June 2017 Index

The Index

The student voice... since 1888

Ευταξια Σωζειν Δοκει

June 2017

Volume LXXIX, No. 9

www.havindex.com

Haverford, Pennsylvania

Defying expectations and then some: the class of 2017 Connor Lees ’17 Recent alumni anticipated a hole left in their wake. The Class of 2017, they thought, couldn’t possibly match the Class of 2015, who anointed themselves “the greatest class in Haverford history” in their Index farewell.

Or the Class of 2016, who in theirs argued that they, actually, could be the best class ever.

Like the debate for the greatest basketball player ever, there’s no right answer. Instead of entertaining hypotheticals, let’s look at the very real mark the Class of 2017 has left on Haverford.

We left our mark on the sweater. To be exact, a “2016” sewn in on the maroon half. Entering EA Day, only the water polo team were clear favorites. The sweater had hung outside Dr. Nagl’s office for eight straight years; the Class of 2017 wasn’t letting it leave for Newtown Square. Led

by Davis Rosato, who shot a five-under par 68 at Aronmink earlier in the season, the golf team edged EA by seven strokes. Sixth Formers, dressed in their polos and khakis, trailed the golfers like at a pro golf event, bringing a US Open feel back to Merion Golf Club. Cross country, anchored

by Nick Magnani and Anthony Calvelli, were undefeated going into their race. Sprinting into the final stretch around Sabol, Magnani hurt his hip. Limping, he pressed on. His last strides were gutsy, and put the Fords up 2-0. Next to

MS. DAWN BLAKE

Sabol, the pool shook. The fan section lined McQuillen Pool for the water polo game, and erupted with each goal. Sixth Formers heckled EA’s tiny fan section squished behind the diving board as water polo, behind Ross Harryhill and goalie MJ Tricoli, trounced EA 12-5.

We kept the sweater, but that wasn’t enough.

Solomon Dorsey and Caleb Clothier upset EA’s soccer team 2-1, a statement win after a

Nothing but “10VE” for Loving

difficult start to the season. The football team completed the sweep, winning 21-19 in a game decided on a two-point conversion in the final seconds. The Sixth Form stormed the field to celebrate with quarterback Tommy Toal and running back Malik Twyman, who made first team All-Inter-Ac. What a start to the year.

We kept winning in the winter. Ryan Jacob and Teddy Fitzgerald made history for the hockey

team, helping them win their first Independence league title since 2009. Speaking of winning titles, Chris Callegari and the swimming and diving team had their best season in school history. They finished undefeated in dual meets for the first time since 1944, and earned their first ever outright Inter-Ac title by beating Malvern Prep at home.

cont. pg. 5

Year One of the Haverford School Henry Cordisco ’17

Evan Haas ’17

Doing anything for seventeen years with pride and passion is an impressive feat. For almost two decades, the Haverford community was blessed with Upper School Math Teacher and Assistant Varsity Lacrosse Coach Mr. Travis Loving.

Mr. Loving’s journey to Haverford started in 2000 at the annual Army-Navy football game, where he bumped into his West Point mentor, eighth Headmaster Joe Cox. Mr. Loving’s job in finance earned him the money that he always desired, but he quickly learned that “chasing money [could] be a lonely existence.”

Mr. Loving knew that he needed a change in scenery. Dr. Cox convinced Mr. Loving to explore teaching as a career; by the following week, Mr. Loving quit his job and settled into Haverford.

Before his arrival, Mr. Loving had not taught a day in his life.

Still, his minimal experience was his biggest asset. He had to use his ability to connect with new students, and he was, and still is, the poster boy for passionate teachers. He never settled for

INTEL CHEN ’19

less when it comes to his students’ education.

Mr. Loving often puts grades aside and devotes his time to making his students’ experiences at Haverford worthwhile, both in class and on the field. He has not only become a great teacher and coach, but also a mentor and counselor.

Nonetheless, his kindness and open arms towards students perhaps come back to bite him, as he is the most sought-after writer for college recommendation letters.

During his tenure, Mr. Loving coached national championship-winning lacrosse teams and current professional athletes and taught hundreds of students. But his influence in the first-floor Peer Counseling classroom has shaped to be the most meaningful. Mr. Loving teamed up with Upper School Counselor Ms. Janet Heed to create a safe environment where students can confide in their peers and and talk about anything on their minds.

cont. pg. 3

Railroad companies originally created the Main Line, which, in turn, founded the college preparatory schools comprising the InterAcademic league today.

The railroads served as the Main Line’s transportation network, providing safe and quick passage from Philadelphia to Paoli and back.

The Main Line’s eccentric name traces back to the 1840’s, when the “Main Line of the Internal Improvement of the State of Pennsylvania” planned to link Philadelphia and Pittsburgh by a system of roads, canals, and inclined planes over the Alleghenies. This plan never panned out, due to the difficulty of traversing the mountains, but the Pennsylvania Railroad was born.

After the Civil War, Pennsylvania Railroad President, George Roberts, argued for the development of what is now considered the Main Line as a residential and resort area to escape yellow fever outbreaks and the sweltering heat of the city. The Main Line offered several attractions:

clean air, sparse populations, and beautiful, dense foliage.

Roberts built a home for himself on the Main Line and urged his lieutenants to do the same.

Alexander Cassatt, a transplanted Pittsburgher, acquiesced to his boss’ pressure, later constructing his home in the Haverford area.

Haverford was one of the few towns whose name was given by Welsh settlers, who resided in the area nearly two hundred years before.

Following the tradition, other town names were deliberately “Welshified,” often by Roberts himself, to enhance the area’s appeal: Him Ponde became Narberth, Libertyville became Wynnewood, Cabinet View became Ardmore, Possumtown became Bryn Mawr, West Haverford became Rosemont, Cleavers Landing became Wayne, Spread Eagle became Strafford, and Cuckoldstown became Berwyn.

Haverford in June 1889.

Also inside this issue...

A look at this year’s graduation projects p.5

cont. pg. 4

INTEL CHEN ’19

Nick Magnani ’17 and Mark Gregory ’18 after a race. p.10

MR. JIM ROESE

ARCHIVES

havindex.com exclusive New student council prepares to take reins

Page 2

The Index

Editorials

June 2017

Farewell from Editors-in-Chief Sam, George, and Connor On the morning of November 9th, I woke up to the first sound I hear every morning: the unbearable refrain of my phone alarm which Apple aptly titles “Uplift.” I rolled over and grabbed my phone. Displayed below the snooze button were notifications from fifteen different news outlets; Donald Trump would be the next president of the United States.

Our year as Editor-and-Chiefs of The Index was a roller coaster of unexpected events both within the Haverford community and the outside world. The future we are now living is different than I ever could have imagined at the beginning of this year, or the beginning of upper school for that matter. Donald Trump is president, Neil Gorsuch is America’s new Supreme Court justice, and America has removed itself from the Paris Climate agreement.

It’s been a tough year for journalism in this country. Much of the American public has lost faith in its journalists and “fake news” has infected its social media outlets. We had a reporter from The Washington Post speak to the student body, and he seemed completely shaken by the recent election. While he defended his position as a member of the Washington establishment, he was battered and on the defensive from his experience covering this election.

The Index has been shaped by this year’s impassioned feelings and violent political debates. Our first editorial, “The Index kneels with Kaepernick,” was not warmly received by many on Facebook. Jared Holman’s article “Haverford’s underserved reputation?” ended

up receiving over 2,000 views and countless angry comments. An Index poll showed that our class was divided in political opinion, and impassioned hallway debates were not uncommon.

As crazy as this year was, The Index excelled.

We published an issue every month, something that has only happened in The Index’s glory days. Starting last spring with nothing but an expired domain name, Sean Hughes, Harper Weigle, and The Index web team created a stateof-the-art website. The 2017-18 Index staff is the largest it’s been in recent memory, and, with thirty plus contributors each issue, we almost achieved our goal of having 10% of the upper school involved every month. We survived a treacherous van ride to Columbia in New York, and overhauled the newspaper to look less scholastic and more professional.

While the world was in chaos, the class of 2017 did what Haverford’s Sixth Formers do every year: exceed expectations and have unforgettable experiences. The Index chronicled its historic sweep of EA Day, as well as our other athletic successes. Senior artists represented the school well in montana, and Oliver was one of the best Haverford musicals in recent history. Seniors were accepted into the most prestigious universities in the country. Dr. Nagl recognized a large number of students for their commitment to Haverford’s extracurricular activities at the Hephaestus banquet. The future that preceded us this year has been filled with more success than we could’ve imagined and the still uncertain future ahead looks bright.

INDEX STAFF

2016-2017 Editors-in-Chief Samuel Turner, Connor Lees, and George Rubin.

It’s hard to ignore the stark contrast between the chaotic outside world and the nonstop successes here at Haverford. While the Editors congratulate the senior class on all of its accomplishments, the outside world will be more rough and tumble. We as a country have a long and treacherous future ahead. As seniors and as journalists, we must make the

world our Haverford. We must continue to excel at everything we do and to promote good journalism. We must continue to pursue the truth and openness. Our last words as editors will be Shakespeare: “Ignorance is the curse of God, / Knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.”

Letter from 2017-18 Student Body President Robb Soslow Foremost, there is no greater honor, to me, than being voted as your Student Body President. As this year comes to a close, it is time for us to set our eyes on summer. Someone once told me that summer is where kids change the most, and in retrospect that has been entirely true for me. Summer is a time to be adventurous—to try new things and find yourself away from the bubble that is Haverford.

It’s over the summer where you meet lifelong friends outside of school. Take risks, but stay safe. Make the most of your break, reflect the virtues of this school, and have a damn good time. There’s no better advice I can give you, so go out there and see you next year.

INTEL CHEN ’19

The Index’s 2017-2018 Staff

P.J Rodden ’18, Samuel Turner ’18, Nick Chimicles ’19, Editors-in-Chief Neetish Sharma ’19, News Editor

Eusha Hasan ’18, Features Editor Toby Ma ’20, Assistant Features Editor

Will Henderson ’18, Opinions Editor John Comai ’18, Opnions Editor

Grant Sterman ’18, Politics Editor Robert Esgro ’19, Assistant Politics Editor

Lleyton Winslow ’20, Head Web Editor Noah Rubien ’20, Web Editor T.J. Malone ’18, Web Editor Payton Hollway ’18, Web Editor Aditya Sardesai ’20, Web Editor

Gaspard Vadot ’18, Arts Editor Vincent Scauzzo ’20, Assistant Arts Editor Matt LaRocca ’18, Sports Editor

Nick Pippis ’19, Assistant Sports Editor

Ms. Alicia Evans, Faculty Advisor Bobby Stratts ’18, Staff Photographer Mr. Thomas Stambaugh, 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.

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 LXXIX, No. 9 - June 8, 2017

Page 3

Mr. Loving Farewell cont.

A West-Point graduate, he is not known for being a gentle giant, but he realized that sharing his emotional side with students every other week would help all.

