April 2017 Index

The Index Ευταξια Σωζειν Δοκει

April 2017

Volume LXXVIII, No. 7

Haverford, Pennsylvania

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The extra time mystery debunked David Niedzwicki ’17 of students are only eligible for one-and-a-half time. Acquiring extended time for the SAT or ACT, the two standardized tests used by colleges for undergraduate admission, is a separate process. Haverford will support a student with the necessary paperwork as he applies for extended time on these tests, but it is up to the review boards from the SAT or ACT to make their own decisions. Dr. Greenblatt noted that it is possible for a student to have extended time at Haverford but not be eligible for it on the college standardized tests. Among students, extra time remains controversial. Fifth Former Ryan Sanfilippo said, “Every time someone brings up the topic of extra time, an argument often ensues with the students who don’t have it saying if they had it then they would get perfect scores on their tests and on the SAT/ACT, and the kids who do have extended time arguing why they need it.” At its core, discussion about extended time centers around whether or not the system of extended time presents an unfair advantage to those who use it. One of the foremost topics that plays into the arguments about unfair advantages is cost. Theoretically, there are two ways in which a student can undergo the testing required for extended time. The first way is through a student’s sending school district, which is where he would go to school if he went to public school. After contacting his sending school district, he would be eligible to receive an examination free of charge. However, this option is not widely known nor used. Sixth Former Connor Lees said, “[I] didn’t know that getting extended time for free was an option” when he was undergoing the process to be approved for extended time. A second option is through a private examination. The cost of these examinations is

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The topic of extended time, also known as extra time, is a polarizing school issue. Some students don’t understand why it’s used, how it works, or even why it so controversial. Schools design systems of extended time to allow for a level playing field. The Enrichment and Learning Center (ELC) manages extended time, as well as other accommodations for students with learning differences. Currently seventeen percent of the upper school student body qualifies. ELC Director Dr. Pamela Greenblatt noted that there are many ways a student’s need for extended time becomes apparent. Sometimes, a student himself can elevate concerns about not being able to complete tests and work on time. Other times, a teacher or parent will bring up a student’s struggles to the ELC. In order to qualify for extended time, a student must undergo testing from a psychologist or neuropsychologist. Dr. Greenblatt described an intense battery of tests that look at a student’s cognitive potential in comparison to his achievement scores. In addition, the tests look at attention, focus, distractibility, and executive functioning. The testing is considered valid for five years before a student must re-test. In rare cases, medical conditions require the use of extended time. In this situation, a student’s treating physician would work with Haverford’s health services to provide the accommodations. Once testing is complete, a student will meet with the ELC to discuss the next steps. Dr. Greenblatt noted that the ELC offers a wide variety of accommodations besides extended time, such as quiet space, preferential seating in classrooms, and use of computers on tests. The ELC also works with students on time management, studyskill strategies, and organization. After proper documentation is secured, and the student discusses extended time with the ELC, he will be able to use it in his classes. Extended time is offered either as one-and-a-half time or double time. Dr. Greenblatt noted that the vast majority

Chen said, “[Facebook posts] will not solve the issue. If a thief is willing to steal, then he does not care about complaints online.”

Chen recently had a pair of expensive headphones stolen from his bag on the Rounders. He believes that security cameras could be a good

investment, albeit costly. Stealing has, however, somewhat slowed after the rapid exposure of the issue on social media.

cont. page 3

Recent thefts unnerve student body Biagio DeSimone ’19 Multiple incidents of theft have left the student body feeling outraged and uneasy. The incidents have threatened the bonds of trust that connect community members within the school’s walls. Student perspectives give us an insight into the effect on the school. Fourth Former Adam Salvaggio said, “I think it damages our community.” Many other students are disgusted and angered. “I believe it is uncharacteristic of Haverford,” Third Former Matthew Mignucci said. “I have seen the distress from the people it has affected, and it needs to stop.” Sixth Former Frankie D’Angelo was outraged when all of the money was taken from his wallet. “My trust in this place has built up over the last few years, but all of this has recently been put it to the test,” D’Angelo said. The Haverford School community has developed a sense of trust and safety between students. A strong wall takes strenuous work to build, but just a couple of knocks to crumble. Theft is not an issue that should persist at a place like Haverford. So what can be done to resolve the issue? Immediately after having possessions stolen, most students took to the student Facebook group. Fourth Former Intel

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havindex.com exclusive The Limits of Brotherhood by Josh Ridenhour ’17

Also inside this issue... Robotics takes on worlds: pg. 3

DAVID BUNN ’17

The Art Museum’s must-see exibit: pg. 11

PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART

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The Index

Announcements

April 2017

Taking a page from Ellsberg’s seven thousand Before Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, there was Daniel Ellsberg. The Defense Department assigned the military strategist to design a top-secret plan to escalate the war in Vietnam. Upon compiling this study, he titled it U.S. Decision-Making in Vietnam, 1945-1968. Doubting the integrity of his work, Ellsberg decided to photocopy this 7,000-page report, dubbed the Pentagon Papers, and leak it to the

The New York Times, The Washington Post, and 17 other newspapers. On April 12-13, 2017, the 27th annual Davis R. Parker Memorial History Lecture featured Daniel Ellsberg himself in Ball Auditorium and Centennial Hall. Ellsberg covered U.S. foreign policy decisions during the Vietnam War, discussing both the country’s actions then and its duty now. With the Syrian war escalating,

Ellsberg adapted his experience with the Vietnam War into wisdom on current-day political crises. He revealed that the United States’ first covert foreign regime change was the 1949 Syrian coup. This change of power initiated the military and insurgent pandemonium that still consumes Syria today under the tumultuous reign of President Bashar al-Assad. Having uprooted the last democratic government of Syria to date, the United States must face the consequences of its enduring actions. It seems all actions, even if covert and unseen, have very real ramifications.

Having uprooted the last democratic government of Syria to date, the United States must face the consequences of its enduring actions. It seems all actions, even if covert and unseen, have very real ramifications.

2016-17 Editors-in-Chief. From left to right: Samuel Turner, Connor Lees, and George Rubin.

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The Index was fortunate to attend lunch with Ellsberg after the student assembly and hear how he reached his decision to release the Pentagon Papers. Torn between a promise of secrecy and his moral code, Ellsberg abandoned his formal duties in favor of the latter. He fateful decision was not complicated: his allegiance was to the Constitution and the Constitution only. The public deserved to know the genuine state

of U.S.-Vietnam affairs, so Ellsberg sacrificed his federal career in hopes of ushering in an overdue end to the war. Ellsberg devoted his life to the Constitution; each one of us must consider what we devote ourselves to and what we are willing to sacrifice for the greater good.

Ellsberg devoted his life to the Constitution; each one of us must consider what we devote ourselves to and what we are willing to sacrifice for the greater good. During the lunch, one student asked Ellsberg why he -- facing 13 counts and 115 years in prison -- didn’t seek asylum abroad, as Snowden did. Ellsberg answered that he stood behind his actions and was willing to take ownership of any and all repercussions. Another student asked him how we, as young men entering society, can find truth among the falsehoods of politics and biases of media. He answered that we must trust our gut and take everything with a grain of salt. This age of post-truth politics must be countered with individual instinct. Let us all take a page from one of Ellsberg’s seven-thousand as we seek to find our own truth in a post-truth world.

Letter from the Student Body President Evan Scott June 9th, boys. It’s almost time, and as most of us know, after April comes May (I’m very smart). May flowers, beautiful weather, and lackadaisical attitudes are always going to abound. But we have nary a day to be lackadaisical. Seriously, boys, these last weeks are 100% crunch time. It’s the 4th Quarter of the 4th Quarter. It’s OT, sudden victory. Or, depending on how you finish the year, sudden death. My point is that all of us need to take this last month or two of classes very seriously. Seniors, maybe not so much, but we are the vast minority of the student body. The other 300 or so of you definitely need to batten down the hatches here and make the finals count for something. I would really like to see smiles and stuff from people walking out of final exam classrooms. Not the smiles that say “Holy [insert curse word here] I was not ready for that at all.” I don’t want those smiles.

So for you Third Formers that find yourselves lost in the scholastic sauce, keep looking up! There is still time for you. Fourth Formers, crunch time next year like I’ve said before. Get on your horses, men.

I used to have a ton of problems with motivation. I would try to do all of my homework during my one or two frees during school because I would convince myself that I didn’t have the attention span to do it while I was home. I’d get home, sit on the couch, make myself some dinner, shower, nap, I’d create excuses as to how homework was the last thing on my list of priorities. And then I’d totally bomb tests and quizzes in epic fashion and wonder what went wrong. This was a vicious cycle that would toss me around for a couple of years, Third and Fourth Form. So for you Third Formers that find yourselves lost in the scholastic sauce, keep looking up! There is still time for you. Fourth Formers, crunch time next year like I’ve said before. Get on your horses, men.

Upcoming Service Events: Friday, April 21st: Lower School Walk for Water, Sabol Field Track Thursday, May 18th: Home Run Derby

The Index’s

2016-2017 Staff

Connor Lees ‘17, Editor-in-Chief George Rubin ‘17, Editor-in-Chief Samuel Turner ‘18, Editor-in-Chief Bill Wu ‘17, News Editor Will Henderson ‘18, Opinions Editor P.J. Rodden ‘18, Sports Editor Grant Sterman ‘18, Politics Editor David Bunn ‘17, Photography Editor Harper Weigle ‘17, Website Technician Andrew Lengel ‘17, Outdex Editor Will Pechet ‘17, Outdex Editor Mr. Thomas Stambaugh, Faculty Advisor Ms. Alicia Evans, Faculty Advisor

All opinions and viewpoints expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of The Index or the school. The Index is designed and produced digitally. Photographs may be retouched. Submissions and letters to the editors regarding any and all articles are welcomed at index@haverford.org.

Student Body President Evan Scott looks forward to ending the year strong.

JOHN NOSTRANT

The Index is a student-run publication of the Haverford School that does more than bring news: it provides the diverse perspectives of the Haverford student body. It is an outlet for student writers to take stands on issues they deem important. It chronicles the daily struggles and accomplishments of the Haverford community. The Index also provides a forum for discussion of pertinent issues, such as student culture, academic policy, and Haverford’s place in world affairs. The Index presents new ideas and aspires to influence constructive change. The Index, a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, is composed on Mac OS X, using Adobe InDesign CS 2015. Its surveys are conducted via SurveyMonkey and are advertised on Facebook to current Haverford students. Southern Dutchess News prints 200-400 copies of each issue, and its editorial staff distributes them in the Upper School on the day of release. The Index serves the needs of a total school population of 1091 community members, consisting of 975 students and 116 faculty members. Contact The Index: 450 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041 index@haverford.org Twitter: @Haverford_Index http://www.havindex.com/ (610) 642-3020 x. 1222 Volume LXXVIII, No. 7 - April 20, 2017

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The Index

News/Features

April 2017

Robotics team gears up for Worlds Aditya Sardesai ’20 After a wildly successful season, the Robotics team seeks a strong finish at the VEX Robotics World Championships in mid April. Five Haverford teams will head to Louisville, Kentucky to compete against the best robots from all 50 states and various countries around the globe. The teams that are going are 169A (Sixth Former Mohid Khan and Fourth Former Scott Shaw), 169E (Fourth Formers Will Clark, Intel Chen, Jared Hoefner, and Nick Chimicles), 169D (Form II students Safa Obuz, Owen Gormley, Maxim Kreider, and Manny Winikur), 169X (Fifth Former Kyle Wagner and Third Formers Daniel Chow, Toby Ma, and Aditya Sardesai), and 169Y (Sixth Formers Cal Williams, Chris Williams, Fourth Former Vincent Corradetti, and Third Former Bennett Twitmyer). The team is coached by Mr. Eli Canavati, Mr. Dan Troy, Ms. Abby Sydnes, and Director of Robotics Ms. Holly Golecki. This year’s game is essentially two teams throwing game pieces over a central fence into two different zones for various numbers of points. The match is started by a fifteen-second autonomous period in which the robot does a pre-programmed set of movements to score as many points as possible. The team that scores the most points after those fifteen seconds receives a bonus in additional points. The fifteen seconds are followed by a one minute, forty-five second user control period where drivers use remote controls to drive and attempt to score as many points as possible. A robot, at any time, can hang on one of the pillars protruding from the corner of the field for an additional point bonus. The team designs, builds, tests, and repeats the process until the optimal robot is built. “It is a full-year process for those of us going to worlds,” Clark said. The years starts out with a detailed analysis of the game, key objectives, aspects of the game, importance of various parts of the game, and possible strategies. After having a clear plan Clark said he and his team, “Jump right in. We come up with a design, built it, program it, test it, and practice it [the robot].” Heading to Worlds, Team 169E has designed, built, and tested seven different robots before finally landing on the robot which they currently are planning on using at Worlds. The World Championship marks the end of the VEX Robotics season where the best teams

