The Index Eutαxia Swzein Dokei
Volume LXXVI, No. 5
February/March 2015
Haverford, Pennsylvania - haverfordindex.com
Diversity at Haverford: School-Wide Barriers and the Steps Towards Overcoming Them After February’s moving assembly about students of color at Haverford and racial profiling, Alex Sanfilippo ‘16 looks at the larger issues of race and diversity facing Haverford today . Alex Sanfilippo ‘16
“We offer a safe, supportive, diverse, and inclusive learning environment, fostering trust, understanding appreciation, and mutual respect.” Haverford offers this bold promise to all prospective families and any outsiders by proudly displaying it on the school’s website. With the recent events nationwide regarding racial inequality and injustice, and following a revealing, profound school-wide assembly, it is worth delving into whether Haverford delivers on this promise and if such sentiments are widely held by faculty, administrators, and students alike. The word “diversity” has been thoroughly ingrained in the vocabulary of all Haverford students, which speaks volumes when considering the history of the school. Only recently has such conversation and thought regarding the topic permeated Wilson Hall. The fact that the Diversity Alliance continues to increase in size and popularity as time progresses underscores the monumental change in the collective consciousness of all people affiliated with the school. However, for all of the advancements in promoting a diverse
institution, a palpable level of discomfort remains when diversity and racial equality are discussed. Take the aforementioned assembly, for example. Hearing powerful stories on police discrimination from members within our own community is unprecedented, and it is difficult not to feel a level of discomfort and confusion about the significance of our classmates’ anecdotes – stories impossible for most of us at Haverford to fully comprehend. Simply put, “diversity” is a well-used word, but one not fully understood by a majority of Haverford students. There are multiple reasons for this, the first being the convoluted definition of the word itself. More often than not, “diversity” is associated with race. However, diversity can (and should) be associated with many other things: socioeconomic background, experiences, opinions, etc. When associated with race, the reason many students are unable to fully grasp the significance behind the word is not due to a lack of compassion, but instead a general lack of experience with being in racially diverse communities. A majority of Haverford students live in the Main Line area, which has a predominantly white demographic.
This doesn’t make Haverford students bad, ignorant, or inconsiderate people; instead, there is a steeper learning curve we all have to make a conscious effort to overcome, and it is Haverford’s responsibility to assist in that process so that we may be adequately prepared “for life”.
Director of Community Mr. Donta Evans.
Haverford School
The assembly constructed by Mr. Donta Evans and the Diversity Alliance was one of the most moving, yet unexpected assemblies I have seen in my brief tenure at Haverford. Overhearing numerous conversations immediately following the assembly affirmed my conviction that the majority of Haverford students were
completely taken by surprise at the deep level of emotion conveyed by fellow students. Although the assembly may have come as a shock, it was the culminating project of months of planning and discussion between Mr. Evans, various faculty members, and Diversity Alliance students. The assembly’s overarching message and goal were left for interpretation by each individual student, but that was part of Mr. Evans’s goal as he stated, “this was such a great opportunity to educate our entire community. I hoped we would accomplish raising awareness about how these events happen to members within our own community at Haverford. But, my ultimate goal was to generate conversation.” Consider the assembly a success, then. As expected, there were mixed reactions to the assembly and its message. However, conversation inherently doesn’t have to be positive– just the act of provoking thought about controversial and global problems is an overwhelming success for a thirtyminute assembly. I, for one, left the assembly moved and felt empowered to make a positive impact on further discussions, but at the same time felt that the assembly may have been a case of too much, too fast, a sentiment echoed by Señor Javier Lluch.
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Fifty Shades of Grey: A Dangerous Influence on Relationships, or Just a Bad Movie? Sixth Former Ian Riley discusses the film that is one of the year’s highest grossing movies. Does it promote rape and abuse, and how we should react to it as a society? Ian Riley ‘15
One of the most hotly anticipated films of the year is also one of the most talked about and controversial. Fifty Shades of Grey is a film that has sparked a great deal of anger from many different communities. Individuals have shamed it for promoting and fetishizing rape and abusive relationships, it has also received criticism from the BDSM community for misrepresenting it. Even further, there has already been backlash, as accusations fly that it encourages rape and abuse. At least one individual, supposedly inspired by the film, has abused and raped a young woman. The film itself, as well as the book on which it is based, does romanticize what is best described as being an abusive relationship. Using the CDC’s definition of “emotional abuse and sexual violence,” several experts have determined that the relationship between Christian Grey (Jamie
Also inside this Issue...
Dornan) and Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) is indeed an abusive one. The BDSM community has also pointed to it as confusing BDSM with abuse, including harmful and dangerous BDSM practices, as well as depicting BDSM as being a perversion to be overcome as opposed to a largely harmless interest for many people. The question, however, is: does 50 Shades encourage rape and abuse? Is this product making readers and viewers more prone to practice dangerous and harmful sexual acts? Is Fifty Shades of Grey a bad influence, or simply a bad film? I firmly stand by the belief that representation of negative practices in film does not encourage those practices in real life. For example, there has been a large movement against violence in video games and films in response to violent crime, but there is no convincing evidence that these images in the media encourage them in real life. There has been correlations between violent crime offenders and violent
media, but correlation does not equal causation. It is more likely that individuals prone to violent crime are attracted to violence in the media. Even beyond that, violence is nearly ubiquitous in media, practically everyone who watched television or plays video games watches violent shows and plays violent games. This is also true of representation of questionable sexual acts in media. The young man who abused and raped a partner, supposedly in an attempt to recreate the acts depicted in Fifty Shades, would likely have committed similar acts had he not seen the film. His fetishization of abuse did not begin as he walked out of the theater. While I disapprove of Fifty Shades of Grey and its content, I cannot in good conscience say that it perpetuates bad practices. To do so would be to shift the blame for countless crimes and misdeeds on media that represents those actions, an outlook that can lead to a neutering of the entertainment industry as well as would infringe on the first amendment if any sort of legislation was taken out. Rather, the media serves
as an straw man for mentally unstable individuals to point to as justification. The film itself, however, is a curiosity. It has a substantial cult following and has done exceedingly well at the box office, despite reviews ranging from mediocre to abysmal. The bizarre success has been attributed to many things, including a culture that condones sexual abuse and rape, as well as a product of male influence on society. The fact that this film is a monstrous success does not speak well of current cultural attitudes, but to say that American society as a whole condones rape is abhorrent. The nature of rape is something that was not particularly addressed prior to rather recently. Recent guest speaker at Haverford, Katie Koestner, was actually one of the first outspoken opponents of date rape in 1991. Since then, education has largely shifted to encourage safe, consensual sexual practices. Koestner recently returned to speak to the graduating class, largely about sex crimes and what constitutes molestation, abuse and rape. Continued on Page 11
After participating in Haverford’s exchange program with the Ordrup Gymnasium, George Rubin ‘17 attempts to address why Denmark is the “happiest nation on Earth.”
Brendan Burns ‘15 argues that, both at Haverford and nationwide, a mutual exchange is required for successful race relations, and that “racial awareness” is insufficient.
See Page 4.
See page 11.
Article Danish Exchange Global Studies Program Spring Arts Portfolio Oscars Review Ball Team Underachieving Funding Sports Teams GOP, Israel, and Iran Economic Inequality Outdex
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News
March 2015
Debate and Speech Enjoying Record-Setting Results Kenny Fitzpatrick ‘16
Every year the debate team sends of a number of teams to the University of Pennsylvania for its annual Liberty Bell Classic. It is usually the last tournament of the year for the team and is known for its rigorous competition. A national tournament, the venue generally draws around one hundred teams. Usually Haverford only sends a few teams because of the tournament’s selectivity but, this year the debate team managed to have a total of seven teams at the competition. While the tournament has multiple categories, Haverford only sent teams for “Public Forum.” To relate to Public Forum, think of a nationally-televised debate; that is what Public Forum is all about. In a Public Forum Debate, there are always two teams, each with two competitors. The seven teams that Haverford sent comprised of the two Sixth Form groups,
Manav Khandelwal with Brendan Burns and Jackson Simon with Jack Henderson, three Fifth Form groups, Eli Wachs with Guy Wuollet, Arnav Jagasia with Alex Sanfilippo, and Kenny Fitzpatrick with Drew Sterman, and one Fourth Form group of Jack McKnight and Jacob Wertheimer. A factor that people often forget about this competition is its length. With six full rounds, it is very easy for groups to become fatigued, bored, and frustrated. The tournament also features elimination rounds for teams that advance past the preliminary rounds. In past years, Haverford had never had a team go beyond the first round of elimination, but that changed this year. This time around, Haverford Speech and Debate dominated with the duo of Burns and Khandelwal reaching the quarterfinals with a record of 5-1 in the prelims, and the Fifth Form squads of Jagasia and Sanfilippo along with Wachs and Wuollet
making it to the first round of elimination. To put these results into perspective, only one team had ever made it past the first round of elimination in Haverford Speech and Debate history, and this year’s team had three achieve this feat. In addition, the group of McKnight and Wertheimer went 3-2 while the Fitzpatrick and Sterman combo went 2-3. There’s probably one thing you all are wondering about this debate: what was the resolve or the topic? To answer this question, the resolve was, On balance, Economic Globalization benefits worldwide poverty reduction. In a nutshell, the debate is asking whether increasing trade between countries (e.g. the US trading with China) benefits the least privileged members of society. Since it was a very complex debate, a good deal of preparation was needed in order to succeed at the tournament, and that is what can account for Haverford’s sweeping success. Having many weeks
The State of Haverford’s Diversity Alliance Arnav Jagasia ‘16
Whether through the weekly lunches, the retreat, the movie nights, or the annual participation in the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), the Diversity Alliance plays an integral part in the Haverford Student Body. Advised by Ms. Rebecca Smedley, Mr. Luqman Kolade, Mr. Stephen Patrylak, and Sra. Carmen Mateos, the diversity alliance seeks to provide a place where students can discuss diversity and related topics. According to Smedley, the goals of the diversity alliance are two-fold. “One goal,” Smedley began, “is support for kids in the group; its a place for kids who are sharing similar journeys and similar situations.” This is done by the weekly lunches, meetings, and support for a place
to openly discuss diversity-related issues. The second objective is “education for the bigger community,” which would impact the student body “beyond the group who chooses to come.” In addition, Smedley noted that such activities usually “take the form of an assembly to the upper school and occasionally sponsoring a speaker; everyone is invited to these events.” The Diversity Alliance, an integral part of the Haverford community, has undergone change over the years. According to Smedley, “the group originated for kids who felt like they were not the mainstream at Haverford.” Originally, Haverford had smaller affinity groups such as a Black Student Association and a Gay-Straight Alliance. However, Smedley remarked that now the Diversity Alliance has “grown to
to prepare, and a practice-tournament leading up to Penn, Haverford teams were able to not only able to research the topic at length, but also to weed out the flaws in their arguments and “patch” the holes. In addition to the success Haverford had at the Liberty Bell classic, the Haverford Speech and Debate team was able to send two teams off to districts: Burns & Khandelwal and Jagasia & Sanfilippo. Still retaining all of the heavy research that fed into their success at Penn, both teams crushed the competition at districts, each going 4-0. Looking forward, both of these teams will advance to States, the first time Haverford has ever sent two teams to the competition. As the season winds down for the debate team, the groups now can celebrate as they could go down as the best bunch in the history of the club at Haverford.
include other manifestations of diversity than just race.” Both Kolade and Smedley noted that unfortunately most students hold the flawed belief that if they do not have some minority status, they need not attend Diversity Alliance meetings or events. Hence, Kolade added that he feels like the Diversity Alliance does not have “that big of an impact on the student body on a whole.” Nonetheless, he lauded the Diversity Alliance as a “good place to talk about issues that pertain to everyone,” serving its function as a space for free conversation for the every member of the student body. Moreover, Diversity Alliance President Louie Brown commented that “trying to outright change a culture will never work.” Instead, he hopes that by providing a space for discussion, the Diversity Alliance will affect others in the same positive way that it
affected him during his time at Haverford. While the Diversity Alliance does have four faculty advisors, most of the group’s activities are student-driven. Brown noted that “the movements the Diversity Alliance promotes need to be student-led and intrinsically motivated to find success.” Nearly fifty students attend school-wide diversity events, and ten to fifteen students engage in the Diversity Alliance’s weekly lunches. With such a steady student clientele, the Diversity Alliance is poised to bring greater awareness to the Haverford community as well as continue to provide a space for discussion and support for the entire student body. As Smedley noted, “as long as kids come to lunch, that is their tacit way of letting us adults know that they need a space to discuss diversity-related issues.”
Peterson (Form VI) and Spencer Rappaport (Form VI) in a historic committee centered around the Treaty of Westphalia. Petersen and Rappaport, acting as the Bishopric of Basel, participated in a committee set in the 17th century with a goal of finding a peaceful end to the Thirty Years’ War. The pair managed to pass a resolution which allowed for a small amount of territorial change and acquired independence for Basel from the Holy Roman Empire, which is similar to what actually happened. In the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee, SOCHUM, Haverford had
four delegates, two from Latvia, two from the Czech Republic. The delegates from Latvia were V Formers Walter Paiva and Arnav Jagasia, while the delegates from the Czech Republic were IV Formers Caleb Clothier and Tucker Matus. The committee focused on ways to either promote or demote freedom of the media in developing countries. The tandem of countries worked together to merge their resolution with a passing resolution which supported a controlled freedom of the media. Continued on Opposite Page
Model UN Excites as Latvia and Czech Republic Tucker Matus ‘17
On the 29th of January, two vans full of twenty members of the Model U.N. Club, laden with suitcases, set off from The Haverford School to travel into Philadelphia to attend this year’s Ivy League Model United Nations Conference (ILMUNC). The conference took place over four days, Thursday evening to Sunday morning, and included six committee sessions, accounting for seventeen hours. Model U.N. at Haverford is a club where we represent nations and work in conferences to solve global issues. At the conference,
located at the Philadelphia Sheraton and run by University of Pennsylvania students, Haverford was assigned, for the majority of the committees, the countries of Latvia and the Czech Republic, both of which were upgrades from countries in the past (last year Haverford was Croatia, and the year before, Burundi). The two outliers to the aforementioned countries were Nigeria, the country which Ethan DeLehman (Form V) represented as a member on the Security Council 2060 Crisis Committee, and Basel, a region which is located in modern day Switzerland and was represented by club leader Eric
The Index
2014-2015 Staff
Manav Khandelwal ‘15, Editor-in-Chief Brendan Burns ‘15, Editor-in-Chief Arnav Jagasia ‘15, News and Features Editor Alex Sanfilippo ‘16, Opinions Editor Jack Henderson ‘15, Sports Editor Ethan DeLehman ‘16, Arts Editor Eric Petersen ‘15, Politics Editor Otis Baker ‘15, Outdex Editor Drew Sterman ‘16, co-Web Editor Kenny Fitzpatrick ‘16, co-Web Editor Mr. Kellen Graham, Faculty Advisor
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.
