Issue 7

The Record

Volume 118 Issue 7

record.horacemann.org

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

October 23rd, 2020

ALUMNI COUNCIL WILL NOT REVOKE BARR’S AWARD

COUNCIL RELEASES REPORT Hanna Hornfeld and Emma Colacino Staff Writers After months of deliberation, the Alumni Council announced this morning that it will not revoke Attorney General William Barr ‘67’s Alumni Association’s Award for Distinguished Achievement.

The Council voted on October 13 to release a detailed Report with its final decision and reasoning to the public. They concluded that the facts surrounding Barr’s involvement in the removal of protesters at Lafayette Square were not clear enough to warrant a revocation.

The Council focused solely on the events of Lafayette Square because those were the events noted in the petition as the reason for the request to reevaluate the award, Co-Chair of Subcommittee Alexandra Levin ‘00 said.

The Report was written by 13 members of the Council’s voting body who volunteered in June to join a special Subcommittee to review the issue and write a recommendation to the Council.

Head of Alumni Council Samantha Brand ‘01, Co-Chair of the Subcommittee Joseph Pinion ‘01, and Levin declined to reveal the final vote. The members of the Committee remained anonymous for privacy and so that they had space to form opinions without distraction, Levin said. However, they all belong to the Council, whose members are listed on its website.

The Council is an independent body from the school. The administration was not involved in the decision of the council or in the creation of the report.

Members of the community have criticized the Committee for the amount of time it has taken to reach a final decision. “They have been conspicuously slow walking our petition since its inception,” Kiara Royer ‘20 and Jessica Rosberger ‘20 wrote in an open letter on September 9. “Their inaction has made us question the authenticity and even the purpose of the Alumni Council.”

The process took a long time because the Committee took the charge seriously and did not want to make an uninformed decision, Pinion said.

The Committee considered waiting until after the Presidential Election to release its decision, but ultimately decided it would be best to share the report as soon as it was finalized, Pinion said. “To wait would be playing politics with a process that we strove so hard and fervently to avoid politics in, in the first place,” Pinion said.

In their open letter, Royer and Rosberger also wrote that the Council was not as transparent about its process as it should have been.

Levin understands the desire for frequent updates on a matter that so many people feel strongly about, but completing the work took a significant amount of time and there often were no real updates to share as the work was in progress, she said. The Committee issued public statements when there was something material to share, she said.

To be as fair as possible, the Committee had to come up with a reevaluation process that could be replicated in the future. “You can’t have one set of standards for one honoree but not for everybody else,” Levin said.

Their reevaluation process involved the consideration of community feedback, precedent for award revocation at other institutions, the facts of the event at Lafayette Square, and award criteria, according to the Report.

The Committee met once a week nearly every week during the summer. To ensure

they were hearing as many voices as possible, the Committee reviewed comments on the petition, social media comments, and emails and phone calls to the school Alumni Office and to the Committee, according to the Report. “We felt we owed it to the community to address the issues the petition raised,” Brand said. “We wanted to examine in a deliberate process the community feedback.”

In July, the Committee met with Royer and Rosberger. “We wanted to understand the true motivations behind them forming the petition, what their thoughts were, and what they were interested in,” Pinion said.

The Committee cross-checked signatures with names of current and former students, parents, and faculty members to ensure that they were receiving and responding to comments and feedback that were from members of the community, Levin said.

This step was necessary because although other signatories may feel strongly about the administration, they do not necessarily represent the school community, she said.

The Committee received passionate correspondence from people on either side of the debate in the form of emails and social media posts, which the Council reviewed, Levin said.

When considering the possible revocation of Barr’s award, the Committee had to debate whether or not the Council should revoke an award in the first place, as the issue of revocation has never come up in the award’s history, Pinion said. “We had to go through whether it was in the best interest of the community to even be in the business of revoking awards or not.”

The Committee concluded that in order to revoke the award, they would need to be certain of all of the facts of the situation, to have taken into consideration the views of all community members, and to have used a deliberate, just, and replicable process, according to the Report. “We evaluated everything that we could get our hands on, regarding what actually happened and why, and we came to the best conclusion given the facts that we had at our disposal,” Levin said.

After conducting its research, the Committee decided that it did not have enough indisputable evidence to determine Barr’s exact involvement in the incident, according to the Report. “[Barr’s] accounts are somewhat at odds with what people might feel like his motivations were or what he actually did — all of that is still very unclear.”

During their deliberation process, the Committee realized that many members of the community felt that Award recipients should uphold the school’s Core Values. A major argument in support of revocation was that Barr’s actions had transgressed political actions to a point where he had overstepped a moral boundary that conflicted with the values of the school, Pinion said.

The Committee chose to look at Barr’s situation based on the criteria for which he received the award: objective distinguished achievement. “While, historically, many have referred to the Award casually as the ‘Distinguished Alumnus/a Award,’ the focus of the deliberation has always been on achievement recorded at the time of nomination,” they wrote in the Report.

Moving forward, the Council will deliberately think about whether an award nominee’s actions line up with the Core Values and will work harder to reach out to alumni in order to get more people involved in the process of nominating potential honorees, Brand said.

“The school is constantly evolving and the award should do the same,” she said.

Courtesy of HM Flikr

THE HONOREE Barr at the 2011 award ceremony.

OPINION: REPORT FAILS THE SCHOOL

text here Julia Goldberg, Talia Winiarsky, and Adam Frommer Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, and Issues Editor This week, The Record previewed the eight-page report explaining the Special Committee of the Alumni Council’s decision not to recommend revoking Attorney General William Barr’s 2011 Award for Distinguished Achievement.

We analyze the full report later in this issue, but these are our overarching critiques.

The report’s scope is embarrassingly narrow.

The Special Committee wrongly assumes the opposition to Barr emerged solely from the incident at Lafayette Square. While the petition addresses only that incident, it is clear that signatories see Lafayette Square as one of Barr’s numerous abuses of power. Barr has been criticized by an array of authorities — from former Attorney General Eric Holder to over 80% of the faculty of George Washington University Law School, Barr’s alma mater — for undermining the legislative and judicial branches, for politicizing the Justice Department through his unrelenting loyalty to the president, and for attacking those with whom he disagrees. Last week, Phillip Halpern, a 36year veteran of the Justice Department, resigned in protest and publicly rebuked Barr, writing that he “undermined the rule of law, damaged public confidence that the law applies equally and fairly to all persons, and demonstrated contempt for basic constitutional rights.” In short, Barr failed to fulfill his oath of office to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The committee does not recognize these perspectives, but instead focuses on one troubling event in a 20-month tenure filled with misconduct.

The report is directly at odds with the school’s core values.

Horace Mann, according to our Mission Statement, values mutual respect and prepares its students to lead “giving lives.” While Barr may be distinguished by nature of his career, under his current position as Attorney General he has behaved in ways antithetical to his office and our core values. Since his appointment by President Trump in February 2019, Barr has placed politics above justice, interfered with the work of impartial career prosecutors, hampered Congressional oversight, and undermined the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The committee, however, did not consider our values as an institution in their criteria for revocation. As a result, they created a report incompatible with the mission of the school.

The report undermines the community’s voices.

In Issue 2, we published an article detailing the potential to revoke the award, including Barr’s character at Horace Mann and beyond, the implications of removing an award, and the varied opinions of students and alumni. Our reporters actively sought to speak to students, parents, and alumni with a wide range of perspectives, and we shared our findings with the community. The Special Committee did not hold themselves to the same standard. They claimed to review phone calls, emails, and comments on the petition and social media websites. By their own count, 1,751 alumni voiced discontent with the award — a number that should greatly alarm the members.

This is especially concerning because the Alumni Council is supposed to be engaged with the larger alumni community. Because the committee created this report without properly giving voice to alumni and students alike, we felt unheeded and disrespected by their decision.

The report is an exercise in cowardace.

The type of narrow framework the committee has used — a legal-style analysis of cherry-picked evidence — is exactly what students are taught not to do in their humanities courses. The report forces a specific thesis without providing a larger context. The anonymity of the report’s authors reinforces our impression that the committee’s members knew this decision was flawed and felt uncomfortable taking responsibility for it.

Even more alarming, the representatives of the council declined to say how many members of the committee supported the report.

The award should have been revoked.

Because the committee refused to acknowledge other evidence or perspectives, we can only speculate that they purposefully came to this conclusion because they were worried about potential repercussions of revoking the award.

Might a handful of conservative donors be offended? Would the Alumni Council be accused of promoting cancel culture? Maybe. It is impossible to know — but we believe that the committee has chosen to stay out of headlines as opposed to making the morally correct decision.