Mr. Loving used what he learned in Peer Counseling to connect with students on a day-today basis. If he ever notices that a student is having a rough day, week, or even month, he always asks, “What’s up, man?” or “Yo, you alright?”

What separates Mr. Loving from others is that when he asks those simple questions, he cares about the students’ answers. If a student responds with, “Actually, I’m not doing too great,” Mr. Loving would focus his attention to hearing his thoughts, hoping to help the student reach a solution. His warm presence attracted numerous students to Peer Counseling and even more students to his classroom.

The Index

Features

If a student’s grade slipped, Mr. Loving would invite him to meet any morning at 7 a.m. to offer help or advice.

During my sophomore year, Mr. Loving taught me Algebra II. After my first week of classes, I did not know what to think of my new teacher. Although he assigned a staggering twenty problems every night for homework, I felt I genuinely learned something.

I enjoyed his class, but he noticed that I grew increasingly nervous during tests. He would walk over to me and say, “One grade won’t take away from what you accomplish in this class. Freakin’ relax, Haas.”

That became my safety net during tests. I knew that my teacher was rooting for me, which gave me the confidence to succeed. During my final exam, I was tugging at my hair and staring at my

calculator when I saw him walk into the room.

He came right over to me as he often did, and one last time said, “Haas, you know how to do this. Let’s go!”

Mr. Loving’s efforts here prompted an offer from Berkeley Prep, in Tampa, Florida, to take a similar teaching and coaching position. “The school is Pre-K through twelfth grade, and has a very similar student body [to Haverford]. Only difference is it’s co-ed,” said Mr. Loving.

In recent years, Florida has grown into a powerhouse of high school lacrosse, and Mr. Loving hopes to capitalize on the up-and-coming talent in the Tampa area. “The school is very committed to getting good at lacrosse,” Mr. Loving said. “They are not bad right now, but are ready to take the next step.”

Mr. Loving has helped build a lacrosse

June 2017

dynasty at Haverford alongside Head Coach John Nostrant and Offensive Coach Mark Petrone.

Hopefully he can do the same in Tampa.

Mr. Loving was most proud of the Haverford brotherhood. “After Kip Taviano’s unfortunate passing in 2013, it was incredible to see the student body come together and help each other out. The student body continues to remember Kip,” said Mr. Loving.

Many things that make Haverford a remarkable institution: amazing students, athletes, faculty, and facilities. But, there are few teachers who make Haverford extraordinary. Mr. Loving is one of those special people. He may not realize his momentous impact on me and my classmates, but on behalf of the past seventeen graduating classes, we would like to thank him from the bottom of our hearts.

Farewell to the queen of the hive: Ms. Jacey Royer Eusha Hasan ’18 Throughout Ms. Jacey Royer’s career at Haverford, she has served as an invaluable mentor for her students and a trustworthy colleague.

In 2008, Ms. Royer enrolled into Penn State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 2013. That same year, she came to Haverford as a biology teacher and lab manager, playing an essential role in the science department ever since.

Ms. Royer’s unorthodox approach to teaching successfully engaged students in a traditionally tedious subject. Sixth Former Tyler Dunbar said, “I think the fact that Ms. Royer loves to have fun made her teaching exceptional. She was never the type of teacher to stand up front and lecture the whole class. We were always actively learning and doing individual or group activities. I can’t think of a day when I went through her class without smiling or laughing.”

Ms. Royer’s unique presentation of material forced students to learn actively, allowing them to understand concepts and discover parallels between chapters. “We were never lectured or forced to copy down notes for 45 minutes.

Oftentimes we had fun labs or other versions of hands-on learning,” said Dunbar.

Ms. Royer played an instrumental role in the science department, particularly with reshaping the new biology curriculum for Fifth Formers.

“As Lab Manager, her support of the science faculty positively impacts almost every boy who takes a science course [because] the time she saved the faculty is usually reallocated to direct interaction with students,” said Science Department Chair Mr. Tom Trocano.

Although Ms. Royer came to Haverford with no prior teaching experience, her dedication to students and personable attitude made biology class both transformative and enjoyable. She always made sure students never lagged behind the coursework or felt uncomfortable about a certain topic.

“Ms. Royer would always offer her help to anybody if they were struggling with the material,” Sixth Former Tommy Toal said, “She taught me in biology, which is one of the hardest classes at Haverford, and she helped me succeed.

[Her commitment] helped the class as a whole because, in my opinion, she never let anybody fall behind.”

Ms. Royer fostered a learning environment where every student felt included, making her students feel excited to go to class. Ms. Royer brings this same work ethic to the office and other out-of-class obligations, such as coaching third-team soccer and managing the Beekeeping Society. “She goes out of her way to anticipate the needs of others and to find ways to participate in the life of the school,” said Mr. Trocano.

“There have been several occasions where her organization, flexibility, and optimism have saved the day for me and most, if not all, members of the Science Department.”

Ms. Royer has formed countless personal connections with her students. Beyond teaching biology, she took the opportunity to know students on a deeper level and appreciate her time with them.

“I have so many memorable moments at Haverford that I will cherish forever,” Ms. Royer said. “One of my favorite moments in the classroom was when a senior student wanted to make a deal on behalf of his class: if he shot and

made a crumpled paper ball into the trashcan, then I would not assign homework for the evening. I happily agreed to his proposition.

Once the paper ball was about halfway through its trajectory straight into the can, I smashed it mercilessly into the ground (think Dikembe Mutombo commercial). I smiled and proceeded to assign homework.”

Her students shared similar memories, such as when the they dissected fetal pigs. Dunbar recalled, “Everyone was so taken back, and Ms. Royer just went right into the pig with ease and excitement. With some humor, she was able to encourage and push us all throughout the dissecting of the pig.”

Despite the warm memories and friendships, Ms. Royer wants to transfer her skills and knowledge elsewhere. Last year, she slowly eased out of Haverford by only working part-time as lab manager, but she feels that now is the time to make the complete transition.

“I will be working full time as the lab/quality manager for a local brewery in Berwyn called La Cabra Brewing,” she said. “Some of the work that I will do on a regular basis includes yeast propagation, product analysis (checking various chemical levels, performing sensory analysis), and sanitation checks on the brew system.”

Ms. Royer is fascinated by the microbiology and chemistry behind brewing, so when “the opportunity presented itself at La Cabra, I had to give it a shot,” she said. Additionally, Ms. Royer acknowledged that “scheduling will be a little more convenient for my family life outside of work.”

The student body and faculty thank Ms. Royer for her service to the school and wish her the best in future endeavors.

INTEL CHEN ’19

INTEL CHEN ’19

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The Index

Features

June 2017

The class of 2017 reflects on their time at Haverford Toby Ma ’20 In the second week of school, just as many were adjusting to the new year, the entire Upper School assembled in Centennial Hall to listen to Ninth Headmaster Dr. Nagl. Dr. Nagl talked about his military career serving in Operation Desert Storm and the Iraq War and his tenure as Headmaster of the Haverford School. At the end of his speech, Dr. Nagl regretted that in his years as headmaster, he has not had one year where the entire Sixth Form from the beginning of the year had graduated.

This year, however, every student of the Class of 2017 will graduate. The Class of 2017 includes young men of different backgrounds and dreams, while at the same time unified by the institution and community that is Haverford.

Sixth Former Mohid Khan has been attending Haverford since Pre-K, growing up and learning in the same campus for fourteen years. After graduating from Haverford, Khan will attend Johns Hopkins University in the fall and will major in mechanical engineering with a minor in Chinese. He plans to take a MATLAB class and practice Solidworks over the summer, which he says will be helpful in college. He will also apply to internships in engineering companies such as VEX. Khan has been a part of the Haverford Robotics team for all his Upper School years. In the 2016-2017 season, his team placed third in

JOSE MARTINEZ ’17

Jose Martinez stares into the distance

the world for the Skills Competition at the World Championships for VEX Robotics, a global competition which attracts hundreds of robotics teams from over 30 countries.

Khan’s favorite memory from Haverford is when his team won their division and placed fifth overall in the main competition last year in the 2015-2016 season. His team at the time was comprised of fellow Sixth Former Cal Williams and Arnav Jagasia ’16.

Over the course of the Robotics season, Khan said he has spent about 35-45 hours a week at the Robotics Lab. As a result, he was forced to learn effective time management to balance both schoolwork and Robotics.

“I learned to better use my free time throughout the day by working in the mornings, lunch, and free periods,” said Khan.

However, Khan sometimes needed to sacrifice sleep and schoolwork for Robotics, but his performance at the Worlds Competition more than paid off.

“It was awesome seeing all the hard work I put in throughout the entire year come to fruition,” he said, “and I think the skills gained made it [Robotics] worth it.”

Khan will also miss the school’s culture.

“The culture has always stayed constant,” he said. “Everyone here’s really close and willing to help each other in all matters.”

Arguably the most important athletics event at The Haverford School is EA Day. This school year’s EA Day resulted in a Haverford sweep of all sports: football, cross country, water polo, soccer, and golf.

“It’s an adrenaline rush that involves all the members of our school,” reflected Sixth Former Tucker Matus on the EA Day sweep, “and it’s great to see, quite frankly, how much better our guys are than the EA guys.”

In his years at Haverford, Matus believes he has learned a lot about the “real” world outside the Upper School and feels prepared to face it.

“The world isn’t looking out for us,” said Matus, “so it’s nice to be able to sharpen yourself in a ‘minor league’ environment.”

There are many remarkable students at Haverford, Matus noted, but “this can be a challenge.” He has had to learn “to stop drawing comparisons between people and to just do things for the sake of their own merit — not to do things to compete or keep up with others.”

Year One of Haverford cont.

The Haverford College Grammar School was scheduled to open on September 23, 1884, to serve as a feeder for Haverford College.

Unfortunately, the school building could not be finished in time to open for the fall term of 1884, so a house was rented on Montgomery Avenue near the Merion Cricket Club. This schoolhouse was placed under the care of regularly employed teachers and staff, Dean Isaac Sharpless, Pliny Earle Chase, and Thomas

English II

Newlin; all of whom were Haverford College professors.

A few weeks later, the governing committee of the project — at the suggestion of Dean Sharpless — appointed Charles Sumner Crosman, a graduate of Haverford College and Harvard University, as Headmaster, a position he retained until his untimely death in 1912, twenty-nine years later.

The next year, interest in this worthwhile

MS. DAWN BLAKE

Mohid Khan next to the 169A Robot

Matus is planning to major in international relations and either major or minor in screenwriting. Before going to the University of Southern California in the fall, Matus plans to head west, go sightseeing, and get acquainted with his future professors and fellow students.

Sixth Former José Martinez, meanwhile, is planning to spend his summer after Haverford with his family before attending Harvard in the fall to major in political science, history, and literature.

Because Martinez entered Haverford junior year as a Fifth Former, he said that it was hard to adapt into his new environment.

“At first it was very difficult because of all the preconceptions I had [of the school],” noted Martinez, “but after I let go of said preconceptions, my experience changed for the better.”

As a relatively new student to Haverford in the Sixth Form, it was especially notable that Martinez gave a reflection to the Upper School this year.

