The Index
The student voice... since 1888
Ευταξια Σωζειν Δοκει
March 2018
Surprise Assembly KYLE WAGNER ’19 On Tuesday, February 20, Head of the Upper School Mr. Matt Green spoke to the entire upper
Volume LXXX, No. 6
Haverford, Pennsylvania
www.havindex.com
TROY GIBBS-BROWN ’18
Students outside the Admissions Office on February 26, 2018.
school in a previously unscheduled assembly. He acknowledged that the Parkland, Florida school shooting caused many a sleepless night, but that at the same time, a traumatic issue had recently plagued our own school community — racism. “There wasn’t a single incident that precipitated the speech,” Dean of Students Mr. Mark
Fifer said. “We started over the course of the last month or so to take note of a palpable change in the engagement and affect of our students. We saw it particularly in our students of color, and particularly our upperclassmen,” said Mr. Fifer. “We also started to hear reports about some of the ways in which they were engaging or feeling
as if the community was engaging with them, and so we started to put our heads together as to how we were going to address the matter.” English teacher Mr. Luqman Kolade followed with a longer speech. cont. pg. 7
Honor Council sharpens code
Recent unrest in library
When the class of ’03 decided they wanted other students, rather than adults, to mediate their disciplinary hearings, a student core began crafting the first ever Haverford Honor Code and Honor Council. Fifteen years later, the officials elected to enforce the code began to doubt it. On Monday, January 29, the Honor Council announced the upcoming unveiling of a new Honor Code at the “State of the School Address.” This code will be revealed and put forward for
When one pictures a library, one imagines a quiet and resourceful study area. But Severinghaus Library often contradicts this definition. As the upperclassmen of Wilson Hall poured into Ball Auditorium on January 4, 2018, administrators addressed them about the animosity the librarians have faced over the past semester. Due to increased enforcement of rules, student hostility towards the librarians has grown, further isolating them from the Haverford community. Students have become more prone to follow through on rebellious actions and go against the norms, transforming the library into a social space. “The library is seen more as a lounge. If I actually want to do work I specifically do not go to the library,” said Sixth Former William Henderson. Administrators have yet to establish consequences for breaking the library’s rules. With the exception of a couple of detentions given out here or there, students take advantage of this freedom. Often, this leads to students performing for each other, competing for who can be asked to leave the library first. Dean of Students Mr. Mark Fifer said, “This space is a community space and all community members need to abide by some basic expectations and the idea that we are not entitled to the space if we are not abiding by these rules.” In recent weeks, the librarians and administrators have come to a consensus to shut down the library due to the acts of a few individuals, depriving those who use the library as a study resource. “I’ve seen several kids act out just to mess with the librarians,” said Sixth Former Alexander Ciardi, “and the librarians are getting mad at the student body as a whole rather than just these
ED KING ’18
voting by the Upper School in the coming weeks. The amendment’s impetus is unnamed publicly, but Honor Council officials cite the old code’s imprecision and excess verbiage. “My first thought was: shouldn’t [the Honor Code posters] be easier than seeing a bunch of words on paper?” said Honor Council Advisor Mr. Jeremy Hart. cont. pg. 12
The Honor Council unveiled a new signing ceremony to the student body.
LUKE O’GRADY ’19
INTEL CHEN ’19
Charlie Baker ’20 photographed scenery in Iceland on pg. 12-13
HARRISON FELLHEIMER ’18
couple of students.” Student behavior has crossed a line. Not only has the noise level risen, but antagonistic threats towards the librarians make them feel unsafe in their workplace. Students have thrown one too many tennis balls at their windows. “Having a ball thrown at the window behind which you are trying to eat is a pretty upsetting thing,” Head of Information Services Ms. Lisa Snyder said. “I don’t know if you’ve ever had an egg thrown at your house, but in the moment of that incident, I felt as if someone had egged my house. I felt that it was an aggressive act, even though the perpetrator, I’m sure, did not. Throwing things at people — whether protected by a window, a screen, or nothing — is not a friendly thing to do. It felt hostile.” As a community that prides itself on the relationships among students and educators, actions like these have to be called into question. Within the school is a mutual sense of trust and respect They hold each other to the highest standards of integrity and honesty. “Throwing a tennis ball at a window of an adult is not acceptable. I know that we are better than this. Moving forward we are going to make sure of it,” said Sixth Former Zach Mattiola. With the advancement of technology and with the amount of information that can be found on the internet, students are rarely checking out books. The library may be losing its identity. Instead of being a study area where students check out books, it has become more of a computer lab where students can access the internet and print from the several desktops scattered throughout. cont. pg. 12
MR. JIM ROESE
Matt LaRocca ’18 discusses the tennis team’s upcoming season on pg. 14
Page 2
The Index - Editorial
March 2018
School safety: whatever form that takes, The Index is game School is your home away from your home. Given issues of emotional safety in our community and physical safety around the nation, let’s consider how our home is doing. Our school strives to foster a community accepting of everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, their ethnicity and religion, their sexuality and socioeconomic status. There is not a single mold or makeup to define a Haverford student. When entire sections of students feel that there is a mold and that the mold is white, we must acknowledge faults in the community. Haverford plays the part of the perfect school, with its athletic excellence and academic prowess; and so, when tragedy strikes, whether it be the 2014 drug case or racial tensions today, we must take a step back and recognize the vulnerability of our halls. Two weeks ago, the administration brought
students together in Centennial Hall. In a space that invites open dialogue, the message that morning addressed a crippling divide. Students heard calls for help from those within our community that have felt marginalized and silenced. Classmates of color no longer feel Haverford is their home, and that is not acceptable. Emotional and physical safety is paramount. To increase physical safety, we can lock more doors, be more alert, and prepare students and faculty for emergency incidents. The emotional safety of our community, however, is not in plain sight, and neither is the solution. This issue will not be solved with a speech, a reflection, an Index article, or an apology. This issue will be solved with a change in community culture. A student-led discussion took place in response
to facilitate conversations of race relations. With an overwhelming number of students in attendance, the volume spoke to the fact that students deeply care about their peers and the school itself. It may have been uncomfortable. It may continue to be uncomfortable. That is okay. This should not devolve to another manifestation of the see-saw debate of free speech vs. hate speech, free speech vs. regulation of speech, etc. This is an acknowledgment of crisis. This past September, The Index editorial staff discussed this very predicament and condemned the events in Charlottesville. Now, however, it seems as though the semipermeable membrane of Haverford has allowed the ugliness of national debate to penetrate its halls. When this trickle becomes a flow and when students feel so singled out to the point that
INDEX STAFF
2017-18 Editors-in-Chief (L to R): Samuel Turner ’18, P.J. Rodden ’18, Nick Chimicles ’19
Letter from the Student Council
they don’t want to stay at Haverford, we’re doing something wrong. Haverford is a home to many students, but, for some, apparently not a very good one. A home is not a place to be coddled or threatened. It is a place where ideas are challenged and minds are stimulated in a way that pushes you but doesn’t break you. At home, you feel safe with and because of others’ presence around you. In Captain America: Civil War, Tony Stark (Iron Man) learns that people now fear the Avengers’ destructive capabilities and want to regulate their powers. He empathizes with their fear of safety and signs a government document, saying “Whatever form that takes, I’m game.” Haverford students may not wear suits of hot-rod and gold armor, but they enter a community forged by the steel bonds of brotherhood. When it comes to the emotional and physical safety of Haverford, whatever form that takes, The Index is game. As you enter subsequent discussions on this, you too should be game. On March 14 at 10:00 a.m., members of the Haverford community will be participating in the National School Walkout. Dr. Ehrhart and anyone who wishes to join will be standing on Lancaster Avenue for 17 minutes in honor of the 17 students killed in Parkland, replacing Columbine as the deadliest school shooting. This is not a political event. We’re not standing for Democratic this or Republican that. We’re standing to ensure that students feel safe at school, that teachers feel safe at school, and that tragedies like Columbine and Parkland don’t ever happen again. It is up to our generation, to you and your friends, to be the change you want to see in the world.
T.J. MALONE ’18 Approaching the month of March, the student council is pretty busy not just saving the world, but also planning early March’s Third and Fourth Form Formal Dance. The interest of school dances has been declining, but we still think it is a great way to grow closer to your classmates, also learn to talk to students from other schools, which is an important life skill. Student council is doing a lot of work to make the dance better. Here is what we have planned now: a dj, raffles, a Dippin’ Dots stand, and plenty more. We are also discussing ways to improve the school’s atmosphere. Right now, we are planning a community building activity. What we are trying to plan is a Family Feud game -- similar to the quiz bowl during EA week, but more fun because it’s Family Feud, not Jeopardy. Lastly, we are discussing a few changes and additions to the
community room. If you have any suggestions for community activities or additions to the community room
talk to your student representatives. Student suggestions are key because the student council does not always know the general opinion of the
2017-18 Student Council.
student body even though we try to represent you guys the best we can. More information will be coming in next month’s Index.
MR. MARK FIFER
The Index’s 2017-2018 Staff
P.J. Rodden ’18, Samuel Turner ’18, Nick Chimicles ’19, Editors-in-Chief Neetish Sharma ’19, News Editor Eusha Hasan ’18, Features Editor Toby Ma ’20, Assistant Features Editor Will Henderson ’18, Opinions Editor John Comai ’18, Opnions Editor Grant Sterman ’18, Politics Editor Robert Esgro ’19, Assistant Politics Editor
Nick Chimicles ’19, Head Web Editor Lleyton Winslow ’20, Head Web Editor Noah Rubien ’20, Web Editor Aditya Sardesai ’20, Web Editor Will Merhige ’18, Social Media Editor
Bobby Stratts ’18, Staff Photographer
Ms. Alicia Evans, Faculty Advisor Mr. Thomas Stambaugh, Faculty Advisor
All opinions and viewpoints expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of The Index or the school. The Index is designed and produced digitally. Photographs may be retouched. Submissions and letters to the editors regarding any and all articles are welcomed at index@haverford.org. The Index, a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, is composed on Mac OS X, using Adobe InDesign CS 2018. Its surveys are conducted via SurveyMonkey and are advertised on Facebook to current Haverford students. Graphic designs are created by Index staff via Canva. 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.
Gaspard Vadot ’18, Arts Editor Vincent Scauzzo ’20, Assistant Arts Editor Matt LaRocca ’18, Sports Editor Nick Pippis ’19, Assistant Sports Editor
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.
Contact The Index: 450 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041 index@haverford.org Twitter: @Haverford_Index http://www.havindex.com/ (610) 642-3020 x. 1222 Volume LXXX, No. 6 - March 7, 2018
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The Index - News
March 2018
INDEX STAFF
The case of the missing midterms MICHAEL FENG ’20 The sound of pencils scratching paper and fingers hitting keys fills the room as student begin studying for their various exams. Without any English or science midterms, all the students should do well and be less stressed, right? The new midterm exam schedule eliminates midterms from all English and science courses. Having fewer exams could mean different things: students could do very well on their remaining exams as they have much less to study for, or not. Due to the fewer exams, a student may end up not studying at all and lose motivation. Of course, there is always the possibility that many students do not change their study habits either way. People have varying opinions on this topic, but most students have positive feelings about the change. “Some courses lend themselves more readily to more cumulative exams, that in English class, in particular, it is far better to value paper writing,” Mr. Green said. “Something like a Hamlet paper should demand the attention of a student much more readily than a 90-minute pencil and paper test.” Having fewer midterms is not necessarily a poor plan. Mr. Green highlights the reasons why midterms in more cumulative classes may not have had the desired effect to begin with. Omitting certain exams may have served to allow the students to focus much more on other exams with more educational value. Not only would students not need to stress over another midterm, but they will also be spending what would-be study time much more effectively.
Sixth Former Robert Manganaro said, “A midterm is a nice little checkpoint to see how much a student knows from the first semester, so if that subject is cumulative, [and] if you don’t know it as well as you think you do, [when] the final comes around, you don’t want that to be the only thing that shows you.” For a subject like math, an exam can serve as a crucial checkpoint. From an educational standpoint, having tests like midterms can be critical in letting the teacher know how his or her students are doing. Larger tests or more frequent quizzes can substitute for this purpose of a midterm, so many will argue that student may not need midterms at all. Motivation varies from person to person. In the first semester, with college applications, having only half the number of midterms would naturally make that time much easier for the Sixth Form. “I think it motivates seniors to do better because along with all of the college stuff we have especially before break, having only two or having fewer tests definitely makes it easier to focus on multiple things,” said Sixth Former Gabe Deane. The reduced number of midterms generally seems to sit well with Haverford students and teachers alike. English and History teacher Dr. Ehrhart said, “I got the impression that people enjoy having half the number of exams.”
MICHAEL FENG
Textbooks from past years’ midterms (top) and various midterm papers float through the hallways.
Faculty clashes over coat and tie tradition EUSHA HASAN ’18 The dress code, a time-honored tradition at Haverford, may face a revamp amidst growing controversy among upper school faculty. For the past few months in the middle school, an unsettled issue has pitted the student body and faculty against one another: footwear. The lower school has always maintained a laissez-faire policy on the issue, as shoe styles for young boys evolve rapidly. But the middle school is struggling to reach a consensus: although students go outside for recess, they must, according to the faculty, develop the habit of wearing formal attire. The middle school’s ongoing debate has sparked conversation among upper school faculty on whether or not the upper school dress code should be reformed. Unlike many teachers, Headmaster Dr. John Nagl opposes any measure to change the status quo. “I think that we are flexible enough, and I don’t see any immediate upper school changes
to the dress code,” Dr. Nagl said. “It allows boys to express their individuality while still looking reasonably professional. At some other schools in the area, boys have to wear what we essentially call full dress — blue blazer, khaki slacks, white shirt, school tie. I think that’s horrible. It’s monotonous; it’s too uniform; it doesn’t allow you to express any individuality. In the same sort of way, a sonnet gives you certain parameters, but within those parameters, you can do truly wonderful things... We have this within our [current] dress code.” The upper school has made two significant changes to the dress code in past years. In recent memory, Dean of Students Mr. Mark Fifer would introduce students with facial hair to “Rusty the Razor” to shear unwanted stubbles. Now students can have facial hair as long as it is “neatly trimmed,” according to Dr. Nagl, and even that rule is not strictly enforced. Just a few years ago, history and English teacher Dr. William
Ehrhart challenged the school’s prejudiced hair length policy, which punished white students but exempted black students. “Hair above the collar, it doesn’t say that anymore; it says shoulder-length. I singlehandedly got that change in. It was done very quietly. But we had a couple of kids with gorgeous heads of hair, African American, beautiful dreadlocks; but if we’re making other kids cut their hair, why do these guys not have to?” said Dr. Ehrhart. Even after these massive changes in the past, History Department Chair Ms. Hannah Turlish believes that the dress code should be further loosened: students should wear what they want while still looking put-together. “I feel like this dress code is basically training you guys to be investment bankers,” Ms. Turlish said. “People who are in creative fields today don’t wear this; doctors don’t wear this under their
Tyler Campbell ’18 hard at work on a dress down day.
Dr. Bill Ehrhart detests the enforcement of the dress code.
Mbogo Mwangi ’18 focused intensely while in full dress.
PHOTOS BY EUSHA HASAN
jacket. I do think it is socializing Haverford boys for corporate jobs — not that there is anything wrong with that — but I do think that it is a limiting factor.” One universal complaint from teachers is how disruptive students become on dress-down days, which serve as an excuse to not focus on school work. Mathematics Teacher Mr. Steven Patrylak thinks that students must feel unified — through a uniform — to foster the ideal classroom environment. With the current dress code, students do not feel obligated to help their peers and teachers improve the learning atmosphere. But in uniform, students would feel like they are on a sports team, keeping each other in check and listening attentively to their teachers — their academic coaches. “I went to Temple [University], and what they do is that the individuals who perform the best on the field get to wear the lowest numbers in the single digits, as opposed to a school like Penn State [University], a powerhouse football team. They have no names on the back of their jerseys because they are uniform — they perform for the team. No one is there for individual glory, but rather for the team. When Penn State plays Temple … Penn State has the advantage because they have the team play for their side,” Mr. Patrylak said. Since many teachers oppose the dress code, enforcement has been less than stellar. Some teachers hand out detentions to dress-code violators without batting an eye, whereas others tacitly condone an exposed shirt tail or lack of a belt. Dr. Ehrhart, who wants to abolish the dress code, does not want to preserve a moribund tradition. “If you’re going to have [the dress code] as a policy, then you should fully enforce it,” said Dr. Ehrhart. “Over the seventeen years I have been here, it has been pretty unevenly enforced, and that bothers me a lot. If you are going to say that something is important, then you should treat it as if it is important.”
