April 2019

Special Issue WINCHESTER INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM 2019: PAGE 2 MUMBAI, INDIA

The Bell

MBA ADMISSIONS: PROCESS, GOALS, FUTURE PAGE 9 MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY | 4001 HARDING ROAD, NASHVILLE, TN APRIL 18, 2019 | VOLUME LXXV, NO. 5

Our Renaissance Man Jim Womack Retires After 41 Years on The Hill

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April 18th, 2019

NEWS

Winchester International Symposium: Mumbai

By Julian Habermann and Tanuj Koli Staff Writer and Contributor For the past ten years, two MBA students and one teacher have had the opportunity to travel across the world to an academic conference with nine other international schools.

Every year, a different member of the participating schools hosts the event and focuses on a unique theme to address, so each symposium has been an entirely different experience.

For its final year as the Winchester International Symposium, the event was held in Mumbai, India, and the theme was Culture and Values.

Junior Tanuj Koli and senior Julian Habermann went with debate coach, librarian, and educator extraordinaire Mr. Robbie Quinn to engage with perspectives from China, Japan, South Africa, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Columbia, and, of course, India, in order to analyze our prompt.

The Symposium was divided into academic discussions and cultural experiences. The Garodia School sought to balance academic lectures alongside first-hand knowledge of Indian culture. We saw traditional Indian dance from the North and the South of the region, watched a

puppet show, created pottery, danced Bollywood, and practiced Yoga.

We also got to explore the city of Mumbai. Not only did the students go on a walking tour to admire Mumbai’s gothic architecture and busy city features, but also they went on a tour of one of the world’s biggest slums.

Additionally, the group went to a Hindu temple and the city’s largest shopping mall.

The meat of the trip rested in

our academic discussions. Every school had been submitting essays since the beginning of the year in preparation for the symposium, so all of the students already had a strong grasp on their individual culture and the changes around them. Therefore, the purpose of the Symposium was to discover the interactions between such disparate parts of the world. Each lecture that we received was followed by in-depth group discussions. These

Julian Habermann ‘19 and Tanuj Koli ‘20 represented MBA at the Winchester International Symposium, which will be renamed the Montgomery Bell Academy International Symposium next year.

PHOTO: Julian Habermann

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lectures ranged from an impassioned discussion of quantum mechanics to a defense of a technology-dominated future from one of India’s rising Internet stars with his own Netflix show.

The culmination of this academic work was our presentations and accord. Each school prepared an analysis of a facet of their own culture before arriving in India.

While we presented on U.S. legal immigration, other projects included Indian clothing, Kenyan oral history and dance, and Japanese media. But, the most memorable project was from Colombia who focused on the disastrous effects of the drug trade in the country. One student’s grandfather was murdered by FARC for protecting indigenous lands. Still, their message was unity, endorsing former President Juan Manuel Santos’s peace talks with the terrorist group that led to his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. In fact, the Colombian delegates shocked the other countries’ students with a surprise announcement: they had even received a letter from the President himself! He lauded the gathering of some many students from such diverse countries and emphasized the importance of recognizing each See SYMPOSIUM, Page 22

Searching for Endada: a Journey to Clarksville

By Webb Hunt Photo Editor

The name for the annual art festival “ENDADA” originated from Ned Crouch’s abstract sculpture that was previously on MBA’s campus in the 1970s. Arranged by Louise LeQuire, the thirteen-foot high industrial I-beam creation stood by the library for over twenty years. Sadly, at some point in the 1990s, ENDADA was damaged and had to be recycled. Until a couple of months ago, there was no other information on the piece. After a year and a half of searching for Ned Crouch, Miss Hollifield, Brown Payne, and I finally came in contact with him. On November 3rd, we drove up to Clarksville to discuss the influence that his sculpture has made on the MBA art community.

Ned and his wife Jacqueline Crouch, who taught art for 37 years, showed us around their beautiful Clarksville home, discussing the art and memorabilia that lined every wall. A popcorn bag, signed by Andy Warhol, led Ned to explain how he, while working as part of the curatorial staff, had met the artist at the top of Cheekwood’s Queen Charlotte

staircase. The Crouches’ collection consisted of Red Grooms, William Edmondson, Olen Bryant, and many other well-known artists. Later on, he showed us his extensive portfolio that included many of the works from his graduate studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where only 12 sculptors from around the world had been accepted this year.

Additionally, we had the opportunity to hear about two of his unique experiences as an experienced worker in the art world. Ned described how when he was a part of the Cheekwood curatorial staff, he had the opportunity to pick up the Walter Chrysler Collection in Norfolk, Virginia, and deliver it to Cheekwood.

However, he could only transport the art under the conditions that he drove an armored truck non-stop from New York to Nashville at 80 mph with police escorts. The collection included Sargent, Homer, Cassatt, Gauguin, Degas, Renoir, Matisse, Cezanne, Picasso, Da Vinci, and many other master artists. He also told us about how, in 1999, a horrible tornado swept through Clarksville, damaging a multitude of sites including the Customs House Museum. At the time,

Ned was the director and the CHM was holding Cheekwood’s collection due to ongoing renovations back in Nashville. Pieces consisted of Rothko, Meyer Wolf, Rauschenberg, Georgia O’Keeffe, and dozens of photographs

by Louise Dahl-Wolfe. In addition, the Customs House was exhibiting an entire gallery housing a retrospective of Red Grooms. Fortunately, none of the works were damaged, even though the roof was completely blown off.

For the next week, he sat outside on a cot with a shotgun, guarding the

artwork until the generators went back on.

At the end of our visit, Ned gifted “UNITY,” a sculpture which is now being exhibited in the art building, to leave a remark on his appreciation for our interest in him and his work. In all honesty, while this tribute is informative, it pales in comparison to the experience we had with the Crouches that day. I highly recommend everyone takes the time to go and see his work in Davis’ upstairs gallery.

A photo of Unity, a photo now being exhibited in the art building. Photo: Webb Hunt

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NEWS 3

April 18th, 2019

Bill Lee Vouches for Vouchers

By Aden Barton and McGavock Cooper Features Editor and News Editor Bill Lee has just unveiled a new education policy for Nashville that seeks to bring opportunity to lowerincome students. The bill dedicates 75 million dollars to be divided among Nashville public school students so that they can more easily afford school-related expenses. The money can be spent on tuition, tutors, or just textbooks.

The idea of privatizing education can be traced to the conservative economist Milton Friedman’s writings in which he laid out his proposal for a choice-based system of schooling in the mid 20th century. Since his initial recommendation, the idea has taken many forms. Although all versions of

Studies have shown that, in a system of school choice, public schools are also more likely to innovate their classes and programs because they now have to compete against private schools for funds. school choice rely on the principles of consumer rationality and a free market, they differ on the mechanism by which money is spent. The most popular manifestation of Friedman’s idea is the implementation of voucher

programs, but there are many types of school choice. Education Savings Account programs are another example of this ideology in which students are given an account with a certain amount of money by the state, which can be spent on tuition, books, or tutors. ESA’s differ from vouchers primarily because the money given need not be spent on tuition itself.

Several states have implemented ESA’s in an attempt to bring more affordability to education. Technically, Bill Lee’s policy is an ESA program, not a voucher program, because the money can be spent on anything.

Another offshoot of private education is the charter-school trend that is currently picking up steam across the United States. Charter Schools attempt to garner the best of both worlds by being publicly funded but privately run.

The history of school vouchers lies primarily in conservative states who have implemented such policies over the last half-century. Southern states especially, such as Louisiana and Florida, have strong school choice programs and are attempting to expand them. However, the history of school vouchers itself is a controversial subject. After federally mandated desegregation, localities used school choice as an escape valve for white students to leave black schools. In many cases, the first school choice policies were motivated by white flight instead of true commitment to equalized education.

Despite this checkered history, some modern advocates insist that school vouchers now serve as effective tools to forward racial

Public schools in Tennesse have ranked among the worst in the country for years.

Governor Bill Lee hopes to make a change with the new voucher program.

PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons

integration, not block it. School vouchers would allow students of color to go to primarily white schools and escape public schools whose composition is often homogeneous.

The most common argument in favor of school vouchers is that they provide equal access to private institutions that would otherwise be inaccessible to low-income students. On face, this argument seems to be surprisingly liberal for a policy that is repeatedly attacked by the left. After all, if rich, white students will inevitably be able to pick their school of choice, why shouldn’t poor students of color be given the same opportunity? It’s incredibly unfair to condemn a child to a failing school simply because they live in proximity to it, especially when different school zones offer incredibly

different spectrums of opportunity.

Furthermore, conservative advocates couch their arguments in the language of capitalism and markets against which it is hard to argue. For example, in a voucher system, schools would have an incentive to cater their curriculum and activities to lowincome voucher recipients in order to get their business. Studies have shown that, in a system of school choice, public schools are also more likely to innovate their classes and programs because they now have to compete against private schools for funds.

The competition created by injecting private choice into the education market would shift the system from one of bureaucratic foot-dragging to See VOUCHER, Page 22

College Admissions Scandal Shocks The Hill and the World

By Luke Morad Staff Writer As many colleges began to release acceptance letters for regular decision, a scandal surfaced among them. On Tuesday, March 12th, the largest prosecuted college scandal in history surfaced. As Morrie Tobin, a financial executive, was investigated for an unrelated fraud charge, he outed others in the scam to save his own skin. Tobin’s daughter was accepted to Yale only after he bribed the soccer coach to secure a spot.

Tobin is one of the many rich and famous who arranged his or her child’s admission through William Rick Singer. Singer and his company, the Key World Foundation (KWF), bribed coaches, faked test scores, and arranged fraudulent student portfolios.

The KWF even claimed to provide education to “disadvantaged youth.”

They did all of these scams while dodging taxes as a “public charity.” As a public charity, they did not have to disclose any “donors” to their charity.

Donors don’t have to pay taxes on any of these transactions either. Not only is the foundation completely fraudulent, but also this case depicts the lack of regulation by the IRS. The KWF had records so brazenly false and showed no fear of an audit by the IRS. Those who paid the KWF to have their children go to college include big names in Hollywood such as Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin, and designer Mossimo Giannulli. In total, more than 50 people are being charged in relation to the scandal. Over the course of the scam, 25 million dollars have been paid to Singer, roughly

$100,000 each year for each kid. To put that into perspective, the yearly payment to Singer for each child was nearly equivalent to the cost of all four years of high school education at MBA. Singer’s scams varied. One was to create a sports position for a student at the college by bribing the coach and creating a fake athletic portfolio.

Devin Sloane’s son received a water polo scholarship without ever playing water polo. One girl’s application even included a fraudulent image.

The image is a random water polo player whose face was replaced by the girl’s. These practices were normal.

These athletes were soon required to drop the sports but still go to the college. Singer also conducted false ACTs and SATs. The students were asked to declare a learning disability

so that they could work alone. While declaring a fake disability alone is unethical, declaring it allowed Singer to rig the tests and inflate scores.

Colleges are now in the process of assessing the students both enrolled and prospective.

As a student in high school, this scandal will have a lasting impact on our lives. Colleges are being reviewed and changed in the aftermath of this scandal. The department of education is conducting a thorough probe into the eleven universities named. Wealthy parents have broken the law in order to place their children into colleges many only dream of attending. A full revamping of college admissions and athletics will affect everyone’s admission into college to some magnitude.

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OPINION

April 18th, 2019

Class Meetings? Send an Email

By Joseph Bellardo Staff Writer Class meetings are useless. Why do we still have them? They are supposed to provide information to the student body, but they do nothing of the sort. They are mostly comprised of announcements that could easily be sent out in an email or that are not even necessary.

Class meetings occur during one of the most useful times of the day, break.

Students use this time to do homework, study for their next period test, or grab a bite to eat. When a class meeting unexpectedly occurs, everyone is expected to drop whatever they need to do and use their break to hear the same repetitive announcements.

Another issue with class meetings is the substance of the announcements.

Examples include: “Clean up the dining hall,” “get your homework done,” and my personal favorite: “do service, it’s good.” These announcments can be heard at almost any class meeting.

While these announcements are important, we have been being told these things since seventh grade and they have become extremely repetitive.

There is no need to continue to have meetings simply to reiterate these pieces of information over and over again.

While some announcements during class meetings are for upcoming events or service projects, they are so few that a simple email would suffice.

This strategy was attempted with great success by Sophomore class president, Thomas McRae, who was able to write everything we as a class needed to know in a simple email. This strategy gave back a much needed break to the Sophomores and helped make us aware

of the announcements in a physical form.

As it is, many of the announcements in class-meetings are already sent out in emails and sending out one more would not hurt. Lastly, class meetings are not always expected.

Many times, the majority of the student body is unaware that a classmeeting is even going to occur until advisory.

It is no secret that MBA is hard.

For many students, the homework load exceeds that which can be done at home. For that purpose, any free time at school is used to prepare for tests

While some announcements during class meetings are for upcoming events and service projects, they are so few and far between that a simple email would suffice. and complete upcoming assignments.

