Issue 6

Page 1

Volume 119 Issue 6

The Record Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

Alex Lautin Staff Writer

ON FRIDAYS WE WEAR PINK Library goes all out with Pink Week decorations.

“Pink-Out:” CAC hosts Pink Week to raise awareness To bring students together in support of the fight against breast cancer, the Cancer Awareness Club (CAC) hosted Pink Week beginning this Monday, CoPresident of the CAC Miles Kuhn (12) said. Pink Week’s events and activities include decorating Katz Library with pink decorations, handing out pink snacks during break, hanging posters with information about breast cancer, and staging a pink-out, a day where all students dress up in pink. Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, students are encouraged to wear pink throughout the week in order to show their support to the cause. “Pink week is about raising awareness for breast cancer and also remembering people who have gone through breast cancer,” Kuhn said. “It just brings the community around the cause.” On the second floor of Tillinghast, the CAC installed a board for students to take a pink paper heart, write the name of someone they know who has had breast cancer, and put it on the

Week. “When people see many of their friends in pink, it starts an important conversation on the cause we are supporting.” During break, the club also worked with Director of UD Student Activities Caroline Bartels to bring pink treats to school. On Monday, they handed out pink frosted cupcakes, and today they will distribute pink ribbon cookies since that is the symbol for breast cancer, Co-Vice President of the CAC Spencer Rosenberg (12) said. This week, the walls and ceilings of Katz Library were also embellished with pink banners and decorations. Ariela Weber (10), a coordinator of the Events and Entertainment committee of the CAC, spent last Friday helping to set up for the upcoming week, she said. “I decorated the library by putting up the big pink week letters outside the entrance and hanging up banners,” she said. Weber also made posters that shared statistics on breast cancer and its impacts, she said. By researching information in order to create posters about the cause, Weber learned how common breast cancer is and how there are so many women affected by it. “The most impactful part of my

“I just hope that people take time inwards to reflect on anyone they know who has fought against breast cancer, and either honor their fight or honor their memory.” - Dalia Pustilnik (12) wall, Co-President Dalia Pustilnik (12) said. “Our hope with that is that by the end of the week it will be filled with all of these different hearts and all of these different nicknames so that people putting a name up on the wall can take a moment to really think about this person in their lives.” The bulletin board is impactful because it allows students to see how breast cancer impacts the community, Laine Goldmacher (10) said. “This raises the entire school’s awareness because it brings many different perspectives to the cause,” she said. Goldmacher believes that sharing personal experiences with breast cancer is the most effective way to raise awareness, she said. Today, the club is hosting a “PinkOut” event, where students all show up to school wearing pink in order to demonstrate the community’s support of the cause. Goldmacher said wearing pink is one of the most effective ways to increase student involvement in Pink

October 22nd, 2021

Me2/Orchestra bridges music and mental health at assembly

Ailill Walsh/Photo Director

Divya Ponda and Neeva Patel Staff Writers

record.horacemann.org

experience was seeing how many people cared about the cause by showing up to the library to decorate and show their support,” Weber said. Vivian Coraci (10) stopped by the library last week to help decorate during one of her free periods, she said. “It was really fun to help prepare for the week behind the scenes, and it made me very happy to see so many kids involved with a week I helped prepare for.” Beyond decorating the library, the CAC had to prepare weeks in advance for the event. The leaders of the club communicated with Bartels to organize the themed snacks during break. They also worked with Library Assistant Sandra Duran to help get the pink hearts board set up, Rosenberg said. “Overall, preparing for the week was a community effort, but hats off especially to Ms. Bartels because this week could not have been done without her,” Kuhn said. In comparison to last year’s Pink Week, Rosenberg believes that having fewer Covid restrictions has helped

