March 2024 Index

The

the index

Students, English & history faculty continue to wrangle with perceptions of bias

During a Q&A seminar with Dr. Julian Zelizer after his February 28th Parker istory Lecture, students asked the Princeton University scholar and professor of History and Public Affairs about politics in and out of the classroom. Many sought his views on bias in educational spaces and teachers sharing personal political opinions.

Dr. Zelizer shared that he tries to keep

his views separate from his teaching, and he declined to share his political identity.

Dr. Zelizer’s visit comes at a time when students and faculty have been actively considering political bias on campus. The upper school’s humanities classes play host to a range of content that sparks sensitive and difficult conversations. From social class, race, gender, and identity to the American Dream, controversial topics play a role in

After triumphant spring musical, Sixth Formers reflect on theater family

On Sunday, March 10, the cast and crew of The Beauty and the Beast prepared for their third and final performance. It was the two o’clock show, which is typically the time for lastminute viewers to file in and catch the musical, hoping to grab one of the empty seats in the last few rows. This time, though, many who showed up at Centennial Hall on Sunday afternoon were turned away at the doors. There was not a single open seat.

Before the weekend of sold-out perfor-

mances came the “open dress rehearsal” on Thursday night, a final practice which is open to audience members for preview.

“That was our first real full runthrough of the show and it went really well, and each night after that everyone just got better,” Sixth Former Render Ford said.

Ford, one of the leads, noted that this spring’s ensemble adopted the annual message of their director, Mr. Darren Hengst.

con’t on p. 15

American and world history and literature, and therefore the school’s humanities departments address them head-on.

Because many students direct their concerns about this content toward the English and history departments’ curricula, this article focuses on those disciplines and not classes like Environmental Science, Policy, and Ethics; Theater; or upper-level language classes, which also focus on controversial po-

litical topics.

Some students feel that the way these topics are worked into the curriculum and the way in which teachers present them are inherently biased.

con’t on p. 3

Sixth Form leaders gather for an open dialogue on academic experiences in the dining hall conference room, March 12, 2024

The Haverford School

Adi Nayak ’24

Ian Rosenzweig ’25, Christopher Schwarting ’24

Ethan

Casey

Ian

Milan

Starting conversations editorial

Most classes in the upper school consist of around fifteen students. We are used to smaller, closer environments for education and interaction, with teachers who seek genuine, personal connections with their students—a luxury that for many of us will disappear as we head into college and beyond.

If recent stories are any indication, though, we are doing little to take advantage of this luxury right now.

It is a rare quality that this school possesses: students and teachers in Wilson Hall can interact as human beings before interacting as their roles. Conversations in class can often delve into personal lives, such as discussion of upcoming extracurricular events in a student’s schedule, or of recent developments in a teacher’ life.

However, this mutual comfort sometimes does not extend to the class’s material itself, especially in potentially controversial political and social topics. This spring, find

the confidence to engage in difficult conversations, with your peers and friends, but also with your teachers. Take advantage of and extract as many lessons as you can from the intimate community that has been created for us.

Few communities are as special as Haverford. After you leave this place, you may never again be blessed with approachable and relatable educators, who are not only interested in you as students, but as people.

Liam

Charlie

Quinn

Pierce

Riyadh

Luca

Sean

Sam

Letter from the student body president

You cannot allow for beliefs and words to be suppressed. If you do, by definition you are enslaved. You no longer can challenge power by speaking truth to it in today’s day and age. That’s not good enough—one must awaken and empower the people through action. If you have an opinion, speak it. Speak. Your. Truths.

Be proud of them, embrace them, own them.

Left vs. Right at Haverford is nonsense, we are better than that. We must create a culture where all experiences and viewpoints are welcomed and everyone feels comfortable expressing their opinions. Divided people can be ruled, but unified and strong populations do not stand for being taken advantage of. Our political opinions do not need to be the same to be unified. Also, critiquing aspects or departments in our community does not mean we are not unified. In fact, the willingness to critique shows unity. Do not let your voice go unheard, speak your truths, and be proud of who you are.

Godspeed.

2023-24 Editors-in-Chief (left to right, Adiyan Nayak ’24, Ethan Lee ’24, and Christopher Schwarting ’24)

Asa Winikur ’24

PIERCE LAVERAN ’24

perceptions of bias, cont.

Haverford teachers employ many different styles when discussing politics in the classroom. Some teachers outwardly disclose their views, while others facilitate discussions without taking a side. Some teachers always play the devil’s advocate, while others present arguments on all sides of a debate.

Student perspectives vary on the most appropriate pedagogical approach.

Sixth Former Daniel Kaiser said that it is “rarely necessary” for a teacher to disclose their opinion. “If the student can’t tell [the teacher’s opinion], then the teacher is doing a good job,” he said.

Kaiser also thinks that acknowledging many sides of an argument is important. He believes that a teacher should present views

of both sides, their own or not.

Fifth Former Noah Kanfesky feels that as long as both sides are presented, a teacher can profess their own views as well.

“I think it’s okay for a teacher to voice their opinion as long as you give another side to it.”

NOAH KANEFSKY ’25

lieves that while teachers should feel free to disclose their opinions, it’s a touchy subject. Because it’s “hard for a teacher to disconnect,” Bartholdson feels that teachers can share their opinions as long as they acknowledge that it’s just an opinion. “Students must feel that they are able to disagree,” Bartholdson said.

Not all students believe the issue is so nuanced. Sixth Former Chase Nelson believes teachers should not refrain from disclosing political beliefs openly.

“I think it’s okay for a teacher to voice their opinion as long as you give another side to it,” Kanefsky said. “One example of that not being the case at Haverford was last year during the Parker Lecture. [Dr. Elizabeth Hinton] pointed out a real problem, but she only pointed out her solution… That to me stood out as wrong. I think it’s okay if you voice your opinion because you have to debate issues and solutions, but I think that it’s wrong to pose only one solution.”

Dr. Hinton, professor of History, African American Studies, and Law at Yale University presented historical work detailing police brutality and reform in her lecture, “Riot or Rebellion: The Meaning of Violent Protest from the 1960s to George Floyd.” Built from research for her book America on Fire, she shared “controversial notions regarding rioting in the United States.”

Other students are more comfortable with teachers’ beliefs entering their classes.

Fifth Former Michael Bartholdson be-

Students compete at the Montgomery Country Oral Proficiency Contest

Every February, several language students participate in the Montgomery County Oral Proficiency Contest—a competition to test students’ speaking skills in a foreign language from county schools.

This year, Haverford sent the following students: Chinese I was represented by Adam Brown and Daniel Khan, Chinese II by Hugh Williams and Thomas Lentz, Chinese III by Robert Goens and Martin Okonkwo, Spanish I by Alex Scharf, Spanish II by Mac Brenan, Spanish III by Ryan Shams, and lastly, Spanish V was represented by Tate Conklin. Unfortunately, no representative from Spanish IV attended due to registration issues.

This competition takes extensive planning to put into action.

“All teachers nominated at least two students from every [language] class to participate in interviews here on campus, and then the teachers divided up to interview students who were ‘trying out,’” Language Chair Mr. Andrew Poolman said. “Then the school sent one representative from each level, aside from Chinese which can send two representatives.”

Fifth Former Robert Goens attended the competition for the second time, this year competing in Chinese. As a Fourth Former he earned a gold medal; this year he won a silver medal.

Goens said, “I think it’s a very eye-open-

ing experience, because I get to meet other people who know the language or are learning the language. I get to meet teachers who can help me practice before these events. It’s really fun. It helps me develop my speaking skills, especially because it’s a speaking competition. There are multiple different rounds, so between rounds you get to practice with teachers.”

Spanish teacher Ms. Brooke Kenna has been involved in the OPC (Oral Proficiency Contest) for several years and has insight and knowledge of the competition’s dynamics,

“It’s really been great to see students from all over Montgomery County be able to come together—not only in the spirit of friendly competition—but also really to show off what they’ve learned in their Spanish, Chinese, French, German, all the language classes across the county.”

Ms. Kenna, who speaks two languages herself, also states that there is a “100% benefit” for the students who compete, despite the fact that the competition lasts for only a few hours.

“For me personally, it’s been nice to see our guys do well, which sort of re-affirms the commitment to the language department here at Haverford,” Ms. Kenna said.

Mr. Poolman said, “I think the OPC is a good opportunity as an external benchmark to show where Haverford stands compared to other schools. We have tests like the national Spanish exam and Latin exam, so this

“I don’t see anything wrong with a teacher sharing their political beliefs [so long as] they are not directly harming a student.”

NOAH KANEFSKY ’25

“I don’t see anything wrong with a teacher sharing their political belief, [so long as] they are not directly harming a student because of said beliefs,” Nelson said. “The presence of a teacher’s opinion… is important: it’s the only way for a class to really have a good discussion.”

Upper school faculty present material through varied methods with varied goals.

History Department Chair and Honors United States History teacher Ms. Hannah Turlish, who is open about her political identity, recognizes some teachers and students

prefer teachers’ opinions to be left out of the classroom.

She noted that she admires the approaches of teachers like Dr. Zelizer, but she also defends her style. “I very much appreciated when [Dr. Zelizer] said that [removing your opinions] is very hard to do, and it’s also not the only way to do it responsibly and well,” Ms. Turlish said. “He wasn’t just saying, ‘This is the way it should be done.’”

Ms. Turlish finds that it is unnatural for her to hide her views, but she also acknowledges that there are some situations in which teachers may be required to “sound political.”

con’t. p. 4

gives us an idea of where we are compared to others.”

“As far as learning the language and putting it to real use, I think the best opportunity for students is the global studies program. Studying abroad and immersing yourself in a foreign family—like Guatemala, Taiwan, or Italy—gives students the ultimate opportunity for language learning. Making [language learning] a competition is a nice, fun way to go about it, but I feel like true language learning happens when you’re immersed and forced to use [the language],” said Mr. Poolman.

Goens echoes that sentiment.

“I think we should offer more events specifically like the OPC,” Goens said. “I do think our [language] program is doing very well right now.”

Apart from solely learning a second language and knowing how to speak and write effectively, Ms. Kenna pointed out other benefits of language learning.

“I don’t think it’s just the language, it’s the culture and what’s going on in the world [that makes learning a language important],” Ms. Kenna said.

Robert Goens ’25, Thomas Lentz ’27, and Adam Brown ’27 pose at the Montgomery County Oral Proficiency Contest, February 26, 2024

Luca Aloi ’25

perceptions of bias, cont.

“We operate under an assumption that we all are here to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution is a democracy, and if there is a point, which I believe we’re at, where a major political party is not in favor of acknowledging the results of a democratic election and upholding the principles of the Constitution, then yes, I am [going to] sound political,” Ms. Turlish said.

English teacher Dr. Micah Del Rosario does not remove his political perspective from classroom discourse, largely in response to students demanding it.

“When the conversations are about political topics, I present my opinion on those topics,” he said. “I think 99% of the time, the students can already guess what my perspective on the topic is. And part of the reason I do that is because I know that if I didn’t, they would clamor for it anyway. That’s what they want to know, is what I think, so we can get into a conversation about it.”

English teacher Dr. Callie Ward finds that the English classroom invites discomfort and disagreement.

“We’re not teaching you what to think, we’re teaching you how to think, and I do take [that] pedagogy seriously. I want students to be able to practice that,” Dr. Ward said. “I think that learning to be in a room with people who disagree with you in ways that make you uncomfortable is great practice.”

Dr. Ward believes student discourse in her classroom must emphasize proper argumentation.

“I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind. I’m just trying to open the door to thinking critically and examining other perspectives and really being a close reader,” she said. “Can you interpret the text in front of you and interpret the people in the world that you live in, and propose an argument that you can defend with textual evidence and be open to considering other people’s viewpoints without completely shutting down?”

“My goal in class is not to tell you that you have to think about [a certain] topic this way... I want us to create a space where everybody can say what they think without fear of being judged for it.”

DR. MICAH DEL ROSARIO

Dr. Del Rosario seeks to do the same.

“I remind people all the time that my goal in class is not to tell you that you have to

think about this topic this way or this is the correct perspective to take on abortion, on capitalism, on racism, whatever it is. I want us to create a space where everybody can say what they think without fear of being judged for it,” he said.