Often times, when a class meeting occurs, it hinders and often prevents students from using this valuable time for work but instead causes them to lose one of the few breaks we have in a laborious meeting.

In addition, if students do not have homework due, break should be a time to relax. It should be a time to chill with friends, humorously watch the microbes carry large stacks of cookies from the dining hall one period before their lunch, or watch Mr. Pruitt give students demerits for eating in the halls.

Bottom line, break is one of the only times that students are given to relax, but often it is filled with class meetings that primarily use time that could be spent much more productively. If MBA were able to implement the same system that the Sophomore class has used, break would be more effective, time efficient, and happier.

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Class Meetings: a Necessary Evil

By Aden Barton Features Editor One of the worst feelings at MBA is checking the Monday daily announcements to see that a class meeting occupies one of the limited breaks of the upcoming week. After all, we already have an assembly every Monday, so the addition of a class meeting often seems useless, especially when other meetings for individual clubs or societies often fill the window of break on a given weekday. Despite this unpleasantness of class meetings, they are still a necessary part of our school and community.

First and foremost, class meetings serve as the most efficient way to disseminate needed information to individual grades. Some students insist that the speeches at class meetings are completely devoid of substance and contain reminders that no one needs.

Now, I can acknowledge that not all of the speeches given by officers or teachers in any individual class meeting will contain important information.

However, sometimes the speeches that class officers or teachers give do contain information that the grade absolutely needs to hear, and that no other mechanism exists to effectively communicate that information.

The deadlines for college counselor meetings in the Junior class or details to the Freshman for their first ever homecoming are two examples of events that a class would definitely need to hear and digest. Even things as seemingly mundane as an announcement about upcoming concessions could be the difference in whether spots are filled at a big basketball game or the potential earnings are all lost.

Where else could classes vote for their Founder’s day or Homecoming court representatives, or take a survey about an upcoming social event’s theme? The list of important reminders about varied events goes on and on because class meetings serve as the perfect place for miscellaneous information to be told directly to the students who need to hear it.

Once we acknowledge that class

meetings can contain information that students absolutely require in order to navigate upcoming events or deadlines, the question becomes whether there is another way to give this information to the individual classes without having to take up a whole break.

Because each class has different service opportunities, class responsibilities, and social events, the information given out at class meetings would be far too much to fit in each week at assembly. The commonly proposed alternative by students is to shoehorn the information into an email sent out to the grade each week or month. If this idea were feasible, I would support it.

However, MBA students are notorious for not reading their emails.

Even one-off emails about an important event sent to the entire grade are seldom read by everyone. Imagine if every single week a detailed email were sent out to the each grade. The routine and tedious nature of such an email would mean that most students would quickly skim it without internalizing the information contained in the email.

Even things as seemingly mundane as an announcement about upcoming concessions could be the difference in whether spots are filled at a big basketball game or the potential earnings towards the class fund are lost forever.

Class meetings, on the other hand, serve as an absolute guarantee that students will hear the information because they are forced to attend. In addition, there is something valuable about hearing details in person from a student or teacher speaking that makes one more likely to remember and act on information than if it were simply put in an email.

Winston Churchill once famously said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for the rest.” With some useless information and a lot of wasted time, class meetings can be described in much the same way. They are certainly the worst way to tell each individual grade about what they need to hear, except for all other ways. They are the only viable way to tell students valuable information, even if those important reminders and events are few and far between.

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OPINION

April 18th, 2019

Girl Scouts Institution at Risk with New Change

By Marshall Summar Staff Writer Over the past year the Scouts of America have come under fire for dropping “boy” from its name. The once Boy Scouts of America now allow for the participation of girls in the organization. This decision seems harmless and forward thinking at first, but most don’t realize that it undermines another long-standing, respected organization, the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. The president of the Girl Scouts blames the Boy Scouts of engaging in a campaign to recruit girls, and last November, the Girl Scouts filed a federal trademark lawsuit seeking to stop the Boy Scouts from changing its name to Scouts. The Girl Scouts stated, “We did what any brand, company, corporation or organization would do to protect its intellectual property, the value of its brand in the marketplace and to defend its good name.”

If you have never participated in the Boy Scouts, think about the same situation in terms of MBA and Harpeth Hall, two of the most prestigious schools in Nashville. If MBA made the decision to become a coeducational institution, Harpeth Hall would most likely lose a number of its applicants to MBA. The staff and student body at Harpeth Hall would be furious, and the long-standing relationship between our two schools would be severed.

In past years, the argument has been made that boys and girls learn differently and that different methods

of teaching allow for each sex to reach its full intellectual capacity. The same argument applies to scouting. On the Girl Scouts’ website, it states that its mission is to help galvanize worldwide enthusiasm for goals to better girls’ lives and to provide an opportunity for girls to show leadership and reach their full potential. The programs meant to develop leadership skills in Girl and Boy Scouts have been fine tuned over the past century to suit each sex in participating in the organizations and the methods of teaching in the new Scouts program may not be best suited for the way girls learn.

This decision seems harmless and forward thinking at first, but most don’t realize that it undermines another longstanding, respected organization, the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. A common argument for the integration of girls into the Boy Scouts is that it offers more of a high adventure and outdoor based learning experience compared to the Girl Scouts. This is true, and girls should be able to pursue these activities.

That is why the Boy Scouts of America offers a co-ed program aside from scouting, called venturing.

Venture scouts share the same ideals as in scouting and involves development in the field of leadership and service while involving participants in high adventure and outdoor activities.

The Boy Scouts of America officially changed its name to Scouts BSA. The integration of girls into the Boy Scouts of America has caused much tension and confusion between two great organizations and their membership, destroying a century long relationship that will never be recovered.

THE BELL RINGER

Adding Girls to Boy Scouts: A Needed Change

By Matt Hawkins Copy Editor The Boy Scouts of America began in 1910 with the purpose of instilling young boys with the values necessary to prepare them for life. The Girl Scouts started just two years later with a similar purpose, and the two organizations have largely paralleled to this day. So why is it necessary to allow girls to join the Boy Scouts when there already is a scouting organization for girls?

The answer to this question lies in the underlying differences between Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Though many of the Girl Scouts requirements and activities are similar to those of Boy Scouts, there are significant differences, and many girls may prefer the Boy Scouts curriculum over the Girl Scouts’. For example, though there are higher awards that can be received to achieve the highest rank in Girl Scouts; much of a Girl Scout’s progression is simply based on age, whereas a Boy Scout must pass a specific set of requirements for each rank. Girls should have the same opportunity to pursue the activities and curriculum which best suits their own personal interests.

Furthermore, there is a vast disparity of appreciation and recognition between Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. People often describe the Girl Scouts as “soft” and think only of Girl Scouts as it pertains to their famous Girl Scout cookies. Though these understandings of the Girl Scouts are clearly flawed, they remain

extremely prevalent within our society.

Also, the highest rank in Boy Scouts, the Eagle rank, receives much more recognition and accolades than the highest rank of Girl Scouts, the Gold award, a term which the vast majority of people would not even recognize.

This increased recognition for the Eagle rank versus the Gold award is extremely significant, as it has the potential to give Boy Scouts somewhat of an advantage over Girl Scouts in applications to college or job applications. Therefore, it is completely understandable that girls would want to join the Boy Scouts for this added recognition, and they should certainly have the chance to do so.

Many people argue that this change should not be implemented, because they believe that Boy Scouts should not be co-ed. They argue that this might cause some problems on campouts or that it would simply take away from the overall experience of Boy Scouts.

However, this argument ignores the reality of how the changes will be made.

The Scouts troops will still not be co-ed, but there will rather be both all-boy and all-girl Scouts troops. Some girls

...the change has little to no effect on the experiences of any Boy Scouts, and it provides girls with different and in some ways greater opportunities than those of the Girl Scouts. and boys troops will be linked under the same charter organization, but most troop events, meetings, and campouts will remain entirely separate.

When it comes down to the reality of adding girls to the Boy Scouts of America, the change has little to no effect on the experiences of any Boy Scouts, and it provides girls with different and in some ways greater opportunities than those of Girl Scouts.

In February, The Boy Scouts of America officially allowed for girls to become scouts, much to the frustration of the Girl Scouts. The decision was made last May.

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April 18th, 2019

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April 18th, 2019

STAFF

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Editor’s Note

By Matt Kaplan Editor-in-Chief

THE BELL RINGER Editor-in-Chief Matthew Kaplan

News Editor

McGavock Cooper

Features Editor Aden Barton

Sports Editor Jack Smartt

Entertainment Editor Landis Hall

Opinions Editor

John Raulston Graham

Photo Editor Webb Hunt

Business Manager Benjamin Sensing

Copy Editors

Zach Brown Matthew Hawkins

Faculty Advisors Mr. Win Bassett Dr. Wil Onstott

MEMBER, TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL PRESS ASSOCIATION The Bell Ringer is a non-profit newspaper operated and published by and for the students of Montgomery Bell Academy, who are its intended audience.

Views expressed in The Bell Ringer do not necessarily represent those held by the faculty, staff, students, or school.

Letters to the editor are encouraged and can be delivered to The Bell Ringer office in the Lowry Building, the Faculty Advisors or the Editors, or sent to newspaper’s email address found on its website. These letters must be signed; The Bell Ringer neither publishes anonymous submissions of opinions or articles nor permits individuals to remain unidentified unless protected by other rules of confidentiality at MBA. Letters will be edited for length and clarity.

The staff of The Bell Ringer prepares all copy at Montgomery Bell Academy.

Tennessean/Gannett in Nashville, Tennessee, prints the paper.

When we begin our time at MBA, most of us in the 7th, but some in the 8th, 9th, and even later, we inevitably fall into some category that often constitutes the types of activities we’ll pursue as students and the ways in which we’ll spend our time here on campus. Those categories may arise as a result of our talents, our perceived ideas of what MBA is, the schools we come from, and even our race, religion, and ethnicity.

It’s not that the school itself tries to separate us into football players, actors, and debaters on day one. In fact, the school does quite the opposite, encouraging students to engage in a wide variety of activities. But for some reason, many of us stick with what’s comfortable from an early point in our time on The Hill.

What sometimes happens, in a good scenario, is that a student finds his passion that was outside his comfort zone initially, or outside what he perceived to be “acceptable” for someone of his social group or his background. It’s definitely the case that as we get older, the students of our grade more readily accept the interests and passions of others, and some of those who garner the most respect are those who changed interests, who used to play basketball and now act in theater productions.

Not that acting is necessarily a better use of time than basketball, but it’s an activity that requires more confidence to become a part of, because the traditional ideal of an MBA student from a young student’s perspective is to be a successful athlete in some major sport.

Mr. Gioia often talks about engaging in different activities. There’s the staple image of the track runner, in track uniform, performing for the jazz

band at a concert right after practice. While many students do diversify and find their passions, because students fall into specific places at such an early period in their time here, some students may never branch out.

Obviously, many students actually find themselves appropriately placed in wherever they started at MBA. Many football players or actors or debaters start at a young age in those activities and genuinely belong in those atmospheres more than any other. However, some students who may lack the confidence or boldness to experiment with new activities may stay trapped in their original paths, in whatever mindset they had coming into MBA. That said, the progress that a given class makes throughout its time at MBA in terms of accepting and appreciating the interests of others is impressive. Students who never dreamed of meaningfully participating in the arts throughout their time here now find themselves attending their friends’ theater productions or performing at Cellophony. In the same token, students who find a passion for a new sport later in their time here often become important members of a new team.

This issue marks the last one before the graduation issue, which is traditionally created by next year’s Bell Ringer staff. The same will be true for this year, but because our staff is almost exclusively going to be back for another year on The Hill, next year’s editorial team will look largely the same, except that we will be adding some new editors in addition to the ones we already have, to get more people familiar and on board with the editing and formatting processes.

Thanks to everyone who’s spent time reading our issues this year. It means a lot to all of us who have put in hard work to make this publication enjoyable and entertaining to read.

Visit us online at http://thebellringer.org Do you like to write, shoot photos, or design?

Join our Team!

Contact Editor-in-Chief Matthew Kaplan or Faculty Advisor Mr. Bassett if you are interested.

FEATURES

April 18th, 2019

THE BELL RINGER

MBA in College Admissions: Process and Outcome

By Aden Barton Features Editor

When you search for “Montgomery Bell Academy” online, you’ll quickly learn that MBA is “a preparatory day school.” However, what exactly is the school attempting to prepare the students for? Mr. Gioia has stressed in assemblies over the last few years that the institution has begun to move away from viewing itself solely as a preparatory school for college.

Instead, MBA now views its purpose to be creating independent and kind young men who are equipped to handle a modern world. Despite this de-emphasis on attending only highly elite colleges, the school still undoubtedly stresses the importance of a student’s transition to college, even if the prestige of the specific college itself is no longer as important.