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The Index - News
March 2018
Sixth Form prepares to depart Domino effect in the Red Lot TROY GIBBS-BROWN ’18 The standardized tests have been taken. The college applications have been sent off. Some of those applications have been accepted, and some of them denied. Midterms ran their course and Winter Break swiftly blew by. Now entering the second semester of the year, the Class of 2018 is one step closer to graduation. In order to do that though, they need to make it through the last three months of the school year. And each Sixth Former has his own way of doing that. Track star and engineering enthusiast Lamont Lucas is entering the second semester with an open mind, “I’m at a point where I’m trying to get the highest grades possible with the least amount of stress,” Lucas said. “I want to take all of the courses that truly excite me… and understand topics that I get to choose to learn about.” This approach of “finishing the year strong” is a common Sixth Form outlook. Other students, like Miska Abrahams, are just about ready to move on from high school, “I’m just here to graduate, at this point, honestly. I’m tired of having homework, and I’m not trying anymore in class,” Abrahams said. While this may be how the majority of the senior class feels, Abrahams seems to be one of the few to actually embrace the “senioritis.” With student-athletes possibly playing their “main sport” for a final time, the Sixth Form is focused on more than just academics. For some,
WILL MERHIGE ’18 it will be the last time that they put on a helmet, score a basket, or row across the finish line. The end of their athletic careers is beginning to weigh on some of the students of the Sixth Form class. Long-time lacrosse player Charlie Cordisco is hoping to accomplish a few things on the field before graduation comes along, “This upcoming lacrosse season, I’d like to get out on the field and get an Inter-Ac Championship, possibly,” Cordisco said. Despite being burdened by the stress of college, academics, and athletics, the Class of 2018 is looking back on their Haverford careers and looking forward to their lives after graduation. Debate and water polo team Captain Matthew Baumholtz is stuck between the desire to move on and the pain that comes along with it. “I’ve done a lot already, I’m happy with it. I’m proud of having followed my interests… I look forward to leaving the environment behind, just because I think life has to evolve. But, I’ll [miss] the community and the teachers,” Baumholtz said. This feeling resonated among Baumholtz, Cordisco, Abrahams, and Lucas. No matter how long their time spent here, each one of them has a love for this school and this community. Charlie Cordisco said, “One thing I am definitely going to miss is the whole atmosphere — just being here with all of my brothers, and just the very good vibe here.”
Sixth Formers relax before a rigorous day of school.
HARRISON FELLHEIMER ’18
The Red Lot has proved chaotic for upperclassmen driving to school.
There are not enough parking spaces on campus to accommodate students, faculty, and parents. With only thirteen visitor spots spread over three lots, assigned spaces are frequently taken. As a result, students and faculty members are forced to park in their classmates’ or colleagues’ spots. For students, the lack of reliable parking is frustrating. Fourth and Fifth Formers who drive to school must find off-campus parking and deal with Lower Merion and Haverford Townships’ two-hour limitations on most of the available street parking. On-campus parking in the Red Lot for three quarters of the school year is a Sixth Form privilege. This privilege, however, often leads to more problems than it does solutions. “Everybody starts jumping parking spaces when parents come. I understand that you have to go to class and need to cause a domino effect... it’s organized chaos,” Director of Public Safety Mr. Joseph Boccella said. Unfortunately, this chaos often seems unorganized. Parents take student parking, Fifth Formers park on campus, and Sixth Formers disregard the three-quarter system. Students who follow the rules are left without a parking space when they arrive at school.
WILL MERHIGE ’18
“I am forced to take somebody else’s spot threeto-four times a week,” Sixth Former Andrew Farmer said. This is not an uncommon experience, especially for students who arrive at school after 8 a.m. and have a spot closer to school. Sixth Former Will Yoh said, “My parking spot is taken more than 50% of the time. I usually just go find another student spot.” There is no quick fix to the problem. Haverford Township prevents the school from using the grass lot next to Dr. Nagl’s house and neighbors force other parking restrictions. Many community members believe the Public Safety department can fix the issue by renaming the parking lots from indiscriminate colors to “Student Lot” and “Faculty Lot.” “My theory is they don’t want to mark the assigned parking spots because then parents will feel like they have no place to park. So the unspoken thing is we have to allow parents to park wherever they want to park, and we don’t want them to know that it’s assigned parking,” English and Chinese teacher Ms. Taylor Smith-Kan said. “It’s a weird conflict of interest.”
General issue shorts need pockets, students say YAN GRAF ’20 I will be the first to admit: I love wearing general issue. I wear it almost every other day, and I am sure that plenty of other students can attest to this as well. Few other schools have anything like it; it is something Haverford does that is extremely well-received by the student body. But there is one issue with the general issue that has been causing controversy among to student body for years now. Namely, the lack of pockets on the shorts. For many, it simply seems obvious that athletic shorts should have pockets. Any shorts that you would wear to the store have pockets, so why shouldn’t our general issue? Many students find the lack of short pockets frustrating. While some may think this is a silly issue, a deeper look into the opinion of the student body reveals otherwise. According to polling done on the school Facebook page, a massive 97.7% of the respondents believed that pockets should be added to our shorts, out of a sample size of 134 students. In fact, only three respondents rejected the idea. Not only do most students support the idea, but many have strong opinions. Take Sixth Former Luke Egan, who gave a student-council speech about the subject last year. Whether you adamantly believe pockets are necessary, or you are one of those three people who voted “no,” it is clear that the student body overwhelmingly believes that pockets are necessary. Fourth Former Vincent Scauzzo said, “Without pockets, [the shorts] are just useless. It’s just natural for people to put their hands in their pockets.” Many others believe that there is a need to store a phone or a wallet in their pockets and see the lack of these pockets as an obstacle. Fourth Former Ian Schiavone said, “Almost everyone has their wallet or their phone, even in athletic shorts, which is why we need them.” Others simply want more freedom and choice. Sixth Former Matt Baumholtz said, “I think I deserve the option to put things into my pockets.” This issue stretches beyond just the student body, with some teachers chiming in, like history
teacher Mr. Brian Long, who said, “I think pockets are a wonderful addition to shorts.” While everyone may have their own reasons, it is clear that a majority of students believe that pockets allow greater convenience both during athletics and off. If there are so many good reasons to have pock-
ets, there must also be plenty why there are none. The largest reason is the money involved. Assistant Athletic Director Mr. Mike Murphy stated that each short costs an extra $4.25 to add pockets. This, of course, adds up quite quickly when purchasing shorts for 440 students — $1870 per year. The question is whether the convenience
General issue shorts without pockets.
they afford holds up against the price tag. Upper School Head Mr. Matt Green points out that the money could be put to better use elsewhere “The calculus that probably needs to be made is whether I give the money to Model UN, or to financial aid for a student, or if I give our students pockets.”
INDEX STAFF
Page 5
The Index - Features
March 2018
Vaping creates 21st-century guinea pigs MBOGO MWANGI ’18
MBOGO MWANGI ’18
Expensive receipt after a trip to the local Vape shop.
Vaping has swept schools around the nation, offering an expensive addiction through an inconspicuous device. Big Tobacco companies have taken full advantage of this new, unregulated technology. Using similar tactics to introducing cigarettes, Big Tobacco has hooked millions of people, especially teenagers, as cigarette usage declines in high-school students.
Dubbed the “safe alternative to cigarettes,” vaping has won over the teenage market. The discreet devices of popular brands like Juul and Phix have allowed vaping to infiltrate the nation’s schools, becoming an in-school activity. Its accessibility has allowed it to become popular so quickly. “I couldn’t keep count [how often I used it in a day during the worst part of my addiction]. The worst it ever got was I had to ‘hit it’ between every class period,” said an anonymous Upper School student. Struggling to protect students from this new danger, administrators have their hands tied. Vaping has become close to impossible to police in schools because of the device’s low profile and odorless exhaust. “[Big Tobacco is] certainly running the same playbook,” said Upper School Head Mr. Matt Green. “They are lobbying Congress, financing studies, and marketing aggressively to kids… I think until the evidence comes out that it is as powerful and compelling as it was with tobacco; the only way to combat it in schools is through education.” Similar to cigarettes from the 1920s-1950s, millions of people are getting addicted to a product the general public believes is not detrimental to their health. Its recent popularity continues to rise, despite the little-to-no data on the long-term effects of inhaling the vapor. Vaping seems to have already captured a strong following prior to the inevitable wave of unflattering data soon to come about their health risks. “Most of the people using it were actually nonsmokers before they used vape… Because of the high temperatures, it is burning your lung tissues, making you more susceptible to lung infection,” said Biology teacher Mrs. Kara Cleffi. “They have also found that it alters genes having to do with immune-system functions, more than the gene
Student vaping in a Wilson Hall bathroom.
MBOGO MWANGI ’18
altering in cigarettes.” Whether it is only a trend or here to stay, vaping is generating enormous amounts of money for Big Tobacco at the expense of teenage health. It has taken up shop in our school hallways, librar-
ies, and bathrooms. “I think it will be here for a while,” said Mrs. Cleffi. “and until someone comes out with a study saying this will kill you, I don’t think it is going to stop.”
the work can test your patience and energy, but knowing that you really are making a difference in a kid’s life outweighs all of those things.” Goldman has not only grown as a volunteer for Upward Basketball, but he has also inspired some of his classmates to participate as well. One of those classmates is fellow Fifth Former Joe Bonini. “I could not turn an opportunity like this down because it is a great thing to help out the less fortunate,” said Bonini. For Bonini, the best part about the program is also being involved with the children and “knowing how much basketball makes them happy.” What Bonini took away from his first year of Upward Basketball will continue to help him in life. He said, “I learned how to deal with people
that are different than me.” He also realized how intense these experiences can be for the families of the kids. “It affected me because it makes me realize how difficult a situation like this can be for a family,” said Bonini. “In the end they are still a family.” It was a great experience for the children to play against the Haverford team. Fourth Former Jack Leary had an especially impactful experience. “I was really touched when I saw how much fun the kids were having,” said Leary. “It made me really happy to see them running around and celebrating. There really is no better feeling than giving back, and this program showed me that.”
Service spotlight: basketball league for autistic kids MATT MIGNUCCI ’20 Service learning has always been a crucial component to the Haverford experience. Fifth Former Jesse Goldman participates in a organization called Upward Basketball, which offers children with autism the opportunity to play basketball in a fun, competitive, and supportive environment. For Goldman, service has been a part of his life since he was a child. Goldman was first involved in Upward Basketball when he was in 7th grade. “I was looking for a service project for my bar mitzvah,” said Goldman. “And this seemed like a great opportunity to help kids while enjoying my love of sports.” After one year in the program, Goldman knew this was something he wanted to pursue. Why does Goldman enjoy the program so
much? The kids. During his five years of volunteering with Upward Basketball, Goldman said his favorite part was “watching the kids grow both in size and in ability. Many of the older kids in the program were in their first year or two when I started, so being able to build a relationship with these kids and see them develop makes it a truly enjoyable experience.” Goldman has been there to grow up with the children and the program itself. He has many takeaways from volunteering in the program. “[I learned] skills and responsibilities that I probably would not have learned anywhere else… It also opened my eyes to how lucky most of us are and that we should all do more to help the less fortunate in our community,” said Goldman. “At times
Jesse Goldman ’19 organized a basketball game between autistic kids he has been mentoring and the Haverford basketball team.
PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSE GOLDMAN ’19
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The Index - Features
March 2018
Student and teacher feelings on next year’s schedule EUSHA HASAN ’18
PHOTO COURTESY OF MR. MATT GREEN
The new schedule will be tested in April before going into effect next year.
The February 2018 issue of The Index broke impactful news: the Upper School’s class schedule will take a drastic turn next year. Keeping the tradition of six classes each day and one late start on Wednesday, next year’s schedule features several long blocks each day and more late starts. Students and teachers responded differently after the news broke, creating a debate on whether or not the new schedule will benefit the Upper School in coming years. Colleges weigh junior year grades heavily, so many Fourth Formers are concerned about whether the new schedule will make it easier or
harder to earn top-notch grades. Fourth Former Alexander Greer, optimistic for next year, thinks the new schedule will help him academically. “With a more intense course load next year, having a designated time to meet with teachers for extra help will be undeniably useful to all [juniors],” Greer said. Fourth Former Max Kaplan, however, focused on the new schedule’s downfalls. “I am not sure it’s exactly the kind of schedule change I want to see,” Kaplan said. “The new longer blocks are too long, and I don’t believe students will be able to achieve that kind of focus three times a day
when it is needed… I think that it will be nice to have more than one night to complete homework assignments as well, though teachers assign more homework each night as a result.” Next year, the college process will be more brutal than ever: colleges will receive more applicants, driving down acceptance rates. Fifth Former Nick Brill is hopeful that the new schedule will help him endure the college process. “I think the schedule change will alter the difficulty of the college process in that I will have more time during free periods to talk to my college counselor,” Brill said. “It won’t change too much, but it will help a bit.” The Sixth Form can only speculate on how the schedule will affect their peers next year. Sixth Former Zach Mattiola wishes that the schedule change was implemented earlier so he could experience its benefits. “It will give students more of an opportunity to focus more of their time on certain classes each day. It’s hard to achieve mastery of certain subjects while only studying it 45 minutes a day,” Mattiola said. “Being able to have more free time will also be beneficial. Right now I don’t think I have nearly enough free time, and I feel as though I just push myself through school days without giving myself a chance to relax.” Even alumni put forth their input on the new schedule. Mohid Khan ‘17, a mechanical engineering major at Johns Hopkins University, firmly stands against the Upper School changing the schedule. He said, “Haverford’s current schedule really helped me use my free time efficiently. Also, in longer classes [double periods], my attention span usually waned. Hopkins’ classes are only 50 minutes typically, so for my college experience, the [current] schedule at Haverford fits much better.” Many teachers strongly favor the new schedule
over the status quo. English teacher Mr. Kyle Traynham hopes that he can engage students better with interactive exercises using the additional time on his hands. “Like everybody, it will take some adjusting to, but I must admit I am thrilled about the longer blocks next year. I plan to use the time workshopping more student writing, conferencing with students regularly, and not feeling rushed or ‘out of time’ when class is in full swing,” said Mr. Traynham. The new schedule has caught students and teachers off guard, but many are optimistic that the Upper School community will improve because of it. If students and teachers overcome the initial shock of change, the schedule change should, as planned, help students and teachers thrive in school. Biology teacher Mrs. Kara Cleffi is ecstatic about the schedule change: no longer will she have to cut out labs and other activities from the biology curriculum to crunch time. She said, “Especially with some of my senior electives, for which I struggle to find time to do labs, it’s going to make the possibilities of what we do in lab so much better. It’s so hard when you have seven days in between double periods to have a multiperiod lab, so I think it will really strengthen our science programs in that we can provide a better lab experience.” Mrs. Cleffi likes the extra time she will have next year to chat one-on-one with students. “That’s the hardest part of being a part-time teacher. If I don’t have free blocks that match up with students, it’s hard for me to meet with them outside of class,” Mrs. Cleffi said. “This schedule provides us with an actual block during which I can meet with students for extra help.”