English teacher Mr. Anthony Pariano guides his English classroom with a distinct goal: to provide plurality in the narrative.

“I guess there is also this matter of whether or not we teach a work in a way where kids are trying to extract a message or a single thesis,” Mr. Pariano said. “It shuts down conversation. That’s not how I approach the teaching of literature. I fundamentally believe that works that are of literary merit don’t have a single point or message.”

Although Dr. Del Rosario feels that students are eager for him to share his opinion, some students feel they must conform to their teacher’s perspective for the sake of their grade when their teachers present strong opinions openly.

“I have tailored essays based on teachers and what they’ve been preaching,” Kanefsky said. “Even if they’re not vocal about it, there are a lot of cases where students feel very uncomfortable putting their own views solely because they think that teachers will disagree with them.”

Mr. Pariano recognizes how bias may

School is to teach kids not to make gross generalizations.”

Many faculty members refute the notion of bias in the classroom. Dr. Del Rosario suggests the term itself is misleading.

“I can see that if [students sense that] there isn’t a balanced perspective on things that the curriculum itself could be a biased one.”

MR. ANTHONY PARIANO

“When I listen to the arguments that students make about what that would mean— to say the curriculum itself is biased—one of the first things I think of people pointing out is that the books we read are constantly teaching us to criticize the country that we live in or capitalism or our country’s history,” Dr. Del Rosario said.

For Dr. Del Rosario, the nature of such curricular inquiry does not purport political biases. The term, in fact, may misguide the

arise as a conclusion among students.

“It does get tricky when you’re dealing with works that have a particular message or thesis. I can see that if [students sense that] there isn’t a balanced perspective on things that the curriculum itself could be a biased one,” Mr. Pariano said.

But Mr. Pariano also finds that the blanketing of individual perception to an entire department is a disservice.

“We’re not teaching you what to think, we’re teaching you how to think.”

DR. CALLIE WARD

“Some students may get the sense that all of their teachers share certain biases that find their way into the shaping of the curriculum, the way the class is directed, [and] what the discussions focus on. I hope that the things that we do at the Haverford

critical intent of course materials.

“I don’t know why we would call it [bias],” he said. “If that’s your complaint, what you want then are books that teach you to love the country. If we were to replace the texts that we have with the kinds of books that give the kinds of messages or storylines that I think people want as the core or antidote to this problem, I don’t know what we would be learning.”

Nelson agrees, citing identity and personal experience as major influences.

“I feel like… students just don’t like the fact that we read books that pertain to different viewpoints that I would probably say the majority of the student body just don’t understand or don’t know about because they pertain to stories that relate to non-cis, nonheterosexual, non-white, non-economically well-off, non-immigrant men,” Nelson said. “These are topics that [much of the] student body doesn’t know.”

Dr. Del Rosario believes this may stem from a desire for confirmation education.

“It seems to me that the whole educational experience at that point is that what you want are books that are going to confirm to you everything you already believed when you showed up in the classroom,” he said.

Mr. Anthony Pariano

PIERCE LAVERAN ’24

Will Kelly ’24 comments in the Short Story seminar

Dr. Micah Del Rosario

PIERCE LAVERAN ’24

Ms. Turlish agrees that providing students with exposure to viewpoints different from their own is a goal of the education that she provides. “This is my last chance to give you a point of view that you [may not] choose to seek out on your own,” she said.

“This is my last chance to give you a point of view that you [may not] choose to seek out on your own.”

MS. HANNAH TURLISH

Some even worry that Haverford students who are not right-leaning are not intellectually challenged by the school’s curriculum.

However, Bartholdson believes that the belief that upper school humanities curricula are biased is a disservice. “I would not say most of the books are extremely liberal, but the way the students read them, they go into it thinking that they’re being indoctrinated, so that doesn’t help with open discussion,” he said. “The reputation that [the English] curriculum has doesn’t help students understand what they’re reading.”

Ms. Turlish also refutes the idea that left-leaning students may be deprived of the

educational value of having their ideas challenged. She provided an example, saying, “I think that [kids who have experienced racial bias] appreciate knowing that a teacher knows that’s true, and so I think I’m more interested in those kids knowing that the curriculum is acknowledging that experience rather than trying to get them to see a deep dive into like why Reaganomics was positive.”

Although some students and many teachers feel that the school’s English and history curricula serve to expose students to new ideas, others find that the singular perspectives provided in some works are offensive and limiting.

Bartholdson said that he has heard that the English curriculum is “the most polarizing.”

“I think that [kids who have experienced racial bias] appreciate knowing that a teacher knows that’s true...”

MS. HANNAH TURLISH

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me, a selection read by English IV and English IV* students, is notorious for its

debatably left-leaning messaging. Coates’ work examines U.S. history and the present through his own lens as a Black male. Among some students’ greatest critiques is his 9/11 passage, when Coates mourns the murder of close friend Prince Jones, mistakenly assumed to be a criminal by the Price George’s County, Maryland police. Despairing, Coates expresses he “could see no difference between the officer who killed Prince Jones and the police who died” in the Twin Tower attack.

Kaiser said that the book “leads people to think that this is the right way to think.” He added that while exposure to Coates’ perspective is educational, “we would never have [a book] so blatantly right-leaning.”

Kaiser’s argument is the core of many students’ complaints about the English and history curricula. Many feel that if one side of an argument is going to be presented, the other must be as well.

But, as Dr. Del Rosario said, presenting minority opinions to the student body is an intentional technique to inspire thought.

And Nelson perceives that students argue conservative opinions in the classroom anyway. In a discussion of August Wilson’s Fences, Nelson recalls that advocating for Troy—a garbage man—as “working equally hard as a financier” created a clear divide in student perception. He thought most of his peers “pushed back” and argued his job was not comparable.

While teachers feel that their techniques are sound, students who perceive distinct biases feel that there is a need for reform.

“I know students have felt uncomfortable going up to [teachers] and asking why they got points off—I think that if someone were to investigate or at least look into some of the grading decisions behind teachers and question them—having that kind of check would be nice and reassuring for students,” Kanefsky said.

“I would not say most of the books are extremely liberal, but the way the students read them, they go into it thinking that they’re being indoctrinated, so that doesn’t help with open discussion.”

MICHAEL BARTHOLDSON ’25

Students also note that they have had teachers who openly lean left, they have not necessarily had the same experiqences with right-leaning teachers. Kanefsky said that he has not had “vocally” conservative teachers, and Bartholdson said that he “probably has had a teacher who leans right, but it’s never been a case where they’ve expressed their opinions” or “injected [opinions] into the curriculum.”

Bartholdson does not know whether or not the lack of conservative viewpoints may be a simple issue of the make-up of the English and history faculties or a larger concern about which teachers feel comfortable presenting their views.

The Index, in seeking community input, found many students unwilling to openly speak about their concerns regarding curricular bias or open dialogue for fear of negative consequences.

The discussion surrounding the school’s political and curricular intersection is not new. In fact, the core of this conversation is ongoing—for instance, The Index reported two years ago on student-teacher disconnects following the January 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Dr. Del Rosario finds as students continue to debate bias, some form of communication must close the gap between students and faculty. He mentioned a “town hall where students sit down with teachers” as well as further encouragement of “student’s right to always ask their teacher about their grade.”

Students in Ms. Smith-Kan’s English seminar, The Art of the Short Story, discuss a piece during class, March 12, 2024

Sixth Form leaders listen in on academic experiences forum in the dining hall conference room, March 12, 2024

CASEY WILLIAMS ’24

Masculinity, social media, and boys leaning right

Often younger generations are associated with more liberal, leftleaning ideologies. However, surveys and research conducted by various universities indicate a subtle yet noticeable gender gap in ideology alignment: young men tend to trend conservative whereas young women tend to trend liberal.

“Generally speaking, my students at this school, all male, have gotten more conservative over the past x number of years,” U.S. History teacher Mr. Timothy Lengel said. “This is part of a longer trend that has been happening. For a long time, there has been a gender gap in U.S. politics, between our Republican party, more conservative and more male generally, and the Democratic party, more liberal and more female generally.”

Still, this shift has only slowly grown apparent to Haverford faculty members.

“Twelve years ago when I got here, it was actually rather shocking, as I came from an all-girls school in Manhattan, I actually had a kid, when I went over some women’s history content, say, ‘Can we now get back to the important stuff?’” History Department Chair Ms. Hannah Turlish said. “So either boys now are keeping that thought to themselves or are now acknowledging women’s history is worth studying. From my standpoint, kids have gotten more open and liberal in my time here.”

Sixth Former Render Ford also noticed a subtle change in the political ideologies of his classmates.

“At least in my English class last year, the majority of my class leaned conservative. I wouldn’t say that this has been obvious, however,” Ford said.

Ford’s sentiments aligned with those of fellow Sixth Former Blake Paul, who echoed the slightly shifting political ideologies among students.

“I am not sure that this is so commercially known,” Paul said. “I come across plenty of left-wing young males and rightwing young females, so I think there is a mix of everything.”

On the other hand, Sixth Former Clayton Green has noted that young men are trending conservative.

“I have definitely noticed this trend,” Green said. “At Haverford [it] stems from young men tending to follow their father’s political views. Most young men are going to agree with their fathers, so if there is a precedent that more men are Republican, it

makes sense that there is going to be a recurring theme that is going to create a divide.”

This growing gap is not a recent shift: studies conducted by the University of Michigan indicate that this has been happening since 2010.

“[The gap] has increased over the last few years for a host of reasons, one of which is that there is an international component of this: this is not just a U.S. thing, it’s happening in a lot of other democracies,” Mr. Lengel said, referencing an article in The Financial Times detailing this change in countries like Germany and South Korea.

Ms. Turlish agreed.

“It does seem sort of worldwide that highly educated industrial countries are going through similar patterns,” Ms. Turlish said. “We are not the only country that has elected someone who has the rhetoric of ‘going back.’”

Green agreed with this idea.

“I think it’s the nostalgia, almost, of the past,” Green said. “Masculine men have been associated with the conservative party, and [masculinity] has unraveled almost. It’s easy to make [conservatism] attractive to young men, saying, ‘We want this back.’”

Mr. Lengel analyzed this idea further.

“There is sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy here. As more men become conservative and join the Republican party, the Republican party becomes more conservative, which drives out women, which makes the party more conservative,” Mr. Lengel said.

Ford further emphasized this idea.

“We can look at the policies that conservatives tend to offer, even something like gun laws,” Ford said, “Handling guns is something that can be associated with masculinity in a lot of spaces, and I can see why some conservative policies and how they carry themselves could cause that shift to happen.”

Building upon Ford’s insights, Ms. Turlish underscored the enduring impact of traditional notions of masculinity on political leanings.

“I’d like to say that this message of ‘what it means to be a man’ is so strong, and we are trying at this school to question and broaden what it means to be a man,” Ms. Turlish said. “However, I still think that we are entrenched in this idea of a man not crying, not backing down, fighter, competitive, and that is something that the Republican party is doing quite well. Young men are being drawn to that message of power and

strength, vanquishing the enemy and keeping the enemies out. I have a son who’s in sixth grade who is completely politically unaware, and I can see how that message could appeal to him.”

Further delving into the dynamics of the recent shift, Ms. Turlish reflected on historical shifts in gender, particularly in academia and the workforce.

“As a history teacher, I am not so old that I remember when only men could apply to Harvard, but I do know that in terms of trends historically as to who gets the jobs, the seats at the top universities, who gets the ‘things,’ used to be a male-only club,” Ms. Turlish said. “And now it’s opening up. The number of slots have not changed, so I can imagine that if you are a group who is historically used to having life work out, and then things get more complicated, you are going to have a reaction. And that is a very human thing, and I totally understand.”

Ms. Turlish further warned of the possible dangers of “wanting to go back.”

“This idea of going back, this idea of MAGA [Make America Great Again], is based on a premise that it used to be better than it is now, when only a certain group got everything,” Ms. Turlish said. “I want to encourage people to understand that the old days are not what we want to go back to, especially in terms of who is losing out.”

Others had different ideas for the origins of the gender gap.

“I’d say that it is marketing of the large political parties,” Paul said. “The left wing has catered to collect votes by young women, which is shown in Biden’s State of the Union speech where a large part of his speech was bashing the Roe v. Wade decision, and that women have voting power as well. Rightwing people have also grasped at young men. An example that comes to mind is the whole Tate brother spectacle, and the whole idea of reclaiming masculinity.”