The Bell Ringer reached out to the college counseling department and

various alumni in college to learn more about our relationship with the next step after MBA. MBA holds the reputation of giving a prolific amount of homework to students. Part of graduating from MBA includes being able to overcome the often overwhelming amounts of work, all the while balancing other activities. All of the students I reached out to felt as if they had been better prepared precisely because they had been forced to work so hard in high school. Jack Capizzi, a freshman at the University of Chicago, commented, “MBA certainly prepares you for college, though not in the way you may expect. More than anything, MBA requires you to budget your time around extracurriculars and other events. At college, the ability to be proactive in your studying and writing gives you a strong advantage in the classroom. While many students seem to scramble frequently to finish

The college counseling department works on helping students focus find their identities and not just an elite school.

PHOTO: Bela Arwen

work or stay up late with homework, students from a similar background to MBA tend to avoid this added pressure.” Similarly, Daniel Cowan, a freshman at Davidson, also seemed grateful for the amount of homework he had to do while in high school: “There are a lot of expectations at Davidson, but MBA was so rigorous in all ways that college just kinda feels like an order of magnitude more manageable. I learned to manage my time so well at MBA that when I got to an environment where I have a lot more time available to me, I don’t feel like I’m ever struggling or behind.”

Another hallmark of the MBA experience is the theme process. It’s hard to explain the unique position themes occupy on a student’s road to graduation. Themes start out as dreadful challenges that require hours of writing and proofreading.

However, as time goes on, students’ attitude subtly changes, and themes become last-minute endeavors. In my optimistic view, this evolution occurs because students become much more skillful at writing and thus require less time to write a long essay. Although I did not specifically ask about themes, both students commented on their role in their college preparation. Jack stressed the importance of writing ability in a college environment: “At college, you are expected to complete papers with little peer revision, help from professors, or restrictive guidelines. Though they often feel time consuming and pointless, themes require you to be productive within the constraints of a hectic schedule - a necessity in college.”

Another important aspect of the MBA-college transition is, of course, the college counseling department.

At MBA, college counseling offers

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students a unique experience of attempting to define their own personality and characteristics in a one on one setting. Mrs. Maddux described how important this selfdefinition is to the college process: “For college admissions, I keep hearing we want interesting people.

You have to know yourself. You have to think about what you have done and how those experiences have shaped your perspective.”

While discussing how MBA can help prepare students for college, Mrs. Maddux described how the school helps students diversify their interests: “MBA students tend to be very good writers. They also possess a breadth of interests in classes but also outside of classes. It’s not just book learning but developing a broader perspective and perception of the world.” When asked about MBA’s focus on character development and not solely on college admissions, Mrs. Maddux commented, “I think and hope college preparation has always been about building a character, about building someone who is thoughtful. I don’t know if the focus of MBA has shifted. I think the focus of the world and really the college admission process has shifted.

When we talk about how your success as a student is not predicated on where you go, we mean that it’s how you approach that experience and what you get from that experience that matter. You have to find a college that fits your needs. Just because it’s highly ranked doesn’t mean it’s a great place for you.”

As both college and our society continue to change at breakneck paces, hopefully MBA can evolve as well in order to equip the next generation with the necessary skills to navigate the world.

MBA Students Raise More Than $135k for Blood Cancer Research

By Cole Williamson Staff Writer Approximately every three minutes, someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer. Every ten minutes, someone dies of the same affliction. Leukemia is still the number-one disease killer among people under the age of twenty. Thankfully, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is fighting this deadly disease. Founded in 1949, LLS is the largest nonprofit health organization committed to funding blood cancer research. LLS has various annual fundraising campaigns, one of which is its Students of the Year program. Students of the Year is a seven-week fundraising competition, in which nominated high school students compete against one another to raise money, with one individual/

team earning the title “LLS Student of the Year.”

I decided to participate in the Students of the Year campaign in 2018 because my family knows blood cancer all too well. My dad first battled Stage IV Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2011 and he suffered a devastating recurrence in late 2014.

Living through the difficulties of having a parent with cancer, and having blood cancer impact so many of us, including our headmaster, Dr. Gioia, I felt a calling to “make a difference” and participate in the Students of the Year program.

The fundraising journey was as challenging as it was life-changing.

Beginning with a letter writing/ website campaign, I soon graduated to more direct efforts, such as organizing a March Madness bracket challenge,

coordinating a father/son hike, designing and selling t-shirts, picking

...the campaign motivates students to embrace, explore, and expand their skills in leadership, mission integration, fundraising, planning and execution, speaking, and, of course, community service. up donated items and hosting a garage sale, and speaking to several groups

- including at last year’s Father/Son dinner - all in an effort to raise money and awareness for blood cancer. I was blown away by the response of family, friends, and the MBA community, and due to the overwhelming support, I was named the 2018 Student of the Year.

After the 2018 campaign, Dr. Gioia and I started the MBA LLS Legacy Program designed to each year nominate a new MBA candidate for the campaign. This year, junior Marc Stanley was nominated, took on the challenge, and certainly delivered.

Marc explained, “I chose to participate in the LLS Students of the Year Campaign in order to provide better lives for those battling blood cancers and because of my grandfather, who See LLS, Page 9

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FEATURES

April 18th, 2019

THE BELL RINGER

Admission to The Hill: Inside Look at MBA’s Own Process

By Matt Kaplan Editor-in-Chief

In the era of an extremely selective college admissions process, where gaining admittance to a selective school (without bribery) seems like an impossible task, the conversation about who should and should not be admitted to a school, about what makes an applicant qualified, and about how to build a class of students, is more relevant than ever. Within our own community, like that of a college or university, the MBA admissions department plays a pivotal role in creating MBA’s student body.

Interestingly, many MBA students, here by virtue of the MBA admissions process, know very little about the inner workings of MBA’s admissions department and the large task that is forming a student body.

The admissions department on The Hill receives about 180 applications each year for the 7th grade, and this year the number of applicants fell right around that average. MBA takes about 120 of those applicants, about 67% of the students who apply. The department also receives around 20 applications for the 8th grade and 60 to 75 for the 9th grade. In the 8th grade, MBA takes as many applicants as they have spots.

This year, they took three applicants out of 16, meaning that the 8th grade acceptance rate is significant lower than that of the 7th grade, lower than 20%.

The admissions department takes about 20 students for the 9th grade.

In college admissions, schools often look at very specific things about students that make them different and unique, in addition to high standards that many colleges and universities already hold.

At MBA, when the admissions LLS, from Page 8 has Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.”

Marc ran against individuals and teams from Ensworth, Brentwood High School, Hume Fogg, Harpeth Hall, and others. After numerous fundraising efforts, including an MBA event at Music City Pinball, Marc was named the 2019 Student of the Year.

Dr. Gioia describes the program and the MBA students’ efforts, “Their fundraising and initiatives to aid this worthy cause have meant a great deal to me and MBA. The majority of families at MBA have been affected by these illnesses, and their leadership to fight these issues reflects the kind of goodness and commitment that make me even more proud of our community. They have literally raised thousands of dollars to provide support for medical trials and breakthroughs in these realms.”

Sophomore Matthew Fox has already

department looks at a student’s application file, they look at five things, including a standardized test (ISEE), the applicant’s transcript from their current school, an interview with a teacher at MBA, and a teacher evaluation from both an English teacher and a math teacher at the school from which they’re applying. Additionally, part of a student’s file may include a note from someone who went to MBA who knows the student or some other MBA related connection.

The admissions department looks at each application holistically and does not turn down an applicant based on one part of the file. However, a heavy weakness in one aspect of a file can be a “red flag,” according to Mr. Ferrell, the head of the MBA admissions department. For example, MBA’s average ISEE composite score, on a scale of 1-9, is about a 6. If a student has a score of a 1 or 2 on that scale, that would hold a lot of weight in the decision the department makes about his application.

This last part of the file brings attention to the “MBA connection” aspect of the admissions process and what sort of weight a connection can have. Mr. Ferrell explains that there is weight given to an MBA connection but that “we can’t quantify it,” that there’s no numerical advantage in the decision on an application, but that “it is definitely discussed.” According to Mr. Ferrell, some of the most difficult conversations he has every year are the ones with alumni fathers whose sons were not admitted to MBA. Another important aspect of the admissions process and the mission of MBA is diversity. This year, MBA added its first official diversity statement on its website, which states that “the values necessary to create a diverse and committed to run in 2020 and plans to continue the MBA legacy in the Students of the Year program.

MBA is a place that has a big collective heart, commitments to causes, and deep roots in tradition.

It is my hope that, through the MBA LLS Legacy Program, the MBA community continues to nominate and support worthy candidates in this incredible and life-changing campaign. In addition to the fact that the money raised goes to such a wonderful cause, the campaign motivates students to embrace, explore, and expand their skills in leadership, mission integration, fundraising, planning and execution, speaking, and community service.

The LLS slogan is “Someday is Today,” meaning that the cure for cancer is not in the distant future but is here now. MBA has embraced this rallying cry and through its

Mr. Ferrell finds that February is the busiest time for the MBA admissions department, which reviews every application thoroughly before making decisions.

PHOTO: Webb Hunt

inclusive community are synonymous with the values necessary to be a Gentleman.” In terms of building a class at MBA, the admissions department looks more and more on how it can further diversify The Hill.

MBA tends to draw students from very similar backgrounds, and the admissions department has created several initiatives to try and change that narrative to “get the word out about MBA,” to find students of different backgrounds, whether it be racially, religiously, socio-economically, or ethnically.

One challenge that MBA faces is that many families have the preconceived notion that with MBA’s costly tuition, the school simply isn’t an option for them, and there’s no point in starting the admissions process. Mr. Ferrell emphasizes that with many students (22-23%) on financial aid, the admissions department has to “break that stereotype” and make sure families know that there are ways MBA can help make tuition more affordable for

families that need it. According to Mr. Ferrell, the school tries to emphasize that it doesn’t care about your last name or what car you drive, but rather “what you do when you get here and what your aspirations are while you’re here.”

While MBA holds admissions events for students it largely expects to apply and ultimately attend MBA, the school also holds specific events, including the “Big Red Blast,” for other students around Nashville. Originally, the former Big Red Picnic on 42nd Avenue, which many current students attended during their own admissions process, was intended to serve this purpose, to attract students from public schools and from North and East Nashville. However, the event became much more like any other admissions event, and the same students who were already planning on attending MBA felt they had to be at the cookout, and the goal of attracting students who might not otherwise have considered MBA fell short. The “Big Red Blast”

Legacy Program has already raised more money than any other Middle Tennessee school, which will make such a difference in the lives of our

loved ones who are fighting cancer. It is a legacy that should continue and about which we MBA students should be very proud.

See ADMISSIONS, Page 21

Marc Stanley ‘20, this year’s Student of the Year winner, stands with Cole Williamson ‘20, last year’s winner, Matthew Fox ‘21, next year’s nominee, and a representative from LLS. PHOTO: MBA

10 OPINIONS

April 18th, 2019

2020 Presidential Election Early Outlook

By Ethan Lilly Staff Writer

The beginning of 2019 has come with yet another election cycle.

Considering the controversy that shadows President Trump, the 2020 presidential election will prove to be monumental. Already, there are 16 candidates running on the Democratic ticket, and several more are expected to join. Included in those who have yet to decide is former Vice President Joe Biden, who already leads in the polls and is a favorite for the nomination.

Joe Biden has been a political icon in the Democratic Party since his election into the US Senate in 1973 and, of course, with his service as the Vice President to Barack Obama. Although he has not officially joined the race for President, he currently leads in the early primary polls over Bernie Sanders but probably lacks the base to support his bid. Biden is a bit of an old face. Also, he is not as progressive as Sanders, and thus he lacks the same appeal. If he does enter the race, an endorsement from former President Obama will surely give him a boost in popularity. As it stands now, Sanders is the leading candidate.

With his progressive and democratic socialist ideals, Bernie Sanders has become a common name in modern politics. After his loss to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Sanders has remained a leader in advocating for many socialized programs including free healthcare and college for all and the fight against global warming. At 77, Sanders hopes to become the oldest newly elected President in American history and to improve our great nation. However, he has the daunting task of winning a national election as a “democratic socialist” in America.

Surprisingly, Beto (Robert Francis) O’Rourke is vying for third place in the Democratic race, making him a viable candidate for the Vice President of either Biden or Sanders. Even though he is in third place, he has some problems that may disqualify him for the job. One of these problems is that he has only served in the US House of Representatives. Unlike Biden and Sanders (and even Kamala Harris), he lacks the experience that comes with being a Senator. Also, he just suffered a major political defeat to Ted Cruz in the 2018 Texas Senate race. However, the fact that he is a leader in this primary is a testament to his popularity and appeal to many voters.

There are 14 other Democratic candidates running in 2020. The most notable is Kamala Harris (a freshman Senator from California), who is a close fourth behind Beto O’Rourke. It is doubtful that any of these fourteen

will be able to defeat either Biden or Sanders for the nomination, much less the grueling task of beating Trump in the general election.