from across the globe come together to compete in a massive competition. As the largest and fastest-growing middle and high school robotics competition, it has become increasingly more difficult to qualify. The five Haverford teams have won numerous local level tournaments qualifying them for the Eastern Pennsylvania State championships. There, division finalists qualified to go to Worlds. Haverford teams 169A and 169X won their division and the tournament, while teams 169E and 169Y won their division and lost in the tournament finals. Team 169A is considered one of the top-10 teams in the world. Team 169D won the middle school tournament and received the excellence award, the highest honor given to a team at a competition. When it comes to Worlds, morale is high — “We’re on par with the top tier teams around the world,” Coach Eli said. The boys seem to channel the same enthusiasm

as Fifth Former Scott Shaw, who has competed at worlds five times already. Shaw said, “My confidence going into worlds is probably the highest it ever has been; my goal is to win or do as well as I possibly can.” Looking ahead to his second Worlds, Clark said, “The goal is to do better than last year. I would like to win my division, but it all comes down to luck.” Sixth Former Mohid Khan, whose 169A robot is ranked in the top 10 in the world, described his robot as, “the best one I’ve ever taken to worlds.” With all this confidence there is still a sense of anxiety. At Worlds-level competition, one small mistake can cost a team the match. Coach Canavati said, “It’s a mixed bag. You don’t really know what you’re going to get, you could be 100% ready and have the best robot but have a tough match schedule.” Khan and Clark both expressed the same

apprehension about the World Championships “You never know what will happen at Worlds,” said Khan. “You could be the best team in the world and still get unlucky.” Clark expressed a similar stance on the fact that a big part of Worlds is luck. For Chow, a first-time Worlds attender, it is about the experience. “I am nervous because it’s my first Worlds. Regardless of what happens I will enjoy the experience,” Chow said. The experience of Worlds is the highlight of the season for the Robotics boys. Describing Worlds, Shaw said, “[It is] very busy and stressful at times, but also full of energy and loads of fun.” VEX boasts of having competitors in over forty countries. Shaw said, “You’re gathered with the top 500 teams from around the world, speaking languages that you don’t understand, and it’s really great to see that so many others also have an interest in Robotics.”

high — Dr. Greenblatt said they range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. The cost of a private examination is not covered by insurance because it is not considered a medical expense. As such, problems arise when some families may be able to afford these examinations while others may not. Sixth Former Jared Holeman said, “I think the high costs mean that privileged kids have a lot greater access to extra time than less privileged kids. I think that most people that have it should have it. Who am I to say otherwise? It sometimes seems that not everyone that has it needs it, and since privileged kids have more access to it, they have a greater likelihood of misusing it.” Some think that some students with extended time may be manipulating the system for their own gain, likely in order to be admitted to a

better college. Sixth Former William McDevitt said, “Students in advanced classes often question the legitimacy of some of their peers’ reasons for having extended time, and it breeds some tension between the students.” Another part of this perceived advantage relates to the SAT and ACT, required standardized tests that play a role in admissions decisions for almost every major college or university. On the ACT with writing, having time-and-a-half increases the allowed time from three hours and thirty-five minutes to almost six hours. If a student qualifies for more than time-and-a-half, which would generally be reserved for more severe learning differences, they may be eligible to take the test on separate days, at their own school, and without any significant time restrictions. The ACT

approves about 90% of extended time requests, and the SAT approves about 85%. Students with extended time make up 4% of ACT test-takers and 2% of SAT test-takers. The nationwide average of students who qualify for extended time on the ACT or SAT is significantly lower than the percentage of students at Haverford who qualify for extended time. Among students, it is the ACT rather than the SAT that draws the most attention as being more beneficial to students with extended time. Sixth Former Mohid Khan attributes this to the nature of the test. “I found that the ACT’s material itself isn’t too difficult; rather, it is the time constraint which makes the test challenging,” Khan said. However, Dr. Greenblatt said, “Just because students have extended time doesn’t mean that it’s

adequate for them to finish the sections either... Some students don’t have the option of reading any faster.” Colleges are unable to see if a student took a test with or without extended time. Until 2004, scores from students with extended time were “flagged” so that college would be able to tell that the test-taker did not take the test under the usual time constraints. However, the makers of the tests were sued and had to remove the flagging feature in order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA requires Haverford and other schools to provide extended time under the law.

passion in mathematics, the sciences, or any other departments. “Although I love my free period,” Fourth Former A.J. Aivazoglou said, “it seems unfortunate that those without interest in the arts have [no other electives] to pursue academically until junior and senior year.” Although the idea of underclassmen being able to pursue their passions sounds great, it may not be entirely practical. “As much as I love the idea of there potentially being more electives available to underclassmen, it doesn’t seem practical considering faculty size, class space, time, and the knowledge level of the underclassmen,” Fourth Former Sam Gavula said. The practicality of having teachers teach these new electives is unlikely, because our teachers are already so busy that many simply do not have the time to teach an entirely new class. To fix this problem, the school would have to hire more

teachers. While this seems simple, it can actually be a long and expensive process that will most likely not be approved by the school’s heads. The next issue that Gavula brought up is class space. Where are these theoretical elective classes going to be held? Although not all classrooms are being used, an elective’s location may raise complications every class period. In addition, a detailed and confusing schedule would have to be made so that the classes could take place on a consistent basis. Gavula also brought up the issue of time. Although many would love to pursue a passion of theirs, they may also want a free period. Free periods are valuable tools that can be extremely helpful to those that have after-school activities. In Fourth Form the requirement of gym class would force students to take both gym and their elective thus losing their prized free period.

The final major issue with the electives is the underclassmen’s lack of knowledge. Many of the more popular math and science electives require that students have taken a higher-level math so that they can comprehend and keep up with the class. For example, Statistics requires students to have completed Precalculus so that they can understand the mathematics being taught. Therefore, the overwhelming majority of underclassmen will be limited in their course selection because they lack the classes that set the foundation of the elective topic. Even though at first glance, the idea of expanding our underclassmen’s horizons with electives seems to be a good idea, there are simply too many problems associated with the idea thus making it unlikely to happen at Haverford.

Extra time cont.

Mohid Khan ’17, Daniel Chow ’20, and Toby Ma ’20 in final stages of preparation for the World Championship.

DAVID BUNN ’17

Lack of underclass electives not catering to student interests Nick Pippis ’19

All ages of Haverford students have interests in the differing fields of academia. Departments introduced electives so that students could pursue specific passions and interests. With March course selections now behind us, many students find themselves upset with the lack of selection available to them. For rising Fourth Formers, the only electives available were in the arts. Fourth Former David Hurly siad, “I feel lucky that I am into the arts and that I am therefore able to pursue my passions through elective courses as an underclassmen.” Although our arts department does a great job of providing the student body with a wide variety of engaging and interesting courses, some Fourth Formers chose not to take another art, taking a free period instead. Although free periods are great resources for getting work out of the way, they hinder students from pursuing their

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The Index

News/Features

April 2017

Debate team leaves districts with medals and memories Grant Sterman ’18 This season, the Speech and Debate Club emerged successful. Throughout the year, the teams encountered tough resolves and fierce competition, yet they found a way to triumph time and time again. Under the guidance of Sr.

Javier Lluch and Mr. Kyle Traynham, Speech and Debate enjoyed improvement and victory from all of its members — not to mention all of the memories made, laughing over crazy framework arguments, and inventing fake source names. The

Xavi Segel ’18, Luke Egan ’18, Jack Biddle ’17, Lawrence Hunter ’17 pose with awards.

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team this year was a perfect conglomeration of age and experience, allowing for new growth all around. There were three clear highlights of the year at the most important tournaments. At the Unionville district tournament, the teams competed at the highest level of debate and against top-level contenders. Despite the challenge, the Varsity Public Forum (PF) team of Fifth Formers co-captain Luke Egan and Xavi Segal and the Junior Varsity Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debater Fifth Former Eusha Hasan both finished third in their respective categories. Then, at the biggest tournament of the season, the University of Pennsylvania Liberty Bell Classic, five teams and one individual from Haverford competed in a weekend-long debate consisting of six rounds. Whether the debates were centered on the Cuban embargo or free speech, every debater gained invaluable experience. Although no Haverford debater made it to the elimination rounds at Penn, they came away with great memories and extraordinary

improvement. At the season’s end, Speech and Debate sent two PF and LD teams to the district tournament in hopes of qualifying for the state tournament. The Public Forum teams enjoyed spectacular success. Sixth Formers co-captain Jack Biddle and Lawrence Hunter tied for second and booked their place to states with a perfect record. “It’s a great feeling making it to states knowing all the work we put into getting there and it proves that we can compete with any other school in the state,” said Biddle. Although Biddle and Hunter will not be competing at states, Haverford will be sending their first team in several years to the state tournament this March: Fifth Formers Luke Egan and Xavi Segel, winners of the district tournament. In response to his tournament win, Egan said, “It was an awesome experience and I didn’t expect to get first, especially as a junior. I want to see how far we can go and debate against the best from Pennsylvania.”

of cardiac applications such as trying to create an assisting device to help pump blood in your

heart. All of this goes to thinking about if you could create artificial organs.”

Haverford introduces cutting-edge soft robotics Aditya Sardesai ’20 Haverford has a new robotics club creating and advancing the future of robotics: the Soft Robotics Club. Science teacher Ms. Holly Golecki, Fifth Formers Matt Baumholtz, Xavi Segel, and Kyle Wagner, and Third formers Aditya Sardesai are on the forefront of a new and quickly-growing field of engineering. Soft robotics is a field of robotics the components are soft in nature. “They are made of polymers, stretchy elastomers, and silicone materials,” said Ms. Golecki. This means that the materials are flexible, unlike that of the VEX Robotics team, which is based on metal and hard plastic. Baumholtz said, “Soft robotics is a Harvardsponsored competition, challenging students to synthesize a soft robot out of polymers for the purpose of investigation and exploration of soft robotic applications in the world around us.” The team is working to build molds which they can then pump air into to control the way the mold moves. “The goal is to use the air pressure to pressurize arterial bleeding, and stop the bleeding. It is sort of like a tourniquet, but the pressure can be manipulated. This is to try to prevent the loss of a limb if not enough blood is reaching it,” Segel

described. “We are also playing with the idea of adding sensors,” Baumholtz said, “such as a heart rate monitor or the ability to self-loosen and tighten to avoid loss of limbs.” The team is working on a side project involving edible robots, a soft robot that can move around in your food or be used as an edible toy. “Cupcakes with worms coming out of them, except the worms move,” Ms. Golecki described as a plausible idea. The process to build these projects is started by designing and using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) to build a virtual mold for the project. Then upon 3D printing the design and pouring silicone onto the mold, students take a small pump and observe how the mold bends when filling it with air. The product is then connected to an arduino control board and programmed. The future of soft robots is bright. The industry seems to be focusing on various biology applications at the moment. Ms. Golecki said, “[Engineers are interested in] the ability to create prosthetics, and even devices to assist people during rehabilitation, such as a glove to help someone grab something. There are also lots

Polymer accuator tourniquet prototype

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Inaugural Intellectual Curiosity Day challenges routine Jed Senior ’19 This year the Upper School experienced Intellectual Curiosity Day — a day which allowed students to learn about non-school related subjects. Recent education studies have shown that allowing students to experience topics they’re interested in can help improve their motivation to learn. The school used this knowledge and created the day.

“It did not lose its connection to school. We got to learn about something other people were enthusiastic about. It also allowed us to interact with students we normally wouldn’t.” -Andrew D’Arcangelo ’19

Mr. Chip Conrad introduces his family’s farm in Perkiomenville, PA to Fourth Formers as shown left to right: Sydney Smith, Christian Ray, and Biagio DeSimone.

MR. ANDREW POOLMAN

IC Day was a break from the unabating student workload and was anticipated as being a joyful, worthwhile day. Teachers communicated the topics to students who were able to choose potential areas of interest. Students then chose eight activities. Registrar Ms. Karen Skidmore scheduled them according to seniority. Student satisfaction was high. In a recent Facebook poll of 124 students, 83% enjoyed the idea of IC Day, but they believed that it needs to be altered. 6% of the student body did not enjoy the idea of IC Day and would rather not have it. Most of the students liked the idea of having IC Day, which means that the event should still be planned for next year.

Fourth Former Michael Yoh said, “[There should be] slightly more vetting over lesson plans to make sure that all of the activities are engaging. I know that many people weren’t happy with the ones they were given, and if each one was more engaging, then they’ll probably enjoy it more.” Yoh also wishes that students have more say in what activities they get placed in. This feeling of a lack of choice was expressed by a number of students. Fourth Former Andrew D’Arcangelo felt a strong attraction to IC Day. He said, “It did not lose its connection to school. We got to learn about something other people were enthusiastic about. It also allowed us to interact with students we normally wouldn’t.” D’Archangelo said, “There should be a poll filled out by students to choose the activities that are used in IC Day instead of them pretty much being picked for us.” This poll would allow for the students to come up with ideas that they want to learn instead of picking from a predetermined list. Chinese and English teacher Ms. Taylor Smith-Kan said, “Kids should create a list of the subjects they would want to learn about. It was hard for teachers to come up with an idea that was interdisciplinary. Students giving the teachers ideas would make it a lot easier for us. Or it might be better to go in the other direction and just assign kids a class so they can interact with different people.”