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, a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, is composed on Mac OS X, using Adobe InDesign CS5.5. 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.haverfordindex.com/ (610) 642-3020 x. 1222
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ILMUNC Recap (cont.) Continued from Page 2 Anthony Calvelli, Form IV, was the sole delegate representing the country of Latvia in his committee, World Bank. The topic of the World Bank committee was “Combatting corruption in developing nations.” Calvelli worked with countries such as Sri Lanka and Russia to pass a resolution which provides incentive based loans to developing countries. The representatives from Latvia in the Disarmament and International Security
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Committee (DISEC) were Gabe Newton and Max Arias, both V Formers. In DISEC, the countries were focused on the issue of international cyber security and how governments should act in order to balance cyber security with individual rights. The resolution in which the two contributed to, an outline for countries to follow in order to have a fair balance, passed. Nick Avery and Josh Hoefner, V Formers, were delegates from Latvia in the Legal Committee. The Legal Committee had two topics of discussion, the death penalty and
corruption in peacekeeping forces, but they only had the time to discuss the former. The delegates, weighing the values and interests of Latvia, came to the conclusion that they would be in favor of ridding the world of the death penalty. With academic matters tabled, Avery also notes that he “made some new friends, [and] it was a great time”. Riding along the curtails of Nick’s statements, it must be mentioned that Model U.N. is not strictly an academic occasion. There was an enjoyable delegate dance, featuring a DJ, and a delegate fest which
March 2015
had a live band, along with free time to take a tour of UPenn or the city of Philadelphia. Some of the more inexperienced members of the club, who did not have the opportunity to attend ILMUNC, will be attending a conference at Cornell in April. The Model U.N. Club is always looking for new, excited members, so if you feel like you would enjoy Model UN, feel free to stop by one of our meetings on Fridays during Clubs’ Period in Sr. Lluch’s room.
Race and Diversity Issues at Haverford (continued) Continued from Front Page
VI Former Jake Pechet offered sentiments most likely held by many when he stated, “For me, I still don’t entirely know what to think. I think it’s great to be aware of what my classmates are dealing with, but what am I supposed to do about it? There was a lot of powerful information conveyed very quickly, and I’m not sure what my role in all of it is.”
race and diversity along the lines of ‘Oh, here we go again.’” Mr. Kolade continued to mention the role of faculty members and encouraged them to find ways so that students do not “shut down” and say, “I’m not a racist. I don’t need to hear this again. Why is this an issue?” A profound responsibility is therefore left on students’ shoulders to embrace conversation while always maintaining an open mind. VI Former Kory Calicat-Wayns stated that,
attended Haverford since second grade. Mr. Fairfax emphasized how students could now walk around school and hopefully encounter a “similar narrative,” a testimony to the improvement the school has made in recent years at establishing an inclusive learning environment. Mr. Fairfax spoke to how this experience has shaped his work today in Admissions by showing the necessity for an allencompassing definition of diversity. To
Sixth Former Avery Callahan (center) speaks at February’s Racial Perspectives Assembly, flanked by Upper School Head Matt Green and fellow Sixth Former Ian Riley.
Dialogue between all members of the Haverford School community is the predominant element of Mr. Evans’s plan for addressing issues of race and diversity. As he frankly stated, “Those were nine different voices; we have so many more voices in this community who can bring experiences to light.” The nature of diversity and its numerous layers of complexity are the primary reason for engaging so many students– no one opinion will stand alone and be regarding as the “solution.” To incite further conversation, Mr. Evans is looking for the students who feel passionate, either positively or negatively, about the message of the assembly to formulate a plan to slowly incorporate all members of the Haverford community into the conversation. However, what exactly will this conversation consist of and which issues will be discussed? I think it is valid to state that each member of the community has his or her own idea of what the most important elements of race and diversity are and how they should be discussed. Additionally, I am sure we all have varying opinions on what the biggest challenges facing Haverford are in terms of advancing an understanding within the student body. Upper School English teacher Mr. Luqman Kolade spoke to a few challenges that were echoed to an extent by Mr. Evans and students. For Mr. Kolade, “the biggest challenge is that there are many people who would rather not acknowledge that there could be a problem. It is easy and comfortable for kids to look at issues of
from his perspective, the biggest challenge has been “witnessing the appropriation of black culture among white students. There are a number of students who speak to me how they assume my black friends speak to me and it is both offensive and annoying.” Kory’s comments directly tie into the need for empathy and reciprocal relationships. Intellectually stimulating conversation regarding race and diversity has already increased significantly, and will undoubtedly continue to be thoroughly integrated into the school’s culture. If we are going to devote so much time and energy to this subject, however, it is important to consider the school’s goals and how they transfer to classroom settings. To highlight the need for an inclusive definition of diversity and how it is imperative Haverford adopts this policy, I will recount a personal story Mr. Henry Fairfax, Director of Admissions, discussed with me. As a student at Haverford in the late 1990s, Mr. Fairfax was one of the few black students in the Upper School. One day, an upper-middle class white student from the Main Line who was also newer to the school asked Mr. Fairfax, “What do you think of this place? I don’t know if I fit in here.” At the same time, a different black student was discussing female movie stars in a manner entirely different than Mr. Fairfax might have with his neighborhood friends in West Philadelphia. To be brief, one of his first interactions at Haverford left him taken aback that he had more in common with the affluent, Main Line student than the black student who had
Dawn Blake
the naked eye, it would have seemed that Mr. Fairfax would develop a stronger connection with the black student, but instead the result was entirely the opposite. With an expansive definition in mind, the question remains: How does that impact Haverford’s interpretation of a diverse learning community? Mr. Fairfax asserts that “an authentic, diverse learning community is one that recognizes and supports and enriches the experience for all students.” When perfectly in practice, this promotes a system of “mutual exchange,” meaning that students from Philadelphia and Gladwyne can willingly go to each other’s homes. Students who interact to this degree are the ones that demonstrate an understanding of empathy and collaboration, two fundamental principles necessary for any thriving, diverse community. Whether or not this “mutual exchange,” occurs at Haverford is certainly up for debate, but I am adamant that the majority of students, especially black students, would say no such system is in place. This presents a problem, for without an understanding of empathy and collaboration, Haverford’s supposedly authentic diverse community feels superficial. While the situation is complicated through logistics and other factors, I firmly believe that the lack of a “mutual exchange” remains the largest obstacle for students who want to develop closer, empathetic relationships. Haverford fulfills its mission of preparing boys for life when it establishes an authentic learning community. There is a consensus
amongst the faculty I spoke with that many students find it difficult to imagine life outside of the comfortable “bubble” the Main Line and surrounding areas provide. Mr. Evans stated that having this diverse community “accomplishes creating a realworld experience for our boys in which they are dealing with different types of people from all different backgrounds.” Success ultimately comes when “everyone has an appreciation and understanding and an acceptance of each other’s differences. And sometimes, in order to accomplish that, there needs to be assemblies or other platforms for people to discuss and engage with one another.” Mr. Fairfax reiterated and emphasized Mr. Evans’s points by saying how Haverford has a responsibility “that if we are to remain true to our mission and who you are as an institution, then that holds you accountable to prepare boys for life, in the real world. And to do that you need a diverse learning community.” Many students and adults may be under the impression that the simplest way to increase the current 24% minority constituency would be to bring in as many of these students from surrounding areas as possible. However, there is an obvious flaw and a feeling of superficiality that accompanies an institution trying to fulfill a diversity “quota.” Mr. Fairfax emphasizes how all students admitted to Haverford are deemed capable of handling the rigorous academics and possess internal qualities that have the potential to greatly benefit the Haverford community. If the process were to be streamlined for specific applicants, a palpable feeling of separation would ensue between groups of the student body, the opposite of what a diverse learning community strives to achieve. There is no magic number when it comes to this percentage. What is significant, however, is continuing to ensure that the Haverford education remains accessible to as many prospective applicants as possible. Mr. Fairfax highlighted this by admitting that he would like to see the percentage of socioeconomically disadvantaged students increase. Mr. Kolade also emphasized the importance of being able to tell students who may have always believed they would never even see the inside of the school that they have the potential to enroll. When a Haverford School education becomes more of an imaginative prospect rather than a reality for the majority of potential applicants, the schools runs the risk of hampering its efforts to promote diversity and fails to deliver on its promise of preparing students for life. Promoting diversity of any kind is not an easy task. The onus is on us, the students, to promote diversity and racial equality so that we create a welcoming and safe community for our brothers.
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News
March 2015
Denmark Exchange: What Makes Danes So Happy After participating in Haverford’s exchange program with students in Copenhagen, George Rubin ‘17 discusses some of the social and political qualities that make Denmark the “happiest place on Earth.” George Rubin ‘17
Imagine a country that has already achieved many of America’s greatest ambitions. One that already relies on renewable energies for 40% of its power supply and aims to get rid of fossil fuels by 2050. One that has limited violence with a homicide rate of only 0.8 (homicides per 100,000 people) compared with a 4.7 in the US. One where only 1 out of 10 people carry a gun as opposed to the 9 out of 10 in America. One with social equality where the richest 20% make four times more than the poorest twenty percent compared to eight and a half times in the US. And finally, one ranked as the happiest nation on earth. Copenhagen, Denmark is one of the most well educated, progressive, and happiest cities in the world. This past month, eight other Haverford boys and I accompanied eight Baldwin girls on a trip to Copenhagen as part of the first year of an annual exchange program with students from Ordrup Gymnasium, a public school in one of Copenhagen’s suburbs. We went there to try to get to know a new culture very different from our own, to make connections and friendships with Danish students, and to try to answer a question that had been nagging us since we decided to go on the trip early in the school year: Why are they so happy? First of all, what even is happiness? Because happiness is somewhat intangible and hard to quantify, when evaluating it we have to first get away from those short term feelings of happiness, such as those gathered from doing something pleasurable, like eating a hamburger, and those that come from happy life events, such as receiving a good grade on a chemistry test. Instead, we need to focus on the more long-term happiness associated with the achievement of meaning in one’s life and their overall satisfaction with their quality of life. This long term happiness is
what the Danes have down pat. The most obvious reason for overwhelming happiness in Denmark is economic prosperity. I was extremely surprised when my exchange student told me that he had a job that paid the equivalent of about twenty US dollars and hour. Granted the income tax there is much higher, an average of 45 to 55%, but what remains is still about double what minimum wage employees get paid in the United States with tax. Denmark is also ranked the fourth most prosperous nation in the world, so in addition to paying its workers well, it gives an abundance of job opportunities to its citizens. Denmark is also one of the safest countries. In the average year, there are less than 50 murders compared with the average of 15,000 in the US. Our travel group happened to arrive in Copenhagen the day of a terrorist attack where two people were killed, one at a free-speech event in a cafe in North Copenhagen and one at the city’s main synagogue. To me and my classmates, this was a sad story but one we had heard many times due to the constant shootings happening in the US. The Danes, however, were worked up about the attack and were very adamant about telling us that this kind of thing never happens in Denmark. Another interesting and different aspect of Danish social life is the idea of Danish trust. I noticed this right when I arrived at the train station at the Copenhagen airport. There was nobody on the train to collect or check tickets. Although I was told that someone checks tickets at a random time once a month, I didn’t see a single ticket collector on the Danish public transportation system my entire trip. Also, apart from the day of the terrorist attack, I didn’t see a policeman the entire trip. Going the speed limit, abiding by the law, and paying for transportation were, although not completely, mostly on the honor code. This trust is key to a happy society.
The common courtesy and trustworthiness of Danish people was demonstrated in a study done where wallets were “misplaced” on the streets of different European and American cities. The wallets were only returned to their rightful owners in two of the countries tested. Those two countries were Denmark, and Norway, coincidentally the two happiest countries in the world. Another aspect of trust is the amount of trust parents instill onto their children. The kids in Denmark were given a level of independence that many of us don’t experience in America. They were expected to get themselves to and from school and pay for any daily expenses out of pocket including their lunch. If their parents were to ever drive them somewhere, it was considered a favor, not a usual occurrence. Also, the drinking age in Denmark is only 16 years old so kids are given the responsibilities of drinking and smoking at a much younger age than us. I was told, though, that drinking happens mostly in a social manner, rather than the binge drinking we have in american schools and colleges. The tolerance of alcohol and nicotine for younger kids helps combat the use of other illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and others especially at early ages where kids are more susceptible to addiction problems. Statistics show that use of these drugs in Denmark is a fraction of what it is in America. Danish trust also carries over to politics and their socialist democracy. In their last election, they were able to rally an 87.8% voter turnout compared with the 57% for the 2012 presidential election in the US. Another way Danes show confidence in their government is through a 45-55% income tax. To Americans, this seems unbearable, but my Danish student insists that it is necessary. It is a hard argument to make, but he gives two convincing points. The first is that although the taxes are high, everyone makes more; more even than the average American makes with their lower tax rate. In addition, as he put it, the government pays for your
education as a child, your college, your unemployment if you get into a pinch, and your health care when you get sick. One of the reasons many Americans oppose socialism is because they do not want to give the US government, which they feel is incompetent, any more money. This trust that the Danes instil in their government is what gives them confidence as a nation. The aspect people look back on the most when evaluating their lives is their relationships. Families in Denmark are generally closer than ours, focusing less on rushing to different activities and working long hours and more on having quality family time. Every night I had dinner at my host family’s house, they took the time to cook real food and sit down and talk to each other rather than the average dinner in America which is microwaving a frozen meal and eating it on the couch in front of the TV or stopping at the drive through at McDonald’s before soccer practice. In addition to a more solid family life, the better quality and happier working environments allow for stronger and more positive working relationships and the extra money gives even the fast food worker enough money to go out at night and socialize. To sum up, the reason the Danes are so happy is probably because they have found the right balance: the balance between work and family life. In my student’s case, he only had about an hour of homework a night and he spent the rest of his time playing music or having fun with his family or friends. They found the balance between wages and economic success. Fast food restaurants can come into Copenhagen and be profitable even though they have to pay their workers 20 dollars an hour. They found the balance between high taxes and government benefits. Their taxes are high, but not high enough to compromise their standard of living while at the same time giving them the benefit of worldclass public transportation, healthcare, education, and welfare. Finally, they have found an economic balance, in which even their poorest citizens are not unhappy.
