Crystal Bai The Coat of Arms coverage.

We welcome feedback and Staff Photographer.........................................................Bella Scola 50 Valparaiso Avenue Staff Reporters..........................................................Kyra Geschke, aspire to create an open dialogue with Atherton, California 94027 Ryan Young, Adley Vogel, Page Wolfenden, Sarah Norum our audience by being accessible on Faculty Advisor........................................................Tripp Robbins (650) 330-2001 multiple platforms and by striving to

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remain neutral in all circumstances.

The Coat of Arms | Sports

September 27, 2018

Team Records

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Volleyball: 9-5 Girls’ tennis: 6-3 Girls’ Golf: 5-1

Football: 2-2 Boys’ water polo: 10-1 Girls’ water polo: 7-5

* All varsity records include tournament, league and non-league games. Last updated on Sept. 24.

Students and Football Players Take Part in Concussion Study

by ELISABETH WESTERMANN

Members of the Menlo JV and varsity football team are participating in a study that is exploring head impacts experienced by high school football players. Five other Menlo students are also involved with the study as research assistants, helping the leader of the study, Stanford professor Gerald Grant, and his research team. In addition to the members of the Menlo football team, players from the Sacred Heart Preparatory and Archbishop Mitty High School teams are participating in the study.

The study uses two recently developed technologies: mouthguards that players wear during practices and games that measure the magnitude and frequency of hits they experience, and a device called EYE-SYNC. EYE-SYNC detects abnormal eye movement, a common concussion symptom. Participants in the study are baseline tested using the ImPACT test, the SCAT5 test and the EYESYNC test. If players sustain a head

injury during their participation, they will retake these tests to measure the changes in results.

The data collected from the mouthguard, EYE-SYNC and other tests are compiled into a database. Researchers hope the database will be able to help concussion specialists determine the types of hits players get from playing different positions, what types of hits lead to concussions and if an accumulation of hits makes players more prone to concussions. Researchers may also be able to use the data to create algorithms that can predict players’ concussion risk and, if they sustain a concussion, their time of recovery.

The five Menlo research assistants, seniors Bella Scola, Sophie Scola, Sun-Mi Oh, Marianne Siulangapo and junior Sam Weseloh, are all taking an independent study led by Director of Sports Medicine Jon Cohen. They are responsible for helping to film Menlo football practices and games, which will give the researchers visual infor-

mation about the hits players experience, as well as helping them to distinguish between actual hits and players simply biting their mouthguards. The

research assistants will also be on the field during games to assist researchers with the protocol following a possible concussion.

Seniors Conor McCusker and Mafi Latu tackle a Piedmont player during a home game on Sept. 1. Staff photo

by Bella Scola.

Football Team Challenged in a New League with Fewer Players

by RYAN YOUNG

Menlo’s varsity football team, led by seniors Aidan Pak and Dillon Grady, junior Kevin Alarcon and new coach Josh Bowie, are facing new challenges due to being placed in a higher-ranked league than last year and lacking players

as they progress through this season. Last year, one of the best football teams in Menlo history, coached by Mark Newton, had a majorly successful season and made it to the CCS championships. However, they suffered a bitter loss against Gilroy in the final minutes of the game. As a result of

Menlo Knights face off against Piedmont High School. Staff photo by Bella Scola

their outstanding season, the football team moved up a league to compete against other powerhouse teams, such as Menlo-Atherton High School and Aragon High School.

Last year’s team consisted of 31 varsity players for the playoffs. This year, however, there is a mere 23. “We are focusing on our conditioning to compete with other teams,” Pak said. He believes that the team can make up for the few players they have with hard work and greater stamina. The Knights practice almost every weekday for two hours and hope to improve every time they go out on the field.

Junior and starting quarterback Kevin Alarcon was the only sophomore to make the varsity team last year. However, this year, four sophomores are on the varsity team. Coach Bowie is putting trust in his younger players to make up for the sparse number of upperclassmen. “I am doing everything I can to help the team,” two-way sophomore starter Ronier Babiera said. Babiera

plays a key role in the Knights defense as middle linebacker.