With the unveiling of the Mueller Report and the increased influx of illegal immigrants across the Southern border, President Trump is beginning to make his case for why he should be reelected. The first part of his case is that he is not a Russian asset as the media proclaimed. He will claim that he was the target of an unfounded investigation meant to destroy him.

Secondly, as the Southern border is overwhelmed with increasing illegal immigration, Trump will make the case that the Democrats care nothing about border security, pointing to his and their failure to reach an agreement about the funding of a border wall along the Mexico-American border.

Thirdly, Trump has a good economy.

Even with an economic slowdown, he will take credit for the unprecedented success in the market with record unemployment lows and some the highest quarterly growths since the Great Recession. Fortunately for Trump, there are two factors that may give him an advantage in the election.

First, the American population generally likes to reelect the sitting President. The last President not to be re-elected without a split ticket was Jimmy Carter in the 1980 Presidential election. Secondly, the introduction of Howard Schultz, former CEO and founder of Starbucks, as an independent candidate may prove to be the break that Trump has been looking for.

With the election still a year and a half away, it is impossible to foresee the outcome. There are many variables and too many candidates to make an accurate prediction, but it is important to pay attention to an election that has already heated up.

THE BELL RINGER

How the Dems Need to Handle 2020

By William Bradford Staff Writer Approaching what is arguably one of the most divisive presidential elections in American history, democrats are facing an uphill battle in 2020. President Trump has maintained a mid - 40% approval rating, bolstered by a strong economy and a rocksolid base. In response, blue hopefuls are adopting a number of campaign strategies hoping to unseat Trump - the only question is, which will work?

The primary strategy that many liberal candidates such as Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand have adopted is “Trump-bashing,” or attempting to prove that President Trump is morally objectionable in order to sway moderates. This strategy is not a winning one. It is important to realize that the vitality of Trump’s campaign lies in the shock value that his ridiculous statements produce, provoking outrage from Democrats and in turn throwing red meat to his base.

Criticizing Trump from a policy standpoint allows candidates to avoid stooping to personal attacks while demonstrating that he is working against middle-class America.

Whether it be making fun of a disabled reporter or saying that every country run by a black person is a “sh*thole,” Trump says what’s on his mind and not many seem to care. The

Should he decide to run, Biden hopes that an Obama endorsement could propel him to the nomination.

PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons

only effect that repeatedly bringing these statements to light has is keeping his name at the top of news cycles at all hours of the day. Anyone who could be convinced to vote against Trump because of such statements in 2020 is most likely already voting blue, meaning that all vilifying Trump will do is endear him to his base.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is the approach that Sen. Cory Booker has taken: simply ignoring Trump.

This strategy cannot last because the President sucks all the air out of every room, forcing confrontation and mocking those who ignore his challenge. By refusing to rise to the occasion, Booker is only demonstrating that he is unfit to lead a global superpower. Without any attempt to address Trump, he only reveals himself to be spineless. Any competitive bid for a blue White House requires confrontation that Booker is clearly unwilling produce.

What democrats need in 2020 is a strategy that combines the two outlined above, one that Sen. Bernie Sanders and Beto O’Rourke seem apt to attempt.

The diehard red-hatters that carried Trump to victory may not be willing to vote blue in 2020, but emphasizing Trump’s disconnectedness from key constituencies can flip the middle-ofthe-road, working voters needed to win an election. The message that must reach more moderate voters if more progressive candidates want a chance in the election is that Trump is conspiring with corporate America and worsening the lives of everyday Americans.

Broadcasting must highlight his blatant nepotism, that the head of the EPA is a coal lobbyist, and that he wants to take away healthcare for workers.

Criticizing Trump from a policy standpoint allows candidates to avoid stooping to personal attacks while demonstrating that he is working against middle-class America. If democrats want a chance in 2020, they must reevaluate the strategies that several blue front runners have employed early in the race for the White House.

Running against Trump on insults doesn’t work. You only need look as far as Marco Rubio to find that any candidate who tries to go toe to toe with the current president with insults is fighting a losing battle. At the same time, ignoring Trump altogether is also not a winning strategy. When you look back at candidates like Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and Jeb Bush in 2016, it becomes clear that solely promoting your own policies and completely shying away from criticism of Trump is also not a viable option in terms of hoping to beat him.

THE BELL RINGER

OPINIONS 11

April 18th, 2019

Standardized Tests Need to Hold Less (or no) Weight

By Sam Meacham Staff Writer

We all know the stress of standardized testing. From the ISEE to get into MBA to the yearly PSAT to finally the SAT and ACT of our junior and senior years, every MBA student must spend hours reading an eclectic selection of stories and articles, working math problems, and carefully filling in tiny bubbles on a sheet that seems to be the key to success in life.

We are told that these tests are accurate referendums on our abilities as students and, consequently, that our scores on them indicate how “smart” or “ready” for college we may be.

However, this is a subject of fierce debate in our national education policy and closer to home. It is especially relevant considering the recent college admissions scandal in which rich parents bribed elite universities to accept their children and paid off test proctors to share the answers with test-takers. Given the controversies surrounding them, are standardized tests really a good measure of a student’s intelligence, work ethic, and ability to improve, or are they just one-sizefits-all assessments of memorization ability that obscure the actual learning being done? This question has no sure answer, but a growing consensus agrees that the latter is true, and that standardized test scores are little more than isolated and unreliable indicators of true student ability. This, of course, raises the question of whether or not we

American students should be required to have these high test scores for college admissions.

According to FairTest, over 700 colleges and universities have ceased to require standardized test scores as a condition for admission. These institutions include many high-ranking private universities who have deemed the costs of standardized testing outweigh the benefits. However, this change should not be seen as a major shift in the college admissions process.

These schools do not disregard test scores in applications but just allow applicants not to submit them. Schools still might disfavor students who choose to waive the requirement. Universities ought to continue the trend toward weighing standardized test scores less than other factors.

Most modern studies show that standardized testing is ineffective, unnecessary, and even, at times, discriminatory. First, the entire structure of the SAT and ACT as a one-time, high-stakes evaluation of very specific skills such as grammatical structure or trigonometry make them inaccurate as metrics of student achievement. Due to the fact that, while GPA is a signal of consistent trends in student learning, a test is on a specific day for a few hours, a student’s health, mood, or stress level on the day of the ACT or SAT might be enough to make or break his or her college chances.

The subjects tested often indicate not a student’s ability to think critically or adapt, the real signs of raw intelligence

and future collegiate success, but instead what their school may or may not have taught them about the subjects tested. In this way, standardized tests incentivize schools to teach narrow, cherry-picked concepts tested rather than a holistic curriculum centered around critical thinking ability that will best prepare students for future success, a phenomenon known as “teaching for the test” that is ever more prevalent in high schools across the country. This is especially true when student test scores are used as benchmarks for evaluating teachers and schools, especially public schools.

Furthermore, standardized tests discriminate against certain students for

...a growing consensus agrees...that standarized tests scores are little more than isolated and unreliable indicators of true student ability. factors outside their control. Created by Carl Brigham, an early eugenic scientist, the SAT was originally intended to prove the intellectual superiority of white Americans to new immigrants.

While its origin in racist beliefs isn’t necessarily a reason the SAT is bad today, standardized tests still unfairly favor students who are native English speakers and who can quickly finish

questions, thereby discriminating against ESL students and students with disabilities.

For example, the reading comprehension section of many tests is reliant on inferring information from passages that do not state it explicitly.

Only someone who has spoken English for their entire life would be able to easily infer this meaning from their own experience, while someone who grew up speaking a different language might struggle.

For these reasons, most studies find that there is little to no correlation between high test scores and college success. Indeed, many students are brilliant but hampered by their struggles in areas such as sentence completion, interpreting scientific data, or quadratic equations.

These students might be great writers, performers, or thinkers who just aren’t as good at selecting the best synonym as others. On the flipside, many students are able to game the system using test taking tricks and expensive prep courses to get high scores. These students often get into better colleges than those who are harder workers or better students in a holistic sense. A quote commonly attributed to Albert Einstein reads, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Time for a Policy Change on Themes?

By Andrew Bulgarino Contributor So one day you are sitting in the library during study hall. You decide to check your grades and see if there are any changes. You scroll through the courses–math looks good, science the same, history has not changed, but then your eyes reach English. Your grade seems to have dropped five points out of nowhere. You click on the “See grade detail” button, and then you see a solid 84 next to the title “Theme #4”.

Nearly all MBA students will experience this fright during the course of their high school years, and nearly all of these students will ask the same question: Why are themes in English class such a grade-tanker?

Although they may appear to be troublesome and useless tasks, they do indeed greatly help the future of students. A core knowledge of writing skills sets MBA students apart from those at other schools where they do not write nearly as often. Even a student who receives one of the lower grades on a theme at MBA most likely has a better

knowledge of writing than most of the students in Tennessee. This fundamental writing knowledge displays itself when it comes time to write college essays, a report to a boss, or even a simple email to a coworker.

This difference is a credit to MBA, but it is specifically a credit to the themes that we write in our English classes. All of the various types of themes that we write develop unique writing styles that are used frequently later in life. So on the next theme day, you can still complain because it is truly a lot of work, but just realize that it does benefit you.

All this being said, none of it answers the question at hand. Why do themes have to drop the grades of every student by such a significant amount? They do not simply drop the grades of the students who do not write as well, but they drop even the top students who have the highest grades of the English class. Why does the highest grade on a theme always seem to be less than a 95?

Why can it not be curved to a 100, with the other grades being curved as well?

A simple curve would keep the student

who received the highest grade at the top, but it would also bring the others up with it while maintaining the same margin between scores.

This margin between the scores is somewhat of an issue itself. As many of my English teachers at MBA have said, it is practically impossible to put a grade on a piece of writing. These same English teachers are forced to put a grade on the students’ writing multiple times throughout the year. The reason for the difficulty in assigning a piece of writing a number is that it requires subjectivity to be placed into the grading rubric. For example, on the “Criteria for Grading the FiveParagraph Theme” found on the MBA website, it says “a less inviting introduction could be the difference between a 90 and a 94”. A significant margin of four points, nearly the difference between an A and a B paper, could potentially be based upon how “inviting” the introduction is to the teacher.

While the difference between a fantastic introduction and a poorlywritten introduction is often clear,

the difference between these two endpoints is hazier. These kinds of points in the grading rubric introduce subjectivity into the grading system, as it leaves the teacher with a decision that is impossible to base on truth and fact, and these decisions develop into inescapable unfairness.

Because writing is such an essential part of English class, themes cannot be omitted from the syllabus. Instead, the grading system can be refined and reformed. A potential solution is a curving of the grades as mentioned above. The inevitable subjectivity that arises out of grading a piece of writing can be limited, and if the grades are generally higher than this subjectivity becomes less of an issue, for the themes will not consistently drop students’ grades. Another option is to decrease the weight that themes have in the gradebook, so again they will not drop students’ grades as much as they do now. Any solution to decrease the impact of the unavoidable subjectivity will ultimately add more to the already grandiose benefit that writing themes gives MBA students.

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FEATURES

April 18th, 2019

THE BELL RINGER

Journeymen of The Hill: Retirem Jim Womack Retires After 41 Years at MBA

By John Raulston Graham Opinions Editor Although Mr. Womack has roamed the halls of Davis since its being built, his exhibition, Reflections, has been up there for only the last month. The exhibition is a large collection of his work that he has done throughout his time at MBA. After 40 years of teaching art and art history, guiding nature and cultural trips, and championing the arts around Nashville, Mr. Womack has gathered plenty of material on which to reflect.

The exhibition contains etchings, prints, and drawings ranging in subject matter from historical works, that are part of his most dear AP Art history curriculum, to the MBA campus, to his personal vacation home in North Carolina. Although they vary in many of their characteristics, all of the pieces are underpinned with a personal dedication to the study of the arts.

Mr. Womack has collages of historical works demarcated by time period. For example, he has one work that is a collage of Renaissance art, which included Verrocchio’s, Michelangelo’s, and Donatello’s Davids, frescos from Perugino, among other works.

The show also included parody works from the canon of Western Art, including his work entitled The Buss Hall Gang. This work imitates Raphael’s famous School of Athens, except for the depiction of other famous figures from art history spread throughout the work like the monumental Buddha figure in the center of the work or Marcel DuChamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase.

More playfully, Mr. Womack has a compiled set of his church programs, entitled Second Thoughts, in which he turns the simple depiction of the church

An 1984 yearbook photo of Mr. Womack.

PHOTO: MBA Archives

into a grand depiction of famous works from Palladio’s San Giorgio Maggiore to Le Corbusier’s Notre Dame du Haut.

While these pieces proved to be interesting ones in the show, his personal favorite piece was his work of the compilation of details from the 250 AP works. He said of this piece, “It involves everything I have done in the past as far as that meticulous detail or that collage-like doodling.” The work took over a year to complete, mostly during studio art classes, when his students were working on a drawingbased project, or before school.

More than any of the other works, none may be more essential to understanding the way that Mr. Womack approaches art history and his profession as this compilation.