SEE PAGES 4 AND 5 FOR OUR ANALYSIS.

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THE RECORD OPINIONS OCTOBER 23RD, 2020

The importance of Cancer Awareness Club Rebecca Rosenzweig, Kate Bown, and Lita Crichton

We believe that cancer has directly or indirectly impacted every person’s life. Every person knows of at least one person that has had, survived, or unfortunately passed away from cancer, whether it is their neighbor, friend, or family member.

Curing cancer requires more than advocacy and research: it also requires unity and education.

More importantly, curing cancer requires the belief that one day there will be a cure. As members of the Cancer Awareness Club (CAC), we hope to serve as resources for people within and outside the school’s community to educate our generation about cancer and what we as a community can do to help find a cure. We wanted to share with you what we do and why we do it.

“Becca, why did you join the Cancer Awareness Club?”

When I was six years old, pancreatic cancer took my grandmother. Her family had a long history of cancer: both of her parents and her sister had died young from the disease, and she had fought two other types of cancer before her final battle.

Even though she was only 66 years old, she had survived the longest out of all of her immediate family members. Fighting cancer has been a major

part of my life ever since I lost my grandmother.

Cancer has severely impacted both sides of my family, and from a very young age, I understood that the disease was far from having a working cure and affected hundreds of thousands of families in addition to my own each year. I became hopeful for a world in which no family would suffer from cancer’s impossible battle. The Cancer Awareness Club presented an opportunity to raise funds and awareness within my own community, and I was

American Cancer Society (ACS). By applying through the HM Internship Program, I was able to intern at the office of the ACS in midtown New York during the summer of 2019. There, I made flyers for the events they hosted, found sponsors, and found venues for the events. I also helped cancer patients receive wigs. During the course of last year, I volunteered at their Making Strides for Breast Cancer event in Central Park, in which the ACS worked to raise awareness for breast cancer.

eager to contribute however possible. I continue to be amazed and feel empowered by the way students from every club, friend group, and field of interest rally to show their support for the fight against cancer; the fight challenges and unites every one of us despite our differences. I feel the greatest sense of community surrounded by this diverse band of people who are committed to making a change and put in the time and energy to do so.

Although COVID-19 has unfortunately prevented other major events in NYC from occurring, I still volunteer with the ACS virtually and help to raise cancer awareness. When my grandmother was sick in the hospital with cancer in 2017, I also created a chamber group with my two siblings to play music for her and the other patients at the hospital.

It was incredibly meaningful, especially because at the hospital, many patients can become lonely and are disconnected from the outside world. I was so appreciative that I could bring joy to my grandmother as well as the other patients. There are so many different ways to raise awareness about this terrible disease. In fact, each month of the year is dedicated to raising awareness of a specific type

Rachel Zhu/Art Director

“Lita, other than serving as a resource for people within the HM community about cancer, how do you serve as a resource outside of the school’s club?”

Outside of the CAC, I volunteer with the

of cancer. As many of you may know, the current month we are in, October, is dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness month. The main focus of Breast Cancer Awareness month is to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure.

“Kate, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, what is the club planning on doing?”

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the CAC brings “Pink Week” to the HM community.

Pink week was a time for the entire community to learn about and spread awareness about Breast Cancer while also honoring anyone we know who lost their life to the disease, overcame it, is currently undergoing treatment, or has any other connection to it. In past years, the HM fall sports teams have worn pink accessories to all of their games throughout the month of October. On Monday, we distributed pink ribbon cookies as the snack for the day. In addition to the special treats that we provided on Monday, the CAC decorated the library with pink accessories. Most importantly, mass emails were sent out within the community with some resources to educate yourself on the disease, research, treatment options, and places to donate (totally optional of course).

We welcome the opportunity for anyone within the school community to join us in raising awareness about this disease! We also welcome the opportunity to be decked out in pink clothing on Monday, October 26!

Lauren Kim/Art Director

Pe’er reflects on sexisim in robotics a safer method to complete a task, she was largely ignored by the boys on the team. These jokes and actions were normalized by many of the upperclassmen, especially those in leadership positions.

While I had previously been warned about sexism on the team, I did not expect to enter a club whose culture was so fiercely against women in leadership. Additionally, since the boys in power chose leadership for the following years, it was easy for them to perpetuate this culture. I felt guilty for not standing up for the women on leadership every time I heard these comments, and I also knew that calling the boys out on their sexism could disqualify me from a position if my gender hadn’t already. Because of the negative culture towards women in leadership

Carmel Pe’ er Xi’an’s Famous Foods was the unofficial official post-meeting FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team hang-out. Almost every Friday during my freshman year, we crowded into the subway, or as we called it, our “Uber XXL.” The 40 minute ride to the restaurant was filled with discussions ranging from mechanical issues with our robot to our favorite phone games. Once there, we would all squeeze into the limited seating options. I genuinely enjoyed these dinners, but as the only girl and often the youngest, I never felt fully comfortable. I was quieter than I would have been around my close friends. The boys on the team never actively bullied me for my identity, but would at times make insensitive comments.

A common joke at these dinners was that the positions women held on the robotics team leadership were fake and created so that the club appeared more diverse. Every time it was brought up, I would sink into my seat and stare at my lap. Comments like these were prevalent not just at dinners but also during meetings. They supported a feeling of indifference towards any attempts at leadership from the female seniors. For example, when the safety captain, who acted as a shop manager, would ask people to do a better job at cleaning up or suggest

Lauren Kim/Art Director

positions, I worried that I would be passed over for positions.

During my junior year, I became the first female co-captain of the FRC team. I was excited to take on this role, but I was also scared that my older male co-captain would ignore me. My freshman year had proven to me that women in leadership positions have no influence if the culture on the team is against them. In one of my first meetings

with my co-captain to discuss recruitment, he mentioned how nice it was that I was a girl, because it would attract more girls to the team.

I knew he was right, so I didn’t say anything, but his comment made me feel like I was chosen for this position purely because of my gender and as a token for diversity rather than for my talents and dedication.

This made me insecure of my actions as co-president. I worried that my suggestions would be ignored by my co-captain, just like past women on the team. The possibility that this would then spread to the rest of the team also troubled me. If this were true, it would mean that in the past two years no progress on the team had been made and that the team environment would continue to be uncomfortable for women.

Later on in the season, my co-captain and our advisor had a meeting about the team which I was not invited to. It was just to discuss something minor, but I knew that I should have been invited or at least notified about it. When I expressed these concerns to my co-captain, he brushed them off but agreed to invite me next time. Small moments like these continued throughout the year towards me and some of the other women on the team. They occurred relatively often, and they usually came from the same few people. It seemed as though the rest of the team was largely more accepting and welcoming towards women.

Except for a few team members, the culture had shifted for the better.

The cause of this shift was most likely due to a combination of many of the students who had supported a sexist culture graduating and a sharp increase in female membership. During my junior year we had almost double the number of women we had during my sophomore year.

This year, all five captains between the FRC and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams are women, as well as many other leadership positions across both clubs. I think that this shows a continuation of the shift to a better environment for women on both robotics teams. I hope that this will also lead to more women joining both teams to hold leadership positions, and that they will be just as respected as their male counterparts. Having women in leadership positions will also likely lead to more underclassmen girls joining robotics teams.

Volume 118 Editorial Board Managing Editor Talia Winiarsky News Sam Chiang Yesh Nikam Marina Kazarian

Features Henry Owens Emily Shi Vivien Sweet

Staff

Opinions Maurice Campbell Avi Kapadia Natalie Sweet

A&E Izzy Abbott Abby Beckler Oliver Steinman

Staff Writers Devin Allard-Neptune, Mia Calzolaio Chloe Choi, Emma Colacino, Yin Fei, Lucas Glickman, Claire Goldberg, Tuhin Ghosh, Liliana Greyf, Lauren Ho, Hanna Hornfeld, Purvi Jonnalagadda, Oliver Lewis, Rowan Mally, Simon Schackner, Morgan Smith, Arushi Talwar, Katya Tolunsky, Nathan Zelizer, Max Chasin, Alex Lautin, Jillian Lee, Hannah Katzke, Vidhatrie Keetha, Zachary Kurtz, Clio Rao, Ayesha Sen, Emily Salzhauer, Aden Soroca, Emily Sun, Madison Xu Staff Photographers Kelly Troop, Sophie Gordon, Amanda Wein, Emma Colacino, AJ Walker, Lucas Glickman, Lauren Ho Staff Artists Eliza Becker, Felix Brenner, Riva Vig

Editor-in-Chief Julia Goldberg Lions’ Den Yotam Hahn Alison Isko Josh Underberg

Issues Editor Adam Frommer

Middle Division Adrian Arnaboldi Bradley Bennett Jack Crovitz

About Founded in 1903, The Record is Horace Mann School’s award-winning weekly student newspaper. We publish approximately 30 times during the academic year, offering news, features, opinions, arts, Middle Division and sports coverage relevant to the school community. The Record serves as a public forum to provide the community with information, entertainment, and an outlet for various viewpoints. As a student publication, the contents of The Record are the views and work of the students and do not necessarily represent those of the faculty or administration of the Horace Mann School. Horace Mann School is not responsible for the

Design Lowell Finster John Mauro Sarah Sun

Editorial Policy

Art Annabelle Chan Gabby Fischberg Lauren Kim Rachel Zhu

accuracy and contents of The Record and is not liable for any claims based on the contents or views expressed therein.