During Menlo’s recent game against Overfelt High School, Babiera hurt his shoulder and had to come out in the fourth quarter while the Knights lost 31-48. However, he hopes to remain healthy for the rest of the season.

“‘We are focusing on our conditioning to compete with other teams.’”

Even though the team’s record so far is 2-2, they have a positive outlook on the season. “We have a small roster but a really strong team,” junior Adam Kasser said.

The Knights will play Capuchino High School this Friday, Sept. 28, and hope to come off their byweek prepared and healthy. The team encourages younger players to join the program and keep the legacy of Menlo football alive.

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The Coat of Arms | Sports

September 27, 2018

Athletes of the Issue

Alarcon: Junior Captain and Quarterback

by KATE JEFFRIES

Junior quarterback Kevin Alarcon has been chosen as the male Athlete of the Issue because of his stellar performance thus far on the football field.

Alarcon has totaled 829 passing yards and has completed 59 passes with only two interceptions in his varsity career.

Alarcon has proved himself to be a versatile athlete, considering that his freshman year was the first time he stepped on the field.

Regardless, Alarcon has always been an accomplished athlete. He has played baseball since the age of three and has played on Menlo’s varsity team since his freshman year. Alarcon was inspired to play football after watching his older brother play at Menlo. “[My brother] told me it was a very different experience from baseball and he really enjoyed it, so I decided to give it a shot,” Alarcon said.

Alarcon looks to make a play against Piedmont. Staff photo by Bella Scola.

Ultimately, Alarcon continued with football due to the teamwork and coaching staff at Menlo. “The camaraderie on the football team is just so much different than any other team I’ve been a part of,” Alarcon said. “It’s the only sport where you get knocked down every single play, but you have to make the choice to get back up because you don’t want to let [your teammates] down.”

Alarcon also praised the coaching he has received during his time at Menlo.

“I fell in love with the coaching because it’s a very different coaching atmosphere than baseball, so I stuck with it,” Alarcon said.

With many games left for the Knights this season, Alarcon mentioned his personal and team goals for the rest of the season. “Statistically speaking, I am aiming for 30 touchdowns to five interceptions at most and over [2,500] yards.

However, my personal goal is to step up and be a leader. My freshman year I watched Hayden Pegley (‘17), and my sophomore year I was the backup [quarterback] to Emilio Simbeck (‘18). [...]

They were both such amazing leaders,” Alarcon said. “They never barked at their teammates, even when their teammates weren’t fulfilling their promises.”

Alarcon is looking forward to big wins in the upcoming games. “I hope the team can pull off a victory over Terra Nova for Homecoming and then defeat Sacred Heart and reclaim [Valparaiso],” Alarcon said. “[...] Then, [I hope], for the first time in Menlo [football] history, [to] win CCS.”

Gregory: Small but Mighty Setter

by SAMANTHA STEVENS

Gregory prepares to serve the ball against Paly.

Staff photo by Bella Scola.

Freshman Zoe Gregory, a varsity volleyball setter standing at 5’3”, has been chosen as the female Athlete of the Issue due to her impressive work on the court. Despite her young grade level, Gregory has already made an impact and helped her team. So far this season, she has played 41 out of 43 sets and has racked up 231 assists, putting her at an average of 5.6 assists per set.

Gregory began going to volleyball clinics in third grade and then started playing for a club team called Red Rock Volleyball at the age of 11. After two years with Red Rock Volleyball, Gregory switched over to a different volleyball club, Vision, for another two years. Before coming to Menlo’s

Upper School, Gregory’s club team went to the Junior National Championships three times in a row, once with Red Rock and twice with Vision.

A noted inspiration of Gregory’s is Yoshie Takeshita, a 5’3” Japanese setter who won a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympics. She admires Takeshita because of her talent despite being short, which Gregory can relate to. “When [people] see me, they don’t think I’m athletic upon first sight, but when I’m on the court, something changes in me and triggers a competitive response,” Gregory said.

