May 2019 Index

The Index

The student voice...

since 1888

Ευταξια Σωζειν Δοκει May 2019

Volume LXXXVI, No. 8

www.havindex.com

Haverford, Pennsylvania

Boys to men in the #MeToo era English IV: Journalism Seminar

Preparing boys to “be men”

by John Williams ’19

“W

hy is it that the vast majority of crimes are committed by men, the vast majority of incarcerations are men, and the more violent the crime the more likely it is to be a man?”

Dr. Nagl asks.

Questions like these, as well as the sexual and gender revolutions of #MeToo movement, third-wave feminism, and toxic masculinity have been changing the way society views manhood. Amidst the societal tensions surrounding gender and sexuality in America, boys at Haverford and beyond must consider how to live in today’s world.

“Put others before yourself. Work hard.

Have discipline. When you can see the value in things, it’s pretty easy to be motivated to work really hard, and that leads to success,” said Sixth Former Mickey Fairorth. “There’s a value in work beyond the specific thing you are doing.”

For many, success and perseverance are crucial parts of “being a man.” But sometimes men single-mindedly pursue success, causing severe damage.

“There shouldn’t be the stereotype that guys have to tough it out, because that is bottling up your emotions and that leads to depression,” Fifth Former Conor Wood said.

“Everyone should have equal access to be who they want to be.”

Individuality can be difficult to obtain, especially in a social environment that relies on interaction, imitation, and inclusion.

“In a group, we need to be conscious of the impression we make and the conduct we exhibit. It is also important to put yourself in someone else’s shoes,” Dr. Nagl said.

There is no one way to “be a man.”

“I think this school tries to be very self aware. It is open to criticism,” Fairorth said.

“The self-awareness to say ‘here’s something we need to work on and we are going to examine what’s at the root of that’ is very important.”

Traditional masculinity through a contemporary lens

by Nick Parente ’19 A large muscular man reaches into his pocket to pull out his Zippo lighter. He lights his cigarette and takes a few puffs before returning to his toolbox.

Masculine ideals have changed quite a bit from such an image. Behaviors that may have been considered masculine in our parents’ generation are now deemed unacceptable. From the macho Marlboro Man to the Gillette commercial that claims the “boys will be boys” era is over, society’s idea of masculinity has clearly changed.

Where does “traditional masculinity” COMMUNICATIONS

Haverford students stand for the national anthem on Haverford opening day

cont. on p. 6

Behind Main Line Munchies, the food review phenomenon Daniel Chow ‘20

“C

@THEMAINLINEMUNCHIES

Art show - “Africa” Acrylic on canvas by Tyler Rippie ‘20, page 10

INDEX STAFF

ome for the food. Stay for the family.”

The Main Line Munchies is an Instagram-based “Food Consultant” page hosted, organized, and run completely by Sixth Formers, and it is shaking up the local food review world.

Since the account’s creation, the page has garnered a staggering two-thousand followers in just over a week, and the number continues to grow. The critic lineup includes Sixth Formers Griffin Wada, Scott Marshall, Will Micheletti, Jeff Pendergast, Connor Devine, and Jake Glunk.

Robotics team at Worlds, page 3

Their Instagram account (@themainlinemunchies), currently features six restaurant reviews, rating each group member’s meal and the restaurant’s ambiance, service, presentation, and value.

The idea for the family-friendly food page came when Wada, Marshall, and Glunk were eating lunch.

“We started thinking about how it would be funny if we started reviewing all of the restaurants that we eat at around the Main Line,” Wada said. “From there we put it in cont. on p. 5

REC FOUNDATION

Page 2

The Index’s

The Index

- Editorial

May 2019

2018-2019 Staff

Neetish Sharma ’19 Editor-in-Chief Yan Graf ’20 Managing Editor Toby Ma ’20 Managing Editor Obaida Elamin ’20 Design Editor Matthew Schwartz ’20 News Editor Vincent Scauzzo ’20 Features Editor Daniel Chow ’20 Features Editor Robert Esgro ’19 Campus Opinions Editor

We must reject toxic masculinity

W

hat does it mean to be a man in the world today? A stoic lone wolf? A party animal?

An aggressive fighter? Someone who can consume tons of alcohol?

Or is a man someone who sticks to his core values? A faithful friend. A hard worker.

Someone who will do what it takes to provide for others. One who stands by his values. One who lives with honor.

Haverford men grapple with these questions each day, subconsciously making sense of what defines us as men. Students weigh the value of athletic success, romantic relationships, social clout, academic merit, and morality.

We aspire to healthy masculinity. Stoicism,

hyper-aggressive behavior, excessive drinking, objectification of women, and fears of being vulnerable are all traits that encompass “toxic masculinity.”

In the past, schools and families believed their job was to stamp out boys who did not fit a certain masculine mold, but at the expense of their humanity.

Today, things are different.

We see signs of a design that’s not working, but we have a chance here to get it right. Men are relational creatures, and we need nurture — the more connected, the more loved, the stronger the boy.

This upcoming month offers struggles for all our students: Fifth Formers brace for the college process, academic loads ramp up,

final exams loom, and standardized testing appears on the horizon. Let’s take this month to realize we’re human and that we need and deserve self-care. That we don’t need to fit ourselves within a certain “box” to be worthy men — that true success is unapologetically being yourself in a world that’s constantly trying to make you someone else.

We here at The Index encourage each student to be himself. Whether that means trying out something new to push yourself, to owning your opinions regardless of what you think others have to say, we have faith that everyone has the potential to push past his limits.

Yeshwin Sankuratri ’20 Asst. Opinions Editor Jon Krouse ’20 Off-Campus Opinions Editor Tyler Zimmer ’21 Arts Editor Augie Aliaga ’21 Arts Editor Ryan LaRocca ’20 Sports Editor Nick Chimicles ’19 Head Web Editor Lleyton Winslow ’20 Head Web Editor Noah Rubien ’20 Web Editor Aditya Sardesai ’20 Web Editor

The Index is a student-run publication of the Haverford School that does more than bring news: it provides the diverse perspectives of the Haverford student body. It is an outlet for student writers to take stands on issues they deem important. It chronicles the daily struggles and accomplishments of the Haverford community. The Index also provides a forum for discussion of pertinent issues, such as student culture, academic policy, and Haverford’s place in world affairs. The Index presents new ideas and aspires to influence constructive change.

All opinions and viewpoints expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of The Index or the school. The Index is designed and produced digitally. Photographs may be retouched. Submissions and letters to the editors regarding any and all articles are welcomed at index@haverford.org.

The Index, a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, is composed on Mac OS X, using Adobe InDesign CS 2018. Its surveys are conducted via SurveyMonkey and are advertised on Facebook to current Haverford students. Graphic designs are created by Index staff via Canva. Southern Dutchess News prints 200-400 copies of each issue, and its editorial staff distributes them in the Upper School on the day of release.

The Index serves the needs of a total school population of 1156 community members, consisting of 956 students and 200 faculty and staff members.

Contact The Index: 450 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041 index@haverford.org Twitter: @Haverford_Index http://www.havindex.com/ (610) 642-3020 x. 1222 Volume LXXXVI, No. 9 - May 16, 2019

INDEX STAFF

The Index Managing Editor Yan Graf ’20, Editor-in-Chief Neetish Sharma ’19, Design Editor Obaida Elamin ‘20, and Managing Editor Toby Ma ’20 (left to right)

Page 3

The Index

- news

May 2019

Robotics team 169A places third at World Championships

REC FOUNDATION

Will Clark ‘19, Will Vauclain ‘19, and Scott Shaw ‘19 (center to right) in Worlds Round Robin, where the six division champions play head-to-head matches Daniel Chow ‘20

A

s with any great season, the robotics team’s 2018-2019 has finally come to an end after the VEX World Championships. But this season’s end was far from ordinary.

Prior to the World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, the team attended several national “Signature Events” in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Florida, and had qualified four teams for the World Championships after winning the Pennsylvania State Championship. Never before had the team traveled so often to beat out-of-state competition.

Qualified teams included state champions 169A (Sixth Formers Scott Shaw, Will Vauclain, and Will Clark) and 169Y (Sixth Former Jared Hoefner, Fifth Formers Daniel Chow and Toby Ma, and Fourth Former Safa Obuz), state finalist 169Z (Third Formers Adamya Aggarwal, Josiah Somani, Ethan Saddler, and Joshua Ricefield), and state semifinalist 169X (Fifth Formers Bennett Twitmyer, Aditya Sardesai, and Brandon Windle, and Fifth Former Maxim Kreider).

This year, the Cavalry entered the World Championships with quite a reputation. Not only did they have a name for success from previous years, but this current year the team had won the national WPI Signature Event.

Furthermore, Sixth Former Intel Chen put together a “reveal video” for the team, which showcased the robots’ capabilities and gained over ten thousand views.

However, the real worldwide attention on Team 169 was spurred by their invention of an “angle adjusting hood,” a complex design that went viral among the robotics community as teams attempted to replicate it due to its amazing functional capabilities.

And as the icing on the cake, students reached out to local company Hillock Anodizing and obtained an anodization sponsorship. In return for publicity, Hillock Anodizing chemically treated the team’s metal for free and allowed the students to build their

robots with crisp looking color schemes, something the team had never done before.

On social media, the number 169 was watched closely and expected to deliver high performance at the World Championships.

And they did just that.

Team 169A placed third in the world out of over 20,000 teams that began the year from forty-five countries around the world.

In addition, 169A won their division after getting seeded with the first alliance, 169Y placed finalist in their division as the eleventh seed, and 169X along with 169Z finished as semifinalists in their divisions as the first and third seed, respectively.

This year has been the team’s best overall performance, with all teams collectively finishing high in both rankings and elimination rounds. Behind the awards and accolades, as with any competitive team, have been hours upon hours of work.

“Preparing for worlds was kinda like writing an essay this year,” Sardesai said. “We built a rough draft of our robot to test and explore and prove the functionality of the robot out of older metal then rebuilt the robot, fine-tuning any blemishes, screw for screw, with the anodized metal. From there, it was just testing to see what we needed to do to make the robot as perfect as possible” Although the time crunch before Worlds was stressful, the team had already fallen upon their optimal design earlier in the season with the angle-adjusting hood flywheel.

Growing familiar with the final design took “a bit of stress off our shoulders since we didn’t have to think about a “what-if ” scenario where the design doesn’t work,” Sardesai said.

The four-day competition was full of emotion. Each team entered the arena with a mindset to win it all, and with strenuous work hours, it was frustrating for the teams when matches did not go their way in the elimination round, especially after waiting through over two-hundred qualification

matches.

169Z’s run was stopped short in semifinals when their partner made an egregious tipping offense, 169X fell short in finals when their partner’s robot had a motor failure, and they were entangled in the net, 169Y lost in finals after an alliance selection that did not go their way, and 169A was forced to replay a match during the round-robin stage.

“The loss was tough, especially considering the hard work we spent that entire week staying up scrimmaging and tuning our robots; however, I know getting upset with the results doesn’t provide anything to myself or the team,” said 169Y team member Obuz.

“When you consider the countless mistakes you make in VEX or in life, throughout a career or season, it can sometimes surprise you on the number of opportunities you missed.

Rather than regret, the team as a whole and I learn to turn these feelings of regret into a positive driving force, and help us compete at an even higher level.”

“Looking back, however, the optimist would say it was a miracle to perform so well as the eleventh seed, beating out the third, sixth, and tenth seed, and only losing to the first seed by four points,” Obuz said.

For 169X team member Twitmyer, eliminations were stressful. “We were hopeful we could go all the way, as we were with the number-one seed in our division,” Twitmyer said. After a controversial quarterfinals match involving multiple referees and highranking officials, the team was flustered even after they won.

Twitmyer said, “We ultimately choked super hard in semifinals, but, although we did not win a division again this year, it was still a great experience being able to compete against the best teams in the world.”

Third-Form Team 169Z decided to look past the loss and cherished the social aspects of the event. After coming back from the venue each day, the team hosted high-level scrimmages with some of the best teams in

the world, including teams from Maryland, Indiana, California, Ontario, New Zealand, and Singapore. In addition, there was communication from teams all around the world over social media.