Reflected in his desire to render even tiny minutiae from influential works, Mr. Womack believes in the necessity of understanding the details and underpinnings of every work. When commenting further on his work, Mr. Womack said, “I love it as a study aid,” referring to the challenge of identifying a work from a 1-inch by 2-inch detail

drawing.

Mr. Womack has taught his passion at MBA since the days of Michael Drake as headmaster and when Lowry referred to the head of the English Department, not the building. Looking back on his early days, forty years ago, he described MBA as a small “momand-pop organization,” where there was a very limited path that students could take.

Although Ms. LeQuire, Mr. Womack’s predecessor, had established Art History as one of the first two AP classes on campus, this class was the entirety of the Art Department when Mr. Womack arrived on The Hill.

During Mr. Womack’s time at MBA, the art department has seen tremendous growth and expansion into what it is today.

The MBA art program, which now includes studio art, theater, orchestra, jazz band, and art history, has developed under Mr. Womack’s watch. During his time as chair of the art department, ENDADA, Cellophony, and numerous plays are annual events that would not have developed in the older world of

the MBA curriculum.

Mr. Womack not only has had an impact on the art landscape of MBA, but he also singularly affected forty years worth of art history and art classes. With his knowledgeable, direct teaching style, Mr. Womack has educated young boys in the value of art both as a practice and as a field of study.

As he said about his own teaching, “My primary goal in teaching has not been teaching for this year but teaching for all the years to come.” Mr. Womack has had students return within the last year to comment on the profound influence that his class had on the way they look at the world.

In addition to forwarding the study of art in the MBA community, Mr. Womack has also had a significant impact on art in Nashville as a whole.

Mr. Womack volunteers at the Parthenon, Cheekwood, and the Frist on a regular basis. Tommy Frist, in speaking of the establishment of the Frist Museum, commented that Mr. Womack’s teaching of his sons was a primary inspiration for the museum’s creation.

Mr. Womack’s blunt and direct teaching style, impeccable expertise, and sense of humor will be missed on the Hill as he retires. While he is looking forward to being off the school schedule, he said, “Each year there are opportunities to make a connection to something that, although I have seen the work hundreds of times, I will never have put together. And I will miss that.”

He plans to continue his pursuit of the study of the arts by doing more volunteering and having more time off.

Finally, in reflection, Mr. Womack said, “I will be glad to graduate high school, but I will miss the classroom.”

13

FEATURES

April 18th, 2019

THE BELL RINGER

ments of Two Lengendary Teachers Gordon Chenery Retires After 30 Years at MBA

By Matthew Hawkins Copy Editor MBA is losing one of its greatest teachers at the end of this school year, as Mr. Chenery plans to move onto the next chapter of his life and retire from teaching.

Mr. Chenery has made his presence felt known on the campus ever since he came to MBA. In his science classes, as he currently teaches Biology and APES, Mr. Chenery has always exuded a passion for the subject matter, a passion which enables his students to find their own genuine interest in these subjects.

In each of these classes, Mr. Chenery maintains his trademark calm yet witty nature, infusing just a touch of humor in all of his lessons. Though assignments such as the Leaf Lab and the Anatomy quizzes still remain prevalent in the minds of his former students, it is Mr. Chenery’s sarcasm and quick one-liners that his students remember with clarity.

For example, if you ask Mr. Chenery about his strategy at betting on horse races, he will give you an answer of pure logic, telling you to bet on the horse that poops last. Similarly, if you ask Mr. Chenery about one of the most famous faces of science, Bill Nye, Mr Chenery

A 1990 yearbook photo of Mr. Chenery.

PHOTO: MBA Archives

will reveal Bill’s true character, saying that “Bill Nye is evil.” Looking back on his time at MBA, Mr. Chenery reflects on some of his favorite moments, which similarly revolve around humor, talking of a Totomoi tapping in which a student walked around for three or four minutes before he returned to the podium to ask whom he was to tap.

This wit which Mr. Chenery sprinkled throughout his classes kept the students engaged and interested, improving the experience and education of the class

as a whole.

Mr. Chenery’s involvement and impact on the MBA community is far-reaching, going beyond his duties as a teacher. Mr. Chenery has shown a dedication to service during his time on The Hill, serving as one of the faculty advisors of the Service Club. Furthermore, Mr. Chenery often spends his time as a cook and server for the Soup Kitchen alongside MBA students. This involvement in service typifies his care for others in the

community, a care which he has shown throughout his time at MBA. He has also demonstrated a love for nature and its preservation, serving as a member of the Sustainability Committee at MBA. Mr. Chenery hopes to explore new passions in his retirement, as he will have some time on his hands away from grading Biology and APES tests. He hopes to spend more time with his grandchildren in addition to exploring his talents in the hobby of woodworking. Similarly, as he has always been interested in the natural world, he hopes to spend more time fishing and hiking. Mr. Chenery has truly enjoyed his time on The Hill, remarking that “each day on campus brings a different perspective and a challenge to do your best.” Being surrounded by interesting people has been a “boon” for him over these last thirty years. The MBA community wishes Mr. Chenery nothing but the best in the next chapter of his life, as he brings his passion for science, his quick wit, and his comical ties into retirement.

http://thebellringer.org

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April 18th, 2019

FEATURES

THE BELL RINGER

Benji Talks Favorite Dishes in Nashville

By Benjamin Sensing Business Manager

I had grand plans for this article.

My original thought was to write a steak article. Using my power as Business Manager of The Bell Ringer, I was going to put together a bake sale, called the “steaksale,” and use all of the profits to sample some of the best steaks that Nashville has to offer.

Unfortunately, I never got around to creating the steaksale. Maybe I’ll be able to rally for the graduation issue.

My next idea was to try food around Nolensville road, but I never got around to making any foodie journeys.

Finally, I wanted to write an article on Asian food, but to be frank, I know very little about the best Asian spots in town and didn’t go to Sunda or The Smiling Elephant like I planned. You should expect an Asian food guide next year.

So, here I was, Sunday night before the article deadline and out of ideas. I had exhausted pretty much all of my culinary knowledge covering cheap eats, pizza, burgers, and breakfast. The allure of sleep almost made me scrap this article and wait for the next issue. Then I came to my senses and remembered that my ultimate goal in writing these articles is to expand the culinary horizons of the MBA community to more than just McDougals, Sam’s, or Moe’s.

By skipping one issue, I might undo all of my hard work. Finally, an idea came to me: simply share a few of my favorite meals in town. Here goes

nothing:

dicot, carrots, and, most importantly, basil and cilantro which provide a flavor punch so strong and fresh that the sandwich does not need cheese of any kind to top it off. The sandwich is the perfect size to just fill you up but also leave you feeling almost refreshed after finishing it because unlike most great sandwiches, it is quite healthy and light.

1. The Beef Banh Mi at Vui’s Kitchen I credit Vui’s for being the first place to cause me to expand my palate. The first time my mom picked up Vui’s for dinner, I ordered the rice bowl, but with only chicken and rice!

While my parents loved their salads, I was very underwhelmed. The next time we picked up Vui’s, I branched 2. The Brisket Breakfast Burrito at out and got the Beef Banh Mi. Since Edley’s then, I never looked back. It’s so In my humble opinion, the good, and I have even recreated it at burrito is the ultimate food due largely home with a fair amount of success. to its versatility. While my personal The star of the favorite sandwich is breakfast the lemongrass involves an beef, which is omelette and beef covered a stack of in a dark soypancakes, a like sauce with southwestern strong hints of breakfast lemongrass. wrapped Trust me, it’s inside of a incredible. I tortilla and have tried to then toasted recreate this on a griddle is sauce multiple hard to beat. times and Edley’s burrito cannot find is packed anything like with fluffy it online. The eggs, pico, beef is served melted cheese, on a French sour cream, baguette cilantro, and with all sorts your choice The Brisket Burrito at Edley’s brings in people of greens and from all over Nashville. of meat. While veggies like PHOTO: Benjamin Sensing I’m sure a pork crunchy celery, or sausage

burrito would be great, in my mind, brisket is the gold standard in barb-que. To top it off, I recommend dipping the burrito in Edley’s red sauce which is their take on a classic hot sauce. I love how they place the cheese on top of the other ingredients next to the tortilla so that it melts when the burrito is on the griddle.

After all, it’s the little things that count.

3. The Brisket Burger at Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint By now, most people in Nashville have had a Hugh Baby’s burger. Imagine that, the best fast food burger around, but with two slices of tender, melt-in-your-mouth smoked brisket from Martin’s. The brisket burger makes that idea a reality. Pat Martin, the founder of Martin’s, actually started Hugh Baby’s as well, and he uses what tastes like the same basic burger at both restaurants. The burger consists of a ⅓ ground beef patty, American cheese, a heap of perfectly griddled onions, topped with two slices of the best brisket in town.

All of this sits atop a toasted potato roll and is liberally coated in Sweet Dixie sauce, the best traditional sweet barbecue sauce I have ever tried.

You also get to choose from any one of Martin’s great sides, but I usually stick with fries. I highly recommend dipping them in Sweet Dixie and Martin’s signature Alabama white sauces. If your appetite is up to the task, this burger is a must order.

April 18th, 2019

THE BELL RINGER

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April 18th, 2019

ENTERTAINMENT

THE BELL RINGER

“Groove Denied” is Unusual but Imperfect

By Landis Hall Entertainment Editor

In 1992, “Pavement’s Slanted and Enchanted” was released, and it changed the face of indie music for years to come. The band’s singer, Stephen Malkmus, continued to release albums after Pavement’s demise with

a new band, the Jicks, who enjoyed further acclaim from critics. His albums have all adhered to his signature lofi, guitar-based indie sound, but his latest solo output, “Groove Denied,” is something of an oddity in his discography. It ditches guitars for the most part and replaces them with synths and drum machines, creating a more

Stephen Malkmus performs in 2006 at Bannaroo in Manchester, TN. PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons

electronic influenced sound in the vein of Kraftwerk and Berlin-era Bowie.

Malkmus worked on the album for a few years and originally intended to release it in 2017, only to have Matador Records’ head Chris Lombardi tell him it wasn’t a good time to release it. Instead, the Jicks recorded new material for their album “Sparkle Hard,” released last year to positive feedback. “Groove Denied” is certainly a welcome change of pace for Malkmus.

Most artists usually become content “playing the hits,” so to speak, later in their careers, but the unexpectedness of “Groove Denied” keeps things fresh for Malkmus. The production simultaneously has a very sharp, processed sound that one would expect from an electronic record, as well as some more amatuer-ish low fidelity undercurrents. Essentially, it sounds like electronica that was recorded on a cheap multi-track recorder in a bedroom.

Many of the songs on the album go in wildly different directions. The opening track, “Belziger Faceplant”, features a driving industrial instrumental, while Malkmus’ vocals are placed through phaser effects that distort his voice up and down. Lead single “Viktor Borgia” goes in a more

synthpoppy direction, with only the vocals reminding the listener that they are indeed listening to an indie musician.

Another highlight is “Come and Get Me,” which blends a more typical indie instrumental with some sitars for some added flair. However, this diversity of styles leads to a definite lack of focus, and it’s a bit difficult to really pin down what ideas are trying to be expressed stylistically as a result. The randomness of it all also raises another problem that this album feels like Malkmus is almost playing things a little safe. There are plenty of interesting ideas on the album, especially the blending of the lo-fi and electronic genres, but the focus shifts to something else before these ideas are fully realized. It doesn’t help that the lyrics don’t stand out either.

Malkmus’s lyrics are usually simultaneously humorous and self deprecating, but this aspect of his music didn’t stand out on this release. Overall, while it doesn’t hit the high watermark that Malkmus thought it would, “Groove Denied” is still definitely a fun and unusual listen, and fans will definitely enjoy hearing the change of pace.

Has Weezer Still Got It?

By Mauro Mastrapasqua Staff Writer As bands get older and typically farther from their peak, the question arises of if they still have what it takes to release new content. If the answer is no, then this usually means the new songs are too different from their original tracks which everybody knows and loves. This change could come about from new band members, a singer’s voice changing, or the simply band members’ being tired of playing the same licks and chords over and over again. The 90’s California-based alternative rock band Weezer embraced the stigmas of releasing new material years after their peak in 2019, when they dropped a whopping two albums, The Black Album and The Teal Album. Two albums in the same year is incredibly uncommon. Weezer has gone trigger happy on releasing albums lately; after years of releasing albums every three or four years or so, the band has now released three albums and seven singles in the past two years or so. Looking back at their discography, this outlier stint is accompanied by the release of three albums from 20092010: Hurley, Death to False Metal, and Raditude. However, this fresh batch of songs is looking to be more successful for Weezer than their 2009-2010 albums for multiple reasons.

First of all, Weezer is not very old.

They formed in 1992, and the members are all around age 50. They are not as old as a lot of other rock artists who keep releasing new music, but they are definitely a few years past their prime.

Their Black Album is still reminiscent of their older albums. They still love to write about having a good time in LA.