How a school closing is decided VINCENT SCAUZZO ’20 While students enjoy snow days, “they are the bane of any headmaster’s existence” to Headmaster Dr. John Nagl. The local headmasters all use several weather tracking services to help make the all-important decision, but there is more communication and thinking than one might think for calling a snow day. “When you [become headmaster], you become an amateur meteorologist. The local area heads of school have a text chain and we will have calls the night before [a potential snow day], and if we possibly can, we cancel the night before,” said Dr. Nagl. “Unfortunately, in this year in particular, there hasn’t been a snowflake on the ground at 9 p.m., so we decide we are going to reconvene the next morning. When that happens, we get up at 4 o’clock, we check all the weather forecasts, we go outside, see what’s on the ground, figure out what’s going to happen. We talk to each other, Lower Merion and Radnor school districts, and the city of Philadelphia. The local headmasters manually weigh the costs and benefits of having school the next day, often choosing the safer option. “It is not a foolproof system by any means, but man we put a lot of work into it. You want to have school whenever you possibly can. That said, if one kid gets hurt, it isn’t worth it. So, I worry about the roads and their condition. I need to make sure our Sodexo team has the campus… safe,” said Dr. Nagl. That infamous call that so many students look forward to hearing has its own procedure. This whole process “somewhat uniquely for me involves choosing what music I’m going to put behind the particular announcement and then taping that announcement. I take great pride in those calls. The feeling of calling a snow day — snow days are more fun than a typical day off because it’s unexpected — the feeling of inflicting joy on a thousand boys all at once is an absolutely wonderful thing.” A few weeks ago, there was an ice storm that went from being a two-hour delay to a full day off. The weather cleared afterwards. Dr. Nagl said, “[Like on that day], if the weather conditions don’t allow you to get to school on time and the weather conditions improve, you can go to practice.” Total accumulation is a factor, but the timing of a snowfall is everything when calling for no school. “The perfect storm is probably four inches
between and 6 and 8 a.m.,” said Dr. Nagl. “It’s not just the amount, it’s the timing. We don’t want to bring you here, have the weather conditions deteriorate during the day, and have you stuck here. We don’t close early, but we do allow, and encourage, parents to come get you.” Dr. Nagl considers both parents picking up their children as well as students taking public transportation. “The bus schedule matters as well. We pay attention to the fact that a fair number of kids come in on school buses. A number of kids come in on public transportation as well, so we need to make sure those systems work as well. If Lower Merion closes, the chances that I’m going to close are very, very high. It is probably the single most important determinant.” Besides the Lower Merion bus and SEPTA schedules, Dr. Nagl has to check several more boxes before calling off school. “The streets have to be clear. The campus has to be clear. There has to be no real chance of enough additional precipitation to leave you here. [If there’s snow], the Sodexo guys will have it clear by the next day, and you all will be here on time.”
having to cancel for the ice storm and then right into the Eagles’ parade. But when SEPTA announced what they were doing for the parade, I made the decision that the right thing to do was to cancel school.” Dean of Students Mr. Mark Fifer was particularly grateful because, even though he would have supported Dr. Nagl no matter his decision, Mr. Fifer was able to go to the parade with his father, who had wanted to see the Eagles win a Super Bowl for the last 60 years. He said, “The best note I got was from
someone who said, ‘When the Phillies won The Series, Haverford did not cancel and my kids went to school because that’s what we do. They were the only boys in most of their classes that day. They learned absolutely nothing, and they and their teachers watched the parade on TV. They are still mad ten years later for missing that experience. Thank you for making the right choice on this one. I was really glad you all had that experience because not all learning happens in the classroom.’”
Dean of Students Mr. Mark Fifer was particularly grateful because, even though he would have supported Dr. Nagl no matter his decision, Mr. Fifer was able to go to the parade with his father, who had wanted to see the Eagles win a Super Bowl for the last 60 years. A lot of people were frustrated when Dr. Nagl called a day off for the Eagles’ parade, but many others thought it was the right decision. Dr. Nagl and many other faculty members actually went to the parade themselves. “I’m not a seasoned Philadelphian. I don’t fully understand the depth of this city’s hunger for sports success and, in particular, a Super Bowl victory,” Dr. Nagl said. “I was deeply torn [on deciding to have a day off or not] largely because of the number of snow days and in particular
COMMUNICATIONS
The school’s decision to cancel for a snow day and then the Eagles parade raised controversy among parents.
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March 2018
Upper school racial rifts, cont. protocol,” Mr. Fifer said. “But the administration will pursue a disciplinary inquiry when situations are brought to our attention.” Despite the recently surfaced aggressions, Mr. Fifer ensures the student body that the faculty now has a plan to improve this space. “All the faculty are focused on making this place a safe and inclusive community,” Mr. Fifer said.
Haverford past and local schools present JOE DIGNAZIO ’18
Mr. Luqman Kolade.
Not only were racist events taking place in the school, he said, but they were occurring outside as well. Mr. Kolade strongly condemned using racial slurs and added a warning that those who did not agree with his message should not rationalize a response. To finish, he argued that the community can recover, and that it would need to in order to function. “I feel that the [assembly] speech format is more effective because you get to address the entire school,” Mr. Kolade said. “The break-out sessions don’t necessarily work all the time and don’t have the same impact, so we wanted to make sure that this was a moment that didn’t seem like the same old things that we always do.” In the months leading up to the speech, the administration noted an uptick of complaints about racial slurs and racially insensitive language. The situation further escalated when more students came forward and complained of being turned away from social occasions on the basis of race. The administration was alarmed “by increasing concerns over the use of racially insensitive language both on and off [campus] and some reports of some social situations in which there were exclusionary practices, perhaps attributed to race,” said Mr. Fifer. Two days after the assembly, Mr. Fifer, Upper School Counselor Ms. Janet Heed, Assistant Director of Community Relations Mr. Brendon Jobs, and Director of Community Mr. Donta Evans organized a Community Room discussion to further the dialogue and help build on Mr. Kolade’s message. Mr. Fifer anticipated a showing of fifteen to twenty students, but upwards of one hundred students showed up, mostly Fifth and Sixth Formers. The goal was, according to Mr. Fifer, “to open dialogue about the issues that precipitated the assembly.” The group broke up into subgroups to answer three questions: -Why did we decide to hold a space to reflect of this topic as a whole community? Specifically name the issue. -What do you notice about how people are talking about or being silent about yesterday’s reflection? -What can you do or say if you hear someone using offensive language or language meant to hurt or harm? “We wanted to provide a space for students without requiring it, without making it mandatory — a space for students to unpack the assembly, to reflect on the assembly, to gauge how the students were feeling about the assembly,
TROY GIBBS-BROWN ’18
and more broadly the community climate.” Mr. Fifer continued, “In terms of the response, I was exceptionally proud and pleased and hopeful based on the number of students that were there... I was heartened to see that we had almost a quarter of the school there who wanted to engage in the conversation, who were coming at the issue most likely from different places. Their presence indicated to me that there was some commitment to the community, some commitment towards a shared understanding, and a path forward.”
Assembly’s sparks TROY GIBBS-BROWN ’18 While some students were surprised by last week’s assembly on race, Mr. Green and the rest of the faculty have been taking note of the events leading up to Mr. Kolade’s speech. The day after the assembly, Mr. Green sent an email to the Upper School faculty, informing them about what had led up to the powerful words that rang through Centennial Hall. Mr. Green wrote, “Around six weeks ago, I and a few others began to take note of a palpable change in the engagement, enthusiasm, and effect of many of our students of color, particularly our upperclassmen.” One recurring issue that has been recognized over the past several weeks is the use of “the n-word.” “Racially offensive language was…something that our students were hearing...on a regular basis,” Mr. Green wrote. “Kids reported being spoken to in slang, kids reported fairly frequent use of variations of ‘the n-word,’ loaded words like ‘thug’ and ‘ghetto’ were being used casually, as though they weren’t offensive.” Mr. Green described these incidents as “aggressions of varying degrees,” as they did not occur all at once or in the same context. “Was there a single incident? I wouldn’t necessarily want to pin all of this on one particular action,” Mr. Green said. “To me, we have a cultural challenge.” In the next few weeks, students who have been found and proven to have “violated community standards” can expect to be disciplined by the school’s administration. Students can assume some of the disciplinary actions will pertain to the usual: Honor Council hearings and, depending on the severity, suspensions. While the specifics of each disciplinary action will not be disclosed, the administration has made the point that they will, indeed, be disciplining students, “It’s not our practice to share disciplinary
Haverford is historically renowned for its quality education, but tensions have built up over time, affecting some students’ experiences. The 1990 Haligoluk, which contained senior superlatives such as “Class terrorist” and “Der Führer,” included only one African-American student in its graduating class. That student’s senior paragraph outlined his Haverford experience in stark terms. “When blacks think of whites, they think of upper class whites, and when whites think of blacks, they think of lower class blacks.” Such a powerful comment might suggest that other local schools experience the same racial woes. Penncrest senior E. Smith said, “I would say students of color participate in school events just as enthusiastically as other students. Personalities vary just as students of other races do, so some participate more than others.” While the racial breakdowns of Haverford and Penncrest differ, another factor separates the two — girls. “Boys of color participate much more in athletic activities than girls of color,” Smith said. “Girls of color tend to be more involved in clubs and other school-related activities other than sports. Both boys and girls are included by other students to be involved in events outside of the classroom equally.” Similar in makeup to Haverford is the all-boys private school St. Joseph’s Prep. “At Prep, students of color absolutely participate in extracurricular activities,” said senior D. Guianan, “even though a large number of students [of color] live in the city where as many white students live in the suburbs, overcoming a distance that is relatively far.” Clearly, distance between students living in the city and suburbs is not an insurmountable obstacle in the way of a unified community.
from the assembly die down.”
Students and faculty MICHAEL FENG ’18 As people grow older, they may grow numb to certain subjects and more sensitive towards others. But racism is prominent no matter how old one is. Although there may not be a clear-cut line of whether students or faculty and staff care more about this issue, the question remains: do teachers care more about racism than students?
I think it’s completely unacceptable that someone would feel like they didn’t belong at their school because of their skin color. -Robert Manganaro ’18 “I would say that they feel the same as the students,” said Director of Community Mr. Donta Evans. “It is an important issue and it is something that needs to be addressed. It is something that doesn’t really sit well with them,” Many other schools around the nation have been impacted by racism. How much people care has always been a question as well. “I haven’t really noticed a difference in the way the faculty is acting as a whole, but I know that work is being done to diffuse tensions,” said Sixth Former Robert Manganaro. “I know that I reacted very strongly to Mr. Kolade’s speech, and I know not everybody felt the same way I did, but the examples he talked about created a pit in my stomach. I think it’s completely unacceptable that someone would feel like they didn’t belong at their school because of their skin color.” Both adults and students are working together to tackle this problem but may need more help from their peers. Many stand by and watch as racist acts unfold. Without active bystanders, racism will not go anywhere anytime soon. Mr. Kolade’s speech has students and teachers talking and working together. Sixth Former Mark Gregory said, “Mr. Kolade has already shown the harsh reality of the school. For some people, not all, this fear has been a wake-up call, a reminder that there is something that needs to be done.”
Early student reactions PARKER GRAVINA ’18 In the wake of the assembly, students took time to reflect on the magnitude of racial division and what it means for the school moving forward. “Students definitely take racial unease seriously. If somebody is getting upset due to a racial issue, then it needs to be brought up and fixed,” Sixth Former Tyler Roland said. “This place is an open environment, a brotherhood, and we want to make sure that stays intact and that everyone is happy here.” “I feel like there is a mix between students who take [racial issues] seriously and those who don’t. It is difficult to determine who does and who doesn’t,” Sixth Former Lamont Lucas said. Sixth Former Tim Carlson said, “I think the students do take tensions seriously, but… some kids just aren’t exposed to it at all, so they have trouble relating to [the tensions].” The administration organized two open meetings after the assembly. “I think what the school has been doing in the past week has been working. The session that we had during the community block was helpful. If I was a student who hadn’t known what was going on and I went to that, I feel like it [would have been] very informative,” Carlson said. “There was a turnout of around fifty people [who] left the meeting feeling much more informed on the issue and how to fix it.” The commitment and passion showed at the meeting demonstrated a sense of urgency for the students. Quite simply, it showed that they care. “More events like the community meeting would help,” Lucas said. “We can’t let the energy
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Google Forms survey of 171 upper school responses, February 26-28, 2018.
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The school’s reach: weekends and social media MBOGO MWANGI ’18 Following last Tuesday’s assembly, the administrators have made the improving student racial interactions their top priority. But many of the incidents Mr. Kolade mentioned seemed to occur outside of Haverford’s walls. How can the school prevent or react to events outside of school, during the weekends, and on social media? “If it comprises a student’s readiness to learn and they do not feel safe at school,” said Head of Upper School Mr. Green, “then we will generally pursue it.” Not every offense “makes the cut” for an active school response or interference. Administrators reserve the right to decide what deserves schoolsponsored repercussions. The Honor Code asks students, “Does this action bring discredit to The Haverford School community and reputation?” Administrators also use this question as a guide to determine their response to incidents outside of school. “Students spend most of their time in school or in outside environments,” said Upper School history teacher Mr. Brendon Jobs. “If you set up the structures and you offer students the place to practice all types of conflict — racial conflict, gender conflict, and identity conflict — in spaces that aren’t safe but brave enough for them to feel like they can mess up and recover from their mistakes in healthy ways, then the idea is… when you are in these outside environments, you don’t replicate hurt and harm.” From a preventative point of view, education and growth through failure seem like the most fruitful ways to teach students how to interact with the world around them. Mr. Jobs thinks that school’s structured rules are ineffective in isolation because, in the outside world, “those rules go out the window and people revert to habit.”
Curriculum spurs tense racial debates WILL MERHIGE ’18 Backing away from racial discussion fosters complacency. Addressing race in the classroom creates divisive tension. With today’s political climate and an aggressive student culture, in-class experiences may fail to create a strong community. The school sponsors many outlets for diversity initiatives: reflections, breakout groups, conference opportunities, the Black Student Union, and the Diversity Alliance. Beyond these efforts, the curriculum attempts to initiate discussion. English classes read a variety of works that represent diverse voices. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates confronts the idea that black bodies have been ignored throughout American history. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe focuses on the impact of European
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colonialism in Nigeria. These are just two of the nine major works currently taught in our English department that involve race. The problem does not stem from departmental choices to silence certain viewpoints. Instead, some students fail to accept opposing ideas and create an environment that allows causal and indirect racism. With the addition of Between the World and Me to most English IV classes this year, racial issues were exposed. English Department Chair Mr. Thomas Stambaugh said, “This is a work that gets to the intellectual core of the Black Lives Matter movement in a really personal way, and we expected that some students might not be as willing to consider that police make mistakes or that a particular racial group, in this case African Americans, are unduly targeted by law enforcement. Of the five or six class periods I spent with that book there was one day that was particularly heated, and there were people in the room who were angry.” Discussions about large social issues will never be easy. But these classroom experiences are vital for improving race relations. “Some students responded well and took the book with their own experiences. Others had very incendiary responses,” Sixth Former Sam Lindner said. “The book had a good mix of responses, which shows that people were reading and paying attention to it.”
External politics permeating the membrane DAVID MCKAY ’18 Haverford is not immune to a toxic American political climate. “President Trump has made a lot of racial comments, such as his response to Charlottesville, which was pretty shocking,” said Government and Politics teacher Mr. Tim Lengel. “To say that there are some good people who are neoNazis is not something you usually associate with the office of the President of the United States. Early on in the campaign, [candidate Trump talked] about Judge Gonzalo Curiel and how he wouldn’t be able to rule on the case because he is Mexican. Of course, he is not; he is a descendent of Mexicans.” Curiel, the U.S. District Judge of a classaction lawsuit against the president’s nowdefunct Trump University, became a topic of scrutiny by then presidential-candidate Donald Trump in early 2016 when Trump questioned Curiel’s impartiality based on his ethnicity. In an interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday on February 28, 2016, candidate Trump said, “I think [Curiel] has been extremely hostile to me. I think it has to do with perhaps the fact that I’m very, very strong on the border. Very, very strong on the border. And he has been extremely hostile to me. This is a case that in our opinion should have been won a long time ago. It’s a case that we should have won on summary judgment… we have a very hostile judge. Now, he is Hispanic, I believe. He is a very hostile judge to me. I said it loud and clear.”
A selection of English Department texts.
March 2018
Detail from Garrett Johnson ’19 ’s self-portrait from the Winter Diversity Alliance Retreat.
Mr. Lengel further described the cultural dissonance occurring in classroom discussions and debates. When asked if he had heard racially insensitive language or conversations, Mr. Lengel said, “It’s more of a tone thing. We had a discussion in Government [and Politics] this fall about Colin Kaepernick, the protests, and the kneeling. In terms of having a discussion on a complicated issue, a certain segment of the students in the room were content to sort of just stand by slogans sort of unthinkingly.” The cultural dissonance within the Haverford community can be attributed to the wide sociocultural scope of economics, politics, language, ethnicity, cultural heritage and history, and the structure of the American education system. Many students are unwilling to discuss topics that make them uncomfortable due to the fear of discord, confusion, and conflict experienced in the midst of a national and cultural change. A significant portion of this “tribalism” and obligation to pick one side and defend its viewpoints, are in part due to the divided populace of the United States. Much of this is also due to the media. “I have told my students that they should not be watching or listening to the news,” Mr. Lengel said. “That’s when things get inflamed and nuance is lost. Read your news in a newspaper. Newspapers have a much more rigorous process for fact checking.” Much of the mainstream media, such as Fox, CNN, and MSNBC mostly rely on political commentary catering to opposite sides of the political spectrum. Often times, the job of many journalists on these networks is to create a narrative that supports their political beliefs rather than report the actual news. “Like him or not like him, there is a long trail of evidence that the president has been using racialized rhetoric, and that of course has crept its way into the national discourse. And [Haverford] is not immune to the national discourse. As Mr. Green said two years ago, [Haverford] is ‘a semipermeable membrane,’” Mr. Lengel said.