“It was my first time really opening up to a group of people and being vulnerable in front

project peaked, and in June, 1885, Mrs. Cassatt and her followers offered to build a schoolhouse on Haverford College land. They agreed that the school should be run by the College’s managers as a college preparatory institution. President Chase took charge of supervising the school and immediately became a member of the governing committee. Dean Sharpless soon became chairman for the governing committee and held this position until his death.

of them. I trusted, though, that the student body and faculty would get something out of my reflection, and that made my vulnerability worth it,” said Martinez.

In his two years at Haverford, Martinez has seen that the school as a whole has become more connected, and that “each subsequent class has learned from the one before it to bring about such unity that now exists.” Although Martinez’s time at Haverford was shorter than other Upper School students, he’s felt like the school has taught him the value of friendship. Martinez used to think that he could accomplish everything alone, but he’s learned “how folly that was.”

“Friends are essential in our lives,” he said, “We need them to live happy and successful lives.”

As the Class of 2017 graduates with their future before them, The Haverford School will open its doors again in September for the 2017-2018 school year, welcoming back the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Form. Haverford will also welcome the Second Form from Middle School and new students outside the Haverford community. Dr. Nagl and newly elected Student Body President, Robert Soslow, will give their opening speeches, and the ceremonial gong will ring.

By this time next year, what experiences will the Class of 2018 remember? What memories will they cherish? And what stories will they tell?

TUCKER MATTUS ’17

Tucker Matus ’17 reaching for a frisbee.

For the past 133 years, Haverford’s ideals have kept rigid, as seen through its extensive, well-documented history. Born from the tireless efforts of Mrs. Cassatt, the Haverford College Grammar School grew into the Haverford Grammar School and finally matured to The Haverford School we know today.

English Summer Reading: English III

English IV

English IV*

&

Page 5

The Index

Features

Class of 2017’s legacy cont.

All-American Duncan Joyce and the squash team also finished undefeated, and added a national championship trophy to their trophy case. Even after Sean Hughes, who played in the US Open, graduated last year, Joyce led the team to a title over Brunswick. On the mat, wrestler Chris Kober finished first at States and was named to the All-Delco team. Sixth Formers also enjoyed success across sports. Dave Hogarth set a school record on the 4x400 relay team for winter track and will play baseball for William & Mary, while Aaron Hudson played wide receiver and qualified for States in the 60-meter dash for winter track.

Given all the talent the lacrosse team lost, this was supposed to be a down year. But don’t tell Joel Trucksess or Parker Henderer that. After starting 0-2, the lacrosse team rebounded by beating Culver Academy and later winning an Inter-Ac title. Trucksess dominated face-offs all year, and Henderer staved off Malvern Prep’s attack to earn a spot in the Inter-Ac Challenge finals. John Nostrant ripped the goal to finish off Malvern, let loose a fist pump, and sent the fans into a frenzy. In their bathing suits and flip flops for the beach theme, the student fan section rocked the bleachers at Cabrini College, and sent Malvern home with the old “na na na hey hey hey goodbye” chant. On the diamond, four Sixth Formers —- Bryan Hyland, Tommy Toal, Tyler Dunbar, and Dave Hogarth —- will continue their baseball careers in college. They finished

high school with a 17-12 record and with season sweeps over GA and SCHA. Jeff Li and the crew team rowed strong at Stotesbury, the Manny Flicks, and Nationals, and he will continue rowing at Dartmouth. Finally, Will McDevitt and the tennis team finished undefeated and won another Inter-Ac, their eighth straight. Last year, The Index ran “Is this the pinnacle of Haverford sports?” on the front page. The Class of 2017 answered with a resounding no.

As great as the athletic achievements were, the artistic and academic achievements rivaled them. Shea Dennis played Richard Nixon, fielding questions about the Watergate scandal in Frost/Nixon. The spring musical, Oliver!, featured lower and middle school students, and received high praise; at an assembly, Mr. Matt Green said it was one of the best high school plays he’s ever seen. Theatre III’s play Journey’s End also received drama enthusiast and Page & Stage teacher Mr. Stambaugh’s stamp of approval.

Highlighted by a stellar solo from Aditya Bhise in Zac Brown Band’s “Colder Weather,” the Notables upstaged all the schools at the InterAc A capella concert, including the Hill School, Agnes Irwin, and Baldwin. Painters Cameron Hoorfar, George Rubin, and Devin Weikert are quite literally leaving their mark on Haverford.

For their graduation project, they are painting a mural on the wall beside the outdoor basketball court, complete with athletes from all five EA

Day sports and the fan section.

Other outstanding graduation projects include Caleb Clothier engineering a self-driving model car, and Mohid Khan building a drone from scratch. He is tackling flying robots after building a robot that finished third in the VEX Robotics World Skills Competition. In the classroom, Lawrence Hunter and Jack Biddle from the debate team qualified for States, while Tucker Matus and the mock trial team earned a spot in Districts with a 4-1 record.

We weren’t always model students. Our attendance was far from perfect, and we caused havoc with our senior prank.

We will remember the accolades, but also the memories. Like the Haverford men before us, we learned about Orion’s belt in Mr. Palmer’s planetarium, raced wooden cars with Ms. Joloza, and recited the fifth grade pledge with Mr. Lignore. In middle school, we started our own traditions, like Primus Hoops. Who could forget jamming into Ms. Primus’ room for games of HORSE using a tiny basketball and a hoop

June 2017

meant for five year olds? And what about actual basketball and jorts night? The Sixth Form rallied the school to cut up a pair of jeans and cheer on the basketball team, and ended up filling two sections of bleachers in the fieldhouse. Davis Martinelli dressed up as Moses and, as if it were the Red Sea, parted the fan section. Students jumped to the sides, making a path for him to sprint to the top, where he let out a “let’s go Fords!” in an impressive display from Haverford’s fan section.

And how can we listen to the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” again without remembering Aditya Bhise’s legendary performance in the EA Day talent show? The whole upper school spontaneously stood up, lifted their phones high like candles in dimly lit Centennial Hall, and swayed side to side to a Beatles classic.

We weren’t always model students. Our attendance was far from perfect, and we caused havoc with our senior prank. We filled up the main entrance with balloons, brought in a lobster for some reason, and made a mess. That day, though, was a memorable one. We skipped class, got called out by Mr. Green for skipping class, played Super Smash Bros., played poker with Dr. Nagl, organized pickup basketball games, and Danny Grobman cooked us some homemade barbecue. We won’t forget that day, or Haverford.

And the school won’t forget us, either.

A snapshot of the 2017 graduation projects Johnny Sonnenfeld ’20 myself in these IOP’s.”

Under the advisement of Mr. Daniel Keefe, Jack McKnight is traveling around Pennsylvania and New Jersey to make a documentary that revolves “around food but truly about the political aftermath of our most recent election.”

“Autonomous driving is a really hot field in the tech world right now, with companies like Uber and Waymo dominating headlines. We are only seeing the beginning of the self-driving revolution, so I thought it would be fun to learn about the basic algorithms underlying it all.”

- Caleb Clother ’17

Chris Callegari ’17 driving a forklift.

In the three weeks in between Sixth Form exams and the commencement ceremony on June 9th, the Sixth Formers dive into their independent Graduation Projects. The guidelines for these projects include the following: a minimum time commitment of 30 hours a week, working unpaid and for someone outside of family, and demonstrating the qualities of a Haverford School graduate. The completion of this project is a requirement for graduation.

The senior projects range widely in subject matter and complexity. Student Body President Evan Scott’s project will be taking place at an outpatient psychiatric facility in the greater Philadelphia area. Evan explained that it would consist of two parts. The first part will be to “set up a newsletter for those who are taking part in rehabilitation at this facility” and the second part will include “me sitting in on and learning about IOP’s, Intensive Outpatient Therapy sessions, with kids who range in ages from 5-12 years of age.” When asked about why he chose this project, he said, “I have wanted to be an adolescent psychiatrist for a considerable amount of time.

I figured I better get started as soon as possible with acquainting myself with the psychology and medicinal fields of study, so I looked to immerse

JACK MCKNIGHT ’17

When asked how he intended to relate food to the election, McKnight said he will “find interesting people who represent their town best at local diners which was what inspired the idea.

We have already set up a daily itinerary that we are sticking to and have reached out to many

Sixth Former Mohid Khan has built a drone for his senior project.

businesses. We have tried to find some of the best local spots in each town to film.”

Having taken third at Worlds this year, Mohid Khan definitely knows how to design a robot, and so for his senior project, he is taking his skills to the skies. Khan is designing, building, and programming a drone, or an “airborne robot.”

Khan said, “As a member of the Haverford robotics team of six years, I’ve naturally decided to continue that interest into college and potentially a career.” Mohid will be working on his project with Boeing mechanical engineer and six-year Haverford robotics coach Eli Canavati.

Sixth Former Caleb Clothier intends to make an inexpensive, remote-control toy car fully autonomous. Caleb’s goal is for the car to “be able to drive around a curvy track and react appropriately to stop signs, red lights, and obstacles.”

Sponsored by science teacher Mr. Jamison Maley, Clothier chose the project for several reasons. “Autonomous driving is a really hot field in the tech world right now, with companies like Uber and Waymo dominating headlines,” Clothier said. “We are only seeing the beginning of the self-driving revolution, so I thought it would be fun to learn about the basic algorithms underlying it all.”

These are just three of over 100 projects, each of which is more interesting than the last.

MOHID KHAN ’17

Page 6

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Features

June 2017

Seniors leave their mark with mural that is uniquely Haverford P.J. Rodden ’18

A Fifth Former leaped for a left-handed layup on the outdoor basketball court that sits adjacent to the Walk of Virtues. After coming down from his shot, he noticed something particularly different. Asking himself rhetorically, what could be missing?, he looked around for the answer. The basketball court was the same: the hoop, the backboard, the court lines, and the net looked exactly as they did a year ago. However, he quickly realized that the ten-foot wall that stood behind him did not.

For over an entire year, students passed an empty wall, which at one point displayed a collage of portraits depicting Haverford athletes.

The larger-than-life visuals of Fords in action were curated and designed by Haverford artists. Soon, however, time took its toll on the deteriorating and forgotten mural. Chipping paint and fading colors prompted a grand renovation, sparking the idea for a stunning project.

To some, the wall facing the outdoor basketball court was given no additional thought, and the space for potential artwork was simply overlooked.

However, in the minds of Sixth Former artists, the wall represented a blank canvas, just waiting to be revitalized.

For their senior project, Sixth Formers Cameron Hoorfar, George Rubin, and Devin Weikert, with assistance and sponsorship from Ms. Zoe Blatt, have restored the forgotten wall with remarkable paintings and visuals.

With such an important task at hand, the team chose a design that encompassed Haverford, its virtues, the students, and the Class of 2017.

“We decided early that we wanted the mural to be about sports, but also about the diversity of a Haverford student and the Haverford brotherhood. We struggled to find a way to represent all of this in one image before deciding to capture the moments of Haverford students supporting their classmates during EA Day,” said Weikert.

