usps no. 306-700 the Lawrenceville School Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648 Parents of alumni: If this magazine is addressed to a son or daughter who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please email us at kzsenak@lawrenceville.org with his or her new address. Thank you!
Lawrentian SUMMER/FALL 2020
THE LAWRENTIAN • SUMMER/FALL 2020
Lawrentian THE
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Popping In! Just like these faculty members, we can hardly mask our pleasure to see you again! Look for the next issues of The Lawrentian to be published in December and February as we work our way through a most unusual academic year together.
A Virtual VILLEage
The spring term was unlike any in Lawrenceville’s two centuries. As COVID-19 digs in, a nimble School finds a way to stay a step ahead.
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LEADING FROM OFF THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Sign of the Times:
On Truth “… dogmatism rests on a conviction of certainty, not absolute truth.”
“T On the Cover: Virtual Semper Viridis: Temporarily transformed by the pandemic, Lawrenceville adapted.
– Israel Scheffler, Conditions of Knowledge
he truth” is an ideal we tend toward, though, like the asymptote of a curve, we never quite touch. Put differently, pursuing an unassailable, perfect, single distillation of facts is a fool’s errand, or worse, the root of dogmatic belief. It is precisely when we seek conflicting perspectives, challenge our own assumptions, allow for multiple truths, as it were, that we find ourselves moving ever closer to this ideal of understanding and clarity of vision. Filmmaker Ken Burns interviewed James Baldwin about the Statue of Liberty on the occasion of its centennial some 35 years ago, and his first question was, “What is liberty?” With more than a hint of wry irony, Baldwin responded, “Well, I can always quote the Declaration of Independence, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all Men are created equal.’ And the moment I do that, I get into trouble … because obviously I am not included in that pronouncement.” Baldwin goes on to reflect on his own experience and the implications for the famous statue dedicated in New York Harbor in 1886: “For a Black American, for a Black inhabitant of this country, the Statue of Liberty is simply … a very bitter joke.” Burns drew from that conversation what he refers to as an indelible lesson, that “our monuments are representations of myth, not fact.” He goes on further to say that as we consider the role that monuments play in our culture, “…it is the history, not the mythology, that we must remember.” And of course the history of this particular statue is not a single, settled narrative. The inspiration for the work by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was the abolition
Walking New York City on April 16, Dan Rose ’88 captured the essence of life in 2020.
of slavery in the United States, and the truth is, it was intended as a celebration of democracy and liberty. But as Baldwin reminds us, there is the promise of liberty — some would say the myth of liberty — embodied in this monumental sculpture, and then there is the lived experience of whole sectors of our society who have not been granted in equal measure “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and there is important truth there as well. To see one perspective and not the other, in either case, is to see through a limited lens. One does not negate the other, one is not more true than the other — together they amplify our understanding. One shows what we might aspire to, and the other teaches us, if we are serious about our aspiration, how far we fall short. Other monuments provoke even more divisive and irreconcilable reactions. At first glance, the 26-foothigh statue of Robert E. Lee located in Market Street Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, might seem to some to be simply a tangible display of local history, a tribute to a loyal son of this southern commonwealth. While Lee is an historical figure and is indeed a Virginian, the view that the statue merely represents Civil War history is dramatically incomplete if not all but incorrect. The statue was erected in 1924, at the height of a second resurgence of Ku Klux Klan membership — estimated by the Southern Poverty Law Center to be 4 million strong at that point, a time when the Klan had broadened the target of their violence to include Catholics and Jews, and a time when the tale of the Civil War had been deconstructed and rewritten as a glorious “Lost Cause,” as Henry Louis Gates Jr. describes in his recent book, Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow. No, that is not simply a statue of Robert E. Lee, loyal Virginian and reluctant participant in “The War of Northern Aggression” … and furthermore, two years