WILL MERHIGE ’18
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Fixing school culture TYLER CAMPBELL ’18
Amidst recent conversations about race, diversity, and inclusion, many in the school community wonder how the school will move forward. Students agree that serious change needs to happen on campus. Prior to last Tuesday’s assembly, the school already had student-run organizations that focus on starting conversations around race like the Diversity Alliance, the Black Student Union, and a faculty diversity committee that meets once a month to talk about race relations at the school, specifically in the classroom space. Teachers also participate in the school’s own branch of the national project called SEED, which is a voluntary organization of independent schools across the country that works to better train teachers individually on many topics, including race. According to history teacher and Assistant Director of Community Relations Mr. Brendon Jobs, figuring out what to do next is a top priority of the faculty. He said, “Immediately after the assembly happened, we had a faculty diversity committee meeting. The agenda for this meeting was simple: unpack what happened at the assembly but also to think about what steps can [teachers] take moving forward.” As far as what steps Haverford has specifically begun to take, Mr. Jobs added that the school is, “thinking on how to engage in racial conflicts in healthy ways, better teaching of the Ta-Nehisi Coates text [Between the World and Me], and an effort to compile [scenarios] to support teachers and students on how to play the role of accomplice and ally in tough situations.” A major issue with a topic as sensitive as race is that many members of the school community had little idea of the severity of school racial tension. Head of Middle School Admissions and Director of Community Mr. Donta Evans said, “It’s important to get ideas from students and keep the pathway of communication open.” Mr. Evans also stressed how important it was for “changing how everything is done from past years. We’ve had a lot of great programing around diversity, but there was not a lot of follow through after the initial discussions. The thing we want to do now is make sure we keep the conversation going throughout the rest of this school year in particular,” Mr. Evans said. Change will take time and effort from everyone in the community. Mr. Evans talked about bringing several engaging speakers like former students and renowned cartoonist and speaker Vishavjit Singh, who spoke at this year’s Diversity Alliance winter retreat. “Our goal is to put someone different up on that stage in a reflection setting... to educate them and give them new things to think about and process,” said Mr. Evans. The school’s tentative long-term goal, according to Mr. Evans, is “creating an equity and inclusion strategic plan which will allow this [diversity] work to be ingrained in the school from a curricular standpoint that might include changes in the current curriculum and increased training for teachers, which are two very important things that could change the culture and make this effort something that will last around here at Haverford long term… That is the end goal.”
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Google Forms surveys of 171 upper school responses, February 26-28, 2018.
Appropiate discussion forums
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guilty. I’ve been idly standing by watching this go on and haven’t done anything about it,” Baltrus said. “And now I think it’s entirely on me to bring people together instead of just watching people being torn apart.” Ever since President Donald Trump’s successful bid for the presidency, racial tensions in the U.S. have erupted. As blacks rightfully explain why they feel persecuted, many whites feel unheard. Sixth Former Jack Denious, supportive but cynical of Mr. Kolade’s speech, thinks that another perspective on the race issue should be brought into the limelight. “I encourage any future dialogue to happen, and there are points to be made from both sides. From the perspective of a white student at Haverford, I think that main scare is as soon as you start a conversation where you have any opposing viewpoints, you can come off as racist, which is definitely not what I or other white students want to come off as,” said Denious. “A lot of people wanted to point out how some African-American students were excluded from certain parties. But there is a clear difference between being invited to a party and just showing up. There is a clear difference between that and being told to leave because of your race,” Denious said. Amid the surprise that many white students felt, many black students were optimistic coming out of Centennial Hall that day. Not only were their concerns validated eloquently through Mr. Kolade’s words, but they also felt secure knowing that their white peers were now aware of the situation. Sixth Former Miska Abrahams felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “I received [Mr. Kolade’s speech] well. It was refreshing to see him talk about things that I don’t necessarily talk about or go INDEX STAFF through all the time,” Abrahams said. “It was refreshing to see it was acknowledged and
claims to be very accepting and very open to discussion,” Denious said. Tensions have sometimes arisen in teachermediated classroom discussions. Sixth Form Isaiah Winikur said, “They, [the teachers], are not trained in a way stop some of this behavior.” “I feel like the students are accepting of this [poor] behavior,” Winikur said. “We should be able to [disagree], but right now I don’t think so.” With school becoming a place with increasingly differing views, the two Sixth Formers noticed community wide changes. “Yes, there is hostility, but I feel like, in our community, we found ways to keep it quiet,” Winikur said. Denious said, “I feel like school, in general, is becoming a platform for social movements, which is an interesting development.”
Faculty explores next steps GREY RUMAIN ’18 Centennial Hall fell quiet as Mr. Kolade stepped to the podium. His words pierced ears and suffocated hearts as he spoke on the recent deterioration of the beloved Haverford brotherhood. After the assembly on February 20th, many were shocked by the news of blatant disrespect shown by white students towards students of color at Haverford, as the school was previously thought to be a welcoming space for all. Upper School English teacher Mr. Dan Keefe said, “[We need] conversations about another person’s experiences outside of race, or gender, or class. Just talking to other people who are different than you — about who they are, where
HARRISON FELLHEIMER ’18 Administrators and students believe there needs to be an immediate, short-term solution such as intervening when someone is “out of pocket” or by creating spaces where students can reflect on their experiences in productive dialogue. “The best forum to discuss racism is twofold. There has to be a consistent forum that’s facilitated by faculty and student leaders,” said Sixth Former Joe Dignazio. “Additionally, it has to exist in everyday conversation in order to get an organic, genuine outcome.” As the academic year quickly comes to an end, the school will lean on future leaders to start the healing process. In a brief survey following the school-wide assembly, 66.7% of the Fifth Form answered “yes” when asked if they would personally be willing to reflect on how they can make our community a better place. Upperclassmen will help the community move forward. Younger students will find role models in older students. A few underclassmen in one advisory worried about being ignored or teased if they challenged a group of older students. The underclassmen agreed that even if they were silenced, they would hope that one member of the older group would reflect on what happened, step up, and say something. Dean of Students Mr. Mark Fifer said, “We need to be careful and intentional in including as many students as possible in how we frame this structure. When students feel more invested in a program, the greater chance it will succeed.”
Guilt, awe, doubt, hope EUSHA HASAN ’18 After English teacher Mr. Luqman Kolade’s speech to the upper school, students were moved by the cause to end racism at Haverford. But their initial reactions to the speech varied, from feeling guilty to remaining skeptical. Racism is a silent problem at Haverford, lurking beneath thinly veiled remarks and implicit bias. Only now, through Mr. Kolade’s words, has the issue risen to the forefront. After Mr. Kolade’s speech, students became aware of silent racism in their conversations and even in with whom they walk through the hallways. Sixth Former Will Baltrus feels complicit in not helping to eliminate the problem. “Personally, I have heard ‘the n-word’ being used. Some of my friends just let it slide out of their mouth, and I just pay no mind to it. I feel
Diversity alliance art projects line the wall of the Community Room.
reaffirmed on a public platform [rather] than in just the corrals of my mind.” “It’s just nice how other people now know how I feel, but I don’t think anything will really change,” Abrahams added. “It’s just good to know that people are aware.”
I agree with you. He’s right. You’re wrong ED KING ’18 Opposing views encourage debate and facilitate learning. Good schools gather students to create learning environments with different views. Recent events left students, teachers, and administrators asking “Are we accepting of conflicting views?” Sixth Former Jack Denious said, “I feel like the teacher community at Haverford is leaning far, far left, whereas the student community has just about every viewpoint you could have.” Although teacher views might seem uniform to Denious, he did not voice this as a potential problem. “We are very encouraged to have views that are considered to be more correct, which are considered to be more left, but I would say that every teacher and administrator at Haverford
March 2018
“I think there are simple steps,” Mr. Jobs said, “the most practical being just showing up in spaces where these conversations are happening.” In Sociology of Race and Ethnicity’s article “White Space,” Elijah Anderson writes about his experience as a black male student in a predominantly white space at The University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Jobs alludes to this article when he uses the term “space.” Few white students ever go to spaces where black life in and out of Haverford is discussed. “I think one of the most important things going forward, something that students can do actively right now, is just show up in these spaces,” Mr. Jobs said. “Be a part of the dialogue, and if you’re not apart of the dialogue, be present for it. Listen to it. Engage with it.” As a community, Haverford cannot go back to the past and undo progress. Everyone, regardless of color, must participate in a common dialogue about experience and life. The Haverford brotherhood can be brought together once again.
Students look ahead JACKSON SPAHR ’18 At the end of the assembly on February 20th, Mr. Green posed a question to the student body: What are the next steps? Two upperclassmen recently considered efforts to reduce tensions in our community. Fifth Former Jon Williams said, “I believe this is a problem that’s fixable. If we all come together as the brotherhood that we say we are, then this problem would never even exist in the first place.” Considering effective approaches to improve a difficult situation, the obvious solution might be to think like children. Sixth Former Lamont Lucas said, “I think honestly just by being who you are and treating others the way you want to be treated.” To fix the problem, students must also identify where the issue originates. “I think there’s this clear divide because of people’s ignorance. People hear something and automatically believe it without thinking from a different perspective. I think once people are considerate of one another’s situations and once people can get rid of their own ignorance, we’re gonna make this school a lot better,” Williams said. “I think we need to come to realize that no matter what race you are or preference you may have,” Lucas said, “we are all human at the end of the day.”
TROY GIBBS-BROWN ’18
they came from, and things that are important to them. That is the next step, the next logical step that comes along.”
[“We need] conversations about another person’s experiences outside of race, or gender, or class. Just talking to other people who are different than you — about who they are, where they came from, and things that are important to them. That is the next step, the next logical step that comes along.” -Mr. Daniel Keefe Mr. Keefe believes that the importance of conversation is vastly overlooked. Mr. Keefe is wary “to get into a room and say ‘I want to talk about race today.’ But I want to come at this not from a perspective of ‘I have an agenda I want force or put upon you,’ but to just open up a dialogue about how different people respond to different questions,” Mr. Keefe said. The power of words is not lost on members of the school community, but those discussion groups have yet to meet with regular success.
INDEX STAFF
Google Forms surveys of 171 upper school responses, February 26-28, 2018.
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The Index - Opinions
March 2018
Celebrating more than a parade WILL HENDERSON ’18 Twenty one-thousand one-hundred seventy days. That’s how long Eagles fans waited to win the Super Bowl since the last NFL Championship. After all of the horse poop-eating, light-pole destructions, and window-breaking, Philadelphia had the first Eagles parade down Broad Street in history, with crowd estimates as high as three million. School administrations throughout the area were faced with the decision of closing for the day, and for Haverford, it apparently wasn’t about the Eagles. Due to SEPTA’s limited service, getting in or out of the city was nearly impossible, but really, nobody was going to come to school anyway. Some have complained to Haverford’s administration, saying they were disappointed in the decision to close the school. What shocks me more than their complaints is their sheer ignorance of an entire city’s celebration, their inability to recognize the impossibility of getting to school, and frankly, their lack of willingness to have fun.
Sure, you don’t have to be an Eagles fan, and you don’t even have to like football. But, this was about more than a game. This brought people together. People brought the cliché “City Of Brotherly Love” slogan to life. Take one Eagles fan named Dennis. Dennis showed up to the parade carrying his wife’s urn. He described his wife as “a diehard Eagles fan, so [he] had to make sure she was [there for the parade],” and for the entire day, he carried his wife’s remains around with him. But it doesn’t end there. A couple hours later, a police officer walked up to Dennis, handed him a beer, and told him, “This is from the guys across the street.” Fifteen people bought Dennis a beer that day. I could go on about the Eagles fans I saw carrying urns or the two strangers who recreated the World War II kissing photo or the underdog story of Philadelphia. I could talk about Ron Jaworski crying on live TV or Jason Kelce’s legendary speech or people singing the Eagles
fight song on SEPTA trains. I could speak about the day when complete strangers became friends, the day generations of fans had died without being able to see, or the day — for the first time in a long time — when Philadelphia was unified. It was more than football, and it was more than a parade. To anybody who complained about a school closing for one day, I invite you to research any of those stories and reconsider your grievances. While it may seem troubling to close school for “transportation issues,” know that the Eagles will never win their first Super Bowl again, and as any expecting-the-worst Philly sports fan knows, a day like this may not come again for decades — perhaps lifetimes. If people are unable to recognize the meaning of February 8, I feel bad for them because they couldn’t see the goodness of people and the unity of millions for just one day, for just a couple of hours. It was one day of school. Get over it.
MATTHEW TUCKER ’18
Eagles fans stormed the streets after the Superbowl win.
Resurfacing the crossroads with politics and entertainment GASPARD VADOT ’18 In last month’s issue of The Index, an article may have caught your attention: “Drawing the line between politics and entertainment.” The article appreciated the voicing of political opinions in the industry, but mainly argued that entertainment was too involved in politics, and that the line between the two was getting blurred. “Entertainment has been overfilled with politics,” the article stated, “and sometimes it has not been the right moment.” To be clear, the use of entertainment to push a political agenda is nothing new. Over two thousand years ago, Greek and Roman theater used political satire to criticize their leaders. In sixteenth-century Europe, dramatists poked fun at the monarchy and its court, hiding their criticism behind extravagant and comedic characters. In the 1700s, Benjamin Franklin began penning pamphlets and designing cartoons to activate the public on political issues. In the nineteenth century, famed cartoonist Thomas Nast also used political cartoons to sway public opinion. The influence of his work is still seen today: he created the Republican symbol of the elephant and popularized existing ones such as the Democratic donkey and Uncle Sam. He is also remembered today for his fight against the corrupt government led by Boss Tweed in New York City in the 1870s. Towards the middle of the 20th century, film began to be used as a powerful force of political satire. From Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator to Stanley Kubrick’s dark comedy, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, current events never stopped being con-
demned or mocked in some ways. Even today, it isn’t just Saturday Night Live: National Lampoon has been replaced by The Onion, Monty Python has given way to South Park and The Simpsons. Satire and political comedy are everywhere — it has always played a role in society. The article questions whether or not satire such as the impersonation of Donald Trump on SNL should be used to express political opinions. People watching Saturday Night Live know what they are watching. Similarly, the writers on SNL know that their skits at times fall away from pointedness and wit and instead appear ridiculous. Comedy like this may turn offensive; there is a dangerous, slippery slope once we shift from satire to false accusations. But this comedy is not libel, and in fact, it is important in the way we understand today’s politics. One of the reasons that late-night television has become so much more popular since Donald Trump began his campaign is that the events which transpired in recent years have dangerously eroded many norms of the political world. Comedians like Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and the writers at SNL have called out wild and baseless claims that the “TV-reality president” and his administration have made, in order to expose the significance of the situation. More serious news outlets have tried to do the same thing, but Trump often brushes them off as “fake news,” or undermines their freedom of press. In other words, political comedy is not blurring the lines between politics and entertainment. It is responding to the absorption of one field by
the other. When Kennedy and Nixon went head to head on national TV as presidential candidates for the first time, the American public began to see politics as entertainment. Later, Ronald Reagan compared politics to show business, and today CNN’s president Jeff Zucker compares it to a sports game. Today, cable news ratings are rising to new levels as the channels cover the hectic White House in a dramatic way, like reality TV. In early 2017, people actually felt compelled to watch Sean Spicer’s press briefings in anticipation for the ensuing drama. Or they tried to follow along as political analysts and Trump supporters go at it in endless screaming matches in order to understand complicated legal issues of collusion. Late-night entertainers see these ridiculous events happen and take it upon themselves to use comedy to expose the absurdity of all of it. Admittedly, some aspects of this system are overused or misleading, especially now that outlandish fake news or conspiracy theories are so easily disseminated with malicious intent through social media. “The Borowitz Report,” a satirical column in The New Yorker magazine, has attempted to be clearer and differentiate itself from slander. Under the title of the satirical section of the magazine’s website, Andy Borowitz includes a short subtitle in italic letters: “Not the news.” Entertainment does not only play a large part in criticizing government. In fact, last month’s article alluded to the most important role it has adopted in these turbulent times. Recently, a number of films have been get-
Alex Boratto ’18 rewatched Oprah Winfrey’s Golden Globes speech.
ting recognized for directly addressing issues in our society that have been ignored for so long. Last year, the Academy Award for Best Picture was awarded to Moonlight, a movie about Chiron, a black gay man trying to find his place in the world. This year, the nominations include: Lady Bird, a film directed by a woman, with two female leads, telling the story of a teenage girl; The Post, an investigative story peppered with the issue of a woman asserting herself in an industry dominated by men; Call Me by Your Name, the coming-ofage story of Elio, a teenage boy falling in love with his father’s assistant, Oliver; Get Out, a film addressing racism in a unique and multifaceted way; and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the tale of mother seeking justice for her daughter’s murder, a film which has inspired activism against injustices all over the world. Sending a message through entertainment is the new norm. At the 75th Golden Globes, where all the guests wore black in solidarity with the Time’s Up movement, Oprah Winfrey gave a rousing speech dedicated to all the young girls watching that moment on TV, letting them know that things are changing and that their time to shine is “on the horizon.” This is not politics; this is a long overdue promise of equality. Nonetheless, the author of last month’s article questioned whether “this is the right time and occasion to convey her political opinions.” It is. Because there is no better time, and there is no better occasion than when the whole world is watching to fight for change.