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News/Features

April 2017

Battling the myths of math placement Nick Chimicles ’19 Some students have the misconception that one is not able to move between the three main tracks of mathematics at Haverford: standard, honors, and advanced. A student’s respective track is determined in sixth grade, at which point he is either placed into the advanced Algebra track or Pre-Algebra (now called Algebra Part I). Many students believe that it is at this point that their mathematical careers — through all of high school — are determined. However, as explained by Ms. Susan Mitchell, the head of the Mathematics Department, this is untrue. “The assumption… that this decision [of what track to place a boy in] is made in the sixth grade, and that this is the decision for high school, is not correct.” There are, in fact, multiple precedents of students advancing to a higher math course after the sixth grade selection process. One such student, described by Ms. Mitchell as “supermotivated and having a love of math,” was able to complete a full year of Calculus over the summer and propel himself into the advanced course of Calculus II his senior year. A current Fourth Former similarly studied Geometry over the summer of his Form II year in order to be placed in Algebra II in Third Form. A student who desires to pursue an advanced

course of mathematics through his own independent studies, like those mentioned above, must, as Ms. Mitchell describes, “know he loves math; know it’s relevant to his future in some way, whether it is for college or for his career; be super motivated; and do not want what his parent’s want, but what he wants.” Ms. Mitchell is able to determine who is ready by asking Haverford’s teachers which students have the traits and skills that would be needed in an advanced math course. She said, “If a student comes to me, and he’s ready, then I am going to help that boy meet his goals.” Though it may seem easy to access a higher level math course through simple grit and persistence, Ms. Mitchell emphasises that a student must be on a certain “rung of the ladder of abstraction,” or a level of mathematical understanding and ability to draw conclusions from already known concepts. “Boys have come to me and not been successful,” said Ms. Mitchell, “they take summer courses, take assessments and do not even come close to meeting the criteria.” With every student that the math department places in upper level mathematics, there is a significant amount of risk due to the possible psychological effects that come with a student’s failure, a phenomenon described by Ms. Mitchell.

DAVID BUNN’ 17

“Research shows that if a student goes into a course that requires abstract thinking at a time he is not ready, then he may think that he is not a math guy.”

It is partially due to this negative psychological repercussion that the math department takes so much care and caution when selecting a track for each Haverford student.

Seniors pioneer Haverford’s new STEM publication Bill Wu ’17

The equations for black-body radiation, cheesy math puns, and Fourier transforms — stay tuned for the first edition of Haverford’s math journal,

Newton’s Notebook. In the first week of May before the Sixth Formers leave for graduation projects, students

will publish a large collection of articles about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), written by both students

Will McDevitt ’17 and José Martínez ’17 spearhead the publication of Haverford’s new math journal, Newton’s Notebook

DAVID BUNN’ 17

and faculty. The project began last summer, when Sixth formers José Martínez and Will McDevitt presented their idea of a journal with math articles to Ms. Mitchell. Ever since then, the range of topics has grown — the journal even has a kneeslapping math pun section for those in need of a quick laugh. According to McDevitt, a common misconception is that the “journal is only for really advanced math and science students,” when in reality, the journal even caters towards “students in the lower and middle school.” McDevitt further emphasized that the journal is “looking for students who are passionate about STEM and who are willing to share that love so that the average student can understand.” The journal will show the progression of mathematics and other STEM topics at Haverford, with articles ranging from easily understandable to complex and theoretical. From electric cars to the relationship between physics and finance — everything that you’ve been curious about or haven’t been exposed to before is covered in Newton’s Notebook. Come take a look and expand your horizons. To infinity and beyond! (Apparently, “beyond” is now equal to -1/12)

Students differ on two-sport requirement Neetish Sharma ’19 The two-sport requirement is one of the hallmarks of athletics at Haverford. The expectation has allowed many people to find rich opportunities in exploring new sports. However, it has also incited widespread distress and annoyance as others may have more nonconventional interests that they choose to pursue. Therefore, the two-sport requirement has become a common topic of contention. A majority of the school’s population supports the importance of a two-sport credit. Many feel that a two-sport requirement allows students to get involved in the Haverford community and improve their health. A sports requirement does have its advantages: meeting new upperclassmen, improving physical fitness, creating a sense of community and accomplishment, and many others. A two-sport requirement also reinforces Haverford’s sports culture. Not only does Haverford boast of an impressive academic presence within the Inter-Ac, but it also supplements this with its sports requirement. The athletic department took much care in tailoring an effective sports requirement. Athletic Director Mr. John Nostrant said, “The biggest thing is participation and school activity. We want the boys to be engaged in community events; athletics is one of the easiest ways to do that. However, by including an option for an activity, we give guys an option to play one sport

and, for example, do Model UN or stage crew. This gives boys an outlet if they only want to play one sport.” The athletic department’s message has been received well among many students. The community prides itself on its prominent sports culture, and many students support the requirement. “I think the two-sport requirement is a really good idea because playing more than one sport benefits in both sports,” Sixth Former Chris Kober said. “Personally, I play football and I wrestle. In football, I was pushed on the offensive line this year and without my wrestling background and knowing how to control someone’s body weight, I wouldn’t have been a good offensive lineman. There’s also scientific proof that playing more than one sport is better for your body than focusing on one sport yearround.” Students such as Kober also understand that even for individuals who aren’t necessarily athletes, the two-sport requirement still holds true: “You don’t have to play two sports; you can also participate in activities such as Glee Club or theater. People can always find a way to fill that two-sport requirement,” Kober said. Some students disagree. Although the two-sport requirement is well-intentioned, it is sometimes incompatible with students’ schedules. There are many different reasons why this might be the case;

students may be competitive musicians, bogged down with challenging course loads, heavily passionate about more unconventional interests, or simply hoping to enjoy their life on their own. Students such as these do reside within our school community, and many of them feel as if the twosport requirement is completely unnecessary.

“I definitely think it would be more beneficial if you could expand your environment and be able to do something like a dance class, photography, or a cooking class. We should be able to do something that the school may not provide. This way we can learn skills to prepare us for life and meet new people.” -Gabriel Deane ’18 Fifth Former Gabriel Deane said, “A lot of people I know don’t like their second sport or even have a second sport. Many times, the competitiveness within a sport takes away from the fun of the sport itself. We all start a sport for the love of it. However, as we get older, the

competitiveness destroys the fun. For example, I love basketball to death. Ever since I was young, I have played ball. However, once I got here, things became extremely serious and that took the fun out of it for me. Every single mistake I made, I just bashed myself so badly. It became annoying, so I couldn’t play it anymore. Now, I run winter track for that sports credit. The only thing that gets me through having to do that second sports requirement is the atmosphere of the people on the team.” Many students agree with Deane. These students feel that there needs to be a less controlled approach. Independence would be a major improvement, and part of the community feels that Haverford needs to allow students to expand their horizons. Thus, new experiences would be able to more effectively prepare them for life. Deane says, “I definitely think it would be more beneficial if you could expand your environment and be able to do something like a dance class, photography class, or a cooking class. We should be able to do something that the school may not provide. This way, we can learn skills to prepare us for life and meet new people. I think we should be able to experience the world at large rather than just be confined to the Haverford ‘bubble,’ which is what I think the sports requirement ends up doing to kids.”

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Will Henderson ’18

The Index

Opinions

April 2017

Haverford should standardize course-evaluations

If Haverford wants to continue to be one of the best preparatory schools in the country, it should start listening to its own students. After having gone to Haverford for over twelve years, one of the few things that has left me dissatisfied is the fact that I rarely, if ever, have gotten the chance to submit an anonymous review of my teachers. Since 2005, I can think of four times a teacher has allowed the class to assess his or her teaching style, and of those four, only two were anonymous. It is therefore critical that Haverford implements a standardized teacher review, whereby students can honestly and openly voice their opinions about their teachers and overall classroom experience. Haverford’s current system of reviewing teachers, while rather thorough administratively speaking, lacks student input. Each year, at least three faculty members will observe a particular teacher’s class: the head of the Upper School, the chair of that teacher’s department, and another faculty member selected by that teacher. Some may give out a sort of survey for students to fill out, but this is not mandatory, and it is certainly not mandatory that it be anonymous. Every three or four years, however, a faculty member undergoes a “complete review,” in which they are asked to submit a paragraph written by a

student of their choosing about their classroom experience and undergo several other assessments. Still, teachers are almost exclusively reviewed by other teachers. The current system of evaluation has its flaws. A couple years ago, I walked into one of my classes in the middle of the year, and our teacher was standing next to the Smart Board as he told us to get out our notes. We were all a bit dumbfounded because, normally, we would walk into class and he would assign us some independent worksheet or to work on a project or to take notes on our textbook. As he explained to us that we would be learning about some basic economic principles, the chair of the department walked in and sat down in the corner. It was his day to be reviewed by another faculty member. The next day, it was back to worksheets. Haverford can only guarantee its students have a positive classroom experience if it implements a standardized review of teachers. Students should have to fill out the same anonymous survey for each one of their teachers. Most importantly, students should have to fill out their current grade in the class to prevent the C- student from badmouthing their teacher or the class full of A+ students from praising their teacher. One of the two anonymous feedback surveys I

Why Americans don’t trust the mainstream media Rob Esgro ’19 For decades, Americans have turned to the media to make sense of current events. PBS reports that the news, especially the Walter Cronkite Show, were “a daily presence in the American home.” This popularity did not come because the news stations were entertaining but because they were trusted. In fact, a 1972 Oliver Quayle poll suggested that Walter Cronkite was “the most trusted man in America.” Have the times changed since? It seems to be that way. Gallup, a non-partisan and global performance-management organization, posed the following question in a 2010 poll: “How much trust and confidence do you have in the mass media... when it comes to reporting

the news fully, accurately and fairly?” The poll suggests that almost 60% of Americans trust the media “not very much” or “none at all.” More modern polls are even more astonishing. A 2017 poll from the Pew Research center suggests that when asked if they trust the media “a lot,” only 22% of Americans trust “local news,” while only 18% of Americans trust “national media.” A 2017 poll from Gallup posed the question: “Which comes closer to your opinion -- that the news media generally favor one political party over the other or that the news media generally favor neither party?” A staggering 62% of Americans believe that the news “favors one party over the other,” while only 27% believe that it “favors neither.” The poll also asks, “Which

INDEX STAFF

Detail from a Fall 2016 teacher evaluation summary.

took this year was administrated, not surprisingly, by one of the best teachers I have ever had. This teacher even emphasized in the survey that she wanted our honest opinions because they would help her become a “better teacher” and give us a “better experience in the classroom.” But I say “not surprisingly” because it should not come as a surprise that one of the few teachers who has ever given her students the opportunity to submit

honest feedback is a masterclass teacher. Not only does a student-assessment of faculty members benefit the student, but it certainly benefits the teacher as well. If Haverford is serious about continuing to be one of the best schools in the country, then it needs to be serious about listening to its students.

political party do you think the news media generally favor?” A whopping 64% of Americans believe that the media favors “Democrats” while only 22% chose “Republicans.” The final question asked the following: “In general, do you think news organizations get the facts straight, or news organizations’ stories and reports are often inaccurate.” Only 36% of Americans believe that the mainstream media usually gets its “facts straight” while an astonishing 55% believe that the mainstream media is “often inaccurate.” Although this figure is down from 65% in 2002, it is still cause for concern. The question then arises: Why do Americans have so little trust in the mainstream media? The answer is simple: there is a partisan double standard within many mainstream news outlets. For example, on January 20, 2017 the following headline appeared in The New York TImes: “Wiretapped Data Used in Inquiry of Trump Aides.” This article, written by Michael S. Schmidt, described how “wiretapped communications were provided to the [Obama] White House,” but “found no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing.” It seemed to be that The New York Times was not only familiar with but also comfortable with the fact that the Obama administration had wiretapped President-elect Trump. However, when President

Trump accused the Obama administration of wiretapping him, The New York Times ridiculed him, providing the following headline: “Trump, Offering No Evidence, Says Obama Tapped His Phones.” This newer article was written by none other than Michael S. Schmidt. The partisan media double standard does not stop there. On March 7, 2017, in an interview on CNN’s ”New Day,” Representative Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, suggested that Americans, “rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and they want to go spend hundreds of dollars in that, maybe they should invest it in their own health care.” Chaffetz was slammed for his comments by news outlets, notably The Washington Post, which reported that “Jason Chaffetz’s iPhone comment revives the ‘poverty is a choice’ argument” and dismissed it as “political rhetoric.” The Post seemed to have conveniently forgotten when, on March 6, 2014, Former President Obama remarked, “I guess what I would say is if you looked at that person’s budget and you looked at their cable bill, their cell phone bill, other things that they’re spending on, it may turn out that it’s just they haven’t prioritized health care because right now everybody’s healthy. Nobody actually wants to spend money on health insurance until they get sick.” When Ben Carson was introduced as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, he made the following statement in his first speech when referring to the American Dream: “That’s what America is about. A land of dreams and opportunity. There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships.” The controversy arose as people interpreted Dr. Carson’s statement as comparing forced slavery to chosen immigration. The irate response from the mainstream media came quickly. On CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360°,” CNN political commentator Angela Rye remarked that she “think[s] that [Dr. Carson] may have some severe misunderstandings about what American slavery really was.” She was not alone in her criticism of Dr. Carson. On ABC’s “The View,” host Whoopi Goldberg suggested, “Maybe we need to get [Dr.] Carson a history book.” Neither of those commentators spoke up when President Obama said the following in a December 15, 2015 speech: “Certainly it wasn’t easy for those of African heritage who had not come here voluntarily, and yet in their own way were immigrants themselves.” The same statement was made by two politicians from different parties, and the difference in the response from the mainstream media is astonishing.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

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Yan Graf ’20

The Index

Opinions

What’s up with the art requirement?