Robotics Leads Pack at State Championships Tucker Matus ‘17 and Sam Shaw ‘16
Seven Haverford Robotics teams attended the 2015 VEX Robotics Pennsylvania State Championship held at Norristown High School on February 28th. Although the results suggest otherwise, preparing for States is a challenge for 169 each year. Robots constantly need to be torn apart, redesigned, and rebuilt to stay consistent with the world standard. But there’s even more to it than that: a full rebuild requires all new autonomous routines and hours of operator practice before the competition day. Even a few days before the competition (and actually the night before) team members worked late at school making final adjustments to their respective robots’ autonomous routines. Four Haverford teams received the privilege of competing at the Vex Robotics World Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. Team 169A and 169Y qualified for Worlds as tournament champions, and Team 169B and 169C qualified as tournament finalists. Team 169A also received the Amaze award, which is given to the team whose robot is deemed “amazing, well rounded and top performing.” Team 169B – Arnav Jagasia (Form V), Tim Delaney (Form VI), and Mason Hall (Form VI) – went undefeated throughout the qualification matches.
While the robot’s autonomous period was unreliable at times, Delaney, the sole robot driver, was successfully able to build almost the entire seven-section Skyrise and score a few cubes on top, totalling around 40-50 points from 169B alone. While 169B had planned to go into the competition focusing on cubes, the robot ended up primarily building the Skyrise during the match. With a capacity for three cubes, however, 169B could compensate for the time spent building the Skyrise and effectively scored cubes as well. At the end of the qualification matches, Team 169B was second seed and was able to create an alliance with 169C and 464F (Forest Hills High School, Sidman, PA). Only losing the alliance of 169A, 169Y, and 101B (Radnor Robotics), 169B finished as tournament finalists, eligible for world championships. Team 169C – Tim Maguire (Form V), Ben Quan (Form V), and Jake Glunk (Form III) – had a challenging match schedule for the morning, but prevailed with a 5-1 record, losing only to 169A. The robot’s autonomous routine, which scored cubes on the posts around the field’s perimeter, ran smoothly throughout the day, only requiring minor modifications through the competition. Additionally, both 169B and 169C made it through the second round of pit judging, showcasing their robots and the engineering design
process required to build them. In competition, 169C focused primarily on scoring cubes as opposed to constructing a skyris, and succeeded with this strategy, securing the sixth seed at the end of qualification matches and then getting selected to compete under the second seed alliance in the elimination matches. Team 169A – Colin McCloskey (Form V) and Sam Shaw (Form V) – had a successful day although not everything initially went as planned. The night before States, Team 169A made the decision to gear down the robot’s drive base in order to make sure it would withstand the entire day; although it helped to ensure consistency, it slowed down the robot enough that 169A did not participate in the skills challenges. Additionally, the team’s five-section autonomous routine (which was on par with routines of other top teams world wide) was inaccurate in the first few qualification matches because it was run for the first time on a new competition field with firmer foam tiles. They managed to use their many seasons of competition experience to correct the small inaccuracy issues, and by the end of the day, held the first seed position with a 6-0 record. With the autonomous consistently scoring four sections (all that it was able to do with the geared down drive base), 169A won Finals Match 1 with
a score of 93-70 playing with 169Y and won Finals Match 2 90-28 playing with 101B. Additionally, they impressed the pit judges during their interview and were awarded the Amaze Award. Colin and Sam finished their Pre-Worlds season, spanning from the fall through State Championships in March, with a 26-0 record. 169Y – Andrew Clark (Form V), Cal Williams (Form IV), and Scott Shaw (Form II) – also had a tough schedule, losing to 169A in their first match. Nevertheless, they did not lose hope, winning all but one of their remaining matches for the day. In the elimination rounds, 169Y helped the first seed alliance (169A, 169Y, and 101B) win autonomous rounds with their strong five point secondary position autonomous routine. Additionally, alliance captains Sam and Colin put 169Y’s fast drive base to use, assigning them to score cubes on the field’s perimeter goals. As winners and finalists of the State Championships, 169A, 169Y, 101B, 169B, 169C, and 464F are eligible to compete at the 2015 Vex World Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. Haverford teams that are traveling to Louisville to participate depart on April 14th and will compete for three days against several hundred of the best robotics teams in the world.
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The Index
News
March 2015
Expanding Global Studies Program Providing Vital Opportunities for Exposure Third Former Sam Turner writes about Mr. Andrew Poolman’s nascent Global Studies program and what the coming months hold for it. Sam Turner ‘18
In its second year, the Global Studies program at The Haverford School is thriving. With two major international trips planned for this summer, a student exchange program, and an annual studentintegration conference, the program and the awareness of its activities are growing exponentially. The upcoming trips respectively to Nicaragua and China this summer are designed to incorporate global exposure into a student’s experience and arm him with the tools of open-mindedness, immersion in language and culture, and skills in non-verbal communication. During each trip, students will spend a substantial amount of time living with a host family and attending a local school. Remaining time will be spent rejoicing in the natural and historical wonders of each of these locations. Mr. Andrew Poolman, Coordinator of Global Studies, has pioneered the program since the birth of its existence and bears high hopes for the program in future years. Hoping to eventually integrate global experiences into every student’s education, Poolman partners with teachers of various subjects, especially foreign language, to submerge students in language and broaden their awareness of global cultures. Global exposure can both positively impact an individual and accordingly adjust a community’s image of diverse global lifestyles. Although there are countless benefits of global exposure, calculated and unforeseen risks often accompany international trips. Global studies trips to Nicaragua and China this summer are setting precedents for global exposure that some believe is critical in developing a student’s edification and personality and others believe is a matter of benefits and risks. Before sorting through the outputs of global exposure, Poolman defines the three major ways in which Haverford students have the opportunity to interact globally: “One, I am coordinating our current global exchange program with the school in Denmark and I hope to expand those offerings in the future with some other schools internationally. Two, I work a lot on the travel study programs, which are the one or two-week long travel experiences integrated into some area of the curriculum. Three, I am working with students individually to help them form a valuable experience - over summer or over break - and that may involve something locally or something internationally.” As Poolman continues, the foremost purpose of international trips is to be “eye-opening for our students. I think it is easy for our students and for all community members to go through our normal routine here within the walls of the school and within the fences of the school grounds. We live, work, and study in a comfortable area, but the rest of the world does things very differently. We won’t always be able to have that comfort of living and working within these walls and fences.” Although classes promote empathy, understanding, and open-mindness, the experience of actually flying into a foreign region, adapting to its ubiquitous uncomfortable situations, and learning how to effectively communicate with non-English speakers is
sui generis. To Poolman, being exposed to the raw realities of the rest of the world “can be really valuable and hopefully inspire students to want to study, volunteer, and focus on an area that they see somewhere else in the world.” Like Poolman, Haverford Fifth Former Alex Sanfilippo hopes to sustain his global trip last year to Costa Rica by participating in “programs that peak my interest where I can go to different countries and do the same thing I did in Costa Rica - live with families or volunteer through an organization in different countries.” Sanfilippo plans to continue his global interactions through his education and career, but one trip for an interval of two weeks could be just the beginning to ignite passion for global travel and volunteerism. As Sanfilippo later comments, “I think global exposures are very beneficial for improving your languages skills, but they
generation of global leaders. Interacting globally often puts students in awkward and uncomfortable situations, but that is exactly what Chinese teacher Mr. Gary Kan aims to do. Kan states, “When you are most uncomfortable, that is when you learn best.” He goes on to say, “Positive effects comes from the amount of risk you are willing to take; that is the dynamic of everything in the world. If you are not willing to take risks, your growth will be very slow. Ask any investor.” Not only is Kan saying that the benefits of global exposure far outweigh the customary healthy and safety risks, but also that risks are in fact the medium to learning. In no way does Kan condone anything dangerous or illegal, but he believes that getting “a little lost” and getting into “a little trouble” will actually further students’ learning and understanding of foreign cultures. In addition to the high-risk, highreward dynamic, open-mindedness and an eagerness to learn are critical to learning about language, culture, and character. In fact, when Kan first came to America at The Haverford School
Students from Haverford, Baldwin, and the Ordrup Gymnasium in Denmark participating in the Global Exchange Program.
are most beneficial at longer periods of time to allow for full immersion of culture and language. We only were exposed to one scene of the whole big picture.” Sparked by the preview of the limitless wonders of this wide world, Sanfilippo says that, “doing volunteer work in another country or living with a family in another country is actually something I would have fun doing and that is the next step in my global education.” Sustainability is the key to maintaining strong international relationships, which act as a symbiosis, benefitting both the traveler and the host. The traveler, such as a Haverford student, has the advantage of immersing himself in foreign language and culture that develop his traits as a
Haverford students in Costa Rica last year.
contributing member of society. Likewise, the host can absorb foreign culture and will too benefit from meeting the next
around 15 years old, someone asked him what his expectation was and he admitted to honestly having no expectation. Today, he is glad that he came in open-minded because “Once you have an expectation, you are already limiting yourself to what you are going to be open to. Be there and take a step back just to immerse yourself.” Applying this to the trips to Nicaragua and China this summer, it is evident that the students will be exposed to new ideas, but being adventurous and prioritizing to absorb these sacred cultural differences will lead to a new perspective on the surprising differences and similarities between cultures. On the topic, Sanfilippo shares a personal story of his while on a trip to Costa Rica: “One day, the grandson of the woman I was living with came over to her house and I had no idea how to talk to him because he was still speaking broken Spanish as he was young and learning, and so I didn’t know how to communicate with him. However, he approached me and said ‘Let’s play The Haverford School tag,’ or as he called it, the doctor. We would run around the house, zapping each other.” Even a trivial, yet universal game like tag can act as a form of communication and
became the root of the friendship between Sanfilippo and the little boy he met. Most interesting about the experience was that this “is something I do with my little cousins; I am the oldest grandson in my family, so I have a lot of younger cousins in that age range and it is the exact same thing I would do with them. It was really eye-opening for me to see how similar we are even though we have grown up in such different environments.” Another one of the countless benefits of global exposure is the knowledge gained by seeing how other cultures interact, exploring the various differences between cultures, and yet the candid similarities that bring humans as a race together. Sanfilippo continues, “Places not that far from the United States like Costa Rica and Latin America have developed a lot differently. The most intriguing and most profound part of the trip for me was seeing how the people interacted there and how their conversations and interactions aren’t that different from how I would interact.” Nevertheless, there can be a sort of looming worry that accompanies many peoples’ thoughts on global exposure. Realizing that people from any region of the world will always share some sort of similarity, even if something as small as a game of tag, represses the idea that living with another family is frightening or awkward; rather, it is a time to learn from differences and celebrate similarities. While looking forward to his high school global debut to China this summer, Haverford junior Peter Merhige reflects on his middle school trip to Puerto Rico: “It can be tough because we learn languages in a classroom, talking with our peers and teachers, but it is very different once we go to another country where the language is used and talk with the natives. It is an uncomfortable experience to use a language you learned with people you know and translating that to talk with someone you don’t know while trying to make a good impression and respect their culture. It can be a very harrowing experience.” While simultaneously trying to keep up with the seemingly blistering pace of foreign dialogue and respect the culture, students can become very nervous, but this fear subsides with familiarity and time. Merhige then comments, “I have been taking Chinese since freshman year, and I had always planned on taking this trip at some point during my high school career.” On its way to becoming a sort of rite of passage, the interest and passion as exhibited by Merhige are becoming increasingly possessed by many Haverford students as they learn of peers’ experiences and discover the unrivaled experience of global travel. As Poolman explains, “the residual effect of these enlightening experiences comes five or ten years down the road, when students think back to an experience or they start to change their course of study based on some international experience that they had.” The long-term impact of global exposure can determine students’ career, life choices, and contributions to society. So, as Haverford students prepare for their trips to Nicaragua and China this summer, they are looking forward to blossoming their character, cultural skills, and lingual talents by taking risks, embracing the unfamiliarity, and stepping back to immerse themselves in the wonderful culture of this beautiful world.
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The Index
March 2015
Arts
2015 Spring Arts Portfolio
Third Former Gaspard Vadot checks in with Haverford artists and showcases their current projects. Gaspard Vadot ‘18
Freddy Corradetti’s artwork shows that realism is not needed in a painting in order to be interesting. Coming down to the art room whenever he can, he uses themes from his everyday life like wrestling to hide other meanings in his paintings, as with the top-left painting, depicting a wrestler who should have won. The work-in-progress painting of Kurt Cobain (left) mixes monochromal realism with a colorful and abstract background. This painting, a work-in-progress, by Shane Bradley, shows the development of artwork. This artist, a soccer player, wanted to make a painting that had some type of connection to his sport. He found that he had so many poses that he could paint he decided to paint multiple. He first wanted to place them in line, but then opted for a positioning that invokes motion and passing time. He eventually decided to paint a timeline of himself in all the different teams, in different outfits, he had been in, adding an interesting element of self-portait to the painting.
Sixth Former Major Tepper is currently working with clay, throwing bowls and vases of impressive size. Earlier in the year, the VI former used electronic parts and clay to create a half-human, half-robot bust of Derek Jeter (above).
Sixth Former Avery Weiss works on a teapot (left). Fellow Sixth Former Colin Moran with a teapot of his own and another work in progress (below, bottom left).
Sixth Former Jack Gola’s dog lamp (with the dog’s mouth projecting a square beam) was clearly made with resourcefulness and a lot of thought. The best part, however, is the use of the power cord as a leash.
As Senior Mike Gindhart puts it, art period is “the only time during the day that I can get away from all the pressures of Haverford and just work on something I love to do”. This senior has recently finished, with Tony DiMattia, a project that received much attention and support: Tony DiMattia made the metal frame while Mike Gindhart made the wooden tabletop.
David Chikowski, a junior, is one of the most regulars of Mr. Ressler’s classroom. Anyone who has had a class in 3D design or Woodworking has met him, whether they know it or not. Chikowski loves the natural beauty of wood, as he can model it to his liking, and the natural texture and appearance. The pictured table (above) is Chikowski’s latest creation in the woodworking studio. Andrew Westby (with Brendan Jacob, left) also makes quality pottery, like the pictured firewood bucket (below).
“Brendan Jacob is the only artist in the school to get national recognition for his work”, says Mr. Nelson, the ceramics and pottery teacher. This student makes amazing pottery, and has a lot of talent. His pieces prove his determination and motivation to make good art.
