October 2022 Index

index

Community deals with student safety on other campuses

Sporting events should inspire sup port, sportsmanship, and competi tiveness in the school community— not disrupt them. And when the Haverford School walked away with a victory against Archbishop Wood High School, Haverford fans let go of most of the competitive spirit maintained by the school’s student section and headed towards the parking lot to cel

ebrate the 4-0 record. For three students and multiple faculty members, this wasn’t the case.

William Tennent High School hosted the game, which was filled with competi tive banter between the opposing student sections. All was well for the majority of the game until the first arrival of conflict: a crowd of students from another school try

ing to enter the Haverford student section.

Haverford students told them to leave, and eventually, parents were forced to get in volved in order to get the unknown students out and have things return to normal.

That was the “first big issue” according to one fan in the Haverford student section. Police officers already on the scene supervis ing the sporting event warned students to

stay away from both Haverford and Arch bishop Wood’s student sections.

Haverford then went on to beat Arch bishop Wood by 24 points. The Haverford student section congratulated their players, the players celebrated their big win, and the fans began to exit the William Tennent field.

con’t. on p. 4

The first weeks of the 2022-2023 school year brought a need for significant adjustment. After two years of a quarter-based learning system, the upper school’s move to a continuous, semester-based schedule has inspired mixed reactions. But one idea remains consistent throughout Wilson Hall: despite any early challenges, the community will adapt.

Sixth Former Neil Sawhney feels the new schedule has provided some good things and some bad things, but he added that “that comes with every change.”

Spanish teacher and Sixth Form Dean

Ms. Brooke Kenna echoed this sentiment, saying, “No schedule is ever going to make everybody in the school happy. I understand why students may have appreciated having fewer classes for the past couple years. That said, I think once we get the hang of this, once we settle into it, once we address any minor challenges that we have, everybody’s going to really appreciate that there was a lot of careful planning that went into this, and it’s going to end up working out okay.”

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

Association, is composed using the applications of Google Suite and Adobe Creative Cloud. Its surveys are conducted via Google Forms and are advertised on email 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 1152 community members, consisting of 952 students and 200 faculty and staff members.

editorial

Join clubs

Turnout to clubs significantly increased after the Club Video Assembly. Third Former interests brought in fresh blood to extracurriculars at Haverford. Underclassmen are trying out clubs; upperclassmen are founding new clubs. The Index encourages the community to continue this momentum with greater passion and vigor.

As a Third Former, you may be hesitat ing about what and how many clubs to join. Our advice: try out every club that somewhat sparked your interest. These invested hours will not be a waste despite the results. They encourage your further integration with the upper school community.

As a Sixth Former, you may be school work, athletics, college application, and

commitment to clubs. Don’t see this as a trade-off between the four. Managing your own time is not a zero-sum game. Your hours spent in clubs complement your perfor mance in other tasks. Every positive experi ence is mutually beneficial.

Among the upperclassmen of Haver ford, we often see student leaders in charge of multiple extracurriculars. An editorin-chief for Pegasus is also a captain of the speech & debate team and the president of the classics & poetry club; a captain of the math club also manages Haverford’s STEM journal, Newton’s Notebook; The #1 player on varsity tennis also runs a non-profit for chil dren with special needs…

These upperclassmen display a quality intrinsic to the legacy of Haverford leaders over generations: the Haverford culture en courages aspiring students to take leadership roles in multiple fields of extracurriculars. More experience and learning shape a supe rior intellect.

With this mindset, Haverford builds students to become modern Renaissance Men.

Letter from the student body president

As the first month of the school year ended, we are back to managing our academics, extracurricular activities, and finding time for ourselves.

Every year, the first-month speeds by for me, and afterward the year starts to slow down because I have found a rhythm for my classes, sports, and other activities. As the year slows down, I start thinking that I have all of the time in the world to go to clubs, do my homework, and just want to find as many ways as possible to procrastinate.

It is difficult to stay in touch with how much time we have until the first semester ends. As the next few months go on, the school year might feel slow for a lot of us. The key to our collective success will be to stay focused. If we start slipping in one field, it will carry into other aspects of our lives. For example, if you have extracur ricular activities after school, finishing your homework during your free period instead of waiting to come home tired after practice will take some stress off of your plate.

If we do not manage our time wisely, our school spirit and brotherhood will start to fade away as well. By procrastinating, you will find yourself with long nights of homework and studying; and although you

might be successful for a few weeks, the stress and lack of sleep will eventually get to you. You might find yourself starting to miss out on attendance cup events where our community comes together outside of school hours to demonstrate support to our brothers on the stages and the fields.

So far the student body has been excel lent with attendance at sporting events, club meetings, and other community events such as upper school assemblies.

The expectation is to continue being

there for each other, reaching out for help, and staying on top of your school work. Keep working on your integrity day by day

If we do not man age our time wisely, our school spirit and brotherhood will start to fade away as well.

Luka Sekulic ’23

2022-23 Editorial Board (from left, Editors-in-Chief Joey Kauffman ‘23, Jingyuan Chen ‘23, Connor Pinsk ‘23)

More experience and learning shape a supe rior intellect.

The expectation is to continue being there for each other.

New clubs spring up for academic year

Ayear after clubs’ period returned to the post-COVID schedule, this academic year is marked not only by the return of community favorites such as Model UN, Mock Trial, and Robot ics. Groups of students have also introduced a new spread of academic and passion-led clubs in the hopes of providing spaces for different community interests.

Among the new clubs is the Ameri can Computer Science League. Started by Sixth Former Dylan Kao and math teacher Mr. Alden, its goal is to create a space for coding.

“There haven’t been any extensive cod ing clubs [on campus], and I thought I might as well try and start one,” Kao said.

The ACSL creates competition oppor tunities for high school students in the fields of computer science and programming.

“[ACSL] is similar to the AMC math tests. It’s a coding competition, but instead of working with things like algebra, math is done in things like base 16,” Kao said. “It’s essentially just like math with computers on steroids.”

The competition, which takes place in the spring, is open to students of all levels, ranging from beginners to practiced pro grammers. The competition takes place over a month, with each team given access to a 72-hour link. Winners progress through stages of the ACSL contest.

For students with an interest in com puter science, Kao believes ACSL is a great opportunity.

“If people have an interest in coding or computer science, it’s definitely a good way to get into it. It gets into more than just coding certain projects like ‘Hello World’ and that sort of thing. You get into the deep roots of coding,” Kao said. “I think if you want to get deeper into computer science, it’s definitely something you should look into.”

Also in the STEM field is Fourth

Former Nicholas Lu’s Machine Learning Club, which looks into algorithms and mod els that can learn or adapt. Machine learn ing is a wide-scale subject, and thus meetings currently have examined the field at large.

“Club meetings have mainly consisted of introductions to specific sub-fields such as computer vision, which focuses on deriving information from visual data such as videos or images, and Natural Language Process ing (NLP), which focuses on processing and analyzing natural language data for a variety of results,” Lu shared.

Lu hopes to develop a project in one of these fields over the course of the club’s meetings this year.

ject, the Machine Learning Club plans to make technology accessible to the students.

“No prior computer science experience or knowledge is needed, [so] if anyone is in terested in seeing and working with the fu ture of technology, feel free to contact me or drop by,” Lu said.

Not all new clubs fall under science and technology, however. For example, Fourth Former Phineas Manogue, alongside Latin teacher Dr. Andrew Fenton, will run Cer tamen, a quiz-bowl-type trivia game cov ering Roman and Greek culture, language, and history.

The hope for participants is to go to tournaments this year.

“I think I’d like to get at least one team to go to one of the tournaments,” Manogue said. “Dr. Fenton is trying to organize some thing with Baldwin’s Latin Team. He’s trying to organize scrimmages and things like that.”

While those who don’t take Latin might feel dissuaded from participating, knowledge of Latin is not required.

teract Club, led by Sixth Formers Charlie Rosenberg and Luka Sekulic, along with help from Fifth Former Luke Fesnak, will forge inter-community relationships while also working on service projects beyond Haverford. It works in line with goals of the Rotary club.

This year, Interact hopes to grow.

“The Interact club is looking to expand potential partnerships in addition to grow ing Haverford’s engagement in volunteering [and] service,” Fesnak said.

As a service organization, the reward for members is getting to engage with others.

“If we decide to do a project about computer vision, we will probably work on object detection and classification in images or videos, similar to how self-driving cars are able to identify specific objects,” Lu wrote.

“On the other hand, if we decide to work on a project in the field of NLP, we will prob ably either create an algorithm to determine gender bias or create a method of determin ing fake news.”