“Making new friends in such a short amount of time really opened doors for me,” Somani, a member of 169Z, said. “The moment I got to know everyone, it opened up doors for alliance picks — but rather than that, new friendships. I mean, you’ve got people from all around the world in one place. How cool is that?”

For 169A, the full Sixth Form team of Shaw, Vauclain, and Clark, their final high school season was capped off triumphantly.

“This season, we worked extremely hard and faced some difficulties. Ending the year with a division win made the struggles that we went through, not just in this past year but in every year of our robotics career, worth it,” Vauclain said. “I have no regrets from my high school VEX career.”

“We went into worlds wanting to at least win a division, which is what we did,” Vauclain said. “I remember playing in round robins with an intense calm, knowing that we had already accomplished what we went there for, so anything else that happened would be a bonus.”

Shaw, a robotics legend not only at Haverford but in the robotics community, said, “My final appearance at VEX worlds as a high school student was incredibly rewarding and successful. It is hard to believe that my past seven years of competing has come to an end,” Shaw said. “Nonetheless, I could not have asked for a better way to close out my final season. I have put so much effort into this competition in order to be successful, and after winning my division at Worlds this year, I feel as though all of my work has finally paid off.”

Page 4

The Index

- Features

New era. Shared vision. Real leadership.

Ms. Hannah Turlish runs for office

May 2019

Matt Mignucci ‘20

N

ew Era. Shared Vision. Real Leadership. That is the slogan that represents the campaign of Haverford’s own Ms. Hannah Turlish, who is running for 7th Ward Commissioner for Haverford Township. A Ward Commissioner’s responsibilities range from executive duties to duties in the legislative branch. For Ms. Turlish, that means she would “approve budgets, oversee spending, and hire township employees; as well as represent their specific wards and make recommendations and decisions based on the needs of their Wards.”

While this is a lot of responsibility, it is only a part-time job, so Ms. Turlish will not need to leave Haverford if she wins this position.

Why Ms. Turlish? Well, Ms. Turlish’s educational and career experience has prepared her for this position and makes her a fit for 7th Ward Commissioner.

Ms. Turlish majored in Political Science in college and has been teaching for 25 years.

In addition, she says she has “always wanted to run for office,” adding that “I think I have a great deal of knowledge and perspective to bring to the group of Commissioners. I also have a lot of experience working with people of different mindsets and love meeting new people (and feeling like I’m being helpful).

Those who have had me as a teacher know I’m a bit of a performer, so those skills will come in handy!”

There’s no doubt that Ms. Turlish is qualified for the position, but what was her inspiration for running for 7th Ward Commissioner?

Ms. Turlish believes that the 2016 election was what inspired her to run.

“Ever since the election of 2016 there has been an inspiring amount of local activism in the township, spearheaded by citizens

who made the decision to put themselves out there and do what they could to inspire kindness, inclusion, and engagement in civic life,” Ms. Turlish said. “That gave me the confidence that I would have support if I gave it a go, and I knew I would completely enjoy the process of getting to know people and serving constituents. It’s also relevant that the nine Commissioners are all white men, and I think it’s time 51% of the Township’s population has someone that looks like them sitting at the table.”

If elected, Ms. Turlish has many ideas on how to improve the community. Her main focus would be to increase communication between the government and residents. In addition, Ms. Turlish would like to work on giving working parents more childcare and after-school programs.

These have already been issues in Haverford Township, and Ms. Turlish believes

Ms. Hannah Turlish’s 7th ward commissioner campaign poster, showcasing her slogan.

“creative thinking about the problem is long overdue.” Also, Ward 7 could use a fresh perspective.

Ms. Turlish said, “Ward 7 has also had the same Commissioner for 28 years, and while he is great at the micro-level stuff (e.g. getting a new recycling bin for someone, getting a sidewalk shoveled, etc.), he has not had a long-range vision with innovative ideas for development and environmental sustainability.”

Ms. Turlish knows that, if elected, she would bring a new perspective to Haverford Township and benefit the community.

Whether Ms. Turlish is your advisor, your teacher, a familiar face in the lunchroom, or even a total stranger, consider voting Turlish for Ward 7 Commissioner.

COURTESY OF MS. HANNAH TURLISH

Honor Council unveils new candidate approval system Matthew Schwartz ‘21

W

ith each new year comes new changes, and the Honor Council is no exception. A combination of new leadership in faculty advisors Mr. Jeremy Hart and Mr. Jesse Sataloff, along with calls for increased diversity among a mostly white group of students, have led to improvements during this year’s selection process.

“This year Mr. Sataloff and I, in the process of evaluating where the Honor Council is heading, looked to improve certain areas to maximize the talent we have in this school and make sure the application process gets rid of any implicit biases and is as fair as possible,” Mr. Hart said.

One of the first steps to changing the application processes was by including an option for applicants to include a teacher recommendation as a part of their application. This year served as a test for this change and was mostly used only when trying to decide between two close students for the next round. In an effort to maintain relations between students and faculty, only Mr. Hart and Mr. Sataloff saw these recommen-

dations and relayed important information to the nine Honor Council members, who ultimately vote on each decision.

“We took every application that came in, put them in a Google doc, created the same font, same spacing, and all we put on the top was, for example, Form III and application one,” Mr. Hart said.

These uniform applications were given to the nine Honor Council members, who read every one of them and graded them on two separate eight-point scales: community and individual. The scores are averaged, and then the members vote on whom they believe should move on.

Unlike in previous years, the same eight questions were asked to each applicant during his interview. This created an even playing field.

The final step for the applicants are their speeches to their entire form and the form elections for their Honor Council representative; this part of the selection process remains the same. “[Director of Diversity & Inclusion Mr. Brendon] Jobs has done an unbelievable job

this year in the school. [Headmaster Dr. John] Nagl has been really supportive of him and his initiative to fight biases,“ said Mr. Hart. ”We read a book this summer named Blind Spot, and it talked about ways that we

don’t realize we have biases — whether they are just inherent or we don’t see them — and so Mr. Sataloff and I talked about how we can apply that to the Honor Council selection.”

MATTHEW SCHWARTZ ’21

The Honor Council signature book, resting in front of Dr. Nagl’s office on the first floor

Page 5

The Index

- Features

May 2019

Dr. Reichert fosters healthy masculinities Neetish Sharma ‘19

I

t’s five minutes into the beginning of A lunch. Right across from Dr. Nagl’s office, Room 100 is host to a scramble of Fifth and Sixth Formers hounding after ten boxes of pizza, stacked up in a balancing act that somehow defies the laws of classical physics.

Folding chairs accommodate all the students as they get situated, hands filled with paper plates and cups of Pepsi and Sprite.

Everyone focuses their attention, emboldened by this sanctuary from the psychological trials of teenage life.

Peer Counseling, described as “the best program here at Haverford” by many of our students, is home to this setting every other Wednesday during lunch for Fifth and Sixth Formers. Through practicing deep listening and co-counseling, Peer Counseling teaches skills in listening, sharing, and offering empathy. As a result, it helps students become the best versions of themselves. Standing at the helm of this program is Consulting School Psychologist Dr. Michael Reichert.

In his years in the program, Dr. Reichert has provided a space for students to step out from behind the mask that hides their deep-

“The psychologist’s role is to think about the overall balance in the system and whether it’s out of balance or in balance, and how to intervene so that things are correct.” est thoughts and feelings. By breaking down that mask, students learn that it is constructive to let their true emotions out in front of their peers. Specializing in boys’ developmental psychology, Dr. Reichert helps countless adolescents, young men, and even middle-aged adults navigate the rather complex landscape that is manhood in a cold, unforgiving world.

“What we want to be is a school that helps every boy succeed,” Dr. Reichert said.

“The term ‘psychological ecology’ is one of the first things I learned that attracted me to psychology. The psychologist’s role is to think about the overall balance in the system

NEETISH SHARMA ’19

Chris Dehney ’20, Dr. Michael Reichert, and Aly Ba ’20 in discussion on May 15, 2019 and whether it’s out of balance or in balance, ness of The Haverford School is that there who were part of a gang, and there were conand how to intervene so that things are cor- are over a thousand boys who come from all stant talks about gang fights on weekends rect.” walks of life, all kinds of cultures, and have with chains and tire irons and the like. The Peer Counseling is not the only one of all kinds of personalities.” environment was very Darwinian, sink or those avenues at Haverford, but one of the As one of six boys in a family from Wilm- swim, as in the strongest survive. I decided I most important. Many students have had ington, Delaware. Dr. Reichert began his was more interested in intellectual life rather success investing in this time-tested initia- early years at an all-boys school himself, be- than trying to fulfill this standard of being tive. fore moving to complete his high school ed- ‘cool.’”

“It has given me the tools and the space to His intellectual endeavors took him to express how I’m feeling,” Sixth Former Luke Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Follman said. “This simple act [of expressing Service, where he majored in International “My role, initially, was to help my feelings to peers] alleviates the pain and Affairs. “Broad, multicultural perspectives the school understand that not sadness, which makes me feel better. Peer are what seemed so interesting to me,” Dr. every boy needs to fit themselves Counseling has given me a place to feel like Reichert said. “It was a degree that let me into a box — the ‘Haverford other people are with me and that I’m not minor in psychology, because I wasn’t sure alone.” what I wanted to do, but it was also a smatman’ box — while losing their Dr. Reichert understands the intricacies of tering of economics, political science, sociolindividuality and uniqueness in how boys think. He says everyone, to some ogy, and history courses. It was great.” the process.” degree, needs a form of therapy in their lives, After gaining admission to law school, be it through a friend, partner, mentor, or a Dr. Reichert was two weeks away from his licensed clinician. “When I first came here in first day before he was off to the mountains 1987, the school had never had a psycholo- ucation at a public school, due to an incident of British Columbia, Canada. He bailed. gist before. I was the first,” Dr. Reichert said. of a fellow classmate being kicked to death Spending six months learning to cross-coun“My role, initially, was to help the school after a dance as a result of gang violence. try ski in the winter during his existential understand that not every boy needs to fit “I didn’t see myself as a tough guy, and career crisis, Dr. Reichert had his own timely themselves into a box — the ‘Haverford I didn’t aspire to be one. This urban private run-in with therapy, a detour that changed man’ box — while losing their individual- school was definitely a rough and tumble ity and uniqueness in the process. The rich- place. I was hanging around a group of guys cont. on p. 9

Munchies, continued from the front page... a group chat and Devine, Micheletti, and Pendergast all really liked the idea, so we just started the account.”

Pendergast said, “We were kinda bored of exams and wanted an excuse to eat out together, and it turned out to be really a lot of fun.”

The team puts in a great deal of effort to bring together the most quality reviews, spending around two hours at each restaurant visit, which usually takes place during lunch or brunch.

Micheletti said, “We spend the time because want to give our followers an honest rating of each restaurant and hope they follow our advice.”

Coming up with a new review is a meticulous process.

“To start off, we have to have at least three members of our group at the review and begin by rating the ambiance, as it is usually

easy to get a feel for the restaurant’s atmosphere right away,” Micheletti said. “Then, throughout our meals, we discuss our scores on each category, which sometimes can be a difficult task as we all have very different opinions.”

After each member has rated each of the five different judging criteria on a scale of one to ten, each category’s results are averaged to find the restaurant’s final score, with taste contributing five-ninths of the rating and other categories contributing one-ninth.

On each Instagram post, the group lists the taste rating respective to each dish, the ratings of the four other categories, the restaurant’s total score, and a well-written paragraph review that summarized the experience.

“We put out an Instagram poll early on asking for recommendations, and we’ve gotten about fifty or more responses, plus other

recommendations in our [direct messages],” Pendergast said. “So we have our work cut out for us.”

Their hard work has been paying off through social media attention, as their follower account steadily rises with each restaurant review. “We’re thrilled by the response

“I don’t think anyone expected us to grow this big or this quickly” we’re getting. In fact, we’ve been out at restaurants several times now and had people recognize us,” Pendergast said.

“I don’t think anyone expected us to grow this big or this quickly, but we believe that if we keep making solid, informative content, we can continue to grow and one day pass

ten thousand followers,” Wada said. “We have put a lot of work in the past couple weeks, and we just try to put our account in a place where we can reach new followers who are looking for food options around the Main Line. We just hope that we can keep this going and continue to grow to reach more people around the Main Line.”

The future of The Main Line Munchies looks promising.