Green shared a similar sentiment.

“Occasionally, these posts will pop up, and I will look at the comments to get a sense of what other people are thinking about these things, and I see a lot of support agreeing and buying into these videos,” Green said. “Social media has definitely enhanced these patterns.”

Mr. Lengel argues that the recent rise of influencers like Ben Shapiro and Andrew Tate is merely a result of the increasing trend towards conservatism among young men.

“I would suppose that this is more of a symptom than a reason,” Mr. Lengel said. “As the Republican party becomes more conservative, it’s a good time to make money as an influencer catering to conservative men.”

Expanding on the implications of conservative media consumption, Mr. Lengel expressed apprehension about the potential influence of certain voices within the conservative sphere.

“Being conservative is fine. My fear is that the student body is falling into some of the ‘worse’ aspects of conservatism, like Andrew Tate’s content,” Mr. Lengel said. “There are some [conservative voices] you should avoid consuming, just as there are some liberal voices you should be avoiding.”

Paul noted the importance of being aware of the content one consumes.

“What I have noticed that is harmful, in both left and rightwing posts, is the sheer vulnerability young kids have to taking in these ideas and not acknowledging the bigger picture.”

BLAKE PAUL ’24

“The way these parties market to younger generations is through social media, as it’s their main news outlet,” Paul said. “What I have noticed that is harmful, in both left and right-wing posts, is the sheer vulnerability young kids have to taking in these ideas and not acknowledging the bigger picture. I think that is very dangerous.”

Building upon Paul’s concerns regarding information disseminated through social media, Mr. Lengel underscored the imperative for students to cultivate discernment in their consumption of information.

“This is something you need to think about all the time,” Mr. Lengel said. “As a U.S. History teacher and a civics teacher for Government and Politics especially, is to help you get ready to participate as a citizen. What I am concerned with more is learning to disagree respectfully with good data and arguments instead of junk.”

Ethan Lee ’24

The rise of social media alters political education in adolescence

JASON HOWIE VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Parker Lecture evokes mixed responses

Every year, the annual Parker History Lecture sees a distinguished expert come to the school and deliver a lecture about an important era of history. In this year’s lecture in an upper school assembly, author and professor Dr. Julian Zelizer, presented “The Reagan Revolution,” in which he discussed the reorganization of American politics after the presidential election of 1980.

The lecture saw mixed reactions from the student body. Many students found the lecture riveting, while others also found it difficult to connect or engage with.

Fifth Former Mason Wiegand found the lecture to be a mix of both.

“I wasn’t overly interested or bored in the assembly. The topic chosen was something I knew very little about, so diving into

the Reagan administration was pretty interesting,” Wiegand said. “But there were no deep lessons or existential questions given to the audience like last year. I felt informed, but not moved.”

Sixth Former Reilly Pryma has similar mixed feelings about the lecture’s content.

“I wasn’t necessarily bored by it. I’d say he definitely excluded a lot of the nasty aspects of Reagan, like prison labor, the tax cuts for the wealthy in general, how horrible it was for people,” Pryma said. “My general takeaway was that he offered some very interesting takes on Reagan, but I wouldn’t say it was quite complete.”

Some students had trouble connecting with the material.

“I honestly had trouble focusing on the lecture,” Fifth Former Phineas Manogue

Sub-standard furniture undercuts second-floor social hub

Walking through the bustling second-floor “Street” inspires a particular set of thoughts: What work do I need to get done today? What lunch do I have? How did I do on that test?

But often we don’t think about the neglected furniture we walk past. Imagine if you weren’t conditioned to seeing the furniture, though. What does a family walking by on a tour think?

A deeper examination of our secondfloor furniture begs the question: is this up to Haverford’s standards?

Unlike Haverford’s other well-maintained spaces, Wilson Hall’s second-floor furniture stands out to many as dilapidated. The lively and crowded second-floor street is a central element of student life — something students, teachers, and guests are all exposed to. Over the past few years, this important part of our community has fallen into a state of sloppiness.

Two history classrooms directly border the “Street.”

U.S. History teacher Mr. Timothy Lengel said, “Now that you mention it, [the furniture is] seeming to look a little well-loved, shall we say. A little, perhaps, rough around the edges as time goes on… It’s people climbing over the back of the couch to be with

their buddy. Perfectly understandable stuff, but that adds up over several years.”

The school purchased the furniture around eight years ago under the former Upper School Head Mr. Matt Green. Over the years, the slow but steady decay of the furniture has made the current condition more difficult to notice.

“There have been times where [things haven’t] worked for me, and it hasn’t even come to my mind to bring it up to anyone,” Student Body President Asa Winikur said. “It’s just like, ah, here go these tables again… Maybe you’re giving a tour to a family, and you want things to look nice and neat. Definitely, at times, it is not very neat there.”

Currently, outlets have no electricity, swivel tables are falling out of their holders, and wooden framing is falling off couches.

History Teacher Mr. Brian Long said, “I don’t know if it’s realistic to assume that any furniture used by a bunch or a collection of teenage boys is going to survive much more than a couple of years of wear and tear. I think that’s just kind of the expectation. I mean, how many desks are cracked in every classroom? It’s not like kids are not using the desks incorrectly, necessarily… they just wear out quickly.”

One of Haverford’s Principles of Community is to promote citizenship and ad-

said. “For what most of the thing was about, I only remember the ‘Reagan Revolution,’ but I forget what that means.”

Some students found the questions asked more interesting than the lecture itself.

“I think my favorite part of this year was actually the Q&A following the assembly,”

Sixth Former Ryan Brewington said. “One student asked Dr. Zelizer about how Former President Reagan’s mass dismissal of air traffic workers affected Reagan running for his second term, to which Dr. Zelizer told us that his students were also very interested in Reagan’s actions towards airline workers on strike.”

Similarly, Pryma found the lunch session to be the most notable moment of the lecture, as Dr. Zelizer touched on many points Pryma found to be most interesting.

The Q&A offered a more interactive version of the material.

“He did sort of talk about the divisions within both parties and really how unstable they are due to just the fact that parties are sort of artificial constructs, but also the sort of momentum and inertia in such an establishment,” Pryma said. “It’s basically almost like its own mini government. I thought that was definitely sort of an interesting moment.”

Fifth Former Michael Bartholdson wonders if the style of the presentation correlated with the difficulties in student engagement.

“[The lecture style] appeals to a lot of students, but it also disconnects students who zone out,” Bartholdson said. “I think they could experiment with more interactive presentations.”

Pryma agrees.

“I mean, lectures have their place. Do I think it’s the most beneficial form of presentation?” Pryma said. “No. The more audience interaction you have, the more people are going to take away. The more people take away, the more useful it’s going to be.”

Wiegand disagrees.

“I think a lecture style is the best way to conduct a speech like this,” Wiegand said. “Ultimately, the goal of the lecturer is to present information and their interpretation of the information. In giving a lecture, they portray the information better than any other form of presentation.”

Wiegand feels the lecture did what it was supposed to do.

“The presentation came off as a true college lecture that required a level of interest from the audience that many people didn’t have,” Wiegand said. “There were no hot takes or spicy topics. It was just a well-done presentation, and that’s all.”

Brewington agrees.

“I think these lectures provide a view into real-world college lectures, and I think that’s very valuable,” Brewington said. “I’ll definitely be attending lectures similar to these in college.”

vance the greater good for our community, but neglecting our furniture could send a different message to Third Formers entering Wilson Hall.

“I remember when I was in ninth grade, I noticed you could pull this thing right here, the armrest [of the pod], and [students would] throw trash right there,” Fifth Former Riley Hope said. “I remember the leg on one of the couches broke, so no one could sit … The outlets don’t work anymore.”

Not all hope for improvement is lost, though; the administration has plans to address this issue. Earlier this year, the Upper School Head Mr. Mark Fifer and Director of Facilities Mr. Jeff Wilkinson identified the

second-floor “Street” as an area to address during their yearly inspection of Wilson Hall.

Mr. Fifer said, “[It’s] something that’s on our radar for next year … It’s been something that has surfaced in previous years, but I think there have been more people who have noticed the state of [the] furniture this year.”

The decision to replace or refurbish the furniture can be made by the upper school office, depending on cost.

Currently, though, as Reilly Hope noted, “Everything is kinda just falling apart.”

Anthony Valentino ’24

Elliot Lee ’25

Dr. Julian Zelizer speaks in a Q & A session in Ball Auditorium, Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Farewell No. 2 pencil, the digital SAT arrives

Connor Simpkins

’25

The era of No. 2 pencils and fill-inthe-bubble sheets is officially over. This month, thousands of students nationwide sat for the first-ever digital SAT. The digital test format marks the beginning of a new era in college admissions testing, where traditional paper and pencil tests are being phased out in favor of their digital counterparts.

The new digital format is not without controversy, as it differs from the traditional paper test in a few key areas. The biggest change is that the test is now significantly shorter. While the traditional test took over three hours to complete, the digital version clocks in at two hours and fifteen minutes.

The number and style of the questions have also changed. Historically, students were required to answer a total of 154 questions for the test. With the digital SAT, students answer a total of 98 questions.

According to a press release from the College Board, the organization that develops and administers the test, the new format allows for “more time per question, and will feature more texts, topics, and authors that reflect the diversity of our students.”

Another significant change to the test is that it uses multi-stage adaptive testing (MST). This means that for each of the two categories (reading/math) of the test, there are two modules, four modules in total. Students complete the first module and based on their performance, are presented with more or less challenging questions in the second module.

Essentially, the test now “adapts” to each student. This testing approach is controversial.

Fifth Former Alex Dardarian, who took the SAT with the new format on Saturday, March 9, says that the adaptive format adds pressure to the test.

“I knew going in that I had to do really well on the first math and reading modules. There was no room for error,” Dardarian said.

In an era where high school students are under immense pressure and the college admission process is more competitive—and perhaps cutthroat—than at any time in history, the format adds another layer of stress.

The College Board claims that the adapting testing “maintains assessment precision with fewer test questions as compared to the [paper] SAT, allowing for shorter tests that nonetheless retain the reliability of longer ones”.

However, questions about the adaptive model remain. The College Board has not addressed how the new digital SAT can be comparable when students are being given different tests - even when they test on the same day.

Another criticism of the new format

Mock trial is a long-standing and successful academic club at Haverford. The team competes every year under guidance of school coaches and out-of-school advisors, many of whom are real-life lawyers. The ability to compete in real courtrooms, with real judges, under the guidance of actively practicing lawyers makes the mock trial experience more than worthwhile. The skills this unique experience provides helps to form students with a strong argumentative ability and the basic foundation to go into law, if they have an

is the shorter reading passages. Historically SAT reading passages were up to a page in length followed by multiple questions, but that does not work as well on a screen, so, now, passages are a single paragraph with a single question.

Given the change in structure and format, many believed that the new digital format was going to be easier, but according to test takers, the test was very challenging.

In online student forums, several commenters noted that the Bluebook practice tests released by the College Board were far easier than the real test and therefore did not help prepare students. There were also many complaints about the vast difference in challenge level between the first and second modules.

“It was far harder than any of the practice tests,” Fifth Former Alex Krey said.

In addition to the SAT format change, the landscape of standardized testing in college admissions is also evolving.

During the pandemic, most colleges and universities went test-optional, but highly selective schools are now reversing that decision.

Since the beginning of the year Dartmouth, Yale, and Brown have all reverted to requiring standardized testing for admission. The University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, and Cornell remain test-optional, for now.

No matter the format, it appears that standardized testing will continue to be an important part of the college admission process.

Mock trial goes to district quarterfinals

ranged in all levels of experience, from Third Formers to seasoned Sixth Formers. To accommodate this influx of interest, the club split into three teams, each with a defense and a prosecution. Each half of a team is comprised of 6 team members, which are split up into three lawyers and three witnesses. This team structure allowed each team member to embody a unique role and know that role extremely well, setting the team up for success.

This year’s case is one of confusion and intricate relationships, following a dispute between small business owners. One of said business people is murdered, leading to disarray in the town of Wisawe.

In prior years, the team started practices when the case came out, in early November. However, due to the increased amount of interest and a new vision for the season, practice layouts were changed in some ways.