Despite the expansiveness of the sub

Manogue said, “It’s a fun competition and you can really expand your knowledge of classics through it. You don’t have to take Latin. [Since] it’s a team of two to four when competing, a friend can handle the Latin while you learn the history and mythology.”

And academic pursuits are not the only offerings coming to clubs this year. The In

“I felt like joining last year because my time commitments primarily concerned the Haverford sphere only. After joining, it felt good to work with people outside your own community and have fun while doing so,” Fesnak said. “Completing jobs and tasks is an efficient means of feeling accomplished at the end of the day. To see the smiles and grat itude for your work is satisfying, regardless of what interests you outside of school. We are looking for anyone who feels the same way—and beyond!”

In addition to the Interact club, new organizations, such as the Art, Talent, & Technology, Star Wars Club, and Skiing and Snowboarding Club, provide opportunities for students to discuss their hobbies and get involved.

“If we decide to do a project about com puter vision, we will probably work on object detection and classification in im ages or videos, similar to how self-driving cars are able to iden tify specific objects.”

“Completing jobs and tasks is an effi cient means of feeling accomplished at the end of the day.”

LUKE FESNAK

“[Certamen is] a fun competition and you can really expand your knowledge of classics through it.”

Community deals with student safety, cont. from front page

Then, while walking back to their car from the football game, Fourth Formers Michael Crutchlow and Finn Kelly were as saulted by several unidentified individuals, a group of five-to-eight teenagers.

“It took me by surprise,” Kelly said. “I’d seen them walking up, but I didn’t think they would do anything, though.”

As the individuals walked towards the car, they asked Kelly and Crutchlow if they were from Haverford, and before they could respond, the teenagers had rallied around the car.

dent section might have been frustrated and looking to target anyone from the Haverford community.

The aftermath of the incident? A con cussion to Michael Crutchlow, a broken nose to Finn Kelly, and, strangely, an ob scure carving of the letters reading “JV” near the fuel cap of Colin Kelly’s car. When asked about when the group of students, who had so quickly entered and left the scene, found time to key what may have been one of the individual’s initials into his car, Colin was unsure.

“I don’t know if it happened at the same time [as the assault],” Colin said. “They might have come back to the car af ter we left to get Mr. Wardle.”

“They came in from the front first,” Crutchlow said. “As Finn tried to open his door and get in, they stopped it from open ing, and slammed it shut.” That was when the boys in hoodies began to start physical ly assaulting both students. “I went up and tried to stop them, but then they started to swing at me,” Crutchlow said.

They were pushed, thrown to the ground, and punched several times, until Finn Kelly’s brother, Sixth Former Colin Kelly who was driving them home, quickly slammed on the horn to scare the attackers into running away.

“They just ran in and sprinted off im mediately,” Crutchlow said.

Thankfully, faculty and staff members were still at the game. Lower School Music teachers Mr. and Mrs. Duane and Valerie Case didn’t see the incident unfold, but saw the two boys and reacted quickly to take them, both dazed and injured, to Assistant Director of Athletics and Athletic Trainer Mr. Bill Wardle. While getting ready to leave, he had turned his car around to get the boys medical attention after being noti fied by Colin Kelly.

“There was a lot of blood and worry that there may be a head injury. Our first thought was to get the boys who were in jured to safety,” Mrs. Case said.

All three boys and Mr. and Mrs. Case walked across the football field to find Mr. Wardle, who then treated them and made sure that the boys were alright to drive home. Several faculty members on the scene and a few students, including Fifth Former Dalton Feild, were willing to file a police report.

Unfortunately, the assaulters acted in the dark, outside, in a parking lot without security cameras, making it difficult for of ficers to identify them.

What can be done to prevent a situ ation like this? Well, the answer is more difficult than one might think. Athletic Di rector Mr. Michael Murphy explained that a situation like this is rare and difficult to prevent.

“This is something we worry about all the time,” Mr. Murphy said. “If you look at sporting events in general, sometimes things are escalating from what should be sporting behaviors to physical altercations.”

A big part of preventing similar inci dents is the idea and mentality that he has encouraged each year: cheering for your team, not against the other team.

and students were there to support Finn Kelly and Crutchlow attests to the commu nity’s strength.

Head of School Mr. Tyler Casertano was impressed with how the community reacted.

“I’m proud of the way that the boys have responded,” Mr. Casertano said. “I’m proud of the guys both caring for them selves, and even going to the soccer game the next day.”

vironment where we have every reason to believe you’re going to be safe, not just as players, but also as spectators,” Mr. Caser tano said. “Obviously, if this were part of a pattern, then I think the school would take a different approach, and wouldn’t want to put [the students] in that situation.”

Making a drastic change to tradition wouldn’t make sense, especially consider ing the rarity of such events.

And while the incident is unfortunate, the school can connect it to the themes the school has promoted in the school year’s first few months.

“Let’s focus our fans on our team,” Mr. Murphy said. “Let’s focus our fans on sup porting our boys and not getting involved with things that are back and forth.”

Ignoring an opposing team trying to initiate conflict between fans is also an im portant part of promoting a brotherly com munity and engaging in the primary pur pose of Haverford sporting events.

“The contests fit into the overall pur pose of the athletic program—which is to help educate and teach young men the val ues of sportsmanship, competitiveness, and being a valuable team member,” Mr. Mur phy said.

And ultimately, the way that faculty

The isolated incident isn’t a common occurrence, and the school already thinks through potential challenges at away con tests.

“Coach Murphy works with coaches and other athletic directors to set up games where there is security, and there is an en

“We’ve talked a lot this year about the importance of relationships and how those relationships drive the sense of community, togetherness, brotherhood, and belonging that we hope you feel here,” Mr. Casertano said. “I hope you guys extend yourselves to take care of each other and look out for each other—especially in moments where you think people might be at risk.”

Being aware of your surroundings and being supportive of one another is an im portant part of the Haverford culture, on and off the field. The decisions made by the community after the incident demonstrate an ability to rally together to support some of the school’s own.

“They were all wearing different things, but it was pretty dark, probably around five to eight of them,” Feild, who happened to be in the parking lot when the assault occurred, said. “We had to talk to the police about the situation, but there isn’t much they can do.”

Some suspect that the same students who were kicked out of the Haverford stu

“I’m proud of the way the boys responded.”

MR. TYLER CASERTANO

“I hope you guys extend yourselves to take care of each other and look out for each other—espe cially in moments where you think people might be at risk.”

MR. TYLER CASERTANO

fan

The entrance to William Tennent High School in Warminster Township

“Let’s focus our fans on our team. Let’s focus our fans on supporting our boys and not getting in volved with things that are back and forth.”

MR. MICHAEL MURPHY

news

Haverford installs a new electric car charging station

As students and faculty enter the Green Lot in front of Wilson Hall, they may notice four new electric car charging stations.

“That is where the industry is go ing, it’s all towards electric cars and conserv ing energy,” General Manager of Facilities Mr. Robert Wisler said. “We wanted to stay up with what everybody else was doing. There were more and more teachers and staff and maybe even students that have hy brid or electric vehicles. It just made sense.”

Former Chief Financial Officer Mr. David Gold originally began the pro cess of getting these chargers in the parking lot, but it was a communal effort to get them installed.

“The school doesn’t do things in a vacuum,” Mr. Wisler said. “It was a col lective thought process and decision from [Headmaster Mr. Tyler Casertano] to the actual, physical installation.”

The process of installing the chargers started in the summer, right after gradua tion.

“We had to do the complete instal lation,” Mr. Wisler said, “Our electrician, Charles Dougherty, ran the wires. We also had to cut the parking lot and bury the wires, all up to code.”

The installation process is still ongoing, as the chargers still need to be hooked up to electricity, but all of the infrastructures are in place. The system is also modular, meaning that more charging stations can be added easily.

“Right now, there are four stations that we installed,” Mr. Wisler said. “If needed, we have the ability to expand if it is popular and people are competing for the sta tions. We think that in the future it will be popular, so we designed it so that we don’t need to dig up any parking lots to add new charging stations.”

The stations will be teacher and stu dent priority; however, when they are not in use, members of the public will be able to charge their cars for a fee.

“If you have an Haverford ID, you can use the charger for free,” Mr. Wisler said. “When it is not in staff and student usage, it will be open to the public on a per-pay basis.”

The school will make some money, just enough to recoup the cost of the chargers.