“We had initially expected this account to be for our friends and family to look at and enjoy, but we keep gaining followers,” Devine said. “This account has a ton of potential in terms of the amount of demand there is for a Main Line food critic.”

With their current success in viewerbase, they plan on continuing reviews over the summer. As for now, they have their eyes set on obtaining an Instagram verified badge, a symbol of authenticity and status.

Page 6

The Index

- Features

Boys to men, continued from the front page... come from, anyway?

Sixth Form wrestling captain Ryan Shepherd said, “I think James Bond is a good example.”

Still, Shepherd does not think all aspects of James Bond work today.

“To some extent, James Bond is still ap-

DR. MIKE NANCE

Sixth Former Ben Gerber passes the ball

preciated by society considering how desirable he is,” Shepherd said, “but the way he perceives women would not be viewed as acceptable in today’s world.”

Sixth Form quarterback Ben Gerber said, “I think of someone that isn’t necessarily ‘ripped’ or ‘jacked’ but someone who is definitely healthy and can compete in the world while providing for his family. I also think of a man who shows little to no emotion.”

“I think a lot of society has taken on the ‘toxic masculinity’ rhetoric. I can see some of it, but not all of it,” Gerber said. “Some people say that it is unfair to tell your son to ‘be a man’ or to ‘man up.’ I don’t exactly agree with that, I think it is OK to tell your son to be a man. That doesn’t mean you can’t cry or be emotional — it means that you need to hold up certain standards like providing for your family to the fullest and to have yourself together.”

English teacher Mr. Luqman Kolade thinks that the main character trait of “traditional masculinity” is physical dominance.

“Vin Diesel’s character in the Fast and Furious series is a good example of traditional masculinity, so is any Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger movie in the 90s,” Mr. Kolade said.

“When you go back and watch movies from the 90s, it can be awkward because some of the things shown wouldn’t fly today,” Mr. Kolade said. “Thanks to social media, that gives everyone a platform to speak.

We now know that people who we thought were OK with things, really aren’t.”

Former Jared Hoefner thinks some boys might be afraid to think deeply about their masculinity. “In an all boys school, when you talk about it, a lot of people feel like they’re being attacked,” Hoefner said.

Ms. Turlish sometimes notes traits of toxic masculinity. “When we talk about women’s history or women’s issues, there might not be an outright smirk, but there’s a certain way of holding one’s body that I see as the equivalent of a smirk,” Ms. Turlish said.

Toxic masculinity is not healthy, and young men should know that there is nothing wrong with showing emotion. Ms. Turlish wonders how she and the school can reach out.

“Some kids can turn out to be fabulous men,” Ms. Turlish said, “but I wonder what will it take? How can we as a school, how can I as a teacher, reach certain kids that could go either way? If I come on too strong, am I alienating? I wonder what the right thing to do is in certain situations, because what one kid needs to hear might not work for another kid.”

ford, role models become based on character rather than on what someone’s favorite superpower is.

Along with celebrities and their messages, closer adult figures in boys’ lives are parents and teachers.

“Since I can remember, my mom has taught me how to be a man,” McCall said.

“But more importantly she had taught me how to be a good person. I treat women with the same respect I would want someone to treat my mom with.”

Part of being a “good man” starts by being a “good person.”

Some people will also discover themselves independently as they mature through Haverford.

Fifth Former Nick Moncilovich said, “[My parents] really haven’t impacted my masculinity at all. I’m really the one who decides that.”

On the other side of the role models are the adults themselves. Math teacher Ms. Barbara LaPenta said, “I provide a piece of

The adults in our lives

by Joe Bonini ’19 “When I’m older I want to be just like ‘x,’” many boys might say.

A boy is influenced by a series of adult figures who provide formative guidance. Parents, celebrities, and teachers all contribute to a boy’s character.

Many boys look up to their parents or teachers and gain important knowledge from them.

Other role models are celebrities. Since “celebrity” is a broad term that covers any aspect of being famous, famous men play a significant role in many boys’ lives. Looking up to celebrities, boys do not necessarily gain knowledge from them but rather motivation.

Sixth Former Calvin McCall admires Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman. “I look up to him because of how he carries himself.

He’s not only an inspiration, but he uses his wealth to give back to the community that he plays in,” McCall said.

“I guess I would say that he does impact my masculinity, but not in terms of making me feel more like a man or anything like that,” McCall said. “The impact he has on me deals more with identity.”

Many younger boys would suggest a superhero or a hypermasculine man to be their role model. As boys mature through Haver-

“It is not a quick process. I think this is something you don’t even realize until after you graduate,” Ms. LaPenta said. “It might not be an instantaneous thing.”

DR. MIKE NANCE

Sixth Former Calvin McCall on the mound

Friendships and peer pressure

by Luke Kania ’19

Google Forms poll, May 13 & 14 diversity. I work in an all-male environment, but as a female I can provide insight if there’s a gender issue or a sex issue as well as kind of give them insight into what’s perceived as good masculinity and what’s perceived as poor masculinity.”

A female perspective on certain issues in a boy’s life can definitely be useful as he matures.

Ms. LaPenta’s message for her students is “To be able to grow, fail, ask questions, learn, seek out help, not afraid to try new things.”

Multiple masculinities

by Dan Whaley ’19 Toxic masculinity is the idea that men must suppress their feelings, maintain a “tough guy” appearance, and sometimes act violently to assert masculinity. Many mistake toxic masculinity for how a man should really act. For many, toxic masculinity creates norms that shouldn’t be normal. People get the idea that being anything other than “tough” is “weak.”

At a boys’ school like ours, toxic masculinity may show up in some students. It may originate in sports, what their friends tell them, or what they hear at home.

“The first thing that I respect and admire of all people is honesty, and being honest with one’s feelings. My husband is free with his emotions. He cries, he’s so affectionate with our son, all these things that I think are awesome and slowly being more accepted in our society in terms of how a man can be a man,” said History Department Chair Ms. Hannah Turlish.

People may have their own reasons for not discussing toxic masculinity in school. Sixth

May 2019

INDEX STAFF

Math teacher Ms. Barbara LaPenta speaks to Julius Huang ’22 after class

As every boy goes through elementary to high school years, he will make many friends. Haverford values friendship — the school etched the word in stone in the “Walk of Virtues.” Friendships clearly have a huge impact on a boy’s life, and they can sometimes define an individual.

Haverford wants every student to make and hold on to as many friendships as possible as they step into adulthood. Solid friendships have qualities that make life a lot easier and more enjoyable, and some of the strongest can last a lifetime.

“The best qualities in a friendship is trust and loyalty. While I’ve made a lot of friends while I’ve been at Haverford, I definitely have a certain couple of friends whom I really trust and really have their backs,” said Fifth Former Matt Mignucci.

Some students have trouble finding the right friends for multiple reasons. Some students are too shy and do not know the best way to create friendships, especially if they are new to a school. Most students struggle with this in their first couple years in high school.

“In our culture, boys generally have no trouble making friends in elementary school and middle school,” Upper School Counselor Ms. Janet Heed said, “but then in high school it becomes less prioritized as boys get more funneled into achieving things. Sometimes friendships take a hit, but the best way to make friends is to share a common interest like teammates or, if they aren’t athletes, then in places like theater, music, or the arts.”

Some students may feel that they have to mask their true identity.

“I think more than anything, and this is something that all high-schoolers probably go through, is you learn how to make the right friends,” Sixth Former Jesse Goldman said. “You should not have to behave any differently than who you think you are if you truly have good friends, and if that is not the case, maybe you need a new group of people.”

Another negative factor is peer pressure.

Many high school boys feel pressured to do things or act a certain way to fit in with friends. While peer pressure is everywhere, Haverford tries to avoid the poison of peer pressure.

“My friendships at Haverford aren’t affected by peer pressure. [They] are my most genuine and enjoyable friendships. I believe that even if I am not super close with a person, that peer pressure isn’t and shouldn’t be in involved in the friendship,” Mignucci said.

Friendships are important for everybody,

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and boys need to be themselves and make the right decisions when forming friendships.

“Being connected to friends is arguably the most important thing in any young person’s, or frankly any adult’s life, because we are relational beings. We are most ourselves when we are in the company of others and the safety of others,” Ms. Heed said. “We really need each other. I don’t think that you can overestimate how important friendships are.”

“For men who have spent years in a place like Haverford learning alongside just other boys, it can be jarring to enter college or the professional world and realize that they are working alongside women who are just as talented as they are,” Brill-Edwards said.

“We are raised to believe that we will be successful doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. at Haverford, but we aren’t really trained to imagine women in those same professions,” Sharma said. “That’s a problem.”

The limitations of a boys school

by Nick Chakraborty ’19

Lifelong lessons from athletics

by Christian Sarian ’19

A boys’ school is a unique environment.

The absence of female student perspectives might lead students to adopt a limited understanding of gender roles and masculinity.

But at times, it may be constructive to discuss those topics in an all-male space.

“I think that being an all-boys school, we can really discuss the messages we receive about masculinity, whether it’s from other students, the media, or people in our lives,” Dean of Students Mr. Mark Fifer said.

“Often, it’s hard for co-ed schools to focus on the messages about gender that circulate their community. On the other hand, I think Haverford can and has really made a commitment to discussing this topics, with spaces like Peer Counseling and Human Relationships.”

Haverford students agree that an all-boys environment is sometimes the best place to discover and understand masculinity.

Haverford students come from many different backgrounds, but coaches can instill valuable lessons to the diverse number of athletes.

Lacrosse has Coach John Nostrant, basketball has Coach Bernie Rogers and baseball has Coach Bob Castell. Their wise words have left a lasting impact on the field or the court, and in moments like these, athletes mature and appreciate the lessons they recieve. Many athletes think that performance on the field reflects who they are as a person.

Sixth Form golf and tennis player Jeffery Bozzi is fully aware of parental influence in deciding what sports they want their children to play.

“Most students at Haverford play sports on their own and do what they like, while some parents are more concerned about safety for their kids, such as not allowing their kids to play contact sports due to avoiding

Fifth Former Matt Mignucci “Because we can relate to each other, we have very productive conversations about our roles as men and relationships with women in spaces like Peer Counseling. I also think being an all-boys school allows our boys to express their masculinity through non-traditional ways, like the arts,” said Sixth Former Neetish Sharma. “No one is worrying about how to impress girls or anything like that, and our students really respect others who have passion, no matter where that passion lies.”

But not having female classmates can lead to a limited student perspective.

“We don’t necessarily have women interacting with us as equals in our daily school life,” Sharma said. “As a result, we don’t get the female perspective in a lot of political and personal issues regarding masculinity and gender roles. In any all-boys school, not just Haverford, this can create a self-deteriorating cycle where students only hear one side.”

Not having girls in Haverford may also cause boys to suppress their own emotions.

“I’ve noticed that many of Haverford’s boys don’t feel comfortable talking to their peers about their feelings,” Sixth Former Nick Brill-Edwards said. “I think many students here believe girls would be better at listening to and understanding their emotions.

As a result, they remain silent.”

Due to the nature of Haverford’s all-boys environment, many students have not had much experience connecting with girls as intellectual or athletic equals. Students view this as problematic.

INDEX STAFF

- Features

May 2019

COMMUNICATIONS

Jackson Overton-Clark ’19 and Penn Charter’s Paige McCallister in An Enemy of the People this fall more credit,” he said. “If you’re a star of one difference between boys who explore the arts of those teams, you’re going to be known by and those who do not. “I see that guys who are more willing to share their emotions, everyone, simple as that.”

Coach Matt Rosko knows all about how more willing to talk and have a conversahe can get his athletes prepared for practices, tion….are people who are acting,” Overtongames, and using those habits to become the best athlete one can be.

“Your habits are your habits “Your habits are your habits because they because they are your habits, and are your habits, and you cannot outthink you cannot outthink bad habits” bad habits,” Coach Rosko said. “No matter how smart or intellectual you are, what you feel like you can maneuver throughout life, Clark said.

Art teacher Mrs. Zoë Blatt says she has your habits will determine what you do, and it ultimately reflects off of yourself because noticed art’s effect on developing confidence in her students. you simply cannot outthink bad habits.”

“When a student says, ‘Wow, I never thought I could do this,’ they start to believe Lessons from the arts in their capability to bring about new ideas,”

by Shane Fordham ’19 Mrs. Blatt said.