Editorials All editorial decisions regarding content, grammar, and layout are made by the senior editorial board. The unsigned editorial represents the opinion of the majority of the board.

Opinions Opinion columns represent the viewpoint of the author and not of The Record or the school. We encourage students, alumni, faculty, staff, and parents to submit opinions by emailing record@horacemann.org.

Letters Letters to the editor often respond to editorials,

Photography Jackson Feigin Julia Isko Maxwell Shopkorn

Faculty Adviser David Berenson

articles, and opinions pieces, allowing The Record to uphold its commitment to open discourse within the school community.

They too represent the opinion of the author and not of The Record or the school. To be considered for publication in the next issue, letters should be submitted by mail (The Record, 231 West 246th Street, Bronx, NY 10471) or email (record@ horacemann.org) before 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening. All submissions must be signed.

Contact For all tips, comments, queries, story suggestions, complaints and corrections, please contact us by email at record@horacemann.org.

HORACE MANN NEWS OCTOBER 23RD, 2020

Flo Ngala ‘13 presents photographs at assembly Emily Sun, Athena Rem, and Ariella Frommer Staff and Contributing Writers

Flo Ngala ‘13 took Upper Division (UD) students through her photography career at Tuesday’s assembly. Ngala is an established photographer in the media realm, whose work has been featured in publications, such as The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Billboard and has photographed popular artists including Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Gucci Mane.

Courtesey of Flo Ngala

BILLBOARD Ngala shoots the cover.

Ngala was first exposed to photography at the school in an eighth grade photo elective and continued photography throughout high school.

Her passion for photography stems from its power to transport people beyond what they can see with their own eyes, to spotlight injustices, and to move people to action, she said.

Ngala also spoke about how her identity is central to the way she sees the world and her approach to photography.

“I’m a Black woman and well aware that photography was historically used as a tool of oppression to depict Black people in a negative light,” she said. “For me, that’s especially why representation matters so much in this field: if someone does not see the value of certain groups of people, the way they capture them simply cannot do them justice.”

“I really try and make sure that, as a photographer, I’m showing Black people in the best light and I’m showing women in the best light,” Ngala said. “If not me, then who?”

This idea was especially pertinent

when Ngala photographed attendees of Black Lives Matter protests in New York City this June. She wanted to document the events and depict the frustration and pain people felt through her lenses.

Erica Jiang (9) said Ngala did an amazing job portraying a message through her photographs of the protests.

“I’ve been learning in my photo class about how to convey a feeling instead of just a 2D photograph,” Jiang said. “I could definitely see that in her work and how she captured these beautiful moments.”

Ngala’s distinction between when it is appropriate to photograph people and when she decides to put down her camera to participate in the moment resonated with Julian Silverman (11), whose photos hang alongside Ngala’s in the Fisher Gallery Black Lives Matter exhibit. “I was really caught up in whether I should take this picture or whether it was too intimate of a moment to shoot,” he said. “I ended up not taking it, and I definitely feel like it was the best choice, and Flo reiterated that.”

Ngala also spoke about how she loves street and behind-the-scenes photography because she can connect with strangers over their stories and capture the combination of light, composition, and color to move viewers.

Charity Chu (11) admired Ngala’s ability to bring out unseen aspects of her subjects, such as the photo of Busta Rhymes mid-laugh, she said. “It shows a completely different side of him since he is such a serious guy.”

Courtesey of Flo Ngala Though street photography was

Courtesey of Flo Ngala

one of her first preferred genres of photography as a student, nowadays it can sometimes be nerve-wracking to approach people, she said. She used the term “photographer’s guilt” to describe missing a perfect shot, whether it is because she didn’t have her equipment on her or was hesitant to just take the photo.

The proudest moment in Ngala’s career was when The New York Times featured her photo story about Figure Skating in Harlem, a program that empowers girls of color through ice skating, she said. “There’s a video of me

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY Ngala photographs a man on his motorcycle.

ballistically crying when I first picked up the issue.”

Karen Johnson, Ngala’s UD photography teacher who retired in 2016, said Ngala’s success in the photo industry is meaningful on both a personal and societal level. “She is a young woman of color interacting with institutions that have not traditionally supported the success of women or people of color,” Johnson said.

The assembly is an example of the school’s commitment to amplifying diverse voices, Head of Upper Division Dr. Jessica Levenstein said. “Her identity as a Black woman influences her work, and she can speak to that aspect of her work with our students,” she said.

Upper Division Library Department Chair Caroline Bartels wanted to show students one of the many paths that they can take after graduation, she said.

“It’s good for kids to hear that you could take all these crazy routes, find yourself along the way, and come out of it on the other end perfectly fine and feeling really, really happy about your life,” Bartels said.

At first, Ngala did not choose to pursue photography full time after she graduated from the school, she said. She became interested in art direction and as a result, majored in advertising and

Students form new clubs and publications Nine new clubs and seven new publications were added to the multitude of Upper Division (UD) extracurricular activities this year. Although I period will not be reinstated until October 26, the founders of new clubs and publications are still reaching out to gain membership. Without the clubs fair, many leaders are sending out mass emails, starting social media pages, and using word-of-mouth to reach the entire student body.

This year, Amanda Mark (11) founded the Citymeals on Wheels club to help UD students become more educated about hunger problems in New York, an issue that has been exacerbated during COVID-19, and to provide services, such as senior wellness programs and clothing drives.

Food insecurity is an important issue, and it has become more dire to support those in need during a pandemic, she said.

The Filmmaking Club is also trying to take advantage of current societal trends, like the rise of TikTok, by providing members with an opportunity to develop and share their film ideas, co-president of the club, Oliver Lewis (11) said.

“The rise of media in general is very prevalent in today’s society, especially with video,” he said.

The club plans to hold a film festival where club members and film enthusiasts will organize, produce, and submit videos, he said. The winning film will be shown at a UD assembly and the filmmaker will win a prize for their work.

Courtesey of Flo Ngala

FLASH Flo Ngala captures Megan Thee Stallion at photo shoot.

Courtesey of Flo Ngala

Helen Fajemirokun and Audrey Carbonell Staff and Contributing Writers

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“The more we thought about our idea, the more we realized that this is something Horace Mann could really use,” Giselle Paulson (10) said. Along with Vidhatrie Keetha (10), Paulson has started Saga, a magazine where members brainstorm, write, and edit one short story together.

Dylan Rem (10), Gavin Song (10), and Morgan Frances Cohen (11) created Mime, a humor publication that aims to make people laugh, Rem said. Mime will include many different styles of humor, from social commentary to surreal humor, he said. They plan to publish once per semester.

Horace Mann Chefs United For the Culture (HMCUFC) aims to bring awareness to the different ethnic communities found within the school, Founder and President Samuel Siegel (10) said. “Food can be used as a doorway to allowing HM students to experience more cultures,” Siegel said. “Without experiencing different cultures, people can become very one-sided in their decision making,” he said. HMCUFC plans to Courtesy of Rowan Mally

UNICEF Mally and Chung promote their new club.

hold weekly meetings to discuss the importance of cuisines in culture, as well as school wide events including cook-a-longs.

In the spirit of taking action to help others, Ashley Chung (11) and Rowan Mally (11) revived the UNICEF Club to continue providing aid to impoverished children throughout the world.

“We are focusing more on raising awareness and building a community aspect of UNICEF,” Chung said. The UNICEF Club plans to meet monthly to discuss and plan initiatives based on themes recognized by UNICEF, she said.