Haverford is a demanding school that mandates students to involve themselves actively in the school community. Haverford’s graduation

requirements include an art credit, usually completed by taking an art, theater, or music class. However, as an increasing number of students

begin to double up on languages instead of taking an art class, many are starting to question the necessity for an art credit. One Third Former said, “I’d say having an art/music requirement is like having a sports requirement; there isn’t a very logical reason we have one, but then don’t have another. I think that in the case of taking a second language, you should be able to replace your study hall, just like how taking a third sport replaces a free season.” Some believe that there should be more flexibility in choosing what you want to study. The consensus among students taking two languages is that the art credit is simply another obstacle to graduation, and one that many students have

Students admire artwork at the 2017 Inter-Ac art show, housing student artwork from Shipley, Haverford, Agnis Irwin, Baldwin, Episcopal, and Friends Central.

Davis Martinelli ’17

The US should lower drinking age

After cases of drunk driving skyrocketed in the 1970s, President Ronald Reagan passed a law to raise the legal drinking age from eighteen to twenty one. Much has changed in our lives since the seventies, so it is time we re-evaluate a law that has changed the lives of generations of young Americans. Most Americans make alcohol a forbidden fruit when it comes to dealing with their children. More and more parents and institutions demonize alcohol, perhaps making their children only want it more. This also prevents young people from drinking casually, in an adult and mature manner. Now, young Americans trend toward “blackout” drinking, in which they drink strictly to get as drunk as possible. Because so many young people do not get a chance to share a drink with their parents or learn how to be mature around alcohol, as soon as they arrive on a college campus without parental supervision, they go crazy. Teenagers need to be allowed to dip a toe into the water before they do a cannonball. When analyzing the drinking age, other agerestricted aspects of life can be brought into the conversation. Former Kenyon College President Georgia Nugent, Ph.D, wrote an article for The New York Times saying, “When it is legal for an 18-year-old to drive, marry or serve in the military but illegal for him or her to drink a beer, the illogic of the situation is patent. As a result, the overwhelming response of young people has been, not compliance, but contempt for the law.” Looking back on the drunk driving epidemic in the 1970s and 80s, Morris Chafetz, M.D., Founder of the National Institute for Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, said, “Legal age 21 has not worked. To be sure, drunk driving fatalities are lower now than they were in 1982. But they are lower in all age groups. And they have declined just as much in Canada, where the age is 18 or 19, as they have in the United States.” With about 5,000 fatalities a year due to underage drinking, over 3,000 of these deaths

April 2017

have no relation to the operation of motor vehicles. With drunk driving on the decline, people are just drinking to get drunk, and that is good for nobody.

“To solve binge drinking, we need to consider lowering the drinking age and hope the youth will rise to occasion. If this were to happen, the first few years would probably be the toughest because alcohol is so restricted. However, one day we may live in a country when adults and mature teenagers can drink casually together.” Another study, published by the World Health Organization, showed that in Europe, where the drinking age is mainly 18 or just not enforced, young people drink more per month. However, they have far less dangerous drinking occasions that involve binge drinking or drunk driving. The study also found that in Europe, roughly one-in-ten drinking occasions result in getting drunk; in contrast about half of all the time Americans drink, they get drunk. To solve binge drinking, we need to consider lowering the drinking age and hope the youth will rise to occasion. If this were to happen, the first few years would probably be the toughest because alcohol is so restricted. However, one day we may live in a country when adults and mature teenagers can drink together casually. Here we will see less binge drinking and drunk driving, both detrimental to the health of teenagers in America.

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Haverford’s undeserved reputation We have a reputation, but not a good one. Some students from surrounding schools view Haverford as a hub of privilege, racism, homophobia, and misogyny and its students as shielded from the outside world by their singlesex education and wealthy backgrounds. Yet, as someone who has spent the past nine years of my life at this school, this seems hugely inaccurate. We are diverse both in terms of identity and opinion, more so than most of our fellow Main Line schools. When someone walks through Wilson Hall, they see students of many races, socio-economic backgrounds, and sexual orientations, all coexisting peacefully. As a member of a minority myself, I am particularly observant of issues pertaining to discrimination and intolerance. If our community really were filled with prejudice, I probably wouldn’t feel as at home and happy here as I always have. But if our reputation does not hold up to scrutiny, then where does it come from? The answer is as complex and multifaceted as our own community. The simplest answer would be that in the past, Haverford — like almost every other school in the country — had only white students. I have little doubt in my mind that the Haverford of fifty years ago was filled with the ubiquitous discrimination of the era. An even smaller student body filled with wealthy students from similar backgrounds is the perfect environment for ignorance and entitlement to grow. I think our reputation also comes a great deal from our actions. Not racist actions but rather immaturity, insensitivity, and fragility. I say “our” as a full member of the community; we all share this reputation. Every day, countless jokes — far from politically correct — echo throughout Wilson Hall. We are so accustomed to these jokes that we have accepted them as part of daily school life, but they exist solely as comic instruments that we use to lighten our days. This is not a mark of racism because the intention is not to express

neither the time nor interest to complete. The faculty sees things differently. Upper School Head Mr. Matt Green said that art helps teach “some classic 21st-century skills. The ability to make something out of nothing, the ability to critically analyze and edit something, getting students to operate and develop comfort in some gray areas.” These are all skills that are becoming increasingly important, especially in a world where “we are talking about the rise of automation, so you want to give kids practice with things machines can’t do.” Mr. Green sees it necessary to train the creativity and thought processes of students. Mr. Hengst, Director of Theatre, said, “I think empathy plays a large role in [art] . . . to understand someone, the feelings they went through, is important.” Hengst added that empathy and public speaking can only be taught in art courses, thereby legitimizing its need in the school curriculum. Before interviewing for this story, I was on the side of the student-body majority. I too believed that there was no need for an art credit. However, after hearing from Mr. Green and Mr. Hengst, who explained the important skills learned in art classes, I realize that we do need an art requirement. The arts teach a certain set of skills no other class can, inspire confidence, and bring the community together, making it “more vibrant,” as Mr. Green put it. The art credit is also much more easily completed than many students think. A vocal ensemble, stage crew, two plays (open to everybody) are all viable options. Still, the faculty need to be more transparent with students about the various ways to satisfy the art requirement. Many students are oblivious to the wide array of extracurriculars they could use to fill their art credit, resulting in the unwarranted panic that often consumes Wilson Hall. The art requirement should remain.

Jared Holeman ’17 the superiority or inferiority of a particular race. Racism is defined as “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.” Without the actual belief that one’s own race is superior, these actions cannot be taken as racist. In addition to our immaturity and insensitivity, we are fragile. Many members of our community see political correctness as a weapon in the liberal arsenal pointed directly at conservative America. Some Haverford students deliberately use terms that are seen as offensive to fight back against the left wing and the Democratic Party. Some Haverford students are so easily perturbed by “safe spaces” and “triggers” that they must use offensive language as a symbol of their political allegiance. This, too, is not indicative of racism, as the offensive language is not brought forth by the speaker’s hatred or prejudice. Our fragility is most often unearthed when someone gets offended. Rather than accepting fault, the perpetrator of whatever offensive action or phrase will take a stand. The student will draw a line in the sand and defend his position with increasing fervor until the argument metamorphoses into a clash of political ideologies and personal attacks. Quickly both sides became embattled in a deep and fruitless dispute that is forgotten almost as quickly as it arose. To the surrounding community and the outside world this may appear to be the result of deepseated privilege and racism. However, someone’s intentions and beliefs determine whether or not they are racist, not their actions. Someone can act in a certain way for innumerable reasons, but racism requires a belief in the superiority of one’s race, and this I have never seen at Haverford. Haverford is certainly not without its issues, but racism is not one of them.

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Evan Haas ’17

The Index

Opinions

We should pay college athletes

Last month, while I took my bi-hourly study break, I scrolled across a video posted to Bleacher Report, which focused on the life and childhood of the nation’s top football prospect, Najee Harris. Harris, a six-foot-three-inch, 226-pound running back from California, received over twentyfive scholarship offers. He recently signed with Alabama. From watching his highlights, you would think that football is the number-one priority in his life. If that were your assumption, you would be mistaken. “He told me his biggest goal — and I think it’s his only goal — is to get his mom out the hood,” said Marcus Malu, Harris’ Antioch High School football coach in the Bleacher Report story. What most people do not know or hear about is the abusive, alcoholic, and drug-addicted father that made Najee and his family’s life a living hell. When Najee, his mother, and his siblings left his father, they were forced to live in homeless shelters, a car, hotels, and countless other places. Harris’s mother said that “football was a day care” for Najee. She knew he would be safe until she could come pick him up. Once he realized the extent of his talent, Harris said, “Sooner or later I told myself that I got to provide for her.” The only problem with Najee’s statement is, how in the world is he going to provide for his mother and siblings while he is at Alabama for the

Will Henderson ’18

next two-to-four years? He wants to provide, but playing on the nation’s top-college football team leaves no time for Najee to work. Should college athletes be paid, or receive some sort of monetary compensation other than a scholarship? According to Sporting News, black students make up 2.5% of all undergraduate students but make up 56% of college football and basketball players. They are at a financial disadvantage compared to white players, whose families make over $100,000 a year on average while blacks and Hispanics will make around $12,000 on average, according to Pew Research Center. An easy solution is to pay Division-I players a percentage of the money their efforts bring in. If a powerhouse program such as Alabama receives over 100 million dollars as it did last year, and netted almost 50 million dollars, why would the program not allocate at least a portion of that cash surplus to players? The program could pay the players in the same way the admissions department gives financial aid to students. Players could be paid by their playing time. That way, players do not have a way of negotiating salaries, and if they are an impactful player like Najee, their efforts will be returned with monetary compensation. If a player and his or her family make below a certain amount of money each year, the program could provide them with a salary to

No academic competition at Haverford

When people on the outside observe an elite school like Haverford, they almost always assume there is some sort of extreme academic competition amongst students, but that could not be farther from the truth. While the workload and assessments can be a little overwhelming, I have never felt the need to perform better than somebody else. People on the outside — people who are not taking quizzes or tests, presenting projects, or writing essays on a daily basis — cannot fully appreciate the life of a Haverford student, thus tending to assume that students want to “outperform” each other. Many factors

must culminate for a student to push himself to do well, but that resulting pressure is never to “beat” somebody. Although many people may believe in a cut-throat academic atmosphere among students, no such atmosphere really exists. It is difficult for a person on the outside to understand the life of a Haverford student, and it is even more difficult for them to understand the relationships among students. Only a student truly understands the type of academic environment at this school. A common argument is that the epitome of academic competition at Haverford occurs almost every day as students

help assist living, legally. Often times programs are caught paying for players and their family’s expenses. Last year, hours before the NFL Draft, text messages between Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze and offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil surfaced showing Tunsil asking the coaching staff for his mother’s rent money. Paying college athletes would allow players’ talents to be recognized financially and allow their families to survive during their child’s college experience. Many people make the counter-argument that a free education and free food are compensation enough for athletes. While these may lower a family’s cost of living, they do not increase a family’s income. In addition, football schools are rarely top-notch academic universities. Alabama

April 2017

and Clemson, the nation’s two best football programs, are both above a 50% acceptance rate, suggesting that the schools are not offering students the nation’s best education. When players take a risk to go to college for football, often they risk their education. If football does not work out, players are possibly left unqualified for most well-paying jobs. Coaches get paid. So should players. The “salaries” would be nowhere near professional salaries, but they would assist their families. If salaries are not an option, the least colleges could do is let its players receive endorsements. It could set players up for success by giving them an incentive to play their hearts out.