According to Mrs. Blatt, art gives boys the Haverford is known for its undefeated state championship basketball team, its top- opportunity to “discover who they are and ranked lacrosse team or its recent two-time celebrate who they are.”

Inter-Ac champion football team. Though these are prestigious titles, the school is not Masculinity in the classroom only defined by its athletic programs but by Sam Walker ’19 also by an academic program that provides One of the school’s slogans is “preparing students with eye-opening subjects. One of these subject areas is the arts curriculum, boys for life.” As a preK-12 school, Haverwhich consists of visual arts, music, and the- ford guides young men through important transitions. With this coming of age comes ater.

Sixth Former Jackson Overton-Clark de- the prevalence of sex and sex education. scribes the arts as a good way to bring stu- Haverford has recently emphasized programs dents together. “For me, it has always been and optional courses on human sexuality in the accepting atmosphere. It always brings an attempt to foster learning environments the best group of people on campus togeth- where it is safe to talk about sex.

The school’s recent push to prioritize er.”

Overton-Clark also says the art spaces sexual education and programming is a side at Haverford provide a safe atmosphere for effect of the sexual climate of the country.

Male sexual behavior has been in the nastudents to be creative.

Sixth Former Nate Whitaker said this tional spotlight, and the school tries to teach safe space gives students “artistic freedom,” students safe and healthy ways to engage in which encourages them to be as creative as and talk about sex. One of these ways is the Human Relationships course, which centers they can.

Young boys need to exercise that part around dialogue on a variety of issues, inof their mind. Art helps further the develop- cluding healthy sexual relationships and ment of one’s character in a positive way. cont. on p. 8 Overton-Clark thinks there is a noticeable

Google Forms poll, May 13 & 14 serious injuries,” he said. “I know that parents are very supportive most of the time for what their sons play, and the boys should have a major say in what they want to play.”

Many students think that the basketball and lacrosse teams garner most of the support from fans, and that added pressure only raises their performance and status amongst the students.

Fourth Former Beau Christopher said, “Popularity in sports is big, especially at Haverford. You are very well known if you are a part of the basketball, football or lacrosse team, everyone knows. Even though some of the other sports may not be as popular as basketball or lacrosse, they still deserve

Jeffery Bozzi ’19 returns a volley in a doubles match this spring

COMMUNICATIONS

Page 8 The Index - Arts May 2019 consent.

Sixth Former Asim Richards, who took the course in the fall, said, “We mostly talked about different issues in the world including race, sex, gender — all types of stuff that is important today. A lot of the things we learned in the HR class, we definitely can put into action in our everyday lives.”

Ms. Carmen Epstein, who ran the course for years before moving on from Haverford this year, said, “[The course] broadened the lens of every student that took it, the Haverford students as much as AIS and Baldwin students. I saw that there was some perspective missing within our community. The students who enrolled in the class found it to be invaluable.”

This “invaluable” perspective is not specific only to those in the Human Relationships course. Many students have noticed that many humanities classes frequently take on issues pertaining to masculinity in society.

English teacher Mr. Dan Keefe said, “One of the joys of teaching in a boys school is our ability to tailor the curriculum to an MR. BRENDON JOBS examination of how men engage with their The Human Relationships class includes students from Baldwin and Agnes Irwin identity and their place in American life. If I “It’s not an uncommon thing to see,” Brill“It’s almost like we are preprogramming am going to connect the universal themes of Edwards said. “Sometimes, it’s about show- boys to be like that when they get [to colthe text, I have to find ways in which those ing power. Almost as if drinking more… can lege], to think they need to be a party animal, themes apply to my target audience.” make you more of a man, when in reality, it get lots of girls, and drink a lot. My image of Whether it is Macbeth, Things Fall Apart, just makes you look bad.”

U.S. college life was frat houses, parties, and A Raisin in the Sun, or any other works from Some students make a connection be- more of a fun experience than just a learning English courses, students gain some experitween alcohol and drugs, masculinity, and experience,” said Spanish teacher Señora Suence with the issues that men must wrestle power. sana Lambour, who grew up in Guatemala. with in today’s world.

“Alcohol can also make you do things that “We have painted an erroneous image of One thing all students are cognizant of, you wouldn’t normally do when you were what men are like when they are in college. whether or not they take the Human Resober,” said Sixth Former Winslow Wanglee. By painting that picture, we don’t help the lationships course, is the idea of changing “It’s a little bit of an ego thing. It can help problem of disrespectful gender relationships sexual norms. Between the efforts of the that are superficial and casual. Many people English and history departments and specific have strong bonds with people they went to “The media and entertainment sexual education programming, Haverford is college with, and they didn’t necessarily sleep clearly adapting to changing tides in terms of has presented incoming freshwith them,” Sra. Lambour said. healthy masculinity and sexuality. men with a challenge to know “The media and entertainment has pre“Over time, the concept of equality sented incoming freshmen with a challenge what behavior is appropriate or changes the way that men and women think to know what behavior is appropriate or not. not. Parties, alcohol, and sexual about sex,” Mr. Keefe said. “I will say that I Parties, alcohol, and sexual interaction are do not shy away from these issues but rather interaction are prevalent on colprevalent on college campuses everywhere, need a mature audience to address sexual re- Google Forms poll, May 13 & 14 lege campuses everywhere, but but the television culture that kids have in men that it gives them an idea that this is lationships.” watched growing up can lead them to think the television culture that kids what all women like.” that certain inappropriate actions are pass“It distorts our idea of what [sex] could have watched growing up can Porn, Harassment and #MeToo: able, which is not the truth,” said Vanderpossibly be,” said Mr. Jobs.

Navigating Relationships in 2019 lead them to think that certain bilt-bound Sixth Former Jesse Goldman.

The false ideas of pornography can lead to

by Eric Hoyt ’19 inappropriate actions are passConfirming Goldman’s suspicions is the many young men to a situation where they experience of history teacher Mr. Tim Lengel able, which is not the truth.”

Societal norms of catcalling and sexual make wrong decisions based on the images ’07. harassment/abuse have become unwelcome they have consumed.

“If you’re asking if the Animal House-style Some students are fearful of relationships you improve your ego to help you talk to a and cliché. Once people stopped shrugging girl or something like that.

But it’s not acportrayal of college party life is accurate... their shoulders and excusing this behavior as with women because of potential legal repertually good because you aren’t showing who no, at least not for me,” said Williams alum something that has always just been, conver- cussions. Young men fear accusations of rape you really are.”

Mr. Lengel. or sexual assault even when there is consent. sations began.

The administration takes a strong stance “As a Ford, my high school life really At a boys school, many question whether Though this very rarely happens, the possion prohibiting underage drinking and drug was patterned around male spaces,” Mr. students receive a message of “boys will be bility still clouds the heads of students with usage.

The “Drug and Alcohol Policy” secLengel said. “It was unusual for me and my boys” or the proper message about imper- what-if scenarios. tion of the Student Handbook reads that Haverford friends to hold close friendships “Today, you should triple check or think missible sexual abuse and harassment. “the use or possession of illegal drugs and/ with girls.

The only interactions I regularly “Not enough, not enough,” said History of your actions,” Sixth Former Petey Lemor alcohol by students has no place in our had with women were with AIS and Baldwin Teacher and Director of Diversity and Inclu- mon said. “Because today one person’s percommunity and is forbidden,” continuing to girls at dances, on dates, and during rehearssion Mr. Brendon Jobs. Many in the com- ception of a moment becomes the definition state that using alcohol or illegal drugs will als for musicals.” munity believe not enough is done to teach of you.”

“My female peers at college were way Mr. Jobs thinks these worries can be an- result in disciplinary action and that possesyoung boys about rape culture and harasssion will result in dismissal from the school. smarter and more mature than I was,” Mr. swered by asking yourself one simple quesment.

Although the school takes a clear stance Lengel said.

“People don’t feel like they need to know tion: “Do you trust this human?” on eradicating the abuse of drugs and alcohol Jack Denious ’18 had a similar experience [rape culture] exists, since it’s not a problem by the members of its community, Haverin his first year at Washington and Lee. Drinking: Sign of Masculinity or until it’s a problem for you,” said Mr. Jobs. ford also has a top-notch support system for “I have experienced more genuine relaStill, Mr. Jobs does believe the school has Weakness? those who wish to seek help.

Students know tionships with women as friends, and I have been making efforts to change that ideology. By Robert Esgro ‘19 they can find support in classmates and facWith multiple high-profile cases of ha“Here’s some free advice.

The presence of alcohol and drugs at high ulty before any disciplinary action is taken rassment in the media, many wonder what regarding drug and alcohol abuse. school parties is not a new phenomenon.

Women are just…people! Like would could give young men the idea that it In fact, a recent study by Mothers Against is permissible to act in that way. you are. Treat them accordingly Looking forward to college gender The word pornography immediately Drunk Driving, an organization that lobbies and you’ll make good and great for stricter drinking laws, shows that under- relationships makes people take notice. by Ben Gerber ’19 friends that will last long after Pornagraphy may be difficult to define, age drinking has decreased steadily since the 1980’s.

Even at Haverford, where the adyour four years are over.” as Supreme Court Justice Stewart Potter faPartying, strictly sexual interactions, and ministration makes it clear that the underage mously stated: “[b]ut I know it when I see little to no academic work — the portrait it.” However elusive the definition, pornog- abuse of alcohol and other drugs is strictly contemporary American media has painted adjusted to working with them in class or raphy takes something that is meant to be prohibited, these same substances appear at for American boys. While these circumstanc- other academic work,” Denious said. “That special and turns it into a casual occurrence some social events.

“There is definitely drinking at parties, es may be true for some people, most stu- wasn’t a challenge, but is just something that with misconceived ideas of what actual sex even Haverford parties” Sixth Form student dents live a college life much different than was an adjustment.” is like. those depicted in movies.

“Here’s some free advice,” Mr. Lengel “No matter what the message, the ex- Andrew D’Arcangelo said. “Typically, guys As boys who both grew up in a singlesaid.

“Women are just…people! Like you istence of pornography inherently develops from our school have enough common sense sex environment and have been exposed to are.

Treat them accordingly and you’ll make a male resentment for women,” Ms. Turlish not to overdo it, but occasionally somebody media that falsifies our college expectations, good and great friends that will last long afsaid. “Almost all pornagraphy is abusive to- might push it beyond his limit.” some graduates do not have an adequate unter your four years are over.”

Sixth Former Nick Brill-Edwards agreed. wards women. It generates this expectation derstanding of the college gender dynamic.

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- Features

May 2019

Old school cool: the Mazda Miata

DR. JOHN NAGL

Reviewer Vincent Scauzzo’ 20 in a 2007 Mazda Miata Vincent Scauzzo ‘20

B

ack when the world was black and white, people drove cars with rearwheel drive and stick shifts. Not much stood in the way between the driver and the speed of the vehicle — no traction control, no computers, no power steering.

Driving was laborious. But fun!

Enter the Mazda Miata, Japan’s answer to the pure, old-school sports car of yesteryear.

Since 1989, the relatively small car company,

by Japanese standards, has churned out over a million of these things, thereby producing the most-raced car on Earth. With its lightness, handling capabilities, reliability, and price, Mazda brought the sports car to the mass market.

This model here from 2007 is a testament to Japanese build quality. While wearing a well-worn odometer, the little “Zero” zips around corners with the same amount of enthusiasm as it did when it rolled off the conveyor belt. And with a naturally aspirated engine, power is smooth and plentiful at every RPM. Some might say the Miata could use more power — that 163 horsepower is not enough for a “real sports car.” I say put all these shameful stereotypes aside because over the years, Mazda has done what Colin Chapman of Lotus always preached: simplify and add lightness.

Sure, the 2019 Miata does have more thrust — 181 horsepower — but that can be attributed to greed more than anything else.

With its soft top roof, this Miata weighs just one-and-a-quarter tons, and can do more than get out of its own way. Build the revs, lose the clutch, mash the right foot and the

This model here from 2007 is a testament to Japanese build quality. While wearing a wellworn odometer, the little “Zero” zips around corners with the same amount of enthusiasm as it did when it rolled off the conveyor belt. two-seater gets away quicker than you can say, “Hey, is that Dr. Nagl driving?”