“We are not going to advertise the stations to the public,” Mr. Wisler said. “It’s mostly for visitors and the [school] commu nity. You can put these stations on a map so

people know where the stations are, but we are not going to do that.”

Students driving electric cars are look ing forward to the charging stations being operational.

“I am glad that I will be able to charge my car at school,” Fifth Former Nicholas Hayne said. “I will not have to worry about having it charged when I arrive at school anymore.”

Overall, Mr. Wisler thinks that it is an important step for the school.

“[The installation of the chargers] shows that the school wants to get on the curve of new technology and invest funds for that,” Mr. Wisler said. “It shows that the school is forward-thinking. Even though electric cars have been around for a while, they are starting to get more and more trac tion.”

“ We think that in the future it will be popular, so we designed it so that we don’t need to dig up any parking lots.”

MR. ROBERT WISLER

New electric car charging station in the Green Lot

features

Ever wondered about the dark room?

8

Have you ever wondered about the bizzare cylindrical structure next to the art studios? It’s an entrance to what is called a dark room.

The dark room is used for traditional photography. “Photo-graph” means “light image.” Using light and light-sensitive mate

rials, photographers create photo images.

In the dark room, photographers work with those light-sensitive materials without light pollution. The room is set up with main lights one can turn off for absolute darkness and safety lights that still let one work with photosensitive materials.

The Film Canister5

Traditional film cameras have a piece of photosensitive transparent cellulose that cannot be exposed to any light at all, including the safety lights. These films requires film canisters, which protect the unexposed film rolls from light. Photographers work in absolute darkness during the process.

7

The Silk Screen Frame and the Squegee

These are tools for producing silk screen paintings. The silk is porous. Green substances are stitched onto the frame. When light contacts the surface, the green stays wherever light doesn’t. The green washes out after artists take some ink and slide the squeegee over and through the silk.

Fox

The Sink1

With temperature controls, the sink moderates the wa ter temperature of the faucet, which affects outcomes when mixed with different chemical solutions used in traditional photography. It also stores trays of chemicals used for print ing photos/silk screens on various photosensitive materials.

The Yellow Light2

While still visible to the human eye, the yellow light does not tamper with silk screen printings. By increasing visibility, it functions as a safety light source for the silk screen artist to navigate around the room. However, the yellow light does not prevent light pollution for film rolls.

The Red Light3

Remember those dark red rooms you saw in movies? While still visible to the human eye, the red light does not tamper with traditional photo films. By increasing visibility, it functions as a safety light source for the photographer to navigate around the room for various procedures.

The Entrance4

The rotating, cylindrical entrance is designed so the dark room is free from light pollution as people enter and exit the room. This entrance is especially useful in a school curricu lum, where multiple photographers and silk screen artists may be using the room at once.

The Enlarger6

Set to produce photographic prints, the enlarger is com posed of projection and illumination systems. The image is projected through a lens, typically fitted with an adjustable aperture, onto a flat surface bearing the sensitized photo graphic paper.

The Film Camera8

The 1990s-era film camera has a shutter that opens and closes quickly when taking a photo. Unlike modern phone and DSLR cameras, films needs processing in the dark room, so the photographer will not see the product immediately. Films composed of molecular-size silver nitrates is still higher resolution than the pixels produced by digital cameras.

stories behind Mr. Fox’s desk items

“Andrew Warhol was a POP artist in the 1960s,” Mr. Fox explained. “Artists then said, ‘enough of these drippy, boring paintings. We want pictures of things.’” The art ists began to paint updated “traditional” art. “Instead of painting a bowl of soup on a wooden table in the south of France, they painted the modern-day soup: in a can,” Mr. Fox said. At the time of the painting, Campbell’s Soup was about to sue Warhol when it realized that it was good marketing; they eventually released the decorative cans. The cans still have soup that Mr. Fox does not plan to eat soon.

Various brushes, pens, pencils

Inside empty paint cans and mugs, Mr. Fox has various pens, pencils, and brushes that he uses in his daily work. “[It’s] not the usual collection of pens and pencils,” Mr. Fox stated. “I have Chinese brushes, oil painting brushes, and stencil knives that I find myself using all the time.” The mugs he stores some of these items in are usually Haverford mugs. “Every faculty appreciation day that’s what they give us, so I have dozens of these,” Mr. Fox said.

Over time, Mr. Fox has collected items from students and friends. This collection includes items from all around the world, ranging from Greece to South America.

beetle is from a friend of mine who used to go into South and Central America to collect bugs,” Mr. Fox said. “The little icon is from a former student who went to Greece. All of these items have some little memory attached to them.” There is also a Bob Ross energy drink gifted by Sixth Former Ivan Harmalov.

Andy

Third Form returns to Camp Sagniaw

In late September, Third Form Dean

Mr. Stephen Cloran led the class of 2026 on a form trip to Camp Sagiaw for the first time in six years. During the trip, students enjoyed zip lining, an aerial course, a ropes course, rock climbing, go-karting, ar chery, and other selective sports.

Haverford’s return to the camp fostered excitement and anxiety.

Formers with their upper school teachers.

Sixth Formers also got a chance to learn more about the Third Form students.

“This was a great opportunity for the upperclassmen to practice leadership.” Mr. Cloran said.

Sixth Formers did a lot of heavy lifting when it came to managing the Third Form ers.

For Sixth Former Charlie Aschkenasy, the experience let him get to know a lot of Third Formers whom he probably would not have met otherwise. The trip also gave him an opportunity to catch up with some

connections with the Third Form.

“You would hear news about the Third Formers that are coming in and you would have a false picture in your head, like a ste reotype, but they were actually good kids and good people,” Curtis said.

Curtis said that he was able to pass on some principles and morals to the Third Formers that he learned through his high school experience. Now that the Third Formers know him, he says that they feel more comfortable talking to him.

There was some early resistance to the trip, but many students felt happy they

went. They also agreed that the trip should not have been on days when it is very cold, saying that many students got sick.

“The way they set it up where you had regimented teams made it a little less fun. But it was a lot better for meeting new peo ple,”

Third Former Drew Carrasco said.

Despite its shortcomings, the trip was a large success. Mr. Cloran said that he en joyed seeing students try new activities of which they may have been previously weary. He said that he hopes that the Third Formers see that new activities can be very fun if they have an open mind.

“We needed to be prepared and have the right amount of student leadership and fac ulty support,” Mr. Cloran said.

The planning took three weeks of com munication with Saginaw, a transportation company, and other organizing groups. Third Formers were arranged in randomized groups to promote brotherhood and integ rity among old and new students. Faculty members and Sixth Form leaders accompa nied them during the trip.

“We wanted to bring faculty members who primarily teach freshmen,” Mr. Cloran said. The purpose was to familiarize Third

fellow classmates.

“A very good class has close relation ships,” Aschkenasy said. “And they use those relationships to build a good community.”

Six Former Dylan Curtis said that he saw the trip as an opportunity to strengthen

Jay Crowther’s MLTA: spreading the love of tennis

Over the past three years, Sixth Former Jay Crowther has led an impressive athletic career, heading the roster of the Inter-Ac’s best tennis team. As a Fourth Former, he earned numerous accolades from both the school and the league itself. However, as the season came to a close, Crowther suffered an injury to his finger.

Unsure if he would ever play the sport again, Crowther started brainstorming ways to keep tennis in his life. That summer, he founded the Main Line Tennis Acad emy (MLTA), a non-profit aimed to raise money for kids with special needs and share Crowther’s love of tennis.

“My great-uncle is a quadriplegic, and I have a tennis friend who works in the Special Olympics,” Crowther said. “Special needs kids require different sorts of inclusive activ ity during the summer and even during the school year, and during the pandemic, I felt like that was kind of put on the back burner for a lot of places. So my mentality was, if there was a need for something, I’m going to be the solution.”

Having found a new way to experience tennis, Crowther was eager to hit the ground running. He began by working with the Champions Club, a program run by Learn ing Specialist Mr. Stephen Cloran and his wife Ms. Kath Cloran, that works with kids with special needs. After establishing Main Line Tennis Academy and building personal connections with his students, Crowther sought to expand his reach.

“I got to travel across the country to give lessons and work with special needs kids. I went to Florida and did a week where I coached autistic children. Then, I went to

Turkey and, once again, worked with a spe cial needs club.”

After a successful summer, Crowther was unable to spend as much time on MLTA during the school year. However, as his ju nior year came to a close, he was eager to resume his initiative, working with German town Academy junior Armen Meinstein.