For example, the team opened their season with a “rules of law bootcamp” this year.

Mr. White also commented on the new structure of teams in the club, saying, “it didn’t work out as well as we would’ve wanted it to, but having that many people is cool for the program.”

The team recently qualified for the district semifinals, after a long season of improvement.

“It’s been amazing to see the arc of this season,” said Mr. White. “We didn’t get a chance to scrimmage before the Ben Franklin Invitational tournament, so we went in kind of blind. I think a lot of kids ‘grew up’ over that weekend as they learned about the case and got ideas from other teams.”

Despite amazing improvement, the team was knocked out of the district tournament at the semifinal level, due to many absences by Team One members due to other commitments. To account for this, Team Three members, mostly Third Formers and Fourth Formers, filled in.

interest in that field.

Mock trial is structured in a way that allows students to get a feel for a real-life trial. The jury is comprised of many experienced attorneys, helping students to receive expert feedback on their work.

This year, the team found success in its competitions. There were factors that contributed to this success, as well as factors that created small setbacks along the way. First, the club as a whole saw a peak in its interest level this year, with a record number of around 50 club members. These members

“The idea behind the bootcamp was to build a foundation for team members. Especially for new kids, but also for the veterans,” said mock trial coach Mr. White. “We did this to review things from court etiquette to rules of evidence to how to tell a story.”

Being a new form of practice, Mr. White was able to assess how it affected the team.

“I think it went well in some aspects, we got people talking in front of each other, working on public speaking, and we did go through a lot of the evidence rules that we wanted to,” Mr. White explained. “But it is a work in progress.”

“Individually, a lot of people have made super growth, but as a team, we still have some work to do in terms of polish,” Mr. White said. “Next year, we hope to go even further.”

Looking to the future, Mr. White sees small changes that the coaches could make to position the team even better for success.

“I think we’ll bring tryouts back for team one, to see who’s really committed and dedicated to the team. We’ll also have a lot of rising leadership that can help coach the younger team members and help lead the club,” Mr. White said. “We’ll go far next year.”

The mock trial team poses for a photo at the Montgomery Country Courthouse

OF MILAN VARMA ’25

Milan Varma ’25

Robotics veterans pass on the program’s prestige

Andrew Bradley ’24

Araucous discussion saturates the air as ideas and designs fly around the room like cows from a tornado. This isn’t the Agora, however. It’s the robotics lab on a Tuesday afternoon. A collection of Sixth Formers, Third Formers, and every Form in between tinker and talk about how to make their world-class robots even better.

Here, a small, tight-knit community is quietly flourishing.

In the basement of Wilson Hall, underneath the ELC, lies the robotics lab, which, for the past decade has been sneakily craft-

ing intricate robots and long-lasting connections.

With few opportunities for upperclassmen to meet and talk to underclassmen, the robotics lab creates a unique environment where friendships form across generational divides, maintaining one of the nation’s most competitive programs.

“Absolutely, there’s a very strong sense of community in robotics,” Robotics coach Mr. Will Leech said. “It’s definitely an important part of the school’s wider program.”

Overnight trips to tournaments in West Virginia and the Worcester Polytechnic In-

Student to CEO: Navigating high school entrepreneurship

Many students interested in business aspire to become highly successful and “live the dream,” but probably find themselves asking the same question: “How can I accomplish my business goals when I’m only in high school?”

A few members of the student body have taken the leap of faith and found an answer by starting their own businesses before they reached the Sixth Form.

Sixth Former Blake Paul started his business, Redirection Loans & Welfare, around three years ago. Sixth Former Arsh Aggarwal started High School Intern early in his Fifth Form year. These students are among the few who’ve gained a successful head start gaining professional experience.

Paul and Aggarwal agree on the qualities and resources a student needs to be able to accomplish such a feat.

The question that Paul asked himself leading to his idea was: “How can one [be] reward[ed] financially [while] giving back?”

For Paul, that was focusing on low-income individuals in the greater Philadelphia area, inspired by his motto: “You help when

stitute in Massachusetts have provided an invaluable part of the program’s growth and community-building over the past few years.

“Ups and downs of sleeping in the same room is you…have to spend a lot of time together,” Fourth Former Andrew Witmer said. “You get connected to people.”

Despite the setbacks of the Covid-19 pandemic, the experience and expertise of veteran Sixth and Fifth Formers continues to pass from generation to generation.

“I have lessons that I have learned from the seniors who were here when I was a sophomore…that I’m passing down every single day to underclassmen,” Fifth Former Milan Varma said.

For the robotics program, the flow of knowledge is key to its success in both competition and community-building.

“Sometimes [the underclassmen] listen to the seniors and [veterans] more than they would listen to us as coaches,” Mr. Leech said. “[There’s] definitely a lot of student leadership in that space.”

For the veterans in the lab, passing on their knowledge is secondary to the connections and relationships they form with un-

derclassmen.

“I don’t really interact with sophomores or freshmen that often,” Sixth Former Michael Wylie said. “I talk often with [underclassmen] I’ve met through robotics, though.”

The Sixth Form never had the opportunity to engage in many of the community-building activities that have united prior years. Since upperclassmen interact so little with underclassmen during the school day, robotics is one of the few places on campus where students from all grades can come together to make new connections and competition-dominating robots as well.

“Only my team is concretely qualified for states,” Wylie said, “but there will be more.”

Most recently, Wylie’s team 169A swept through the state tournament to secure a spot in the world championship in Dallas next month.

While Wylie and his team prepare for the tournament in Dallas, those who did not qualify for worlds will begin to take apart this year’s robots and get ready for a brand new game next season.

you can.” “Microfinancing security fund” is the appropriate term for his business, but, simply put, Paul’s company connects selected loanees with investors who fund the loans and make a profit when that loan is paid off.

Aggarwal said, “Let’s go back to the root of why I started a business in the first place. I came from a robotics and engineering background, and a lot of that cultivates a problem-solving mindset.”

High school Intern stemmed from Aggarwal’s difficulty in finding internship opportunities and his willingness to help his community. Aggarwal successfully used the school network to find local companies to host interns from Haverford, facilitating school’s mission of “preparing boys for life” to change the world.

Both Paul and Aggarwal embody the school’s vision of using their accumulated skills, judgment, and community connections to flourish in our world, even before graduation. Their businesses, geared towards aiding others, speak to Haverford’s virtues of support, compassion, and character.

Entrepreneurship Club faculty advisor Ms. Brooke Kenna, and Marketing &

Consulting Club faculty advisor Ms. Alexandra Surdel, think Haverford can foster the growth of young entrepreneurs and business owners.

Ms. Kenna said, “You have an opportunity to fix a problem in your life.”

Having gained experience in college and the professional world, Ms. Kenna now sees her duty to the business world to influence and aid young entrepreneurial minds at Haverford. “Networking is the number-one thing for anyone who wants to go into any kind of business,” Ms. Kenna said.

“You have to be willing to reach out to people,” Ms. Surdel said, “because the first step of starting a business is finding mentors who have a successful business.”

Ms. Surdel took a similar stance to Ms. Kenna as a facilitator, willing to leverage her

network to help students pursue their business aspirations, highlighting the strong and extensive network that extends beyond each student’s time at Haverford. Seeing as the faculty play a key role in seeing the school’s mission through, advisors like Ms. Kenna and Ms. Surdel are taking the necessary steps to support students with ambitions similar to those of Paul and Aggarwal.

“I think the thing that stops people in high school from starting a business is that they think they’re too young, not smart enough, or too inexperienced to succeed,”Aggarwal said. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a young entrepreneur, it’s that there’s an infinite number of ways to define success, but perhaps the most important one is the success of getting started in the first place.”

Ryan Shams ’26 tinkers with his robot before the States, March 1, 2024

ANDREW BRADLEY ’24

Blake Paul ’24 working on his business website in the library

CLAYTON GREEN ’24

Clayton Green ’24

A group of robotics students studies footage and brainstorms their next design

ANDREW BRADLEY ’24

Students find mathematical solutions to housing crisis

On March 1st, two upper school student groups participated in the Mathworks Math Modeling Challenge (M3C), a fourteen-hour modeling competition. Hundreds of teams across the U.S. and U.K. participated in this year’s competition for a top spot and a portion of the $100,000 available in scholarships.

The first group comprised Fifth Formers Devin Carpenter, Finn Kelly, Conor McDonald, Ian Rosenzweig, and Nicholas Lu, and the other consisted of Sixth Formers Ethan Lee, Nolan McCloskey, Reilly Pryma, Justin Fan, and Arsh Aggarwal.

In this year’s challenge, groups of students worked to create models using data from Albuquerque and Seattle to predict the housing supply and homelessness rates ten, twenty, and fifty years from now. Then, they wrote recommendations on how to alleviate these problems using their data models.

Both groups faced difficulties, not just in finding a model, but also in managing their time well.

“It was very hard to manage our time, especially given that the first question about housing supply is the most difficult; we spent the majority of our time on it but came out with our most complex solution,” Pryma said.

The Sixth Form group accounted for data like labor prices, material prices, and land prices, which added difficulty but yielded a thorough response.

Both student groups used tools like Desmos and skills learned in math classes to find a model for both the housing supply and homelessness rate questions.

“The last question was very vague and abstract, which made it interesting to answer. We had to tweak some variables."

REILLY PRYMA ’24

In the end, information accumulated throughout the day was compiled into one formal paper, including their solution to the problem.

“The last question was very vague and abstract which made it interesting to answer,” Pryma said. “We had to tweak some variables [e.g. lumber industry data and zoning policies] used earlier in order to answer this question.”

“I became close friends with all the guys on my team and also learned a lot of skills from it.”

FINN KELLY ’25

The groups spent fourteen hours together, strengthening their friendships.

“It was a really long day but really fun overall. I became close friends with all the guys on my team and also learned a lot of skills from it,” Kelly said. “I think that having the skill to model math with numbers in order to predict what the future may hold is important and was also a fun idea to work with.”

Both groups performed strongly and are awaiting their results, which will be released in the coming weeks.

Fourth Form takes on the annual World War I Trials

James MacColl ’26

Each spring for the past thirty years, Fourth Formers undertake the annual World War I trials. In each Modern World History class, six groups, varying between two and three students, are selected and assigned to one of six countries: France, Austria-Hungary, Serbia, Germany, Russia, and Britain.

All six countries played a role in the outbreak of World War I. Being assigned to one of the smaller countries does not determine a team’s fate; if anything, it might offer a slight advantage.

The winning team is decided based on how well they argue the innocence of their country and the guilt of their opposing countries, which may offer an advantage to those whose countries did not cause as much commotion. The victor is unclear at the start—the trial is purely decided on knowledge and craftsmanship of arguments.

One of the most exciting parts of the World War I trials is the participation of Fifth and Sixth Form students. As experienced past participants, they serve as members of the jury. For this year’s trial, Fifth Former Mason Wiegand serves as head judge.

“I’d say my favorite part of the trials is being able to answer questions. I had taken a lot of time to fully research and understand the nuances of my country, and that allowed me to come prepared to answer any of the questions thrown at me,” Wiegand said. “For this year, I am most excited to see the dynamic of the trial. I want to listen to the questions being asked, so I can see who really came prepared.”

Students and jurors are not the only people who enjoy the trials. Modern World History teacher Mr. LaJuan Foust especially values students’ independent initiative.

“It allows creativity and opportunities for students to have at it and argue headto-head, based on the information they gathereed by themselves.”

MR. LAJUAN FOUST

“The project gives the students agency over their own learning. It allows creativity and opportunities for students to have at it and argue head-to-head, based on the information that they gathered by themselves,” Mr. Foust said. “Alongside all of the publicspeaking skills and research skills, it allows students to take action in their own learning outside of the classroom, and really learn to engage in such an interesting topic by themselves.”

The trials go much deeper than the average school project or presentation, as they allow students to engage with each other in a subject that is predominantly self-taught.

The trials evoke something in the students that isn’t seen regularly, showing their impact on Fourth Form education.

With the trials coming to an end, stu-

dents will soon debate and reflect on arguments that succeeded and failed. It will get loud at points, but that is what’s exciting about the project.