“After our initial proposals,” said Hoorfar, “Devin and I spent the following couple months brainstorming ideas and eventually, we went to Coach Murphy with our final proposal.”

Following a series of rough sketches, brainstorming sessions, and tweaking of ideas, the team finalized their plan and turned an idea into reality.

“The design we chose shows five Haverford athletes walking away from the camera, each dressed to play one of the five fall sports which are played on EA Day,” said Rubin. “The players are walking in the middle of the football field with the Haverford ‘H’ below them, and the Fords’ fan

Sixth Formers Cameron Hoorfar, Devin Weikert, and George Rubin apply their new mural to the side of the Field House

section in the background.”

The team went to work for the last two weeks of their senior year, from 9am to 3pm, to create the mural.

The artists intended their work to reflect a memorable school year, full of glorious Haverford moments. “The image design, which will be featured on the middle panel by the outdoor basketball court, is designed to be supportive of Haverford’s sports teams and its notorious fan section. Since it is the Class of 2017 mural, it

is also designed to commemorate the outright victory on our last EA Day,” said Rubin.

As their days in the art studio slipped by, the team progressed closer to their final goal. During the two-week process of sketching, designing, and painting, the tedious task of renovating the Haverford mural finally paid off.

What sprouted from an idea soon developed into a masterpiece that embodies all of what Haverford offers: an inclusive, supportive community built on the fundamental virtues of

INDEX STAFF

respect, honesty, and courage.

From now on, any student that passes the outdoor basketball court will remember Haverford’s distinct virtues and the legacy that the Class of 2017 has left behind.

Rubin said, “It is the quintessential [graduation] project — using hard work and non-academic skills to complete a project which will leave a lasting impact on the school.”

Dr. Nagl’s top-five moments of the year Vincent Scauzzo ’20

BOBBY STRATTS ’19

The 2016-2017 school year was eventful. With records broken on sports teams and podium finishes at world championships, this school year will definitely go down in Haverford history as one of the best. Why was it one of the best, one might ask?

Number One: The “SwEAp.” History was made this fall as the Haverford School swept EA Day for the first time in twenty years. It was the first time Haverford has ever swept the Episcopal Academy in five sports.

“We accomplished something that has

literally never been done in the history of The Haverford School, and that was a very special moment,” Dr. Nagl said.

Number Two: The Squash National Championship. The Justi Cup, a national tournament established by a Haverford family, is relatively new to high school squash. “The Haverford School has not won the Justi Cup in the ten or so years that a real national tournament has existed for squash,” Dr. Nagl said. “It was particularly sweet because they came back and beat the team who beat them last year in the

championship match.”

Number Three: Oliver! “This is the first time [in recent memory that a play] has had boys from the Lower, Middle, and Upper School all on stage at the same time. We had more than one-hundred boys participating in the production, one way or another.

The feeling was absolutely electric in Centennial Hall,” Dr. Nagl said.

During the Friday night show, the appearance of Chef Henry thrilled the audience even more. “Chef Henry and the cast of Oliver! showed me that we were one school: Lower, Middle, and Upper Schoolers were joined by participating staff and faculty as well,” Dr. Nagl said. “It was just as good as it was possible to be.”

Number Four: Alumni Weekend.

“One of the things that I get to see that the boys do not is that the love all of you have for the school is palpable.

One of the things I get to see because of my role is how much the alumni love the school when they come back to it,” Dr. Nagl said.

Every year in the late spring, the school hosts an alumni arts festival and reunion. The school also holds an annual luncheon for the Golden Fords, Haverford alumni who graduated fifty

or more years ago. The high point of the luncheon is the induction of new Golden Fords to the existing pantheon.

“This year we did something a little different [at the luncheon]. We set up the robotics stage in the room, and we had a bunch of the robotics team boys in the room. They were just back from Worlds, and they demonstrated the robots and talked about what the robots could do,” said Dr. Nagl.

After leaving the luncheon and attending parties for the alumni, Dr. Nagl noted, “All the alumni wanted to talk about was how cool the robotics was. The combination of love for the school from the alumni always makes that a magical weekend for me. I get a real history of the school and how much the school has meant for generations of boys, and I get a real sense of my responsibility to keep the school a special place. One of the things I like to do, especially at graduation, is to look at the graduating class, and I can see them coming back for their reunions and hope that they love their school fifty years from now as much as the Class of ’67 did at this year’s reunion.”

Number Five: Boys wearing white shirts and Haverford School ties in

support of the school. In October, Dr. Nagl went on leave of absence for a few days. This was a difficult time for the school and Dr. Nagl, but the student body’s collective love carried the school through this rough patch.

“The first day I was gone,” Dr Nagl said, “people told me a number of boys wore white shirts in a show of support for the school and for what the school stands for. And that meant an enormous amount to me in a time when I really needed the support. I have talked about the love I see among the alumni for the school and among you guys for the school, but I really felt the love of the school and of the boys.

For me, in a way, it had not been that tangible before, and so I will be forever grateful for that moment. I am sorry I was not here to see that, but I am super appreciative that it happened.”

The Class of 2017 will have to say goodbye to the Dr. Nagl’s upstanding leadership. However, as one door closes, another opens. A new Third Form will arrive in September, presenting another opportunity for Dr. Nagl to continue inspiring the next generation of young men.

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June 2017

Off-Campus Features

ST. DAVIDS GOLF CLUB: STDAVIDSGC.COM

Ranger: the unsung hero of St. David’s Freddie Hammer ’17 not like to talk about it. His father did not bring home much money, so when Laurel was only twelve, he made him get a job. “My buddy was working as a caddy at St. David’s, and he wanted me to jump in. So I said, “What the f***? Why not?”

At first, he was not accepted in his new environment. “Mark [the caddy master] took one look at me and laughed. I mean, I was a really little guy back then, and I didn’t know s*** about golf.

I had to wait three months before my first loop, and I was shagging practice balls on the driving range during that whole time. I was pissed, but I had nowhere else to go so I didn’t fight it.”

PHOTO VIA FLICKR - GAPGOLF 1897

St. David’s Stephen Dressel at the 34th Golf Association of Philadelphia Middle-Amateur Championship at Overbrook Golf Club, May 25, 2017

The time is 5:30 AM. “Jumping Jack Flash” by the Rolling Stones startles Greg “Ranger” Laurel awake. He slumps out of his bed and reaches for a Mexican-made lemon-lime Fanta from the mini fridge beside him. It is his first Fanta out of two for the day.

After a couple of sips, he grabs a Marlboro out of his drawer and lights it. It is his first cigarette out of thirty for the day.

Then he throws on a white-collared shirt, steps into his green Stan Smith tennis shoes, walks out of his studio apartment in Manayunk, and drives his 2004 Volvo to the nearest Wawa to get two bacon, egg, and cheese Sizzlis on a bagel for the thirty-minute car ride to St. David’s Golf Club, where he caddies on weekends.

Since 1998, every Saturday at 7:00 AM during the golf season, Ranger carries the bags of Dan Dressel and Brian Gillespie, St. David’s perennial club champions. Dressel is the course record holder. He shot a 61 in the 2010 club championship qualifier. Ranger caddied for him that day, and he is able to recall all 61 shots with vivid detail. “I knew right after he birdied the first hole that he was both on his game and focused.

I’ve never seen a player so in the zone the way Dan was that day. He had a f***ing crazy look in his eye, man,” says Ranger.

Gillespie is a two-time Philadelphia Amateur champion dating back to 2001 and 2003. Ranger was his caddy for both victories; he read every single putt for Brian. “They were emotional victories for Bry, especially the one at Merion in 2001,” Ranger says. “He was able to call himself the best player in Philly after beating a former pro in the championship round at arguably the greatest course in the country. It felt great sharing that moment with him.”

After the early morning eighteen-hole match between the two local amateurs, they go into the clubhouse to have lunch while Ranger drives to John’s Market, a deli next to the Wayne train station, to get a ham-and-cheese hoagie and

relaxes, but not for long.

The three meet again at noon on the first tee to duke it out for another eighteen-hole match.

Once the 36-hole battle concludes, each golfer pays Ranger $160. But they do not part ways there, the way caddies and players normally do.

After a while, the teenaged Ranger caddied almost every day at St. David’s, so he didn’t go to much school. “I really wanted and tried to be a student, but the money was more important,” he says. “My dad could barely feed me.”

He now refers to himself as Ranger. He still wears the same hat.

After a while, the teenaged Ranger caddied almost every day at St. David’s, so he didn’t go to much school. “I really wanted and tried to be a student, but the money was more important,” he says. “My dad could barely feed me.”

When he was nineteen, he enrolled at the Community College of Philadelphia but dropped out after one year. He began caddying at Philadelphia Country Club, Philadelphia Cricket Club, Rolling Green Golf Club, Aronimink Golf Club, and Merion Golf Club on top of St. David’s; eventually, he was able to buy a studio apartment in Manayunk.

In 2003, he got a job as a construction worker in Philadelphia, so he stopped caddying except for 36 holes on both Saturday and Sunday at St. David’s. He often talks about his involvement in constructing the famous Comcast tower in downtown Philadelphia.

It has been the same ever since for Ranger.

He gets up at 5:30 every day of the week. If it is a weekday, then he works from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM as a construction worker at two different sites. He tore his right rotator cuff in 2007 and

They admire him for something else: his work ethic. “Ranger is the hardest working guy I’ve ever met,” says Gillespie. “He’s been like that ever since he was a kid. And he had a pretty rough childhood.”

They go out for a couple of room temperature Guinnesses at The American Pub and relive stories.

Ranger sometimes pulls out his little handbook to document their matches, including fourteen club championship finals. To date, Gillespie holds the advantage, having won 169 out of their last 321 matches. After their drinks, they give each other friendly farewells until the following Saturday at 7:00 a.m.

They do not even remind each other anymore.

Gillespie, Dressel, and Ranger call themselves best friends. “Have you ever seen a more iconic trio?” asks Ranger as he laughs and lights a smoke.

They admire each other, but in different ways.

Ranger, of course, admires the unique athletic abilities of his two weekly loops, but they admire him for something else: his work ethic. “Ranger is the hardest working guy I’ve ever met,” says Gillespie. “He’s been like that ever since he was a kid. And he had a pretty rough childhood.”

Greg Laurel was born in 1975 and grew up in Northeast Philadelphia. His mother died when he was little. He does not remember her and does

James Gillespie at Overbrook Golf Club, May 25, 2017

Most days, Laurel showed up hoping to caddy, but instead Mark literally gave him a baseball glove and had him go out to the driving range to catch the players’ practice shots. “Got a couple shiners and shots to the teeth, but hey, that’s the job I guess.”

The other caddies teased him and began calling him “Ranger” because everyday he came with a dusty, old hat that said “U.S.S Ranger” on it. “It was my grandpa’s,” says Ranger with pride, “He was in the navy.”

PHOTO VIA FLICKR - GAPGOLF 1897

tore the other one in 2015. If it is a Saturday, he carries two bags for thirty-six holes for his two longtime pals. If it is a Sunday, he carries two bags for thirty-six holes for whomever he is matched with, bringing home over $600 on the weekend alone on top of his weekday payroll.