NLI signing day for Sixth Formers on the baseball, lacrosse, and swim teams. From left to right: Joel Trucksess, Evan Scott, David Hogarth, Charlie Ryan, Tommy Toal, and John Nostrant.

ask each other their scores after an assessment is returned to the class. While some may take this as a means for students to boast, all they are trying to do is understand how the entire class performed.

“If observing the academic environment on the outside, it can be easy to misinterpret the idiosyncrasies of Haverford’s academia as competitive and harsh, but from a student’s perspective, the only pressure is brought on by your own demands. In fact, in a survey of Upper School students, 76% said they “ask other students how they did on an assessment to get a better idea of how the class did as a whole.” If the entire class does well, great; if the entire class does poorly, maybe something needs to be addressed. Clearly,

MS. DAWN BLAKE

students do not feel the need to score higher than each other; they just want to understand how the class performed, pointing to a feeling of unity rather than competition. There are numerous, symbiotic elements in driving a student to do well in school, and the possibility of “beating” a classmate’s score is certainly not included in that list. Parents, teachers, colleges, and a thousand other factors can put stress on a student. Especially at an elite school where college is a common topic, the idea of outscoring other students is trivial and unimportant. In a Washington Post article about stress among high school students, author Dr. Margaret Shapiro states that student anxiety comes from many different places, including “school work” and “having to manage too many extracurricular activities.” Therefore, students have much more to worry about than competing to get the highest score on a test. Nobody does feel — or should feel — the need to do better than another person. Fifth Former Satch Baker agrees, saying, “I never really feel the need to do better than other people on an assessment. We all have a lot on our minds, and I don’t think scoring higher than each other is one of them.” It is much more reasonable to conclude, therefore, that students care about how they themselves perform -- not others.

“Yes, academics at Haverford can be demanding and, sometimes even overwhelming, but students want to triumph with each other and fail with each other: they do not want to compete against each other.”

Sixth Formers compete in trivia competition for EA spirit week. From left to right: Jack Biddle, Will Glaser, Andrew Lengel, Lawrence Hunter, and Charlie Rahr.

MS. DAWN BLAKE

Although it may seem surprising, students just want to do well themselves; earning the highest score in the class is nothing more than an afterthought. If observing the academic environment of students on the outside, it can be easy to misinterpret the idiosyncrasies of Haverford’s academia as competitive and harsh, but from a student’s perspective, the only pressure is brought on by your own demands. Yes, academics at Haverford can be demanding and, sometimes even overwhelming, but students want to triumph with each other and fail with each other; they do not want to compete against each other.

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The Index

Opinions

The population time bomb Jack Molitor ’17 If you held a time bomb in your hands, would you defuse it while you had the chance, or shrug it off and let it explode? On June 9th, 2016, Steffen Köiger, a German politician of the Alternative for Germany (AFD) party proposed a simple plan: Give a €10,000 interest-free loan to every German couple with a child. After the second child, make the couple only have to pay back half of the loan. After the third child, give the couple €30,000 and do not require the couple to pay back anything. Not long after Köiger’s proposal, various other politicians rejected it with defenses ranging from it being a “xenophobic” proposal, because it promotes birth from inside a nation rather than dependence on immigration, to it encouraging the “stabilization of traditional marriages.” The argument about how to increase declining birthrates should not be a left vs. right argument. It should not even be about whether or not we should encourage childbirth -- it should be about to what extent the government should encourage child birth. It may sound controversial, especially in America where some citizens view “big government” with a fearful eye, but it is necessary for nations like Japan, Germany, Korea, and even the USA to look at ways to encourage long-term partnerships, marriage and childbirth. According to the UN, in order to comfortably

be sustained, a nation should have an average of at least 2.1 children per woman. This ensures that the population is always growing and the nation has a steady amount of children to sustain the needs of the retired and social services. Modern Europe has never seen economic growth when its population is in decline. It’s imperative that European nations and other nations facing the same crisis maintain a birthrate of at least 2.1 children per family. If major global economic players like Japan or Germany do not increase their birthrates, the globe may pay the price. Portugal is expected to see its population fall 30% by 2030. In Italy, an already whopping 22.4% of the population is currently over sixtyfive years old. By 2050, 15% of the Italian population will be eighty and above. In Germany, the younger generation is one third the size of their parents’ generation. Perhaps the most sobering statistic comes from Japan: In 2007, Japan had 128 million people. By 2060, Japan will have only 87 million people, with almost 50% of those 87 million above age sixty-five. Critics may worry about overpopulation but they leave out that global population is not evenly distributed. Nigeria, India, or Bangladesh clearly need fewer children -- and lowering the birthrate should be an ongoing discussion in those countries. On the other hand, most industrialized countries need to raise their birthrates. Plenty of politicians are content to “solve” this issue by increasing immigration. However, Europe is already buckling under the pressure

of millions of newcomers. Japan will not take in many immigrants fearing a covert Chinese “invasion.” Even if large-scale immigration worked perfectly, a country should not depend on immigration alone for birth rates because the number of immigrants that want to come to a nation fluctuates greatly based on many factors. For instance, if a developing country’s economy improves, they can no longer be depended on as a nation that will provide steady immigration. Proposals like Köiger’s are certainly a start, but the reality is they probably won’t bring a birth rate of 1.38 up to a 2.1. Another proposal would be giving basic income to those with children. These proposals should become part of mainstream discourse to be sure, but once again, policy alone won’t fix the issue -- cultures need to shift. In Japan, only 38.7% of men in their 20s want to get married and only 59% of women in their 20s hope to one day be married. According to Japan’s population center, 25% of all Japanese do not want marriage and 45% of women and 25% of men between sixteen and twenty-four “despise sexual contact.” The Japan Family Planning Association reported that 40% of Japanese women in their 20s will have zero children. In Germany, a country with great maternity leave (something many believe will help birthrates), 30% of women are childless. It is in the best interests of the nations of the world with low birth rates to encourage marriage and childbirth. This doesn’t mean, like some opponents say, women will be forced out of the workforce. In fact, the more mothers there are, the more voters there will be who will have a personal reason to vote for policies such as paid maternity leave and the more incentive politicians will have to suggest these policies. There are plenty of ways to encourage marriage and childbirth without adopting an oppressive system. First, the government should fund media

The Republican healthcare crisis Eusha Hasan ’18

President Trump has made myriad radical proposals since his first campaign speech almost two years ago. An eclectic array of Americans, ranging from low-income blue-collar workers to large conglomerate owners, pledged allegiance to the Trump campaign in hopes that he could bring back jobs and revive the old conception of American life. His uncanny and straightforward demeanor assured voters that, should he win the election, he would deliver on his promises, from the border wall to a comprehensive immigration quota on Muslim-majority countries. His optimistic supporters remained blind to the truth until now. As Trump’s first Hundred Days whisk by, the public finally realizes that he may not fulfill his most crucial promise: to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. The American people now question the efficacy of the Trump administration, whose incompetence emanates for failing to scrap Obamacare even with a Republican-majority Congress. Before Congress approved the health bill, a staggering 49 million Americans were uninsured due to the exorbitant premiums (the cost on consumers for a health insurance plan) that insurance companies imposed on sick Americans. President Obama and Congressional Democrats spotted this problem and took action to alleviate it. They crafted a health care plan, now known as the Affordable Care Act, that welcomed even the poorest and sickest Americans. Although the law insured a whopping 20 million + people, many businesses, required to insure employees, suffered. Anyone — even the sickest people — could easily access healthcare through Obamacare, forcing insurance companies to increase premiums to assuage the money lost treating sick people. However, the Individual Mandate, signed in 2014 as an amendment to Obamacare, compelled citizens, regardless of age or health, to procure health insurance; this provision added young, healthy people with less risk of needing expensive treatment to the existing pool of insured Americans, lowering premiums for everybody. Obamacare clearly has its faults, but Democrats have done everything to address them. Ever since 2010 when President Obama pushed the ACA through Congress, outraged Republicans like Representative John Fleming of Louisiana have insisted that “[O]bamacare is the worst piece of legislation ever.” Subsequently,

the party has promised to repeal the health care law as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Republicans implicated Obamacare as a socialist program that undermines the cores of a stable capitalist society like the United States; and they are somewhat correct. Obamacare placed a burden on businesses to pay higher premiums for their employers. Republicans rightfully criticized the law’s deficiencies, but they never presented a better solution. The party had seven years to formulate a sensible alternative to Obamacare, but they failed to do so just last month when House Speaker Paul Ryan proposed the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the Republican alternative, to Congress. The AHCA is essentially a hastily-written, more problematic version of Obamacare. The Republicans created four main policies that were destined to leave more Americans uninsured and states bankrupt. Refundable Tax Credits, the first guideline, are federal subsidies distributed to help Americans pay their premiums. At the surface, this plan seems feasible, but the Republicans added a twist: The amount of money one receives would rely on age, not income. This means older, not poorer, Americans would reap larger benefits. In theory, a man as wealthy as Warren Buffett could collect more government cash than a younger employee working at McDonalds, which seems absolutely outlandish. Ironically, according to the New York Times, 36% to 59% of Trump

supporters will lose tax credits of at least $5,000 per year because of this proposal, a huge hit on needy Americans who trusted the President to improve their quality of life. The second policy would establish Health Savings Accounts, tax-free accounts for saving money to pay for health insurance. Basically just fancy piggy banks, these accounts accomplish nothing to help poorer Americans afford insurance. Republicans contend that these accounts offer an organized method through which Americans can save up cash, but poorer and sicker Americans would not be able to save because they need to spend money immediately on treatment and other necessities. What good is a bank account if one does not even have the means to deposit money? The next policy would implement a Block Grant system for Medicaid, a health care system designed to insure Americans with insufficient income. Currently, the federal government sends monetary grants to states for Medicaid based on how much money the state spends on Medicaid. On the other hand, block grants are set amounts of money sent to states. In the event that a state’s Medicaid expenditure skyrockets, its block grants could not pay for Medicaid, forcing low-income Americans in that state to lose insurance. The final policy would separate Americans into High-Risk Pools, which would isolate the sickest Americans in insurance groups. This means that

Mike Pence and Paul Ryan in Congress.

April 2017

to encourage childbirth and marriage. Having a family and children may not seem “cool” and it’s hard to imagine a hit song or TV show about making a family. So, the target audience would not be teens or adults but children. If children’s shows could demonstrate the importance of family and the happiness children can bring to a parent that would lead to more children in the future and cultivate a pro-family culture from an early age. In today’s politics “profamily” or “family values” tend to be associated with the gay rights debate, but I see this as something totally removed from that. A “profamily” society or a society with “family values” should simply mean a society that values family’s role in keeping civilization afloat. Next, in health classes students should be taught the importance, for both men and women, of family and children. To some this may seem controversial, but then again, sex-ed is controversial. Some people will be angered and say it’s not the education system’s responsibility to instill these values. But there are people who are angry that schools teach evolution, and others are angry that we don’t teach abstinence-only sex-ed. The point is, we should instill in the youth that it is a social duty to have children if one has the means to care for them. Some will be angered at this, but, just as nations have in other contentious areas like the ones previously mentioned, countries should push past the controversy and teach it because it’s essential we solve the birth issue quickly. It might be an uncomfortable discussion. It might seem odd or, to some, outright immoral to encourage childbirth. But there’s a ticking demographic time bomb, and if society refuses to face the issue, we’ll have much larger problems on our hands.

healthier Americans are considered in different sections of AHCA-insured people from sicker Americans, causing the former group’s premiums to lower (because healthier Americans have less risk) while the latter’s premiums inflate. The most vulnerable section of the population is targeted through separating them and charging them exorbitant fees for their illnesses. The Republican alternative to Obamacare evidently contains numerous unforgivable flaws that would harm, not assist, struggling Americans. Even with a Republican-majority House of Representatives and Senate, President Trump and Speaker Ryan failed to convince their colleagues to uphold their disastrous bill. The failure to pass a reasonable health care reflects Trump’s inability to deliver his promises to voters. On the campaign trail, President Trump bashed Obamacare, telling 60 Minutes that he would replace it with another plan that would lower costs and insure everyone simultaneously. This statement exposes the President’s thinlyveiled lie that he could change every American’s life for the better with just one signature. Now that he is in office, Americans anticipating change feel slighted by the President’s incompetence, which he masked while campaigning. The AHCA’s denial only seems like the first of a string of disappointments in the next four years. Americans have only scratched the surface revealing the Trump administration’s true colors.