ALEX CIARDI ’18
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The Index - Politics
March 2018
people to fantasize about a possible 2020 run from Oprah.
Globes. Is there any chance of her actually succeeding? Before anything, Oprah has to want to run. She herself has said she would not, but more recently, it is looking more like a maybe. The question is whether Ophrah in the White House would benefit the country or not. Given the fact that we already have a celebrity-turned president in the White House and his approval ratings are low, maybe not. She, just like Trump, has plenty of flaws that may not sit well with voters. For one, she gave Jenny McCarthy ample airtime to press her antivaccination hysteria, seemingly agreeing with questionable claims that vaccines caused autism. She also has had many issues with her girls school in South Africa, where claims of child abuse have arisen. She also is friends with the ethically questionable Dr. Oz, who has been accused of fraud. Many even wonder if politics should even be involved in the Golden Globes. Many viewers only want to see the awards. Therefore, perhaps politics should stay out of the Golden Globes entirely, if only to increase viewership. Regardless of personal opinion, it has become clear that the Golden Globes have become a hotbed for political discourse in our country. The consequences are undoubtedly far reaching, and politics will no doubt stay involved with the Golden Globes. The question is, is putting politics into the spotlight at award shows like the Golden Globes effective? Maybe not.
Golden Globes provide platform for politics YAN GRAF ’20
However, there is a case to be made against this avenue of social reform, particularly due to these people’s status. [...] [F]or many, Hollywood elites telling them what to do is the last thing they want.
A peek into the entrance of the 2018 Golden Globes.
Award season has come and gone, and, while the awards themselves were fairly straightforward, the added controversy of politics has been tossed into the mix this year. In particular, politics were on full display at the Golden Globes ceremony, touching on issues from #MeToo to a potential Oprah run for president in 2020. But does politics have a place at the Golden Globes? Are the Golden Globes an effective platform for political messages? While award shows have always been an effective avenue for promoting discussion about political issues due to high viewership and broad
PHOTO VIA WIKIMEDIA
appeal, the number of political movements represented this year has been staggering. Primarily, support for the #MeToo movement was on full display. All of the attendees wore black to show solidarity with the movement and many others brought guests like #MeToo founder Tarana Burke. This, of course, is because the #MeToo movement was kicked into high gear in Hollywood, with accusations against Harvey Weinstein bringing sexual misconduct into the spotlight. The biggest story of the night was Oprah’s speech at the Golden Globes. Her fiery speech about the way women are treated in Hollywood provoked
Is any of this actually effective at promoting change? Of course, addressing the problem of sexual misconduct inside of Hollywood should be possible at one of the industry’s biggest award ceremonies, but can the elites of the industry change the world? Many would say so, given the enormous star power and clout these people have. Fans around the world look up to these people, and they have enormous reach. However, there is a case to be made against this avenue of social reform, particularly due to these people’s status. For close to three years now, Trump and many conservatives like him have been railing against the Hollywood elite, for supposedly being out of touch with the rest of the country. Regardless of the validity of that statement, for many, Hollywood elites telling them what to do is the last thing they want. The possibility of an Oprah run for president is perhaps the most potent part of this year’s Golden
Fire and Fury unleashed TOBY MA ’20 Barely a year into the Trump administration, the release of Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury has managed to stir up even more controversy in an already fraught administration. The book reveals a chaotic administration and a campaign for the White House that was never supposed to succeed. The book’s popularity soared after the administration sent a cease-and-desist letter to Wolff and the publisher. Fire and Fury was released at the top of The New York Times and Amazon nonfiction bestseller lists, already selling over 1.7 million
copies. Many doubts, however, have arisen in the wake of the book as to the truth of Wolff’s reporting. Wolff, a journalist for publications such as USA Today and The Hollywood Reporter, followed the Trump campaign and the first year of the administration for eighteen months, conducting interviews with over 200 members of Trump’s staff and attending meetings in the West Wing. Wolff said he was allowed to attend these meetings with the approval of the President, although Trump denies this and the rest of the book, calling it “full
Screenshot of the library’s Fire and Fury Audiobook sample.
INDEX STAFF
of lies.” Other journalists also share the administration’s doubt in the truthfulness of Fire and Fury. Many believe that Wolff’s information contradicts facts uncovered from their own investigation. NBC journalist Katy Tur noted that many of Wolff’s quotes “sound like they are recreations.” Still, Wolff claims that the sources of Fire and Fury are backed by a multitude of tapes recorded from interviews with Trump’s staff. But it seems that even his interviewees have had trouble telling the same story. In the beginning of his book, Wolff writes, “Many of the accounts of what has happened in the Trump White House are in conflict with one another; many... are baldly untrue… These conflicts, and that looseness with the truth, if not with reality itself, are an elemental thread of the book… In other instances I have, through a consistency in the accounts and through sources I have come to trust, settled on a version of events I believe to be true.” This statement makes it confusing for the reader to distinguish between fact and “gossip” invented by Wolff. For example, Wolff was admonished on MSNBC’s Morning Joe for suggesting that Trump was in an affair with United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. In addition, Fire and Fury contains both white lies and egregious mistakes. He occasionally used incorrect names for people, but less forgiving was his writing that a conversation between Roger Ailes and Steve Bannon occurred at a certain house in Greenwich Village; this conversation was, in fact, held in Wolff’s own house. Regardless of how much of Fire and Fury is truth, do not expect its message to fade away anytime soon. Endeavor Content, owner of UFC and IMG, purchased the film and television rights to Fire and Fury, and Michael Wolff has already been named as executive producer of the enterprise. If readers do not have the time to read the book,
perhaps they will see the whole story on television.
ANDREW DERMONT VIA WIKIMEDIA
Author Michael Wolff in a 2008 photo.
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The Index - Arts
March 2018
Charlie Baker ’20 explore
Fourth Former Charlie Baker traveled with trip to Iceland that took them around the strang nable scenery. The group of around 20 split up into two sec tions, looking into climate change effects on the which included Baker, learned from National Ge tures of the landscape and natural life. Nat Geo photographers are world-renowned them is a game-changer for aspiring photograp with much influence from his father, Baker learn a Sony Mirrorless camera to take the pictures, ex and exposure. Baker saw some spectacular geological featu moving green, grassy fields. He also was able to g Baker brought back both camera skill and i on Iceland, but most importantly, Baker brought
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es the beauty of Iceland
his family on a National Geographic Expedition ge, beautiful country and showed them unimagi-
ctions. One went to do more scientific observae Icelandic glaciers. The other half of the group, eographic photographers how to take quality pic-
d for being some of the best, so learning from pher. Having little camera experience prior, but ned a great deal from the professionals. He used xperimenting with different lenses, zoom levels,
ures like the basalt columns and the seemingly get up close with animals like horses and ducks. information about the effects of climate change t back pictures of incredible drama and beauty.
The Index - Arts
March 2018
PHOTOS BY CHARLIE BAKER ’20
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The Index - Politics
March 2018
School reacts to Trump’s first State of the Union DAVID MCKAY ’18 For Republicans, President Trump’s first State of the Union address on January 30th delivered a sigh of relief. President Trump stayed on topic, maintained a conservative message, and called for unity among both parties. Democrats, however, were less than enthused. Many ranking Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives called the President’s remarks “divisive and offensive.” President Trump’s address focused on five key issues: seeking an immigration deal in Congress, the strong economy during his first year in office, pushing for a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, “fair and reciprocal trade” with other nations, and rebuilding the military. Reactions to his address varied greatly. Mr. Peter Arthmire, physics and chemistry teacher, said, “I turned on the speech and fell asleep after five minutes. The emotional IQ of our country is being lowered. Everything is so negative. Kids in the same class are talking and arguing with one another and the rest of the class joins in, and it turns into [a] ruckus.” Even with the inability of both political parties to put aside partisan politics on issues from immigration to tax reform to healthcare, President Trump called for unity. “Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people,” said President Trump to thunderous applause from Republicans, while Democratic leaders, who have repeatedly criticized President Trump for his policies and messaging, sat in their seats. One controversial topic that divides the country and Washington is immigration. Trump, and to a certain extent Republicans, favor increased border security, the end to the diversity visa lottery and family reunification, which some Republicans call “chain migration.” They also favor a form of funding for a wall on the United States - Mexico border. Democrats, on the other hand, favor a more re-
President Trump addresses the nation at the 2018 State of the Union.
ing the laws that exist.” While Trump’s address helped solidify the support of his base and offered a more positive outlook for independents, his address did little to move the needle with Democrats. History Department Chair Hannah Turlish did not watch the address but read articles by reputable authors on both sides of the political aisle to help summarize how she felt. “I am alarmed. I know I am a dramatic person, but sometimes I wonder why the heck I had a child to have to suffer through all this,” Ms. Turlish said. “I think that we are at risk of nuclear war with North Korea. I feel we are at risk of horrible economic policies in terms of tariffs against Chinese products that sound good, but my understanding of free-trade economics is that [tariffs] would be a really bad idea. I feel as a women and
champion of rights for all minority groups that we are in a very sad time. The hope I have is that like-minded people like me are very energized right now; [I am] more energized than in my entire lifetime.” Republicans will have to battle against a Democratic base that is electrified in opposition against President Trump and his policies in the upcoming 2018 Midterm Elections. Tensions are high in the current political climate, which even Haverford’s tight-knit community is not immune to. Even though the country and the school is clouded by political division, Mr. Patrylak believes that the future of America is still bright. “I am always optimistic about the direction of our country,” Mr. Patrylak said. “Americans are resilient. I think by nature we’re good.”
time non-Honor Council students were informed of the code change. Third Former Michael King said, “ I don’t know how it would be changed, but I think it’s not very specific right now… if they were making more of a change, maybe more [clarification of ] exactly what it is.” King did not only want more clarification in the wording of the code, but also the display. King said, “I haven’t really seen the honor code except on teacher’s doors and stuff, but most kids don’t stop to read those.”
King is not alone in his trouble digesting the code. Other students in Wilson Hall have cited unease in what to expect from the new code and a lack of knowledge of the Honor Council’s agenda. Sixth Former Michael Pilkington said, “I would say there is a certain secrecy to the Honor Council.” But Pilkington is still optimistic about the prospect of a new code, hoping it addresses the most common problems, like “Dishonesty in the classroom, in terms of like cheating or plagiarism,” Pilkington said.
Though students are unsure why the change is needed and what the impetus for the change was, it will still require a two-thirds vote by the entire Upper School to be ratified. The Honor Council aims to address the small budding problems coming with changing times. Sixth Form Honor Council Member Matthew Baumholtz said, “You can never know if it’s time for a change until it’s too late; like you can be like ‘oh, wow, I wished we changed then.’ Fifteen years seems like enough time.”
any given moment in time? Whether it be the establishment of a new senior lounge or limiting the library’s capacity, the school is working hard to restore the name of Severinghaus library. “I think we really need to find a balance where everyone gets what they want to get out of the
library,” Librarian and Archivist Ms. Meghan Yeaton said. “[Libraries] are not meant to be silent, they are meant to be a place where you can work and where you can speak but there do need to be restrictions.”
New Honor Code, cont. Mr. Hart, new this year, brought a fresh vision of honor codes coming from St. Paul’s, an independent boarding school in Maryland. Mr. Hart seeks to build a strong culture and hopes to find young students “buying into it.” Describing the change, Mr. Hart said, “The [new] code itself is a little more of an aspirational statement.” Upper School students are unsure what to expect from a code change. Given the Honor Council’s discreet meetings, the topic is not common knowledge. This announcement was the first
PHOTO BY SHEALAH CRAIGHEAD VIA WIKIMEIDIA
laxed approach, demanding protection for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and little to no funding for a border wall. Math teacher Mr. Steven Patrylak, who immigrated from Ukraine, agrees with some of President Trump’s proposed immigration reforms. “Immigration is near and dear to my heart,” Mr. Patrylak said. “I think what he proposed is not a bad start, and I think it is just cynical on the part of some people to say that what he is doing is promoting ‘Let’s Make America White Again,’” a comment made by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) in response to President Trump’s immigration proposal. “We need to secure our borders. But I don’t think a wall is the way to do it. We have walls now that are ineffective. We need more policing of the borders, and we need, frankly, people to start enforc-
Conflict in Severinghaus, cont. “I never check out books from the library because I can usually get a PDF online,” Ciardi said. “The only time I actually check out a book is if a teacher makes me for a project. I mainly use the librarians for help with online research and quick
questions.” In the coming months, the administration and librarians will collaborate and try to reestablish the purpose of the library. The question they are asking themselves is: how can they prevent a large group of students from occupying the library at
Sixth Formers relax before a rigorous day of school.
HARRISON FELLHEIMER ’18
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The Index - Sports
March 2018
Diamond Fords hungry, despite crowded Inter-Ac table RYAN LAROCCA ’20
Last spring, the Haverford School baseball team finished with an overall record of 19-14. After losing many key Sixth Formers last year, this year’s team plans to make an underdog run for the Inter-Ac title. Sixth Formers Justin Meyer, Tommy Bagnell, Nick Holtz, Grady Nance, Mike Schlarbaum, and Isaiah Winikur will all have an impact leading this year’s team, either from the mound, the field, or the bench. The team also returns many key Fifth Formers who will assist the seniors in leading the team. Through the leadership, guidance, and example-setting of these upperclassmen, some of the team’s younger players need to contribute. Fourth Former and returning Varsity player Pat
Toal said,“Being an underclassman can get tough at times, especially for a freshman, but with the brotherhood we have on this team it gets easier and easier every day.” Through both the returning stars and aspiring underclassmen, Fords Baseball sets high expectations for the 2018 season. “It’s really important to be vocal, especially for the younger guys with less experience,” Sixth Form Co-Captain Justin Meyer said. “Baseball is a game with a lot of failure, so we have to make sure the younger guys feel comfortable on the field. I feel that our seniors bring a great vibe and energy to practice, which will hopefully lead us to a great season. In previous years there has been
Joe Bonnini ‘19 fielding a ball at third base.
Isaiah Winikur ‘18 sending eyes skyward against Malvern last year.
MR. JIM ROESE
some tension here, but this year feels completely different. Coaches are feeling good and so am I.” Although the team certainly does not lack talent, another strong Inter-Ac league could be difficult for the Fords. Penn Charter, Malvern Prep, and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy will all have a swing at the Inter-Ac Championship this year. Although reigning Inter-Ac champions Penn Charter graduated multiple star seniors, they will still come back hungry to retain the top spot. 2016 co-champions Malvern and SCHA will seek to avenge their loss last year and bring home the 2018 trophy. Recognizing the high level of Inter-Ac competition, the Fords need to put forth hard work and focus on improving as individuals. Toal said, “Hitting and our chemistry as a team will dictate whether we win games this year.”
Rowers develop technique ahead of races RYAN LAROCCA ’20 The Haverford crew team is excited to start its spring season after a long winter of strenuous training. The team is coming off one of the best Head of the Schuylkill Regattas in the school’s history, with several boats winning a medal. Last spring, the team sent their JV quad and Varsity eight to Nationals. The JV quad placed fourth overall, and the Varsity eight advanced to the Henley Royal Regatta in England. This year, Head Coach Jon Stephanik plans to have a Varsity quad, a Varsity four, and several JV boats. Returning this season are Sixth Formers Tim Scheuritzel, Jack Costello, and David McKay; and Fifth Formers Thomas Russell, Jeff Pend-
ergast, and Aidan Leavy — all looking to make a difference in their boats. Although the upperclassmen will play key roles in the Varsity boats, the team expects big improvements from the JV and freshman/novice rowers. Co-Captain McKay said, “For the first time since I joined the crew team freshman year, underclassmen far outnumber upperclassmen. One of my expectations is the hope that some underclassmen will step up and help contribute to the Freshman, JV, and Varsity boats.” The team will compete in the Manny Flick series of regattas in Philadelphia before entering the
Philadelphia City Championships. Afterwards, a select few boats will progress to the Stotesbury Regatta and hopefully Nationals. Coach Stephanik and the assistant coaches emphasize good technique both on the erg and in the boat, especially in the underclassmen years. “I hope that the younger guys on the team take advantage of every practice we have,” McKay said.” We may not be the most physically strong or as large as our competitors, but we always compete with our technique, which can only be built by taking the technical corrections our coaches give us.”