Crafts for Cancer will knit hats, blankets, scarves, and other crafts that will bring comfort to cancer patients and brighten their lives, Amira Dossani (10) said. Dossani founded Crafts for Cancer with Emma Chan (10). Crafts for Cancer will hold weekly, non-mandatory meetings to give members time to create these crafts. They will also teach students how to knit.

Another club focused on the medical world is Diagnosis, which will be a “medical publication covering interesting drug trials, diseases and disorders and the greater world of medicine,” Lauren Ho (11) said. Ho is interested in entering the medical field when she is older, and recognizes that this is also applicable for a great percentage of the school, she said. “There isn’t a publication at HM solely dedicated to medicine,” she said. “I want to fill that space.” The club will have monthly publications and attempt to have at least two interviews with physicians each issue.

Samuel Weidman (11) and Spencer Rosenberg (11) are reviving The Voyager, a travel magazine,

minored in design at The City College of New York.

Silverman said he admired Ngala used her experience at the school to carve her own path. “The fact that Flo actually didn’t major in photography but she’s been so successful shows me that there are other ways to make it [as a photographer].”

Chu left the assembly feeling inspired

by Ngala’s drive and love for her craft, she said. “She and I are both from the program Prep for Prep, we are both Nigerian, and we both love taking pictures,” she said. “This assembly showed me that there are Black women like me out there doing amazing things in life.”

Ngala also showed students that any passion can become a livelihood despite the stigma around careers in the arts, Neeva Patel (9) said. “She was a person just like us going to Horace Mann, but she found her passion and achieved her biggest goals.”

The assembly taught Nottebohm that he truly can follow his dreams, just like Ngala, he said. “She empowers people of color, such as myself, to really go after your dreams.”

this year.

“We want to share the unique experience that every Horace Mann student has,” Spencer Rosenberg (11) said.

“We want to share our passion of adventure and exploration both outside of New York City, and cool experiences in New York City,” Weidman said. The Voyager, a low-commitment publication, hopes to incorporate a diverse collection of viewpoints that can be relatable to all students, regardless of their exposure to travel.

The Sports Analytic Club aims to expose UD students to the emerging field of sports analytics. “We want to introduce passionate sports fans or passionate mathematicians to the intersection between the two spheres, known as sports analytics.” Jake Federman (12) said.

Federman founded Sports Analytics club with Aidan Resnick (12) and Maxwell Resnick (12).

They plan to hold bi-weekly meetings to focus on current sport news through different discussions and activities, as well as host guest speakers to talk to the members.

Other new clubs and publications include HM Talks, Jewish Culture Club, Students for Hong Kong, The Chronicle, CO2MICs, and The Survey.

Their general information, including the leaders to contact, can be found in the UD Students Clubs & Publications Directory.

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THE RECORD SPECIAL REPORT OCTOBER 23RD, 2020

AN ANALYSIS OF THE

by Julia Goldberg, Talia Win

“Report of Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Achievement Special Committee of the Horace Mann Alumni Council Regarding Review of Petition Concerning U.S. Attorney General William Barr’s 2011 Award for Distinguished Achievement When media coverage aired of protestors being forcefully cleared from Lafayette Park by law enforcement, many people, both inside and outside of the Horace Mann community, were deeply troubled and outraged. Horace Mann School’s core values include mutual respect, mature behavior, and a caring community. Horace Mann School’s mission statement places importance on preparing “a diverse community of students to lead great and giving lives.” These are values which we are proud to uphold as a community.

We understand the gravity of the situation which precipitated this Petition request from our fellow members of the Horace Mann community. Underlying this conversation are several very important concerns, which we share, concerning a multitude of vital and serious issues facing not only the Horace Mann community but also the entire country: about freedom of speech and the right to protest, about racism, about violence, about fairness, about privilege, about the role of law enforcement across the country, and about how to create meaningful change and leave the world a better place than we collectively found it. Especially at this moment in our nation’s history, what happened in Lafayette Park is an issue of great concern to us and, in our view, rightfully has the public’s attention.

The Special Committee believes that the right to assemble peacefully in protest is a sacrosanct right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore, the Special Committee feels strongly that any use of violent force against peaceful protesters is repugnant to this right as well as incompatible with Horace Mann School’s core values. The images and news reporting of the events that took place in Lafayette Park on June 1, 2020 were deeply troubling, and the Special Committee believes that the Horace Mann School community stands with us in calling on all government officials (HM alumni/ae and nonalumni/ae alike) to uphold the inviolable constitutional “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The Special Committee believes equally important and reflective of Horace Mann School’s values is making sure that any process to reconsider a prior award bestowed upon a member of our community is completed in a thoughtful, thorough, and unbiased manner. The Special Committee’s goal in reviewing the Petition’s request was to utilize a process which it believed to be fair, thorough, methodical and replicable. We sought to ensure that we had considered all the information available to us and acknowledged any information that we may have lacked. We also sought to put our own personal political views aside in our analysis of the request underlying the Petition.

As described in more detail in this report, the Special Committee’s process necessarily included a comprehensive review of both the facts in question and the nature of the Award. As we reviewed the publicly available information about and the reporting on the profoundly upsetting events that took place in Lafayette Park, we observed contested reports as to precisely how these events unfolded, as well as contested reports over the nature and extent of the involvement in such events

by Attorney General Barr. Ultimately, for the reasons discussed below, we determined that we would not recommend revoking the Award bestowed on thenformer Attorney General Barr in 2011. We do, however, acknowledge the significant number of members of the Horace Mann community that signed the Petition, which spurred the Alumni Council to take action in forming the Special Committee and issuing this report.

This report was drafted by the members of the Special Committee and accepted by vote of the Alumni Council.

In this report, we share our process and our findings across the range of factors that led us to this conclusion.

We wish that the Core Values of our school were front and center in this decision-making process.

As you read through this document, we recommend you consider where (if anywhere) the report disregards these values.

The committee should have expanded the scope of the report to include other abuses of power. We find the fact that the report was framed around Lafayette Park to be its greatest flaw.

While this is technically correct, fifty one Republicans and three Democrats voting in favor of confirming Barr underscores the contentiousness of the vote.

The award is associated with the entire school, not simply the Alumni Council.

Therefore, the council should seek community opinions about the award or abolish it.

This point would be valid in other contexts. However, because this document is framed so narrowly, the point is not even applicable; it only overcomplicates the process of reevaluation.

The Award is a direct reflection of the school and should thus be taken seriously. In this case, the Special Committee had the power to establish the criteria an award can be revoked if the awardee violates the school’s values.

A group of students, faculty, and alumni — similar to that of the Honor Council — could be in charge of deciding whether a violation had occurred.

Community Feedback

The majority of the Special Committee has remained anonymous, and no one has signed off on the report.

Additionally, the Committee has refused to reveal the final vote. This lack of transparency signals the members’ discomfort with their conclusions.

The petition acknowledges that most voices supported revoking the award. But we see no concrete evidence in the report that community feedback was taken into account.

The Award

Since 1939, the Alumni Council has presented the Award annually (with the exception of years with extenuating circumstances) to a Horace Mann School graduate whose achievement, in the judgment of the Alumni Council, has particularly distinguished the individual in his or her chosen profession. The primary criterion for the Award over at least the last 20 years has been “demonstrated sustained excellence in a field.” While many in our community have referred to this Award as a “Distinguished Alumni Award,” the Award is actually an “Award for Distinguished Achievement,” given to an honoree for a particular professional achievement. Prior award recipients have included Pulitzer Prize winners,

artists, poets, scientists, entertainers, and judges, among other esteemed professionals.

Then-former Attorney General Barr was selected to received the Award in 2011, after the Distinguished Achievement Award Committee researched his professional accomplishments, along with those of other candidates. Attorney General Barr’s extensive record of public service, including his term as United States Attorney General under President George H.W. Bush, was the primary basis for the DAA Committee’s decision, at that time, to select him as the recipient of the Award.

Notably, Attorney General Barr was confirmed by the Senate, both before and after he received the Award: in 1991, by a voice vote, and in 2019 by a bipartisan majority of 54 to 45, with three Democrats voting to confirm and one Republican voting against confirmation.

[Background information regarding the petition has been omitted for space.]

The Special Committee: formation, charge, and topics of inquiry The Alumni Council is independent and distinct from Horace Mann School. The Alumni Council is comprised of a group of volunteers across a wide range of graduating years, who care deeply about the School and its community. The Alumni Council exists to help and support Horace Mann School and hosts a wide range of annual activities, mostly focused on increasing alumni engagement and fundraising for student programs.