They are not as old as a lot of other rock artists who keep releasing new music, but they are definitely a few years past their prime.

The first two tracks, “Can’t Knock The Hustle” and “Zombie Bastards,” were both released as singles earlier this year, but besides that The Black Album is all new and fresh Weezer.

“Zombie Bastards” is possibly the most interesting song on the album with its catchy melody and its metaphor for the current music industry. With their lyrics, “Music saved my life,” Weezer express their dissatisfaction with the way the producers want musicians to conform to the norm by saying how important their individuality as artists is to them. Overall, it did not disappoint, and Weezer was successful in continuing their career as writers.

But were they successful in arranging covers in The Teal Album? This album features no original compositions, as it is a compilation of classic rock anthems and 80’s synth classics. They kick things off with “Africa,” by Toto, which they previously released as a single. It was released right after their cover of Toto’s “Rosanna,” which unfortunately did not make it onto The Teal Album. “Africa” is by far a more popular song and for that reason Weezer’s cover of it was more successful than that of “Rosanna,” however, “Rosanna” sounded more solid with its growling bass lines and its mighty drum beat. But as for the songs that did make it onto the album, Weezer made a lot of good choices, choosing a diverse group of songs that everyone still knows well. They generally stuck closely to the original styles of their covers without taking many liberties. It was when they didn’t when it got really interesting though.

They changed the most on “Happy Together”, originally by the Turtles. On the chorus they completely switch up the drum beat to make it more driving.

This was definitely a smart move, but to that extent it would have been nice to see them deviate from the original arrangements more, and inserting their own ideas. For example, Weezer’s cover of “Take On Me” by a-ha is pretty much identical to the original, except Weezer’s synth doesn’t cut as much and sounds softer than the original--a

nostalgic Weezer fan would expect it to be the other way around. That being said, The Teal Album as a whole seems too friendly, and doesn’t satisfy their fanbase’s need for their inherently dirty and disgusting sound. It was nice, but it was not as Weezer as The Black Album.

They took the lyrics of “Zombie Bastards” to heart, and did not deviate too far from their original sound, which is why I think it is safe to say that Weezer has still got it.

Weezer did not disappoint their fanbase. Though they don’t sound as powerful as they used to, they had the odds stacked against them while writing more tunes after a few of their post 90’s albums turned out to be failures.

They also had the difficulty that comes with recording covers, as it is hard to listen to a cover as its own song apart from the original recording. But most importantly, they took the lyrics of “Zombie Bastards” to heart, and did not deviate too far from their original sound, which is why I think it is safe to say that Weezer has still got it.

April 18th, 2019

THE BELL RINGER

ENTERTAINMENT

Us Lives Up to Predecessor

By McConnico Sharpe Contributor US is Jordan Peele’s second foray into the horror genre and his second director credit overall. After his massive success with his film Get Out in 2017, many people are wondering if his new film is worth the hype sprung on by it’s

Jordan Peele, having had great success with Get Out, moves on to his newest

predecessor. It is.

The film begins creepily enough with the first encounter with the mysterious “tethered” in a house of mirrors where it is revealed that one of the main characters, Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o), had already encountered her doppelgänger when she was a child.

The film then takes a break from the creepy stuff as it shows Adelaide, now as an adult, going on vacation with her family. This “calm before the storm” is a great way to get to know the characters and is even a source for some humor and eerie foreshadowing.

Soon after the characters are established, night begins to fall and everything from the way the movie is shot to the amazing score begins to become more and more unsettling, as Adelaide’s son, Jason (Evan Alex), realizes that there is a family in their driveway. Adelaide’s husband Gabe (Winston Duke) attempts to get them to leave. What follows is a terrifying sequence in which the Wilsons are slowly cornered in their own house and forced to listen to the only dopplegänger that can speak, Adelaide’s

double, Red. As Red, Nyong’o especially shines as everything about her character, from her raspy voice to her unnatural expressions sends shivers down the spine. After a brief monologue, packed with symbolism, Red then assigns each person to “play” with their copies. From there on it is a desperate struggle for survival and near misses for the Wilsons as they attempt to stop Red and her family.

An especially great subsequent scene is when Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) is attempting to run away from her double, due to her skills from running track (something which was brought up earlier in the film), yet Umbrae (her clone) appears to have the exact same skills amplified to 100 much like all the other tethered. As Peel mixes in great symbolism with amazingly tense scenes wrought with a feeling of powerlessness, the resulting product is something quite unique that will leave each person watching with something different to take away. It has been quite a while since a movie left me with so many different interpretations of its plot.

Now it is time to discuss a few spoilers so this is your SPOILER WARNING. At the end of the film it is revealed that the Adelaide that grew up on the surface and married Gabe was the clone all along and actually switched places with the original back when they were children in the mirror maze. This does explain how she knew so much about the doppelgängers and why she felt remorse after the deaths of Pluto and Umbrae. Yet while I feel as though there are more things that don’t make sense about the twist, it does leave some open-endedness for which other family members could also be clones. I feel that Peele sacrificed a more realized origin for the tethered for greater symbolism and a powerful story.

In my opinion it was worth it and truly gave the Wilsons a fantastic opposing force and ended up leaving more of the world to be explored in any possible sequel Peele might have up his sleeve.

SPOILERS OVER. In the end this is a movie that can be taken in so many different ways. Just go allow yourself to get pulled into this terrifying story.

Captian Marvel: Good, Not Great

By Benjamin Sensing Business Manager It may seem odd at first that at what seems to be the end of a prolific superhero saga Marvel would choose to add in another main character to their already extensive list of Avengers.

Avengers: Endgame has thirty-two different promotional posters, each featuring a prominent hero character in the MCU with Captain Marvel being the newest addition. After the first thirty-one failed to defeat Thanos, it is clear that they are in desperate need of help. Captain Marvel certainly seems up to the task of helping them

defeat Thanos as she is by far the most powerful Avenger.

The first female actress to get her own solo Marvel film, Brie Larson

Captain Marvel is a fun and entertaining addition to the MCU, yet it lacked some of the originality of other origin stories. really does play the role of Captain Marvel well. From the film’s outset it

is clear that Larson’s character, Carol Danvers, is special but she only realizes her powers at the film’s climax. Until then, Danvers has to rely on her quick instincts and wit to keep her out of trouble as she, a member of an elite Kree military unit, gets stranded on earth and finds out about her past.

From that perspective, Captain Marvel is very similar to the first Thor film, as both heroes end up stranded on earth and comically struggle to understand humanity’s way of life. Once she realizes her powers, Captain Marvel predictably ends up saving the world from alien invasion, just like Thor.

Set in the 1990s, Captain Marvel feels different from any Marvel movie before it. It had a very nostalgic soundtrack for 90s kids, and cameos of outdated icons of American culture like Blockbuster can be appreciated by virtually any moviegoer. The film addresses much of the history behind the creation of S.H.I.E.L.D that had been previously ignored by the other MCU films. I personally enjoyed seeing Danvers hijack and pilot an early quinjet prototype.

While Larson plays the lead role, the de-aged Samuel L. Jackson steals the show. Once you get past the creepy aspect of seventy year old Jackson believably looking thirty years younger, it is hard not to love young Nick Fury.

His lengthy screen time during the movie made me realize how much I have missed him in the recent Avengers

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movies. Fury is smart, hilarious, and genuinely cares about helping Danvers unravel her past. Fury also develops an affectionate relationship with a cat named Goose, providing laughs throughout most of their time together, and, surprisingly, Goose ends up playing a critical role in the film’s plot.

To conclude, Captain Marvel is a fun and entertaining addition to the MCU, yet it lacked some of the originality of other origin stories. Still, any Marvel fan will enjoy it because it definitely achieves Marvel’s ultimate goal: setting the stage for and building hype around Endgame, which comes out later this month. Will the aid of Captain Marvel be enough to tip the scales in the Avenger’s favor? Her displays of power during the climax of Captain Marvel does not make that notion seem far-fetched.

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SPORTS

April 18th, 2019

THE BELL RINGER

A Guide for Attending the NFL Draft in Nashville

The NFL Draft is rapidly approaching. Being one of the first cities outside of New York City to host, Nashville is putting on quite the event.

Don’t worry though, The Bell Ringer has you covered on everything Draft Day.

By Jack Smartt Sports Editor From April 25-27, Nashville will be hosting its first NFL Draft in the city’s history. This event is obviously extremely exciting news for Nashville, which is one of the most rapidly growing cities in the country. This event is going to be very important for the growth of the city, as fans of all 32 NFL teams from across the nation will come to Nashville to experience the draft.

In order to show these fans the city of Nashville, the planners of the draft have come up with an unbelievable setup for the event downtown.

Anticipating around 300,000 fans, the event officials have constructed a plan that be will centered around the Cumberland River. While this number may seem high, the attendance for the jersey reveal that the Titans held in April of 2018 was incredible, as thousands of people were jam-packed down the entirety of Broadway. The center stage of the draft will be located

Cardinals GM Steve Keim has the first pick in the draft and with it a tough decision to make.

PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons

at the intersection of First Avenue and Broadway. Here, the players who are drafted will walk across the stage and shake NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s hand to signify their entry into the NFL. While the draft is going on each day, there will be free concerts with over 20 local Nashville artists performing. Tim McGraw is headlining the concert after the conclusion of Friday’s round and Dierks Bentley is headlining the concert after the conclusion of Saturday’s round. On the other side of the Cumberland

River at Nissan Stadium, there will be various other musical artists performing throughout the draft. On Thursday, three musical artists including alternative singer Mikky Ekko will be performing. On Friday, six musical artists including country singers Willie Jones and Charlie Worsham will perform. Finally, on Saturday, five musical artists including country singer Charles Esten from the television show “Nashville” will take the stage for the final night.

Alongside these concerts at Nissan Stadium will be the NFL Draft Experience, which will be open from 12 pm to 10 pm on Thursday and Friday and 9 am to 6 pm on Saturday.

The NFL Draft Experience will have interactive activities to give fans a fun time, if they are not interested in the

In order to show these fans the city of Nashville and what it’s all about, the planners of the draft have come up with an unbelievable setup for the event downtown. draft selections being made. Activities for the NFL Draft Experience include an autograph stage with current NFL players and with NFL legends, getting a photo with the Lombardi Trophy, and buying exclusive NFL merchandise from a special NFL store.

For kids, there will be interactive games, football clinics, and a Play 60 zone.

For the teens and adults, there will be a Combine Corner, where there will be a 40 yard dash and a Vertical Jump station. Lastly, there are two unique photo opportunities for fans. The first is the “Look Like a Pro” photo booth where you get to step inside a replica NFL Draft main stage holding the draft day jersey of your favorite team.

Secondly, there is the “Pepsi NFL Helmet Photo Opportunity” where you wear your favorite NFL team’s oversized helmet and take a picture. There were also be many local restaurants and food trucks available at the NFL Draft Experience.

Additionally, the actual picks will be sent in by team officials in the Schermerhorn Symphony, which will

be available to the public to watch from afar, although it would probably not be very exciting. Admission to all

On Thursday, I would leave MBA to go downtown by at least 6 pm because it is going to be really packed on opening night. activities at the NFL Draft will be free.

Butch Spyridon, the president and CEO of the Nashville Convention and Visitor Corporation, emphasized the importance of its being free, saying, “It will be interactive, immersive, entertaining, and free. With free being the buzzword.” Matt Shapiro, the NFL’s vice president of event strategy and integration, described his excitement for the draft by saying, “It will probably be the most energetic draft environment that we’ve had in terms of the energy that downtown Nashville already brings every day of the week”. Obviously the draft is a huge deal for the city, so you should definitely go at least one of the days if you are able to because there are going to be a lot of fun activities for those who aren’t even football fans.

Here would be the ideal plan to experience all of the activities that the draft has to offer. On Thursday, I would leave MBA to go downtown by at least 6 pm because it is going to be really packed on the opening night.

I would take in the experience at the Draft Main Stage and watch all the picks happen through the Titans pick at #19. Then, I would go eat dinner at a local place on Broadway and watch the remaining picks. If I had some extra time after eating dinner, I would go check out the Schermerhorn Symphony where the NFL teams send their picks in. After that, I would probably leave because the first round of the NFL Draft typically takes about 3-4 hours and traffic is probably going to be pretty bad. On Friday, I would go to the NFL Draft Experience by Nissan Stadium and check out the various activities to do there while also trying one of the local food trucks or restaurants at the NFL Draft Experience. Then, I would go across the Cumberland River to the NFL Draft Main Stage at the end of the 3rd round so I can watch the free Tim McGraw concert and enjoy some fireworks on Lower Broadway.

On Saturday, I would go back to the NFL Draft Experience and do all the activities that I did not do on Friday, as it probably won’t be as crowded on Saturday. Then, I would go watch the free Dierks Bentley concert after the conclusion of the 7th and final round of the draft and enjoy some fireworks at the end as well.

Overall, this should be a really fun event that everybody should attend, as it will give people from across the country a chance to see what Nashville is all about.