Coach Jon Stephanik working with last year’s Varsity Eight on the Schuylkill.
MR. JIM ROESE
MR. JIM ROESE
“Our goal this year is to bring home an Inter-Ac title and a state championship,” Meyer said, “but we will need everyone to bring their full effort every pitch.” -Justin Meyer ’18 With a focus on self and team improvement, the Fords hope to win their first Inter-Ac title since 2010. The Fords play their first game against Unionville High School on March 10, and their first Inter-Ac game against SCHA on April 10. “Our goal this year is to bring home an InterAc title and a state championship,” Meyer said, “but we will need everyone to bring their full effort every pitch.”
The Index congratulates Fords Basketball on its Inter-Ac title!
MR. JIM ROESE
Kharon Randolph ’18 vs. Penn Charter.
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The Index - Sports
March 2018
can help them reach these lofty goals. The team has been completing exhausting conditioning workouts in order get in shape for the season, sometimes even practicing twice a day. “We plan on reaching these goals by starting practice early and training more than we ever have,” Potter said. “We are starting night practices and trying to double the training to get in shape and ready for the season.”
The team’s key event this season is Nationals. The event is held in Newport Beach, California, and it features the best high school tennis teams in the country. This is the team’s second time competing in the event in the last three years. “The competition we will face is unlike many of us have ever seen or played against,” Potter said.
Netmen hope to continue dynasty MATT LAROCCA ’18 They may not receive the attention they deserve, but the Haverford School Tennis team is a dynasty. The team has won eight consecutive Inter-Ac championships, including a sweep of the league last season, and they have no intention of slowing down anytime soon. The Fords return key upperclassmen such as Sixth Formers John Walsh, Grayson Potter, Michael Pilkington, Emilio Fink, and Julius Golz. Along with them,
Fourth Formers Sunny Yu and Cole Wolf also look to make major contributions. With the amount of talent they bring back, the Fords have high expectations for the season. Sixth Former Grayson Potter said, “The goal for this season is to go to Nationals and place highly in it. We also want to keep our undefeated record and win our ninth Inter-Ac in a row.” The Fords believe that hard work and dedication
MR. JIM ROESE
Neetish Sherma ‘19 in action last year.
Runners toe the line
Low viewership for Olympics
Fords Spring Track is ready to kick off its 2018 season and is excited to see what lies ahead. The team expects to put their faith in the hands of both talented newcomers and experienced veterans. This year, for both short and long distance events, Third Former A.J. Sanford will play a big role for the Fords. Although he is coming off an injury from the winter season, Sanford will be a leading runner for the team after a successful first Cross Country season. With positive energy for the season ahead, everyone is wondering if Sixth Former and track star Sam Lindner will again run with the Fords this season. One of the top hurdlers for the Fords, Lindner has come up big for the team, but unfortunately this past winter track season, Lindner suffered an injury that he has not yet overcome. Whether or not Linder recovers will certainly
Every two years, countries unite to cheer on the world’s best athletes. Americans are accustomed to cheering against each other when watching our favorite and hometown sports teams compete. But the Olympic Games differ from all other competitions: Americans do not root against each other, but rather with each other. In addition to national and international unity, the Winter Olympics provide a chance to watch unique sports competed strictly on snow and ice. The 2018 Olympics were hosted in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Following the excitement was much controversy. The unity of North and South Korea and the suspension of the Russian team brought a political edge. The DMZ border divides North and South Korea, but this year the two countries competed for gold as one. Although the Olympic Games do not directly correlate with political feuds and tensions, some hope that the Korean athletic unification will lead to a more diplomatic relationship. Another hot topic has been the ban of Russia’s teams and affiliates. Russian leaders were found doping or planning to use performance enhancing drugs against the rules of the International Olympic Committee. Their punishment was suspension from this year’s Games. Not all Russian athletes were banned: the ones who played individual sports and who were not affiliated with the case competed under the Olympic flag, representing themselves rather than their country. Highlights of the 2018 Games included the gold medal captured by seventeen-year old Red Gerard. Gerard and two other snowboarders brought home a gold for their sport. Although Team USA has been one of the stronger teams this year, fans channeled their usual Olympic energy and excitement towards the NFL playoffs. Third Former Chase Cohen said, “The playoffs were much more exciting than the Olympics because football is a huge sport in America and the sports in the Olympics are not as popular to us.” A Facebook poll of a few hundred students found that the majority of students agreed with Cohen. They have yet to watch the Olympics or have only watched it once. For a multi-week and worldwide event, the number of viewers among high school students continues to be astonishingly low. With the Olympics at a close, USA finished
NICK PIPPIS ‘19
TYLER ZIMMER ’21
have an effect on the hurdle events. Despite any looming injuries, success remains on the horizon. The distance and sprint squads are shaping up strongly. Sixth Former Will Merhige, holder of the school’s 3k record, will lead the distance squad. Fifth Former Khalil Bland and Sixth Former Mark Gregory hope to fulfill their huge potentials. On the other end of the team, key sprinters like Fifth Former Dan Whaley and Third Former Daiyaan Hawkins will be the front-runners in the sprint squad. “I am very excited and optimistic about the team’s potential in this year’s upcoming,” Fourth Form distance runner Vincent Scauzzo said. “I am happy to be running with the squad for yet another season, and I really look forward to all the fun memories that lie ahead.”
Kwaku Adubofor ‘20 throwing vs. SCHA last year
MR. JIM ROESE
fourth place in total medal and gold medal count. The performance of our athletes didn’t quite live up the 28 medals and second-place finish in the 2014 Games, but 2020 will be here soon enough.
2018 Pyeongchang Gold Medal
KOREA.NET VIA WIKIMEDIA
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Fords relish Super Bowl win
The Index - Sports
March 2018
RYAN LAROCCA ’20 With eight seconds left on the game clock, “The Goat” drops back and launches the ball downfield to his star tight end, Rob Gronkowski. But a flock of Eagles swarm Gronk and slam the ball down. That’s it: Nick Foles led the Eagles to a victory in Super Bowl LII, their first in franchise history. Picture yourself six months ago and someone presents you this scenario. Eagles fan or not, you probably would have laughed and thought, “How could a team that was 7-9 last year, that signed multiple free agents last offseason produce such an astounding season?” You also would have wondered, “How could the man who was excellent for the Eagles, but was traded for Sam Bradford in 2015, win a Super Bowl for them after signing in free agency this past offseason?” And then that same person tells you, “And they’re going to do it without Jordan Hicks, Darren Sproles, Jason Peters, and Carson Wentz.” At this point, this seems to be the most outlandish prediction and unlikely in professional sports history. But it happened in 2018, folks, and right here in Philadelphia. This Super Bowl victory continues to affect the Philadelphia and Haverford community through an injection of unity and brotherly love. For the first time in over a decade, the Eagles are one of the best teams in the NFL. Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson said, “Get used to this. This is the new norm in Philadelphia.” As fans swarmed Broad Street on the day of the parade, happiness filled the faces of fans from all socioeconomic classes and ethnic groups. The city of Philadelphia was together. The day after the Super Bowl victory, Haverford students greeted each other with joy and pride. They now live in a city of champions.
Laxmen prepare team P.J. RODDEN ‘18
Sabol Field is looking more vibrant — the
PHOTO COURTESY OF MR. SEAN HANSEN
spring season is just around the corner. During the weeks leading up to the start of their season, lacrosse players scatter around the field, each taking turns at a shot at an open net, practicing, and anticipating the season ahead of them. After graduating many key players from last year, the team looks to emulate the success of years’ past. The fall and winter off-seasons allowed the players to focus on their weaknesses, so that they would return stronger, faster, and smarter on the field. By having a strong Fifth and Sixth Form presence, the upperclassmen will carry the program. Taking the positives from last year, the Fords will look for similar success by aiming to clinch the Inter-Ac for the fourth time, as well as defeating some of the top teams in the country.
With schedule similar to last year’s, the Fords have proven that they can compete with the nation’s top high-school lacrosse programs. “We play a really hard schedule this year, with some of the best teams in the country like Culver Academy, McDonough School, and Landon School,” said Fifth Former Gavin Burke. “Playing those big games will end up helping us prepare for the rest of the season.” In preparation for these highly anticipated matchups, the Fords are aware of the level of preparation in order to achieve success. The month of March forecasts some formidable opponents that will set the tone for the team’s season. The Fords will gear up to take on The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland for their season
Mac Costin ‘19 makes his move against Culver in last year’s Inter-Ac invitational.
opener, as well as the clash against McDonough School, Culver Academy, Landon School and Gilman School later in the month. “Our team goal every year is to be undefeated no matter how hard our schedule is,” said Sixth Former T.J. Malone. “We hold ourselves to a high standard to be the best we can be. To prepare for the country’s top teams we first need to focus on ourselves to make sure we are clicking, then we study the other team and watch film. Our coaches make a big deal to not worry about the other team but instead worry about ourselves. Then everything should fall into place if we do that.”
MR. JIM ROESE
Page 18
The Index - Sports
NBA All-Star Game changes
March 2018
JOESEPH D’IGNAZIO ‘18
All-Star games in professional sports feature the most talented players in the world on the same stage, yet some fans find these games unwatchable. In 2017, the NBA All-Star game lacked competitiveness: sport founder James Naismith cringed in his grave. The game featured a historic record of total points, 274 combined. The MVP of the game, Anthony Davis, scored 52 points, of which 28 came courtesy of uncontested dunks. NBA Players Association President Chris Paul insisted to league commissioner Adam Silver that the All-Star game format “must be changed.” Silver agreed to implement changes, and basketball fans worldwide reaped the benefits this year. In prior years, two teams with 12 players represented their respective conference (East and
NBA All-Star Game 2010 at Cowboys Stadium.
West). The starting five players from each team were selected by a fan vote, with the remaining spots filled out by a coaches’ vote. This year, NBA executives faced a new challenge: how can the league motivate talented players to compete (and even risk injury) during a game that means nothing for the playoff race? It would be no easy challenge. This year’s game removed the East and West restriction. In its place was a draft where the two highest players via fan vote, Lebron James and Stephen Curry, hand-picked the top 24 players. The format cultivated great story lines. Old teammates that departed on a negative note played together once again. For example, Kyrie Irving left the Cleveland Cavaliers organization
Dishing out disc dominance SAMUEL TURNER ‘18 A frisbee cuts through the air. It soars across the field and, gaining traction, slows. One man jumps above the rest, and the disc melts into his hands. He brings it down and flashes a smile. The Ultimate Frisbee team is back, and they are hungry. As the season starts, the team focuses on fitness and endurance. This often involves multimile runs at Haverford College before drilling on the turf field under the instruction of Mr. Greg Ressler. Mr. Ressler handles the on-field coaching, teaching players tactics and training. Meanwhile, Dr. Andrew Fenton serves as the head coach, organizing the team and ensuring that games, leagues, and tournaments run smoothly. Alongside the two is Mr. Sam Walters, who balances both of their specialties. The trio
plan to lead their Ultimate Frisbee team back to victory. Placing third in Cities Tournament last year, the team looks to return to the dominance they embodied in 2016. That squad won the Cities Tournament handily, making a strong statement to local teams: that Haverford is here to stay. “We are determined to compete at a higher level, and as a captain of the team, I plan to push my teammates to reach for their best,” said Sixth Form Co-Captain David Aspinall. “Under Coach Ressler, we will continue to build on the previous two years.” Co-Captains David Aspinall and Fifth Former George Maguire have emphasized team unity this year. Such a large team includes a unique diversity of personalities and skill levels that unite for the
PHOTO BY RONDO ESTELLO VIA WIKIMEDIA
without even giving star player Lebron James a heads up in the offseason, but the two shared the court, giving fans a flashback of the duo’s dominance. Another example of old teammates mending tension was Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, playing side by side after an on-court scuffle during a November 23rd game. Even after the game, Westbrook indicated hard feelings when asked about his relationship with Durant: he said, “My only friends are a basketball and my teammates.” In addition to the new draft, changes included a prize received by the winning team: $350,000 to a charity of choice. This aspect likely had the greatest effect on players’ effort. The game’s final score was a competitive 148-145 finish in Team
Lebron’s favor, which featured a final-possession defensive stop by Team Lebron to secure the victory and more importantly, $350,000 for Lebron’s charity, After School All Stars Los Angeles. If the pride of being drafted, donating money to a charity of choice, and reigniting teammate chemistry were not enough, players were paid an additional $100,000 if they won. On the contrary, this stat can be misleading considering the All-Stars, with the sole exception being Sixers center Joel Embiid, all make over $100,000 per regular season contest. Although the draft excited fans, it would have been even more interesting to televise it next year. James and Curry were also in agreement, James tweeted, “Yo @stephencurry30 that was fun! Definitely should have been televised #AllStarDraft.” The game holds particular relevance because the NBA benefited from a change in its All-Star format. All-Star Joel Embiid tweeted after the game, “First All-Star game and it was an amazing experience! #trusttheprocess.” Moving forward, this may pressure other professional leagues to improve their own All-Star games — in particular, America’s Sunday priority, the NFL, and its All-Star event, the Pro Bowl. Zac Jackson from NBC Sports said, “The Pro Bowl drew a 5.0 overnight rating. That’s down from 5.6 last year and significantly down from the 6.7 rating the Pro Bowl got in 2015 when it was on NBC.” To improve the popularity of All-Star games, leagues will have to engage in creative talks that benefit fans, players, and league executives. After all, the competition of the players will reflect their motivation to play in a game that, at the end of the day, means nothing to their championship aspirations.
common cause of victory. “I can see the talent we have on our roster from our past players and new prospects,” Aspinall said. In the beginning of the season, the discmen will face challenges from local teams, but ultimately, their eyes are locked on the number-one spot. “Looking to learn more complex playing styles is one of our biggest goals, as well as being the most conditioned team on the turf, “ said Aspinall. “With that in mind, we hope to regain the top seat in Cities this year.” Sixth Former David Aspinall at a early morning practice on February 26. INDEX STAFF
INDEX STAFF
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The Index - Arts
March 2018
Keep calm and paint on: Artist of the Issue Mike Schlarbaum JONNY SONNENFELD ’20 Sixth Former Michael Schlarbaum explained that when he was a “young’un,” he enjoyed constantly drawing and doodling, especially dragons, in front of the TV and in class. If you were to walk into the art studio and look at Schlarbaum’s magnificent self-portrait (recently awarded a Silver Key from Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership), you would see how far he has come from his little dragon doodles. Like the rest of us, Schlarbaum began his in-school artistic career in mandatory art classes. It was during these classes that Schlarbaum discovered he had a real talent and passion for various forms of visual art. Not until freshman year did he recognize the medium that he truly had a gift for: painting. Schlarbaum describes painting as a sort of “meditation” during which he just lets his “mind slip away.” He explained how painting is his way “to relax for a while and get away from the highoctane stress that this school can be.” He went on to describe how even when not turning a canvas into a work of art, he likes to spend his time in the art room because “not a lot of people come down here, so it’s nice to find a place to be alone.” Schlarbaum is grateful to all his teachers at Haverford, but two teachers in particular stand out, having fostered and fueled his love for the arts. The first is Art Department Chair Mr. Chris Fox, whom Schlarbaum described as having “really [taken] me under his wing when I was a freshman and really helped me get into this and encouraged me to do so.” Secondly, he identified English teacher Mr. Keefe, who encouraged Schlarbaum to contribute to and become involved as an editor in Pegasus. Schlarbaum admires many artists of the Impressionist era including Van Gogh and Renoir, as well as the pre-Impressionist, romantic painter J.M.W. Turner and the more modern Frank Auerbach. Schlarbaum explained that his family has produced artists before in his great-grandmother and his grandmother.
“Crispboys.”