There are no off days for Ranger, and there will not be for a very long time. “I love working,” he says. “I’ll never get too old for it.”

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Sports

May 2017

Class of 2017 recruited athletes in focus Aditya Sardesai ’20 & Matt Mignucci ’20

Duncan Joyce

Nationally ranked top-ten player Duncan Joyce is leaving to play squash at Princeton University. At Haverford, Joyce played first singles and led the team to their first ever National Championship, the most memorable moment of his Haverford squash career. He won his singles match, clinching the title for Haverford. Joyce says his biggest accomplishments in squash are being ranked first in the nation during his Junior

Joe O’Brien

MR. JIM ROESE

year, representing the United States of America in the British Junior Open, and again in a match versus Canada in the Battle of the Border. Off the court, Joyce is a leader of The Notables.

His favorite moment at Haverford was walking into the gym on the first day of Sixth Form. At Princeton he plans on playing in a top position on the ladder all four years and wants to help the team win a National Championship.

Bryan Hyland

Joe O’Brien will row for Georgetown starting in the fall. At Haverford Joe swam and was captain of the crew team.

During his Fifth Form year, his junior four finished second at both Nationals and the Stotesbury Regatta. He also finished fourth at the Club Nationals in the Senior Quad.

In swimming, Joe finaled at Easterns in the 200-meter and 500-meter freestyle during his Junior year. His most memorable moment on the

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF LI ’17

river was placing second at Nationals. Joe’s most memorable moment at Haverford was storming Episcopal Academy’s field on EA Day three years ago.

Joe hopes to win a dual race at Henley for Haverford this summer. At Georgetown he wants to compete at the IRA National Championship Regatta and Eastern Sprints.

Joel Trucksess

MR. JIM ROESE

Bryan Hyland will attend Cornell, where he will play baseball. Bryan is a multi-sport athlete, and he excels at both ice hockey and baseball.

At Haverford Hyland played a major role in winning the 2016 Independent School State Baseball Championship.

He has also won numerous athletic awards including the University of Virginia Book Award.

As captain of both the ice hockey and baseball

teams, Bryan is no stranger to leadership roles.

He is the chairman of the Character Mentorship Program and a member of the Signet Society.

His favorite moment at Haverford is Mr. Lengel’s weekend updates.

At Cornell, Hyland hopes to help the team and give them the best chance to win a championship.

Evan Scott

MR. JIM ROESE

Joel Trucksess will play lacrosse for Lehigh after he graduates. His most memorable sports experience at Haverford was winning against a tough Malvern Prep team in the semifinals in the Inter-Ac tournament this year.

His most memorable academic experience at Haverford was the Madison Meetings in his Fifth Form year. Trucksess won the most face offs in a season (476) and was MVP of the Inter-Ac

Tommy Toal

MR. JIM ROESE

Student Body President Evan Scott will head to Furman University where he will play lacrosse.

At Haverford he captained both the varsity lacrosse and soccer teams. He was a part of the 2015 National Championship-winning Lacrosse team. He led Haverford to league championships in lacrosse in 2015, 2016, and 2017. He led the soccer team to a league championship in 2014

semifinals.

Coach Petrone pushed Trucksess to put in more time and work harder on the field and in the gym.

He plans on playing lacrosse at Lehigh, and he also hopes to major in finance there.

and both a league and state championship in 2015.

Outside of Haverford, he played for a nationally ranked Mesa Fresh club lacrosse team.

His favorite moment was beating St. Benedict’s Prep in soccer during his Fourth Form year. At Furman he hopes the lead the team to a first-ever National Championship.

MR. JIM ROESE

Tommy Toal is headed off to play baseball at LaSalle University. At Haverford Tommy played both baseball and football. Tommy received All Inter-Ac and All Delco Honors for baseball all of his four years. He made his 100th hit last April.

He is also the second-best quarterback on the school’s passing yard list. He received All InterAc and Delco honors during his junior and

senior year for football. At Haverford Toal is a member of the Signet Society and the Character Mentorship Program. His favorite moment was EA Week 2016. At LaSalle he hopes to lead the team to the A-10 conference tournament.

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Sports

David Hogarth

David Hogarth will be playing baseball for William and Mary. His most memorable sports experience at Haverford was winning the state championship in 2016, and his most memorable school experience was EA week every year. In baseball he was a four-year varsity starter, first team all Inter-Ac in 2017, and defensive player of the year in 2016. His accomplishments for his other sport, track, is setting the winter track

May 2017

Mallik Twyman

MR. JIM ROESE

DMR school record, setting the winter track 4x400 relay school record, and finishing in eighth place at the indoor track state championship in 2017 for the 4x400 relay.

Dr. Ehrhart encouraged Hogarth to try track his sophomore year, and it later grew into a major interest. Hogarth plans on playing baseball throughout college, but would like to start a career in real estate later in life.

MR. JIM ROESE

Mallik Twyman will play football at Colgate University. Twyman’s most memorable sports experience at Haverford was scoring the gamewinning touchdown vs. West Catholic last year after Kevin Carter’s injury. Twyman was voted most athletic in the school, led Philadelphia in rushing yards and touchdowns, and earned team MVP this year. His most memorable academic experience at Haverford was sitting on stage

Conner Mosebrook

Jeff Li

MR. JIM ROESE

Conner Mosebrook will play lacrosse at Furman University. His most memorable sports experience was beating Malvern two out of three times his Sixth Form year.

His most memorable school experience was serving as a tour guide to show potential parents what Haverford has to offer.

The team won the Inter-Ac all three years he was on varsity lacrosse team, and he was also a

with his classmates after giving out rosettes. His most impactful coach was Coach Matt Rosko.

Throughout Twyman’s high school career, Mr. Rosko was always pushing him past his limits. Mrs. Vos Strache and Mr. Walters saw the potential in Twyman and pushed him academically. Twyman hopes to either become a neurosurgeon, or to represent Haverford and Colgate on Sundays by playing in the NFL.

part of the national championship team of 2015.

He also won the Inter-Ac his fourth and Fifth Form years on the varsity football team.

His most impactful teacher and coach was Mr. Loving, who helped Mosebrook through his lowest point in high school.

He hopes to major in finance or business.

JEFF LI ’17

Jeff Li will head to Dartmouth to compete on their Lightweight Rowing team. During his Sixth Form year in the Varsity 4+, Jeff placed silver at the Navy Day regatta, and fourth at the Head of the Schuylkill.

In Fifth Form Jeff led the varsity 8+ to the fastest Philadelphia boat at the Head of the Charles. In the Junior 4+ he placed silver at the Stotesbury Cup and SRAA Nationals. As a Fourth Former in

the Junior 4+ he won the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, the Philadelphia City Championships, and the Stotesbury Cup, along with a Bronze at the SRAA Nationals.

Li says, “Coming to school every day and being able to be with my boys has been an incredible experience.” At Dartmouth he hopes to compete on the Varsity boat and would like to make Grand Final at Ivy League Championships.

Class of 2017 Recruited Athletes

MS. DAWN BLAKE

Back Row (L to R): Chris Morrison, Tyler Dunbar, Will Glaser, Parker Henderer, MJ Tricolli, Chris Kober Third Row (L to R): Josh Ridenhour, Peter Solomon, Mallik Twyman, Tommy Toal, David Hogarth, Bryan Hyland Second Row (L to R): Christopher Hervada, Bill Wu, Nick Magnani, Jacob Wertheimer Front Row (L to R): Henry Cordisco, Billy Holmes, John Nostrant, Duncan Joyce, Evan Scott, Conner Mosebrook, Ryan Jacobs, Joel Trucksess

Page 10

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Sports

June 2017

Track and Field sprints to second at States Matt LaRocca ’18

Despite losing several Sixth Form leaders from the previous year, the 2016-2017 Haverford Track and Field team faced high expectations. The Fords returned many key contributors from last year including Sixth Formers Taj Bland, Anthony Calvelli, Aaron Hudson, and Nick Magnani and Fifth Formers like hurdler Sam Lindner and distance runners Will Merhige, Gaspard Vadot, and Mark Gregory. New Fifth Former Lamont Lucas added even more talent. Underclassmen also played a significant role, with Fourth Formers Khalil Bland and Dan Whaley returning and Third Formers Daiyaan Hawkins and Caleb Reed consistently performing well.

Improvement was the theme. Even though every member stepped up as the season progressed, Fifth Former Will Merhige stuck out. Magnani said, “Will Merhige in his first spring track season ran 4:28 in the mile at States, which is only two seconds off the school record.” With a whole season of spring track training under his belt, Merhige should be able

to break that record in 2018.

Due to this improvement, the Fords held high hopes of winning the Inter-Ac championship. Despite the team’s strong performance at the meet, the Fords finished third behind Germantown Academy and Penn Charter. “We finished 3rd at Inter-Acs which was not our goal,” Magnani said. “The Inter-Ac was very strong this year, and we performed very well, though every team showed up to the meet with top performances.”

Both GA and Penn Charter were stacked with talent. Fifth Former Gaspard Vadot said, “Penn Charter has a lot of fast guys, and their team is extremely deep. At Inter-Acs, they would sometimes get three guys who scored.

Germantown has a few major stars, especially Kyle Garland, a national champion in the indoor track pentathlon.”

Rather than dwelling on their failure to win Inter-Acs, the team refocused for States on May 20th. Sixth Form leadership helped the team remain committed. “The Sixth Formers kept us

working hard,” Vadot said, “because they knew and understood the potential that Haverford has.”

The Fords finished an impressive second

place behind Penn Charter at States. Magnani said, “It was truly a team effort as all the relays scored as well as sprinters, distance guys, and field athletes.”

MR. JIM ROESE

Fifth Former Ben Stallworth leading the pack

Lacrosse takes down Malvern, falls short against Culver Matt LaRocca ’18

Led by fifteen Sixth Formers and an abundance of Fifth and Fourth Form talent, the Haverford lacrosse team finished the season as outright Inter-Ac champions for the third season in a row. In the Inter-Ac, the team finished with an 8-2 record with their only losses coming from Penn Charter on April 18th (7-9) and Malvern on April 27th (9-2). In addition to their success in the regular season, the Fords wanted to dominate the postseason by winning the InterAc Challenge. Last year, the team lost 7-8 to Indiana’s Culver Military Academy in the final held at Villanova University.

This year’s team sought revenge.

As Inter-Ac champions, the Fords received a bye into the quarterfinals. There the Fords faced lacrosse-powerhouse The Hun School at the Proving Grounds in Conshohocken. They emerged victorious by a score of 15-10. Up next for the Fords would be a rubber match at Cabrini College versus Malvern, who had defeated Lawrenceville 19-7 in the quarterfinals.

At Cabrini, the team defeated Malvern 13-10 in one of their best performances of the season.