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The Index
Arts
March 2015
Poetry Club: The Embodiment of Haverford Gentlemen Connor Lees ‘17 describes Poetry Club, which has grown to produce great work under Dr. William Ehrhart. Connor Lees ‘17
My friends sometimes ask me who my “Top Five” favorite rappers are. Eminem, Biggie, Tupac, Kory Calicat-Wayns and Cole Smith—in no particular order. I enjoy listening to rap and I know I’m not the only one. Last month during a community period, two Haverfordians dropped the mic in Centennial Hall and provided us with one of this year’s more memorable assemblies. On stage alongside two of my “Top Five” rappers was the Haverford Poetry Club. I’ll admit it; before this assembly I didn’t know Haverford even had a Poetry Club. Poetry Club is definitely Haverford’s mystery club and I’m here to direct the spotlight to one of the most under publicized clubs at the school.
So what is Poetry Club? Poetry Club is a group of guys who enjoy writing and reciting poetry. They meet during clubs period where they share poems they have written and get constructive feedback from proctor Dr. Ehrhart and other students. Two common misconceptions about Poetry Club are that just analyze famous poetry and that the club is just an extension of Poetry Out Loud. On the contrary, during a typical meeting, they project a poem on the smartboard, peer edit it and read it. For the past eleven years, Poetry Club has met like this. First under the tutelage of Mr. Kopp, then Mr. Keefe and now Dr. Ehrhart. Three years ago, Mr. Keefe ran Haverford’s poetry club while Dr. Ehrhart was in charge of Pegasus. Then the two English teachers swapped clubs and both
Fifth Former Jonas Micolucci performing one of his poems during EA Spirit Week.
clubs have only gotten better. “When the club switched over to Dr. Ehrhart, I became even more involved and interested when listening to a published poet who also always would tell us funny stories in between reciting our poems” said Poetry Club member Logan Atkins. When asked about the future of the club, Dr. Ehrhart said he plans to stick to script and keep it the same. The Poetry Club isn’t your typical clubs period club. In addition to the performance at Centennial, they perform outside of school at Ludington Library down the road. The Ludington liberian told Dr. Ehrhart after the Poetry Club’s performance in October that they produced one of the biggest turnout for any high school event held at the library. Poetry Club performances are similar to the one we had in Centennial last month where students read their poems in front of friends, faculty, family and others. “Our performances are usually really laid back and fun to be at” says Poetry Club member Kory CalicatWayns. Fellow Poetry Club member Alex Kim described them as “chill, like there’s no pressure at all”. The next performance is scheduled for April at Ludington. Kory and Cole weren’t the only ones to drop the mic; Ethan DeLehman and his recitation of his own poem, which I thought was written by some famous poet, also stole the show. Some other standouts were Ian Riley, JR Pender and Will Solmssen among others. Even after a last second scheduling change which moved the performance ahead ten Ms. Dawn Blake days, the Poetry Club’s
latest performance turned lots of heads. Dr. Ehrhart said he received good feedback from his students and other faculty and he personally thought the performance was terrific. We went on to say that he and the other faculty were amazed that high school boys produced such great poetry. The members of the Poetry Club had nothing but great things to say about their experience. Senior Logan Atkins said, “Over the past four years, Poetry Club has been nothing but fun, interesting, and engaging, and it has allowed me to pursue what I love to do every single Friday”. Kory described his experience as an “incredibly fun and a great learning experience”. Poetry Club member JR Pender said his experiences was “great, I’ve learned a lot about my friends and peers through poetry and I’ve learned to understand [them] better”. “I’m really glad I joined” says Alex Kim. “It’s just fun to mess around and write and read original poetry”. Kory, Alex and JR all joined Poetry Club because of a shared common interest in poetry. “I’ve always loved poetry so when I found out that we had a poetry club it seemed only right that I join” says Kory. JR went on to say, “I’ve always had an ear for poetry. And I know a lot of people in the club that got me into it.” Alex added, “I joined after I dropped in one day to just to see”. This year’s team consists almost entirely of seniors. Dr. Ehrhart said he hopes to get some new blood into the club. The club is relatively small member of the Haverford art community and many people aren’t aware of the work the Poetry Club does. I’m sure that next year we will be looking forward to the Poetry Club’s annual performance in Centennial. It will be tough to top this year’s group; the bar’s been set fairly high.
Harris is far and away one of the most charismatic entertainers in Hollywood, but the writing really was a shot in the foot. Even David Oyelowo (whose name NPH repeatedly mispronounced) said the jokes were bad on air! When even the people there acknowledge how crappy the ceremony is, it’s really bad. There were a few enjoyable moments, the eventual reveal of NPH’s “oscar picks” was fun, but the setup was beat to death. The Birdman homage where NPH emerged in his underwear after getting stuck outside his dressing room was amusing, but for the majority of people in the country who didn’t watch Birdman, that had to be just bizarre. Lady Gaga’s tribute to The Sound of Music was gorgeous, but at the same time, it was long, pointless, and The Sound of Music really isn’t that great a movie to begin with. I did really like the opening number, featuring a tribute to some of the best films ever (and Clue for rhyming purposes, I guess?) that had some very good projection work, and NPH’s singing and dancing which is always a plus. Admittedly, even this was flawed. Jack Black’s surprise appearance, for example, completely altered the mood and was more uncomfortable than amusing. Aside from a handful of memorable and enjoyable moments, it was mostly either boring or outright unpleasant. Finally, there was a level of controversy surrounding this year’s Oscars, namely the apparent misogyny and racism in the nomination process. There were no Black actors nominated, and the only
main nominations to females were in actress categories. The main issue with this, however, is that there really wasn’t much of a pool to draw from. Even in the actress categories, certain names felt out of place. Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl really wasn’t a leading part, Emma Stone in Birdman was a pretty non substantial part, and (no offense) Meryl Streep was pretty mediocre in Into the Woods. Trying to find any major Black actors is difficult. Aside from David Oyelowo (I haven’t seen Selma so I cannot comment on it) there were no performances to speak of. Also, all the actors nominated did do excellent jobs (although I think Steve Carell’s character should have been supporting). 2014 produced some excellent movies, it’s a shame the Oscars to celebrate them were so disappointing. Overall, the ceremonies have been getting worse and worse. The Seth MacFarlane hosted ceremony of 2013 were enjoyable, but his particular sense of humor proved very polarizing. I personally hated the 2014 Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, for being completely non-substantive and completely devoid of spectacle. The 2015 show, however, is the worst in recent memory for being just unpleasant. The nominated films are certainly worth a watch, but the ceremony is not.
Film Column: Ian Riley Reviews the ‘15 Oscars Ian Riley ‘15
On February 22nd, the 87th Annual Academy Awards took place. Oscar season is something near and dear to my heart; I love films, and I treat my Oscar picks like others treat their March Madness brackets. This event is often touted as being the biggest night in Hollywood, but how exactly was it? How were the awards? How was the ceremony? How did Neil Patrick Harris do as host? Well, I watched the whole thing, as well as most of the nominated films, and I have been following the Oscar buzz since the nominations were first revealed (with some level of controversy, which I will also address). Before I talk about who actually won, it’s important to learn how these awards are distributed. There are well over 5500 voting members from all parts of the film industry, most notably actors (who compose almost a quarter of the total voters), but also screenwriters, editors, directors, etc. The members of each of these categories vote on their respective specialties (actors for the acting awards, for example) to determine the nominations. Other categories (Foreign Language Film, Animated Feature, etc.) are selected by viewing committees of a mix of voters from each category. Once the nominees are selected, all academy members are able to vote for each category. For best picture, however, the voting is preferential, meaning they rank them 1-10. If a film gets 50% of the votes for best, it wins. If none do, the lowest scoring is removed and the
ballots are redistributed. Did you get all that? Because it’s super complex and stupid. Now, how did the winners stack up? Overall, I was pretty pleased. There were obviously some upsets, but all in all the winners were the best, at least by Oscar standards. Another important aspect is addressing what the Academy loves. They love biopics. The Academy of Motion Pictures wants to marry biopics. They also love disability. With that in mind, Eddie Redmayne was the clear winner for best actor. I preferred Michael Keaton, but Redmayne was the clear pick and he did do a marvellous job in The Theory of Everything. I think Reese Witherspoon deserved to win best actress for Wild, but I haven’t seen Still Alice and I very much have no interest to. Best Picture went to Birdman, which I have already spoken a great deal about in an earlier review. I firmly stand by my opinion that this was the best film this year. The only upset in my mind was The Lego Movie not even getting a nomination. It was one of the most enjoyable films of the year, animated or not. It was without a doubt better than Big Hero 6, which was still good, but it was no Lego Movie. I was also surprised at how many awards The Grand Budapest Hotel received so many awards. Wes Anderson is a talented filmmaker, but many of his films have a similar style to them. The main issue that I had was with it winning Best Original Score, which I believe should have gone to Interstellar. Now onto the ceremony itself. This year’s show was painful to watch. I cringed more than anything else. Neil Patrick
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The Index
March 2015
Arts
State of the Arts Departments: Progress on the Horizon In a department that has seen a resurgence in recent years while keeping ahead of modern technology, George Rubin ‘17 discusses changes on the horizon.
art, the department decided to create a new foundations course which had students To many young adults, scholastic art is spend a third of their time doing 2D art, a just some paintings hanging in the hallway third doing 3D art, 1/6 in the multimedia to be glanced at as they go from one class lab with Mr. Frock, and 1/6 with Mr. to the next, or a concert only attended Nelson. This course has been designed to give by the parents of the performers, or a school musical that kids go to for a social incoming freshman more confidence event rather than for its true substance. in their course selections. Because the At Haverford, the art department and previous courses were so successful, its ambitious and determined staff have however, certain students and members tried to alter these unfortunate truths, and of the faculty, Mr. Fox included, share in instead put in place a series of courses that some skepticism. Still, though, Mr. Fox teach students how to create and solve sees the new course as a manifestation of problems while in the process creating one of the art department’s main messages stunning works of art. Next year, the to its students which is the idea of, “people department will continue to pursue this taking new risks and trying new ideas.” The department has always been ahead goal with big changes to its course catalog of the pack technology-wise, and it always and curriculum. has its eyes open to the field of 3D design. The balance between trying to accomplish The focus thus far has been to try to find new goals while not getting rid of what a software that kids are able to learn to use and create projects with during forty five minute class periods. They have also been on the market for a new 3D printer that prints faster and bigger in an effort to expand their participation in this new and emerging media. The largest and most interesting project the art department has been cooking up is in accordance with their main goal, and the goal of all the other departments at Haverford: preparing boys for life. In the real world, most of the students at Haverford will be working in environments where people work together on different problems using different skills. In addition, most of Haverford’s graduates will be solving Ms. Dawn Blake Fifth Former Jack Bellwoar at work in Mr. Nelson’s Ceramics Class. problems that require works is a hard one to achieve, especially multi-faceted approaches. So, if students when the Haverford art program is one that are used to subjects being separated into is depended on, loved, and respected by the categories of science, math, english, the entire Haverford community. However, history, and language, and can’t solve in order to keep its place at the top, the bigger more complicated problems that department has chosen to embrace change. bridge those barriers, they probably won’t This year, all three of the sub departments be successful. If Haverford can endorse (Visual arts, music, and theatre) have all this type of problem solving, their students introduced changes, some drastic, some will be more prepared for life then those smaller, yet all still influential. To find out being educated at other institutions. With that in mind, the art department has what was going to happen in the 2D, 3D, decided to create a new studio space over and multimedia studios of the visual art the summer. This studio, in the glassed in department I spoke to Mr. Christopher Fox, space on the bottom floor where Mr. Upton the art department chair. and Mr. Patrylak’s rooms are now, will As far as changes to the course catalog act as a “maker’s space”; a place where in the visual art department, there has been students of 3D art, and of academic classes a rather important and risky alteration to can work together, doing different projects the 2D and 3D art foundations classes. These are the fundamental courses that but possibly sharing ideas, techniques, and are geared towards freshmen with a equipment. It would be in this space where preexisting interest in art. In previous a student could come in one morning years, these classes have been separated with an idea, and make it into a reality. It into 2D and 3D, and freshman who chose would also be a place classes of all subjects one or the other tended to stay with that could use to work on hands on activities. one throughout their high school career. In Whether it be an engineering class that an attempt to give students a more broad doesn’t have enough work space, a latin range of experiences in the world of visual class building chariots, or a math class George Rubin ‘17
taking data for a catapult project, this space would be designed as a creative, hands on environment. In Mr. Fox’s opinion, once the space gets up and running it will be booked from dawn until dusk. The music department is in the same bind as the art department in regards to potentially changing its courses and curriculum. Some would argue that a mostly classical curriculum, in which students start with a basic music theory course freshman year, then music history, an advanced theory course, and a thesis project senior year, is a well-constructed system. It has been in place throughout the
wants to do, but after a basic prerequisite course, students would be able to branch out and take different types of courses like, songwriting classes, digital music production and recording classes, and advanced guitar and bass. These classes are designed to be more practical and resonate more with the students at Haverford. In the theatre department, a change even greater and more important will be going on in the coming spring, summer, and fall. Most of the students at Haverford already know that the 10 year director of the theatre department, Mr. Cloran, who is loved and venerated by Haverford students
Sixth Formers Ian Riley and Will Solmssen in Is He Dead?