Devin Carpenter ’25 and Conor McDonald ’25 during the contest, March 1

Ryan Wang ’26

Biology I* and US History* course descriptions from the 2024-25 Course Catalog

Are recomendations too easy to obtain for difficult courses like US History* and Biology I*?

Talking with Sixth Formers in advisory, selecting courses during parent-teacher conferences, or bantering around the lunch table, one thing is clear for the Fifth Form: Honors United States History and Honors Biology I are the talk of the town.

Year after year it seems the two earn the title of hardest courses in the upper school. But as applications and class sizes increase, a question arises: is it now too easy to get into these prestigious courses? Or is the solution making Honors more widely available for the community?

Recently, the science department tightened up the requirements for Honors Biology, now requiring a teacher recommendation and an A or higher in Honors Chemistry.

“A lot of kids who would get a B+/Ain Chem wouldn’t take the summer work seriously, and then once they did badly on the summer test, they would drop the class,” Honors Biology teacher Mrs. Kara Cleffi said. “This messes up our schedules, and puts unnecessary stress on the department. Now, this new standard eliminates some of

that stress.”

The recommendation is fluid though. If a student were to not meet the grade requirements, they can request a meeting with department chair Dr. Daniel Goduti. Since Honors Biology requires you to be an allaround critical thinker, he takes a look at a prospective student’s entire transcript and makes a decision. That student must show mastery of the summer work to be let in the classroom.

While there is room for improvement, the system may help clarify placement decisions.

“It’s definitely not perfect, but it’s the best process we have had since I started working here. Kids who are motivated get a chance to prove themselves,” Mrs. Cleffi said.

For Honors United States History, the requirement is an A- in Modern World History, a standard class that al Fourth Formers take. This has caused some controversy, as some students may think that some Modern World History teachers grade easier than others.

As a humanities class, the criteria may need to be looser than a cut-and-dry STEM class. Much of Honors United States History is fueled by debate and in-class discussions, and a grade isn’t necessarily representative of a student’s capabilities. History Department Chair and Honors United States History teacher Ms. Hannah Turlish believes that, no matter the grade, students should always be willing to try the class.

“In a perfect world we don’t have honors or standard classes at Haverford, labeling kids as ‘honors’ or ‘standard’ isn’t right, but what can you do?” Ms. Turlish said. “For this reason I say, let a kid try Honors, and if he wants to drop, I’m okay with that.”

Ms. Turlish prefers students who are genuinely interested in the topic, but may not have the best grades, than those who are there for the college-application transcript boost.

“Motivated kids who want to learn to seek knowledge, instead of boosting their GPA for college, will always get the chance to try,” Ms. Turlish said. “What is frustrating about the whole system are the kids who do

it for the A, instead of learning to become a better, more informed person, a key virtue of Haverford.”

Many students take U.S. History* out of genuine interest, fueling some insightful discussions and interactions in Honors classes. No kid in my class seems to be gasping for air, everyone participates and contributes to the classroom in some way or another. But from a teacher’s perspective, having that honors and standard distinction comes with disparities.

“In twelve years I have noticed that the diversity of an honors classroom needs addressing,” Ms. Turlish said. “It is very difficult to talk about race. I have had years with no Black students in any of my sections.”

This problem is a huge one, and it is not addressed by the community whatsoever. In a humanities course, everyone should be given a chance to excel and express themselves in an honors environment. There needs to be a grade cutoff rather than a grade requirement, and hopefully this summer the humanities department and the BSU/Mrs. Brown can work together to levy an equitable solution.

Abdullah Kanchwala ’25

Reilly Pryma’s contributions at Ludington Library

The library used to be known as a place where people could study, read books, and hang out with friends.

Emerging from a post-COVID world, this is no longer the case. While some students may choose to go to the library, many choose not to because the internet has almost everything an upper school student could need.

Some find it tedious to go through a book and find a quote when platforms such as Sparknotes and ebooks exist.

Luckily, Haverford has a connection to

a local library in the form of Sixth Former Reilly Pryma.

Pryma is currently employed at Bryn Mawr’s Ludington Library. He works on Fridays from 4-6 p.m. and 11:30-5 p.m. on Sunday. Reilly is one of the “pagers”—“the people who do a lot of hands-on work,” according to Pryma.

“I have a lot of childhood memories there,” Pryma said. “I found out that they were hiring. And again, it’s a library. I like learning.”

Pryma says he frequently sees teenagers in the library

“There hasn't been a day where I have not seen people either studying or just hanging out, so it’s definitely frequented by them,” Pryma said. “I don’t know if it’s the most common, but they make up a sizable percentage.”

According to Pryma, “[people in their] 30s or 40s are the most common.”

Pryma’s take on why most people do not read today is partly because there is accessibility to other forms of entertainment.

“Obviously reading for the past century has been a very widespread and very accessible form to entertain yourself and also to

educate yourself. With the internet that has been a lot easier. I also think people are being very overworked in this modern day—both students and adults—so I think people have less time to read in general,” Pryma said. “I also think the prevalence of audiobooks and podcasts have [shifted attention away from reading].”

Pryma tries to read as often as he can, but to him it “kind of depends.”

“One week I might be really engrossed in a book and the next week I might not be able to read at all,” Pryma said. “On average I try to do ten to fifteen minutes a day.”

Reilly Pryma ’24 catalogs various selections at Ludington Library, March 11, 2024

Seth Virmani ’26

Grayson Morgan ’26

The life of a competitive high school athlete requires sacrifice. Time is the most precious commodity, and there is never enough. Eat; sleep; school; school-mandated sport; individual sport.

For those who compete in their respective sports outside of school, it is no less than a full-time job. In middle school, the school day would end at a reasonable 3:15 p.m., as the three required sports are woven into the day.

Once in high school, however, there is a two-credit after-school sports requirement. A graduation mandate that begins after school at 3:30 p.m., which sees some boys not returning home before 7 p.m.

Ryan Hu ’26, a freestyle ice skater turned ice dancer, knows this well.

Ryan moved from a single-sex competitive school in Melbourne, Australia to attend Haverford in sixth grade. His dream was to make Team USA.

In middle school, Hu gained permission to leave before regular dismissal to pursue his endeavor. Days were jam-packed as he’d leave school at 2:15 p.m., five days a week to

A case for independent sports credit

embark on the hour-long traffic-laden drive to Delaware to arrive on time. Ice time is sparse and precious, as are great coaches. Hu trained with his Olympic-qualified coach until 6:00 p.m., getting home by 7 p.m. just in time for dinner, homework, and sleep.

This rhythm worked well. Until it didn't.

To satisfy the school’s sports requirement, Hu would have to give up his skating, as there was no way for him to have time for both.

In Third Form, he chose cross country to fulfill his sports credit. Despite liking the coach and his fellow runners, attending practice every day in a sport in which he had no interest made it even more apparent how devastating it was not to skate.

“Since I was nine years old, skating has been a big part of my life,” Hu said. “Having to stop skating has deeply hurt my mind and soul.”

Should Haverford consider its athletes’ commitment to pursue their full potential?

From a health perspective, these boys certainly get more than the required fitness for a healthy lifestyle. Team bonding and broth-

erhood undoubtedly account for Haverford’s required credits, but can’t these boys get the same in group projects woven into the school day?

Head of Upper School Mr. Mark Fifer said, “The reason for the two-sport requirement is grounded in this broad philosophy of wanting students’ engagement and connection. The requirement supports a strong culture within academics, as well as relationships with teachers and peers. Additionally, it can become difficult to parse between which activities are eligible to qualify as a sports credit versus which are not.”

In Fourth Form, Hu made the bold decision to move to Michigan, which serves as the best skating training hub in the country.

Now his training is from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., then he breaks for lunch, and then he attends all of his required online classes starting at 2:00 p.m. Most recently, he competed in the 2024 Prevagen U.S Figure Skating Championships in Columbus, Ohio, securing a silver medal win at the Novice level.

To even qualify for entry, one must be in the top five in the nation at the Novice

level.

I hope the school will give more flexibility to high-achieving athletes, so they are not faced with the daunting decision to either give up the sport for which they have sacrificed or be forced to skate all the way to Michigan.

off-campus opinions

Tom Saul ’25

Social media dominates the lives of adults, adolescents, and even younger children. The current time period is often referred to as the “Social Media Era” because of how ubiquitous it is. This ever-evolving landscape of digital communication profoundly impacts how individuals interact with each other, share information, and in general, engage with the world around them.

The exponential growth of social media platforms, from the early days of MySpace to the current reign of Instagram, TikTok, and X, has brought with it an era of unprecedented connectivity and communication; however, alongside this rapid expansion, we have witnessed a recent abundance of serious concerns regarding mental health, data privacy, online harassment, and the proliferation of misinformation.

The unregulated influence of social media algorithms is the most significant challenge. These algorithms wield significant power in shaping users’ online experiences,

Dangers

of social media and some possible solutions

dictating the content they consume and exposing them to potentially harmful information and misinformation.

The basis of the solution lies in governmental social media regulation.

According to expert William Marks, a Harvard Berkman-Klein Center for Internet & Society researcher and affiliate, “The implications of relinquishing control to algorithms are extreme and far-reaching, with the potential to orchestrate peoples’ perceptions and emotions in ways that threaten their well-being and autonomy, and it has even led to suicide.”

The basis of the solution lies in governmental social media regulation.

More specifically, by mandating official social media guidelines, we can ensure that

platforms are held accountable for their algorithms’ impact on users.

According to the Pew Research Center, “Through measures such as verifying accounts and information, disclosing terms of service and privacy policies, and restricting harmful content and misinformation, we empower users to make informed decisions about their online interactions while mitigating manipulation risks.”

It can begin in the hallways and locker room of our school.

Furthermore, we should address the critical issue of data privacy breaches. Data privacy protection limitations on the collection, use, and sharing of user information will protect individuals’ privacy rights and prevent unauthorized access and misuse by governments and malicious actors.

Critically, this tactic strikes a balance between regulatory oversight and the protection of free speech rights. By imposing clear standards for content moderation and enforcing consequences for non-compliance, we can ensure social media platforms remain entertaining spaces for open dialogue while preventing the spread of harmful content and misinformation.

As the Digital Age continues to shape our society, we must recognize the vast impact it has on our well-being and autonomy as students.

By being prudent and advocating for governmental regulation, prioritizing user privacy, and fostering responsible digital citizenship, students and faculty can circumvent the crisis with resilience and integrity. It can begin in the hallways and locker room of our school: making others more aware, and ultimately ensuring a safer and more constructive online experience for all, for generations to come.

The iPhone has debatably been the biggest technological development in history. After all, it is the power of a computer in your hands! While technology has improved, many things, including the availability of knowledge, can negatively affect the health of its users.

However, one question remains unanswered: how much does your phone affect your daily life?

Haverford students are part of the generation known for its digital usage and constant dependence on technology: GenZ. Many students can attest to how abundant technological use affects them. Perspectives vary: some were cognizant and wanted to change, while others cared less.

Using your phone is synonymous with bad time management.

“I use my phone a lot. I would be in the exact same place,” Fifth Former Robert Goens said.

Goens also voiced how some students use technology for their benefit. They might learn and create new inventions to help people. On the other hand, it can be very distracting.

“[I use technology] a lot. I try to limit my screen usage because of how much time it has taken away from me,” says Third Form President Ray Kresge. “I want to use my phone for my benefit; to further my knowledge. Not to distract from the world around me.”

It is often hard to fathom life without something you depend on every day—a phenomenon that is illustrated by the experience

How much does technology change you as a student?

of upper school students.

I, personally, would be able to think more freely and construct my opinions better without a phone. It affects all aspects of my daily life, and my mental health would be better, too.

Using your phone is synonymous with bad time management. Your phone contains good information, but social media’s abundance makes it difficult to decipher what is true and what is not.

As time is irreplaceable, it is easy to realize phone usage detracts from more important things, like socializing. It prevents focusing on class material. You only have limited time on this earth, and only a small

amount of time as a child. Time on your phone is unnecessary if the goal is to truly experience life.

Personally, I will be disgusted if I look back on my life only to discover I spent countless hours scrolling.

Time could be better spent developing friendships and learning about the beauty of

the universe. It could be spent hiking on a family trip, baking cookies, and possibly developing cures for diseases. It could be spent exploring and discovering new intelligence.

The question one has to ask is what will you bring with you when you leave this earth? What would you be proud of?