He also described his favorite subject to paint: the human figure. “I like painting the figure because there’s something beautiful about the human body; about the way it’s formed and everything, the layers of it all,” said Schlarbaum. “There is a lot of symmetry to it, and consistency in the way
“Laocoön.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE SCHLARBAUM ’18
it is built. I’ve always found great joy in trying to capture that.” Schlarbaum intends to continue his artistic career after Haverford and has only applied to liberal arts colleges that include significant art programs within their offerings. However, Schlarbaum will
PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE SCHLARBAUM ’18
not attend college right away. Instead, he plans on taking a gap year and spending a few months in Ireland at Cow House Studios, an artist-run farm in Wexford, Ireland run in part by Haverford alumnus Frank Aparisio.
“Self Portrait in Green Room.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE SCHLARBAUM ’18
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The Index - Arts
March 2018
Living and learning League of Legends MICHAEL FENG ‘18 Action, explosions, fighting, and a great backstory: what more could you want from a video game? With millions watching professionals duke it out on the main stage and even more playing the game, League of Legends (LoL) is easily one of the most popular video games in the world. Released in October 2009 by Riot Games, League falls under the category “Multiplayer Online Battle Arena,” or MOBA. In League of Legends, the main objective is to kill the opposing team’s players and destroy their base. Each game begins with five people on each team choosing their champion, a playable character each with different powers, abilities, and backstories. Annie, one of the first champions in League, “is a child mage with immense pyromantic powers,” as stated in the official League of Legends website. She relies on setting her enemies on fire and summoning her teddy bear Tibbers in an enormous fireball to overwhelm her opponents. With over 140 different champions, no game of League is ever the same. The variety gives League its edge over other video games. It begins as soon as the players choose their champions. With certain strategies in mind, only specific champions will fit the position that the team needs. On the surface, League may be all explosions and destruction, but if you look just below the surface, you will find a world of knowledge and strategy. Because of the astonishing diversity, League is a global sensation. At peak game times, three million players battle concurrently. A total of over 106 million viewers watched the 2017 League of
Legends world championships. That’s just above the amount of people who watched the Eagles win the Super Bowl this year at around 103 millions viewers. The game’s popularity is no laughing matter. As shown in the graph (see Fig 1.), the general player base for League has been increasing linearly since 2011, going from a measly 11.3 million to around 119 million in 2017 (10x increase in only six years). With such an enormous player base, League must earn hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, right? Money is just another way that Riot Games has used to get League players into the game. In 2015, League made an astonishing 1.6 billion dollars in revenue, easily the world’s highest grossing game. Despite this, League is free to play. You could spend years playing and never spend a nickel on the game yet still be as good as a professional player. The secret in their massive revenue is in the microtransactions. You can buy all types of accessories and different looks for champions, and none of this has any actual effect on the gameplay itself. Although there is nothing that exceeds the price of ten dollars, with such a large player base, billions of dollars are easily in reach. The slow process of developing new champions and skins may cause some to lose interest. But, Riot Games prides itself on keeping the players up to date with updates and patches. On the official League website, you can see all types of technical activities that developers manage. Anywhere from squashing the hundreds of bugs found every day
A League of Legends Showmatch at Gamescom in 2014
League of Legends Insignia
MARCO VERCH VIA WIKIMEDIA
to that new exciting champion look coming out soon, the devs are sure to keep you up to speed. With their articles filled with tons of concept art and time lapses of drawings, readers stay interested. Throughout its short history, however, players have debated an important question: Should League of Legends be considered a sport? It has already surpassed many sports in terms of viewers and players. League players also spend thousands of hours improving to win the world
MARCO VERCH VIA WIKIMEDIA
championships, so what differentiates a simple video game from an e-sport? In the end, there is no solid evidence to argue for either side, but it’s an interesting discussion. At its current pace, League is set to grow for years into the future. It may be something that everyone knows about soon, something that hundreds of millions of people will watch, like the Olympics. League is, after all, right on their tails.
Fortnite: Battle Royale stuns gaming industry EUSHA HASAN ‘18 Fingertips violently click the keyboard and mouse pad at school and work. Eyes are glued to the TV screen late at night. A new, innovative video game has captivated players and incited a video game revolution. Fortnite: Battle Royale, developed and published by Epic Games, is a brand new sandbox battle royale video game for PC, Mac, Xbox One, and Playstation 4. Released in late September 2017, Fortnite allows players to game solo, in duos, or four-man squads in a grand 100-player Hunger Games-esque brawl, where the last team standing wins a dramatic “Victory Royale.” Players start the game in the Battle Bus, which flies over the whole island. They can parachute down to one of seventeen main locations or suburbs to collect loot, firearms, and potions that assist their journey to defeat enemies and reign victorious. The game encourages creativity and instantaneous problem solving like no other mass-multiplayer shooter game. Unlike PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Rules of Survival, Fortnite features beautiful, cartoonish graphics that mimic popular shooters like Overwatch, allowing the developers’ imaginations to run wild with exciting, never-before-seen innovations. While fighting and hiding from enemies, players can scavenge for materials to build structures from walls, floors, ramps, and pyramids. When players encounter enemies, they can build an elaborate fort to gain a strategic edge over their opponent; they can build ramps to tall mountains to pick off enemies discreetly with a sniper rifle; players can even install accessories like damage traps and launch pads on structures to diversify the potential outcomes of any gunfight. If that is not enough variety, Epic Games incorporates firearms of varying colors — each representing varying weapon qualities — and treasure chests throughout the island, where players can collect some of the best loot over their opponents. The possibilities are endless. Fortnite is one of the first free-to-play games on console. Ditching the classic, unattractive $60
price tag, Fortnite can be downloaded from the internet or online console store for free. How exactly does Epic Games profit? The secret lies in in-game purchases, a revolutionary concept pioneered by free smartphone games like Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga. As players slowly fall in love with the game, Fortnite encourages them to buy specialized costumes, axes, and parachutes to showcase their expertise. By paying many small fees over time, Epic Games establishes a stable customer base that regularly purchases their microtransactions as soon as they come out, yielding greater profits over a longer time. Fortnite has paved the way for future free-to-play console games, which benefit both the
developers and consumers. Epic Games is one of the most responsive developers in console history. Ever since Fortnite’s release, Epic Games has constantly sought community feedback to revamp the game. On Twitter and Reddit, fans give construction criticism; for whichever complaint receives the most attention, the developers design a new update that they transmit to every computer and console. In early February, Epic Games created a “Shooting Test #1,” an experimental server where weapons were rebalanced to eliminate any unfair weapons; Fortnite players then gave feedback on the changes. The Call of Duty franchise is infamous for ignoring player
A Fortnite competition at Berlin’s Gamescom in August 2017.
feedback, creating animosity between the community and developers. Epic Games’s refreshing acceptance of criticism attracts players from such hugely popular franchises, allowing Fortnite to prevail over its competition in just a few short months. Fortnite: Battle Royale has left an indelible mark on the gaming industry. The developers’ unbridled imaginative power, free-to-play model, and prompt responses to community feedback have made Fortnite one of the most popular games of this decade. By changing every standard in the gaming industry, Fortnite has set its own standard, one that players love and other developers will need to meet to stay competitive in the future.
SERGEY GALYONKIN VIA WIKIMEDIA
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March 2018
Black Panther expands Marvel Universe MYLES SCOTT ’18
of isolationism. This contrasting belief allows Killmonger to shine as one of the MCU’s most dynamic villains because he wants to take action against the oppressors in power, an attribute generally associated with a hero. His tone wavers between serious racial commentary to light-hearted antics while he asserts his dominance over the Wakandans by turning old traditions against them. His arc serves as a reminder that throughout history, the suffering of the less fortunate is preventable with the aid of the privileged. Despite Killmonger’s cliché beliefs, Michael B. Jordan’s charismatic approach to the character allowed for an iconic performance.
T’Challa is not a hero that is black, but instead a hero that identifies with his African heritage. He is not seen embracing his blackness by selling drugs or serving as comic relief, but by remaining royal and respecting tradition. As a fictionalized African nation, Wakanda has never been conquered, meaning it has not succumbed to the aftermath of colonization (i.e., slave trade, raping of natural resources, and marginalization of indigenous peoples). Powerful women are a normality in Wakandan culture: the Dora Milaje is Wakanda’s elite all-female army which fights with vibranium spears, showcasing their athleticism and ferocity. Their general, Okoye (Danai Gurira), may be extremely loyal to her country but is not afraid to question her king or her lover, W’Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya). Shuri (Letitia Wright) is T’Challa’s younger sister, the lead scientist behind Wakanda’s inventions. Wright’s character delivers some of the funniest moments of the film. Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) is T’Challa’s Black Panther poster in Narberth.
Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther improves and expands on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, setting itself apart from previous entries. The protagonist of Black Panther is T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), son of T’Chaka, who becomes king after the death of his father. Unlike traditional Marvel films, this movie is not an origin story of the Black Panther/T’Challa. At the beginning of the movie, the narrator explains that a magical flower grants its user heightened abilities. That’s it. Instead of a heroic individual as the main focus, the focal point is the vibrant Afrofuturist country of Wakanda. The setting’s cultural aesthetics and African history uses the science fiction genre to portray a message of the future of African culture. Unknown to outsiders, Wakanda has the most advanced technology in the world due to a meteorite containing vibranium, the most powerful metal on Earth, crashing there thousands of years ago. The metal allows for the visually outstanding kingdom of Wakanda to be more than a back-
periodic girlfriend. While they have a strong relationship, she believes it is her duty as a spy to help the world with less radical methods than Killmonger’s. Black Panther gained a lot of attention because its portrayal of Africans offers a refreshing take on black characters as opposed to the stereotypes present in most movies. T’Challa is not a hero that is black, but instead a hero that identifies with his African heritage. He is not seen embracing his blackness by selling drugs or serving as comic relief, but by remaining royal and respecting tradition. The hairstyles in the movie are much different, as every character sports natural hair. Since black women in particular often do not showcase their natural hair, this powerful celebration of the style shows how versatile and beautiful black hair can be. Even when the CGI contradicts the human feel of the movie, the strong performances and the powerful themes sustain the movie’s emotional power. For a film with serious topics, the levity in many scenes remains consistent with the movie’s overall direction. During its opening weekend, Black Panther grossed $202 million in the U.S. and Canada. This puts it only behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($247.9), Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($220), Jurassic World ($208.8), and Marvel’s The Avengers ($207.4). It earned $242.1 million over Presidents’ Day weekend (making it the best Presidents’ Day weekend opening), and Fandango reported that no previous superhero film sold as many tickets two weeks ahead of release. Heading into its third weekend, it remains at the top of the box office largely because of the cultural publicity surrounding the film. Not only is the film breaking records, but theaters are packed with fans wearing Wakanda-inspired outfits and face paint. Black Panther is an enjoyable watch for Marvel fans and non-Marvel fans alike, because of its gender and cultural representation. Wakanda Forever!
WILL STAMBAUGH ’27
drop. It is what humanity has believed the future holds for us: spaceships flying above the city, levitating subways, and almost infinite resources. But while the setting is futuristic, the themes of loyalty demonstrated by T’Challa’s role as king are timeless. One of the draws to T’Challa is that he views himself as king before hero. This ideology is vastly different from superheroes in previous films. Similarly to Thor and Wonder Woman, he was prepared for this role his entire life, but Thor and Wonder Woman believed it was their duty to save the people of Earth. T’Challa believes his responsibility is to protect the people of Wakanda alone, because he fears the repercussions of the rest of the world learning of vibranium beneath his kingdom. The antagonist, Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan), is the polar opposite. Killmonger believes the Wakandans’ duty is to wage war on the oppressors around the globe, which contrasts with Wakanda’s traditional philosophy
Black Panther advertisement outside the Narberth theater.
Showtimes for Black Panther occuring every 15 minutes at some points.
INDEX STAFF
PHOTO VIA MOVIEFONE
WILLIAM TUNG VIA WIKIMEDIA
Chadwick Boseman (T’Challa) at 2016 Comic-Con.
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March 2018
Comcast Tower center defies curse of Billy Penn DAVID MCKAY ‘18 his title of the tallest in Philadelphia. Billy Penn’s curse was broken. In 2018, the Comcast Technology Center, set to be the city’s tallest, and the tallest building in the United States outside of New York and Chicago, stands 1,121 feet, more than twice as high as the iconic William Penn statue on City Hall. Even before its grand opening later in the year, the Comcast Technology center has already impacted the city. The same week the new Technology Center exceeded the height of Philly’s former tallest building, the Comcast Center, Carson Wentz tore his ACL, making fans fear for the worst that their Super Bowl ambitions were but a dream. But on Monday, November 27, 2017, “topping out” day of the new Comcast Technology Center, ironworkers once again placed a new William Penn statue atop the building’s highest beam in hopes of warding off the curse. The new Technology center will be the most energy-efficient building in the city. It is set to claim LEED Platinum certification, a rating of eighty or more on environmental performance of a building during construction and use. The building is wrapped in glass, which contains a microscopic layer of silver for extra thermal protection to help maximize natural light. The new building will also house a brand new Four Seasons Hotel, the tallest hotel in the United States. Elegant yet modern, the design deviates from the oversaturation of newly constructed glass-covered skyscrapers with its industrial trusses and braces. The Technology Center is not just another boxy tower but rather makes use of structural setbacks to marry the 21st-century industrial look with nods to the Art Deco styling of the 1920s. This building is reminiscent of other Foster-designed skyscrapers in international cities such as London,
Comcast Technology Center nearing shell completion, January 2017.
Atop Philadelphia City Hall stands William Penn, tall and mighty, looking over the streets of Philadelphia. For decades, a “gentlemen’s agreement” stated that the Philadelphia Art Commission would not approve any building in the city that would rise above the William Penn statue height of 548 feet. Developer Willard Rouse, in the spring of 1984, proposed breaking the city’s “gentleman’s agreement” with One Liberty Place, which would rise up to 945 feet. Anyone suggesting a project over 500 feet would be brought up short by city planner Edmund N. Bacon with the same line: “It’s only a gentleman’s agreement. The question is, are you a gentleman?” In 1987, the ascension of One Liberty Place — the first skyscraper to rise above Billy Penn’s hat — sparked a contentious public debate about the city’s skyline, and by extension, its identity. Throughout the 1980s, Philadelphia majorleague sports teams experienced a decade of success. In 1980, all four teams — the Eagles, Phillies, 76ers, and Flyers — reached the cham-
Service update BO BRADY ’21 Project HOME Tutoring Led by Alex Ciardi, participants in Project HOME Tutoring go down to Rowan House on Friday evenings from 5:30-8:30. We have a large list of students volunteering for this, and we can always add more. Due to several setbacks, this tutoring program has only had a handful of tutoring sessions, so it would be great to get as many students participating in this as possible. Haverford/AIS Dodgeball Tournament The Haverford/Agnes Irwin Dodgeball Tournament will be the Service Board’s largest event of this year, and a date/location will be announced soon. Teams will consist of eight people, and there must be four boys and four girls on each team. The purpose of the tournament is to raise money for access to education in underserved communities, the Service Board’s main focus of the year. All proceeds from this event will go to H20 For Life in Africa and the Barefoot College in India. Peanut Butter & Jelly Club
Sydney, Berlin, and Hong Kong. The lantern light blade, shooting into the sky to top out at 1,121 feet on the western side of the tower, will light up at night to create a skyline focal point. The tower dominates the skyline subtly without overpowering any of the other skyscrapers. The new Technology center will also be home to Comcast’s coders, software developers, and engineers. Comcast is creating their own version of an “urban campus,” deviating from the alternative suburban office campuses of most high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. “If you go to Silicon Valley, you continually hear that they’re busing in a ton of people who want to live in San Francisco,” Liberty Property Trust’s senior Vice President John Gattuso said in an interview with Patrick J. Kiger of Urban Land, a magazine focused on real estate development and land-use industry. “That’s where the technologically skilled talent wants to be, in the cities.” Liberty Property Trust is a $8.5 billion real estate investment trust that develops, acquires, leases, and manages properties such as the Comcast Center and Comcast Technology Center. In a constantly evolving city, this building will have a significant impact. Comcast wanted to make a statement with the design and functionality of the Comcast Innovation Center. They are now meeting that objective: urban campuses work. Technological innovation is not just restricted to the West Coast or New York; it also has potential in Philadelphia and at Comcast, which is revolutionizing the telecommunications industry and the Philadelphia skyline with one single building.