duration of a student’s time in the upper school, and allows students to become classically trained. From there, they can then use that training to branch out to different genres of music and different instruments with the basic music theory knowledge they need. But current music chair Mr. Mark Hightower, who took Mr. Stairs’ place teaching the upper school music curriculum, believes that this traditional system may not cater to the current Haverford school community. In his explanation of this ideology, Mr. Hightower stated,“I want to continue to do classical music here. I want to have the opportunity for people who wish to continue to study classically to be able to learn. But[]I want to provide opportunities for students to learn about the music that they’re passionate about.” The new music curriculum wouldn’t eliminate the classical
Ms. Dawn Blake
and parents will be turning over his position to a completely new leader. And although the new director will probably not make huge changes to the theatre program at Haverford, whatever changes are made from this year to next are completely in his or her hands. Mr. Cloran admits that the new teacher will have a different style than him but says, “I would encourage everyone to keep an open mind and an open heart because I know [the Haverford School] is going to hire in someone who is incredibly talented and really, really good as a teacher.” And although some of the potential candidates for the job have changes in mind, they probably won’t change the core ideas that differentiate Haverford from every other school like theatre III and the idea that students get a fulfilling experience from putting on their own production. The art department will be thoroughly changed whether through set in stone changes to curriculum or simply unknown and unanticipated changes. But the one goal that all three departments have in common is to make boys more independent and creative and to better ready them for the real world. Whether that be Mr. Mark Hightower performs for the student body. Ms. Dawn Blake through a merging of elements of the curriculum, but it would art science in the visual art department, use these classical ideas to help understand a combination of traditional and modern the musical nuances of the newer genres music curriculums, or the evolution of that interest the students of today. Because a theatre department that gives students the music classes in previous years have confidence and a taste of the independence only been filled in the singles of digits, they will be faced with when they leave these changes are designed not only to Haverford. The Haverford art department help students get a wider and more full continues its effort to revolutionize the understanding of music, but also to reach a education of young men and prepare them, larger part of the community and get more better than they ever have, to face the of them involved in music. challenges they are bound to encounter in The new curriculum would consist of everyday life. the original classical theory based courses that aid a musician no matter what he
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The Index
Sports
March 2015
Fords Focus: The Real Story Behind This Year’s “Underperforming” Basketball Team Manav Khandelwal ‘15
He stands outside Malvern’s basketball gym, pensive but not defeated. When I walk over to speak with Head Coach Henry Fairfax after Haverford’s bruising, 17-point semi-final defeat at the hands of Phelps Academy, he stops me before I can even ask the first question. “Jack [Marshall] left his shoes at home. He had to get his shoes from Austin Krell,” Coach Fairfax says proudly. “There is the story in a nutshell, a high-character team. One guy says, ‘no worries, I may not get in the game, you’re really valuable here are my shoes.’ A couple of years ago, Logan Atkins did the same thing for Derek Mountain. What these kids are doing for each other is remarkable.” That defines the way Coach Fairfax looks at the success of his basketball team, not in terms of wins and losses. Some in the Haverford community would say that the team underperformed this season given their nationally-ranked talent, but before he even begins to explain why that is not true from a basketball perspective, Coach Fairfax praises the character and mental fortitude of the team he has built during his short tenure as program leader. “We talk a lot about the process. When you are working with high school kids, as much as folks would like it to be about immediate gratification, I don’t buy into that at all,” he says. Despite being blown out of the gym by Phelps’ star-studded roster through the first three quarters, Haverford fought back to give the scoreline a more respectable look. “Fire, resilience, all the stuff we talk about it. This is a team that is not willing to quit,” Coach adds. On paper, many people would have predicted immense Inter-Ac success this season. With Temple-bound Levan “Shawn” Alston, Lamar Stevens, and Cameron Reddish all ranked in the top 100 for their respective classes, Haverford is the only Inter-Ac team to boast one, much less three, nationally-ranked players. Despite this apparent talent gap, Haverford finished 7-3 in the league, third behind Germantown and Episcopal. There is certainly merit to the argument that Haverford underperformed, but it is far more complicated than that. Talent does not always win, and that is especially true in the gritty Inter-Ac. Coach Fairfax adds,
“The hardest-working team, the team that plays with the edge, the underdog, especially in this climate, has as good of a chance as anybody.” It is that ‘edge’ that often makes the most different at the high school level. Motivating players whose futures may already be decided (see: Shawn Alston) or whose futures rest on stat lines and weekend AAU games (see: Lamar Stevens, Cam Reddish) to treat every game as the championship is an immense task. “It’s a question I am always wrestling with, how to create that edge for my players,” says Coach Fairfax. People around the team suggest that prioritizing team goals over individual goals was a problem for pivotal players at times, something Coach Fairfax admitted was a priority. Ball movement and offensive chemistry were lacking in key moments for the Fords, as evidenced by their low assist-to-field goal percentage, but Coach Fairfax believes that is an issue of the team’s struggles to shoot the ball. “There were opportunity to make shots off of passes,” he says, “but we missed them.” Another factor behind the perceived underperformance was the team’s historically difficult schedule. 17-11, the team’s overall record, belies their on-thecourt production. Non-conference games are no longer just limited to Main Line minnows like Shipley as was the case five years ago, before Coach Fairfax took over the program’s reins. This year’s Fords faced some of the region’s best teams, like South Jersey’s best team, Holy Spirit, and Public League-winning. Imhotep. They also went head-to-head with two of the nation’s top seniors, Archbishop Carroll’s Derrick Jones (UNLV) and Roselle Catholic’s Isaiah Briscoe (Kentucky). Haverford beat the first two teams, the away victory versus Imhotep a first in school history, while falling to the latter two. Coach Fairfax has always believed in preparing his team as well he can through scheduling a rigorous non-league fixture list, regardless of how that might affect his team’s win-loss record. Their inability to close out close games on McBride Court’s hardwood also contributed heavily to the team’s degraded reputation. The 50-48 and 60-57 home losses to EA and GA two weeks apart stopped the team’s charge for a league title in its tracks; a reversal of those two disheartening results would have landed
Coach Fairfax, looking on here against Penn Charter, leaves with the highest winning percentage of any basketball coach in school history.
Mr. Jim Roese
This year’s team revealed a variety of personalities and talent, but all were willing battle in key moments.
the Fords at 9-1 in league play, good for the team’s first championship since Coach Fairfax led them to one in the 1999-2000 season. The Germantown Academy was a back-and-forth affair, with the Fords never really doing enough to best the eventual champion Patriots. An unfortunate piece of refereeing derailed a chance for a last-second, game-tying possession; the sideline judge ruled a ball to have bounced off of GA only to have the backline judge run over and overrule him. This mistaken call gave GA the ball and the opportunity to ice the game in its final seconds, but it was a game that Haverford never quite did enough to win. The Episcopal loss, against an even more bitter rival, was far more painful. EA’s gameplan had been to slow down the game and limit Haverford’s prowess in transition, which they did well, but Haverford had still done enough to take a 48-47 lead with just seconds remaining. EA then rushed up the court, and after a broken play ended with the ball in the corner, a seldom-used substitute heaved a prayer of a three-pointer that ended up falling through the net. Lamar Stevens took the ball from the inbounds coast-tocoast but saw his buzzer-beating layup roll around the rim before falling out as the assembled EA fans rushed the court. As Coach Fairfax puts it, “Kid misses that shot, and this is a different conversation.” The team, however, continued to shoot itself in the foot as it did all season from the charity stripe; they shot a dismal 63% from the line this year, with missed free throws losing an early-season game against powerhouse Roman Catholic while derailing their chances at the Inter-Ac crown. After changing up his strategy and employing more competition-based free throw drills, Coach Fairfax’s patience paid off as the team made 18-of-22 (81.8%) free throws to knock off first-seeded Hill in the state quarterfinals. Coach Fairfax also believes that people outside of the basketball program underrate the talent level of the Inter-Ac: “You have to give teams credit for going out and doing really good things. I think it’s unfair to suggest that Episcopal is not as good as they actually are. I think we’d be remiss to call them anything but a talented basketball team.” He specifically mentions point guard Mike Jolaoso and young big
Ms. Dawn Blake
man Nick Alikakos, the latter of whom was second in the league behind Stevens in scoring with 190 points. The biggest misperception surrounding the team, however, has nothing to do with EA and GA. It is about developing a program, one that Coach Fairfax inherited after years of turmoil and one that he now leaves with some stability. Sixth Form guard Logan Atkins agrees with this perspective, saying, “I’m proud of where the program is going and hope that it continues to grow.” As the saying goes, Rome was not built in one day. Coach Fairfax has certainly left the program in a better position than he found it, a fact he takes comfort in despite the external criticism: “Coach [Brian] Shane won an Inter-Ac title when I was a senior and then struggled afterwards, and then Coach [Steve] Cloran had his own challenges, and then I took over the program; for us to have won the number of games that we have, around 62 percent of our games, is no small feat.” Coach Fairfax inherited a team that had finished the 2010 season 2-8 in league play; overall, the Fords were 2258 in league play under Coach Cloran in his eight seasons at the helm. Coach Fairfax brought immediate and consistent progress, pushing the team to 5-5, 5-5, 6-4, 7-3, 7-3 finishes in each of the next five seasons in addition to the program’s first trip to the state semifinals this past winter. The team has not yet reached the pinnacle, but it has gotten much closer under Coach Fairfax’s watch. It is important to maintain perspective when examining Mr. Henry Fairfax’s tenure as he leaves the program to focus on his role as Director of Admissions. While his successful recruiting did not bring the ultimate goal of an Inter-Ac championship to 450 Lancaster Avenue, it did increase the reputation of the program around the city and bring some exhilarating basketball to Ryan Gymnasium. He will continue to be involved in the program as it transitions to life under new leadership, and everyone in the Haverford community hopes that the program will see as much progress under his replacement as it did under Coach Fairfax.
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The Index
Sports
March 2015
How is Funding Allocated for Sports at Haverford? Sam Turner ‘18 investigated an issue that remains very contentious around Haverford: how sports funding is allocated by team. Here are some of his findings. Sam Turner ‘18
The Heyward Cup, awarded annually to the Inter-Ac school that displays the highest overall excellence, has been claimed by The Haverford School fourteen times in school history, more than any other Inter-Ac school. Out of Haverford’s sixteen varsity sports, eleven of them have won Interac or Pennsylvania State championships in the last decade. The Varsity Lacrosse
Mr. Jim Roese
puts it, the main framing question: “What do we need to do a quality program at The Haverford School?” On the topic, Murphy states that “we make sure each team has what it needs to be competitive in their facility and keep their equipment safe.” The coaches build the budget up by determining what is necessary to run a quality program for each sport. Gold then adds: “We build the budget up sport by sport, from the ground up,
of the relatively lower costs per student because it serves a whopping total of 150 student-athletes. In one perspective, football is an expensive sport, but looked at differently, it is quite the opposite. Murphy continues by commenting that “This is not to say that all of [the sports] every year have the success of others at the same level and that one does not have a higher national profile than others, but all of our athletes here can feel good that we do what we need to do to run the best quality program in that sport.” However, the real challenge is not distributing funds to individual sport, but “making sure the budget stays within
Haverford Chief Financial Officer David Gold cites Crew and Hockey as two of the most expensive sports on a per-athlete basis.
team and the Varsity Tennis team clinched perfect seasons in 2011 and both 2012 and 2013, respectively. The Fords’ consistent triumphs in athletics are accredited to the student-athletes’ dedication to the sports and the thoughtful leadership of the faculty, coaches, and administrators. Once a year, in the early spring, our esteemed faculty led by athletic director John Nostrant, associate athletic director Michael Murphy, and chief financial officer David Gold assemble a collective meeting of both in-house and outside athletic coaches to discuss the allocations of funding to the seventeen individual sports. At each meeting, the coaches and administrators begin the discussion regarding the allocation of funds for all the sports teams by answering, as Gold
17 sports, by using a 0-based budget.” The budget for each sport is routinely justified by revisiting the number of boys participating and what is needed for each sport. However, before determining what exactly is required, the coaches roughly estimate the number of students that will be participating in each sport because this is the foremost factor in determining the budget per sport. For example, as Murphy voices, “Although football may have the largest budget on campus, it is also one of the largest teams on campus.” Highprofile sports such as football and lacrosse are commonly misconceived to be given larger budgets than other sports, but the process of allocation is simply a matter of mathematics. In fact, football, with an annual budget of roughly $50,000, has one
Mr. Jim Roese
the budget,” as Murphy adds. There are enticing opportunities to heavily invest in a promising sport or to subsidize a crosscountry trip for a team, and the hardest job of this committee is to stay within the boundaries of necessity. In reality, there is no secret formula or hidden algorithm that dictates the allocation to each sport. Instead, as Gold explains, there are roughly nine key categories that determine the amount allocated to each individual sport: program supplies, outside coaches, transportation and gas, overnight trips, official fees, equipment maintenance, uniforms, and competition fees. Sports like soccer and ultimate frisbee have a substantial number of participants, but the capital fees for objects like nets, goalposts, and court maintenance are minimal compared those
of other sports. However, Gold reports that crew and hockey are specifically two of the most exorbitant sports on campus because hockey requires outside ice time and transportation, and crew is very equipment-intensive. Some sports are expensive by nature, while others have little external expense; either way, Murphy believes that “we meet what we stand for as an educational institution and we keep the right balance with academics and arts and we do a good job of saying that each individual sport is important and valued.” Friendship, dependability, brotherly competition, fitness, health and sportsmanship are all derived from Haverford’s athletic programs. Haverford invests 6% of its annual budget in athletics, but students benefit disproportionately from this investment. Nostrant comments, “Sports give back to the school…[they are] always in the newspaper. Successful athletic programs get alumni excited. We hope that 95% of our students or more play a sport, and camaraderie and teamwork is the most important part of it.” Annual fundraising and endowment are one of the three methods for funding athletics; the other two are tuition, the main contributor, and auxiliary funds, such as from renting out facilities and selling food at concession stands. In recent years, Gold acknowledges that “The overall budget, has gone up over the years because of two things: the number of boys has gone up in the upper school and the cost of transportation for trips has increased.” Nevertheless, “everything has gone up proportionately,” says Nostrant. Nostrant continues by describing that “the school didn’t want families to feel like they had to pay extra, so Haverford spent $70,000-80,000 for the general issue athletic gear.” Haverford’s unbridled support of its student-athletes in all of their endeavors is evident through their commitment to funding quality athletic programs, to balancing academics, arts, and sports, and to investing in the future of its students. Go Fords!
Tennis Earns Early Silverware in Preparation for Potentially Historic Campaign As they look forward to the program’s first chance at a national championship in California, the tennis team secured a 4th straight victory in the Philly Mayor’s Cup. Connor Lees ‘17
Last weekend, the Haverford tennis team secured its second consecutive Philadelphia Cup. In a World Cup style tournament, the Fords emerged from group play as the number one seed and proceeded to beat Radnor, Lower Merion and Episcopal without surrendering a single match. After winning four consecutive Inter-Ac titles and accumulating a 66-1 record over the past three seasons, Haverford has earned its spot among the upper echelon of tennis teams in the United States. This coming weekend, from March 20th to the 21st, Haverford’s top eight players will travel to Newport Beach, California to compete in the 15th annual National Invitational High School Tennis Championship. The sixteen most successful tennis teams from across the United States during the 2014 season make up the field. Joining Haverford in the field is two teams from New York, nine from California and one team each from Maryland, Texas, Arizona and Hawaii. In their first round match, the Fords will face off against Brophy Jesuit
Prep High School from Phoenix, Arizona. Should the Fords win, number one seeded Menlo School from Atherton, California awaits in the next round. The team arrives at LAX on Wednesday to prepare for the tournament. The tournament will be held at three different venues. The main venue is Palisades Tennis Club, which hosted the 1998 Davis Cup Finals, tennis’ version of the FIFA World Cup. The other two venues are Corona del Mar High School, which has won three National Team Championships and Costa Mesa Tennis Club, where the Fords will compete in the top half of the draw. Each team will play four matches consisting of five singles sets and three doubles sets. Each team’s results will determine it’s place, 1st through 16th, in the tournament which will be their national ranking for the 2015 season. Every school who competes in the tournament will leave Newport Beach with a national ranking. For the first time in the history of Haverford tennis, the Fords will be nationally ranked. Defending champion and number one ranked Beacon from New York City comes
into the tournament unseeded and at the bottom of the draw. All four seeded teams this year are from California, including host Corona del Mar High School. Along with your March Madness brackets, make sure to fill out a National Invitational Championships one as well. Be sure to pick the Fords running the table as your national champs. Leading the charge into California for the Fords is a strong senior class headlined
by captains Ben and Zach Lieb, Andrew Gushner, Nathan Kidambi and Jackson Simon. The rest of the team competing in California includes V Former Drew “Bobby” Clark and IV Formers Connor Lees and Will McDevitt. The team has been working hard throughout the offseason to get in shape for California and is ready for what lies ahead in Newport Beach and throughout the 2015 season.