Downtown Nashville and Broadway in particular will be the main sight for the NFL Draft, which begins on April 25th.

PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons

THE BELL RINGER

April 18th, 2019

SPORTS

MBA Tennis: The Road to the Three Peat

By Patrick Pergande Contributor The MBA tennis team started off their season with one goal in mind: To win their third straight state title.

Freshly equipped with the brand new team socks and headbands (which did not arrive late), the MBA tennis team was determined to start off strong.

However, the season had a delayed start due to weather; a scrimmage against USN, and a trip to Louisville to play St. X and Trinity was cancelled.

Next, the MBA team traveled to DecoTurf to play against various schools across the country. DecoTurf proved to be a great warmup for the upcoming dual matches that MBA will have to face. MBA will open up their first match against Ensworth on April 2.

This match is expected to be a clean and easy sweep, as our team is determined to dominate the local and regional competition.

The team will be led by Coach Davidson, Coach Byrd, Coach Tym, and captains Hugh Graham, Nikhil

Peterson, and Richard Cummins.

MBA’s varsity team will consist of 4 seniors (Hugh Graham, Nikhil Peterson, Michael Nelson, and Reed Campbell), 4 juniors, 8 sophomores, 3 freshman, and 1 microbe. MBA’s

The fan support at the Carter Invitational is huge and helps the team significantly, but they are going to need that kind of support for matches against tough opponents like McCallie. strong starting roster consists of: singles: 1. Baylor Sai 2. Richard Cummins 3.

Hugh Graham 4. Anson Anderson 5.

Kinton Lewis and 6. Michael Nelson and for doubles: 1. Baylor Sai and Richard Cummins 2. Hugh Graham and Kinton Lewis and 3. Anson

Anderson and Sims Lance.

Right after Ensworth, the tennis team will leave to Chattanooga for the Rotary Tournament. After this match, MBA will have somewhat of a break with man dual matches against Lipscomb, Baylor and BA. MBA will be expecting clean sweeps of all of these early matches, with the exception of a well rounded Baylor team. After the BA match, MBA will be put to the test against its hardest opponent, McCallie.

McCallie is one of the state’s strongest teams this year. One of the team’s biggest goals this year is taking them down. After McCallie, MBA will face USN for the final head to head match of the season. Next, MBA will be put to the test when they compete at the Carter Invitational from April 26-27. After the Carter Invitational, the MBA team will begin its road to state. The trip to state will be a tough path to follow, as the competition in this year’s field is very difficult. The expectations for the tennis team this year are high, as a 3-peat would be a great accomplishment for this team.

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Make sure to come out to any of these matches to support the team on their quest to a 3-peat. The fan support at the Carter Invitational is huge and helps the team a lot, but they are going to need that kind of support for matches against tough opponents like McCallie. Overall, this team has the potential to make history and they are going to need the support of the fans.

The varsity tennis team enjoys some fine dining.

PHOTO: Jack Smartt

Play Ball: MBA Baseball in Full Swing

By Landen Rucker Contributor After seeming to have just concluded, crowning the Boston Red Sox as World Series champions, the MLB season is right around the corner.

The offseason was extremely calm up until the last few weeks of spring training. Significant headlines in the media include the retiring of Ichiro Suzuki, a soon to be hall of famer, the signing of Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract, and the signing of Mike Trout to a 12-year, $430

This annual spring break trip allows the team to develop a unique chemistry, which is almost always apparent in a championsip team.

million contract. After a successful offseason for some teams, MLB fans are excited to see if this is the season that their team wins a title for their franchise. At the high school level, the baseball season began over a month ago, consisting of practices and scrimmages with local opponents.

The MBA’s JV team began their season during the first week of March with a scrimmage against Hendersonville and played their first official series against Father Ryan during

the second week of March. The team suffered a close loss in the first game of the series but managed to put it in their rear-view mirror, winning the following two games and taking the series. After a relaxing spring break, the team took on an extremely talented and experienced CPA team. Although they lost both games of the series, they competed very well and displayed great potential. The team bounced back beating JPII the following day, but fell to Centennial the very next game. JV looks to be full of talented players that know the game of baseball but have yet to play to their full potential. Although, they are definitely a legitimate JV championship contender and are getting into the real

meat of their season where they will discover the type of team they truly are.

MBA’s varsity baseball team began their season in late February with multiple scrimmages of 4+ hours in length and played their first official series against Father Ryan during the second week of March as well.

Unfortunately, they lost the opening series two games to one, but had great moments during their 6-2 win and in the final game of the three-game set.

After practicing the next day along with a day of rest, varsity baseball traveled down to Orlando, Florida to play a set of games against various out of state schools on spring break. In Florida, they went on to win their first three games

Senior Brendan Harris walks back to the dugout with the team after hitting a two run home at JPII on March 28th.

PHOTO: Brett Berwager/Main Street Preps

on consecutive days, beating their first opponent (Open Bible Christian, a school in Georgia) with a score of 14-0. Off the diamond, the players enjoyed visiting Universal Studios and, according to Wylie Ritter, “hung out at the pool and played Super Smash Bros and 2K in each other’s rooms.”

This annual spring break trip allows the team to develop a unique chemistry, which is almost always apparent in a championship team. The team returned back to Nashville with an overall record of 5-3, going 3-2 while in Orlando. In their first week back from spring break, they swept a decent JPII team consisting of a couple of D1 college commits.

Coming up on the schedule, there are multiple important divisional matchups including games against Ensworth, McCallie, and Lipscomb, along with other significant games as well. If they continue to grow as a team and play to their full potential, the Big Red varsity baseball team will have the opportunity to do great things this spring.

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April 18th, 2019

SPORTS

THE BELL RINGER

Top 20 Highest Paid Athletes in NSH

GRAPH: Cade Thornton

By Cade Thornton Staff Writer There are a number of conclusions that could be drawn from this graphic.

To begin, basically no non-Titans or Predators athlete breaks the $1-4 million barrier, which should not be surprising considering there are really just two high-level pro sports teams in Nashville. Taylor Lewan lives a comfortable lifestyle. Ryan Succop objectively does not suck up to anyone, and finally, all Predators players on this list are actually from other countries like Canada and Switzerland (Suban and Roman Josi).

Noteworthy Mentions: Taylor Lewan Drafted by the Titans from

Michigan in 2014, Lewan is considered to be one of the league’s most formidable offensive lineman.

Racking up a massive, five-year 80 million dollar contract (50 million guaranteed), he is the highest paid lineman in NFL history, and easily has the largest body mass to net-worth ratio of any Tennessean in the history of Tennesseans ever.

Delanie Walker Signed by the Titans on March 12, 2013 from the 49ers, Walker has been nothing short of a godsend for many Titan seasons. However, while his stellar play cannot save the team from eternal mediocrity, evidence clearly shows that it does have the ability to expand his wallet to enormous proportions. He recently signed a two year, $17 million

contract extension ending next season.

PK Suban The Canadian Subanotor has been money for the Preds coming in the controversial trade in 2016 from his $76 million contract with the Canadiens in exchange for Shea Weber.

Having recorded an impressive 40 points in the Predator’s best season and demonstrated equal success recently, he will be earning himself a comfortable $9 million next year.

Pekka Rinne Finland-born Rinne has become a household name in Nashville after a number of All-Star seasons helped to propel the Nashville Predators to several long playoff runs and a Stanley Cup appearance. He will continue to keep

out pucks and rake in cash through his recently acquired two year, $10 million dollar contract extension Ryan Succop Drafted with the final pick of the 2009 NFL draft to the Kansas City Chiefs (awarding him the title of “Mr. Irrelevant”) and consequently being signed by the Titans later, Succop has proven that his titles are not at all harming his ability to place footballs in particular spots. Jokes about behaving obsequiously aside, what is not a joke is the amount of money being produced by this man’s feet. Securing a $20 million, five year contract extension for the next season, this terrific place kicker will have no trouble earning tens of thousands of dollars per field goal.

Playoffs in Smashville

By Jed Neal Contributor Every Nashvillian’s favorite time of the year is here. The rain is gone and spring has sprung, but Bridgestone Arena will stay cold for an extra month.

Put on your jerseys and bring out the catfish. For the fifth consecutive year, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are returning to Smashville!

The Nashville Predators have taken a step down from their incredible Presidents’ Cup regular season performance last year. However, the Predators managed to secure first in the Central Division, second in the Western Conference. Because they finished in first place, they they began a gruelling series against the stars. The Preds held a slight edge over the Stars in the regular season, winning 3 games to the Stars’ 2.

However, the Predators have made some improvement since the trade deadline by adding assets Mikael Granlund and Wayne Simmonds.

Though trading away Kevin Fiala was a controversial decision, Granlund

has been a solid player at center, who collected 67 points last season with the Minnesota Wild. Additionally, Fiala and management were not in agreement with respect to an extension of his contract, which would have resulted in free agency at the end of the season. Simmonds, traded from the Philadelphia Flyers, has been declining in performance in recent years, but so has the Nashville powerplay. The Predators powerplay has been one of the worst NHL powerplays in the 2018-19 season. As one of the most brilliantlyminded players on the powerplay, he proves himself to be valuable. The rightwing was acquired in a trade that sent Ryan Hartman to Philadelphia. Pekka Rinne has also played a major factor in the team’s success by stopping 91.7% of the shots coming his way. Rinne’s experience could also play a large role in the playoffs, but the 36-year-old may need a game to rest. Should he take a game off, the Predators’ increasing confidence in Juuse Saros will pay off.

The 23-year-old backup is the future of the team, a fact that management

has realized. He played 31 games this season, a five-game increase from the 26 games played in the 2017-18 season.

Throughout these 31 games, Saros has stopped 91.5% of shots along with 3 shutouts. Head coach Peter Laviolette has also proven to have success, leading the Predators to five consecutive playoff appearances in five seasons.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs always have a large impact on the city of Nashville. The Predators bring the diverse city together, especially as the city becomes flooded with gold during playoff season. Nashville’s culture can be seen at its best, and larger markets get to take notice. Before the game, the pre-party at Bridgestone Arena is the place to be. There, the most popular attraction is the “Smash car,” where avid Preds fans line up to take a sledgehammer to a car painted in the opposing team’s colors. If you can’t make it to Bridgestone, the Predators have also announced official watch party locations. The locations include Topgolf and various Buffalo Wild Wings locations; many more will come.

These watch parties will be giving away Predators souvenirs such as a banners, shirts, stickers, bracelets, and more.

The catfish has also become an iconic symbol of Predators fandom. The tradition goes back to the first few years of the franchise. Fans began throwing catfish on the ice in response to the Red Wings’ tradition of throwing squids onto the ice. Last year, the Predators unveiled a tank to house a number of catfish picked up from the ice.

As the Predators geared-up for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Nashvillians prepared to cheer for their team. Gold jerseys will overwhelm the downtown area and, most importantly, Bridgestone Arena. The Predators have had another season of incredible attendance ratings, filling an average 101.9% of the arena, according to ESPN. As the city begins to rally around the Predators, get ready for what hopes to be a deep playoff run.

Splitting games with Dallas at home was not ideal, but Craig Smith kept the Preds from crisis mode with a huge overtime goal on prom night.

THE BELL RINGER

April 18th, 2019

SPORTS/FEATURES

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How to Address One and Done Problem in Basketball

By Bo Wilbanks Staff Writer As the college basketball season begins to come to a close, fans will see many players such as Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett end their seasons, and begin to prepare for the upcoming NBA Draft. After less than a year of college, they will now leave and become professionals. They, among with numerous other players, came to college intending not to graduate, but to enter the NBA Draft after a quick stop at college. This idea of players who are destined for the NBA out of high school having to go to college for one year and not straight to the NBA where they will be anyway in less than a year seems quite ridiculous and unnecessary.

However, due to the rule that the

ADMISSIONS, from Page 9 took the place of the picnic, with its goal to reach out to minority families and public school students around Nashville. The admissions department is “constantly working” on marketing for this event, in hopes of continually improving diversity at MBA. Another significant program in attracting a diverse group of students is the Wilson Summer Scholars program,

NBA put in place in 2005, the age limit was increased to 19 in order to change the quality of play. In 2005, league officials became worried that players coming straight out of high school needed an extra year of maturation both as a basketball player and as an adult in society. Its attempt to benefit both the players and the teams has not worked out the way that the NBA would have hoped. Players coming out of high school are becoming more advanced basketball players than they ever have, and many people are pushing to change the rule. Among those pushing to change the rule is NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Silver has put an emphasis on reversing the rule since he became head of the league and is actively working with the NCAA to reach a compromise.

This pursuit of a rule change is fueled by the revenues the league would gain. For example, if Zion Williamson were playing in the NBA right now and were able to go to the league without going to college, he would immediately become a fan favorite and perennial AllStar in a sport driven by its star players.

However, with the NBA gaining revenue, the NCAA would lose some.