“Armen, who’s MLTA’s Vice President, and I ran two massive fundraisers this [past summer] and we raised well over $5,000. We’re going to be donating a total of $6,000 to Silifke Tennis Club and PALS,” Crowther said. “The first fundraiser was called ‘Tennis for Turkey,’ which was just a tennis tourna ment where we raised money with the en trance fees, as well as other donations. We ended up raising over $2,000 just from that first fundraiser.”

Despite all his success, running a non-

profit organization came with a fair share of difficulties.

“The issue arose when applying for 501(c)(3) status. We found out that by do nating money to a foreign organization, we would violate one of the terms to apply. In stead of donating from MLTA, I decided to match the $2,000 from my own pocket to Silifke Tennis Club,” Crowther said. “We then donated the $2,000 physically raised from the tournament to PALS.”

Crowther’s initiative has received recog nition from many businesses, earning spon sorships from Legacy Tennis Center, Life time Athletics in King of Prussia, and the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Recognizing the importance of MLTA to kids all over the world, Crowther looks to maintain the organization’s legacy.

“Armen is a junior at Germantown

Academy, so after I graduate, we have a Pres ident who’s in the grade below,” Crowther said. “Obviously, in college, I’ll have to have more of a hands-off role, but I’ll still make sure it’s heading in the direction that I had originally envisioned.”

Although his focus has primarily been on helping kids with special needs develop a love for tennis, Crowther believes the orga nization has transitively impacted the local Inter-Ac community.

“In an athletic conference like ours, it’s always been beat them instead of work with them. I think MLTA is a really strong cause and a good concept for people to come together and unite like we’ve had [with the previous fundraisers],” Crowther said. “When I started this, I wasn’t sure what the vision was. I wasn’t sure about a lot of things. But, as I continued to work on it, I really grew to love it and it’s become something meaningful to me.”

Jay Crowther ’23 at a summer MLTA fundraiser

COURTESY

Arsh

“So my mentality was, if there was a need for something, I’m going to be the solution.”

JAY CROWTHER ‘23

“We needed to be prepared and have the right amount of student leadership and faulty support.”

MR. STEPHEN CLORAN

Mr. Stephen Cloran

“You would hear news about the Third Formers that are coming in and you would have a false picture in your head, like a stereotype.”

DYLAN CURTIS ‘23

PIERCE

academics

New computer science courses meet students where they are

omputer science teacher Mr. Stu art Alden leverages years of pro fessional and industrial expertise to teach his courses. Having worked with computers since grade school, Mr. Alden recognizes the importance of computer sci ence in the workplace.

“As an actuary, I used computers on a daily basis, even back in the days before email was a common thing.”

MR. STUART ALDEN

“As an actuary, I used computers on a daily basis, even back in the days before email was a common thing, as I needed to make lengthy computations with lots of data,” Mr. Alden stated.

Mr. Alden has tailored his courses, in troductory and advanced computer science, to the knowledge and abilities of his stu dents.

“The intro course assumes no prior computing knowledge whatsoever,” Mr. Al den said. “So, long as you’re curious about computers and what they can do, I think you will enjoy the course.”

Mr. Alden also draws attention to the past and future impacts of computer science.

“I do want my Intro course students to come away with basic programming skills and an appreciation for where computing has been and where it’s headed,” Mr. Alden said.

While Mr. Alden’s advanced computer science course may be aimed at those with more experience, he takes the time to review with his students as well.

MR. STUART ALDEN

Reactions to ASB, cont. from front page

Upper School Head Mr. Mark Fifer, one of the architects of the transition process, said that while it’s hard to reach complete agreement when planning a new academic schedule, he is happy with the shift thus far.

of the “late start” policy, Wednesday classes commence 30 minutes later than the rest of the week, and there is no community block.

Thus, students remain in their first-pe riod class for the 75-minute first period and through to the end of the 30-minute ASB. Effectively, they remain in their class for al most two hours.

“It definitely takes a toll on how I feel because if I stay in the same room for almost two hours doing the same thing with no breaks,” Fuscaldo said, “It’s very hard to stay focused.”

While some enjoy the built-in work time provided by daily ASB, others find it unnecessary.

“I rarely use ASB to get work done,” Sawhney said.

“The advanced course assumes prior programming experience and knowledge of basic computing concepts, but we spend the first several weeks reviving knowledge that we had, but which perhaps got a little ‘rusty’ over the summer,” Mr. Alden said.

In his advanced computer science course, Mr. Alden focuses on helping stu dents build skills they will need for the work force.

“It’s inevitable that you will be using

computers in your career; the more you know,” Mr. Alden said. “The better and the more creatively you’ll make use of them.”

As a result, his advanced course focuses on student-led projects.

“For my advanced computer science students, I want to give them an opportunity to explore some more esoteric topics and dig deep into projects in areas that interest them,” Mr. Alden said.

“The true test will be not four weeks in, but after eight or twelve weeks or four months into the schedule as more demands are placed on students,” Mr. Fifer said. “But I’m pleased with the way in which the transi tion’s gone so far.”

Many students say that the best thing about the new schedule is the increased time to do work. Both because classes do not meet daily and because of the new Academic Sup port Block (ASB) between community block and second period, students and teachers have more of an opportunity to do work, get ahead, catch up, or conduct meetings.

Fourth Former Zac Fuscaldo, who did not expect to prefer the new schedule to the quarter-based system, has found that he has more overall time for work. He said that he has more free time than last year, especially with the built-in ASB.

“I absolutely love ASB,” Fourth Former Mason Wiegand said. “There is nothing bad about having built-in time to do school work.”

However, one common gripe about ASB is its execution on Wednesdays. Because

NEIL

Sawhney also feels that he has less time to do work than he did last year, especially because he no longer has a guaranteed free block. This has caused some problems, espe cially because of the disparity in workload on different days. “Some days I have double the homework as last year and some days I have half as [much as] last year,” Sawhney said.

Although the more spread-out schedule means that free blocks occur less frequently, some have found the change to be more pos itive than negative.

“I appreciate the time in between class es. It keeps things fresh and interesting,”

Wiegand said.

Ms. Kenna also appreciates the ability to spread work out. “You don’t necessarily have to do work for the next day. It’s given me an opportunity to plan ahead, catch up, and meet with students outside of class,” Ms. Kenna said.

[ASB] being something that’ll be around for a while. How it’s used and the parameters around ASB may shift.”

Ms. Kenna has also found that the ASB has helped her students both stay on top of their work and get the help that they need.

She said that the “undivided time” she can spend with a student during ASB has been especially helpful.

Mr. Fifer thinks that the ASB is useful both as a teacher and as an administrator.

“[The Academic Support Block] has provided a level of flexibility for me as a teacher,” Mr. Fifer said. “I’ve already lever aged that block for my own teaching pur poses, and it’s also been really valuable to have meetings where I can say ‘I know you’re free, let’s meet during the ASB.’ This time has provided that opportunity to not disrupt class and meet.”

Mr. Fifer added that the ASB is flexible and may evolve. “We will be responsive to feedback that we get from an educational and philosophical standpoint. The period aligns with our philosophy on providing some flexible time during the day for stu dents to get individual work done or work on their community engagement,” Mr. Fifer said. “Philosophically, we feel good about

Regardless of any small changes to come, Mr. Fifer is looking to solidify a scheduling system. “We need to work hard to build some continuity for students,” Mr. Fifer said. “The seniors have had five differ ent schedules in four years. As we come off of the pandemic, we want to build some level of continuity of experience.”

Stuart Alden teaches Justin Fan ’24

“...We spend the first several weeks reviv ing knowledge that we had, but which perhaps got a little ‘rusty’ over the sum mer.”

“The true test will be not four weeks in, but after eight or twelve weeks or four months into the schedule as more demands are placed on students.”

MR. MARK FIFER

“Some days I have double the home work as last year and some days I have half as [much as] last year.”

“[The Academic Support Block] has provided a level of flexibility for me as a teacher.”

MR. MARK FIFER

“We need to work harder to build some continuity for stu dents.”

MR. MARK FIFER

Academic Mentorship Program builds bridges in community

Not many upper school students return to the middle school building after they leave for Wilson Hall. Still, the newly formed Aca demic Mentorship Program plans to build a metaphorical bridge between the two learn ing environments.

The Academic Mentorship Program is one of the many ways for upper school stu dents to connect with their middle school peers. Sixth Formers Owen Yu, Joey Kauff man, and Arnav Sardesai hope to create a program that will connect the two divisions for years to come.

The Academic Mentorship Program hopes to help struggling middle school stu dents by using peer-to-peer tutoring from more experienced upper schoolers.