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The Index
Opinions
50 Shades of Grey Controversy (continued) Continued from Front Page In survey conducted in 1981, 35% of college age men surveyed admitted they would commit acts that were defined as rape if they could get away with it. A 1988 survey reported that over half of college age women surveyed experienced sexual abuse, over a quarter were the victim of rape or attempted rape. Now, according to the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN)-an organization dedicated to raising awareness of and preventing sexual assault-fewer than 300,000 victims of sexual assault annually in the United States. This number is likely low, due to the fact that, according to RAINN, over half of sexual assaults are never reported to the authorities. If these numbers are even close to true, however, the total number of victims of sexual crimes went from over half of college age women, to fewer than one percent of the US population.
is still an individual sexually assaulted approximately once every two minutes, but the amount of improvement would suggest that our society is, thankfully, committed to eliminating rape and sexual assault. Claims that 50 Shades is the result of a culture that accepts rape are often paired with those that the film is the product of male-dominant culture and “patriarchy.” The film, however, is a product of women. The book was written by a woman, the screenplay was adapted by a woman, the film was directed by a woman, and two of the three producers (not counting EPs, who are largely only responsible for financial, business and legal aspects of the film) are women. Not only that, but 68% of the viewers of this film during the opening weekend were women. The concept that this is a product of “patriarchy” is ridiculous. 50 Shades is a product of a society that sexualizes
50 Shades: Blaming it for sexual crimes may be a stretch, but the relationship it depicts is worthy of our ire.
RAINN also reports than the number of sexual assaults has drastically decreased over the last 20 years. The rate has dropped by more than half. RAINN estimates that actions taken towards education and prevention has prevented approximately 5.5 million sex crimes since 1993. There
huffpost.com
women, true, but “patriarchy” is defined as being “a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it.” Women were not excluded from this process, they were almost entirely responsible for it. The film itself is sexist and romanticizes an unhealthy
relationship, but is still primarily the doing of author and producer E. L. James. These would all indicate that there has never been a more toxic society for a film like this. One may conclude that this film is holding onto antiquated and unhealthy views of relationships, and would therefore be the subject of derision. Quite the contrary, in fact; Fifty Shades of Grey is incredibly successful. At the time of the writing of this article, it was the third highest-grossing film directed by a woman. It was the fifth highest-grossing R-rated film, the fastest selling R-rated film according to Fandango, as well as being the highest selling opening weekend for a nonsequel film. It opened to a weekend gross of over $85 million, making it the highest grossing February opening weekend ever, surpassing Passion of the Christ (a film that was controversial for other reasons). The success of the Fifty Shades of Grey is baffling. This kind of overly romanticized smut is on par with late night Cinemax, yet somehow it is on track to be one of, if not the most successful films this year. How is this possible? A large deal of the success can be explained, however, by looking at the origins of the novel. It began as an erotic Twilight fan-fiction, that was then adapted into original characters. The formula, however, is still apparent: virginal characterless blob encounters sexy stranger, becomes infatuated, learns he has a dark secret then has to cope with it. The success is for similar reasons as well. Twilight served as a tween sensation, offering clunky idealized romance while still keeping it at a PG-13 level. The appeal largely came from fantasy fulfilment. Bella Swan served as a vacant space into which young girls could project themselves. However, young girls grow up. E. L. James has taken this formula and introduced it to a group of sexually active grown women.
Why Racial Awareness is Not Enough Sixth Former Brendan Burns argues that racial awareness and a focus on examining privilege will not result in racial unity or integration. Brendan Burns ‘15
To highlight the experiences of African-American Haverford students, Director of Community Donta Evans (along with a team of faculty members) constructed an assembly in February that shared anonymous stories with the student body, several of them recalling dealings with racist police. “My ultimate goal,” Evans said last month in an interview with Fifth Former Alex Sanfilippo, “was to generate conversation.” The truth is that pretty much everyone wants a conversation on race. Of course, there are some who don’t want to acknowledge issues of race as relevant to their lives or problematic to American society. That group, however, is in the minority. The vast majority of people that I know – both within and outside of Haverford’s walls – are genuinely interested in discussing the racial challenges facing our country. Those challenges are many, but a lack of conversation, or a lack of “awareness,” are not among them. A key problem is that, in our pursuit of racial consciousness, we have entirely abandoned Martin Luther King’s vision that people be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. King sought not only to give rights to the oppressed – he sought their societal unification with the dominant
group. King dreamed that one day, “little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.” Unfortunately, we have cast aside colorblindness as a noble goal and left “racial awareness” in its place. This shift is the product of Critical Race Theory, a school of thought developed primarily by Derrick Bell in the 1980s, “recognizes that rac-
ism is ingrained in the fabric and system of American society,” per the UCLA School of Public Affairs. “The individual racist,” it says, “need not exist to note that institutional racism is pervasive in the dominant culture.” CRT focuses on examining privilege, which its proponents argue is ignored in colorblindness. Widely accepted today by intellectuals, Critical Race Theory is the ideology upon which much of the Haverford curriculum on race is built. Continued on Page 12
March 2015
Anastasia Steele has the same passive nothingness that Bella Swan did, but now instead of being fought over by hunky Universal rejects, she’s on the receiving end of a very sexually charged relationship. This is fantasy fulfillment on par with many movies aimed at men. No one goes to Transformers or Fast and the Furious for the story, they go to see crazy action. The comparison, however, ends in similar justification. Despite the fact that Transformers is a soulless cash grab franchise, it is still accepted because Michael Bay can churn out whatever he desires if the studios will support it, and that’s fine. Recent backlash against selfcensorship in the wake of The Interview scandal has resulted in an environment that encourages studios to release their product. That is why, despite the fact that the content of the film is disagreeable to say the least, it is perfectly acceptable that it exists. That isn’t the issue. The issue is that the film should be met with near universal disgust. This is a film that capitalizes on nearly pornographic sexual fantasies. It promotes unhealthy views of sex, as well as displays sexist views with regards to its leading character. Not to mention that it romanticizes abuse and displays dangerous sexual practices as being desirable. Somehow, however, this is the most successful film of 2015 thus far. This sort of box office success is what promotes future films of the same ilk, the sequel is already in production, and many other studios are doubtless clamoring for a similar product. If there is ever going to be progressive change in the way the media represents these and other subject matters, there must be a level of discretion as to what the viewing public watches, because the message being sent right now is a cry for more smut like Fifty Shades of Grey.
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Derrick Bell (below) and one of his books (above).
Some of the key tenets of Critical Race Theory.
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The Index
However, little white boys and girls won’t hold hands with and assimilate with little black boys and girls because they understand the implications of white privilege, or because they are thinking about ingrained racism in American society. When people are so racially conscious that they think they are different than people of another race, integration becomes impossible. It is not consciousness or conversation that we need as a nation, but action. As the New York Times’ David Brooks said in an editorial last year: “…ultimately, we don’t need a common conversation; we need a common project.” Likewise, Haverford students don’t need an assembly repeating the same tales of racial profiling by police. We don’t need to be talked at or talked to. What we do need is what Director of Admissions Henry Fairfax calls a system of “mutual exchange,” meaning that students from Philadelphia, students from Gladwyne, black students, white students, rich students, and poor students can interact outside of school as brothers, without feeling uneasy because of different racial identities. That ideal can be achieved in the colorblind society that Dr. King envisioned. Today, that “mutual exchange” does not take place to an alarming extent. Critical Race Theory is a problematic underpinning for race relations due to other reasons, as well. “What is most arresting about critical race theory,” says jurist Richard Posner, “is that...it turns its back on the
March 2015
Opinions
Why Racial Awareness is Not Enough (cont.) Continued from Page 11
Western tradition of rational inquiry, forswearing analysis for narrative. Rather than marshal logical arguments and empirical data, critical race theorists tell stories — fictional, science-fictional, quasi-fictional, autobiographical, anecdotal—designed to expose the pervasive and debilitating racism of America today.” (Autobiographical, anecdotal evidence designed to expose the debilitating racism of America today. This strikes me as a great description of our February assembly.) Critical Race Theory states a simple thesis, but offers nothing in the way of a solution or a path toward better race relations. This is because its ideological founder didn’t share Dr. King’s dream of racial cooperation. Derrick Bell maintained that “whites will promote racial advances for blacks only when they also promote white self-interest.” How do we deal with this ideology?
As Judge Alex Kozinski puts it, “How does one have a meaningful dialogue with Derrick Bell? Because his thesis is utterly untestable, one quickly reaches a dead end after either accepting or rejecting his assertion that white Americans would cheerfully sell all blacks to the aliens.” More importantly, why have our nation’s intellectuals chosen this ideology – which pits black against white – as that which will define race relations for the next generation? Instead of tackling the innate racial biases that humans have and training our citizens to disregard race in their dealings with each other, we are re-erecting racial barriers. This piece is intended to provoke thought. It is nothing more than one man’s opinion. Mr. Evans claimed he wanted a conversation on race at Haverford, and I hope this will add to that conversation. But no amount of preaching, awareness, and consciousness can replace actual integration. In David Brooks’ words: “In a friendship, people don’t sit around talking about their friendship. They do things together. Through common endeavor people overcome difference to become friends.” Both in America, and at The 2012 Presidential Election was heavily divided on racial lines. Haverford, com-
mon endeavor will improve race relations. Common endeavor cannot exist in a society governed by Critical Race Theory. Common endeavor cannot exist when the white candidate in the last Presidential election drew 60% of the white vote and the black candidate drew 93% of the black vote. We have (for the most part) achieved civil rights, and we have achieved racial awareness, but we have not achieved racial integration. The question is, do we want to try?
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The oft-quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Two Most Harmful Words in the English Language When “Good Job” does more harm than good. Bill Wu ‘17
Are the two most poisonous words in American society “Good Job”? I got my inspiration for this question from a movie I recently watched, Whiplash, in which Andrew, a motivated and talented drummer, begins his journey at Shaffer Conservatory, a fictitious prestigious musical school. There, he is tormented and coached at the same time by Terrence Fletcher, a mean, intimidating, and violent person who also happens to be one of the best conservatory directors. In the movie, when explaining his actions, Fletcher says: “There are no two words in the English language more harmful than “Good Job.” So, is constant praise useless and detrimental? Does constant pressure forcing you to do your best let you achieve your goals and create masterpieces? Terrence Fletcher’s exceedingly extreme methods of brutality, profanity, and once hurling a cymbal at a poor student’s head force his students to perform their best. However, in one scene, Fletcher has tears streaming down his face in front of the entire jazz class, while he recounts how one of his best students died in a car accident. Later, Andrew learns the bitter truth that Fletcher had tortured his student into depression, then suicide. With such high expectations for his students, Fletcher truly “weeds out” the weaker ones — in this case, causing the death of an aspiring young musician full of potential. Nonetheless, Fletcher continues to brutally train Andrew in the hopes that he can realize his potential. Eventually, after being kicked out of Shaffer, and going through emotionally traumatizing moments, Andrew rebounds and performs an extraordinary drum solo, making himself a legend. When Fletcher
with motivation. His underlying message that kids are too complacent these days is and Andrew’s eyes meet at the end of valid. The best method to cultivate talent the movie, Fletcher sees success after all is to maintain confidence and motivation, his efforts of pushing his students to the without sacrificing either. At least from my breaking point. One student got left behind, perspective, constant praise is like iron in but Andrew managed to endure, and rose your body. Too much, and it is detrimental; to the challenge. Two different people. One but some is still necessary. In order to dead from suicide, and one a legendary get ahead in today’s fiercely competitive musician. Fletcher used the same brutality world, I’d still chose to hear “Not good on both kids, expecting grandeur from both. enough” any day over “Good Job”. Just imagine for a moment: If your baseball team missed winning the National High School Invitational by one point. Would you feel better if your coach, although dejected, said to your team that you guys played well, and did a good job already? Obviously you’d feel a bit more consoled, amazon.com but what about the J.K. Simmons (right) plays a harsh director in Whiplash. tougher question: However, he made the mistake of using Would your team strive to win next year if the same methods on two different people your coach yelled at the entire team about with different abilities and capacities. the flaws of your team, and the strengths of Obviously, not many people in our the other team? Would you prefer constant society imitate Fletcher’s extremes. praise over constant pushing from a coach, Later, in an interview with the actor who mentor, or teacher? For those of you who played Fletcher, he said that “children don’t play baseball, what if you got a C a now [...] are being sort of overpraised math test, but you were brought up with for very moderate, modest, pedestrian someone always saying “Good Job,” or accomplishments.” He then went on to “It’s OK”? Getting a C is nothing to cheer describe how a 3-year old child would be for, but maybe you would just think that congratulated with “Good Job!” after he or this is normal for you, and you should feel she slid down a slide. In a sense, he tries content about it. Maybe you would think, to convey that we are all being raised to “Well, I tried my best.” Why would anyone become complacent with what we have, settle for a C then, if getting help from and that only true legends capitalize on the teacher and learning more outside of opportunity and try to pursue their dreams school could raise the next grade to a B?