Illustration by Elly Walton
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ago, in the streets of Charlottesville, the inability to see beyond the myth of that statue led to violence and the death of a young woman. Our country is in a far more polarized state two years after gangs of armed militia and white supremacists, doggedly clinging to a myth, descended upon Charlottesville to protect the statue of General Lee. These divisions are exacerbated by the firm belief on the part of the various factions that they have the truth on their side. Trust, mutual understanding, the assumption of good intentions, empathy for what some have endured — all feel in short supply at the moment. And this fracturing of our society is being felt within our own community and, for many, quite painfully. To try to understand our situation, let alone resolve it, by looking through only one lens is to see things incompletely and, while safer and easier, doomed to fail. James Baldwin’s biting observation on liberty goads us to see complexity, to see contradiction, to see irony — if in fact we seek to see more clearly, to understand more deeply, and to tend closer to truth. If we want to begin to understand what divides us in the present, both at the national level and as a school community, we must have the courage to see beyond simplistic stories and to explore the multiple, often contradictory layers in our historical narratives and our historical figures. Echoing a message I have shared in the past, intentionally diverse communities such as ours serve a fundamentally important purpose. More so than in our neighborhoods, our churches, the restaurants we prefer, our social clubs, here at Lawrenceville we come into contact with an enormous range of individuals — as roommates, as Housemates, as classmates, as teammates. And we will get it wrong at times, we will misunderstand each other and sometimes hurt each other. This is not a sign that we are broken — these
Illustration by Elice Weaver
Seeking the truth is a constant around the Harkness tables of Lawrenceville.
moments of imperfection are the inevitable result of coming together, here on this campus, and having a go of it. And we show our strength as a community when we avoid pulling back into retrenched, singleminded factions the moment we stumble. We show our strength when we have the will and resolve to trust, to listen, and to see competing truths. If we can see the divisions we are experiencing as opportunities, and if each of us can work to see the kernels of validity in the views of those seemingly at odds with us, we can and will find a way to come together and to heal, and show the nation how it’s done. — Excerpt from Fall Convocation Speech Sincerely,
Stephen S. Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 The Shelby Cullom Davis ’26 Head of School
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INSIDE
‘ Those Words May Come Back to Haunt Us’
Renowned epidemiologist Mark Kortepeter ’79 P’11 has spent his entire career readying for COVID-19.
FEATURES 14 A Call to Action
After hearing the anguished testimonials of trauma that Black members of our community have experienced for years, the School will create a Diversity Action Plan for a better, more inclusive, more antiracist Lawrenceville.
18 Commencement 2020: ‘Watching You Make It Work Anyway’
Lawrenceville confers diplomas on a class that learned remotely while holding each other close.
22 Broadway Blues
After battling COVID-19, Daniel Rose ’88 grabbed his iPhone and hit the streets to chronicle his views of New York City.
24 A Virtual VILLEage
In a world shaped by the coronavirus pandemic, Lawrenceville made a radical shift to distance learning while planning for another unusual year.
32 Good Works Go Viral
As COVID-19 spread across the United States, many Lawrentians refused to stand idly by while some in their communities suffered.
40 Extended Stay
In mid-March, J. Scott Dyer ’73 and his wife, Kathryn, were nearing the end of their vacation in Peru — or so they thought.
42 Wait ’Til Next Year!
DEPARTMENTS
4 A Thousand Words
46 Alumni News
6 In Brief
47 Class Notes
12 Go Big Red!
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Virtual reunions replaced the traditional Alumni Weekend in May, but we hope to double our fun in ’21!
