The Index Eutαxia Swzein Dokei
Volume LXXV, No. 6
february 2014
Haverford, Pennsylvania - haverfordindex.com
Haverford’s New Facelift: Campus-Changing Construction In Store What will Haverford’s campus look like in a few years? Fifth Former Brendan Burns investigates the plans for the construction of a new middle school and other projects slated for the next couple years. Brendan Burns ‘15
In recent years, Inter-Ac schools have overseen what Philadelphia Magazine called a “billion-dollar building binge.” Besides the new gym, Lower School, and Upper School built at Haverford during the tenure of former headmaster Dr. Joseph T. Cox, new buildings were erected at Penn Charter, Baldwin, the Germantown Friends School, and Episcopal Academy. Episcopal was involved in an especially ambitious project, moving its campus from its longtime Merion location to a new 123-acre site in Newtown Square. The relocation to the new $212 million campus allowed Episcopal to build a dedicated science building and install fourteen tennis courts, ten squash courts, and nine dedicated athletic fields. This array of facilities is unattainable at Haverford’s centrally-located, but compact 33acre campus. How has Haverford managed this space, and how will it continue to improve it in the future? The Index spoke to several faculty to get a sneak peek into the school’s long-term development plans. As opposed to the decision made by the executive leadership at Episcopal Academy,
The Haverford School is not relocating from its 130 year-old campus any time soon. Assistant Headmaster Mark Thorburn elaborated that a “commitment was made to stay on the current campus” around fifteen years ago, after Dr. Cox became Headmaster. This decision, based on extensive investment in existing infrastructure, put two constraints on any future development. The first was an obvious factor – the size of the campus itself. Although Haverford did (and still does) own several schoolhouses on Panmure road that could theoretically be converted into usable space, Haverford’s campus was confined by retail space, Haverford College, and private residences. The second constraint, which first-year Headmaster Dr. John Nagl calls the “bane of his existence,” is a township limit on impervious surfaces. Haverford is permitted by the township to cover a certain percentage of its 33 acres with impenetrable materials (i.e. any surface that does not allow the percolation of water). The township imposes this limit out of environmental concerns – covering vast swaths of land with impermeable surfaces prevents groundwater recharge and creates a “heat island” effect, in which dense, manmade materials
Fords Focus: College Athletic Recruitment
In this edition of his monthly column, Editor-in-Chief Manav Khandelwal writes about the college process for Haverford’s top athletes. Manav Khandelwal
Many Sixth, Fifth, and even Fourth Formers might be pondering the college process right now; yes, it is important to live in the moment as a high school student, but students are invariably thinking about and planning for the four years after Haverford. For many of us, college thoughts revolve around grades, extra-curricular activities, and test scores solely. For the select few Haverford student-athletes, however, the process extends past the classroom and onto the athletic fields. Some of Haverford’s top-performing athletes earn the opportunity to solicit interest, or even receive scholarship offers, from this nation’s top institutions of higher learning. For example, 22 members of the Class of 2013 are now playing a sport in college, of which 20 are at the Division I level. College recruiting and athletic scholarships offer a unique opportunities for some studentathletes who might otherwise not be able to take advantage of them. Not only does it allow student-athletes to attend even more prestigious universities, but the scholarships make college very affordable. Haverford provides an excellent forum for its student-athletes to gain exposure from Division I scouts. “A benefit of a place like Haverford,” says Head basketball Coach Henry Fairfax, “where you have highvisibility players and credibility as a school and a program, you have the ability for more kids to be seen because you have those high-visibility
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players. If a school comes in to see one player, they still see the rest of The Haverford School team.” That applies to many sports, including basketball, lacrosse, baseball, and swimming. But what exactly is the process like for student-athletes? For the majority of students, it involves meeting with college counselors, taking some standardized tests, writing a few essays, and then waiting for several months to hear about their college fates. While studentathletes with college aspirations must do the same, they also have additional responsibilities. They must play sports year-round, go to tournaments and showcases, and talk frequently with college coaches and recruiters. There are certain things that apply to all sports and all recruited athletes. Many start thinking about the recruiting process early on, because college coaches are quick to target certain prospects, even early on in their careers. Penn-bound Sixth Former Connor Keating (lacrosse) remarks, “I first started to think about the college recruiting sophomore year when it became a reality that college was approaching.” “I started hearing from schools,” confirms Yale-bound Sixth Former Eric Anderson (basketball), “at the beginning of my sophomore year.” Fifth Form wrestler LJ Barlow, yet to make a college decision, told The Index that he began receiving letters as a Third Former. Continued on Page 7
Jimmy Boyle ‘15 details the risks of sending pictures via the Snapchat app and how it could have effects far into the future on Page 3.
The proposed plans for new buildings.
absorb solar heat and warm the surrounding air, among other effects. Effectively, this limit prevents the Haverford campus from becoming an urban jungle of pavement, brick, and stone, but it also limits expansion of academic and athletic facilities. Haverford responded to this
Brendan Burns ‘15
limitation during Dr. Cox’s tenure by building upwards – as can be seen in the new Field House and Lower School. Continued on Page 4
Human Relationships: New Pilot Course For Seniors
Editor-in-Chief Will Tackett ‘14 investigates the origins of this new class and discusses the possible futures of Haverford’s first co-ed course. Will Tackett ‘14
By now, many of you have heard about the human relationships course that is being offered to Sixth Form students this spring. The course will be looking at human relationships—from platonic to romantic—through the lens of philosophy and literature. The class will meet weekly for nine weeks and consist of 12-16 students, half from Haverford and half from Baldwin and Agnes Irwin. The course is the brainchild of Dr. Nagl, who had the idea in the months before he officially assumed his role as headmaster. He came up with the course after reflecting on his time at an all-boys school, Creighton Prep, in Omaha, Nebraska. One course he took, called ‘Marriage and the Family’ (also a co-educational class), stood out to him, in hindsight, as “the most important class” he took during his high school career. Dr. Nagl is also influenced by the writings of David Brooks, a New York Times columnist—and Radnor High School graduate. Brooks writes on a variety of topics, one of which is the importance of human relationships. In his writings, he talks about how “the most important factor in determining a person’s happiness is the relationships they maintain, especially the relationships with their life partner, rather than their career or their material wealth.” Dr. Nagl has found that the focus of Haverford’s motto, “Preparing Boys for Life,” is on the “part of life that happens between nine
and five, and not the part that happens before nine and after five.” Given the importance of knowing how to have successful relationships, one may wonder if the course is enough, and Dr. Nagl would agree with you: “It’s nowhere near enough, but it’s a step in the right direction.” The course this year is a pilot course designed to test the waters. Depending on the feedback from the focus group sessions that will be held after the class is over, Dr. Nagl says he would ultimately love to see this course become a graduation requirement, or, even better, a course that everybody takes but is not required. He wants it to be recognized as so important that it is taken by all. He would also like the course to be a full-time class that is held during the day, but there are transportation and scheduling constraints that go along with that vision. For now, however, the course is small and is being taught by Dr. Mark Gottlieb and Ms. Rachael Jennings. They both volunteered to teach the course, or as Dr. Nagl puts it, “fell on the hand grenade for me.” Ms. Jennings volunteered to teach because “it is a great opportunity to connect some of my greatest academic interests with one of my greatest interests as an educator: inter-and-intrapersonal relationships and empathy. Academically, I’m fascinated with evolving portrayals of love, lust, jealousy, and forgiveness.” Continued on Page 4
Brendan Burns ‘15 sits down with Dr. Nagl to talk about current events in the Middle East. Page 15.
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