Tutors applied at the end of the 20212022 school year and will now be assigned to different middle school advisories to begin to guide and teach younger students.

The program is planned to be mostly led by Sixth Formers.

“This was all Owen, Arnav, and Joey’s idea. This is their vision,” faculty advisor Mr. Matt Ator said. “I am just acting as a guardrail and making sure they can accom plish their goals. I hope that in addition to this being a tutoring and academic program, there will also be a level of mentorship, pass ing on study skills, and creating a relation ship between middle schoolers and upper schoolers.”

Sardesai credits Kauffman with the in spiration for the program.

“It was mostly Joey’s idea. He really liked [tutoring a middle schooler in Span ish], and Owen and I were on board and we wanted to build off that,” Sardesai said. He

upper school boy,” Dr. Greytok said. “The program will provide opportunities for up per school guys and middle school guys to connect and get to know each other on a re lational level.”

Archimedes Association feels confident, eyes EA

The Fords not only like to beat ri val Episcopal Academy (EA) in sports, but in math as well. The Archimedes Association, casually known as Math Club, participates in multiple mathrelated competitions throughout the year, like the Philly Math League. Led by Sixth Formers Colin Kelly, Nate Mirin, Jingyuan Chen, and Ethan Chan, the club takes on

schools every Friday morning in an eightquestion format with problems ranging from geometry to number theory.

Last year, the Archimedes Association performed strongly when EA hosted the Philly Math League’s final fall event.

“We did very well. We came in third place,” Kelly said. “There were probably around ten to sixteen schools there.”

The group’s third-place finish came after their only loss: a tie-breaker against George School, who went on to win the event.

“Both our team and George School got every question right, but George School did it quicker because they had three times as many people working on it. So that was a frustrating loss,” Kelly said.

Going into this year, the Sixth Form

leaders are determined to perform even bet ter than they did at EA.

“[Our goals are] to be the best! Why would we shoot for anything less than the best?” Mirin said.

Both Mirin and Kelly note a promising number of leaders who have the potential to perform well.

“We have a massive group of seniors that are all very committed, very interested, and very excited to compete,” Kelly said. “We totally have a good shot of winning the final tournament.”

Kelly is confident and determined to win this year—his final of four consecu tive years in Math Club. When asked if he was worried about the Episcopal Academy’s math team, his one-word response was plen ty: “Who?”

hopes to create something that will flourish.

“I think a lot of interaction between the two divisions got torn away during COVID, and I think this is a good way to give the middle schoolers someone to talk to and go to for advice.”

Head of the Middle School Dr. Jay Greytok hopes that middle school students will improve more than just their academic performance.

“I think for many middle school boys, there is a mystery about what it is to be an

Arnav Sardesai ’23

“Why would we shoot for anything less than the best?”

“We have a good shot of winning the final tournament.”

neighborhood

Schuylkill Yards begins to rise

The Philadelphia Schuylkill Yards is a multi-billion dollar develop ment project by Brandywine Re alty Trust and Drexel University. The project was first announced to the public in 2016 and groundbreaking began in 2017. Since then, the question still remains: how far has the project grown within these five years of COVID-19 and other challenges posed by an ambitious project in the middle of a ma jor American city?

This project is planned to be built on fourteen acres of land between Drexel’s cam pus and 30th Street Station. According to Brandywine Realty and Trust, it will include luxury residences along with office, medical, and communal spaces. It will be a place to build “connectivity, productivity, and happi ness.”

So far, 3025 John F. Kennedy Boulevard is nearing halfway to completion, according to a site visit by Philadelphia YIMBY. This building will be a 361-foot tall mixed-use tower, and its 28 floors will include resi dences, laboratories, and commercial spaces. According to the Schuylkill Yards website, 3025 JFK has a delivery date of Quarter 3 of 2023.

However, the new building certainly does not have new roots. The structure was originally the home to The Phila delphia Bulletin, a newspaper company from 1847-1982.

A completed building in the project is the “Bulletin Building” located at 3025 Mar ket Street. However, the new building cer tainly does not have new roots. The structure was originally the home to The Philadelphia Bulletin, a newspaper company from 18471982, once the largest evening newspaper in the country. The building, now fully reno

vated, boasts an intriguing window grid de sign.

In front of the Bulletin Building, Bran dywine developed a 1.3-acre community park. According to the Schuylkill Yards web site, “It is a gathering space for thousands of residents, students, workers, and travelers in University City. A breath of fresh air nestled in the cityscape, a place to pause and feel the sunshine on your face. Come here to con

nect, to disconnect, to do whatever is needed to make the day a great one.”

However, Schuylkill Yards is not just limited to students in University City, but also to students of Haverford. Students may be able to complete summer internships and senior projects with companies that lease at Schuylkill Yards. With these opportunities, students can create partnerships and rela tionships with companies and careers they

may be interested in.

The Schuylkill Yards project has gone a long way since when it was first proposed. From a developer’s concept to having mul tiple parts already finished with many more buildings expected to rise in the upcoming years, Schuylkill Yards has steadily continued on with their timeline to hopefully make the wait well worth it.

site of the Schuylkill Yards development

Center City and University City, as seen from the Schuylkill River

campus opinions

Strength and conditioning should count as a sports credit

The Work Room is where middle school physical education teacher and Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Matthew Rosko leads seasonal strength training work outs, open to all upper school students.

Third, Fourth, and Fifth Formers are currently required to earn two sports-activ

If students doing Coach Rosko’s work outs spend the same amount of time as other students playing sports, why don’t students working with Coach Rosko get credit?

Ask anyone walking through the athletic building where the Strength and Conditioning room is and you might get a puzzled look, but ask where the “Work Room” is, and you are sure to get an answer.

The Work Room, as Haverford’s weight and fitness center is popularly known, gets its name from the idea that it is here, in a room tucked into the back of the athletic building, that the work gets done.

If students doing Coach Rosko’s work outs spend the same amount of time as other students play ing sports, why don’t students working with Coach Rosko get credit?

ity credits. Currently, Coach Rosko’s Work Room program does not count as a sports activity credit.

That policy needs to change.

According to the Department of Athlet ics’ Parent and Student Handbook, “Athlet ics are a vital part of the total curriculum of The Haverford School… boys are encour aged to vary their athletic experiences to en hance diversity in learning.”

Many students, including myself, use the Work Room workouts in our off-season to build strength and maintain conditioning. Participating in the Work Room program adds diversity to my athletic experience.

There are many benefits to regular weight training. Studies by Harvard Health show that people who work out have im proved mood and mental functioning, two factors that can help students in rigorous academic environments.

Sports such as soccer and cross country require about two hours of daily practice af ter school, and Coach Rosko’s workouts re quire the same time commitment.

Lifting with Coach Rosko should be a sports credit because students spend just as much time after school as in a traditional sport. If the Work Room program counted as a sports credit, more of the student body would attend, which would lead to a happier and healthier community.

If the Work Room program counted as a sports credit, more of the student boy dwould attend, which would lead to a happier and heal their community.

After-school workout with Coach Rosko

off campus opinions

Listening to music in the age of Spotify: singles vs. albums

A

rt requires context. You wouldn’t isolate one fo cal point of a painting, movie, or book without recommending the whole first. So why shouldn’t we treat music the same? It would be a disservice to the song’s meaning if you were to isolate it. Simply listening to Eminem’s “Stan” without lis tening to the whole album robs you of the chronological significance of the Marshall Mathers LP. Listening to the popular song “One Dance” by Drake without listening to Views not only robs you of the opportunity to connect with the songs in order but also fails to acknowledge the artist’s intention for the album.

Still, music is not all about listening to albums, and it would be pointless to expect everyone to devote large chunks of their lives to that one form of listening.

Still, music is not all about listen ing to albums, and it would be pointless to expect everyone to devote large chunks of their lives to that one form of listening. Singles are the staple of the music industry, making it silly to try to convince every mu

sic listener to stream only albums. Singles hold a vital role in listening, being the easi est, most convenient way to enjoy music for a casual listener.

But listening to popular singles on “recommended” fuels a music ethusiast’s undeveloped surfacelevel music taste.

No taste in music is regarded as “bad” because that is solely on opinion. But one might say so from lack of originality, nar rative, or varied lyrics and/or instrumen tals. Keeping track of, or trying to memo rize song titles, albums, and artists can be difficult, so all of these can be sorted into playlists.

Albums, singles, playlists all paint a different picture.

But listening to popular singles on “recommended” fuels a music enthusiast’s undeveloped surface-level music taste.