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SUMMER/FALL 2020 VOLUME 84 | NUMBER 3 EDITOR Sean Ramsden ART DIRECTOR Phyllis Lerner STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Paloma Torres CONTRIBUTORS Michael Branscom J. Scott Dyer ’73 Andrea Fereshteh Lisa M. Gillard Hanson Joanna Campbell Harmonosky H’49 Donnelly Marks Daniel Rose ’88 Kylan Tatum ’21 ILLUSTRATION BY Joel Kimmel Elly Walton Wastoki CLASS NOTES DESIGN Selena Smith PROOFREADERS Rob Reinalda ’76 Linda Hlavacek Silver H’59 ’61 ’62 ’63 ’64 GP’06 ’08 HEAD OF SCHOOL Stephen S. Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21
FROM THE BASEMENT OF POP HALL
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ou are holding what I believe to be the first issue of The Lawrentian ever produced completely off campus, in the homes of its staff. This unique occurrence, necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is emblematic of the entirely unprecedented year that 2020 has been. Back in our winter issue, we presented an oral history of the Class of 1970 and the societal disruption its members experienced during their time on the Circle. It was an illustration of just how much things can change, even in our most established institutions, in such a short period of time. Little could I have known when we went to press in January what sort of wholesale dislocation this year had in store. This issue is a chronicle of the first six months since the School’s decision to send students home after spring break and pivot to distance learning for the remainder of the school year, followed by the reopening this fall. In that time, we have adapted to a number of temporary changes with aplomb. Some, like the virtual conferral of diplomas to the valiant Class of 2020 and the abbreviated online celebrations of Alumni Weekend in May, were the products of everyone working their hardest to make the best of a trying time. Other developments were far more grave, such as the national outcry of frustration that erupted this past spring over racial and social injustice. What began in the streets of Minneapolis soon shaped the conversation at Lawrenceville, resulting in the School’s “Call to Action” to address past and current inequities in campus and classroom life. This is such an extraordinarily charged topic, a subject where personal experiences, dignity, tradition, and values all converge. But our path toward a productive dialogue is predicated on listening to each other with humility, considering others’ perspectives, and understanding the pain experienced by members of our community. As Lawrenceville alumni, your training around the Harkness table leaves you all well qualified to search for the essential truths around this issue. All the best,
ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL, DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT Mary Kate Barnes H’59 ’77 P’11 ’13 ’19 DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS Jessica Welsh The Lawrentian (USPS #306-700) is published quarterly (winter, spring, summer, and fall) by The Lawrenceville School, P.O. Box 6008, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, for alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends. Periodical postage paid at Trenton, NJ, and additional mailing offices.
The Lawrentian welcomes letters from readers. Please send all correspondence to sramsden@lawrenceville. org or to the above address, care of The Lawrentian Editor. Letters may be edited for publication. The Lawrentian welcomes letters from readers. Please send all correspondence to sramsden@ lawrenceville.org or to the above address, care of The Lawrentian Editor. Letters may be edited for publication.
Sean Ramsden Editor sramsden@lawrenceville.org P.S. On behalf of my colleagues, a tip of my Big Red cap to Marquis Scott for the leadership he provided our Communications Office during his yearlong stint as its interim director. Already the School’s chief information technology officer, Marquis could hardly have known that two transformative crises awaited him when he agreed to temporarily lead our team in mid-2019. Still, he charted the road forward, repeatedly asking us to “Trust the Process.” We did, and we’re glad, and we also applaud Marquis’ elevation to the School’s first assistant head of school for strategic implementation, which will have him coordinating long-term priority projects.
POSTMASTER Please send address corrections to: The Lawrentian The Lawrenceville School P.O. Box 6008 Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 ©The Lawrenceville School Lawrenceville, New Jersey All rights reserved.
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A THOUSAND WORDS
Wish Ewe Were Here Lawrenceville’s classes went virtual for the spring term, but the Big Red Farm was as hands-on as ever. With School dining halls closed, produce from the Farm was offered to the campus community or donated to local food pantries, which are experiencing record demands to support families in need. Read more on page 9.
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IN BRIEF
WE’RE HONORED
The Lawrentian received two Communicator Awards for Distinction, hosted by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA), in May. The fall 2019 issue was honored in the corporate communications category, and its cover story on Garry D. Howard ’77, “They Can’t Guard You, Garry!”, received laurels in the feature-writing division.