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The Index

April 2017

Politics

Trumphoria in the stock market: when will it end? Matthew Mignucci ’20

It’s hard to watch the news or read a newspaper without hearing about President’s Trump’s impact on the U.S. stock markets. The Dow Jones Industrials, S&P 500, and NASDAQ have all established all-time highs since the recent election. With the proposed policies from the Trump Administration and a Republican Senate and House, the market has good reason to be rallying. Some of the policies fueling the markets are based on deregulation, especially for the banking industry, tax reform that will lower taxes on businesses, and a one-trillion dollar investment in our country’s infrastructure. In addition

to this administration’s pro-business policies, President Trump has also filled his cabinet with some of our country’s brightest business minds such as four veterans from Goldman Sachs, one of the country most prestigious and profitable investment banks. Supporting his pro-business agenda, he has hosted numerous roundtables with today’s greatest business minds from the country’s leading industries. But, with all of this hype around the stock market, there is anticipation that it could correct just as quick as it went up. History supports that it is inevitable. Time for a reality check. It’s hard for people to imagine the downside to something when it’s going so well, and this is maybe the case with the stock

market. It is hard enough to focus on a successful tax reform and rebuilding the infrastructure alone. Factoring in international tensions arising in Syria and Russia, a controversial border tax, another try at passing a health care bill, another travel ban, and also the threat of ISIS, it is highly unlikely the initiative fueling the market will have as big of an impact as people believe it will. Instead of solving his problems, the market may correct and create a new problem for our economy and the Trump Administration. President Trump draws parallels with probusiness President Calvin Coolidge. He was president from 1923 to 1929, and while he was president, business and the stock market thrived.

Similar to President Trump, the market was up and there looked as if nothing could go wrong. But, soon after President Coolidge left office, the country experienced the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and later, the Great Depression. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself, but if the hope of the Trump Administration fall short, the market will fall with them. What makes this situation more cautious is the Trump Administration, Senate, and/or Congress has done nothing concrete to cause the market to rise. The market rise is fueled by speculation. You can’t deposit speculation, hope and optimism into the bank: only dollars.

How will Justice Gorsuch change America? Robert Esgro ’19 Since its inception in 1788, the Supreme Court has been the final decision on court cases that regard a breach in Constitutional law. The Supreme Court normally consists of eight Associate Justices and one Chief Justice. There are nine Justices so that as an odd number, there will always be a majority decision. However, in the focal point of the American people since the night of February 12, 2016, is a breach to this standard: there have only been eight Justices on the panel, leaving room for a tied ballot. This breach came as a result of the sudden death of Former Justice

Antonin Scalia. Harvard Law School graduate Justice Scalia was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1986 by Former President Ronald Reagan. Reagan, known for being one of the most politically conservative presidents in history, appointed Scalia because of values they shared. Scalia served on the Supreme Court for three decades until 2016. Scalia, after a night of hunting in Texas on February 12, was found dead the following morning. Following his death, the Supreme Court was comprised of only eight justices: four liberalleaning, and four conservative-leaning. This meant that, until another Justice was nominated,

Judge Neil Gorsuch in his confirmation hearing.

the ballot could be tied, and the verdict of the lower court would be affirmed, as was the case in United States, et al. v. Texas, et al.. In 2014, Former President Barack Obama signed an executive order in an attempt to shield over four million illegal immigrants from deportation. Obama was under fire from Latino activist groups for deporting over two million illegal aliens, some of which groups even called him the “Deporterin-Chief.” The trial arose when the order was blocked by lower courts after Texas and 25 other states sued, claiming the president had no power to order the changes. The eight justices, after deliberating, delivered the following, one-

sentence verdict, “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” It was clear that this stalemate would have to be broken by the President appointing another Justice. On March 16, 2016, Former President Obama nominated Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Garland was not confirmed by the Senate, and his nomination expired on January 3, coinciding with the end of the 114th Congress. On February 1, President Donald Trump nominated the Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. President Trump chose Judge Gorsuch because of his similarities to Justice Scalia in terms of conservative policy. In fact, the President wanted the incoming Justice to be so much like Scalia that he often communicated with Scalia’s wife, Maureen, for guidance in replacing Scalia. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway described Mrs. Scalia as “a rock throughout this entire process.” Judge Gorsuch is known for interpreting the Constitution as it was written, just like Antonin Scalia. He is also known for his dissenting stance on abortion and affirming stances on religious freedom and pro-gun laws, which line up with Scalia’s views as well. Justice Gorsuch, thanks to the Senate Republicans enacting the “nuclear” option, has been confirmed by the Senate. Republicans have 52 of 100 seats in the Senate. Before, Republicans needed 60 votes to end a filibuster and confirm Judge Gorsuch. After, they needed only a simple majority: 51 out of 100 votes.

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A new Cold War? Yan Graf ’20 It is 2005, and president Vladimir Putin is standing before the Russian People on television, giving an address to the Russian Parliament. Midway into his speech, he describes the fall of the Soviet Union as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.” What does this mean? Is this just a comment taken out of context? Does Putin want to re-establish the Soviet Union? Take back all of it’s former holdings? Is Putin’s Russia a threat? The question of whether Putin is a threat is becoming increasingly important, just as his net approval ratings, according to a poll by The Economist, jumped up 56% among Republicans since July 2014, with 9 out of 10 of Republicans calling him “a strong leader.” Many say this is a result of the rise of Donald Trump’s noticeably soft tone on Russia during the campaign, calling Putin “very smart,” and promising to improve relations with Russia. The rise of Trump and his unique brand of conservatism is likely the reason behind this rise in popularity for Putin. Despite many Trump supporters liking Putin, not all do, such as Third Former Brandon Windell, who said: “Putin is a threat to America.” Trump’s friendliness towards Russia, along with his denial of Russian hacking in the U.S. election and sketchy ties many of his cabinet members have to the Kremlin, have caused some, like Slate. com Contributing Editor Franklin Foer to call him “Putin’s Puppet.” Foer said, “If the Russian

president could design a candidate to undermine American interests—and advance his own—he’d look a lot like Donald Trump.” Trump also has expressed his disapproval with NATO, our strategic alliance with much of Europe, saying that NATO members like the Baltic States, who are especially vulnerable to Russia, need to contribute more. Trump’s rejection of NATO may open the way for Putin to attack vulnerable eastern European countries like Moldova, Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic States. Some say Putin is indeed planning on taking back the former territories of the USSR, and that he is a grave threat to the U.S. and her allies. In the past decade, Putin has brutally crushed insurgents in the Russian state of Chechnya, invaded Georgia, annexed Crimea, and sent soldiers into Ukraine. His country has the second largest army in the world, and the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. However, Putin has proven adept at furthering his means with less militaristic means. The Kremlin has invested heavily into ProKremlin media across the planet. Channels like RT, which supposedly reaches 700 million people, spread pro-Russian information. Putin also has channels that specifically target neighboring countries, like the First Baltic Channel in Latvia, which he uses to increase ethnic tensions and turn people against each other, just like he did in Ukraine. He has also been accused of having ties to the hackings of the DNC and the information that was released, which helped Trump. However, Trump isn’t 100% pro-Putin. Secretary of

State General James Mattis has labeled Russia a “principal threat to U.S. interests,” meaning that the U.S. will not completely fold to Russia. Additionally, recent airstrikes in Syria by U.S. forces ordered by Trump have soured relations between the two countries, with Putin labeling it “a violation of international law,” also adding that he would halt deals with the U.S. military. However, a wide coalition of people, ranging from Former President Obama to right-wingers like Alex Jones, all agree that Russia is not our biggest priority in terms of threats. In late December last year, Obama said of Russia, “They are a smaller country, they are a weaker country, their economy doesn’t produce anything anyone wants . . . they don’t innovate.” Much of what he says is true. U.S. sanctions have crippled Russia, shrinking their economy to the size of Italy’s, despite having twice the population and more natural resources, corruption runs amok in his administration, with estimates that he is secretly the richest man on earth, the value of the currency, the ruble, has fallen dramatically and his country is one of the poorest per capita in Europe. They don’t have many allies as well, with main partners being Iran, Syria, Belarus, and the central Asian states as allies. Despite its weaknesses, however, Putin’s Russia poses a significant threat to the U.S. and her allies. Putin has shown his skill, and more importantly, his willingness to use both his military and other assets like propaganda to annex, threaten, and attack his neighbors. He constantly pressures close

NATO allies like the Baltic states or Moldova and has had his fair share of animosity with the Turks. Moreover, he has silenced political opposition, and despite the struggling economy, his approval ratings are at record highs. Whether we are seeing a new Cold War emerge between America and Russia or not, Russia will still be an enemy to America, and that fact isn’t likely to change any time soon.

Drawing of President Vladimir Putin.

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The Index

Arts

April 2017

Artist of the issue: Troy Gibbs-Brown Gaspard Vadot ’18

You may have seen Troy Gibbs-Brown’s pictures hanging on the wall outside Ms. Kasmen’s office. His love of the beauty of this world has fueled his passion for photography, and, over the past few years, he has worked hard at his art and has progressed tremendously, from taking pictures for fun two years ago to now, waking up early and going to bed late to get the perfect shot and make the right edits. During his freshman year, Gibbs-Brown enrolled in the Spanish trip to Nicaragua. It was leading up to this trip that he began to be interested in photography; he had been exposed to the art and decided that he wanted to pursue it. The success and attention that his pictures from the trip got after he returned made him realize that it was worth it to continue taking and sharing pictures. Gibbs-Brown said, “Once I began to see photography as a way to share experiences with those who didn’t have the opportunities that I did, that is when I knew I loved it.” Gibbs-Brown took Ms. Blatt’s Photography class as a Fourth Former, and enrolled in 2D Art Portfolio* as a Fifth Former. He understands that, although photography is his passion (and quite frankly, his talent), Haverford art classes provide him with the chance to grow as an artist in general. Even as a child, Gibbs-Brown was involved artistically: drawing, sketching and painting whenever he had the chance. To him, those art forms (combined with photography, of course) are the most effective ways to communicate his ideas. Through them, he has already proved to us that he can and will continue to show us how he sees the world.

“[It is worth taking a picture of] anything that catches my eye and makes me think: I wonder what that would look like as a photograph.” Gibbs-Brown spends extensive amounts of time waiting for the perfect shot and editing his pictures. He believes it is important to focus his photography in a way that the audience may not

notice everything there is to see the first time that they look at the picture: every time they look, there is something else to see or to understand more deeply. For both for the photographer and the audience, this means keeping an open mind, and changing their perspective. In Gibbs-Brown’s work, one may notice the photographer’s choices to highlight an aspect of the scene, but it truly is the work of the audience to seek the meaning in the framing and to understand how the artist’s perspective on the scene shapes its significance. Gibbs-Brown’s photography often focuses on nature and landscape. While those are his favorite to photograph, he simply enjoys taking pictures of anything that makes him look twice. As he says, it is worth taking a picture of “anything that catches my eye and makes me think: ‘I wonder what that would look like as a photograph.’” At that point, Gibbs-Brown would take out his trusty Nikon D3200 and immortalize the moment. It takes skill to visualize such moments and transmit them to an audience in a meaningful way. In the past few years, Gibbs-Brown has made considerable steps in the field, and hopes to continue improving and exploring in the years to come. “At this point in my life,” he explained, “I can’t imagine photography not playing a role in my future. It’s an aspect of my life that has grown so much in such little time that I am infatuated with the thoughts of what it can turn into for me.” Needless to say, Gibbs-Brown has many dreams for his future in photography. His role model, Chris Burkard, followed his own photography dreams by dropping out of college at age 19 and became an internationally recognized photographer. Although Troy does not know exactly how he wants to do it, he knows he wants photography to be a major part of his life. In his words, “I know that my love for this world that we live on and the beauty that it holds is something that I want to share with everyone; I just haven’t found the way to do that yet.” Troy’s advice to anybody interested in photography would be to just go for it. “Take as many pictures as you possibly can,” he said. “You will notice so much about the world and the environment that we live in by capturing moments in life, especially when you realize that some of the moments that you capture only occur once.”

“Illuminated Crystals” by Troy Gibbs-Brown

“Splitting Sol” by Troy Gibbs-Brown

Philadelphia Museum of Art’s must-see watercolor exhibit Vincent Scauzzo ’20 Watercolor is a light, water-based paint, whereas traditional oil paint is oil-based and heavier. At the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s watercolor exhibit, the artists used both watercolor and oil in their paintings, among other mediums. The part painted from oil stood out against the soft watercolor background, making for dramatic contrasts. Other artists used ink in their watercolor paintings, which had the same effect of oil: making the image pop. The first painting is Diamond Shoal by Winslow Homer, one of the main artists featured. This painting is of a sailboat moving through a storm with galeforce winds and a deadly current.

Homer painted a vivid and dramatic image. How could it be watercolor? It looked as heavy and vivid as oil. Even though Homer painted a magnificent painting, he still wanted some finer lines, lines that could not be painted using traditional watercolor, so he used graphite pencil. By using this medium, he could emphasize certain waves and parts of the boat, setting them apart from the rest of the picture. Another artist, James Hamilton, created a painting that had people on a beach. Though the people themselves were not detailed, he still painted their reflection in a puddle in the sand. Painting real-world light effects and reflections reminded me of Caravaggio, famous for his

realistic paintings that incorporated new levels of detail, such as refracted light coming through a glass of water. When amateurs paint, they use a traditional white canvas or paper. When professional artists like Homer painted, they would use different color canvases depending on what the subject was. In Homer’s Diamond Shoal, he used a dark gray background because he was painting a storm. Other artists used a green or tan sheet of paper. Not only were these different colors used because that was what was needed for the painting, but also because they set the mood. Grey made the painting feel dark and cold. Green or olive drab, made the painting seem damp and earthy. Tan added dryness and brightness.

PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART

One of my favorite paintings in the exhibit, Henry Farrer’s Winter Scene in Moonlight, stood out from the others. As the title describes, it is a painting of a full moon with wispy clouds over a snow-covered pasture. Instead of painting a pitch black night sky, Farrer painted a blue sky. And it was not a dark navy blue, it was lighter. The trees in the pasture had shadow and the snow looked bright white. This made the moon appear bright, as if you were in a dark room and you shined a flashlight on the painting, illuminating the pasture with a white light. Using colors that would not otherwise be thought of as existing in real life in order to portray an image that looks real is an example of the mark of a true artist. There are so many beautiful paintings here that one could spend hours looking at each. Anyone who is the least bit interested in art should go and see this exhibit because there is such a variety of subject matter. The exhibit will be open until May 14th at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Detail from “Diamond Shoal” by Winslow Homer

PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART

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The Index

Sports

April 2017

Baseball falls valiantly to Archbishop Carroll Peter Solomon ’17

If a spectator were watching Archbishop Carroll (4-1) host the Haverford School (7-4) on April 8 from inside a building, it would seem like a beautiful day. There was not a cloud obscuring the blue sky, and the sun was shining down on the newlyrenovated turf field as the two teams played ball. Outside, however, fierce gusts of wind provided a different aspect of the seemingly beautiful day. Such was the case with The Haverford School’s 1-0 loss to the Archbishop John Carroll Patriots. The final score of the game was not a good representation of how the game played out. A pitching duel found Fords Fourth Former Calvin Costner matched up against Patriots freshman Kamal Gray. The two young pitchers both played their roles effectively, each throwing four scoreless innings before being relieved in the fifth. Costner allowed just one hit, in a first-inning single hit by Patriots sophomore Tyler Kehoe (who later would be one half of a double play), and also added on three strikeouts to his impressive day. Gray and his reliever Ian Meyers, however, had a different story on this day. Haverford’s eight hits doubled Carroll’s four hits, but their inability to finish hurt them. The Fords left twelve runners on base this game, including at least one man left in scoring position in every inning except the seventh. Junior Justin Meyer was left on second in the first after a fly out. A second-inning lead-off single and steal left Fourth Former Logan Keller on second, before advancing to third on a sacrifice hit by Fifth Former Isaiah Winikur. Keller was left there after two straight strikeouts to retire the side. The third inning also started off promising, with Tommy Toal’s 100th career hit coming on a lead-off single. Sixth Former Dave Hogarth also got a hit on a single to shallow left, before both being advanced on a Bryan Hyland walk

to load the bases with one out. Two straight strikeouts left the three Sixth Formers on base. It was just one of those days for the Fords. The sixth inning told the tale of the game. A Logan Keller double to deep left field was followed by an Isaiah Winikur walk. A Calvin Costner bunt resulted in a fielder’s choice where all three runners were safe, leaving the bases loaded with no outs. Sophomore Joe Bonini grounded into a fielder’s choice, where Logan Keller was out at home, leaving the bases still loaded with one out. A Tommy Toal sacrifice bunt appeared to be legged out by Winikur, but he was called out at home, leaving the bases loaded with two outs. A ground out retired the side, and Haverford again did not capitalize on having the bases loaded. Carroll’s sixth inning told a different story. Fourth Former Zack Summy struck out Carroll sophomore Sean Lawley before facing sophomore

Tyler Kehoe. A Kehoe one-out single to left was followed by a steal, leaving him on second with one out. This set the stage for junior Cole Chesnut to drive in Kehoe on a single to right field. Two hits was all it took for the Patriots. A lack of seventh-inning offense by the Fords ended the game with a 1-0 win for the Patriots. The common sentiment among members of the team was that they need to take better advantage of their opportunities moving forward. “We got opportunities early, and let them get away,” Coach Bob Castell said. “Without putting pressure on them, they only needed to score one run.” Tommy Toal, a Sixth Form captain and the starting second baseman, shared this sentiment. “We need to hit better with runners in scoring position,” Toal said. “Everything else will come along with that. It’s definitely frustrating to be in those situations and come

Fifth Former Isaiah Winikur runs toward second base.

out scoreless, so that’s something we need to fix.” Starting pitcher Calvin Costner did his part, allowing only one hit through four innings pitched. “I feel indifferent because they said I pitched pretty well, but they didn’t want to extend me because that could be bad for the league. We didn’t get the win, so that needs to be our goal moving forward, regardless of any performance by any individual,” Costner said. The loss to Carroll followed a heartbreaking loss to Malvern the day before. “We said this needs to be a throw-away week,” Sixth Form captain Dave Hogarth said. “We have a lot of baseball to play moving forward, so if we react too much to a down week, it could hurt us in league play. We’re all ready to rebound.”

PETER SOLOMON ’17

Baseball eyes Inter-Ac title Biagio DeSimone ’19 The snow has melted from the turf field. After hours of preparation in the bitter-cold air and the warm Florida sun, the baseball team is ready to defend their state title. The fourth place Southeastern Pennsylvania ranking, given by Philly.com, is fuel to the fire for the offensively-loaded lineup. This spring, the baseball team is looking to continue its dominance in the top-tier Inter-Ac league. For Sixth Form catcher Bryan Hyland, the goals of the season remain the same, “compete in

every game and win.” Hyland adds to the power of the offensive punch. He holds a key position as catcher, filling the role of recent graduate James McConnon, one of the few position players lost from last year’s team. However, Hyland is definitely ready to take on the challenge. “James was a good player and leader,” Hyland said, “but I am ready and eager to embrace it [the challenge].” The Inter-Ac league is stacked this year. Asked about facing the “double-headed monster” of Malvern Prep and Penn Charter, Head Coach

Mr. Bob Castell said, “Everybody has players that can hurt you...we are looking at it as a tengame tournament. One big game can make the difference.” The Fords are fit to make a run at winning that ten-game tournament. Coach Castell said the team “is very experienced. We are returning 7 of our 8 position players.” Camaraderie complements the Fords’ skill level. Third Former Patrick Toal said, “The team captains and upperclassmen have done a great job

Fourth Former Logan Keller strikes the ball in game against Malvern Prep on April 7.

of making us [other Third Formers] feel a part of the team.” The importance of chemistry and strong camaraderie on a team is important to its success. Coach Castell further said, “The team is starting in a good place after having success together [last season], and that the young guys will be able to find their fit.”

MR. JIM ROESE

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Sports

April 2017

Track’s depth shines in win over Inter-Ac Champs, GA Jacob Wertheimer ’17 Coming off of an up-and-down performance against Malvern, tension lingered in the air as the revamped Fords took on defending InterAc champions Germantown Academy in a track meet on Wednesday, April 5. This was the first showing for many of the new Fords in the second Inter-Ac meet of the season. Germantown had star power from Junior Kyle Garland — winner of the pentathlon at the New Balance Indoor Track & Field National Championship — but Haverford’s depth was on full display across events as the Fords won 69-45. Although Garland took both singular events he participated in — the 110m hurdles over Fifth Former Sam Lindner and the 400m dash over Fourth Former Dan Whaley — the Fords recovered with Sixth Form duo of Carnel Walker and Aaron Hudson taking the top-two spots in the 100m dash and helping to comfortably win the 4x100m relay.

“We’re coming along well. We’ve got a lot of talent ... This is probably the deepest team that I’ve ever had.” - Coach Kolade Rounding out the sprints, Walker also won nail biters in both the 200m dash and 4x400m relay, which he anchored, by a tenth of a second and one second, respectively. “It was my first meet of the season, but I’ve done this before, so I wasn’t nervous,” Walker

said. “I got down in the blocks, and once the gun went off, I was running off of pure instincts and was able to finish in first.” He came out of the blocks and around the bend hard in the 200m dash, but the quickness of Germantown’s Capone kept the race neck-andneck. It was not until the straightaway, as Walker reached top speed, that he was able to pull away for the victory, 22.7 seconds versus 22.8. Third Former Caleb Reed and Sixth Former Taj Bland took the top-two spots in the 300m hurdles despite it being the latter’s first time in the race. Head coach Mr. Luqman Kolade said, “We’re coming along well. We’ve got a lot of talent… This is probably the deepest team that I’ve ever had. Last year part of the reason that we didn’t win Inter-Acs was because the top guys got hurt, and we didn’t have the guys who could carry the load point-wise. This year we have a lot more talent, freshmen class up.” The distance team also had a strong showing with Fifth Former Connor Tracy and Sixth Former Aditya Bhise taking the top-two spots of the 1600m with relative ease. Tracy also took second behind Sixth Former Nicholas Magnani in the 3000m. In the field events, the new and improved shot put crew took center stage, demonstrating both raw talent and numbers. Returning throwers Fourth Former Petey Lemmon and Sixth Former Jacob Wertheimer took first and third in the event. Fifth Formers Colin Hurlbrink and Asim Richards came in at fourth and sixth respectively. It was the first time throwing for the two of

them, and they looked unsure. New to the event, neither knew how to glide or spin, and yet were still able to compete off of raw strength from a standing power position. With practice, the two look more than capable of becoming major contributors down the road. In the jumps, Fifth Former Lamont Lucas took first in the triple jump and third in the long jump behind Germantown’s McCloskey and Hudson of the Fords. McCloskey also won the high jump over Sixth Former Jack Biddle. It was a strong showing for the Fords. The team came out with a win against Germantown despite missing key sprinters Deion Hawkins and Joshua Ridenour. The meet was also Sixth Former Solomon Dorsey’s first time out; he’s still recovering from injury, limiting his participation in both the long and triple jump. Beating a threat like Germantown early in the season is a strong sign for the youthful and developing Fords. Still, it is far too early to claim the Inter-Ac title just yet. Some threats stand in the way of the Fords’ chances at winning the Inter-Ac. Coach Kolade said, “It’s hard to tell. Penn Charter is always pretty good, but GA has basically the best athlete in the country. Garland could win in every event he’s in, but I don’t know how much else they have.”

“The goal every year is that you want to win the Inter-Ac championship. It is obviously the biggest goal,” Coach Kolade said. He also said that team members should have “individual good seasons, especially if they are trying to get times for college. Winning the 4x400 meter relay race at Penn Relays is the biggest goal.”

Country to pack up towards the front and get a lot of points for the team.” This year, the track team gained many new runners to add depth. Coach Kolade said, “It helps for the future too. We have [Third Formers] who might not score this year, but could in the coming years.” He advises that the young runners should “stick with it. That way, we have a legacy of good teams rather than just one year.” “With distance running, you need bodies,” Coach Long said. “It’s hard to get guys interested in going out the door on a run. If you can get 20 guys out running with each other for more than one season at a time, then there is a greater pool of talent to pull from. If we can take from a larger bucket of distance runners, then it gives a better chance of having those top three to six guys be really top-end guys.” The distance squad is still rebounding from the loss of star runner Charlie Scales. But Coach Long isn’t worried. “Nick Magnani is strong and healthy this year after a serious foot injury at

MR. JIM ROESE

Sixth Former Aaron Hudson jumps in track meet.

Track adds new talent, gears up for title Vincent Scauzzo ’20 The sound of birds chirping, the sight of flowers blossoming, and a feeling of happiness in the air: it’s spring. But more importantly, it’s track season. For much of the preseason and early season, the track team has battled rain, snow, sleet, or hail: none of which could keep them off the track. There are five track coaches, and each coach works with a different group. Mr. Kolade works with the sprinters, and Mr. Long coaches the distance guys. Along with them, there is Mr. Fox, Mr. Traynham, and the new shot-put coach, Mr. Trocano.

“With distance running, you need bodies. It’s hard to get guys interested in going out the door on a run.” - Coach Long

“[Young runners should] stick with it. That way, we have a legacy of good teams rather than just one year.” - Coach Kolade Coach Long said, “As the distance squad, we want to try to contribute as many points to [InterAcs] as possible. We don’t have a lot of events, so we need to use the top-seven squad from Cross-

Fifth Former Mark Gregory and Fourth Former Khalil Bland demonstrate their prowess on the track.

the end of last season. Mark Gregory and Will Merhige are really doing well and have potential. A lot of young, new guys are coming on the squad,” Coach Long said. According to Magnani, aside from SCHA, all the Inter-Ac teams are strong. With a surplus of runners, young talent, and multiple coaches, the team looks to bring home the title of Inter-Ac Champions. There are many stars on the team, including Anthony Calvelli and Sam Lindner, both top performers in their events, who could set personal records and possibly school records this season. If there is one thing that needs to happen this year, it is that the team needs to stay healthy. Last year, many runners were sick or injured during the championship, which cost the team a title. This year, the team looks primed to take the title.