Among the Alumni Council’s responsibilities is the selection of Award honorees and the presentation of the Award.

The Alumni Council formed the Special Committee to examine these and other issues and determined that the Special Committee would report back to the Alumni Council with a recommendation regarding the Petition request.

[Background information regarding specifics of meeting frequency and tasks has been omitted for space.]

In evaluating the request underlying the Petition, the Special Committee considered the following topics: 1) Community Feedback: What are the concerns and perspectives being voiced by the community through email, phone calls, and social media?

2) Revocation and Precedent: Should the Award, which was granted at a certain point in time, based on a certain set of information, be open for reconsideration at a later date based on a new set of information? Under what circumstances, if any, should the Alumni Council revoke the Award? Can we learn from best practices of other institutions which have evaluated similar requests?

3) Facts Surrounding the Incidents at Lafayette Park: What do we know? What do we not know?

4) Award Criteria: Do the criteria accurately reflect the community’s values? Should the criteria be updated?

Because Barr has failed to “demonstrate sustained excellence” in his field, the Council has jurisdiction to revoke the award. Refer to our Opinions piece on page 1 for examples.

The Petition attracted notable support from within the Horace Mann community. Of the signatories to the Petition, 1,751 (as of July 1, 2020), or approximately 20% of Petition signatures, appear to be from members of the Horace Mann community. This includes approximately 1,233 alumni, including alumni from the most recent class of 2020. Based on the significant cohort of alumni who signed the Petition, we recognize that many of our fellow alumni feel that both Attorney General Barr and the Trump administration in which he serves have acted in a way that is contrary to values instilled at Horace Mann School. We reviewed feedback from Petition comments and social media comments as well as direct emails and phone calls to the Horace Mann Alumni Office and to the Special Committee. This feedback reflected a wide range of viewpoints, with a sizeable majority voicing their support for the tone of the Petition. Reasons given in favor of revoking the Award included the beliefs that (i) Attorney General Barr had abused his power, (ii) his actions concerning and beyond the events at Lafayette Park were anti- democratic, and (iii) general anger toward the Trump administration, including Attorney General Barr. There were also other comments from supporters of the Petition that were not directly related to the Petition’s subject matter, such as comments expressing sentiments about Horace Mann School generally. A number of Horace Mann community members also expressed their views against revocation of the Award. Reasons given against revoking the Award included the beliefs that (i) the Petition reflected a partisan perspective and that Horace Mann School and the Alumni Council (including the selection of Award honorees) should not be politicized; (ii) Attorney General Barr, by virtue of having twice held the position of Attorney General of the United States, is very distinguished; and (iii) one instance of revocation of the Award, especially in a charged political climate, would be likely to lead to a slippery slope where other

At the beginning of this analysis, we asked you to consider whether the Report fails to address Barr’s failure to uphold the school’s core values.

This is one example of such an omission: many of the comments focused on Barr’s disregard of the school’s value; signatories said he did not uphold the values of the school.

This is not an issue concerning parties; it is about doing a disservice to the public. Barr’s actions are indeed anti-Democratic and betray the school’s core values, so his party does not matter.

We agree that based upon Barr’s position, there was an initial basis to grant him the award.

5

HORACE MANN SPECIAL REPORT OCTOBER 23RD, 2020

E COUNCIL’S REPORT

At the Alumni Council’s request, the school has provided a copy of the full report on the Alumni News section of the school website at www.horacemann.org/alumni/alumninews/

niarsky, and Adam Frommer recipients of the Award would have to be reevaluated based on subjective criteria.

Revocation and Precedent

We are not aware of the topic of award revocation having previously arisen in the history of the Award.

The Special Committee extensively debated whether the Alumni Council should ever revoke an award.

Every Award for Distinguished Achievement has been granted to an honoree based on known achievements at a certain point in time. While the Alumni Council reviews, to the best of its ability, all known information about nominees at the time of their nomination, these nominees are often still active in their careers. There has always been an inherent risk that an Awardee’s future actions, whether in public or private life, could create cause for concern or that views and perception of a person’s accomplishments could shift over time. An Awardee who has a career or life in the public eye will especially be subject to these inevitable and wide-ranging public opinions about his or her work and life choices.

The process of reevaluating a previously given Award is complex. This process cannot be completed in isolation, but has potential implications beyond just one Award and one particular recipient. In the view of the Special Committee, in order to be fair and unbiased, the process of reevaluation must be based on comprehensive and objective information in a manner that can be replicated.

Reevaluation of an Award and its recipient also raises questions about how different actions across different eras and environments translate into an understanding of a person’s achievements and character.

In the course of discussions about revocation, the Special Committee examined precedent from other institutions that have faced such requests in order to learn from best practices. We learned that awards or honorary degrees had more often been revoked in the rare cases where criminal charges were brought against an honoree or following conviction of a crime.

The Special Committee also debated whether revocation of an Award is the appropriate way to reflect any community concerns about events that do not specifically relate to Horace Mann School. Ultimately, the Special Committee concluded that, in order for the Alumni Council to determine to revoke an Award, it would need to be confident that (i) all the relevant facts surrounding any events in question had been clearly established and there was a minimized possibility that key information would be reconsidered over the course of time due to changing perspectives, (ii) all community and stakeholder perspectives had been heard, and (iii) the process by which the Alumni Council came to a decision was one of the utmost care that could be fairly and consistently applied in any other similar situations, if necessary.

Facts

While neither the Alumni Council nor the Special Committee has the practical ability to conduct its own investigation into the occurrences at Lafayette Park, the Special Committee conducted an exhaustive review of media reports of the events at Lafayette Park. Ultimately, we believe that the key issues that bear on the questions posed by the Petition are: (i) were the protestors cleared from the park for legitimate law enforcement purposes or to facilitate a photo opportunity for the President?; (ii) were the methods of clearing the protestors proportional, legal, and justified?; and (iii) to what extent was Attorney General Barr involved in the relevant direction, oversight, and decision- making?

[Discussion of facts surrounding Barr’s actions at Lafayette Square have been omitted for space].

While many members of the Special Committee

It is not neccessarily a “slippery slope”, the committee does not have to question other awards simply because they revoke this one. Instead, they could have revoked Barr’s award, and then set specific criteria for considering revoking an award in the future.

If there is great “cause for concern,” it should be addressed. There have been many accounts of Barr’s abuse of power and bullying nature, providing more “concern” for his recognition than other awardees’.

Awardees who have a career in the public eye as opposed to the private section should be held to a higher standard because the consequences of their decisions affect a greater number of people.

The Alumni Council gives the awards for accomplisments unrelated to the School; therefore, if the award is to be revoked, it makes sense that it may be as a result of actions unrelated to the School.

This is misleading. Because the council did not seek out opinions, they cannot say that they have heard all perspectives.

In the introduction, the committee’s members said they tried to create a “methodical” and “replicable” process.

However, the committee doesn’t come up with specific actions that would lead the council to revoke an award in the future; this process sets no precedent for future controversy.

This is true but misleading.

It is not logical to limit the report to an event that will not provide conclusive evidence. When the committee’s members realized that they did not have the ability to conduct this investigation, they should have widened the scope of their argument.

remain angered by the reports and footage from Lafayette Park in early June, given the disparate and still-contested accounts, the Special Committee concluded that it did not have access to enough undisputed information available to reach a fair conclusion as to Attorney General Barr’s role or his ultimate motivations in the incidents that occurred at Lafayette Park. We note that the DOJ Inspector General announced on July 23 that his office would investigate the law enforcement response to the protests in Washington, DC and Portland, Oregon.

We hope such investigations will clarify the events surrounding the incident at Lafayette Park in a way that enables all citizens to draw their own conclusions with respect to these matters of national importance.

Conclusion as to the Award Presented to Attorney General Barr

The Petition raised many important debates and conversations about the values of our Horace Mann community and how they may be best defended and reflected. While we understand, and in many cases share, the strong reactions elicited by the events in Lafayette Park, after much deliberation, based on the analysis we have shared in this report, the Special Committee concluded that it could not support revocation of the Award granted to Attorney General Barr. These were long and difficult discussions, and our final decision was a challenging one. However, we are confident that we conducted a rigorous analysis of available information and that the process by which we reached this conclusion was fair, thorough, and replicable. On October 19, 2020, the Alumni Council voted to accept the conclusions of the Special Committee and to publish this report.

This is vague. Why don’t we have more details about the process? The committee showed us the research they found on Lafayette Park, but other than that, we do not have enough information as readers to conclude that the process was “fair, thorough, and replicable.”