Gregory also admires a player closer to home, Menlo senior Selina Xu, who is also a setter. Xu, who is a Stanford commit, has mentored Gregory and other girls on and off the court. “[Gregory] is always eager to learn new skills and not afraid to make mistakes,” Xu said.

Fellow teammate and junior Abby Holleran spoke highly of Gregory’s playing ability and character. “She’s the perfect person to have on the court because she’s so positive,” Holleran said. “When the rest of the team is getting down, Zoe picks everyone back up and she really brings the team together.”

Looking forward to the rest of the season, Gregory displays the positivity that Holleran mentioned. “My main goal is to just keep improving,” Gregory said. “I really enjoy playing on the varsity team and it’s been really fun to get to know the upperclassmen.”

Committed Corner

by CAROLINE FRANTZ

Sophie Scola to Bates College for Lacrosse

This issue features Sophie Scola as one of the Committed Corner athletes. After playing lacrosse throughout elementary, middle and high school, Sophie decided she wanted to continue her lacrosse career at a Division III Program at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.

Sophie has played on Menlo’s varsity girls lacrosse team for all four years at Menlo, and plays attack. Currently, Sophie’s shooting average is 65% and she has played in 57 Menlo games. Sophie has loved her experience playing lacrosse at Menlo. “Lacrosse has been a big part of my experience in high school,” Sophie said. “My

by CAROLINE FRANTZ

team is different than any other friend group I’ve ever had.”

“‘Thinking about college without lacrosse felt weird, and I wanted to continue to the next level.’”

Sophie didn’t consider playing collegiate lacrosse until recently.

“I didn’t know I wanted [to play collegiate lacrosse] until I had to seriously start thinking about

the next level.”

After looking at Bates, the school seemed like a perfect fit both in terms of academics and athletics.

“I love the Bates philosophy, and I wanted to go to a liberal arts school [on the east coast]. When I visited, I knew I loved it,” Sophie said.

Sophie looks forward to her future at Bates, both with lacrosse and becoming a part of the community. “I am super excited to play Scola fights for a ground ball versus a Woodside High for the coach, he is a really nice School player. Photo courtesy of Pam Tso McKenney. and genuine guy,” Sophie said. “I am pumped to meet new people college,” Sophie said. “Thinking and get to live in a different part of about college without lacrosse felt the country.” weird, and I wanted to continue to

Bella Scola to Colorado College for Lacrosse

Scola dashes past a defender. Photo courtesy of Pete Zivkov.

The other committed athlete of the issue is Bella Scola. Like her twin sister, Bella has been playing lacrosse for the majority of her life, starting in second grade. In August of this year, Bella committed to play Division III lacrosse at Colorado College.

For all four years at Menlo, Bella has been a midfielder on the varsity girls lacrosse team. After the 2017-2018 season, Bella had recovered over 40 ground balls and had a shooting average of 50%.

“Coming into Menlo, [my team] was the first group of people that I really got to know, and now they are really my family,” Bella said. “I also love the competitiveness. Even

when you’re so exhausted from playing 45 minutes, the last five minutes of the game is where you prove yourself and go all out.”

Bella considers lacrosse as one of the things that has defined who she is. “Being a good teammate, working hard and commitment to one thing are all lessons that I have learned through lacrosse,” Bella said. For these reasons, it seemed natural to continue her lacrosse career in college. “When I was trying to get recruited I fell in love with the sport even more, and I cannot see myself not playing lacrosse for the next four years,” Bella said. “I realized that lacrosse is who I am and if I wasn’t playing lacrosse I

don’t know what I’d do.”

After learning about Colorado College through a former teammate, Bella learned more about the team and school. “I love the school and the innovation at its core,” Bella said. “Because of the block plan, [students] only take one class for three and a half weeks, and I just think that’s such a cool way to learn in college.”

Bella looks forward to having new experiences in college. “I am excited to try something new, and I am really grateful that I’ll have my team to fall back on if things don’t go as planned. I love that I’ll immediately have that sense of belonging and family,” Bella said.