In this case, the constant praise ruined the student’s drive to do more, and by falling back onto self-assurance, maybe this person would never try to seek to perform better. Praise once in a while can be a good thing though. To get some people motivated, they need a certain amount of praise — and not just empty praise either — a sincere, specific, and personal recognition given at the right time and place. Maybe in our society, the two most beneficial words in the English language are “Thank You!” Also, we need not take extremes; praise coupled with motivation can be powerful. “Nice job! Now let’s see how you do on the next one!” would probably be more effective than: “You were so slow, speed up next time!” All these thoughts are probably a product of how I was brought up. I was educated from an Asian background since birth to always do more, and do better. It sounds cliché, but it is true. I grew up hearing the phrases “No pain no gain,” “Finish your work first,” and “...It’s for your future” so much that I grew tired whenever my parents would start up again. After beating these habits into my brain from early youth, I grew up working hard and fiercely competing with others. As for work attitude and seriousness with academics, I think that this method definitely helped me. However, after many, many years of fights and “good” habits being beaten into my head, I now feel that my confidence levels have taken big hits, and that even though I am a good student, I never think that I am truly “Good enough”. So although my parents or Terrence Fletcher might think that the two words, “Good Job,” are the most detrimental to today’s generation, praise and motivation are still both necessary towards pushing an individual past their limits, in order to reach their goal.
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The Index
Politics
March 2015
Politics Behind Netanyahu’s Speech and the Israeli Alliance Congress may have overstepped its bounds by bypassing President Obama with regards to Iranian nuclear talks, the ramifications of which Eric Petersen ‘15 discusses. Eric Petersen ‘15
President Benjamin Netanyahu’s infamous March 3rd speech to Congress underscored political sands shifting in two nations characterized by exceptionalism. The desire by American lawmakers to provide a large role for the United States amid international politics has been undermined by the Obama administration’s reserved foreign policy decisions, from Libya to Ukraine. Simultaneously, Israel’s overconfident and power-hungry rightists, long frustrated by President Obama’s stance on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, hoped to score some political capital before the national elections. These interests intersected one night on Capitol Hill. The consequences for both sides are still unfolding, however both ambitious Republicans and the often arrogant Israeli leadership are suffering from their semilegal choice. The Republicans in the House, helmed by John Boehner, led the months-long fight to allow President Netanyahu to speak before legislators. Netanyahu’s conservative outlook on foreign involvement in the Middle East matches perfectly with hawkish Republicans’ desire to see ISIS crushed and Iran humiliated. The problem with the speech was that President Obama refused to meet with his Israeli counterpart. Although many right-leaning Israeli publications decried the decision as pettiness, the Obama administration had established a precedent of not meeting with foreign leaders shortly before elections. In theory, this would halt world leaders from using the US president as a platform to gain prestige and votes. The Republicans and Netanyahu’s Likud Party had other ideas. Republican leadership in both the House of Representatives and Senate criticized Obama’s decision and cleared Netanyahu to speak. Predictably, the opportunistic Netanyahu agreed and talked about the dangers of Iran and the need to combat radical Islam in the region. The speech clearly resonated with conservative leaders, and just days later, forty seven members of the Senate wrote an unprecedented letter to Iranian leadership, threatening
the failure of implementing any peace reached through the talks. The group was led by Tom Cotton, an extremely ambitious freshmen Senator from Arkansas with credentials from Harvard Law and service in the Marine Corps. The thirty-seven year old is widely rumored to have his eyes on a White House run in a few cycles, and his need to build a resume broke basic Congressional protocol stretching from 1799. Emboldened by Netanyahu, the Republicans’ letter violated the Logan Act, forbidding American citizens from conducting diplomacy without the President’s approval. No Congress since the eighteenth century has dared to break the law, but only with the GOP’s hatred of President Obama and track record of respecting procedure could such an act not be accompanied by investigations and trials. Republican disrespect towards the President has reached a level that many in
The events of March 3rd played out differently in Israel in a far more negative manner for Israel’s largest party, Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu. To fully understand the situation, an observer must recognize the political climate in Israel. The once invincible right-wing coalition dominating politics in the coastal nation has experienced many extremes in the past year, with huge amounts of political theatre. Through most of 2014, Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party governed with a coalition of far-right, centrist, and religious parties. Likud was surging in polls, and President Netanyahu felt burdened by constantly having to compromise on many fiscal and social issues. Confident in his party’s powerful position, he fired two cabinet ministers representing the interests of two centrist parties. The coalition effectively dissolved itself, meaning that new elections would have to be called. Likud supporters were optimistic, and many in Israel thought the right would gain enough seats to ditch the center entirely in government. Although the far-right, led by ultra-
Netanyahu speaks in front of Congress, with Speaker John Boehner watching.
the Senate were surprised at the backlash. Unexpectedly strong, the opposition to the letter mitigated any political gain the Republicans could have hoped to gain from the incident. Besides raising Tom Cotton’s national figure, the GOP seems to have gained nothing from its intrusions into foreign policy.
religious war hawks, showed great enthusiasm, most in Israel saw through Netanyahu’s tactics. Likud’s momentum fell apart in the final months of 2014, and strong messaging by the left has swayed many to reconsider their vote for reasons becoming more relevant by the day. Housing prices have risen by 55% since
Explaining the Iran Nuclear Talks Eusha Hasan outlines the history of sanctions against Iran, how recent developments have played out, and what the future may hold. Eusha Hasan ‘18
Since 1947, when the State of Israel was formed by the UN, many neighboring Arab states, including Iran, have still not even recognized the country, mainly due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Because of this, Iran created ties between its government and the terrorist organization Hezbollah so that it may be able to lead a series of attack against “the Zionist Regime” to topple it. Iran’s nuclear weapons program is widely viewed as threatening to Israel, especially after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Israel should be “wiped off the face of the map.” Although Israel in recent years has been taking countermeasures, such as the covert assassinations of Iranian scientists, there has been no
sign of ceasing the discord with Iran. The United States and many other nations have imposed sanctions on Iran for trying to build a nuclear warhead for years. In fact, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delivered quite a few talks to other nations at UN meetings regarding the progress of Iran’s nuclear program, led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, pointing out specifically that in an instant Iran can finish making warheads as soon as it perfects its process of enriching uranium, a radioactive element used as the main ingredient of most nuclear reactors. In the recent months, this Iran-Israel proxy conflict has started to grow dramatically in popularity in the media. In November of 2014, negotiators of the United States and its allies scrambled to reach a deal with Iran so that they may fulfill a nearby deadline on
New York Magazine
November 31th. The U.S hoped to reach a deal that would constrain Iran’s progress in its nuclear program so that it would take one whole year for Iran to reproduce new material for a warhead. However, these world powers were unable to negotiate with Iran, and Secretary of State John Kerry stated, “We have made substantial progress… but we extended our thoughts for another six months, with a very specific goal: of finishing the political agreement within four months.” In other words, the U.S and its allies tried to set a new deadline on March 31th for negotiations to limit Iran’s progress of threatening its enemies with weapons of mass destruction. Recently on March 15th, Kerry traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to lay out the framework of a 10-year treaty treaty, forcing Iran to deplete its fuel for a nuclear bomb just enough so that it would take almost a year to replenish all of it again. Democrats including President Obama support this treaty, as it would give Israel enough time to prepare for any attack on
Netanyahu took office in 2009, and threaten to rise even higher. Wealthy French Jews are moving to the Holy Land, and driving up the cost of living for Israeli citizens. Immigration from developed nations has helped Israel’s economy, but made life more difficult for many in the country’s middle class. The left has made promises of solutions to remove the housing strain, and voters have followed. The left, led by the Israeli Labor Party and the centrist parties Likud dropped, have been making their gains on economic issues, but are still seen as weak in the protection of Israel. For this reason, Netanyahu has been desperately trying to upgrade his international credentials. With limited input on Iranian nuclear talks and minimal influence on the Syrian Civil War, just across the Israeli border, the right are in a rare position of weakness. The Likud coalition and power-hungry Benjamin Netanyahu decided that a visit to Israeli’s most important and arguably only ally would bolster his image. The visit to the United States was nonnegotiable for the Israeli president, just as meeting with campaigning foreign leaders was not an option for President Obama. Luckily for the Israeli right, their American counterparts were ready to undermine the Democrats at every possible turn. The speech to Congress was seen as beneficial to both sides, and the Likud Party moved forward. However, many undecided Israelis knew the move was desperate, and the power-play actually hurt the rightwing coalition. Shortly after the infamous address to Congress, the Israeli Labor Party moved ahead of Likud in polling, and it now seems highly likely the left will win the elections. Involving the United States in Israel’s 2015 elections might have sunk the career of Benjamin Netanyahu, as his gamble failed to gain the party any more support. In fact, on the 16th, the Israeli leader claimed that there will not be a Palestinian state as long as the right-wing holds power. This threat to his people has emboldened many on the eve of the election to rethink their vote, ensuring that anything is possible in the Middle East’s only stable democracy. Regardless, the American and Israeli right intersected in an unprecedented international power play that left both sides questioning their decisions.
its soil if Iran goes against this deal, and ensure that Iran’s nuclear program is solely meant for peaceful reasons. In exchange, the U.S and the UN would stop sanctions imposed on Iran before the agreement. Unfortunately, in the recent weeks, much more tension and a dichotomy of stances on this issue have recently been released to the public through the media. On March 3rd, Benjamin Netanyahu himself arrived in front of Congress without the President’s consent to deliver a speech against the deal currently on the table for Iran. The Israeli Prime Minister said, “That deal will not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. It would all but guarantee that Iran gets those weapons, lots of them ... according to the deal, not a single nuclear facility would be demolished. Thousands of centrifuges used to enrich uranium would be left spinning. Continued on Page 15
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The Index
Politics
March 2015
Consequences of Anti-Establishment Populism in Europe Eric Petersen ‘15 analyzes a recent shift in European politics toward parties on the far left and far right. Eric Petersen ‘15
When a Haverford student thinks of polarizing political struggles, he will probably think of Congress and the differences between the two mainstream political parties, however the United States is essentially tame when compared to the layered mesh of ideologies emerging in Europe. The recent elections in Greece are just one example of the second wave of reactionary parties that formed in the wake of the financial crisis. To fully understand how the radical left won in Greece, the recession itself has to be examined. Since the meltdown of 2008, growth throughout Europe has been anemic, if existent at all. Unemployment has spiked, and in some countries over 20% of the working-age population has been searching without success for a job. Government budgets were stretched by the sharp uptick spending on the unemployed and impoverished, and several nations, like Greece and Ireland, found themselves perilously close to defaulting on their debt. Some countries fared much better than others, and Germany, the largest economy in the Eurozone, pushed its neighbors to recover through austerity. Using the European Central Bank and other authorities, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other prominent mainstream Europeans made austerity the centerpiece for the Continent’s recovery. With the stringent policy came a rollback of governmental aid, and many of the unemployed felt the consequences that budget balancing created. Although the European governments were saved, many of their struggling people were worsened. Because of this perceived allegiance to the European Union over the people themselves, an initial explosion of far-right regionalism appeared, threatening to derail the center-right and center-left parties, the leaders of Europe since the Second World War. Similar in some ways to the Democrats and Republicans of our country, these two
coalitions of parties had worked together to install cross-border agencies and greater freedom of movement. This pan-European cooperation quickly turned into a liability for the parties who championed European unity just years before. The “True Finns” in Finland heralded the start of the first wave of anti-Europe parties in 2011, and more were soon to follow. The Sweden Democrats in Scandinavia and National Front in France made unprecedented gains amid the new political reality. These far-right parties promised to halt immigration, and stop the perceived encroachment of European agencies. By pandering to unemployed and lower-middle class workers of the ethnic majority, once tiny parties garnering increasingly large shares of the vote. By 2014, British voters made the United Kingdom Independence Party their largest delegation to the European Parliament. Ironically, the UKIP hopes to withdraw Britain permanently from the assembly and further isolate the Island from the rest of the world. Although the far-right gained votes through vague economic promises and an appeal to a nostalgic age with no foreigners or social progress, the far-left uses the same populism with different ideals The second wave of anti-European parties emerged from the far-left, a coalition
pushed to the fringes of European politics after the collapse of the Iron Curtain. Leftist parties in Eastern Europe almost disappeared, and in the West, Communist Parties were replaced with leftist ones closer to socialism and the center-left. These groups operated at the fringes of parliaments, and were almost always in the opposition. However, their fortunes are quickly changing. Harsh reactions to austerity in Europe had initially spurred many leftists to coalesce around centerleft leaders like French President & Socialist leader Francois Hollande. When mainstream socialists were seen agreeing more with the center-right, perpetually embodied by Angela Merkel and Germany, many on the far-left became disillusioned with the unfavorable political spectrum. However, in the past few months several parties have emerged that have challenged both Europe and nativists, the establishment and the far-right. These far-left populist movements saw their first major victory with Alexis Tspiras’s Syriza coalition in embattled Greece, and promise to create more change and anti-establishment sentiment across the Continent. A leftist movement called “Podemos” recently formed in Spain, threatening major parties in the Eurozone’s 4th largest economy. Even more seem poised to spring up across Southern Europe in response to the austerity of the center-right and the sense
Marine Le Pen, President of France’s ultra-conservative Front National Party.
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of a complacent center-left. But why is this important to a Haverford student? When asked about the rise of fringe parties like National Front in France and Syriza in Greece, many Haverford students say they have never heard of these parties that were obscure even in Europe until recently. Some, like sixth former Avery Weiss, register some concern, noting “their anti-EU policies” and dangerous “pro-Putin sentiment.” Both offer important reasons why Haverfordians, and Americans, should watch closely the elections unfolding in Europe. Leaders like Alexis Tspiras of Greece hope to weaken the European links that help connect economies and people, putting Europe’s recovery further in doubt. Some in Tspiras’s party have even suggested a default on Greece’s debt, which would send Europe into another recession, quite possibly taking the United States as well. Many of the anti-establishment parties across Europe also have connections to Putin’s Russia, and praise the dictator’s morally reprehensible actions. Marine Le Pen, the xenophobic leader of the National Front, has publicly stated her admiration for Vladimir Putin several times. Russian banks offer loans to her campaign, and as her party’s power rises, the world’s 5th largest economy moves closer into Russia’s orbit. However, the far-right populists are not the only supporters of the Russian government. Instead of grappling with loans from the EU, Alexis Tspiras’s first action as Prime Minister was to defend Russia’s meddling in Ukraine. He condemned the EU for harming the Russian economy, and spoke against further sanctions. Only after he paid his respects to Vladimir Putin did he press his European neighbors for more loans. From the fringes of the political spectrum, the far-right and far-left, a dangerous populism has emerged over the past few years. Although a newly formed coalition in Greece or a once anti-Semitic party in France may not seem relevant to young Americans, they represent a larger political trend emerging in Europe that threatens economic and social chaos far beyond the Continent’s borders.