MR. JIM ROESE

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The Index

Sports

April 2017

Upperclassmen lead Ultimate Frisbee to O’Hara takedown Mallik Twyman ’17

The sun shines brightly in the sky, a cool breeze kisses the cheeks of the players, and the frisbees are once again gliding through the air. The Ford Frisbee team plans to make a statement this year, the goal is to be one of the best teams in the area. On Cardinal O’Hara’s Springfield campus on Tuesday April 4, the Fords found themselves in an early 6-3 deficit. The wet ground slowed down the team’s quickest player, and strong winds forced the frisbee to drift from its intended target. In addition, the team was missing inspiring team captain Aidan Veno.

“[The win brought together a string of intense practices in consequence of our earlyseason loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh. Being able to pull it out by a slim margin, 10-8, restored confidence in them team’s chemistry.” - Harper Weigle ’17

handlers George Maguire, and Nick Parente hitting the cutters,” Williams said. “The team seemed to be firing on all cylinders.” Obviously the team remained in good hands, with or without the captain leadership. What most cannot see is the countless hours of times the team works on perfecting their craft. They must learn to sail a perfect pass twenty feet away to a destination, leap into the air and catch a fast flying frisbee. Sixth Former Harple Weigle said, “[The] win brought together a string of intense practices in consequence of our early-season loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh. Being able to pull it out by a slim margin, 10-8, restored confidence in the team’s chemistry.” The team was able to execute a near-perfect play that they learned five minutes prior to the game. Williams said, “It’s different this year on the team. There is a lot of trust in each other, we all know we can things done. We have some serious threats on the team including Tucker Matus, Alex Karlson, and David Aspinall. I’m willing to say with the chemistry and trust on this team, we will be one of the best teams in a long time.”

Into the breach stepped Sixth Former Cal Williams, eager to demonstrate his talents. “With

Fourth Formers George Maguir and Nick Parente in action.

DR. ANDREW FENTON

Ultimate Frisbee ready for Divison 1 competition Matt LaRocca ’18 Last spring, the Ultimate Frisbee team won the Division 2 league title and PHUEL Cities Championship by defeating local ultimate powerhouse Upper Merion in a thrilling game. Lead by coach Dr. Andrew Fenton, Mr. Greg Ressler, and Mr. Samuel Walters, the team returns many key players from last year and is excited to have the chance to improve on such a historic season. Because of the many players returning from last year and a talented incoming Third Form class, the Fords have big goals for the 2017 season. “Last year we had a successful season winning the Division 2 league and we won the PHUEL Cities Championship game against Upper Merion,” said fifth Former David Aspinall. “This year, we are trying to play more D1 teams so that we can have our team lifted up to D1 from D2 for next year.” Aspinall believes that these games will also help prepare the team for the PHUEL Cities Championship Tournament on May 20th-21st, in which they will be competing in Division 2. Ultimate Frisbee team kicks off their most recent game.

To reach their goals for the season, Aspinall believes that the team must work very hard during the season. The team also hopes the new level of competition that they will face will bring out the team’s potential. “To reach these goals, we are trying to play more challenging opponents in Division 1, as well as working on conditioning and practicing our plays every day,” said Aspinall. As a result of the Fords wanting to play Division 1 teams, their schedule is stacked, so every match counts. “Our toughest opponent this season will be North Penn since they are a strong D1 team,” said Aspinall. “This game will help define whether or not we are a D1 worthy team.” Last season, the Fords fell to North Penn 13-4. Along with North Penn, the team will contend with very strong team from Plymouth Whitemarsh, Strath Haven, and Methacton.

DR. ANDREW FENTON

Crew heads toward Henley with momentum George Rubin ’17 The most successful scholastic crew program in the nation is rowing its way back to dominance. Through its 75-year existence, Haverford Crew has won over seventy-five Stotesbury titles and over three hundred city and local championships. And the program is finally back. For the first time in recent history, Haverford is rowing a varsity eight, and the eight performed successfully in the first few races of the season. In the second Manny Flick, they placed second overall, less than four seconds behind St. Joe’s. In the third Flick, the eight finished second in its heat, less than two seconds off LaSalle, with a decisive victory over St. Joe’s and Episcopal. Despite the early success, the boat has yet to reach its potential. “We still have a lot of work ahead of ourselves in preparation for cities,” said head coach Mr. Jonathan Stephanik. “I think there’s enough time to get that in and see what we can come up with.” The boldness of Stephanik’s decision to row an eight this year cannot be understated. With a crew squad only 35 strong, Haverford is going up against teams like St. Joe’s and La Salle with numbers ranging from 100-140 kids. Even with

a boat that’s technically sound, it’s hard to fight those numbers. But for the varsity squad this year, the team’s size is not a deterrent. Mr. Stephanik summarized the team’s mindset, saying, “This is what we got and we gotta go after it either way.” The fifth Flick will be the true test of how far these rowers have come. “I think we definitely have to prove ourselves a little more, especially go out there and row a full race,” said Mr. Stephanik. The boat has put together certain sections of the race, performing well on the start and the sprint but losing water in the middle section. While the eight makes final changes in the preparation for the Philadelphia City Championship and Stotesbury Regattas, in the back of their minds rest larger ambitions. For the first time in twenty years, Haverford will be taking an eight to the Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames in England, the sport’s birthplace. With eighteen rising Sixth Formers on the team, Mr. Stephanik decided this would be the year to return to the most important scholastic race in the world. Six-hundred meters longer, Henley is a completely different race that requires a completely different mindset.

Participation in Henley is an important element in the rebuilding of the program. The team’s goal is to begin representing itself in England every couple years, giving it a place at the table of the most competitive scholastic programs. Coach

Stephanik said, “There’s no bigger event or better experience in the rowing community.” With the growth of the new middle school program to forty kids, the future of Haverford Rowing looks bright.

Sixth Former Michael Boston rowed at the 2017 Spring Erg-A-Thon.

MS. BETSY BARRON

Page 15

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Sports

April 2017

Lacrosse follows OT thriller with victory over Boys Latin Evan Haas ’17 Finishing close games makes the Fords one of the nation’s top lacrosse teams and programs. The Fords have one of the hardest schedules in the program’s history, but with a young and improving team, they could easily beat anyone on any given day. After a slow performance offensively in the first half, the Fords pieced together a seven-goal third quarter to take a quick lead over top-ten ranked opponent, Boys’ Latin on Tuesday, April 4. The Fords were able to hold out against Boys Latin’s offensive powerhouse to finish the game 12-11. Just a week earlier, the Fords defeated topranked Culver Academy at home in double

overtime. Clearly, the win gave some second-half inspiration to the Fords as they watched the Boys’ Latin Lakers slip away in the first half. The lacrosse team looked one step behind the Lakers for the first two quarters. Defensively, communication was lacking. With four of the Lakers’ five opening-half goals going unassisted, the Fords needed to find a way to stop the oneon-one matchups that the Lakers were looking for. Sixth Form midfielder Ryan Jacob said, “They liked to set a lot of picks, so we worked to get around their picks to match their men.” Jacob, who will be continuing his lacrosse career at Ithaca College next spring, went head

to head with household-name midfielder Koby Russell, who will go on to play at High Point, Greg Ey, a Penn State-bound midfielder, and occasionally, attackman Matt Brandau, who had five points versus the Fords, and will play at Yale in the Spring of 2019. At halftime, Coach Nostrant encouraged his players to “play faster and push the ball more,” hoping to capitalize on some chances that the Fords missed out on early in the contest. For Fifth Form attackmen Luke O’Grady and T.J. Malone, that is exactly what they did. O’Grady converted four goals on nine shots, and Malone also had four goals, on six shots. The two attackmen connected

Fourth Former Gavin Burke celebrates with Fifth Former T.J. Malone in a 12-11 victory over Boys’ Latin

to give Fords a four-goal run at the start of the third quarter. Malone turned on the afterburners to score three of his four goals one-on-one with his defender. “I think physically, they were pretty small. As an attack unit, we took advantage of it and [were able] to score a lot of goals,” said Malone. Malone has not been used to spotlight until this year, where he earned his stripes as one of Haverford’s starting attackmen by having multiple 5+ point games this season. Malone’s ability to dodge and finish left handed gave the Lakers serious trouble from behind the net at the “X.” Malone drove right and left, always looking to feed the cutters, but when there was no option other than to drive to the net, he rarely shied away. Although O’Grady is as shifty as attackmen come, he took a different approach. This year O’Grady has made his name as the Fords’ sniper, and he did not hold back against Boys’ Latin. He shot one laser right under the crossbar from the right wing that shook the crowd. Even the Boys’ Latin bench could not hold back from acknowledging the accuracy of the shot. “The first couple quarters are for testing defenses. We [watch] the defenders and see their tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses, then targeting them in the second half on where they are struggling,” O’Grady said. He finished with two more goals in the second half. After leading 10-7 at the end of the third quarter, Ey and Russell combined for two quick goals to bring the score to 10-9. But, just as the Lakers began to fuel their comeback, Malone and Fourth Former midfielder Connor Devine each scored a goal to seal the win. After a big loss to McDonough early in the season, the lacrosse team is back on track after their comeback over Boys’ Latin.

MR. ENRIQUE HERVADA

Tennis eyes eighth straight Inter-Ac crown Connor Lees ’17 After a dominant 16-1 campaign a year ago, the tennis team enters the spring looking for its eighth straight Inter-Ac title. Last year, the team won every individual and team match en route to a regular season Inter-Ac title and a first place finish at the Inter-Ac Championships. This year, the team returns all three starting singles players, and only graduated three doubles players. Led by four members of the 2016 All- Inter-Ac tennis team and a strong Fifth Form class, the Fords are well-built for a run at an eighth-straight league crown.

Potter, Benji Bacharach, Luke Egan, Emilio Fink, and Nick and Julius Golz helped last year’s team close out marquee wins over Central League champs Radnor and a strong Lawrenceville team. The team has called up players from the talented JV team to fill out the backend of the lineup; Fourth Formers Thomas Ward, Neetish Sharma, and Jared Hoefner have seen more Varsity playing time. They have been battling Fifth Former Michael Pilkington and Third Formers Sunny Yu, Cole Wolf, and Ali Ba for spots on the third and fourth doubles teams.

Bacharach, McDevitt, and Nick Golz spent the preseason battling injuries. “We are fortunate that some players are back right on time for the season,” Head Coach Antonio Fink said. Bacharach and McDevitt healed in time for a crucial second week of the season that included matches against EA, Lawrenceville, and Conestoga. The team swept that difficult week, and with the win over EA, the team improved their odds for retaining the Inter-Ac. Out of conference, the team will visit perennial New Jersey powerhouses Haddonfield,

Montgomery, Princeton Day School, and West Windsor Plainsboro South, which was the only team to beat the Fords last year. Tennis will also look to defend their NEMA (Northeast MidAtlantic) title against other strong private school teams from McDonough in Maryland to the Brunswick School in Connecticut. As per usual, Episcopal and Penn Charter will be their primary challengers in league play.

“Playing on Varsity last year taught me what I needed to do to win matches against better players, and I am a better player for it.” - Grayson Potter ’18 Four-star recruit John Walsh will lead that charge at first singles. As the #160 ranked Fifth Former in the nation, Walsh wants to play Division-I college tennis. If he does, he will be the third student from the past three years to play D-I, joining Ben and Zach Lieb, who play for Penn State. Sixth Formers Will McDevitt and Connor Lees round out the singles lineup. Fifth Formers anchor the doubles lineup. After spending their Third Form years on Junior Varsity, the Fifth Formers stepped up to Varsity last year and showed no signs of inexperience. “Playing on Varsity last year taught me what I needed to do to win matches against better players, and I am a better player for it,” said Grayson Potter. Sixth Former Will McDevitt eyes the ball.

MR. JIM ROESE

Page 16

The Index

The Outdex

April 2017

Contributors: David Myers ’17, Chris Delaney ’17, Tucker Matus ’17, Will Pechet ’17, Andrew Lengel ’17, Grayson Nunnelee ’17, Jack Brown ’17, Drew Weiss ’17, Jack McKnight ’17

This issue of The Outdex would like to explore the many and varied projects our seniors will be taking part in this coming May. Some notable examples include: Dan Heffernan who will in the hopes of “thinking critically and communicating effectively” be practicing his everyday conversational skills for 30 hours a week. Mr. Fifer will be taking a month to attend a seminar on meeting quotas of seniors to yell at each day. Dr. Ellsberg drew inspiration from every senior of this spring who regularly turns three PowerPoint slides into a twenty-minute presentation. Kirk Oliver was recently kicked from The Outdex group. He then asked why and was told, “You are not funny.” To that he replied “No, I am Kirk.” The music video for Future’s “Mask Off” was previewed during the diversity assembly.

Bashar al-Assad or Dan Heffernan?

Notable Prom Happenings: Surprisingly, the “live show” was more heavily attended by the senior class than any actual assembly this year. Harper Weigle was seen with his girlfriend of several years, with whom he has a healthy and fulfilling relationship. Stevie Boerner was there.