On the subject of transmission, the only issue with this twelve-year-old car is that the shifter knob moves around while shifting, but what a joy it is to go through that sweet six-speed. Because of its normal aspiration, the Mazda likes to drive at high RPMs, and so the car stays in first gear longer than one might expect. Personally, I think that means

you get to enjoy first gear more and not have such an immediate jolt when switching to second. You’ll want to keep those revs high, though — the Miata wants to be free, not cooped up in Lower Merion traffic.

The whole point of the Miata is that it is a driver’s car. It is designed with perfect weight distribution for giving the owner confidence and a smile. This model does just that. Conshohocken State Road might be known for Chevy Suburbans and Mercedes S-Classes driving too slowly, but when patience pays off and the road finally clears, the Miata carves up the twisty sections with so much feel and eagerness, you can’t help but be impressed.

Coming from a student, I would highly recommend this as a first car. It has good gas mileage, it is easy to drive, and it only has two seats so you can’t even get caught being “irresponsible” by having more than one other person in the car. Your parents might not agree with me, but trust me, it’s worth a look.

These little things are bargains, too. The 2007 model here, with its Bose sound system and fine leather interior, costs just under six grand. There are few better values out there in terms of fun-per-dollar.

It is a great car to learn how to drive stick, and it teaches you how to drive quickly with-

out a big motor. In order to squeeze the most speed out of this lightweight, the driver must be in the right gear, so you have to learn how to rev-match your downshifts through the corners. It drives like it wants you to let loose. Put the top down and hear that fourcylinder fizz, and you’ll find that your right foot weighs more than you thought.

This is one of the most honest cars I have ever driven, and not because it is some kind of low-trim level—it’s not. Everything you see, you get. The steering feel and feedback is second to none. It is just such a different experience from anything else you can buy today, except the new Miata. I see now why people say real-wheel drive is best. The front wheels turn the car and the back wheels drive the car—no compromises. Sure, it can’t go in the snow, but that’s what your parents’ car is for.

It’s funny, this car feels so special to drive, yet it is so attainable. There is no excuse for people not to drive a Miata. I’m not saying it’s life-changing, but it will make you reevaluate what is necessary in a car. Do you really need four-wheel drive? Do you really need a big motor? Do you really need electronic assistance?

The Miata begs to differ.

the mainstream rather than in the margins.

A lot of these social change movements saw themselves as operating outside of the system. I thought it made more sense to operate within the system to change from within.”

With a newfound ambition and his first notch in a premature criminal record, Dr. Reichert walked six blocks to the University of Pennsylvania to get his masters’ degree in Counseling Psychology, eventually obtaining his doctorate. After moving on to specialize in a few niches, Haverford School reached out to him, and Dr. Reichert began his career at Haverford as an interventionist for a leading student dealing with substance abuse issues. After a successful treatment ending with the student hugging former headmaster Bo Dixon on the graduation stage for his help, Dr. Reichert was hired on Haverford’s staff as a Consulting Psychologist, his position today.

“Very easy answer for why boys’ psychology is my specialty here. I had two sons. Seriously. Both of them are much older now. I perceived that there were going to be things that preyed on my son’s life that I couldn’t shield him from — the culture communicates certain messages to boys, and I wasn’t going to be able to help him. Yet, I thought those messages were really powerful and important to understand. I felt my son would

understand my role as his dad more if I was committed to boys in a visible way. I wanted to double down on understanding boys’ development.”

After sticking it out with Haverford through considerations of abolishing its single-sex environment, Dr. Reichert helped the school return to their all-boys mission with a new vigor, developing a state-of-the-art understanding of research on boys’ development. With his guidance, we were the first school-based research center on boys’ development in the USA. After being featured on the cover of The Inquirer, the school took a much more prominent role in boys’ lives. We were at the forefront of public discussion regarding boys’ development, and Dr. Reichert was a star of academia.

“I think this is the first time in the whole of human history — and we have the women’s movement to thank for this — that we’re able to rethink the nature of boyhood that we design for boys. We’re going to be able to align boyhood much better with boys’ human natures and needs. So far, that’s never been the guiding principle in the current model of boyhood we’ve designed. My view of human nature is that it’s like ecology.

There’s a certain plasticity and resilience to

Reichert, continued from page 5... his life path forever.

“I wound up at this place called the Sorrento Centre for Human Development, which was an Anglican church retreat center.

They ran these personal growth residencies, and I signed up for it,” recalled Dr. Reichert.

“One component of this program was being individually ‘worked on’ by two Gestalt Therapy trainers. Gestalt Therapy was sort of a new rage on the West Coast, which is based on the idea that you need to use present-life experience to ‘get out’ what’s troubling you. When it was my turn, this guy, John, who looked like Jesus Christ, came up behind me and bore down on my shoulders with his hands, telling me to keep my eyes closed. After asking me what I could see, I erupted in a fit of rage and threw him across the room. Startled, I came to myself, and I decided to take a walk. After walking by the nearby lake, trying to assess what had just happened, it was amazing. The blue was bluer. The sunlight was yellower. There was a more significant meaning of the salmon that were spawning by the lake. I thought, ‘Woah. What just happened that I feel so different, so changed?’ Then I realized, ‘I don’t know what that is, but I want to know more about it.’”

Psychology it was. After a brief stint as a counselor in the Investigatory Unit of a Del-

aware family court system for juvenile delinquents, Dr. Reichert found Peer Counseling through a class back at home in Wilmington.

“Peer Counseling is all about exchanging help, rather than exchanging a fee like most professional psychological help. You learn to listen as well as to recieve help. There was an emerging connection to sources of stress that are rooted in social oppression. Racism.

Men’s oppression. Sexism. This interested me.”

After realizing that he didn’t want to be just another cog in the family court system, passing mostly boys along from one link in the chain to another, often more severe in penalty, he got more interested in social change, joining a Quaker-formed movement for a new society. Based in West Philadelphia, this initiative was formed around 1976 by veterans of the civil rights and peace movements.

“I joined this year-long program, and my graduation exercise was to be part of a 1400-person occupation of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant to do civil disobedience. I actually spent two weeks in the state armory, locked up for trespassing. We learned the techniques of nonviolent civil disobedience, such as what Gandhi used. I did that, and I realized I was glad I had the training, but I figured that I was better off in

cont. on p. 14

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The In

Art Show 2019

INDEX STAFF

“Africa” acrylic on canvas by Tyler Rippie ’20

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“ADK Great Range” laser-cut chipboard by Bryson Bernhardt ’21

“Star Wars Remastered” laser-engraved plywood by Vince Corradetti ’19

“Glass and Folds” oil on canvas by Tyler Zimmer ’21

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ndex

- Arts

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“(Me)dia” MDF & Inkjet print by Calvin McCall and George Maquire ’19

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“Giddy Up” oil on canvas by Noah Rubien ’20

“Flowers” acrylic on canvas by Rashid Black-Jenkins ’21

May 2019

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Page 12

The Index

- Campus Opinions

May 2019

The difficulties of D1 athletics Charlie Baker ‘20

A

pril’s opinion piece, “Elite sports and the college process” analyzed elite sports, such as golf, lacrosse, and squash as a backdoor for rich white students to gain admission to Ivy League schools. It argued that admitted athletes are held to lower academic and extra-curricular standards. As an aspiring collegiate golfer going through the struggles of junior year aiming to find a balance between school work and golf, I knew I needed to respond.

When it comes to these sports, the time commitment necessary to even be considered as a prospect for a collegiate team is immense. A look into Haverford’s lacrosse team schedule reflects countless hours of not only practices but conditioning as well.

Many members of our squash team will go directly from our school practice to train elsewhere.

These arduous hours are not just expected of the top one or two players on each team, but everyone. As these sports get more and more competitive collegiately, these time commitments for prospective college athletes are not only expected in-season but out-ofseason as well.

While these long hours of training often result in success — just look at the number

of Inter-Ac titles Haverford has won this year — they also, unfortunately, take away valuable time from a high schooler’s schedule.

Practices cut into time for homework and extracurriculars. As a result, grades often suffer, and a lack of extracurriculars may not make an applicant look well-rounded.

Games and tournaments often result in missing valuable class, which poses an added

The idea that academic standards are drastically lowered for athletes at Ivy League schools is simply untrue. challenge when Ivy League schools require their prospective student-athletes to take honors and AP-level courses.

The idea that academic standards are drastically lowered for athletes at Ivy League schools is simply untrue. The NCAA rules state that Ivy League coaches cannot recruit students whose “Academic Index,” a score based on SAT score, two SAT subject test scores, and GPA, is more than one standard deviation below that of the previous four admitted classes. Not only are athletes

required to meet NCAA standards, but often coaches will have to comply with standards set by the athletic director or president of their university.

Athletes seeking to attend Ivy League schools have fewer hours a week to do their homework and study for the SAT and two SAT subject tests. Subject tests are not required at seven out of eight of the Ivy League schools for regular admission but are required for athletes in order to compute their Academic Index.

Time is a precious commodity for high schoolers, and varsity sports can easily consume up to twenty hours a week. These twenty hours could be used pursuing robotics, an instrument, community service, or a host of other activities. Activities that, paired together, may look more appealing to admissions representatives than one sport.

Furthermore, as varsity sports at Ivy League schools are competitive at the Division-I level, these teams need recruits to maintain their prominence. Walk-ons benefit team culture and bolster the lineup, but recruits drive the team. Recruits will stand out on the field, court, or course.

Recruits will raise the level of the team to capture that championship. Championships

generate more donations, bring an entire school community together, and inspire students to flock to games. In essence, sports teams influence campus culture.

No one wants to go watch a team that gets demolished on a regular basis. Colleges rely on the success of their teams and the teams rely on the success of their recruits.

Although generally depicted as elitist sports, golf, squash, and lacrosse are actually quite diverse at the collegiate level. Both squash and golf attract athletes from all over the globe. A quick look at the men’s and women’s squash teams will show many students from Egypt, Pakistan, and India.

Aspiring golfers in the United States are not just competing for spots over fellow Americans but throngs of highly educated and talented golfers from China, Hong Kong, and South Africa.

When I walk through the gym on Wednesday mornings and see athletes doubled over a trash can, I know how hard they’re working. I take that mentality into my practice sessions because I know that there are kids all around the world doing the same thing — pushing themselves to their limits both in the classroom and on the field.

Mixed reactions to Day of Silence Quinn Luong ‘22

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he upper school observed the Day of Silence on April 17 to spread awareness about the effects of the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning students. Students nationwide vow silence for one day to represent the silencing of LGBTQIA+ students.

Although the student body’s reception was mostly positive, students disagree about the event’s significance.

Some believe that the Day of Silence is not an effective strategy to combat homophobia within the community. The manner in which students participate in the Day of Silence is counterintuitive to the real conflict.

“Why don’t they speak against homophobia instead of being silent?” an anonymous student said. “You don’t fight fire with fire.

It is not effective.”

This student and others who support his views are not homophobic, and they support the LGBTQIA+ community. But they question the logic behind the Day of Silence in combating homophobia. They also point

out that individual students can use the Day of Silence as as a means of avoiding class participation.

I advocate for the Day of Silence. I participated on the day because I believed that it achieves its purpose. The Day of Silence only occurs one day of the school year, whereas the community can speak out against the homophobia any other day. It is not just symbolic. It is also a teachable moment. It allows the student body to educate others on the importance of the conflict and representation of students worldwide. The day begs the question: does one have to be silent with sexuality?

Student leaders from the Gay-Straight Alliance planned the Day of Silence for several months to make it a special day of awareness.

“The Day of Silence symbolizes not just a protest, but it represents solidarity,” said Third Former Elijah Lee. “It emphasizes that every student can participate, create an outreach of support, and build unity.”

MR. BRENDON JOBS

Members of the GSA hanging up the signed LGBTQIA+ flag after the Day of Silence

Page 13

The Index

- Off-campus opinions

May 2019

Venezuela turmoil: US must use its political power Cole Stecker ‘20

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enezuela’s current crisis is dire but completely ignored by many Americans. The political upheaval should be the current focus of every news channel and publication, but it is not. The media coverage for the coup, which grows increasingly violent each day, is scarce at best.

So, what is really happening in Venezuela, and more importantly, what should the United States do about it?