Award Criteria Review

While the impetus for the Petition may have been the actions in Lafayette Park, the impassioned debate that the Petition cultivated has highlighted a broader concern: that many members of the Horace Mann School community would like to see the Award clearly address the values of importance to the Horace Mann community. In examining the criteria for the Award, we have incorporated this feedback and have recommended that the Alumni Council revise the Award criteria, a recommendation which has been accepted by the Alumni Council. While, historically, many have referred to the Award casually as the “Distinguished Alumnus/a Award,” the focus of the deliberation has always been on achievement recorded at the time of nomination, a key nuance especially when evaluating nominees in the public realm. Pursuant to the revised criteria, in the future, the Alumni Council also will expressly consider how a candidate’s actions and achievements are consistent with Horace Mann School’s stated core values. The Alumni Council also will continue to seek to emphasize and showcase the uniquely wide diversity of talents, accomplishments, views, and opinions that are the pride and strength of the Horace Mann School community.

We continue to welcome engagement from our fellow alumni about any of the Alumni Council’s activities, and we are grateful to those members of the Horace Mann School community who have taken the time to nominate candidates for the Award. The list of potential nominees for the Award has always been built by our peers. In that, it reflects the Horace Mann School community’s values.

The best way for us to build a complete and diverse list of deserving candidates who represent the best of Horace Mann School is to have input from all Horace Mann alumni.

We thank all members of the Horace Mann School community who took the time to voice an opinion on this important topic.”

LETTER TO THE EDITOR FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL This morning, the Horace Mann Alumni Council issued a decision – independent of Horace Mann School – on the petition request to rescind the Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Achievement presented to United States Attorney General William Barr ’67 in 2011. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Jessica Rosberger ’20 and Kiara Royer ’20 who initiated the petition as well as the alumni members of the Council who served on the Petition Review Committee. I’d be remiss in not recognizing that every member of the Alumni Council serves with the best interest of the school in mind and in unwavering support of the students and employees who consider HM their intellectual home.

While the Alumni Council voted to accept the recommendation of the Petition Review Committee and, ultimately, not to revoke the Award, it is clear to me that the conversations on campus are not over and important issues remain to be discussed. I recognize that many people will disagree with the Council’s decision while others will support their findings. For now, those interested will spend today and well into next week individually and collectively working to understand the lens through which the Petition Review Committee made their recommendation while beginning to think about how many of the important issues raised may or may not have been addressed as a result of the lens chosen. In doing so, we’ll acknowledge the Alumni Council’s responsibility for the Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Achievement while considering what relationship the school should or should not have with the Award.

Doing what we do best, we’ll create the structures necessary for interested students, faculty and staff members to process and discuss our ongoing concerns, through the lens of the Horace Mann School Mission and Core Values. I look forward to sharing more with you about these conversations in the weeks and months to come.

From, Thomas M. Kelly, Ph.D., P ’18 Head of School

6

THE RECORD ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT OCTOBER 23RD, 2020

Chin ‘20 returns to the Theatre Department Rowan Mally Staff Writer Visiting the Theatre Department was Dylan Chin’s ‘20 favorite part of his day as a student, and he just couldn’t stay away after he graduated, he said.

Chin postponed his freshman year at Emerson College to take on the role of Theatre Department Monitor and Assistant Technical Director for the upcoming school year. Chin was ecstatic to return to campus, he said.

Chin, who plans on majoring in Theatre Performance, attributed his decision to take a gap year to COVID-19 restrictions that would have hindered his learning experience. “While in certain subjects, like English or history, the same material can be taught virtually, with Theatre you really have to be up on your feet and moving around to truly experience it,” he

the end of last year because I missed milestones I looked forward to like in-person graduation and prom,” Chin said. “While I will not be able to specifically experience those events, being back on campus again certainly brings some closure to my 15-year journey at the school.”

Chin saw the chance to work in the Theatre Department as a great way to refine his craft. “I would normally be auditioning for performance roles in my free time, but none of that is happening now,” he said. “With the new head of shop, Ms. Miller, and the best COVID-19 guidelines, I thought there was no better place to work.”

As Theatre Department monitor, Chin manages social distancing protocols and helps out with tasks that previously fell through the cracks of the Theatre Department, Theatre Technical Director Caitie Miller said. These tasks range from ensuring students are socially distanced and wearing masks in the hallways

Courtesy of Dylan Chin

SOLILOQUIES Chin performs at the school. said.

The lack of fulfillment Chin feels from finishing his senior year online was also a factor in his decision to return to the school, he said. “I was a ‘lifer’ and I felt really robbed at

around the Blackbox Theatre, to helping prepare for classes, he said. Since Miller is pregnant, Chin also serves as Assistant Technical Director. “[He] helps set up for class, lift heavy equipment, and help students use various tools,” Miller said.

Courtesy of Dylan Chin

WOODWORKING HARD Chin working in the shop.

Theatre teacher Haila VanHentenryck could not imagine the department without Chin this year. “He has been incredibly helpful and is as reliable as we could ever ask,” she said.

“Since he has been working with our technical equipment for years now, he is an expert.”

Dance teacher Denise Direnzo said Chin’s work was vital to the safety of the dance studio.

“Before we came to school, he measured out the dance studio and helped us tape socially distanced squares on the floor,” she said.

“He found a great system that was incredibly effective, and we’ll be using that all year.”

Theatre teacher Benjamin Posner was also impressed with Chin’s dedication and enthusiasm towards his work, he said. “He is hardworking, friendly, and supportive and he is sincerely happy to be here,” Posner said.

“While it must be frustrating to have to put off the next chapter of his life for another year, I feel like this is a great opportunity to enjoy his final year on campus and truly say goodbye”

Chin particularly enjoys helping students understand and use technical equipment, in addition to giving tours of the theatre, he said. However, Chin is more than happy to help all the members of the Theatre Department with any tasks they may need, he said.

“Dylan is a smart and enthusiastic Theatre lover,” Miller said. “He is always helpful and volunteering to take on more duties and more work and has truly made the Theatre

department a better place.”

“As a student I didn’t get to fully appreciate the Horace Mann community and environment because, as is everyone, I was stuck in the world of work and tests,” he said. Now, without the stress of schoolwork, Chin is more excited to be on campus everyday, he said.

Chin is especially thrilled to be able to focus purely on his favorite aspect of the school when he was a student, he said. “How great is it that I get to work in the department where I spent 99% of my time as a student? It’s amazing,” he said.

Posner also believes that Chin’s return speaks to his connection to the Theatre Department, he said. “There is definitely a sense of pride knowing he loved our department so much that he wanted to come back and work with us,” he said.

“He is never not himself,” VanHentenryck said. VanHentenryck will miss Chin’s friendly and familiar presence in the Theatre Department when Chin leaves for college next school year, she said.

While Chin said the school’s COVID-19 protocols certainly have an effect on the Theatre Department’s capabilities, he is more than happy with what the school still has to offer its theatre students, he said. “The masks and guidelines are a small price to pay when you get to come back and enjoy the school experience all over again,” he said.

Futterman (12) photographs the city Courtesy of Liam Futterman

Katya Tolunsky Staff Writer

“Photography is a complicated medium — you don’t ever own a moment, you just capture it,” Liam Futterman (12) said.

Futterman started photography in ninth grade when he joined Photo 1 and has been in love with it ever since, he said.

Futterman participated in the summer photography program two years ago with photography teacher Aaron Taylor. “We went around all summer just taking photos of people on the street,” Futterman said. “I realized that I was pretty good at it, or at least I enjoyed it, so I kept doing it.”

After taking the summer course, Futterman started analyzing which aspects of photos he liked. He then tried to recreate those features in his own work. Futterman’s favorite type of photography is portraits — specifically, environmental portraits, he said. An environmental portrait is a portrait executed in the subject’s usual environment, such as in their home or workplace.

“I’ll just go up to random people around me on the street and ask to take their portrait,” he said.

Futterman takes his camera with him wherever he goes. “My favorite pastime is just talking to people, to be honest,” he said.

“So I love just coming up to somebody on the street and striking up a conversation with them to hopefully bridge that journey from a stranger to a friend, or at least an acquaintance. I try to supplement that little gap with a photo.”

Starting with a 35 millimeter film camera, Futterman transitioned to digital over time, he said. Right now, Futterman uses a Canon Mirrorless camera. “It’s nicer and easier to shoot on digital, and it’s less stressful, but a really good film photo feels so much better than taking a really good digital photo,” he said.