Inequality Takes Center Stage Ahead of 2016 Elections Drew Sterman ‘16
Within a year and a half, the United States might be in for one of the most volatile elections of recent history. With no clear cut party candidates and a brutal deadlock in D.C., it is impossible to analyze what could possibly occur. However, it is quite obvious that income inequality will be one of the forefront issues of the 2016 election. Economic inequality is such a hot topic issue that one mention of the subject can bring about a ripple effect of media. The wealth gap between America’s high income group and everyone else has reached record high levels since the economic recovery from the Great Recession of 2007-09, with a clear trajectory of increasing wealth for the upper-income families and no wealth growth for the middle- and lower-income families. In 2013, it was discovered that the median wealth of the nation’s upperincome families ($639,400) was nearly seven times the median wealth of middleincome families ($96,500), the widest wealth gap the Federal Reserve had seen since it began recording the statistic nearly thirty years ago. This problem is not limited to the United States. The income gap between the fifth of the world’s population living in the world’s richest countries and the fifth in the poorest countries grew
from 30 to 1 in 1960, up to 60 to 1 in 1990 increasing all the way to 74 to 1 in 1997. Since the recession, the estimated wealth gap between upper-income and middle-income families has surprisingly increased. In 2010, the median wealth of upper-income families was 6.2 times the median wealth of middle-income families. By 2013, that wealth ratio grew to 6.6. The difference between wealth held by the top 1 percent and the rest of the country has climbed back up to levels not seen since the roaring 20s – a period that culminated in economic disaster. According to a recent report by the Council of Economic Advisers, if the share of income going to the bottom 90 percent was the same in 2013 as it was in 1973, median annual household income (adjusted for family size) would be 18 percent, or about $9,000, higher than it is now. Although there may seem to be a frightening precedent, there is no real solution to inequality. In a free market capitalist society, such as the United States, economic inequality will always exist (sorry communism). High levels of income inequality can have negative effects on long term economic growth, employment, and class conflict. Graduated taxation is often suggested as a way to mitigate the societal ills associated with higher
income inequality. The implementation of a graduated income tax has found very little success in ameliorating the wealth gap. The difference between the Gini index(a measure for inequality [0 = equal, 1 = controlled by a single person]) for an income distribution before taxation and the Gini index after taxation is an indicator for the effects of such taxation. The higher taxes has lead to record numbers of tax evasion from the upper class, as well as an increase in money laundering through overseas accounts. There is something called the Kuznet’s hypothesis that should be able to predict the trend of inequality in an economy. Simon Kuznet theorized that inequality would act as a bell curve, where an economy develops, increasing inequality, and then the basic forces of supply and demand would eventually level out the inequality and return it to its natural state. According to Kuznets’ influential hypothesis, income inequality should follow an inverse-U shape along the development process, first rising with industrialization and then declining, as more and more workers join the highproductivity sectors of the economy. Today, the Kuznets curve is widely held to have doubled back on itself, especially in the United States, with the period of
falling inequality observed during the first half. The trend shows no sign of reversing. Economic inequality hurts America. It affects the idea of class mobility, the basis of the American dream, and one of the few morals that has remained the same in the annals of American history. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development stated this past December that the rising income inequality has weakened economic growth in most developed economies, and policies that seek to redistribute income through high taxes on the rich don’t slow growth. Is there a plausible solution to this ever-widening gap? Bill Gates, who has vowed to give away half of 78.6 billion dollar net worth by the end of his life, doesn’t want to discourage the wealthy who take risks, invest in value-creating businesses, and help the world through philanthropy. Gates has provided an alternate solution. Shift the American tax system from one that taxes labor and income to one that taxes consumption. This would deter the extremely wealthy from spending large portion of his or her wealth on “conspicuous consumption.” Its hard to conceive a United States where inequality does not exist, and although it will never happen, the current numbers seem to be appalling.
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The Index
March 2015
Politics
State of the Union: Outlining Obama’s Economic Plan Will Henderson ‘18 argues against Barack Obama’s proposal to support the middle class with further tax hikes on the wealthy. Will Henderson ‘18
In his sixth State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama somehow claimed victory in the United States’ economic “boost” since the Great Recession. Amid some of the slowest economic growth since the Great Depression, an increase in the unemployment rate for two straight months, and six straight years of the highest government spending in American history, the president somehow thinks that United States is on the right track. Obama went on to state several issues during his speech that he would like to address in the upcoming year like yet another tax increase on the wealthy, an additional tax decrease for the middle class, a capital gains tax, an increase of the minimum wage, and a law forcing companies to give paid sick leaves. With the November elections maintaining the GOP majority in the House and Republicans gaining a majority in the Senate, President Obama continues to ignore any sort of bipartisanship and has began yet another year full of Dictator Obama’s agenda and not President Obama’s. But, what effect would these policies have on the American people? President Obama has proposed another tax increase on the wealthy and a tax decrease on the middle class. Since he took office in 2009, the president has increased the income tax on the top US earners to about 40%. In doing this, the wealthiest Americans account for about 68% of the total tax revenue that the government received last year. On the other hand, the bottom 50% of Americans accounted for just 3% of the government’s tax revenue last year. So, why does the president feel the need to continually increase taxes on the wealthy and decrease them for the middle class? The simple answer is that Obama wants funding for his programs that have continually proved to not work. If the president increased the taxes on the wealthy, the smartest thing to do would be to give the money to programs that already exist and for once, decrease the US debt. However, President Obama would rather the money go to the middle class because he feels that they are at a disadvantage, even though they have significantly lower income tax rates and additional benefits from the government. In addition to a tax increase on the wealthy, Obama wants a tax decrease on the middle class. This tax decrease is not the way to give the middle class a boost. The notion that in order to help some Americans, others have to be hurt is simply not true. First of all, the wealthiest Americans are the only people
creating jobs for others, so why punish them for helping the economy? Second, if a middle class American eventually works hard enough to have a relatively high income, they will still have an income closer to that of a middle class American after taxes because of the absurdly high tax rates for the upper class. This is the definition of socialism. As he proposed these new income tax increases and decreases during his speech, President Obama did not shed light on the fact that if these laws are passed, Americans can be comforted by the idea that the harder they work, the more taxes they get to pay, and the less money they get to keep. In addition to new income tax policies, President Obama also outlined a proposal to tax capital gains, a policy that would significantly lower the amount of money that Americans get from inheritances.
The share of federal taxes paid by the wealthy has increased over time.
Thousands more would be temporarily disconnected, but not destroyed… because virtually all the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program will automatically expire in about a decade. Now, a decade may seem like a long time in political life, but it’s the blink of an eye in the life of a nation. It’s a blink of an eye in the life of our children. We all have a responsibility to consider what will happen when Iran’s nuclear capabilities are virtually unrestricted and all the sanctions will have been lifted. Iran would then be free to build a huge nuclear capacity that could product many, many
taxfoundation.org
In 1997, President Bill Clinton, a Democratic president known for his bipartisanship, decreased the capital gains tax from 28% to 20%, allowing Americans to keep more of the money with which they have invested in and helped the US economy. Now, in 2015, our stubborn president has decided to try to change the capital gains tax so that it is once again 28%. Obama has, for some reason, determined that Americans should not be allowed to keep as much of the money that they invest in the economy, and instead, the government should get to keep it. The president says that the government would ideally use the money raised from the capital gains tax to make even more programs that benefit the
rate to go up, corporate earnings reports to go down, and another recession. The argument for minimum wage to increase is that it’s simply not enough money off of which to live, but it actually accumulates to about $435 per week, based on a five day work-week. In addition to the $435 weekly income, these workers also have benefits from the government giving them money from top earners, for no additional work, and they also have a lower income tax rate than other Americans. So, why does the president still feel the need to do more for them? It is because they are the people that voted for him. 60% of people with a salary lower than $50,000 voted for Obama in
nuclear bombs.” This part of the speech, laying out the fundamental belief of Israel and congressional Republicans against the deal, has sparked turmoil between the two sides regarding the deal. President Obama even gave a response in retaliation to Netanyahu’s spontaneous Congressional speech, saying “The prime minister didn’t offer any viable alternatives” and “This will be the best deal possible to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Nothing else comes close. Sanctions won’t do it. Military action would not be as successful as the deal that we have put forward.” As expected, Republicans tried finding a way to enforce Netanyahu’s plea against
Obama’s proposed negotiation with Iran. On March 9th, 47 Republican senators sent a letter to Tehran, the capital of Iran, writing that any deal made by President Obama not approved by the legislative branch could easily be dismissed by the next president “with the stroke of a pen.” Democrats saw this letter as a stunt to increase the media coverage of the nuclear talks with Iran, with President Obama even jokingly remarking, “It’s somewhat ironic to see some members of Congress wanting to make common cause with the hard-liners in Iran. It’s an unusual coalition.” In fact, Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif replied, “In our
Nuclear Talks (continued) Continued from Page 13
middle class — not the upper class, not the lower class, not every single American, not our broken education system, not to combat foreign and domestic enemies, not to reduce our 17 trillion dollars of debt, but to help only the middle class. With all of the programs that already exist to help the middle class (that the president claims he has created), why have Americans not seen any results? Why does the president say that the systems he has put in place to help the middle class work, but another time, he says that taxes need to be increased so that the middle class can “finally be helped”? In addition to several tax increases, Obama proposed an increase in the minimum wage during his State of the Union. The current minimum wage in the US is $7.25 per hour. President Obama wants to increase the minimum wage by 40% to $10.10 per hour. However, if the minimum wage was increased this dramatically, companies would have to lay off workers in order to pay for each of their employees’ salaries. This increase in the minimum wage would cause the unemployment
2012, which is an extremely large group of people considering the fact that the median income has lowered about $4,000 to $41,700 since the president was elected. In addition to a minimum wage increase, President Obama also stressed a need for companies to give paid sick leaves to generally improve the health of the country. According to a CBS News Poll, 90% of sick people continue to go to work. CBS speculates that so many people go to work while sick because they cannot lose the money that they make on hourly wages or because they are unable to work from home. The president outlined a policy during his State of the Union speech that would force companies to offer paid sick leaves in order to lower the amount of illnesses spread in the country. Surprisingly, there are some good aspects to this plan. First, it would obviously allow people to improve their health and the health of others. Second, it would not cause the workers to lose any money. However, this plan would largely hurt small businesses that can’t afford to lose their workers and money at the same time. However, this plan is perhaps the best thing that the president said all night. Throughout his entire speech, the President did not outline one policy that would cause the government spending to decrease, or any programs that he planned on cutting. Each of his economic policies outlined a plan that would either hurt one group of people or cause even more government spending. With the November elections resulting in some of the largest majorities in the Senate and House since World War II, the president did not acknowledge either Republican majority, unlike every US president before him, who at least once in their speeches, acknowledged the new majorities in the House and Senate. What is perhaps most frightening about the next two years is the extreme lack of bipartisanship that the president has shown since the 114th Congress was elected. Unlike Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, who faced large opposition in Congress during their last two years in office, President Obama has not announced one issue on which he would work with Congress, but has instead told Congress that they must work with him. To put it in perspective, after only one month with a newly elected Congress, President Obama has already threatened to veto eleven bills. Nearly all of the economic policies that the president outlined are those with which Republicans are not willing to work. Clearly, Americans sent Obama a message in November by electing so many Republicans, so why has he not acknowledged what Americans want? If one thing is for sure in the United States, it is that the State of the Union is not strong because of Barack Obama.
view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy.” Obviously, this move by Republicans in the Senate did turn many heads, but certainly did not help their cause whatsoever. It is the middle of March as of now, and the deadline of March 31th to finish negotiations with Iran is beginning to close in. In Geneva, Switzerland, an American diplomat said that if a deal is not made by March 31th, an extension like the one that was made in November of 2014 will most likely never happen. Just today, Secretary Kerry declared that “My hope is that in the next days this will finally be possible.”
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The Index
March 2015
Outdex Will Solmssen ‘15, Ian Riley ‘15, Curran Browning ‘15, Jack McAleese ‘15, Nick Greco ‘15, Kyle Bowman ‘15, George Hall ‘15, Louie Brown ‘15, Arjun Dravid ‘15, Jimmy Boyle ‘15
Recently at the Haverford School…
In the recent play Spamalot Ian Riley played King Arthur, a man totally disconnected from the people that lived in his domain. When asked how he prepped for the role Ian replied, "I just followed Dr. Nagl around for a few days, gave me a pretty good idea of what to do." Mr. Cloran only choreographed the musical this year, leaving direction to a student, proving that everyone gets a little lazy in their last semester. Dr. Nagl, after attending Spamalot, called it “the best Upper School show I’ve seen here all year!” Haverford will be hosting a (free) vaccination event providing small doses of “remoulade” sauce to prepare our immune systems for the highly anticipated return of the Po’ Boy. The administration has made the unanimous decision that Ms. Michalsky has a better chance at coaching the basketball team to an Inter-Ac championship and Mr. Fairfax has a better chance fixing the Wi-Fi. Therefore the two will be switching jobs. When asked about how she shot 2-for-3 from the field with 6 points in the student-faculty ball game, Ms. Michalsky responded: “Usually I’m in the gym shooting…like all day. I turn my phone off and strictly focus on getting better at basketball. I let Steinberger handle the rest.” Following a disappointing DECA competition, Manav Khandelwal has decided to focus all of his energy on his Bollywood dance group. Recently, the librarians added another member to their staff, swelling their ranks to 4, which, as it happens, is 4 more than the number of books checked out in the past school year. Spanish teachers have a clause in their contracts requiring them to have a child at some point during their tenure. When asked whether or not he would be bringing a date to prom, Mr. Green sadly replied, “No, my wife has ‘other commitments.’” Pablo Poolman, son of the highly regarded and beloved Spanish teacher, has apparently already been heard uttering “cierra la puerta” and “estas tarde.” The lacrosse team has the biggest practice of the year this Wednesday. The team will be intersquad scrimmaging and the coaching staff promised running afterwards. If you love watching lacrosse and know all the rules to the game, come out and watch. It’s gonna be a good practice, probably one of the best of the year. Also, baseball plays the New York Yankees somewhere at some time, probably in the afternoon. The Baseball vs. Lax feud is a classic case of social media diverting attention...2 dead and counting in the Ultimate Frisbee team’s heated Star Trek vs. Star Wars debate.
On the origin of species.
In an e-mail sent out to the VI Form, Mr. Green made it clear that Haverford is continuing its tradition of time control, as started by Cole Hamels.
Jonas Micolucci, an avid slammer of poetry, has recently unveiled that he is, in fact, Action Bronson.