The Venezuelan coup is the product of years of oppression from the socialist government led by President Nicolás Maduro. Despite containing vast oil deposits, Venezuela is the poorest country in South America. Many believe this to be the result of the socialist political values held by President Maduro.

Venezuela stands as a gleaming example of how socialism does not work. The political ideology that was meant to give prosperity and equal opportunity to all ended up ruining the economy and leaving millions without proper nutrition. To make matters worse, Maduro believed that printing more money would simply fix all the country’s economic problems. He was obviously wrong, and the inflation rates have skyrocketed to over 1,300,000%. The country is currently in crisis; the seeds of revolution were already firmly planted, and the country was ready for change.

The revolution began when Juan Guaidó

declared himself to be the legitimate president. Guaidó is the current face of the revolution. Earlier this year he took a tour around the world to meet with other countries’ leaders, including Mike Pence.

The political tour essentially legitimized Guaidó’s claim to the presidency in the eyes of the Venezuelans and the international community.

When warned by Maduro to never return to Venezuela, Guaidó ignored the threat and flew back to his country despite the risk of imprisonment. He was not met by police ready to haul him into solitary confinement but was instead met by thousands of excited Venezuelan citizens. The government backed off.

We are now in a period of rioting and violence. The military is still faithful to Maduro, and the tactics they have used to quell the rebellion are disgusting. Videos recently surfaced of Maduro’s troops driving over crowds of protestors in armored vehicles and throwing tear gas into crowds.

Something has to be done, but how far is the United States willing to go?

According to current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, we are prepared for anything in terms of our response to Venezuela, even military intervention.

Military intervention is a bad idea. Our current method of forcing regime change has

never worked, not in Iraq, not in Syria, and not in Libya. Whenever the United States attempts regime change, it always worsens an already bad situation. We should not go to war over Venezuela. Forceful regime change is not a good option — it does not work.

We need to make Venezuela the first example of how we can use our political power and facilitate the peaceful transfer of power. We need to put pressure on Maduro through our connections in the international community. If we pressure him economically,

and his own people pressure him militarily, he is more likely to step down or be killed in a revolution.

The United States directly meddling in the affairs of Venezuela will not help.

We need to take a more modern approach to regime change that, hopefully, will not result in more tyrannical governments and dictators. The only way to foster democracy and capitalist values in Venezuela is through a peaceful transfer of power.

Venezuelan refugees in Cucuta, a Colombian border city

VOA VIA WIKIMEDIA

MS. ANN GLAVIN

Page 14

The Index

- off-campus opinions

May 2019

Racial and ethnic relations in Sri Lanka deteriorate after Easter attack Kethan Srinivasan ‘21

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utside St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade, people line the front of the church and grieve as white streamers float above the streets. In Sri Lanka, the color white represents death, and the streamers are part of the custom of mourning.

The country just experienced its deadliest attack since the end of the armed conflict just ten years ago with more than 250 dead across the cities of Colombo, Negombo, and Batticaloa.

But as funeral services carry on, the government’s questionable handling of the crisis has fuelled public anger. This includes recently leaked memos informing national intelligence of more potential attacks and failure on the government’s part to follow up promptly. News of prior warnings made by Muslims of extremism has begun to surface as well.

The group responsible, National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ), made headlines in Sri Lanka last year for vandalizing Buddhist statues and intra-Muslim violence. Three years ago, Muslim Council of Sri Lanka vice president Hilmy Ahamed, warned military intelligence of the NTJ group’s instigating violence within the community. In 2017, Muslims took to the streets demanding that the leader of the NTJ be arrested. The government failed to respond promptly.

President Maithripala Sirisena blamed wartime human rights inquiries for crippling the country’s security forces’ ability to quell the chaos, as Muslims fear reprisals from

With the country still reeling from the traumas left by the nearly 26-year civil war, the Easter attacks have exacerbated already-increasing tensions.

Christians and Buddhists. Hundreds seek safety in mosques across cities as mobs destroy buildings and threaten Muslims with death. With the country still reeling from the traumas left by the nearly 26-year civil war, the Easter attacks have exacerbated already-increasing tensions.

Here’s some background on the country’s political history.

Sri Lanka is an ethnically and religiously pluralistic nation, that comprises a primarily-Buddhist Sinhalese majority, a primarilyHindu Tamil minority (both Sri Lankan and Indian), along with mixed-minority Chris-

ANTANO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

St. Anthony’s Church, a Roman Catholic Church in Colombo, Sri Lanka, one of the targets of the Easter Sunday bombings on April 21 tians (both speak either Sinhalese or Tamil), proper justice, and militant Buddhism surge- grained in the country’s political crisis, with and Muslims who do not identify as either das riots against non-Buddhists gained pace. President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil ethnicity. Burghers, Malays, and indigenous President Sirisena’s 2015 election held no Wickremesinghe butting heads. The latter Veddas make up a smaller portion. promise for minorities, either, as Buddhist was unexpectedly replaced by former presiSince independence, the power struggle extremists continued to target Christians dent Rajapaksa. This was in a bid by Sirisena was mainly at an ethnic level, between the and Muslims for supposed “conversion.” to unite a crippling coalition government majority Sinhalese and the other ethnic miFive years ago, riots were carried out following a surprise local election result norities. This struggle resulted in the imple- by the radical group Bohu Bala Sena (BBS) in 2018. This move has reignited tensions mentation of repressive policies including against Muslims, and a week before the at- among civilians, who have seen Rajapaksa as the stripping of Indian Malayagar Tamil citi- tack a Methodist church in Anuradhapura a divisive war criminal during the civil war’s zenship (1948), the ousting of Tamils from final months. institutions and public service (1956), and With politicians and the people already the implementation of Buddhism as the ofat their wit’s end, the Easter attacks have How does the government conficial religion to solidify Sinhalese authority. caused Sri Lanka’s political state of emertinue to condemn attacks but As discrimination rose, so did riots and gency to swell even further. Having the cannot properly heed the calls of ethnic pogroms against Tamils and Muslims, country pulled into the global stage of the its citizens? The main reason is which at times were carried out by those “War on Terror” will endanger minorities masquerading as security. The eventual civil within the country, including Tamils at risk ingrained in the country’s politiwar period would be marred by war crimes of arrest for mourning the dead during the cal crisis, with President Sirisena committed by the government and Tamil upcoming Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day and Prime Minister Ranil Wickseparatists, as well as allegations of forced on May 18th. If the country ever wants to remesinghe butting heads. kidnappings and crackdown on press freeachieve everlasting peace, maintain its integdoms under the authoritarian former presirity, and gain the trust of civilians that have dent, Mahinda Rajapaksa. been wronged, there needs to be communiA decade later and military officials ac- was attacked during Palm Sunday services. cation within the island on both ethnic and cused of war crimes were appointed to highHow does the government continue to religious grounds. ranking positions, Tamil families of missing condemn attacks but cannot properly heed persons across the country protested for the calls of its citizens? The main reason is in-

Reichert, continued from page 9... it, but if you violate certain principles of the planet, species will start dying. In the same way, I think that if you violate boys’ human needs and natures, we pay a price for it in terms of poor developmental outcomes,” Dr. Reichert said.

Schools like Haverford previously believed their job was to stamp out boys that could not fit a certain masculine mold, but at the expense of their humanity, their emotional development, and their moral development.

Dr. Reichert specializes in understanding

how we can become better men. “Human beings are relational creatures. We develop

“It made me a much better person, with more care and compassion for the people and world around me.” in relation to other creatures. That’s not how we think today. We tend to think of men

as independent, stoic creatures. If we keep them too emotionally close, we threaten to undermine their masculinity. Developmental science says just the opposite. The more connected, the more loved and held, the stronger the boy.”

“Emotional work frees us,” Dr. Reichert said. “The advice I would give to our boys at Haverford as they progress in this world to become the men of today is that morality and character are not things that you have or don’t have. It’s actually something you can

enhance by looking at what takes you off your course and recovering from it.”

Students like Luke Follman are forever grateful for the work Dr. Reichert has done for Haverford. “I’ll never forget the tools that Peer Counseling gave me. It changed my life,” Follman said. “It made me a much better person, with more care and compassion for the people and world around me.”

Page 15

The Index

- Sports

May 2019

Diamond Fords best Malvern twice Matt Mignucci ‘20

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averford vs Malvern. The Fords vs. The Friars. A rivalry unlike any other (except EA…whom the baseball team swept this year). For the first time in the high school careers of any of the players on this year’s baseball roster, the Fords have swept Malvern Prep two games to none.

Both games were thrilling and close.

At the beginning of the season, Malvern was 14-0 and ranked a top-ten team in the country. Nobody entertained the thought that Malvern would lose, and if they were going to lose, it wouldn’t be to Haverford.

This was their first Inter-Ac game, and they had the home field advantage. That’s why it was a shock to everybody, except the Fords, when Haverford defeated Malvern 2-1 in extra innings!

But what came as even more of a surprise to everybody, except the Fords, of course, was when Malvern lost the second meeting of the season against Haverford. There was no way Malvern was losing to Haverford again; it was just a fluke. However, after another hard-fought battle, the Fords won by the same score of 2-1. This loss for Malvern came just days after becoming nationally

ranked again. If Malvern is a top-ten team, then that means we must be top-nine, right?

For the whole program, it is a big deal to sweep Malvern, but specifically for the seniors, it means a lot. Sixth Former Jesse Goldman said, “Malvern has been the powerhouse of the Inter-Ac since I started high school. In fact, the team had not beaten Malvern in the regular season since I was in 8th grade….Malvern expects to beat us and

“We played our hearts out and gave it everything we had” we know that, so being able to say that we swept them, especially after we have only beat them once in 4 years, is pretty special.”

“We played our hearts out and gave it everything we had!” said Sixth Former Luke Kania said. Kania had a double and the game-winning run vs Malvern in the first game and threw a kid out at home from left field in the second game.

In addition, Kania has high expectations for the end of the season. “We will win the Inter-Ac and make a run in the state tournament,” Kania said.

Chris Griggs ’21 throwing heat in action early this spring

DR. MIKE NANCE

Ultimate Frisbee not yet hungry for varsity status Jeffrey Yang ‘22 MR. JIM ROESE

George Maguire ‘19 makes a toss in frisbee action last year

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hose who visit the Athletics web pages will notice that that Ultimate Frisbee is not listed as a varsity sport.

Many question whether such a classification is devaluing, and if Ultimate Frisbee, a sport that actively competes in a league with other schools in the region, qualifies as a varsity sport. The team, while unbeknownst to the majority of the community, recently won a tournament within the league and are seeking the Division-II city title in the following weeks. Despite this recent success, Coach Andrew Fenton claims that Ultimate is still in its early stages.

“Until about five or six years ago, Ultimate wasn’t even listed as a sport at all. It was a club that guys got athletic credit for, but it wasn’t a sport. It wasn’t until somewhere around 2014 to 2015 when it got listed as

a sport. So it is something that has been growing,” Dr. Fenton said.

The infancy of the sport lies as one factor behind its classification. Still, Dr. Fenton also noted that there just has not been a push for a change to become a varsity sport.

“Maybe it’s just inertia as much as anything else,” Dr. Fenton said. “Nobody has really made the move to argue that ‘maybe we should be.’”

Coaches Mr. Greg Ressler and Dr. Fenton have begun to consider working with the athletic department and Mr. Mike Murphy to advance the program’s qualification. One feature of the team, however, lies both as a possible obstacle and point of motivation on the path to varsity status is the range of team members. Traditionally, Sixth Formers, who have not been playing the sport in their

Third through Fifth Forms, join the team in the Spring in search of a fun, competitive sport. They constitute the majority of the squad.

“They’re all great athletes and can quickly pick up what you need for the sport of Ultimate, but if we want to become really competitive and join the League’s Division I in the future, we need guys who start playing in their Third or Fourth Form years and can really develop their skills. But if we were to make a case that we should be a varsity sport, it might be easier to build Ultimate’s culture in the school.”

The notion for making the change is still merely a consideration amongst the coaches.

Regardless of whether they will pursue the label, Dr. Fenton swiftly rejected having any sense of resentment.

“I don’t take it as a slap because, again, I see how the program has grown and gotten more recognition,” Dr. Fenton said. “I take it as a compliment that people are asking why it’s not a varsity sport, while five years ago people were asking, ‘that’s a sport?’”