The fall 2019 issue of The Lawrentian was honored for distinction in the 26th annual Communicator Awards.
The Communicator Awards is an annual competition honoring the best the best in advertising, corporate communications, public relations and identity work for print, video, interactive, and audio. The 26th Annual Communicator Awards received more than 6,000 entries from ad agencies, interactive agencies, production firms, in-house creative professionals, graphic designers, design firms, and public relations firms.
THREE EARN NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS Praneel Chakraborty ’20, Ashley Duraiswamy ’20, and Vincent Huang ’20 each received a National Merit $2,500 Scholarship, underwritten by National Merit Scholarship Corporation. All winners of Merit Scholarship awards are chosen from a pool of approximately 50,000 high school students following a review of their credentials including academic records, information about the school’s curricula and grading system, PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index score, the high school official’s written recommendation, information about the student’s activities and leadership, and the student’s own essay.
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CREATIVE MODELING? IT’S IN THEIR GENES Students show off DNA models they fashioned exclusively from household items to their classmates on Zoom.
Make a DNA model using only household items? No problem for creative Lawrentians and their instructor, Ilana Saxe, chair of the Science Department. Virtual learning has left Lawrentians without the physical resources of the F.M. Kirby Math & Science Center, but their ingenuity knows no bounds. Saxe challenged Second Formers in her Inquiries in Biological and Environmental Science class to build their own models of DNA — using materials they found in their homes. Each student then presented their model to the class, explaining the materials they used and how they took on the design challenge. Post-it notes, playing cards, and even marshmallows did the trick. “I was impressed with creativity in the building process,” Saxe said. “From using felt chair sliders or golf balls as representations of phosphate groups – which are depicted as circles in diagrams – to covalent bonds made with Legos, no two models were the same.”
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SAINT-CYR ELECTED PRESIDENT
FIVE COMPETE IN FIRST ONLINE U.S. CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD Soleil Saint-Cyr ’21 believes that being an “effective, empathetic, and realistic leader” will help her reunify Lawrentians following their return to campus.
Following an unprecedented live virtual debate held via Zoom webinar in April, Soleil Saint-Cyr ’21 was elected student body president for the 2020-21 school year. “I’m just really excited for the rest of Student Council elections to be underway so I can find out who I’m going to be working with and get started with them on plans for next year,” Saint-Cyr said last spring, after the results were revealed on the student-run L10 news. “I’m hoping next year is going to be all about transparency and support, especially with the circumstances we are in right now.” The web-based debate, hosted by students from The Lawrence and L10, was necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic, which had all Lawrentians learning from home for the entire spring term. Saint-Cyr campaigned under the slogan, “Breathe, Rally, and Build” to support a platform that promotes improved mental health and time management; increased collaboration among Student Council, clubs, Houses, and affinity groups to create recreational events in which all students feel invested; and improving the relationship between Student Council and the student body at large. Saint-Cyr says the School’s virtual spring term neither diminished nor altered her campaign goals, explaining that during this “unprecedented time, the strength of Lawrenceville” is evident, with a belief that “Lawrenceville can carry that over into next year.”
Cherie Fernandes ’21, Sativ Dasariraju ’23, Victoria Gong ’21, Ryan Kanungo ’22, and Miles Williams ’20 participated in the first online United States National Chemistry Olympiad. The exam, which was given on April 19, is part of the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad, a chemistry competition for high school students. More than 1,000 U.S. high school students take the national exam, and the top 20 scorers qualify for the USNCO study camp.
PITCHING PANDEMIC SOLUTIONS
Don Goldmann ’61, M.D., chief medical and scientific officer at Harvard’s Institute for Healthcare Improvement, evaluated innovative student pitches on coronavirus solutions.