Personally, I will be disgusted if I look back on my life only to discover I spent countless hours scrolling. The fear of missing out is very real; using your phone is not the solution.

Perhaps the best way forward is to avoid the mistakes so many of us inadvertently make when staring at our phones. Let’s live in the moment together.

Death penalty by nitrogen hypoxia: cruel and unusual

Today capital punishment remains an extremely controversial topic, as the United States is the only first-world country with the death penalty still in place.

The most recently approved method of execution is nitrogen hypoxia or death by suffocation of nitrogen gas. This technique, which forces the subject to lethally inhale pure nitrogen—thereby displacing oxygen and leading to fatal oxygen deprivation—has been authorized in several U.S. states as an alternative to traditional methods of legalized killing.

Advocates argue this could offer a more humane and fail-proof approach amid ongoing debates surrounding the ethics and logistics of lethal injections and other established methods. Recently, on January 25, the state

of Alabama carried out the first execution of its kind, using nitrogen hypoxia.

The man, Kenneth Smith, was convicted for the murder of Elizebeth Sennett in 1988. Charles Sennett Sr., Elizabeth’s spouse, hired Billy Gray Williams to kill his wife; Williams then recruited both Smith and John Forrest Parker to help him kill her. Kenneth Smith and Parker subsequently stabbed Sennett to death at her home.

A week after her death, Charles Sennett Sr. committed suicide after finding he was a suspect in her murder. Williams, however, was sentenced to life in prison without parole and died there in November of 2020. Smith and Parker were both sentenced to capital punishment; Parker was executed by lethal injection in June 2010.

As anyone might conclude, 22 minutes of "thrashing and writing" seems like a painful execution.

In 2022, Smith was scheduled to die by lethal injection, but after hours of poking and prodding, the squad was not able to find

a suitable vein for the injection to occur, so it was called off. After a settlement later that year, the state of Alabama granted that Smith would not face the lethal injection again, but instead, a different method: the newly legalized (in August 2023) nitrogen hypoxia.

After losing his final appeal on the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, Smith was executed.

In the eyes of most, death by nitrogen hypoxia seems to be both cruel and unusual and should absolutely not be allowed.

The punishment began at exactly 7:53 p.m., when Smith was laid down on a table, strapped in, and restrained to ensure minimal resistance. A mask was then put on his face to pump the nitrogen gas into his lungs. Despite state claims that it would be a painless death, witnesses reported: “Mr. Smith shook, convulsed, writhed, and gasped for minutes until he was pronounced dead at least 22 minutes after the execution began.”

As anyone might conclude, 22 minutes of “thrashing and writhing” seems like a painful execution. Smith’s last words were, “Tonight, Alabama caused humanity to take a step backward. I’m leaving with love, peace, and light. Thank you for supporting me. Love all of you.”

Reporters claimed that he also signed “I love you” in sign language.

In the new and experimental Haverford Assembly, in which all Fifth Formers held a mock session of Congress, several bills were debated. One of the bills focused on banning the death penalty.

Many strong points were made, in the wake of current events (specifically the case of Kenneth Smith), and most classes decided it was time for Capital Punishment to be prohibited.

A common point referenced during the debate was the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

In the eyes of most, death by nitrogen hypoxia seems to be both cruel and unusual and should absolutely not be allowed.

Quinn Sullivan ’25

Ayush Varma ’26

Matthew Feigenberg ’24 scrolls on his phone

PIERCE LAVERAN ’24

“Every year, what Mr. Hengst says is, ‘Make it your own show,’ and by Sunday afternoon, that’s what we did,” Ford said. “We really got into stride and everybody was playing their role to the best of their ability, and in their own way, which is what I think makes the show really special”

Mr. Hengst is committed to finding a role for everyone who auditions for the musical, which, this year, resulted in a cast and crew of nearly eighty students. Sixth Former Sebastian Golderer, another lead in the show, felt that each member of the team fulfilled their responsibility.

“I think overall the entire performance was wonderful,” Golderer said. “Everybody did their part, both cast and stage crew, along with the teachers. I think everything came together really well, and that this whole show was just a really well-oiled machine.”

Part of the reason for this year’s enormous cast was the multitude of Sixth Formers joining, hoping to experience one more aspect of the school’s opportunities.

“What made me want to do the musical this year was the family that comes with it. You spend so much time working together, and everyone just becomes closer.”

ADON GROSS ’24

“I thought it was a good time; everyone was locked in and did their thing,” Sixth Former Adon Gross said. “What made me want to do the musical this year was the family that comes with it. You spend so much time working together, and everyone just becomes

closer.”

The word “family” often comes up when discussing theater at Haverford. After their final performance, many key Sixth Form members were left reflecting on their time in the program. Golderer, who initially avoided the experience after switching schools, joined the performing arts in sophomore year.

“After the pandemic, I tried out Peter and the Starcatcher—which I had at least some experience with—and I just found this new home, this new family,” Golderer said. “Since then, I’ve done every show since sophomore year, and I’ve loved every single one, I’ve loved the cast of every single one, and I’ve built a lot of meaningful relationships that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

Ford has had a similar experience with the program, which he has been involved in

since fifth grade, and he cherishes the memories he has created over the years of auditions, rehearsals, and performances.

“I feel like the musical has really brought me a new community to be a part of, all throughout middle and upper school, and also I’ve met some amazing people,” Ford said. “It’s bittersweet to let go of all the juniors and seniors who have given so much to the program, and of course Mr. Hengst and [Middle School Theater Director] Ms. [Jenn] Hallmann, who have always been amazing mentors for me, it’s really hard letting them go as well.”

The emotions were apparent behind the scenes, but for some, the reality of leaving the program behind still has not entirely set in.

Golderer said, “There were definitely some waterworks from a few different peo-

ple. I didn’t quite break down, but there will probably be a delayed reaction like a week from now for me, and I’ll just start crying my eyes out.”

Sunday’s packed house at Centennial is indicative of the performing arts’ reputation at the school, and in the rest of the Main Line. However, to Ford, what truly makes this school so special is that he is not defined by one talent — the musical was a place for him to realize a portion of his potential, without being restricted to a single identity.

“I think that’s something that’s special about Haverford,” Ford said. “I was able to do squash and theater without being thrown into just one of those categories, like, ‘He’s a squash kid’, or ‘He’s a theater kid.’ Nobody has judged me for doing everything I’ve wanted to, and it’s enhanced my experience at Haverford as a whole.”

Imperative while incognito: a slice of stage crew

Jackson Raleigh ’24

Inside the booth, on the catwalk, and adjacent to the stage of Centennial Hall works the stage crew. Primarily supporting the production of the fall play and spring musical, stage crew offers students an arts niche unlike any other.

The theater department clearly cultivates high levels of acting and singing on the stage, as the community witnessed in last weekend’s performances of Beauty and the Beast. Off stage, the Haverford stage crew quietly shines, helping put on various productions without interruption since the height of COVID.

“If we do our jobs right, you will never know we were there.”

MR. DEX WOODWARD

The spotlight rarely seems to be fixed on stage crew, and maybe that is the way it is supposed to be.

“If we do our jobs right, you will never know we were there,” scenic designer and Centennial Hall Director Mr. Dex Woodward said. Alongside Mr. Woodward, Centennial Hall Technical Assistant Mx. Victo-

ria Gill-Gomez exercises great influence over stage crew. The two have established an environment that is open, fostering strong connections not only between students but also between themselves and the students.

“It is interesting how tightly knit we are with the faculty,” Sixth Form stage crew member Reilly Pryma said. “I mean I love Dex, I love Victoria, basically everyone on stage crew does.”

Along with the relationships created through stage crew, the day-to-day activities can be enjoyable and rewarding.

“Every day was pretty fun,” Sixth Form former stage crew member Amir Ibrahim said.

During his time in stage crew during his Fifth Form year, Ibrahim occupied multiple roles.

“I worked in the workshop, building props for The Farnsworth Invention,” Ibrahim said.

In the workshop, stage crew students develop skills in carpentry, craftsmanship, and painting in order to create props and even create set pieces such as walls for each production. Typically the workshop is occupied more in the weeks leading up to the show, whereas during the final week of preparations—tech week—stage crew students often occupy different roles less to do with

preparation and more with performance.

“During the show [and tech week] I was assistant stage manager, working on stage right,” Ibrahim said. “[In this role] I have a script, and I take notes on where I’m supposed to bring stuff in, so when stuff comes in and out from my side, that is my responsibility,”

Compared to earlier preparations for the show, tech week offers a new level of strain and pressure to the activity.

“Trying to make creative decisions while fulfilling the director’s vision can be hard to work with.”

REILLY PRYMA ’24

Lighting designer Reilly Pryma said, “One of the more difficult things is show runs. The actors are able to rehearse for months and months, but we have to get tech, sounds, lights, and transitions in one week. Also you don’t really know the blocking [the movement of the actors] until you get into

tech week, so it’s [about learning] quick.”

Even outside of tech week, finding consensus on what the play or musical should look like can be difficult.

“Trying to make creative decisions while fulfilling the director’s vision can be hard to work with,” Pryma said.

Accompanying these specific difficulties is the sheer time commitment itself. Stage crew is open from 3:30-5:00 every day, and Mr. Woodward and Mx. Gill Gomez expect stage crew members to attend at least three, preferably four sessions during the week. Not to mention the increased time requirement during tech week, where students are tasked to stay from 5:30-9:00 pm.

Due to this, stage crew offers one credit for completion of one season, such as completing the fall play, and two credits for yearlong involvement, such as the fall play and spring musical. For those who need a sports credit, stage crew is a fine opportunity to fill that space, and many members of stage crew believe that the sports credit serves as a strong recruitment incentive. Outside of its use as a sports credit, there seems to exist a cxonsensus among stage crew members that the activity is thoroughly worth it and that more people should join.

con’t on p. 16

Performers Render Ford ’24 and Jai Bonaparte ’24 command the stage, March 7, 2024 @THS_PERFORMINGARTS VIA INSTAGRAM

Stage crew, cont.

“Get involved,” said Sixth Form stage crew head Sam Jiru. “Stage crew is the place to be if you want to be a part of the show, but not in the show.”

Despite this, some think that stage crew and its leaders could do more in terms of advertisement. While there is an email sent at the beginning of the year about the opportunity to students and parents, this can easily be lost in the early flood of emails.

“I think it is a lot of [hearing it from] friends,” Ibrahim said. “I don’t think stage crew is advertised a lot.”

In spite of little self-advertisement and a tight-knit culture, stage crew does not have an insurmountable learning curve. Beginners are able to learn, and they grow into effective members of the team quickly.

Mr. Woodward said, “I’ve had several people come through the scene shop here and work with carpentry, having never picked up a screw gun or saw before and then discovering, ‘Oh hey, I’m actually a good carpenter.’”

Outside of the physical learning process involved with picking up stage crew, the activity also offers students the keys to a new social environment that has the added objective of preparing them for life beyond the arts.

According to the school’s website, “As a member of the cast or stage crew, your son

will create relationships with all different types of people, he will learn how to trust others and to trust himself, he will practice communication and collaboration, and he will gain empathy and perspective.” This mission statement certainly speaks to Mr. Woodward, who instills these values into the stage crew.

“We try to be a safe space here and as welcoming as possible to everybody. I want them to be able ot learn both physical skills and interpersonal skills, even if they only take theater in high school.”

MR. DEX WOODWARD

“We try to be a safe space here and as welcoming as possible to everybody, I want them to be able to learn both physical skills and interpersonal skills, even if they only

Unplugging the Power of Marshmello’s EDM Music

Max Zhang ’24

As the distinctive bass beat leads into the classic head-banging beat drop, listeners grow immersed in the signature rhythm of EDM.

Marshmello, hidden behind his infamous mask of mystery—a puffy white marshmallow with black, X-shaped eyes— invites us to enjoy the experience of electronic dance music.

Marshmello’s fourth studio album Shockwave showcases the producer’s ability to collaborate with a wide variety of artists

and incorporate various musical genres. The album was released on June 11, 2021, with high expectations, debuting at number three on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Shockwave received love from many fans and was nominated for Best Dance/ Electronic Album at the 64th annual Grammy Awards.