For the future, Inter-Ac competitions remain a dream. Such competitions would not serve as another motive for advancing Ultimate to a varsity sport, but would boost the team’s culture and status within the community as Inter-Ac schools serve as a more accessible rally point for both students and many others.

As Haverford’s Ultimate program is still expanding, the significance of first establishing the team’s prominence in the community exceeds that of having a varsity distinction.

Page 16

The Index

- Sports

Fords tennis serve up tenth Inter-Ac Title

May 2019

Ryan LaRocca ‘20

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or the tenth year in a row, Fords tennis won the Inter-Ac championship.

The team defeated Springside Chestnut Hill Academy on May 7 to solidify its title.

Upon the departure of the Class of 2018, which included many key players, many believed that it would be challenging for Fords tennis to win their tenth Inter-Ac. Early in the season, the team suffered losses against challenging non-league opponents. For example, the team was shut out by The Lawrenceville School 0–7.

However, Fords tennis was clearly still able to accomplish their goal of “ten-peating” in the Inter-Ac. Fifth Former Sunny Yu, who who has played varsity tennis since his freshman season, said, “This year, compared to others, we didn’t have nationally ranked superstars on our team. But I think overall we had a much better spread of skill compared to previous years.”

Team members attributed the team’s success this year to excellent coaching from

long-time Coach Antonio Fink and Coach Mark Gottlieb.

“Coach and Dr. Gottlieb are very experienced, always employing specialized drills every day,” Fifth Former Ethan Brodie said.

“Through these drills, we benefit as individuals and a team.”

“Coach Fink helped us an incredible amount. He was there when we won, and there when we lost. He kept us motivated and overall kept team morale up,” Yu said.

Sixth Form captains Nick Chakraborty, Thomas Ward, and Jared Hoefner provided additional leadership.

“All three were incredibly influential for the team’s less experienced players, and the team in general,” Brodie said. “They brought a good sense of maturity and energy to the team. They are all incredible tennis players who were great mentors for the younger players.”

The final component was pride.

“Although the tennis team does not get as much recognition as other teams,” Brodie said, “we hold ourselves to a high standard.”

Cole Wolf ’20 serves early this spring

MR. JIM ROESE

Fords weigh in on NBA Playoffs Ryan Rodack ‘22

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ntering the second round of the NBA playoffs, only eight teams remained. In the Western Conference, the final four included The Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Houston Rockets. In the Eastern Conference, the teams who reached the semi-finals were the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Boston Celtics.

Students voiced different opinions regarding whom they believed would win the NBA championship, entering the second round of the playoffs.

Third Form 76ers fan Jack Masse said, “If the Sixers are able to advance against the

Raptors, they will win the championship. If they are unable to beat the Raptors, the Warriors will win. The Sixers match up best with the Bucks and Warriors, especially with players like Malcolm Brogdon, Demarcus Cousins, and Kevin Durant banged up.”

Third Former Nick Pante also believes the Warriors have a good shot at making their fifth straight NBA Finals appearance.

“Golden State has a unique and special chemistry that has been extremely successful for the past four years. Although people are tired of this powerhouse and even though they have blown a 3-1 series lead in the past, I feel they will win the championship once again,” Pante said.

Third Former Judah Cannon had faith in the Boston Celtics before they fell to the Milwaukee Bucks.

“The Celtics should have beat the Bucks but did not because they couldn’t stop Giannis Antetokounmpo. In game one of the series, the Celtics won because they stopped Giannis. After that, the Bucks made a few roster changes which helped Giannis play better. For the next four games, the Bucks destroyed the Celtics and went on to win the series 4-1,” said Cannon.

For some students, it is hard to root against the hometown team: “Although I have been a Sixers fan all of my life, the Warriors remain the most unstoppable team

in the league,” Third Former Jake LaRocca said. “Each star player on the Warriors plays with a team-first mentality, an ability most stars do not have. This makes them so hard to beat.”

Coming into the second round of the playoffs, the official NBA betting odds had the Golden State Warriors as the favorites to win the championship, followed by the Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, and finally the Portland Trail Blazers.

Lax Fords net impressive 15-4 record Jake LaRocca ’22

Pearse Glavin ’20 works the sideline against a Malvern player in a 5-4 win on April 12, 2019

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he Haverford School Lacrosse team is rocking a 15-4 season and is ranked within the ten-best teams in the country. The Laxmen have played multiple schools from New York, Maryland, and even IMG Academy in Florida.

The team recently played at the Geico Invitational, a tournament of elite teams at St. Anthony High school in New York. The Fords won the first game 6-5, beating the defending National Champion Ward Melville High School. After the Saturday game, the team drove home from Long Island, and the

players went to prom. The next morning, the team drove back up to Long Island and won their next game.

Fifth Form FOGO (Face-off get off) Bobby Blewett believed the energy in New York was the essential factor in winning the two huge games.

“We knew we were playing very talented teams, and nothing makes us happier than playing some good competition,” Blewett said. “Knowing [we were] playing on television, our team’s energy drastically improved.

We were all extremely excited to come out

with two huge wins in New York.”

After the invitational, the Fords got back to work. The players knew they still had a lot more to prove. On May 3, Haverford took on St. Anthony High School, ranked third in the country. The Fords put up an impressive fight, but St. Anthony came away with the 12-11 overtime win. Despite the loss, some players posted some impressive stats. Goalie Sage Garito recorded 15 saves, and Adam Salvaggio scored 4 goals.

Coming up, the Fords play in the Inter-Ac Invitational Semifinals on May 17. Since the

DR. MIKE NANCE

team emerged as one of the best in the InterAc, they hope to be able to play some good lacrosse at Cabrini College.

Fifth Form defender Teddy Curran said, “Overall it’s been a good season. Playing against some great teams and doing pretty well has been a rewarding and exciting experience. Playing on national TV was a cool experience and a first for almost all of us. It was great to pull out wins on both days. We hope to finish the season and Inter-Ac tournament in a strong fashion.”

Page 17

The Index

- Sports

May 2019

Crew pulls past competition at City Championships Nelson Liu ‘19

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n May 4-5th, the crew team began their championship season at the PSRA City Championships. Building off strong showings at the Manny Flick regattas in March and April, the Fords advanced ten boats to the rain-soaked Sunday finals and concluded their final full-squad weekend with two gold, two silver, and three bronze medal finishes.

Highlighting the Fords efforts were the gold medal performances of the freshman quad (Jake Brewington, Wyatt Johnson, Jack Payne, Wells Benson) and freshman/novice double of William Morris and Stephen Walker.

Both boats demonstrated a focus and poise under pressure that belied their age, winning their time trials on Saturday before executing in two close races the following day.

Along with the silver medal performance of the Freshman Four (Conrad Reller, Maxwell Rosenberger, John Zhang, Brendan Sullivan, cox Tyler Brown), these strong results confirmed the championship-caliber potential of this year’s freshman class.

And the group isn’t just fast—it has a depth unseen by Haverford Crew for the past

few years. Head Coach Jonathan Stephanik remarked that “with close to forty athletes that are freshmen or sophomores, the next two years could be a really exciting time for the team.”

Both the Novice Four (William Schaefer, Christopher Nemo, Karl Andren, Patrick Corcoran, cox Quinn Luong) and Novice Quad “A” (William Herz, Griffin Spahr, Will Levensten, Jeffrey Yang) also made finals. The Fords were competing for medals and championships in all freshman/novice events they entered.

Coaches John Suter, John Monaghan, and Jason Bohot take day-to-day responsibility for the freshman/novice group, while Head Coach Stephanik and Coach Matthew Scheuritzel oversee the JV/Varsity group.

Spearheading the JV/Varsity group was the Varsity Quad of Jeff Pendergast ‘19, Thomas Laporta ‘20, Aidan Leavy ‘19, and Thomas Russell ‘19—the Fords’ priority boat this season. Having battled with Conestoga and Haddon Township all season through the Flicks, it was once again these three boats which were contending for the medal positions. The Fords led out of the blocks and

through the first half of the race, but after a tough back-and-forth contest which came down to a sprint finish, ended up in third.

Haverford finished three seconds back from second-place Conestoga and five seconds adrift of winners Haddon Township.

Both the Lightweight Varsity Four (Beau Christopher, Magnus Weissenberger, Henri Wache, Brian Williams, cox Nelson Liu) and JV Four (Seneker Zelov, Owen Vanderzwan, Morgan Shatzman, Evan Brabson, cox Andrew Tornetta) also finished in bronze medal position.

The Lightweight Four struggled to find its rhythm in the latter half of the season, competing in a varsity event with primarily sophomore rowers. However, the Fords were in the battle for the lead until the threequarters mark, when the boat from Christian Brothers Academy moved away. Haverford then lost a narrow sprint-finish battle with St. Joseph’s Prep by less than two-tenths of a second. The JV Four had a similarly close battle, finishing only two seconds behind silver-medallists Moorestown in one of the regatta’s traditionally most competitive events.

Rounding out the Fords’ medals was the

Varsity Pair of Jack Sanfilippo and Joshua Case. The pair executed their race plan and steered a straight course in a race traditionally known for zig-zags and blade clashes.

Though Lower Merion’s “A” boat was a clear first place, the Fords emerged on top in a tight battle for the silver. They finished eighttenths of a second ahead of the second Lower Merion boat.

The Fords now look ahead to the Stotesbury Cup Regatta on May 17-18th and SRAA Nationals in Ohio on May 24-25th.

The team will spend the coming weeks consolidating lineups and building towards peak speed.

Though they emerged from City Championships with seven medal finishes, the team isn’t satisfied with silvers and bronzes.

The boats moving forward are maintaining their positive mindset, but will be pushing to win.

“We have a great group of guys this year who are committed and working their hardest in and out of practice,” said Sixth Former Jeff Pendergast. “You can’t ask for much more.”

MR. JIM ROESE

Varsity 4 and Varsity quad during a practice on the Schulykill earlier this spring

Fords’ 4x100 blazes through the finish line at Penn Relays Ben Gerber ‘19

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o a young runner, the Penn Relays, where competitors range from high school athletes to college stars, all the way up to Olympic legends, can feel like playing in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. This year, The Haverford School 4x100 relay, comprised of Sixth Former Dan Whaley, Fifth Former Daiyaan Hawkins, Fourth Former Peter LaForest, and Third Former Kevin Thomas, not only competed at this historic event, but did so at an extremely high level. After two races on Friday and Saturday, they ended their weekend having broken the school record and received a ticket to Nationals.

“It was an awesome experience. Competing in that atmosphere is one of the craziest things I’ve been a part of. Thousands of spectators, high-level competition and you usually you run your fastest,” said Whaley, whose performance at the Penn Relays and anticipated performance in post-season events this spring will cap an illustrious, record-breaking track career.

Whaley’s experience at the Penn Relays has been one similar to that of Coach Luqman Kolade, who has experienced the event both as a runner and as a coach.

“Coaching at Penn Relays is not like coaching at a normal track meet. I generally

don’t see the boys once they leave the area in the stands where we’re sitting,” said Coach Kolade.

At regular track meets, the runners and coaches are able to sit together for the duration of the event, but the format of the Penn Relays does not allow for this.

“Essentially, you’ve got to have strong leadership and good routines because the boys are pretty much on their own,” Coach Kolade said. “I tell them when they should report to the paddock to run and hope they make it on time.

“I don’t generally like how difficult it can be to communicate with the team or get them where they need to be at Penn Relays, but I was proud of how they managed to deal with a problem and run well afterward.

It means we have strong leaders.”

Even with the difficult meet format, the Fords runners still ran record-breaking times and qualified to run on Day 2, an extremely uncommon feat.

“The boys ran two strong 4x100 relays.

One on Friday, where we qualified for the Northeast Final, and then broke the school record and qualified for Nationals, running a 42.48, on Saturday. I still think the boys can do better as one of our guys, freshman Kevin Thomas, was injured and didn’t run,

so we probably have some room to bring our time down a little further. We are currently ranked number 9 in the state in that relay,” Coach Kolade said.

On Friday, the team placed second in the 4x100, losing to a Jamaican team whom Whaley said ran like “demons.”

While the team’s performance in the 4x100 exceeded expectations, the 4x400 relay did not have the same positive results.