Fifth Former Luke O’Grady scored three goals and Sixth Former Joel Trucksess won 15 of

24 faceoffs, also scoring once. For his efforts, Trucksess was named player of the game. Along with these two, Sixth Former Parker Henderer had eleven saves and Fourth Former Adam Salvaggio added two goals. Fifth Former T.J. Malone, who had a goal and an assist in the game, said, “Beating Malvern at Cabrini was awesome. It always feels good to beat your rivals especially in the playoffs. The win gave us a chance to play in the championship as well as bragging rights.”

The finals featured the Fords and Culver, who had defeated Episcopal 6-5 in a semifinal nailbiter.

The finals were held at Haverford, but home court-advantage wasn’t enough to turn the tide for the Fords. Tied 4-4 late in the third quarter, a talented Culver team pulled away and defeated the Fords 9-5. Fifth Former Luke O’Grady had two goals and Fifth Former Scott Deck, Sixth Former John Nostrant, and Fourth Former Adam Salvaggio each had one.

Having entered this season in the shadow of last year’s team, the Fords nonetheless exceeded all expectations and proved that they will continue to be a national lacrosse powerhouse.

BOBBY STRATTS ‘18

Coach Patrone drawing up a play against Culver Academy on Sabol Field

Baseball caps successful season with run to state semis Ryan LaRocca ’19

Following an historic Independant School’s State Championship (PIAA) year, it remained unclear whether Haverford baseball would top last year’s phenomenal season.

Over the course of the season, The Fords displayed improvement as younger players grew into their roles as future leaders. Finishing with an overall record of 19-14, the team played well, with athletes of all grades contributing to their success.

Multiple Sixth Formers stepped to lead Fords baseball this year. Sixth Former David Hogarth achieved his 100th hit. His classmate Tommy Toal impacted the team with his leadership.

Upperclassmen Bryan Hyland, Tyler Dunbar, Justin Meyer, and Grady Nance all also played major roles in Haverford’s success.

Although there was only two Third Formers on the team this year, they represented their grade well. Third Former Patrick Toal impacted the team this season with his astounding pitching. The other Third Former on the roster, Christian Quinn said, “It was a privilege to be able to help the team in any way this year, especially as a Third Former. With a lot of talent on the team continuing to develop and produce, the future of the program looks bright.”

Although Haverford fell short in the Inter-Ac title this year, baseball made it to the semi-finals of States, losing to eventual winner Malvern Prep.

Coach Castell celebrates his 400th win with Sixth Formers (from left to right) Tommy Toal Toal, Bryan Hyland, Dave Hogarth, and Tyler Dunbar.

DR. MICHAEL NANCE

Page 11

The Index

Sports

After shaky start, frisbee finishes third at Cities

June 2017

Underclassmen look to carry crew next season

Nick Pippis ’20 The Haverford Ultimate Frisbee team exceeded expectations this spring.

After a shaky start, the team pulled out three incredible wins towards the end of their season, one in a league match against Cardinal O’Hara High School and the other two in Cities tournament victories. Although the overall record this season was 3-15, the Fords displayed much promise for the future seasons. At the last tournament of the season, the Fords placed third, winning multiple games against tough opponents.

Fourth Former George Maguire said, “Although, at the beginning of the season we were playing as individuals, as the season went on, we started

Obaida Elamin ’20 to play more as a team and we managed to pull together some wins.”

Coach Greg Ressler said, “This season was a growing season as we tried to find our way playing D1 teams. We have a lot of room for improvement for next year.”

For the first time in recent school history, the Frisbee team tried to play in Division 1.

Although they mostly lost in D1, they emerged victorious against all of the Division 2 teams.

As both Maguire and Coach Ressler said, the team’s hard work will culminate in success next season, as promising underclassmen gain valuable experience and grow into leadership roles.

MR. JIM ROESE

Haverford’s varsity eight practices in Conshohoken

MR. JIM ROESE

Forth former George Maguire extends for a pass versus Holy Ghost

The Haverford School crew team competed at The Stotesbury Cup Regatta and at SRAA Nationals. At Stotesbury, the team put in their best efforts although the results did not reflect them. The Freshman quad placed fourth overall, several seconds off of receiving medals. They felt their start of the race was not as good as it could have been, but the rest of the race was one of the best they had had. Compared to other teams, such as Haddon’s, whose program starts early in middle school, they felt they did well. The Varsity eight, much to their disappointment, did not make finals at Stotesbury and did not place at the consolation final either. The highlight of the day was the JV quad that performed well; they placed second overall with silver medals and

missed first place by less than a second. They were frustrated about missing gold, but their win helped the atmosphere of the day.

At Nationals in New Jersey, the three boats at Stotesbury went to compete. Unfortunately, none placed at Nationals. “We had a successful season while going against the top competition in the Philadelphia region. Every race was a battle and we had to dig deep to find success.” said Fifth Former Jack Costello.

Looking ahead to next year’s program, the group of rising Fourth Formers look promising.

Because many of the Sixth Formers are leaving the program, the team is looking for new leaders to step up and work hard to perform better next year.

A tennis dynasty: eight years, eight Inter-Ac titles Connor Lees ’17 The singles players closed out EA fast. The Fords swept singles, and needed one doubles win to clinch an outright Inter-Ac, their eighth straight. By virtue of a 6-1 win over EA earlier in the season, the tennis team were guaranteed at least a share of the Inter-Ac. An undefeated season also rided on this last EA match. After coming in second at the NEMA (Northeast Mid-Atlantic) tennis tournament, the tennis team rebounded to beat EA in a 4-3 thriller. EA won at first, second, and third doubles, to level the match at 3-3. At fourth doubles, two Third Formers, Sunny Yu and Cole Wolf, would decide it. In a tight three setter, the Third Formers showed little signs of nerves, beat EA, and were dogpiled by the team on EA’s home courts in the highlight of the season.

The tennis team has been one of the school’s most successful sports over the last decade. Last spring, the team finished with a 16-1 record and won the Inter-Ac title for the seventh consecutive year. This year, they finished undefeated and took home an eighth consecutive Inter-Ac. The tennis team returned many key players from last season, including starting singles players Sixth Formers Connor Lees and Will McDevitt.

They also brought back Fifth Formers John Walsh, Benji Bacharach, Grayson Potter, Michael Pilkington, and Julius Golz. Along with these upperclassmen, Third Formers Aly Ba, Cole Wolf, and Sunny Yu all played major roles.

Still, the Fords had some close matches. “Our toughest match was against Episcopal Academy for sure” said Fifth Former Grayson Potter.

Lawrenceville also challenged the team, as they won that 3-2.

The tennis team also expects to be strong for the 2018 season. This year’s Fifth Formers, eight

MR. JIM ROESE

Sixth former Will McDevitt prepares for a shot

players strong, will return next season along with more talent in the upcoming freshman class. The

future looks bright for them; the Fords could make it an astounding nine consecutive years on

top of the Inter-Ac.

Page 12

The Index

Club Recaps

June 2017

Robotics Mock trial continues success team achieves at Worlds Sam Turner ’18

Robert Esgro ’19 The Haverford School Robotics team, since its establishment in 2005, has sustained a reputation of excellence in the robotics community, both locally and internationally. Competing in the annual VEX Robotics Competition (VRC), “The Cavalry” has qualified at least one team for the Eastern Pennsylvania State Championship, and the dominance has extended to qualifying every team for States for the past few years. The Cavalry regularly competes against local high schools, including Radnor, Norristown, Germantown Academy, Delaware County Christian School, New Foundations Charter School, as well as teams from around the world at higher levels of competition.

Every year, the governing body VEX Robotics releases a game concept. For the 2016-2017 season, the game was titled “Starstruck.” The game consisted of a field divided down the middle with three sections of fence, with the two outer sections taller than the inner section. The objective of the game was to move as many stars as possible from the nearside of the field to the far side of the field. The team who could move the most stars to the opposing team’s side would win the match.

The Cavalry, named for Haverford’s mascot, the mustang, finished one of its most successful seasons in history. The season consisted of a number of qualification matches. Advancing to the semifinals in any of these matches would have been sufficient enough to qualify for the state championship, but the Cavalry did more than that.

Cavalry teams 169E (Fourth Formers Intel Chen, Nick Chimicles, Jared Hoefner, and Will Clark), 169J (Third Former Alexander Greer), and 169B (Fourth Formers Robert Esgro and Kenneth Pham, and Sixth Formers Stephen Boerner and Alex Karlson) took home the tournament champions trophy at the Delaware County Christian School’s “Knight’s Qualifier.”

This past year, fall, winter, and spring athletic teams worked tirelessly to produce exceptional results for the school. The Mock Trial team followed a similar path as they prepared for the Benjamin Franklin Invitational and the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division Statewide Mock Trial Competition. Led by longtime advisor Mr. Frank DeSimone, Esq., and faculty advisor Mr. Matthew Green, the

Mock Trial team set their sights high. Coming off a second place finish in Districts last year, the team of mostly returning Sixth Formers hoped to clinch the District title. As Team 1 practiced throughout the fall and winter months, Team 2 -- under the advisement of Mr. Garth Hoyt ’89, Esq. -- kept pace with them the entire time. Sixth Former and Team 2 Captain Jack McKnight said, “Team 2 had a great season this year. We had a

few great wins and had a lot of younger guys step up and take larger roles. The future looks bright for Mock Trial.”

In January, both teams competed in the Benjamin Franklin Invitational, a practice tournament at the University of Pennsylvania to practice for Districts. Facing schools as local as EA and from as far as Pittsburgh, both teams gained valuable experience in the tournament.

While Team 1 could not quite place their finger on it, they were beginning to develop the team chemistry and arguments that would take them to District Semifinals.

A few weeks later, both teams started their campaign in the District competition. Team 1 flew past the competition in the two knockout rounds, winning in points and jury votes and advancing to the quarterfinals. Not to be disregarded, Team 2 utilized all of their training and experience to defeat both opponents in the knockout rounds and moved onto the quarterfinals. Under the leadership of Sixth Form captains, Tucker Matus and Chris Williams, Team 1 emerged victorious yet again, while Team 2 lost to a very talented team from Plymouth Whitemarsh.

cont. page 14 Members of the Mock Trial Team with coaches Mr. Frank Desimone and Mr. Matthew Green

Later in the season, team 169Y (Third Former Bennett Twitmyer, Fourth Former Vincent Corradetti, and Sixth Formers Cal Williams and Chris Williams) won at New Foundations Charter School’s “Northeast Philadelphia Winter Qualifier.”

Through all of these season matches, every Cavalry team qualified for the state championship, which was held at Norristown Area High School this year. Performance at the state championship was a resounding success: out of the six tournament champion and runner up spots, the Cavalry collectively seized four spots. Those four teams (169X, 169Y, 169A, and 169E) qualified for the World Championship in Louisville,

INDEX STAFF

Kentucky.

Against some of the best teams in the world, every Cavalry team performed relatively well in their respective divisions. However, one team in particular, 169A (Fourth Former Scott Shaw and Sixth Former Mohid Khan), went above and beyond, ranking third place in the world in skills.

Skills is comparable to the three-point shooting contest at the NBA All-Star Game: no teammates, no defense, just the player and the field.