Customized playlists allow listeners

to take different songs from different art ists or albums and put them in their own order. Most people take advantage of this perk on Spotify playlists. The artists put their albums in a specific order for a rea son. Therefore, if you listen to just one song from an album, you may lose the emotional intention that the artists want to convey. But if you prefer a different order of the al bum you can order it any way you choose by making a customized playlist. For ex ample, listening to “Hotline Bling” from Views, one of Drake’s most popular songs with more than 1.8 billion views on You

Tube, won’t have much effect on your emo tional interpretation of the entire album.

Albums, singles, playlists all paint a different picture. Playlists allow for cus tomizing singles and albums by preference. Albums present the artist’s preferred song order, and singles are usually the best songs off of a later released album or simply a song the artist wanted to make that doesn’t need an album.

All three modern ways of listening to music in the age of Spotify are valid and all have implications for the listener’s experi ence.

Nord Stream pipeline leaks raise suspicions of sabotage

On September 27, 2022, both Nord Stream pipelines 1 and 2 ruptured, spewing natural gas that quickly rose to the surface and covered more than a kilometer in size. Through the next few days, Danish military patrols of the Baltic Sea would discover four leaks in total. The pipes in question connected some of Russia’s natural gas fields to Germany, Russia’s largest consumer of natural gas. Nord Stream 1 accounted for 55% of Ger man natural gas usage and over 15 billion dollars worth of resources flowed through the pipe per year. Nord Stream 2 was under construction, but progress had been halted after Russia went to war against Ukraine.

Prior to these attacks, the EU, NATO, and other countries individually placed sanc tions on the Russian state due to the war in Ukraine. These sanctions provoked Russia into closing Nord 1 and cutting Germany off from the Russian resources they needed. These actions were taken in the hopes of pressuring the west into lifting the sanctions. Russia appears to have escalated its efforts since then.

Multiple seismic anomalies were detect ed by the Royal Danish Navy on the night of September 27, 2022. Bjorn Lund, direc tor of the Swedish Seismologist Network, suggested that what was detected were clear

The Kremlin in Moscow

signs of a man-made underwater explosion. He is one of many that adamantly claim this was a sabotage on the Nord Stream gas lines, which raises the question of who could have sabotaged the pipes.

He is one of many that adamantly claim this was a sabotage on the Nord Stream gas lines.

The West immediately accused the Russians of attacking their own lines. It may seem counterproductive for the strug

gling Russian economy to destroy one of its largest revenue generators, but Russia has a good reason. Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled gas company, shut down Nord 1 on August 30, 2022. Since then no maintenance has been done on the line and Germany has been denied their gas. The war

The war against Ukraine has been dragged out far be yond what the Krem lin anticipated.

against Ukraine has been dragged out far be yond what the Kremlin anticipated, so when a desperate Moscow found the reason to at tack their own pipelines, they took it.

If any damage was to be done to the pipeline, then the EU must lift some restric tions on Russian gas and oil in order for the lines to be fixed. If Moscow was indeed be hind these attacks, then their hope was to provoke the EU into escalating the situation and lifting sanctions to get the lines fixed. Russia, as the largest energy supplier for Eu rope, has been weaponizing its monopoly in energy in hopes of continuing conquests in Ukraine.

Haverford student listening to spotify

The Flyers in for another losing season

After Flyers fans were promised an explosive offseason by General Manager Chuck Fletcher, many were disappointed. The top free agent on the market, Jonathan Gaudreau, who was interested in signing with the Flyers, was not tendered an offer due to cap-space in flexibility. Instead, Fletcher opted to bring in offensive defenseman Tony DeAngelo in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes, sign de fenseman Justin Braun, who was traded from the Flyers at the 2022 Trade Deadline, and sign Nicholas Desulaiers to a 4-year, 1.75M Average Annual Value (AAV) deal.

This was not the aggressive retool ing that Flyers management had promised doubtful fans.

Additionally, Fletcher still intends to target a winning season, as opposed to be ginning a rebuilding process. He made this clear through many decisions, the most no table of which was hiring Head Coach John Tortorella, a veteran coach known for getting the most of his players’ talents. In the Flyers’ case, the talent Tortorella will have to work with is subpar at best.

All of this begs the question—what will be the impact of Fletcher’s ignorance? Is it possible for the Flyers to “fly” this year — making the playoffs as a bottom-seed team and facing an early-round elimination? And even if they do, what will the consequences of another season of mediocrity be? What is the most optimistic scenario that can happen over the next few years?

To break down this question, two vari ables of great significance must be consid ered. First, the talent of the upcoming draft classes will heavily impact the trajectory of the Flyers, or at least the speed in which they recover from their mismanagement. The sec ond is the free agents available. Depending on the team’s signings regarding their top re

stricted and unrestricted free agents, the Fly ers will have more or less free agents whom they can consider signing.

The first move the Flyers must make is trading James Van Riemsdyk, a veteran for ward with a 7M AAV, whose contract expires this offseason. Philadelphia could move Van Riemsdyk and another highly-paid veteran, such as Cam Atkinson, to a contending team looking to find success in the playoffs. In re turn, they could receive a first-round pick. The upcoming draft class is highly skilled, with an estimated five elite players, and one generational talent, Connor Bedard. So, let’s assume the Flyers finish dead last this season, win the draft lottery, and draft the consensus first overall pick, Connor Bedard. Bedard is a Canadian sniper, with potential like that of players Connor McDavid and Auston Mat thews. He would instantly become the best player on the Flyers and a top player in the NHL. Then, the Flyers could use their previ ously acquired first-round pick to draft a de fenseman who is not quite NHL-ready but is a promising prospect. The Flyers would

move into the offseason with considerable cap flexibility, re-sign their younger players and integral veterans, and then dive into the free agency market. They could pursue either Matt Dumba, a 28-year-old defenseman, and/or Vladimir Tarasenko, an elite Russian sniper turning 31.

Now, Philadelphia can move on to the next season.

They will finally be a playoff bound hockey team.

Another season goes by and the Flyers finish in the bottom five of the standings. They move up two spots in the draft lottery and draft a skilled player (it’s too early to be gin to predict who the third overall pick in the 2024 draft will be). At this point, their top-line defenseman Ryan Ellis and top-line

Beware the recession

forward Sean Couturier will return from in jury. The Flyers resign core players, pursue a free agent or two who can bolster their de fense, and begin to think about their 20242025 season. They will have a first forward line that features Tarasenko, and Bedard, as well as a second line featuring Couturier and forward Kevin Hayes, who will be in his early thirties at that point. Their defense will feature two rookies players they drafted in the past two years playing on their third line, and Ivan Provorov, a versatile defense man with offensive ability, and Ryan Ellis on their first line. They will finally be a playoffbound hockey team.

The Flyers have won one playoff series in the past ten years. To keep tickets selling and fan morale rising, the Flyers need to suc ceed. A rebuild would be perfectly timed if it began now, aligning with strong draft classes and free agent classes. Still, based on com ments made by the Flyers organization, it looks like the next few years will be years of mediocrity or worse.

“Woah, that’s how much it costs to fill up my car? Stock X is charging how much for those Jordans? Has that Haverford hoodie gotten more expensive since the last time I bought one?”

Some upper school students may con template these questions on a daily basis, while others may pay little attention. No matter where you stand, inflation is the highest it has been since 1981.

So, what’s causing this, and should stu dents be worried?

The former question can be answered by one word: “reces sion.”

The former question can be answered by one word: “recession.” A recession hap pens when there is a big decrease in consum

er spending. In our case, it was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve

These events have left a long-lasting impact on consumers and investors.

raising inflation to ensure a “soft landing” in the aftermath of the pandemic, and mass un employment. These events have left a longlasting impact on consumers and investors around the world.

Students shouldn’t be worried, but rather more aware.

Students shouldn’t be worried, but rather more aware. As students of the upper

school, we begin to transition into our adult lives. This comes with responsibilities, espe cially concerning money. Additionally, Fifth and Sixth Formers may have cars, which need gas, and gas costs money. Because of this “recession,” gas costs students more money, and it can start to add up to a fairly large amount. Upper school students have more freedom, and that relates to buying certain products, such as clothing, sneakers, or food when dining out with their friends. Some students may have to draw back from fantasizing about a certain shoe or hoodie that they desire because of how much it costs due to the increased prices they will pay be cause of inflation.

with investing in the stock market and/ or in cryptocurrency. In a recession, stocks drop, which can be seen as a bad or good thing. It is a potentially bad thing because of the risk that it might continue to go lower if the recession continues. Or it could be a potentially good thing for individual inves tors, because as most stock brokers will tell you, “Buy low, sell high.” As the effects of the recession continue to reveal themselves, students must be financially aware.