But the album strays from the traditional EDM Marshmello produces. The combination of genres like hip-hop, pop, and dubstep makes this album special.

take theater in high school,” Mr. Woodward said.

Regardless of whether stage crew students decide to further pursue a career in theater, through his own personal experience, Mr. Woodward proves that the relationships created through theater last a lifetime.

Marshmello, formally known as Christopher Comstock, graduated from The Shipley School, just a mile from Haverford’s campus. He grew up with a passion for music, working as a DJ from a young age. From his exhilarating live performances to unique collaborations with artists like Bastille and Selena Gomez, Marshmello stands out, displaying a signature style characterized by driving basslines, infectious vocal hooks, and melodic synths. Except for the songs “Fairytale,” “VIBR8,” and “Shockwave,” which employ the EDM style that brought him to fame, every other song in the album is a collaboration with other artists. The album opens with “Fairytale,” a high-energy EDM piece incorporating heavy basslines and synthesizer beats.

“The theater community is such a small community that these interpersonal relationships are so strong and important,” Mr. Woodward said. “To this day occasionally I have people come through venues or in the area that I’ve worked with years ago, and they still show up.”

From the first note, “Fairytale” catches listeners by surprise with a blend of sharp and soothing synthesizer sounds. The music repeats, joined in by a prominent snare beat. More drum beats layer as the song begins to increase in tempo. Everything is building up. Then, we experience a signature beat drop. Background vocals are added, with a voice repeating the word “aye.” The strong percussion continues, as the synthesizer music varies until the end of the song.

Another important, but often overlooked aspect of Marshmello’s collaborations is the benefit they have for other artists. Not only does each artist put their own unique twists on each song, they get recognition for their work. Lesser-known artists have benefited greatly from Marshmello’s fame.

For the contemporary audience, EDM has grown exponentially in popularity in recent years. As Marshmello shows in this album, EDM is extremely adaptable and includes endless possibilities. The style is also popular in the entertainment industry, as the heavy beat drops make parties boom.

One of the most interesting aspects of Marshmello’s music is his use of vocal features. Many of his tracks feature guest vocalists—such as TroyBoi, DJ Sliink, Megan Thee Stallion, and others—allowing him to reach a wider audience and introduce his music to new listeners.

For audiences who are not particularly fans of EDM, they can enjoy the hints of other genres.

For audiences who are not particularly fans of EDM, they can enjoy the hints of other genres. The eighth song in the album, “Hitta,” for example, features the complex rhythms by Eptic, and also a section of rap by Juicy J. The song transitions back and forth smoothly from hip-hop bars to electronic beats.

With each collaboration, every artist has their own style, which makes this album diverse and captivating. In “Back in Time,” for example, Carnage uses his Latin Urbano to give the song a South American twist.

Each feature includes a new genre, as many of the collaborated tracks are dominated by the featured artist rather than Marshmello’s.

Marshmello at the VELD musical festival, 2016

Stage manager Samuel Jiru ’24 in a still from a recent IndexTV story

ROBERT CERNIGLIA ’24

Not our love story: Morgan Wallen’s Stand Alone

John Kohlenberg ’24

On May 13, 1993, Billboard’s number-one country artist Morgan Wallen was born in Sneedville, Tennessee. Since then, Wallen has worked on thirty different songs that have hit platinum. None of the songs come from Wallens’s 2015 Stand Alone EP, but Stand Alone has come back in the eye of the public for its controversial tenth-anniversary editions.

The anniversary edition has added eight songs Wallen never wanted to release. He said, “I cringe when I listen to these songs, and I’m concerned my fans may mistakenly believe this is a new release by me.”

Morgan Wallen left Panacea Records nearly ten years ago. However, the record company still owned the rights to the songs.

The album contains all the original songs, including the popular song “Spin You Around.” The four others are “Sleep When We’re Dead,” “Stand Alone,” “Man of The South,” and “Yin Yang Girl.”

The updated version of the album sounds better than Wallen makes the album appear to be. The new songs go on to show why Morgan Wallen became great.

The album now starts with the song “Going Down,” which follows a complicated love story between two people trying to move on but always coming back to each other.

The smooth 2010s guitar riff is meant to catch your attention and stick with you, as the tempo of the beat never changes. This allows the song’s lyrics to leave a mark on you.

The story continues as Wallen talks about his lover making him crazy, highlighting the mixed feelings of an unbreakable bond. The lyrics “Cause I can feel your arms around me,/ I can see that look in your eyes,” show the feeling of never letting go and feeling alive while feeling like you can lose ev-

erything in a single moment.

Wallen continues the story with the next song, “Scared to Live Without You.” The music in the background feels similar to the first song but faster, showing how love changes you and how your heart can beat faster.

The tempo adds depth as well, showing the fear of love. The song speaks on how his leaving has made him live in fear every day, as Wallen sings, “All I know is I’m more scared to live without ya,/ Than I am to love

ya.” This song shows the side of fear and how you will regret not giving love a chance at the end of the day.

A subsequent track, “Heaven Can Take a Back Seat” begins with the strumming of guitar chords, setting the mood for this new type of love. Wallen sings about how love can make you see the best in people and how they can become your “angel.”

Wallen sings about how he found love and what he will do to keep it. Wallen sings, “Heaven can take a backseat,” as he does not

know how heaven could get any better than what he’s experiencing now.

This album shows the multitudes of love, how love changes throughout time, and the complexities love can bring to the table.

However, the story made here is not ours to listen to. Morgan Wallen asked us not to listen to the album because the added songs do not meet his standards and he did not want to release it. Simply put, perhaps listeners should let the album stand alone.

The brilliant imagery of The Bear’s episode “Forks”

Robert Cerniglia ’24

The Bear’s second season focuses on a single character’s development in preparation for a restaurant

opening. But no single episode stands out as much as episode 7, “Forks.”

This episode focuses on Richie’s solo

journey to be a Stage (pronounced Stahj) at a high-end restaurant. Director Christopher Storer uses genius cuts and imagery to show the state of Richie’s mind throughout the episode.

We first see Richie waking up to the alarm at 5:39, smacking the snooze button while seeming extremely tired and unexcited. The same scene is repeated each day he wakes up to the alarm. Each passing day, he wakes up earlier and with more motivation, from 5:35 on the third day to 5:32 on the fourth day, counting down till Richie reaches the fullness of his character arc on the fifth morning when he jumps out of bed at 5:29 and turns off the alarm before it rings. Storer’s imagery shows how this restaurant has changed Richie, who, for most of the series, has been stubborn and abrasive. In this episode, he develops into a charming man who wants to do more for others.

When Richie starts working at the restaurant, he polishes forks all day, a dull and repetitive task. On the second day, Richie is shown polishing forks in between sharp cuts of the other chefs engaging in meaningful tasks like preparing food or his friends constructing their restaurant; the scene ends with a flash of the sign in the restaurant: “Every second counts.”

Storer uses this scene to peer into the state of Richie’s mind. While polishing the forks, he can see all the other people working on more important tasks. He is left in a state of despair, reflecting on the sign, seemingly wasting his time while the seconds tick by and his friends ready the restaurant for opening.

Storer does all of this without a single line of dialogue.

The director’s choice to contrast Garret and Richie performing the same duties in the restaurant was an excellent decision. Even though we were just introduced to other servers, Garret is one of my favorite characters in the series. His seriousness in the job and his conflict with Richie put Garret into the spotlight, even though he is only here for one episode. Garret’s best moment is when he tells Richie that he isn’t polishing the forks right, leading to Richie snapping at him. Garret pulls Richie aside and calls him out for his actions.

In this confrontation, Garret speaks about how it isn’t just about the fact that forks aren’t polished right; it’s about how they are giving a dream to the customers who get to eat at the best restaurant in the world, and polished forks are just as important as the food itself.

One of the best parts about this speech is that we didn’t see Garret showing much emotion earlier. Garret is always respectful and professional, but this monologue reveals his love for his job. Later in the episode, Garret tells Richie that he doesn’t even like making food but is here because he loves serving people.

A constant theme in “Forks” is that it’s never too late to start over. Richie is in a 45year Stage, normally an internship for young cooks to gain experience.

But other characters embody this message, from Garret restarting his life at 30 after alcohol addiction to Chef Terry who lost everything in the 2009 crash and started a restaurant at 38.

The idea of rebirth follows Richie through the end of the show, changing his attitude towards the restaurant and his friends.

Morgan Wallen perfors in Salt Lake City, September 10, 2022

A poster for FX’s The Bear

MORGAN

“In the Penal Colony” offers a timeless take on our justice system

A’mir Ibrahim ’24

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

In Franz Kafka’s case, the “apparatus,” a cruel and unusual torture machine, replaces the sword.

Kafka’s short story “In the Penal Colony” tackles the challenge of reform and justice. The story is told through four main characters: the explorer, the officer, the soldier, and the condemned man. The officer, desperate to keep the apparatus in use, explains how it works to the explorer. It is a twelve-hour process where the prisoner is tied down, and needles repeatedly carve their sentence into their body.

After the death of the previous Commandant, the officer is the last remaining advocate for the apparatus. Instead of seeing the machine as cruel, the officer admires its every aspect. As he passionately explains the separate parts, the explorer considers voicing his opinion of the machine’s cruelty. However, the explorer believes that as a traveler, his only responsibility is to observe and learn, and he shouldn’t attempt to change the system.

The explorer soon learns that the condemned man is unaware of his sentence and has no trial.

Trying to carry out the condemned man’s execution, the apparatus twice fails, due to its age and lack of proper maintenance. The officer asks the explorer to talk to the new Commandant, offering an outside perspective to advocate for the apparatus.

The explorer finally decides to voice his opinion, claiming that the apparatus is cruel and unjust.

Understanding his situation, the officer accepts that the apparatus will not regain the support it once had. Setting the condemned man free, the officer places himself into the apparatus. Instead of the tortuous twelvehour carving, the apparatus malfunctions,

stabbing and killing the officer immediately.

The soldier and condemned man take the explorer to the old Commandant’s grave, where there is a prophecy that the Commandant will “rise again” to “recover the colony.”

Using a complex, changing justice system, Kafka tells an unsettling story about a struggle for justice reform and the difficulty of change.

In contemporary America, the same argument arises around our prison system, and, especially, the death sentence.

Using a short story with only four unnamed characters and one main setting allows the reader to focus on the story’s message, rather than getting caught up in unnecessary details.

Kafka also writes this story simply. He is straightforward with the plot. However, he is limited in that this story takes place in dialogue. Kafka sets up an entire justice system through a two-person conversation.

The story was written in German, meaning some details may be lost in translation. Also, since Kafka wrote the story in the early 20th century, the writing style is sometimes hard to follow.

Although the new Commandant and most people agree that the apparatus is cruel and unjust, no one can do anything about it. Funding is cut off, but the apparatus is still in use. There is no clear line between old and new, or unjust and just.

Even the explorer’s valuable outside opinion is hesitant, as he feels it immoral to

play a role in another land’s rules.

The apparatus seems to be shut down at the end of the story, signaling a change for the better in the Penal Colony’s justice system. The old Commandant’s prophecy of return, however, implies that conversations about reform are not over. Change and reform are cyclical, after all. The old Commandant “returning” shows how, in time, the new justice system will also be scrutinized.

In contemporary America, the same

argument arises around our prison system and, especially, the death sentence. Many believe that the death sentence is an old and unjust way of meting out punishment. Some Americans believe that taking a human life is cruel, no matter the circumstances. Some would argue that prison itself is unjust, as humans shouldn’t be able to lock away other humans based on what they believe is right.

Kafka makes one thing clear: there is no clear answer to this never-ending debate.

An atmospheric musical dream

Russell Yoh ’24

“We didn’t need a story, we didn’t need a real world / We just had to keep walking / And we became the stories, we became the places,” whispers a robotic and almost creepy voice at the opening of the intro to M83’s sixth studio album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

The listener then meets the glistening synthesizers and atmospheric soundscapes that shape the album’s 73-minute runtime. While Hurry Up was their first album that reached mainstream success, the French elec-

tronic music group formed in 1999 and has been hard at work ever since.

Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is a two-sided album with 22 tracks, but it packs a punch. The group’s lead member Anthony Gonzalez describes this album as “mainly about dreams, how every one is different, how you dream differently when you’re a kid, a teenager, or an adult.” And he’s right. Each track truly does feel like a dream.