Futterman doesn’t try to convey a certain message through his photographs, he said. “As a photographer, I don’t ever own a movement or an image because anything that I photograph, people can see with their own eyes,” Futterman said.

In his opinion, the best shot Futterman has ever taken was a

PHOTOS FROM THE CITY One of Futterman’s subjects poses. portrait of a woman in his neighborhood, who was running an African soap stand, he said. “Her whole outfit was perfect and even though I could tell she knew it, I just mentioned it to her because the best way to start a mini shoot is to get someone’s

confidence high,” Futterman said. “She was so ready to pose, I think she must have had some modeling experience.”

Futterman is still searching for what exactly draws him to take somebody’s portrait, he said. “I’m drawn to people who just carry themselves in a certain way,” he said. “It’s this indescribable confidence that some people just put out when they’re in public.”

Futterman has used New York City to his advantage, he said.

“There’s nowhere else in the world that’s better for just looking at things,” he said. “You can walk every single street of New York City and there’s a million things to look at. I’m overwhelmed by all of the things that I could take photos of.”

Photography is a rewarding creative outlet, Futterman said. “I like how I can really commit my time and effort to something and then I can always see a result, even if I don’t necessarily love that result,” he said.

Futterman is inspired by street photographers such as Joel Meyerwitz and film directors such as Stanley Kubric, he said.

“I find I’m drawn to Stanley Kubrick because I’ve never seen a shot in any one of his movies that brought doubt into my mind about whether or not the shot was exactly how he imagined it to Answers to crossword on p. 8 be,” he said. “Every single thing he puts in a frame is fulfilling its exact purpose.”

Taylor is a significant creative role model for Futterman as well. “Art is very scary, especially street photography, and the confidence and gusto that Mr. Taylor brings to the art is very inspiring,” he said. “I try and replicate the way that he dives headfirst into his creative vision seemingly without doubts.”

Futterman does not plan on going into the field of photography, but he thinks that the skills that he has learned from taking these photos will definitely be useful in whatever he does in his future, he said. “I’ll always have access to taking photos, and there’s always things to take photos on, so it will always be a part of my life in some way or another,” Futterman said.

HORACE MANN MIDDLE DIVISON OCTOBER 23RD, 2020

Eighth grade attends Dorr on campus Liliana Greyf, Mia Colziano, and Jillian Lee Staff Writers Instead of packing bags and boarding buses for the traditional eight-day eighth grade trip to the John Dorr Nature Laboratory, this year’s Class of 2025 is doing Beauty and Order right from Alumni Field.

Each week, one advisory group of around ten students is excused from their regular classes to participate in eighth grade Dorr on campus, Dean of the Class of 2025 Michelle Amilicia said. The Dorr faculty have created a three day schedule for each group, during which they will spend time on school campus participating in various bonding activities.

The schedule has also been adapted to fit an online Zoom curriculum for at-home learning.

Although there are challenges to changing the format, the eighth grade Dorr trip is too

experience this journey and to learn things about themselves and their peers,” she said.

“This has always been a special part of the eighth grade experience.”

Students will participate in games and problem-solving projects, Director of Dorr Glenn Sherratt said. While it is not possible to physically be at Dorr for eight days, it is still possible to bring the spirit of the trip to the school campus and to homes, he said.

The school has provided Dorr one classroom in Pforzheimer and a tent by the Lower Division to conduct activities. “We’ll also do some gardening and head over to Van Cortlandt Park to compost,” Sherratt said.

Surya Mattoo’s (8) favorite part of the program was the three mile walk in Zhu/Art Van Director Cortlandt Rachel Pa rk,

i mp or t a nt to scrap completely, Amilicia said.

“It’s a coming of age, a chance for eighth graders to

he sa id .

“We had l u n c h on this

b e aut i f u l area that overlooked the rest of the park,” he said.

Naina Mehrotra (8) enjoyed many of the team-

building activities designed by Dorr staff, she said. During her favorite activity, the group had to somehow get all nine students in her advisory to jump in an already moving jump rope, all at the same time, she said.

If a week of school is conducted online, the advisory that was supposed to meet on campus will simply join another one on Zoom, Sherratt said. Although the activities will look different, the staff are still trying to ensure that students learn and have fun. “Faculty at Dorr has really worked hard since last March creating these online programs and making them very creative.” From Thanksgiving to January, during the school’s time online, eighth grade Dorr will momentarily be stopped, and the program will restart once school is back in session.

The program was originally designed to last for five days: advisees were going to participate in a day hike on Ward Pound Ridge Reservation and climb up the Cooperative Adventure Tower (CAT), Sherrat said. “The original program is designed to emphasize the cooperative aspects of living and learning and building a community among the students, and part of that happens by spending time with one another in a more intense way,” Sherratt said. “By living closely and working together, cooking meals, washing dishes, going backpacking and camping, you get drawn together and have a common experience.”

This is no longer feasible, as they cannot cross state lines, and it is best for groups to stay on the school’s campus, Sheratt said.

Before each program begins, Sherratt welcomes students by asking students to participate in a “validation circle” in which they state what they are thankful for.

“Especially now, we’re all weighed down by everything that’s happened,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s nice to take a pause and say, ‘what’s good is really good.’”

One of the activities requires students to hold discussions in order to solve a puzzle made up of pieces of tied rope. When in person, students stand around pieces of rope that are tied together and crumpled on the ground; they then have to decide which piece of rope must be picked up in order to untangle the mass.

Jiwan Kim (8) said this activity taught her advisory how to collaborate and come to a common consensus, especially because they often talk over one another when they’re together.

Online, because students cannot be together in a physical space looking at a real pile of ropes, Sherratt projects a photograph of tied rope onto the Zoom screen and asks students to discuss until an answer is reached.

Rena Salsberg’s (8) advisory completed the program online. She said if her group had the chance to participate in eighth grade Dorr in person, they would have been able to bond in a more hands-on way. Nevertheless, she felt that she was able to learn more about her fellow advisees during the breakout room activities.

Unlike past years, students will return to their homes each night during this Dorr experience, Amilicia said. “They used to be really removing themselves from technology to just focus what’s going on around them,” she said. “That’s too difficult to accomplish because they’re still here. It’s gonna be harder for them to separate themselves.”

After hearing her sister describe Dorr as one of the most exciting moments of her life, Kim was initially disappointed to hear that the trip would not take place at Dorr. After completing the three-day program, however, she felt that it was a good substitute, given the Rachel Zhu/Art Director circumstances.

Mehrotra was excited to be on Dorr campus and do activities like the CAT, but she still had fun during this modified experience. “I think [the Dorr staff] handled the change pretty well,” she said. “All the team building activities definitely brought my advisory closer.”

Mattoo has experienced the most important parts of the eighth grade Dorr trip, he said.

Activities like the compass navigation challenge are still incorporated into the trip’s curriculum, even though the group is not physically on the Dorr campus. “I learned more about the people in my advisory, and I formed a stronger connection with them,” Mattoo said.

The show must go on: Our Town cast continues rehearsals over Zoom Devin Allard-Neptune Staff Writer

Although the Middle Division (MD) transitioned online for two weeks, the MD production of Our Town continued to rehearse for their upcoming live performance.

For the past two weeks of online school, the play’s cast members have continued rehearsing their parts over Zoom.

When the students returned to campus earlier this week, director and theater teacher Ben Posner resumed in-person practices in the Recital Hall.

The MD production of Our Town will be split into three separate live performances for each act, Assistant Director Mekhala Mantravadi (11) said. The licensing rights of the production prohibit the recording or streaming of any performance, so the final show will be in front of a live audience in Gross Theatre, she said.

The cast had its first rehearsals the week before the school transitioned to online learning, Posner said. The in-person practices were scheduled during the actors’ lunch periods, and the students at each practice were determined by the director, Assistant Stage Manager Bailey Hecht (10) said. At the beginning of each week, Hecht would send out rehearsal calls letting the actors know when and with whom they would be practicing.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, organizing separate and effective rehearsals during the school week is difficult, Mantravadi said. Every cast member has either D or E period free for rehearsal, but because the period differs for everyone it can be difficult to rehearse a scene without the required cast members, Mantravadi said. In addition to this scheduling issue, each rehearsal has to be socially distant, so the entire cast could not practice at the same time, she said.

During in-person rehearsals, the main focus was going over the physical aspects of the play, Hecht said. In these rehearsals, the actors walked through the story and blocked out where

their characters should be for each scene, she said.

The cast was able to further understand their characters through performing in person, Mantravadi said. “It was nice because they got to f lesh out the entire story,” she said. “They were so energetic, and the kids who were in the ensemble got to act lead roles. It was really heartwarming.”