Talan

Flyers mascot Gritty

Because as most stock brokers will tell you,“Buy low, sell high.”

Dahmer: a monster (hit)

Has

Netflix finally bounced back?

Following the let-down of Stranger Things season four, the continued delay of Outer Banks, and the almost embar rassing new season of Cobra Kai, the stream ing platform desperately needed a new hit. Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the creators of Netflix’s newest series, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, may have guided the network back on the right track.

The ten-episode true-crime drama cov ers the life of serial killer Jeffery Dahmer. Beginning at the end of his story, episode one covers the attempted murder that got Dahmer caught, incarcerated, and sentenced to 941 years in jail. It quickly flashes back to his childhood, showing the early signs of his need to kill. Differing from Netflix’s recent sub-par dramas, this series focused less on advertising itself and more on production quality. There was no buzz, no discussion, and no anticipation for the series to drop.

The show is by no means an easy watch. Netflix does not shy away from Dahmer’s brutality. Showing the lead-up and pro cess of his killings, many viewers found the

show too gruesome. Netflix points out the clear flaws in the police system throughout the 1980s. Dahmer, a gay man living in an impoverished neighborhood, often used his homosexuality to get him out of interroga tion. Officers often feared they would “catch something” if they went into his apartment to look around.

The casting of this show could not have been better. Ryan Murphy is no rookie when it comes to true-crime dramas. A few years back he produced The People vs. O.J. Simp son, another instant hit. Murphy casts Evan Peters as Dahmer, giving the viewers a chill ing and seemingly accurate depiction of the mass murderer. It isn’t only the flawless act ing that Peters delivers throughout the show that makes his performance so strong—the man looks like Dahmer. It’s as if he was placed in Hollywood simply to play this part. Richard Jenkins and Niecy Nash also give fine performances as Jeff’s father and his next-door neighbor.

If you aren’t prone to nightmares and don’t have a weak stomach, this is the show for you. While it will undoubtedly freak you

out and probably make you question what your next-door neighbor gets up to at night,

will also provide you with ten hours of pure entertainment.

Abbott Elementary shares heartwarming message

W orkplace sitcoms have been around for decades, providing comedic perspectives on em ployees’ everyday relationships and strug gles at work, all in lighthearted 20-minute episodes. The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Superstore, and many more, have all become staples in mod ern television.

The newest addition to this list is ABC’s

in Philadelphia, focusing on five teachers at the school and their principal. Throughout the series, they work together to improve the lives of their students and make a difference.

new series, Abbott Elementary. The series tells the story of an underfunded public school

The show’s main character, Janine Teagues, played by Quinta Brunson (who also happens to be the show’s creator and the writer of many episodes), is a newer teacher with an optimistic outlook. Her co-worker Barbara Howard, an old-school Kindergar ten teacher, serves as her mentor and mother figure. Their quick-witted and often rude principal, Ava Coleman, lacks motivation and qualification for her job, providing a comedic element. Gregory Eddie, the sub stitute teacher who originally applied for the job of the principal, seems incredibly apathetic on the surface but is much more complex on the inside. Melissa Schemmenti, a tough second-grade teacher with good in tentions, and the thoughtful and awkward Jacob Hill, complete the show’s main cast.

The show’s thirteen-episode first sea

son premiered on December 7, 2021, and reached incredible success, scoring a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. The show also scored six Primetime Emmy Award nominations at this year’s ceremony, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Quinta Brunson’s per formance, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Tyler James Williams’ performance as Gregory, and more. They won two of the awards, Outstanding Sup porting Actress in a Comedy Series, awarded to Sheryl Lee Ralph, who plays Barbara in the series, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, awarded to Quinta Brunson for the show’s “Pilot” episode.

After the success of the first season, Ab bott Elementary was renewed for a 22-epi sode second season on March 14, 2022, which premiered on September 21. Follow ing the open-ended and suspenseful season finale, the second season picks up at the start of the next school year.

The thing that makes this show so ap pealing and enjoyable to audiences watch ing is the heartwarming message it shares about the importance of teachers and their dedication to their difficult jobs, along with the ways they have each other’s back when it counts. Many times such messages come across as corny, but this show does it in a way that is incredibly funny. It’s sure to make you laugh multiple times per episode, without taking away from the importance of the show’s message. Its unique plot and con cept also make for interesting storylines that bring something refreshing to the modern world of television.

Abbott Elementary is a lighthearted and easy watch for all ages with great characters that make you want to root for them and their common goal of improving the lives of their students.

A promotional poster for Dahmer, now available to watch on Netflix

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Football looks to continue undefeated season

Coming off their undefeated 5-0 record in their non-league games, the Fords’ football team looks to carry their winning momentum into the sec ond half of the season.

With lessons learned and experiences from last season, the objectives for this sea son have long been in the works.

“The goals for the season were estab lished right after EA day last year. Ending the year on a big win gave us momentum going into the off-season,” Sixth Former and offensive lineman Matt Pante said.

The team strives to manifest these goals by reflecting and improving collectively on a routine basis. Every facet of the team plays a crucial role and the results have proved so.

“Building every week off of individual and team mistakes has been a key factor in winning the number of games that we have so far,” Sixth Former and kicker Ivan Har lamov said, “ Every aspect of the game, of fense, defense, and special teams has greatly improved from our first matchup of the sea son.”

Pante echoes a similar sentiment.

“Our defense has been outstanding and so have our special teams. Having skilled guys like [Fourth Former] Matt Brosko, [Fifth Formers] James Falk, and Chace Knox makes it really easy to have an efficient of fense and score a lot of points,” Pante said.

Well-prepared for competition, the team gives much credit to their tough sched ule and management.

“Coach Martin did a really good job of putting together a tough schedule for us. It’s really important to have a tough schedule in the out-of-conference games because it will have us tested and ready to go for the Inter

Ac games. All of the games we have played were a complete team effort,” Pante said.

Well-prepared would be an understate ment to describe these out-of-league games. In just their last two games, Fifth Former Matt Brosko scored a hat trick in a domi nant win against Archbishop Wood and the Fords scored six times the number of points the opposing Landon team had. Fueled by the “Gents Club”, the loyal student section, the exhilarating environment gives the foot ball team the energy they need.

“The fan section has been great. It’s a great feeling to know that every single one of those guys is there to support their brothers.”

IVAN HARLAMOV

“The fan section has been great. It’s a great feeling to know that every single one of those guys is there to support their brothers,” Harlamov said.

Pante also acknowledges the Gents Club in helping the team reach its success.

“The La Salle game was one of the best atmospheres I have ever played in and it was an away game. They give us juice and get us ready every time we go out onto the field,” Pante said.

Full of fresh faces, the underclassmen are quintessential in the team dynamic.

“We are one of the smaller teams in the area in terms of numbers of players, which means we have to have the underclassmen step up, and they have,” Pante said, “Two freshmen, Walt Frazier [’26] and Jayden Ri vera [’26] have been game changers on both sides of the ball.”

At the top of the helm, upperclassmen have helped motivate the team through prac

tice and games.

“Our senior leadership has been awe some with [Sixth Formers] Billy Brosko, Gavin Wright, and Louie Atkinson being the guys to hype everyone up coming out of the tunnel,” Pante said.

Going into Inter-Ac competition, the mentality remains the same.

“The mentality going into the season is to dominate in every aspect of the game, and we have the ability to do that if we come to gether. Every individual has to be ready and locked in for 4 quarters,” Harlamov said.

While there is a lot to celebrate for the Fords’ football team, November 12 remains the ultimate goal.

“We still have a lot to work on but I’m super excited to see how the rest of the sea son goes,” Pante said. “As we always say, the job’s not finished.”

Golf, fueled by underclassmen, fights for the top spot in the Inter-Ac

The golf team, a historically strong program, continues to be a worthy competitor in the Inter-Ac despite its youth. Led by Sixth Form Captains Ben Bodle, Henry Gowen, Brendan Leary, and Rory Nesbitt, the team rely on a number of underclassmen. So far, four Third Formers have played in varsity matches, which consist of eight golfers.

“Our team is very deep with a lot of young, talented kids, so the older kids aren’t necessarily given a guaranteed starting spot, which has changed the dynamic to a more competitive atmosphere, which I think has ultimately made the team better,” Nesbitt said.

optimistic.