“The 4x400 was disappointing. We run in the Inter-Ac section, and I often go into the

race thinking we can win. I thought we had a pretty good team this time around, but as we were coming around the turn on the last leg, we dropped the baton. We came in second to EA. Luckily the 4x100 was after this, so we had a bit of redemption, but I hate losing the 4x400 in any meet,” said Coach Kolade.

Overall, Penn Relays was an exciting and historical weekend for the track team. They look to encounter success throughout the remainder of their season.

DR. MIKE NANCE

Daiyaan Hawkins ‘20 racing the 4x100 at the 125th Penn Relays on April 21

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May 2019

Spring Concert embraces current music and flashy performance

COMMUNICATIONS

Winds and horns playing during the Winter Concert in December Austin Zhuang ‘22

I

f you imagine an orchestra performance, smoke and lasers probably wouldn’t be the first thing to pop into your head. On April 29 in Centennial Hall, the Jazz Band, Advanced Ensemble, String Orchestra, Glee Club, and The Notables all performed for the final concert of the 2018–2019 school year.

[T]he percussion section, Decker Patterson ’21 on guitar, Judah Weekes ’21 on bass, and Will Schaefer ’21 on drums, performed a rendition of “Tightrope” by Stevie Ray Vaughan that received a standing ovation.

First was the Jazz Band, led by Director

Mr. Phil Giordano. They performed three tunes: “Four,” “You Ain’t the Bossa Me,” and “Goin’ Viral” After these three songs, the percussion section, Decker Patterson ’21 on guitar, Judah Weekes ’21 on bass, and Will Schaefer ’21 on drums, performed a rendition of “Tightrope” by Stevie Ray Vaughan that received a standing ovation.

Decker also sang and led the trio.

The Advanced Ensemble, a group of talented string players from the orchestra, came next. Led by the orchestra Director Mr. Alfred Goodrich, they played multiple selections, the two most notable being “The Final Countdown” by Europe and “Beat It”

by Michael Jackson.

The orchestra took an otherwise ordinary performance of these songs to new heights with a smoke machine and lasers attached to the hands of the players. Laserbeams

shot through the smoke into the rafters of Centennial Hall as the ensemble played.

Mr. Goodrich’s orchestra offered a more toned-down performance — no lasers,

The orchestra took an otherwise ordinary performance of these songs to new heights with a smoke machine and lasers attached to the hands of the players. Laserbeams shot through the smoke into the rafters of Centennial Hall as the ensemble played. only smoke. They added classical pieces in their program, such as “Mars” from Gustav

Holst’s The Planets. Still, they mixed in a few popular culture influences, evident from their performance of the “Game of Thrones Theme.”

Mr. Mark Hightower’s Glee Club followed, singing a mixture of both popular songs — such as “Somebody to Love” by Queen and “Space Oddity” by David Bowie — and classical songs. Then the Glee Club, along with a select group of singers from Baldwin and AIS, performed two movements from the Mozart Requiem.

The Notables finished off the concert. The elite singers performed an a cappella version of numerous popular songs, a few being “Cough Syrup” by Young the Giant and a mashup of “Love Yourself ” by Justin Bieber and “No Woman, No Cry” by Bob Marley.

I left the auditorium that night amazed by the skill displayed.

Newsies raises the bar for middle school theater Quinn Luong ‘22

T

he middle school’s Newsies stunned audiences with the quality of production level, cast, and lighting.

Over 50 cast members worked for months to get ready for the three performances of the musical. The 1992 Disney musical surprisingly fit the middle school cast and atmosphere. The amount of enthusiasm and gymnastics put into the production kept the audience cheerful.

“I have the honor to direct a show that has not only captured my soul, energy, and passion for what I do, but it has fully captured the infectious spirit of the remarkable Haverford boy,” Director Ms. Jennifer Hallman said. “Working on this show with this particular crop of students has been well worth the 27-year wait to be a part of Newsies.”

The Newsies’ production quality and cast

radically improved from the previous years.

The director and the crew deftly managed 50 Middle School students in such a large production.

“I have the honor to direct a show that has not only captured my soul, energy, and passion for what I do, but it has fully captured the infectious spirit of the remarkable Haverford boy.”

The Newsies cast during their dress rehearsal

MR. DARREN HENGST

“I could not be more proud of this cast and crew, and I cannot thank my team and this community enough for having the faith in us to be the true King of New York,” Ms. Hallman said. “My heart swells as I watch these students, whom I adore, bring to life a story that they were meant to tell.”

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The Index

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May 2019

Avengers: Endgame floors Fords fans Mitav Nayak ‘22

E

leven years. Twenty-two movies. Hundreds of heroes.

Some argue that Avengers: Endgame is the most ambitious crossover event in the history of Hollywood. After Avengers: Infinity War took the country by storm last spring, directors Joe and Anthony Russo looked to carry out the near-impossible task of wrapping up the “Infinity Saga” in three hours.

Somehow, they managed to not only accomplish this, but also surpass all expectations, delivering an epic finale to the saga.

Avengers: Endgame celebrated the most successful opening of all time, and will likely be the highest-grossing film in history by the time you read this.

Fans and critics around the world have

praised the movie for its originality and stunning culmination to the Marvel Cinematic Universe—the MCU. Fourth Form Marvel fan Kieran Bradley saw the film on opening night.

“The atmosphere in the theater was crazy,” Bradley said. “Everyone was screaming and clapping — it was really cool. I like the way that the stories come together and the variety of characters. Everyone can relate to someone, and everyone has a favorite.”

Critics have described Endgame as “fan service,” and Marvel fans agree.

Third Former John Zhang said, “How they film it—it’s really high quality. It looks so realistic, they really do a great job making the superheroes come to life.”

Fans have always praised Marvel for their

ability to please fans through original and exciting sequences, and these scenes are on full display in Endgame.

“The flashbacks to the older movies were so cool. It brought back memories and reminded me of watching those movies when they came out,” Zhang said.

Producer Kevin Feige’s MCU is unequivocally the most successful superhero franchise of all time.

“This is a combination of a good action movie and good story plots, combined with superheroes, which is hard to capture,” said Fourth Former Daniel Curran.

What stood out to Curran was the cumulative aspect of Endgame.

“When you see Harley [the boy from Iron Man 3 whom Tony Stark befriended]

at Tony Stark’s funeral, it just shows you the importance of staying caught up with the movies,” Curran said. “If you’ve been watching all this time, you understand more about the quantum realm; you understand more about who these characters are and what their powers are.”

During the climax, as the film cut to Iron Man with all six stones in his hand, viewers held their breath. After a phenomenal sequence of hundreds of recently revived heroes coming to fight Thanos and his army, the beloved character Tony Stark uttered his famous line, “I am Iron Man,” before sacrificing himself to save the universe.

“I was devastated,” Fifth Former Mitchell Hark said. “Iron Man evolved to be the best Avenger — it was an emotional sequence.”

INDEX STAFF

A detail of an Avengers: Endgame poster at Narberth Theater

GoT slipping as it rushes through final season ryan LaRocca ’20

S

eason 8 is the worst Game of Thrones season to date. It is sad that the conclusion to such an epic tale is so disappointing. Game of Thrones caught me and many other fans by surprise with its thrilling first season, which combined tense political drama with interesting and dynamic characters.

No character is ever safe — the most important lesson taught by season 1. Unlike most big-picture TV dramas where you always know, with some degree of certainty, that the main character will succeed in the end, Game of Thrones is never afraid to kill off the most important characters and throw the entire plot into unforeseen chaos.

The things that made the first seven seasons great are sorely lacking in season 8, and the quality of the show plummets as a result.

Spoilers for season 8 ahead.

Season 8 isn’t all bad. After talking to the pre-eminent Game of Thrones scholar in Wilson Hall, Latin Teacher Dr. Andrew Fenton, I realized that season 8 successfully ties up loose ends. If not for all the characters gathering at Winterfell and battling against the White Walkers, the show would never have been able to end.

The battle at Winterfell, though extraordinarily rushed, united all of the scattered characters. They were able to overcome the Night King’s army to save humanity. The main characters must now regroup and defeat the final antagonist, Queen Cersei.

Unfortunately, here my praise for the new season ends. The battle against the Night King in episode three was hilariously bad. It is obvious that the creators wanted the battle to look good more than anything. They put aesthetics over story.

TENTONPARASOL COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A bus advertising Game of Thrones, the international television phenomenon. Despite its popularity, the most recent season has been “the worst...to date.” ing forces. Sansa Stark, who helped design the tsunami would have been dead, but the The most blatant example of this is when the defense plan during episode 3, used cav- wave was just for show and the actual battle the Dothraki cavalry charged the undead alry properly two seasons earlier, so it made was toned way down. army. The Red Women lit all the Dothraki no sense why she would make such a tactical The writers, who were once unafraid to swords ablaze, and in the dark camera shot blunder. The cavalry charge was not the only kill off important characters, now blindly only shows the sea of small torches rushing example of aesthetics favored over story. follow oversaturated fantasy tropes of the into the unknown. The characters remainWhen the wights finally reach the bulk main characters being almost completely ing at the perimeter of Winterfell watched in of the Winterfell forces, there are so many invincible. The episode was riddled with inhorror as the lights are quickly extinguished, of them that they are stacked on top of each consistencies, and of course, the unsatisfying and the few surviving Dothraki rushed back other. The tsunami of wights, who are really death of the Night King caused the majority to safety with traumatized expressions. just zombies, seemed to completely consume of uproar from the fans.

The scene looked amazing, but it made the feeble Unsullied warriors in their wave of The best way to show Game of Thrones’ absolutely no sense. They just decided to destruction. sharp turn towards mediocrity is episode 4. throw away their cavalry at the beginning of The writers obviously wanted to add the A Starbucks coffee cup was left on a table in the fight for no apparent reason. Cavalry was massive wave to show the power of the Night the background of a shot. This coffee cup used properly in season 6 during the “Battle King, but directly afterward the scene shifts perfectly embodies the new Game of Thrones of the Bastards.” While the main infantry to a large open field with only a few wights — lazy writing, single-take scenes, and the forces were engaged in combat, the cavalry scattered around. In the old Game of Thrones, urge to rush towards a conclusion. easily flanked and overwhelmed the oppos- every single character who was consumed in

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Ms. Erin Byrne’s fabulous artwork

May 2019

Tyler Zimmer ‘21

I

ntel Chen. Will Clark. Chris Moller.

Garrett Johnson. Andrew Tornetta.

Noah Rubien.

This year’s class of featured artists was a bright spot in the 2018-19 Index. While The Index represents the student voices, faculty and staff contribute as well.

You can find this month’s featured artist keeping the lines moving during a busy lunch block or accepting the Haligoluk “Appreciation” in a hall full of her beloved students.

Ms. Erin Byrne has dedicated the last nineteen years to Haverford, but there are still many things the community does not know about her.

Every year, the art department puts up an exhibit to celebrate the community’s artistic talents. Ms. Byrne created two of the pieces in this show, a small selection from her vast collection.

“All kinds of things inspire me right now,” Ms. Byrne said. “In fact, I’ve had such a flow of creative ideas I didn’t know where to start.”

“I love to go to art exhibits and base my work off of theirs,” Ms. Byrne said. “I’ve always worked with stained glass. I would say that it’s my best artistic ability.”

Ms. Byrne makes the most of her hobby, selling and donating her work to art enthusiasts. When she sells the work, she “donates half of [her] earnings to charities.”

She donates other pieces to Haverford galas and service events. Some of her work was even up for auction in the Empty Bowls event.

“I love to donate because, if I’m good to others, they’ll be good to me, and you all

Ms. Byrne with a few of her pieces on display in the café certainly have been,” she said. said. “I owned a Harley Davidson and went Ms. Bryne’s hidden interests don’t end on road trips with my friends.” with art.

Ms. Byrne hopes to pass on a few mes“Believe it or not, back when my knees sages to her students. were good, I was a motorcycle mama,” she “My art is a little representation of my

A close-up of Ms. Byrne’s painted tray, titled “Koi fish”

TYLER ZIMMER ‘21

time at Haverford,” Ms. Byrne said. “I enjoy every moment of it.”

“Every day, I go home and smile, knowing you all love and respect me. It shows in how kind you are to me, so thank you.”

TYLER ZIMMER ‘21