Take “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire,” for example, or “Tell Me a Story,” translated from the French. The song is a spoken-word story told by a little girl, describing a world

where everyone becomes frogs and spends eternity jumping around together blissfully. While this story may sound ridiculous, it represents a child’s innocence. The song then ascends into a cinematic instrumental of angelic synthesizers and strings along with claps and other percussion.

Hurry Up relies mostly on instrumentals to tell its story, as most of the tracks have few lyrics. Eight of the 22 have no lyrics at all.

The track titles are often strange and unclear, never even written on the tracks themselves. Titles like “Claudia Lewis” and “Year One, One Ufo” make the listener

wonder just what the songs are trying to say, but that is the beauty of this music. Nothing about it is really all that clear or obvious, much like our dreams.

A clear standout track is the first track on the second side of the album titled “My Tears Are Becoming a Sea.” The song feels like it comes straight out of the final scene of a movie, with its soaring strings and heavy, dramatic drums. It leaves the listener feeling a mix of sadness and optimism. Plus, the loud and almost jarring layered vocals somehow complement this soothing instrumentation.

Even the more conventional sounding cuts on the record, such as “Midnight City,” which was inescapable in the 2011 pop-music scene, hold unique characteristics. While the saxophone solo and the four-on-thefloor kick drum beat similar to the synthpop music style popular in modern music, the high-pitched and almost shout-like vocal stylings and effects add a new flare.

One thing this album suffers from is its excessively long runtime. While lengthy albums work well when done properly, here the songs all start to sound similar towards the end of the second side.

If it was cut down a little more, it would have been a more immersive experience, but its cohesive nature makes up for these shortcomings.

The album ends with the powerful “Outro.” The production on this final track makes it feel like the finale of the album, but its lyrics are rather open-ended.

“Creatures of my dreams, raise up and dance with me/Now and forever, I’m your king.”

Franz Kafka poses for a portrait, c. 1923

VIA WIKIMEDIA

2024 IHL champions look to an even brighter future

Quinn Sullivan ’25

High school hockey is always a pleasure to watch—the atmosphere, the energy on the ice, and the battling between the players bring warmth to the winter. What tops high school hockey?

High school playoff hockey.

This year, players, fans, and students enjoyed the game. After a heartbreaking loss in the IHL championship in the 2022-2023 season to longtime rival Episcopal Academy, a fire was set under the 2023-2024 team.

The feeling of coming so close, and losing to a competitive rival, is unimaginable. The burning ambition to get back to the championship powered the team through the season. Key players such as Sixth Former Connor Gillespie, Fifth Former Reece Childs, Fourth Former Esref Erkmen, and Third Former Jack Torr all made first-team all IHL. Fourth Former Will Forman received an honorable mention.

The team worked hard all season long to get back to where they were exactly a year

Basketball hopes to be even stronger next season

The 2023-2024 basketball season was one to remember, as the Fords were able to overcome much adversity. Despite being down two integral starters, Fourth Former Manny Butts and Fifth Former Duke Cloran, the Fords were still able to finish with a record of 17-10 and a league record of 6-4, earning them second place in the Inter-Ac, ahead of rivals Episcopal Academy and Malvern Prep.

Third Former Silas Graham averaged an incredible 15.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2.6 steals this season, earning him First-Team All Inter-Ac, becoming the second freshman to do so in the league’s history. Graham was overwhelmingly humble about his success.

“I’m just trying to help my team win and take coaching all the time,” Graham said. “Obviously being first-team as a freshman is a huge honor, and I’m truly grateful for that. I am hoping to be able to just get better from it and hopefully maintain that first-team selection.”

The rest of the starting lineup for the Fords included Sixth Formers Connor Scanlan and Billy Rayer and Fifth Formers K.J. Carson and Jacob Becker. All four displayed their high-level abilities to keep the games

ago—playing Episcopal Academy in the championship.

The Churchmen scored first, but Forman, Childs, and Fifth Former Ryan Wai shot back, getting the Fords up to a 3-1 lead going into the third period.

With some lucky breaks and help from the penalty box, the Churchmen climbed their way back into the game to make the score 3-3, forcing an overtime.

The Fords were dominant the entire game, outshooting their opponents 61-19.

The student section was ecstatic while the players on the ice were drained. With only three minutes left on the clock, Third Former Micheal DiPalma was the hero, with an assist from Third Former Jack Torr to seal the game in a thrilling overtime win 4-3 for the Fords.

After the game, Sixth Former John Rouse said, “I feel great because we completed the main goal we had for the year. Winning the IHL championship, especially against EA, whom we have been rivals with during my whole time on the team meant everything to me. I think it left a good foundation for the young team. We have to set a standard of winning. Next year I am excited to see what the team can do competing on a higher level.”

The Fords finished 13-5-1, with a perfect in-league record in the IHL (10-0).

“I try and push my teammates to be the best versions of themselves. There are a lot of kids on the team who can always play better so trying to get the best version of themselves by pushing them is how I tried to lead,” Rouse said.

Childs voiced similar sentiments.

“From the start of the season I felt the drive in every player on the team to want to be right back in the position we were last year and come out victorious,” Childs said. “Other schools lost their key players and, in turn, we gained some amazing new freshmen. After a tough game against Cherokee, coming out in a win for our opening game, and going undefeated in the IHL, the team and I were confident in our ability to win.”

The two leading scores of the team were Third Formers Michael Dipalma ’27 and Jack Torr ’27.

Childs said, “I think our future is very bright.”

Some players put the game before their bodies. Wai battled through a broken collar bone and Fourth Former Esref Erkman played in the championship with his right hand in a cast due to a broken finger. This determination to play was certainly a contributing factor in their success.

Wai reflected on the season and the highs and lows.

“My hardest challenge was definitely starting the season late, coming back from a broken collarbone I suffered in my club season two months earlier,” Wai said. “Overall for our team, I think we had a lot of success facing adversity and playing through tough times.”

“This year the team made strides both in skill but also as a team, creating a strong bond,” Rouse said. “Just being in the locker room with all the guys is what I will miss the most.”

competitive, especially during conference play.

Carson and Rayer showcased impeccable three-point shooting, while Scanlan played with grit, intelligence, and a competitive desire to win the game. One of the newest members of the Fords basketball program, Jacob Becker, added size and strength, while adding extreme athleticism and wellrounded skill on the court. Even the players on the bench displayed a lot of positive energy on and off the court.

Along with the team’s success, Coach Bernie Rogers made history himself, becoming the most successful coach in Haverford School history. Coach Rogers has been at the

helm since 2015, and after nine seasons he has tallied up 132 wins as the head coach.

“I think it’s a testament to the players in the last nine years,” Coach Rogers said, “how well they’ve played together as a team and worked hard at getting better each day at practice.”

The majority of those victories came in the 2017 to 2019 seasons with an impressive combined record of 51-6. These seasons included two back-to-back undefeated InterAc championship seasons as well as a 28-0 PAISAA championship season.

In the last few seasons, Coach Rogers has faced adversity, missing an Inter-Ac season due to the pandemic, as well as losing

key players from injuries and other circumstances.

“I think the players have done a great job being ready for new challenges and unfortunately when guys get hurt, we try to be there for them as they rehab and get ready to come back, and the guys who were taking their place are ready to step up for a new challenge,” Coach Rogers said.

After two years of struggle, Fords basketball is once again one of the top teams in the Inter-Ac. With Cloran and Butts returning from injury next year as former starters, along with Graham, Becker and Carson, the program will finally be at its full potential.

PIERCE LAVERAN ’24

Hockey team members support their teammates in-game, February 2024

K.J. Carson ’25 eyes the hoop in a 35-49 loss against Malvern on January 12, 2024

PIERCE LAVERAN ’24

Jay Rogers ’25

Track and Field plans to use harsh winter season and student leadership as fuel

Coming out of the winter, track and field is geared to have its best season yet.

The winter track season is always tough for the Fords: sunless practices, cold conditions, mental burnout, and the injuries that plague runners during the dark months. For many athletes, staying healthy has been a priority.

“I’ve been focusing on my body for the spring season,” Fifth Former Michael Crutchlow said. “After two full seasons of running this year, I definitely think right now is the most important point to avoid injuries.”

The darker months, however, give athletes a chance to improve when others take a break. Fourth Former Ahijah Goins, who serves as team co-captain, believes the winter season is one of the best opportunities to grow as an athlete.

“I believe that all the runners from the winter seasons have grown tremendously in their track careers not only just physically but mentally,” Goins said.

Coach James Hawkins agrees. He believes the harsh conditions of the winter give athletes an edge.

“You gain confidence from being out in the cold and working through it,” Coach Hawkins said.

“But when it’s sixty to eighty, everybody’s happier and more ready to go. With the warmer weather comes harder practices.”

JEY BROWN ’24

Coach Hawkins also believes the compact atmosphere at competitions in the winter gives athletes an advantage during the spring season.

“Participating in an indoor track meet—where it’s more—consolidated is tough,” Coach Hawkins said. “When you take the confidence it takes to compete in front of your family that’s right over top of

you to outdoor [competitions], it just brings out the best of every athlete.”

Beyond new events and environments, the spring season gives runners much to look forward to.

“Mentally, the spring season is better than the winter season since the sun is shining,” Fifth Former Team Co-Captain Alex Dardarian said. “Physically, it’s the same thing; warmth is a savior.”

Sixth Former Jey Brown agrees. He believes the warmer weather gives the team the chance to focus and work their hardest.

“Going when it’s twenty or thirty degrees is super hard,” Brown said. “But when it’s sixty to eighty, everybody’s happier and more ready to go. With the warmer weather comes harder practices.”

Crutchlow agrees.

“As the weather warms up and the sun comes out and new things get put into our training, I think a lot of my teammates have begun to get more focused and excited,” Crutchlow said. “We have more opportunities. More chances to comfortably practice outside, more chances to race, and new teammates.”

Student leadership on the team is looking to capitalize on the influx of new and returning athletes.

“I will continue to welcome new athletes so that they become the best they can be,” Goins said. “The changes in team population are going to bring more positivity and structure to the table.”

The methodology for the team is not changing as the team transitions from the winter season to the spring season. Coach Hawkins believes the team will reap the benefits of consistency in training style this season.

“The only thing that’s changing will be that we will have a more complete team this year,” Coach Hawkins said. “Guys who have been with me for three years now are pretty much buying into what it is that we’re doing. I think that’s an important thing that will find us a lot of success.”

During the spring season, the team puts less focus on warming up, and more emphasis on working.

“The colder it is, the more it’s gonna take for us to warm up our bodies so that we don’t mess our hamstrings up,” Coach

Hawkins said. “For the Spring, we break a lot more and we do a lot of sweat work, so we can do a lot of our faster events like the hundred-meter dash, which they don’t have during the winter.”

Practices have started on a strong foot this season, despite setbacks.

“We’ve done a lot more of our workouts in the wrestling room due to rain,” Goins said. “But practice so far has been great. The hard work we already have and will continue to put in projects that we’re going to have a phenomenal season.”

Goins is focused on the top meets, seeing them as opportunities to succeed.

“The Penn Relays, Inter-Ac Championship, and PAISAA [Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association] State Championships are just a few of the big opportunities throughout the season. I want to see plenty of PRs and growth in general,” Goins said.

Brown is looking forward to a successful season. He wants to build upon the past two

years of performances to push for the crown.

“We have a lot of guys that can score for us at the Inter-Ac meet, which is exciting. I want to see as many people as possible at States as well,” Brown said. “We came in third place at States two years ago, and second place last year, so it’s only right to go for first, right?”

For Brown’s final season, they are looking to make it one to remember.

“Honestly, I’m kind of sad that this is my last year,” Brown said. “There is so much potential in the team.”

Aside from paper results, Coach Hawkins is also bent on building the team’s camaraderie.

“Continuing a great brotherhood that is not just track and field, but within the school itself, is really important,” Coach Hawkins said. “Using the school virtues to build our character within what we do on the field and outside of it as well—I think that’s an important thing that will make us a complete team this year.”

Dhakir Brinkley ’25 runs at an indoor track meet, February 2024

Elliot Lee ’25

PIERCE LAVERAN ’24

James Gates ’24 makes his approach at TFCAGP Last Chance Meet, February 9, 2024