The NCAA has always been known as a money-seeking organization that will scrap to get every dime they can, and if that comes at the extent of an athlete’s career, so be it. The NCAA is the only thing stopping this rule from already having been reversed, and will continue to cause problems in the process. What the NCAA does not realize is that losing the one and dones will not have as large of an impact as

they think it will. If you look at the Final Four teams this year, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Auburn, and Virginia, these teams have historically been programs that rely on veteran players rather than one and dones, and this year is no exception. Even though they do not have the flashy one and done players that college basketball would likely lose to the Draft, they still were able to reach the Final Four and are the best of the best in college basketball.

It is for reasons like these that the NCAA should calm down and work with the NBA. College basketball will still be great and will likely improve as a sport as will the NBA. The answer is clear in this instance, and it’s now on the NBA and NCAA to do the right thing and change the rule.

a program for rising 5th and rising 6th grade minority students in public schools in Nashville. Ms. Harrington goes and visits about 15 or 16 different public schools and tells the counselors about the program, and the school helps high achieving students apply for it. During the program itself, the students go everyday to a science class taught by Coach Barclay, a math class taught by Coach Golenor, an English

class taught by Dr. Tarkington, and art and debate classes as well. The program lasts for two weeks, and the students get a feel for what it’s like to be an MBA student. The goal is that some of these students will become interested in being permanent students here, and the program has shown success in creating that interest.

The admissions department notes that MBA still needs improvement in

the area of diversity, but its current initiatives to foster diversity and live up to MBA’s mission to create a diverse community certainly have had positive effects. In the future, the admissions department will continue to focus on improving that aspect and try to build a diverse, strong student body.

Bell Ringer Feature Photo: “And Miles to Go...”

On April 18, MBA students celebrated the final theme day of the year. The photo ahove, taken last theme day, lends insight to the sadness every student feels when he finishes his theme but still has more to say about the novel.

PHOTO: Dr. Gabe Carro

22

NEWS

SYMPOSIUM, from Page 2 other’s cultures. Finally, the students prepared independently a final accord that summarized their view on culture and how the world should proceed in the future. This accord was the summation of a week of new idea and was read aloud in a final banquet before departing back to the States.

The purpose of the symposium was to discuss how students from different countries view the origin and current role of culture in their own communities. However, as seen, the trip encompassed far more than note taking during lectures and discussions.

The overall experience of the trip had three major imprints on us.

VOUCHER, from Page 3 profit-driven change in which students could choose what schools they think would be best for them.

This school voucher proposal is similar in many ways to other proposals made throughout history, and each has been faced with the same moral dilemma. A voucher program, while undeniably useful for getting a few kids into better schools, is a band-aid to a much larger education problem in the country. Critics say that a voucher program is just the government’s giving up on public schools, something that has been an

April 18th, 2019

THE BELL RINGER

The first was the subject information.

Between the lectures from field experts, the student discussions about societal norms, and the projects that other schools presented, we learned more about the importance of culture and values than we could have possibly imagined. The second major impact was the foreign experience.

We lived in a building that was drastically different from the average American household. Everything from the showers to the light switches were unique. Living in an unfamiliar environment broadened our views on the relativity of societal norms amongst different countries. Because the staff also allotted a significant

amount of time to exploring the city, we were able to embrace many aspects of Indian culture, from slums to country clubs. The third and most important effect was the community we created. Meeting with students our age from different corners of the world not only allowed us to learn more about life outside of the US, but also make lasting relationships with people that we would have never had the opportunity to meet. Even after the Symposium ended, we still keep in touch, discussing reunion scheduling and practical applications for what we learned.

In the coming year, the event will occur in Colombia and it will be

rebranded as the Montgomery Bell Academy International Symposium, headed by Mr. Gioia. This new level of involvement from our school will offer many great opportunities. It is important that we, as a school, continue to represent the US under any topic of discussion, because when we engage in the Symposium, we are not only learning about the opinions of other nations, but also educating the others about American ideologies.

This knowledge production coupled with the unique experience of living in a different city with peers from across the globe made the International Symposium a fantastic school trip.

integral part of this country since the 19th century. Proponents of the program say the public schools in Davidson county had their shot and have failed, but have the schools been given a truly fair shot? New York City has some of the best public schools in the country. Why? Because they spend twice the amount of money on each student than Davidson county schools.

Education works when no expense is spared. It should be shockingly expensive because it’s one of the most important government services.

Not only does the voucher program undercut the value of public schools,

but also it undermines the Teacher’s Union, one of the few remaining strong unions in America. The most important part of a school is arguably the teachers, and taking away their negotiating power when it comes to salary and benefits is not going to attract the enthusiastic, intelligent, and persistent teachers our school systems need. However, these idealistic critics of the proposal who advocate for a deeper, more expensive, and comprehensive overhaul of the public school system are going to face reasonable doubt and opposition from skeptics. As of now, Nashville simply

cannot afford to double the education budget in the current budget, so unless the budget is reconstructed in a major way, Davidson County schools will remain subpar. In that case, it’s hard to deny a better education for the students who would receive the vouchers. A child only has one education, and it’s detrimental to keep them in a subpar school when another solution might exist. So once again, the conversation returns to the original problem with school vouchers; it’s an interesting but temporary fix to a deeper problem.

“The Most Dangerous Game” by Mickey Kelly

THE BELL RINGER

April 18th, 2019

CLASS NEWS

23

Freshmen Love Macbeth, Study Shakespeare at Home

By Larson Looney and Reid Smith Contributors The freshman class has had a good couple of weeks leading up to spring break and a relaxing time away from school. As the end of the school year approaches, many new activities are beginning to roll into action. While many sport seasons are kicking off for the spring, the JV hockey team, led by goalie Robert Holliday, won the state championship against Hendersonville High School. JV lacrosse has also kicked off their season with Pierce “big hit” Hill’s getting questionably the longest penalty in the history of the tri-state area in one of the opening games. On the chessboard, Dhruv Chandra, using his “two games at once strategy.” led a

team with Bill Ouyang to a high-school state championship. Along with the big flashy trophy this winning team also received, the participants on the winning team of the tournaments received full scholarships offered from Tennessee Tech.

Also in the world of sports, the NCAA Basketball Tournament kicked off and concluded, leaving very few people satisfied with their brackets.

The sea of orange spread throughout the grade suffered a tough loss against the Boilermakers in the Elite Eight.

While those fans are still mourning their loss, the other shade of orange seen throughout the halls saw a little more success with Auburn’s impressive run to the Final Four. The tough team of Virginia, filled with clutch free throw

shooting, proved barely too much for the Tigers.

In the world of entertainment, Macbeth has been capturing the attention of the whole grade.

Denton Sensing, when asked about the book said, “Uhh… I liked the characterization of Macbeth.” As Sensing’s unenthusiastic response does not represent the liking of the Bard, the rest of the grade seemed to enjoy the brutal murders and weird imagery that occur throughout the book. The freshman/sophmore rave, or the 309, entertained the class before spring break. With everyone in the grade’s being at school on Monday, it’s safe to say that the night went well.

Spring break tends to entail two main types of vacations for students

among the class. About 90% of people go skiing, while the other half go to the beach. We can thank our boy Yogi for that one. Spring break remains a key way to pass the time from the end of the 3rd quarter to the beginning of the 4th quarter. Also over spring break, a group of freshmen and sophomores, along with our Harpeth Hall counterparts, went on a service trip to the Dominican Republic. A fun time was had by all, as the people were gracious, the food delicious, and the wheelies plentiful. After a well earned, deserved, and a most of all needed vacation, the class looks to get back on track as the 4th quarter picks up pace. Let’s just try to keep the raves to a minimum boys.

Sophomores Make Friends, Switch Allegiances Over Spring Break

By Bo Wilbanks Staff Writer After a Spring Break that felt way too short, the class of 2021 is back in action to finish the year off strong.

First off, we would like to recognize the tremendous freshman class. You guys are the heart and soul of every JV team, sophomore party, and parking lot, and your impact is felt by us all.

Jackson Pickett and I would like to give a special thank you for everything you guys do, or rather do not do! We love you guys. Anyways, who is ready for the 309? Here in the Class of ‘21, we definitely were, as the school welcomed many visitors to the campus. The night was absolutely one to remember and

the class benefited greatly. Thank you to everyone who helped out and we appreciated your commitment to the Class of 2021.

Spring break was enjoyed by many members of the class, even Breckenridge Curnutte, Lucas Cashwell, and Sebastian Garcia, who were nursing gnarly injuries throughout, but fought through the pain and were able to live it up. Over the break, many members created bonds that they will always cherish. Whether it be Ramsey Cole, Zak Herbstreit, and the rest of the Block Boys who shared a bond with “DJ” and “Coach Brother D,” or Colyer Haddock’s newfound friendship he made at the beach, the Class of 2021 has forged new bonds. I interviewed

Colyer Haddock about the lasting relationships built over Spring Break, and he responded saying, “Yeah, I’m going on my official to Appalachian State this weekend.” Arguably the best part of Spring Break, however, was the NCAA Tournament. Boys could be seen watching games all day, including life-long Auburn basketball fan James Kinard, who unbelievably predicted his beloved team into the Final Four.

Stanford Thombs also watched much basketball that week, rooting very hard for North Carolina, then mysteriously switching his allegiance after UNC took a loss to Virginia, as seen by his sweatshirt, then again switching allegiance to The University of Texas, as reflected by his sweatshirt, hoping to

lead them to an NIT victory. Basketball games were not the only thing lost, however, as Flynn McRae lost his car keys, inside of his car, which evidently has very poor gas mileage. Rumor has it that he is still searching today.

In conclusion, the boys of ‘21 are slowly winding down the spring semester. It has been a long year, and with each other’s help, we will conquer sophomore year. If you see Jack Edwards, check in on him and ask him, “Jack, are you ok?” Comments such as these will help us get through the 4th quarter. Keep working, guys, we can do this. Until next time, keep it classy, boys. Also, the slowly recovering Patrick Wilk is still the toughest guy in the grade.

Juniors Avoid Robbers, Get Robbed of Another Comrade

By Zach Brown and McGavock Cooper Copy Editor and News Editor While the third quarter has been uneventful for nearly everybody on The Hill, for a certain student who was not on the hill this quarter it was anything but uneventful. Unfortunately, we must mourn the loss of another comrade, who, while gone from the hill, always occupies a space in our hearts and souls.

It is reported that Dudley Harmer has left us behind at least for the rest of the year, and he will join the legendary ranks of Jairo, Niles, and Colby (as well as Coleman, Fandy, Jack Dyer, Matthew Miller, Aaron White, Clayton Malone, Blake Perdikis, Black Degner, and many others whose names have been lost in history) in his departure from life at MBA. Seeing as Dudley could return at some point, the committee will wait to nominate him as an honorary member

of our class, and he will not yet be able to join the ranks of Mr. Carlini and New Pizza Guy. The months of February and March are notoriously the most difficult of MBA. However, the Class of 2020 emerged from their theme-induced depression into a spring break for the ages. Now, although it wasn’t as siiiiiick as the Senior Punta Cana trip, the juniors managed to have a good time.

The best part of spring break, however, is returning to school for the fastpaced, thrilling antics of field day. The juniors came prepared to win, and some literally prepared, as Haynes Owen was on the court getting warmed up the Sunday before for his big performance in basketball against a stacked Cardinal team. Dan shocked everyone when he was only able to do 57 pullups. We expected a lot; we didn’t get much.

However, spring break was almost cut short for the London trip by a knife

gang. Seeing Creighton Laub straggling behind the pack while returning from a late dinner, a few blokes snatched and smashed his phone. Never one to back down from a fight, Ben Lindsey stepped in to defend his classmate, trading verbal insults about a gang member’s “mum.” But when the gang members flashed knives, the boys made the smart move and let Matthew Ulm incapacitate the remaining attackers. The bravery of these boys “Over There” is a testament to American toughness and strength.

The identity of these attackers is still unknown, but some suspect the gang leader was Dudley.

Not all of the backstabbing occurred across the pond, however. In the midst of all the promposals, Ritchie Akatue decided to ask the love of his life to prom. In doing so, he cut deep into another student’s heart. The Bell Ringer recommends that the boys settle this like gentleman, and have an assembly

chess battle for the lady’s hand.

The junior class saw great success at prom. Even though Aden Barton claimed to have a list of names who were suspected Communists, I mean hadn’t done concessions, and threatened to sign them all up for clean up duty and another Poinsettia morning, prom went smoothly, and the cleanup crew got the job done the following day.

Finally, the junior class had its officer elections last week, and, like it has the last three years, the status quo remained, which calls some to wonder whether the class is satisfied with the current elected officials or if no one pays enough attention to want a change.

As we enter into the warm spring, let’s finish out junior year the same way we began it, with a smile and an unwavering desire to get all of our work done with an eagerness to learn.

Special Issue MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY 4001 HARDING ROAD, NASHVILLE, TN APRIL 18, 2019 | VOLUME LXXV, NO. 5

The Bell

Gordon Chenery Retires After 30 Years on The Hill

Our Man of Science