Team 169A scored the third-most points in the world, ranking only behind Team 365X of Flower Mound, Texas, and Team 2188A of Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Khan, who will attend Johns Hopkins University next year,

remarked that they “are still more focused on the competition since [they] prioritize that over the skills challenge, so [they] weren’t too ecstatic.

Looking back though, it feels great to have all the hard work pay off.”

Next year will mark an important year for the Cavalry. With key seniors Alex Karlson, Stephen Boerner, Cal Williams, Chris Williams, Harper Weigle, and Mohid Khan leaving, the underclassmen will have to fill the leadership void.

However, under the instruction of coaches Eli Canavati and Ms. Holly Golecki, it seems that next year’s Cavalry will go even further.

Student Council 2017-2018 Introduction

Student Body President: Robb Soslow ’18 (Center) President of Class of ’19: Barrett Spragg (Right) President of Class of ’20: William Boyes (Left) Class of 2020 Representatives Bo Brady Ant Dignazio Daniel Chow

Class of 2019 Representatives Henry Sun Adam Salvaggio

BOBBY STRATTS ’18

Class of 2018 Representatives T.J. Malone Justin Meyer

Page 13

The Index

Club Recaps

June 2017

Model United Nations attends conference in Philadelphia John Comai ’18 Model United Nations usually comes to mind when one thinks of clubs with an active student body such as Haverford’s. Yet, the school’s team operates rather quietly, having no more than about 25 students, and usually phases out by the end of the winter.

Model UN’s goal is to create a simulated international panel that brings world leaders together to solve global problems. The overseeing secretariat assigns a country to each person or group that they will represent. A parliamentary procedure is implemented to moderate the debate, which ultimately concludes in a democratically

chosen resolution. Several resolutions are put forth by the participating countries, and they are subject to major change via amendments.

Delegations will often form “blocs,” or alliances, in which they will work together and vote for the same resolution.

This year’s Model UN season concluded last Friday, when the club met to pick their desired country for next year’s Ivy League Model United Nations Conference (ILMUNC), hosted by the University of Pennsylvania at the Hilton in Center City.

Sending a delegation to ILMUNC each

year is the club’s biggest event. ILMUNC hosts hundreds of high schools around the country and a few international delegations. It will take time for the ILMUNC secretariat to assign Haverford to a country, but Haverford has been lucky in past lotteries.

Just last year, Haverford represented the Islamic Republic of Iran at ILMUNC. World history teacher and club leader Mr. Tryon expressed a desire to expand the club’s membership and hopefully host Haverford’s own Model UN conference by bringing together schools in the greater Philadelphia area. This would give the

club a wider agenda and provide another learning experience for new members. This year’s leaders — Tucker Matus, Anthony Calvelli, Naren Mathawan, and Caleb Clothier — are in the process of choosing new leaders, who, they hope, will reinvigorate the program for next year.

Model UN meets every clubs period in Mr. Tryon’s room. It is an opportunity to bring knowledge of global politics, history, and diplomacy to the table in an academic pursuit that culminates in several enjoyable conference experiences.

Service Board concludes successful year.

Will Henderson ’18

The 2016-17 Service Board had another successful year in several regards, during what co-president David McKay called, “a year that made a huge impact on our local communities.”

Starting with events like the 15th Annual Buddy Walk and the Riverbend Shiverfest, Upper School students immersed themselves in a wide range of activities.

In the Peanut Butter & Jelly Club, which regularly prepares meals of PB&J sandwiches for less fortunate Philadelphians, students made over two thousand sandwiches.

Later in the year, students from Haverford, Agnes Irwin, and Episcopal Academy collected several thousand cans for donation to the likes of St. Barnabas Mission, Old Pine Community’s “Saturday For Seniors Program,” Life Centers of Delaware County, St. Mary’s Ardmore Food Pantry, and Project HOME, several days prior to Thanksgiving.

In December, the annual “Toys For Tots” campaign gathered several hundred toys for children whose parents are in the Marine Corps.

The Service Board’s main event of the year, the biannual Empty Bowls Supper, raised over $11,000 for Project HOME, Life Centers of Delaware County, Ardmore Food Pantry, SHARE Food Distribution Center, and Ada Mutch Food Cupboard.

The Home Run Derby, the Board’s final event of the year, raised over $1,000 to combat prostate and testicular cancer.

Director of Service Learning Ms. Jini Loos said, “The awareness and funds raised are already

The 2016-17 Haverford School Service Board

DAWN BLAKE

having a strong impact through our Community Based Organizations’ goals.”

As the school year nears the end, the Service Board is already excited for next year. More students are participating in events every year.

McKay said, “[The Service Board] is looking forward to continued support from the community—whether it’s from students, faculty, or friends of Haverford.”

“[We] are contemplating an even busier year next fall and looking towards more energy and participation as we look towards access to education and issues of peace,” Ms. Loos said.

“We hope many of you will join us in these efforts.”

The Service Board is especially proud to have had Jeff Li (co-president), Charlie Rahr, MJ Tricolli, Connor Lees, Naren Mathawan, Evan

Haas, and Frankie D’Angelo serve this year, and in some cases, for the past several years. We would like to thank them for their dedication, energy, and leadership (and comedy in Charlie’s case) over the past four years. We wish them the best of luck in college.

overview the essentials of a well-structured debate. The captains walked through the whole debate process with each new member and helped them determine the debate format that would best fit their style and interests.

After months of work writing speeches, generating rebuttals, and fine-tuning their oratory, the students tackled the fall season. “To start off with,” Egan said, “we went to all the local

[competitions] and consistently did well with lots of undefeated teams.”

These early tournaments presented a good opportunity for new debaters to test their knowledge in a high-pressure environment, which would serve them well in the larger competitions to follow.

Once winter arrived, the team was ready to face tougher competitors. The Junior Varsity squad

consistently won their matches. The Varsity men fought valiantly against some of the best debaters in Pennsylvania, yielding mix results of wins and losses. “We participated in some bigger debates like the tournament at Unionville where we had two teams go undefeated and place top 3,” Egan said.

After weeks of intense research and practice, the team’s hard work and achievement culminated with the three final tournaments: the Districts, the University of Pennsylvania, and States tournaments. The Districts tournament, hosted at Unionville High School, featured capable debaters and speakers who trained in a wide spectrum of disciplines, including poetry, extemporaneous speaking, and, of course, debate. After spending the day at the tournament, the team performed extremely well as a whole. “Varsity pair Jack and Lawrence went 4-0 and got second, and Xavi Segel and I, who also competed on the Varsity squad, went 4-0 and got first, which was really exciting,” Egan said.

At the University of Pennsylvania, everyone endured five matches with experienced debaters across the nation, making competition cutthroat; in the end, the results all came down to incremental differences in speech and framework.

“We had a pretty strong showing,” Egan said, “but we didn’t make it as far as we would’ve liked to, but [we] had some teams do well nonetheless.”

Because they won first place at Districts, Egan and Segel continued to the States tournament.

Overall, the Speech and Debate team performed well. “The team was pretty great this year and a lot of the guys were dedicated. We started off slow, but in the winter it picked up. It was a great season and next year should be even better,” Egan said.

Speech and Debate finishes strong Eusha Hasan ’18 The 2016-2017 Speech and Debate team enjoyed monumental success, training year-round and putting their skills to good use at tournaments across the state. Sixth Form captain Jack Biddle and Fifth Form captains Luke Egan and Grant Sterman all worked tirelessly to indoctrinate new members and refine the techniques of well-versed debaters.

In early August, the team first gathered to

INDEX STAFF

Speech and debate award winners from left to right: Xavi Segal ’18, Luke Egan ’18, Jack Biddle ’17, and Lawrence Hunter ’17

Page 14

The Index

News

June 2017

Hephaestus recognizes school’s non-athletic teams Neetish Sharma ’19

Throughout the hallways, students can be seen donning red lapel pins affixed to their blazers. The pins represent have gone relatively unnoticed over the years. The group is known as The Hephaestus Society, and these pins represent something much more.

The Hephaestus Society is a group dedicated to acknowledging the achievements and operation of various academic extracurricular activities.

The arrival of Headmaster Dr. John Nagl gave rise to this society as he, among others, felt that more recognition needed to be given towards the intellectual pursuits at Haverford.

Dr. Nagl said, “When I came to The Haverford School, I thought that we did a wonderful job of celebrating athletics and athletic success, and I thought we could do more to celebrate academic extracurriculars.”

“Hephaestus was the Greek god of the forge; the Romans called him Vulcan. Among many other things, he is the patron of robotics,” Dr. Nagl said. “I thought that it was important to celebrate the virtues of the various academic organizations at our school and enhance their status. So, I worked with Ms. Carmen Mateos, a wonderful Spanish teacher who is sadly now deceased, Mr. Javier Lluch, and Dr. Fenton to establish what is known as the Hephaestus Society.”

Many roads lead to the Hephaestus Society: The Index, Model UN, Pegasus, Robotics, The Haligoluk, Speech and Debate, and Mock Trial.

“There was nothing for students who put a lot of time into their academic extracurriculars and went out to compete. As a result, Dr. Nagl, Ms. Mateos, and Mr. Patrylak thought they deserved

some recognition,” Spanish Teacher Mr. Lluch said. “So, they put together a list of clubs that they thought were deserving of being part of this society, and that’s how it got started.”

This year, the Hephaestus Society had its induction banquet on May 17. The inductees were greeted with a buffet of Greek food, in keeping with theme. The dinner is usually led by a persuasive, inspirational speech or address.

This year, esteemed logician, philosopher, and Haverford parent Thomas Williams, led the banquet with his talk titled, “Think Big.” This talk employed logic and set theory — one of the prime constituents of computer science — to illustrate and define the concept of infinity.

However, Mr. Williams managed to apply his rather specific talk to the lives of all. “His talk blew all of our minds. He talked about the different types of infinity,” Mr. Lluch said.

“Although the intricacies sort of went over my head, he actually showed us how important this process was. What I took away from it was that by learning how to think, regardless of what one ends up doing or studying, one can become extremely successful.”

The Hephaestus Society, although unrecognized at times, is a group that honors the intellectual curiosity, growth, and competition that constitutes Haverford. The goal of the society is to give a greater presence to those committed to the fruition of our academic extracurricular activities. At times, only certain facets of the Haverford experience receive all the spotlight. The potential fostered by our academic teams and clubs hold interesting stories and deserve more recognition. After all,

Dr. Nagl awards Chris Williams with the “Hephaestus Megistos” certificate on May 17

the Hephaestus Society’s motto states, “The

mind is the hammer of the gods.”

Mock Trial cont.

Looking to avenge their younger brothers, Team 1 set out to defeat Plymouth Whitemarsh in the semifinals. Although the judge lauded Chris Williams’ closing as the best he’s ever seen, Team

1 was not able to pull out the win. Nonetheless, Team 1 returned to their post-competition routine of eating at Mission BBQ in King of Prussia, PA. Enjoying a classic Southern dish of

BBQ ribs, the team reflected on the progress they made this season and set their sights high for next year. Success awaits the Gavel Fords.