“We definitely have the potential to win the Inter-Ac and win EA Day, so I don’t see why we shouldn’t do that,” Nesbitt said.

The team’s twenty players saw more stu dents try out for the team this year than ever. When Nesbitt was a Third Former, he was the only one in his grade on varsity. Now, Third Former Sean Curran shot a 36 at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club—a hard course for its small greens and tightness— and Fourth Former JP Hoban shot a 36 at Merion West, what their teammates labeled “standout performances.” However, the team relies on depth more than singular perfor mances.

“We don’t have a set number one [golf er] but we definitely have a lot of depth on our team, so anyone could [score] low on any day,” Fifth Former Alex Nemo said.

One of golf’s recent victories was defeat ing La Salle College High School 186 to 188 at the Merion Golf Club West Course. This was the first time La Salle golf had lost a dual meet in almost two years. The team man aged to do this while not practicing formally every day of the week.

faces each other in a friendly competition they call the “Haverford Open.”

“It’s a lot of responsibility to hold your self accountable for how much you practice and your performance on the course, and I think it really shows the kids have been working hard,” Nesbitt said.

The team is confident as they head into EA Day, having beaten EA 185 to 202 on September 29. The culture rallies behind

then seniors really take a big role,” Hoban said.

The team has had its ups and downs, but with their deep understanding of the sport they persevere.

“We’ve had success so far and we’ve had disappointing matches, which is how the sport goes. Each day is really up to the golfer and the golf course. So you can go out one day and shoot a really good score and the next day you could blow up,” Hoban said.

The team is very competitive. On September 29, the team tied with Malvern Prep and Germantown Academy for first in Inter-Ac standings. However, at an Inter-Ac League event on October 6 at Waynesbor ough Country Club, Malvern and German town scored 186 and 187 to the Fords’ 190, sending the Fords back down to the league’s number-three spot. Still, the team remains

“We really don’t get many team prac tices in just because booking a golf course for the whole team is pretty difficult. They’re pretty reluctant to do it,” Nesbitt said.

Despite this, the team finds time almost every day of the week to practice together in formally, the upperclassmen offering to drive underclassmen to courses. During these practices, the team usually splits in two and

moments like EA Day.

“The team culture is probably the num ber-one thing we strive for,” Nemo said. “We know each other pretty well. We have team dinners and team breakfasts. It’s definitely a really good environment. Just shows how the game can connect a lot of people.”

The line between Varsity and JV is blurred, as players move up and down on a week-to-week basis. Despite the competition inherent in this, Hoban believes all the mem bers of the team feel equal to one another.

“Everybody’s equal because we all re spect how everyone on the team plays. And

Gavin Wright ’23 scores against Bonner & Prendergast Catholic High School, resulting in a 14-12 win.

“We definitely have the potential to win the Inter-Ac and win EA day, so I don’t see why we shouldn’t

“The team culture is probably the numberone thing we strive for.”

Lightweight quad earns early first place at King’s Head Regatta

On Sunday, September 25, the fall crew team kicked off their season with the King’s Head Regatta. The 2.8-mile race along the Schuylkill River can be challenging due to the two bridges rowers must navigate.

The team entered several boats, but only one was able to take first place in its event. The lightweight quad, consisting of Fourth Formers Charlie Gord and Sebastian Gillis, Fifth Former Ethan Lee, and Sixth Former Evan Wang secured a time of just under seventeen minutes in order to come out victorious.

Gord, satisfied with the victory, is look ing forward to improving.

Gord believes that the key to success on the water is synergy and dedication.

Head Rowing Coach Mr. Jonathan Stephanik viewed the Kings Head Regatta as a baseline to see where the team stood physi cally.

He also considered it an opportunity to look at areas of improvement going into the fall season and assess the team’s skills.

“Winning the race felt good, but there is a lot of work to do,” Gord said. “It felt good bringing the team a victory, but there is more work to do collectively.”

“It was exhausting, but to row hard you have to focus and stay in the zone,” Gord said. “All I could think about while rowing was being in unison and working with my boatmates to be the best on the water.”

“It’s good to see one or two boats do well, but we would like to see all the boats succeed,” Mr. Stefanik said. “The competi tion at King’s Head is relatively small, with only a few other teams, but it gives us a good idea of how we stack up against them over all.”

Water Polo remains hungry and humble

Fords Water Polo continues domi nating as they turn their attention to the Inter-Ac.

This past Friday, the team secured a 12-6 win over Penn Charter, and they hope to keep rolling as matchups with Malvern Prep and Episcopal Academy loom.

Despite the talent on the roster, the season has not come without its challenges. Sixth Former and goalie Jaiden Shuchman, Fifth Former goalie Robert Cerniglia, Fourth Former Zachary Dixon, and Fifth Former Luke Putter have all sustained concussions over the past several weeks.

“We weren’t really out all at the same time, so it wasn’t a huge deal,” Putter said. “But right now, we’re still down Zach as a starter, which messed with our starting lineup a little bit because we had really good chemistry. But we’ve had some people step up, so we’re doing fine.”

As far as the play itself goes, Putter has seen some improvement since the beginning of the season.

“I think we’ve been pretty good so far,” Putter said. “We’ve had a few instances where we’ve struggled with some selfish play, but we’re getting better with that aspect. At ‘Beast of the East’ last week, that’s the best that I saw from a teamwork perspective. We were seeing the field really well and getting the ball around to everyone.”

Keeping the team in check has been made easier by the strong leadership from the upperclassmen, particularly Sixth For mer Luka Sekulic.

“Luka is obviously the most influential of our three captains,” Putter said. “He is the one that takes over the pool. If anyone is not completely focused in practice, he will get on them better than I’ve seen anyone else do. He just helps us be more focused as a team.”

Sekulic has been pleased with how the team has responded to the captains’ leader ship thus far.

“[Sixth Former] Isaiah Shuchman, Luke Putter, and I, we’ve been pushing towards bonding as a team outside of practice, as well as everyone showing up to the morn ing swims,” Sekulic said. “Morning swims are a big part of our team culture because it’s something that no one other than us does. While everyone else is sleeping at home, we’re grinding in the pool and bettering our selves. That’s what creates the culture and the bond.”

With a special bond, Sekulic hopes the team will rally together and meet their toughest challenge.

“The biggest challenge for us this sea son, undoubtedly, will be the Easterns tour nament, which we’re hosting this year,” Sekulic said. “There are a few teams that have exceptional players, and adjusting our game to those players will be difficult.”

Sekulic still stresses the importance of performing every game.

“After winning the Inter-Ac year after year, we’ve been focusing on staying hungry and having the mentality that it doesn’t mat ter who you play—it matters how you play.”

The first five meets of the cross-country season have revealed strong runners and the power of team camaraderie. Sixth Form team captains Joey Kauffman and Colin Kelly continue to lead the Fords’ young team to strong performances.

The season opened with a tri-meet against Penn Charter and Malvern Prep at Belmont Plateau. The team came in third. The meet saw strong performances from Co lin Kelly, Fourth Former Finn Kelly, Sixth Former Joey Kauffman, and Third Former James MacColl.

The next meet was the George School Invite, where the team found its foot ing, coming in ninth place out of eighteen teams. Kauffman and Fourth Former Ma son Weigand put in standout performances. When Kauffman took a minute off of his 5K time, he observed that his PR, “was a nice surprise.”

The third meet of the season was Inter

League Play at Belmont Plateau. The team came in third place out of all Inter-Ac teams. The top finisher was Fourth Former Alex Dardarian, who came in with a time of 19 minutes flat.

“Talking to the captains before the race helps lift your spirits and makes you ready for what is coming,” Dardarian said.

Many runners like Dardarian have cred ited their strong performances to the work of the captains.

“Joey Kauffman and Colin Kelly have done a great job at bringing people togeth er, no matter their skill set,” MacColl said. “They have helped us persevere through the

hardships of the sport. Without this, I would not have been able to become the runner I am currently.”

The fourth meet of the season against Germantown Academy also had strong performances from Fourth Former Liam French, who appreciates his experience on the team this year.

“Colin and Joey have a great dynamic as team captains. They are motivated. They help build a great sense of community on the team,” French said.

The most recent meet was the Whip pets Invitational. Again the Fourth Formers led the team with outstanding performances from Dardarian, French, and Weigand.

The team now looks forward to its championship season with Inter-Ac Cham pionships taking place on October 17, PAISAA Championships on the 29th, and eagerly anticipated EA Day in November.

Will Suter ’25 leads the Haverford pack at George School

are motivated.”

would like to see all the boats succeed.”

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