When rehearsals transitioned online, the practices were

CURTAIN CALL Cast returns to in-person rehearsals. easier to manage from a technical standpoint, Hecht said. The use of Zoom’s features helped make the logistics of organizing the rehearsal periods easier, she said. “Because there are waiting rooms, you can only admit the people who you need at the moment, which is very helpful,” she said.

However, for some actors, the online format was more difficult to navigate than in-person rehearsals. Alex Felberbaum (7) said it is hard to keep track of when Zoom meetings are when practicing at home. Because the actors are not in school, there is no one to remind them when their rehearsal times are, he said. By the time Felberbaum became familiar with his rehearsal schedule, the practices returned to campus, he said.

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In the Zoom practices, Ethan Furman (7) rehearsed his lines from one of his scenes, and worked as a group on character exercises to further understand the role he was playing, he said.

“Zoom rehearsals are more about getting into character and studying the lines,” Felberbaum said. “Practice on the stage is really putting it together and doing it.”

When directing rehearsals over Zoom, Posner becomes more of a coach than a director, he wrote in an email. Because it is impossible to block out the actors’ movements during online practices, Posner is limited by what he can do over Zoom, he wrote.

The format of Zoom can sometimes make it more difficult to practice and perform than in person rehearsals, Furman said. “Because you are not really talking with a person or to a whole room and you have to unmute and be in front of a camera, there are a lot more steps to talking and performing.”

When acting over Zoom, the cast loses the advantage of receiving immediate feedback from an audience, Hecht said.

“So much of acting is playing off of an audience’s reaction, so when you’re online and can’t really see what’s happening in the moment, you can sometimes get in your head,” she said.

Furman prefers in-person practices, because there is more movement and action involved, he said. “It’s more like what the actual performance is going to be like.”

Although going online interrupted the show’s timeline, Posner is doing what he can to make the best out of the situation, he said. To make up for the shortened in-person rehearsal time, the actors will have their scripts in hand during their final performance, he said.

Hecht is confident that the show will be successful, she said.

The Zoom rehearsals gave the cast more time to focus on their lines, and the resumed in-person practices will give the cast more time to work on the blocking of the show, she said. “All the actors are really dedicated to the show, and I think that they will be able to pull it off.”

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HORACE MANN NEWS OCTOBER 23RD, 2020

Faculty and students return to campus after two weeks online

Arushi Talwar and AJ Walker Jr. Staff and Contributing Writers

The Upper Division (UD) and Middle Division (MD) returned to inperson instruction on Monday after an unexpected two week shift to HM Online 2.0 following four confirmed cases of COVID-19.

As part of the shift back to inperson learning, students and faculty members were required to submit proof of a negative COVID-19 test before returning to campus. The administration has given the situation much thought and believes that the return to in-person learning is as safe as it can be, Head of Upper Division Jessica Levenstein said. “Having been at home for two weeks, I feel confident that if there had been any spread from the cases that we know about, we would have learned that,” she said.

Along with proof of a negative COVID-19 test and detailed contact tracing, the school is working closely with the Bronx Department of Health to inform its re-opening decisions. The administration has also reiterated the importance of completing the daily Jackson Feigin/Photography Director symptom check each morning and

adhering to the HM Promise on and off campus.

The administration has expanded their review of after-school activities for employees and students, according to Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly.

“Over the last two weeks, we’ve had an unprecedented number of conversations with employees, students and parents, about either canceling or modifying after-school and weekend activities in the absence of appropriate protocols,” Kelly wrote in an email.

Since returning to campus, 29 MD students and one MD teacher have been required to quarantine for two weeks after an eighth-grade student tested positive for COVID-19. The school also asked a UD student and 23 of their close contacts to quarantine on Wednesday due to conflicting guidance from two health departments regarding the student’s COVID-19 test results. Before returning to campus on Monday, the student received a falsepositive test, followed by two negative tests. However, those 23 students were permitted to return to campus on Thursday.

Lexi Stein (12) is confident in the school’s ability to keep students safe

PICNICING Students enjoy lunch.

Jackson Feigin/Photography Director

UNDER THE TENTS Students engage in English class while enjoying the nice weather. during in-person instruction, she said. “I think that all of the teachers and students took precautions, and definitely the fact that everyone got tested to come back makes me feel much better,” she said.

Aaron Shuchman (12) said coming to campus makes him feel more energized and active. When it comes to extracurriculars, Riya Daga (10), who plays field hockey, said she has been looking forward to the return of in-person sports.

The brief transition to HM Online 2.0 has reminded students and teachers alike of the value of in-person learning, said Upper Division math teacher Charles Worrall, who could not wait to get back to campus and interact with his students in person.

“The thing I’m really looking forward to about being back is seeing kids,” Worrall said.

Shuchman found remote learning to be much less exciting than in-person classes, he said. “I definitely like being in the routine of having all my classes

everyday,” he said.

Computer Science teacher John Tomczak was looking forward to returning to campus to reconnect with the school community, he said. “Even just people you wave to, it’s nice to be back in a physical community right now,” Tomczak said.

While many members of the community have returned to in-person instruction, some students are staying online. For Isabel Mavrides-Calderon (10), who has a genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, being at a higher risk for the virus meant that she had to continue to attend school online even when school reopened.

Because her schooling experience was better during HM Online, the reopening of school was disappointing for Mavrides-Calderon, she said. “I was able to hear people better, participate in class more, and due to the altered schedule I spent less hours sitting in front of a computer,” she said.

Raydris Espacia (10), who also learns remotely, said teachers should

pay more attention to students who are online. “There are quite a few audio issues and sometimes video issues,” she said. “It can get frustrating at times.”

Before the transition to online learning, Daga did not think that in-person learning would last until November, she said. “But given that we’ve lasted this long, I actually think that Horace Mann will push through to Thanksgiving break,” she said.

Juliette Shang (11) is also optimistic about the future of in-person learning, she said. “I am hopeful that we will make it to Thanksgiving as long as everyone wears their masks and social distances both at school and outside of school,” she said.

Levenstein offered similar advice to the members of the community who wish to stay on campus for as long as possible. “I hope that people understand that the outcome they want is largely in their own power to control, so we all have to take that on as a personal responsibility,” she said.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

by Features Editor Henry Owens

18. Brief 19. ___ Bean, clothes and outdoors gear 20. The Record sports section 21. Prevents COVID and seeing the board 23. Roadside assistance 25. Pause 26. Winner of the 2020 Presidential election 29. Feudal farmer 32. National pageant for women 26 and older 36. Gender neutral BF/GF 37. Half of a school year (incl. article) 39. Impending deadline for seniors 41. “The Waste Land” and “Four Quartets” author (incl. post-nominal) 43. Camp Rock’s Lovato 46. Religious leader in Judaism 48. Particular annoyances 52. Anti-ableism laws 54. Agreed 55. Dates more than 2020 years ago 57. Shorthand for above ground trains (like in Chicago) 58. Bee’s attack 59. Practice 61. Before spouses 63. Tidy 64. Periods of time 64. 2016 election interferer

DOWN ACROSS 1. First woman of color on a presidential ticket, surname 5. Bottom of face

10. e.g. the Odyssey, the Aeneid 12. Cut 15. Questioning someone’s masculinity (4 words)

1. Director of HMTC’s October 30th show (first name) 2. Film storage 3. Former middle school necessity 4. Card in all phones 6. UD, alternatively

7. Teacher 8. Nothing in Latin 9. Presidents who don’t sign off on bills 11. Crunch’s title from the popular cereal 13. Highest position in our gov’t 14. June for the LGBT community 16. A thin piece of material (e.g. wood, stone, metal) 17. Tree hugger 24. Throwing something well requires a good ___ 25. Where can people chat digitally?

27. Country with this pro-workers organization 28. How a sailboat goes from North America to Europe 30. Establish 31. Born and ___ 33. La decimotercera letra 34. Iraqi militant group, 2006-2013 35. Prediction of when you’ll get there (incl.

Incorrect article) 38. Steal 40. Give money to a bank 42. Business degree 44. How authentic mint gelato might be labeled 45. Exclamation after submitting paper 47. What Caesar was to beware in March 49. Opposed 1 Across in a debate 50. Heartwarming 1982 sci-fi film 51. Biblical birthplace of humans 53. Amazon assistant 55. Democratic nominee’s late veteran son 56. Worst movie of 2019 60. Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with AI (2013 film) 62. Female voice parts in music, acronym see ANSWERS on pg. 6