Check out The Index online at www.havindex.com

SR. JAVIER LLUCH

Page 15

The Index

Arts

June 2017

“...It’s me vs. me.” - Kendrick Lamar is the best of all time Robb Soslow ’18

Kendrick Lamar is unique among modern rap artists as one of the few who has already cemented himself as one of the greatest of all

time. His previous three commercial efforts, Section.80; Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, and To Pimp A Butterfly are all already considered

modern classics. K-Dot’s fourth studio album, DAMN., takes a more personal, intimate look into the mind of one of the most mysterious superstars of this generation.

The themes present in DAMN.,family, selfdoubt, pride, paint a clear picture of Kendrick Lamar as someone who is still coming to grips with his immense fame — and how his actions affect the people and the world around him. This becomes apparent as he samples a Fox News clip that attacks his 2015 BET Awards performance as being overly aggressive and negative towards race relations. Kendrick seems to take this criticism — which obviously impacted him greatly — and symbolically throws it back into his attacker’s face by showcasing a truly aggressive Kendrick Lamar on tracks like “DNA” and “HUMBLE.” While To Pimp A Butterfly was a grandiose exploration on self-worth in the modern age, DAMN. is intensely personal to Lamar, which is a large step away from the sweeping themes present in his other work. The style in which he addresses his themes has evolved as well; DAMN. approaches his topics from a host of fractured personalities, contradicting himself from track to track, which is a far cry from the complete, straightforward narrative present on past works like Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.

The best example of this is seen over the course of three tracks, “LOYALTY,” “PRIDE,” and “HUMBLE,” in which he continually reverses his opinion on pride, first claiming it is a weakness, then a hindrance, and finally a gift.

Even sonically, the style of DAMN. is a complete 180 from his previous works. Despite

the cutting-edge production of Sounwave, Mike WiLL among others, DAMN. sounds like an homage to the 90’s rap style that was so formative on Lamar’s current style. Even Kid Capri, who was infamous for his ubiquity in mid-90’s rap tapes, appears on DAMN.’s “XXX.” However, a factor that remains entirely modern is Lamar’s lyricism on this album. Lamar’s lines seem absolutely effortless on this work, his intricate and rapid-fire delivery a stark contrast to his contemporaries. His lyricism lends further expertise to his already-formidable storytelling abilities, allowing him to chronicle a depth of thought and story that is seemingly unique on the hip-hop charts.

Much more than any of K-Dot’s previous work, DAMN. seems like an expression of self, the deeply personal “FEEL” and the autobiographical “DUCKWORTH” give fans a much deeper context and view of Kendrick Lamar.

It is hard to compare Kendrick’s work to others, especially other artists within the same genre. He is seemingly in a tier of his own, and, as he says himself in “DUCKWORTH,” “... it’s me versus me.” DAMN., when compared to his other works, is the most personal, the most cutting edge, the most radio friendly ‒ yet seemingly the least cohesive. During some moments in this album, it is hard to tell where the symbolism ends and where it becomes vague philosophies, especially given the fractured and divided nature of his narrative. Yet, DAMN. is another triumph for Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, and his fans eagerly await his next release.

For this year’s graduation issue, we asked the senior class which movie and music album released during the 2016-2017 school year was their favorite. They were given a chance to vote and were told that they had the chance to tailor the content of this graduation issue to fit the class of 2017, as the top votes would be reviewed in The Index. The votes returned with Arrival coming back as the top movie, and Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. as the top album for the year.

The themes of communication, teamwork, and acting upon our future present in Arrival are also important in the Class of 2017, a group of individuals who work as one. Some of the themes and ideas of DAMN. — such as pride, family and loyalty — are also very relevant to our identity of a brotherhood here at Haverford.

Villeneuve’s cinematic masterpiece and Kendrick’s great musical experiment were chosen by the Class of 2017, and in order to show our appreciation for what this Sixth Form did for us, we asked two Fifth Formers to review them for their graduation issue.

Sci-fi that asks the big questions Will Baltrus ’18

Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2016) is a sci-fi film about the adventure of a linguistics professor, Louise Banks (Amy Adams), and her task of interpreting the language of a foreign alien race residing in twelve mysterious spacecrafts across the world. The film was critically acclaimed with a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, eight Academy Award nominations, and an Academy Award for “Best Sound Editing.” The film is an adapted version of The Story of your Life, by Ted Chiang, a novella based on language and determinism. The film manages to portray a trans-dimensional tale of our interpretation of language and leaves viewers curiously wondering how the world interprets human connection.

The story begins with the dark, sad and quick birth, life, and death of a child. What the audience is led to believe later is that this child was her daughter. Sprinkles of this “flashback” are included throughout the film. We later learn that her husband, Dr. Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), is a stranger to her at the beginning of the main story line, which is preluded by the words, “Everything was different the day they arrived.”

The audience learns that Dr. Louise Banks is a professor of linguistics who has worked with the CIA before on past language crises. She is brought to a military compound in Montana where she is to work with Dr. Donnelly to figure out the aliens’ purpose on Earth. Dr. Banks begins to learn the language of the alien race discovering that it is a non-linear orthography and that writing and interpreting their language is almost like “starting a sentence with both hands and writing from the out to the middle… you would need to know the exact placement of every word before [you write it].”

Similar to the nonlinear nature of this form of communication, the ability to understand it yields the ability to look at time nonlinearly.

Subsequently, the audience, through Dr. Louise Banks, learns that these “flashbacks” are actually glimpses into the future.

Meanwhile, across the world, other countries interpret the aliens’ actions as aggression, which is ironic to the audience because it is the humans alone that are driving the conflict of the film. A Chinese army general prepares to declare war on the aliens, which would only lead to international conflict.

With the power to see into the future, Banks is able to prevent this by relaying information brought up again by the general himself at a peace convention; she tells him his own wife’s dying words. This causes the world to be saved from global catastrophe. It saves the human race because they are finally able to work as one cohesive unit for once. In a scene before this, Banks enters the spaceship of the aliens where she learns that the aliens’ knew it would come to this all along. “We help [the] human race now in return for help in 3,000 years.”

“If you could see your whole life right before your eyes, would you change anything?” Banks asks of her future husband. She now knows that her future daughter will be terminally ill. The movie ends with a joyful scene between the two in which Dr. Donnelly agrees to conceive their child Hannah, unknowing that she will eventually die young. So, Dr. Banks would not change anything, as she tells Hannah when she asks about her life.

The film is told from the perspective of an awe-inspiring performance from Amy Adams as the audience is on the journey to discovery with her. Jeremy Renner offers a well-balanced supporting role in the film, and Forest Whitaker gives a fitting fierceness to the film. Overall, the story is meant to be about the discovery of an alien language when really those same questions asked of the aliens were flipped and asked of the audience. As author Ted Chiang says, “the nature of Sci-Fi is that it forces us to ask about the human condition.”

That is the beauty of Arrival.

Page 16

The Index

Matriculation List

Rajat Ayer - Tulane University Kyle Alday - Drexel University Aditya Bhise - Emory University John Biddle - University of Pennsylvania Taj Bland - University of Miami Joseph Block - Rutgers University Stephen Boerner - Eckerd College Michael Boston - Boston University Garrett Bowser - Temple University Maximilian Brooks - University of Michigan John Brown - Temple University David Bunn - University of Pennsylvania Christopher Callegari - Princeton University Anthony Calvelli - United States Naval Academy Samuel Claytor - San Diego State University Caleb Clothier - Yale University Henry Cordisco - Dickinson College Francis D’Angelo - Fairfield University Christopher Delaney - University of Pennsylvania Shea Dennis - University of California, Los Angeles Solomon Dorsey - Loyola University Maryland Tyler Dunbar - Elizabethtown College Karl Eckert - Vanderbilt University Edward Fitzgerald - University of Notre Dame Dex Frederick - George Washington University Edmund Garno - Southern Methodist University Malik Geathers - Towson University William Glaser - Brown University Francis Gowen - University of Richmond Daniel Grobman - Drexel University Evan Haas - University of Southern California Fred Hammer - Miami University of Ohio Ross Harryhill - University of Pennsylvania Zakee Hawkins - Philadelphia University Daniel Heffernan - Bucknell University Parker Henderer - Cornell University Christopher Hervada - Monmouth University David Hogarth - College of William & Mary Jared Holeman - Princeton University William Holmes - Fairfield University Cameron Hoorfar - George Washington University Aaron Hudson, Jr. - Drexel University Lawrence Hunter - Northwestern University Bryan Hyland - Cornell University Ryan Jacob - Ithaca College Duncan Joyce - Princeton University Alexander Karlson - Lehigh University Mohid Khan - Johns Hopkins University Christopher Kober - Campbell University David Lees - Duke University Andrew Lengel - Lehigh University Scott Leyden - Lehigh University Jeffrey Li - Dartmouth College Nicholas Magnani - Tufts University Dean Manko - Stanford University Davis Martinelli - Hobart College José Martínez - Harvard University

June 2017

Naren Mathawan - Pennsylvania State University Tucker Matus - University of Southern California Philip McCutcheon - Skidmore College William McDevitt - University of Virginia Jack McKnight - University of Pennsylvania Vincent McNamara - Saint Joseph’s University Jack Molitor - University of St. Andrews Christopher Morrison - United States Naval Academy Ismail Morrison - Hampton University Conner Mosebrook - Furman University Stephen Mostek - Davidson College David Myers - Cabrini College David Niedzwicki - Dartmouth College John Nostrant - Pennsylvania State University Grayson Nunnelee - Gettysburg College Joseph O’Brien - Georgetown University Kirk Oliver - University of Michigan William Pechet - Wake Forest University Charles Rahr - University of Denver Daniel Resnick - Union College Joshua Ridenhour - Skidmore College John Roarty - Northeastern University Francis Rosato - Fairfield University Cyrus Rostami - Franklin & Marshall College George Rubin - Swarthmore College William Russell - New York University John Ryan - Michigan State University Robert Samuels - Franklin & Marshall College Henry Scarlato - Clemson University Evan Scott - Furman University Remington Smith - Lehigh University Peter Solomon - University of Pennsylvania William Sommer - University of Michigan Richard Souders - Pennsylvania State University Thomas Toal - La Salle University William Towle - Texas Christian University Michael Tricolli - Dickinson College Joel Trucksess - Lehigh University Mallik Twyman - Colgate University Aidan Veno - Berklee College of Music Carnel Walker - United States Air Force Academy Clark Wanglee - Pennsylvania State University Harper Weigle - Carnegie Mellon University Devin Weikert - Georgia Tech Andrew Weiss - Wesleyan University Ethan Weiss - College of Charleston Jacob Wertheimer - Harvard University Christopher Williams - University of Pennsylvania Connor Williams - University of Pennsylvania William Wu - Massachusetts Institute of Technology Scottie Zelov - Cornell University

Of the men in the Class of 2017: 92% were admitted to one of their top-three college choices 82% were admitted to one of their top-two colleges 67% of the boys were admitted to their first-choice college.