PHOTO VIA WIKIMEDIA
pionship round of their respective leagues. The Phillies went on to win the World Series in 1980; the 76ers won the NBA Finals in 1983. After One Liberty Place opened, Philadelphia’s sports teams began a pattern of failures to win league championships. The Flyers lost the Stanley Cup Finals in both 1987 and 1997; The Phillies lost the 1993 World Series; The 76ers lost the 2001 NBA Finals; The Eagles lost three straight NFC Championship games from the 2001 through 2003 seasons. Many “Negadelphians,” a term coined by the citizens of Philadelphia to describe their pessimistic attitudes, tied this streak of failures to the development of One Liberty Place, which broke the “gentlemen’s agreement.” The Curse of Billy Penn was born. In 2008, the Philadelphia skyline changed, yet again, with the completion of the Comcast Center, standing 974-feet tall. The same year, the Phillies won their second World Series. Many believers of “the curse” accredit this win to the miniature William Penn statue that was constructed to sit on a metal beam on the roof of the Comcast Center. Once again, William Penn reclaimed The Peanut Butter and Jelly Club has had several meetings this year, and it continues in its efforts to get as many attendants as possible. We work with Agnes Irwin to make as many bagged lunches as we can to feed the homeless in Philadelphia. So far this year we’ve donated more than 1,200 bagged lunches to the folks at Project HOME to distribute to people living on city streets. The Peanut Butter and Jelly Club will hold our next event on Sunday, March 11. If you are interested, contact the club’s leaders, Samuel Turner and Matt Tucker, or ask any of the club’s members to add you to the Facebook page. Coming Up Spring is packed with sports service opportunities. Coming up in April will be the Lacrosse “Checking for Cancer,” Baseball’s “Striking Out for Cancer,” Philadelphia’s Broad Street Run, and our Annual Home Run Derby in May. There are environmental workdays every Saturday until the end of the year, and hunger help with Philabundance every week. Stay tuned for more details. There are plenty of other opportunities for students and advisories to volunteer. Check out our Calendar of Volunteer Opportunities on the window of the Service Learning Center and the Haverford website under Service Learning.
A November 2017 photo of the Comcast Technology Center from 18th and Arch Sts.
PHOTO VIA WIKIMEDIA
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The Index - Arts
March 2018
A glance at Oscars best picture nominations MATTHEW SCHWARTZ ’21 As the 90th Academy Awards (March 4th at 6:30pm EST on ABC) draw close, it’s time to take a look at who has the best chances of taking home the night’s biggest prize, Best Picture. SPOILERS AHEAD! Get Out Get Out was one of the surprise hits of the year. First time director Jordan Peele knocked it out of the park with this black comedy satire about white power and race in America. Everything in the movie — from the scene when Chris’s girlfriend, Rose, argues with a cop to prevent showing Chris’s license, to when Rose’s father mentions that the basement is closed off due to black mold — gracefully distracts viewers from the truth, while simultaneously placing it out right in front of them. A horror movie does not receive this much acclaim very often, let alone a Best Picture nomination, but Get Out deserves it all. The comic relief provided by characters such as Rod, Chris’s best friend who works for the TSA, are perfectly timed and not overused, as can happen in many movies. As a whole, it avoided any dull moments, especially since every scene has an underlying meaning, such as when Chris saved himself by plugging his ears with cotton. The irony comes from the fact he was saved by picking cotton. Although this movie has a very slim chance of winning any major awards at the Oscars, it is receiving rightful and deserved recognition. I 100% recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. Lady Bird My absolute favorite movie of the year, Lady Bird, started its Oscar campaign back in September 2017 in its debut at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. Soon after its release, it maintained a record-breaking consistent 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 196 reviews. Lady Bird is the coming-of-age story surrounding Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, a senior at a Catholic School in Sacramento, CA, who dreams of going to a college on the East Coast, much to the dismay of her mother. As the movie winds on, Christine goes through many ups and downs with her mother, relationships, friendships, and discovering what she wants to be, but in the end the stars align and she goes to college in NYC. The onscreen duo of Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan) and her mother (Laurie Metcalf ) provide such great scenes together that the movie could almost run with just the two of them. This movie is reminiscent of Moonlight, which won Best Picture last year. They both capture everyday life and popular struggles. Lady Bird does not sugarcoat anything and is sure to be remembered for a long time. Along with the Best Picture nomination, Lady Bird holds four other nominations, including Best Actress in a Lead Role (Saoirse Ronan), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Laurie Metcalf ), Best Original Screenplay (Greta Gerwig), and finally, Best Achievement in Directing (Greta Gerwig). If she wins, Gerwig would become only the second woman in the 90-year history of the Oscars to win a Best Director award. In the case of a Best Picture win, Lady Bird looks to have a good shot at snagging the main prize but would need to beat out the two frontrunners Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Shape of Water. The Post With a cast and crew combining for over 100 Oscar nominations and close to 25 wins, one could say The Post was made for award season. Tackling topics such as free speech and gender roles in business, The Post’s release could not have come at a more relevant time in the nation’s current political climate. Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) is the first female publisher of a major American newspaper and is thrust into a tough position when she must decide whether or not to release sensitive documents exposing secrets from the Vietnam War named the “Pentagon Papers.” As a standalone movie, The Post does not disappoint, producing entertaining drama and suspense even with the added disadvantage of some viewers already knowing the outcome. When compared to the other movies in the Best Picture category, however, The Post falls a little flat. The problem The Post encounters will be convincing voters it’s not just another historical drama directed by and starring some of Hollywood’s
elite. This may leave voters more susceptible to choosing other movies with additional excitement in their plots such as The Shape of Water and Get Out, which both happen to have a cast and crew that don’t usually receive Oscar love. Call Me by Your Name Much like last year’s Best Picture winner, Call Me by Your Name follows the story of a young man coming to terms with his sexuality when he falls in love with his father’s male student during their summer vacation in Northern Italy. The acting by Timothée Chalamet (Elio) and Armie Hammer (Oliver), who some thought might be too old for such a role, stole the show. They had great chemistry, pulling the viewer in and making them feel included in their secret love. It is an emotional film to watch that neatly captures the beauty of young love, but there were points that left the viewer with more questions than answers. Was this Elio’s first sexual attraction to another man? When we first meet Elio, he is in a relationship with another girl, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think it is his first time, but it just seems out of place. It became apparent as the movie progressed that Elio and Oliver were chummy and relaxed around each other even before they expressed their feelings. As viewers, we were never shown
filmed at Dunkirk, showing the film’s dedication to the truth. Although it would be nice for Nolan to finally get one of those elusive Oscars, with so much press going to The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, and Three Billboards and with The Shape of Water’s Guillermo del Toro winning Best Director at the DGA (an almost spotless prediction for the Oscars) this will most likely not be his year. Darkest Hour The second movie this year about Dunkirk’s evacuation has a lot going for it at the Oscars, including an almost guaranteed Best Actor win for Gary Oldman, who performed phenomenally as Winston Churchill in the early days of his administration during World War II. The timeframe of this movie was unorthodox, starting a little early (before Churchill took office) and ended a bit early (before the event unfolded). Voters tend to usually see through that if a movie has an interesting story, acting, and cinematography -- which Darkest Hour certainly does. One of the most disappointing parts about this movie arrived after the movie itself was over. One of the most profound, important, and tone-changing scenes in the movie never really happened. The scene consisted of Churchill taking a subway through London and connecting with the citizens traveling with him who ex-
A recent Twitter post by the Academy outlined this year’s Best Picture nominees.
that part of their relationship develop as the movie jumped from their first interaction together to playfully splashing each other while swimming alone together in a secluded lake. As for its chances at the Oscars, it was written by former Oscar nominee James Ivory but doesn’t seem to have the necessary wins at previous events such as the Golden Globes or DGA to be a leading contender. Dunkirk After three Oscar Nominations, Dunkirk might be Christopher Nolan’s best chance at finally winning an Oscar. Covering the same battle as Darkest Hour, another Best Picture nominee, Dunkirk recounts the fierce conditions of soldiers during WWII trapped on Dunkirk, a beach in Northern France which was surrounded by German forces. Following three different stories across three different timelines, Dunkirk may be one of the more complicated movies Nolan has made. It isn’t until the end of the movie that we see all of these timelines converge; therefore, the film may require a bit of thought afterwards to fully understand what happened. It is also a bit difficult to follow the individual stories of each soldier as they become more and more covered in dirt, disguising their faces. There wasn’t a lot of inspiration found in the film, leaving the viewer without much impactful feeling afterwards. The technical parts of this movie, however, are incredible. Every part is extremely realistic, using mostly real ships and planes. The movie was even
PHOTO VIA TWITTER
pressed their patriotism and support for his views, giving him the confidence to dismiss negotiating peace talks with the Germans and instead speak to Parliament about the strength with which Britain will fight back. It was the pinnacle of the movie, when both parties finally show their support for Churchill’s views. Manipulating a fake event to support a major mood change of the main character in a historical movie minimized the moment’s importance. Seeing Darkest Hour take home multiple wins at the Oscars wouldn’t be surprising, especially if it can appeal to the many voters who fell in love with The King’s Speech, which won Best Picture and multiple other awards back in 2011. Phantom Thread The most recent of all nine Best Picture nominees, Phantom Thread didn’t capture the wins or nominations to have a fighter’s chance at the top spot. In what has been reported to be Daniel Day-Lewis’s last movie, he goes out on top with a strange and somewhat eerie performance as Mr. Reynolds Woodcock, a renowned British dressmaker whose simple and routine life becomes anything but that when he falls in love with Alma, a strong and independent woman. Day-Lewis’s impressive acting in what is considered a very difficult role is one of the only bearable parts of this film. After starting out rather uneventfully, Phantom Thread quickly reaches an intense peak climax before shooting straight down. The motivations behind each character become more and
more blurred, leaving the ending without much explanation. Requiring multiple viewings to fully comprehend, Phantom Thread is not the film for everyone and certainly leaves the audience befuddled. Along with being a bit underwhelming, the story is slowly developed, weighed down with unnecessary scenes. Phantom Thread faces stiff competition from the eight other films nominated and by the looks of it might not get any wins despite being nominated in six different categories. The Shape of Water The favorite to win Best Picture, The Shape of Water, leads the pack with 13 nominations. The love story between an aquatic monster and a mute janitor captured the hearts of viewers as it continues to win big in categories for directors, producers, and editors at most of the major award shows. The Shape of Water is a beautiful story about what it means to be human and the struggles many people with disabilities face. Sally Hawkins is fantastic as the mute janitor, Elisa Esposito, and even without a voice, conveys all her feelings to the audience and to the creature she falls in love with. Every viewer is persuaded to be empathetic to her cause, even if at some points it seemed overdramatic. The dynamic between Elisa and her neighbor, Giles, is authentic and comedic when necessary, culminating in a perfect duo. Michael Shannon is extremely intimidating as the antagonist, making it even more special when he finally gets his due. There was never a point in this film where it felt unrealistic that the protagonist or antagonist would win, heightening the suspense of every scene. However, The Shape of Water features many sexual scenes that might make viewers uncomfortable. These, at times, felt a little excessive, but in the end they reaffirmed Elisa and the creature’s love for each other. They also make the ending more plausible than it might have been had we not seen that serious affection before. With wins at the PGA and DGA along with a Golden Globe win for Guillermo Del Toro’s directing efforts, The Shape of Water has the inside track to Oscar glory and should only face stiff competition from Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which took home Best Drama at the Golden Globes and wins at the BAFTA and the SAG Awards. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri A dark comedy about a mother’s challenge to the local police after failing to find her daughter’s murder, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is as gripping as it is real. With Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell seeming to have solidified their wins for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor respectively, Three Billboards is poised to have a big night no matter what happens with Best Picture. The motivation behind the characters’ actions is brutally honest, making each of them as relatable as the next. Sam Rockwell’s one-eighty towards the end is very touching and not too outlandish. While many might be turned off by some of the violence or over-the-top action, these cinematography choices fit with how the characters were introduced and what the viewers expect. It was nice to see a film that did not shy away from defying standards. Instead, the movie embraced this attitude, making for an entertaining film that didn’t get carried away in being predictable or down-to-Earth. Everyone brought their A-game to this film, pushing it to become a phenomenal piece of art that will go down as one of the most realistic and heart-wrenching films of the past decade. Towards the beginning of awards season, Three Billboards looked to be the clear frontrunner, but after major wins by The Shape of Water, it appears to have taken a back seat. There is hope, however, as the two previous Best Picture winners were both the second favorites heading into the ceremony. Although Best Picture appears to be a twohorse race, there is still room for upsets and as we saw last year, anything is possible. May the Best Picture win!
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The Index - Arts
March 2018
Students present iconic West Side Story MATT MIGNUCCI ’20
West Side story rehersals.
One of the most iconic musicals in American history, West Side Story, comes to Centennial Hall this March. This modern-day Romeo and Juliet is different from what audience members have seen in the past. With the production’s many complex themes, actors must connect deeply with their characters in order to connect deeply with the audiences. West Side Story plays in Centennial Hall at 7pm on Thursday, March 8 and at 7:30pm on Friday, March 9 and Saturday, March 10.
“Personally, I’m a quiet guy that waits to figure things out before I try and solve a problem, while my character is the exact opposite. Mr. Hengst has really helped me embody somebody who is the polar opposite of my own personality.” -Fourth Former Pearse Glavin
Fourth Former Pearse Glavin, who plays Riff, said, “Personally, I’m a quiet guy that waits to figure things out before I try and solve a problem, while my character is the exact opposite. Mr. Hengst has really helped me embody somebody who is the polar opposite of my own personality.” Fourth Former Ben Hokenson, who plays Diesel, also agrees that this play has challenged him. Hokenson said, “Haverford productions have improved my skills as an actor and performer by allowing me to develop my skills on the stage. Through rehearsals I have gained a lot of confidence when it comes to acting.” With the cast eager to perform this musical, castmates note a significant change in the rehearsal atmosphere. Fifth Former Jackson OvertonClark, who plays Bernardo, said, “There is a different dynamic than past productions I’ve been in. With a lot of the actors and actresses graduating last year, we got a lot of new people. Also, the themes of the play, including racial tensions, made being part of the cast a lot more meaningful.” The themes of the play, recently relevant within
PHOTO COURTESY OF MR. DARREN HENGST
the Haverford community, have affected the cast. They believe it is important to portray all of the themes and ideas for the audience’s benefit. Hokenson feels that this musical has had a meaningful impact on him. “It has been a great honor being a part of the West Side Story production,” Hokenson said. “Especially because the message of the musical is relevant in our lives today. It is a big responsibility to portray a message of equality, but it is great to have the opportunity to do so.” Haverford’s tradition of joining with schools like Agnes Irwin, Baldwin, and Shipley in their spring productions is a great way to diversify and advance the play’s depth. It also gives the actors and actresses an outlet to meet new people. Glavin said, “Working with such a large cast has been incredible. It takes longer to perfect different scenes because of the amount of people, but having so many people around also makes it more fun. It also gives all of us the chance to know people that we would probably never interact with on the field or in school.” Poster for West Side Story.
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Experts question the effects of gun violence in TV and film JON KROUSE ’20 Does gun use in television shows, films, and video games affect the citizens growing up in America? While the leading cause of gun violence in America remains a topic of debate, one thing is for sure: TV is a key contributor. Researchers from the Ohio State University — Kelly Dillon, Ph.D. and Brad Bushman, Ph.D. — have recently conducted studies about gun violence and the cause of this epidemic. Drs. Dillon and Bushman gathered 52 children in a room to watch a film depicting gun violence and another 52 children in a room to watch a
normal film. After both films were displayed, the children were then given many toys to play with, including an unfireable handgun. The children who watched the film with gun violence pulled the trigger of the handgun 2.8 times, while the children who didn’t see gun violence pulled the trigger 0.01 times. In addition, the children who saw the violent movie held the gun for about forty seconds longer than the children who did not watch the film. What do we do about this data? To completely end gun violence in cinema is impossible and im-
practical. There are many movies that require the use of guns and violence to express an event or situation. For example, depicting violence in war movie is a necessity because it illustrates the hardships the military faces to protect this country. Is it a necessity, however, to include guns and violence in other movies? While such movies are extremely entertaining, it does not seem necessary to have guns in a fictional movie that may inspire youths to operate weapons. Still, it would be difficult to limit violent movies that contain guns because of the popularity factor.
Liam James ‘18 rediscovering Pulp Fiction, a prime example of violence in film.
So what else can we do? Limiting gun use in games is also impractical because video games that include gun violence are some of the highest grossing. There is an ongoing debate on the cause of gun violence and ways to end it. More articles are published each day about the problems due to gun violence in television, and the issues needs to be tackled soon. Guns are one of the top leading causes of death and because of the publicity they get from the television, the death count keeps on growing. So what is the next step to reducing gun violence in television?
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