students become more involved with this year’s event, he said. Because the rules about Covid were stricter last year, the CAC was not allowed to bring pink treats to hand out during break or create a wall with everyone’s hands touching the pink hearts, so all the students could do was wear pink. This year, however, the club was able to put up posters about breast cancer and pass out flyers around the school so that everyone could understand the true meaning and representation of the week, Rosenberg said. The CAC leaders hope that Pink Week motivates students to join the club and look into how they can join the fight against breast cancer in any way possible, Kuhn said. Rosenberg hopes that students recognize that breast cancer is something that impacts many lives. If they do not know someone personally who has been affected by breast cancer, their friend or someone else they know most likely has, he said. “It’s a nice way to participate in something larger than ourselves,” Pustilnik said. “To organize this week where people are encouraged to think about those they love and reflect on their lives and the fight against cancer and see everyone else who has been affected, I think that’s a very powerful thing to do as a whole school community.” Rhea Singh (9) said the CAC did a wonderful job hosting the event this week because they combined breast cancer awareness with daily student activities, she said. “As someone who is not that involved with the CAC, Pink Week and its celebrations have motivated me to attend their next meeting,” she said. The CAC tries to raise awareness and accumulate donations that would be given to cancer research, which is why alongside Pink Week, the club has two big events coming up: Cycle for Survival and Relay for Life, Rosenberg said. While the CAC’s bigger events help accumulate donations that go towards specific cancers, the smaller events during Pink Week are also extremely effective, Rosenberg said. “By creating smaller events, the student body doesn’t have to put in too much effort or commitment, but they can still learn about breast cancer and show their support during the month of October,” he said. Pustilnik also hopes that Pink Week sparks a moment of reflection, she said.“I just hope that people take time inwards to reflect on anyone they know who has fought against breast cancer, and either honor their fight or honor their memory.”

Members of the Me2/Orchestra discussed the stigma around mental illness at an assembly this Tuesday. Music Director Ronald Braunstein and Executive Director Caroline Whiddon co-founded the organization to create a judgement-free environment for musicians with and without mental illness. They spoke about their experiences with mental health along with bass player Rusty Chandler and violinist Roya Moussapour ‘13. After the assembly, the four speakers held a talkback and visited the school’s F period orchestra class. The Wellness Initiative Club (WIC) hosted the event. Co-presidents Sophie Gordon (12) and Riya Daga (11) introduced the organization and Avani Khorana (11), Tess Goldberg (11), and club advisor Dr. Liz Westphal moderated the discussion. The assembly began with students and faculty reading anonymous answers to a survey question about the meaning of wellness. The club then presented one of Me2’s virtual recordings recorded during the pandemic, followed by a Q&A with the musicians. In the Q&A, Khorana and Goldberg asked questions about how the musicians live with their mental illnesses and what music means to them. Larry Tao (11) enjoyed the video of the orchestra playing at the start of the assembly. He also found it important

In the F period orchestra class, students played Little Serenade by the Swedish composer Erik-Lars-Larson, music teacher Nathan Hetherington said. Braunstein talked about the dramatic shape of the piece, giving students an overarching view which will undoubtedly and positively affect their final performance, Hetherington said. Braunstein talked about the dramatic shape of the piece, the placement of notes in the beginning and end, and gave an overarching view of the piece which the students hadn’t done in rehearsal before, Hetherington said. Braunstein conducted the orchestra and gave them comments about the dynamics and their entrances for parts of the song, Steve Yang (11) said. “As a musician, it was really wonderful to hear other musicians talk about their journey with mental health and how it’s affected their lives,” Yang said. Hetherington also thought it was heartening to hear how being a musician has helped the members of the Me2/Orchestra face their mental health issues. “The overarching goal [of the Me2/ Orchestra] is to destigmatize mental health and spread the message of their organization to other people,” Khorana said. The orchestra creates a safe space where they can give each other support which expands the community that accepts people with mental disorders, she said. “One of our primary goals as

Courtesy of Barry Mason

ME2 AND MENTAL HEALTH Me2 orchestra members share their mental health journies. that the orchestra breaks economic, social, and racial barriers to foster equality through their music. The musicians shared their diagnoses and their personal struggles with mental health. Braunstein and Chandler spoke about their experiences with bipolar disorder and Whiddon spoke about her anxiety diagnosis. Moussapour does not have a diagnosis — she joined the orchestra because of its judgment-free nature and her desire to work with Braunstein, she said. During the assembly, Widdon said that the orchestra has a sign that reads “You are entering a stigma-free zone” on its door. When people walk through the door, their minds are reset so they do not judge others, she said. In the talkback, students who are competitive musicians asked about how the stress of competitive music can impact mental health, Westphal said. Students also asked how to be equitable and fair to people with disabilities, she said.

a department is to educate the community about mental health and wellness, and [to] destigmatize mental illness,” Westphal said. “It is important to give the community an opportunity to hear directly from people suffering from mental illness who have found ways to live meaningful lives and continue doing the things they love.” WIC is different this year because they switched from one Wellness Week to multiple Wellness Wednesdays, Khorana said. The recurring events will help keep the club’s presence more consistent and prominent, she said. “Students will say they’re stressed all the time, but there’s a certain point [where] it reaches a level where it isn’t normal,” Khorana said. Wellness Wednesdays create a space for people to talk about mental health. The club will also incorporate activities throughout the year to help students relieve stress. Khorana hopes that the assembly sparks a discussion about what people can do to help their friends if they’re struggling with their mental health.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.