Lawrentians are an inventive lot, and some have even gotten to work to solve some aspect of the coronavirus pandemic. And for them, the Lawrenceville Innovation, Marketing, & Entrepreneurship (LIME) club is ready to support their work in its premier L’ville Shark Tank Competition. Lawrenceville’s version of the television reality show Shark Tank invites students to submit a proposal that either creates a response to the pandemic that makes a positive impact on society or solves a customer problem, generating revenue and profit. Contestants were required to submit an initial two- to five-page concept narrative for evaluation by LIME leaders. Semifinalists then made their pitch to Don Goldmann ’61, M.D., chief medical and scientific officer at Harvard’s Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Finalists made their presentation to the entire student body, which selected the ultimate winner — and recipient of a $300 prize. “Especially in a time like this, we wanted to provide an opportunity for Lawrenceville to come together and forge ideas that could leave a positive impact not just in our community, but also in greater society,” said Nolan Lee ’21, one of LIME’s leaders. “We believe our student body is capable of producing innovations that could constitute change beyond our institution.” What that change looks like is entirely up to the imagination of students. “We purposefully decided not to be specific,” said Katie Li ’21. “We’ve designed this event to allow for flexibility and creativity for each individual – to see what kind of ingenuity and kindness can arise from these drastic and, quite frankly, terrifying times.”
ZHANG EARNS BID TO ISEF
Michael Zhang ’21 qualified for the prestigious Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, or ISEF. Zhang’s project, “Metal-doped Zinc Oxide Nanochip for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopic Sensing of Opioid in Water,” placed second overall and first in the Environmental Science and Engineering category at the Mercer Science and Engineering Fair in March. The annual event has pivoted to a virtual format due to the coronavirus pandemic, and organizers have decided that the 2020 ISEF will not include a juried student competition.
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LEADERS JOIN SENIOR STAFF Two new faces joined Lawrenceville’s senior staff in July when the School welcomed Rick Holifield as the inaugural dean of diversity, inclusion, and community engagement, and Jessica Welsh as director of communications and external relations. “I am excited to welcome Rick to lead our ongoing efforts to foster an inclusive academic environment where students
Rick Holifield Professional: L Assistant Head of Upper School, Director of Community Life, The Walker School, Marietta, Ga. L Director of Diversity, Pace Academy, Atlanta L Chair, Commission on Diversity for the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools L Chair, Atlanta Area Association of Independent Schools Diversity Consortium
Education: L M.Min. in Christian Counseling, Jacksonville Theological Seminary L B.Th., Life Christian University L Attended Harvard Graduate School of Education Principals’ Center L National Association of Independent Schools Aspiring Heads Fellow
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from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to learn from, with, and about one another,” said Steve Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21, who announced the hires in the spring. “Out of an impressive pool of candidates, we chose Rick because of his deep and abiding personal commitment and the impressive breadth and depth of his experience, and I look forward to partnering with him as we work to make our community even stronger.” Holifield will provide strategic vision and direction to enhance Lawrenceville’s inclusive campus community. He will partner in this work with the School’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, as well as the Multicultural Parent Committee and studentled diversity council and affinity group. He brings to Lawrenceville more than two decades of expertise in diversity, inclusion, and community engagement issues in education at the local, regional, and national levels. Saying his goal is “to give agency to every community member to carry out the School’s mission for the purpose of an optimal educational experience by way of equitable outcomes,” Holifield anticipates spending his first year at Lawrenceville building relationships within the School community, most importantly with students. “I’d like to learn about all the ways Lawrentians carry out the School’s mission day to day,” he said. “This will inform my work
in executing a climate assessment and equity audit for the purpose of creating a strategic plan for diversity, equity, and community engagement at Lawrenceville.” Welsh, the new director of communications and external affairs, reports to Greg Buckles, dean of enrollment management. “It’s always gratifying when the profile you develop for the ideal candidate for a position is fulfilled in the appointment, and we certainly feel that way about Jessica,” Buckles said following her hiring. “Her background, experience, and qualifications checked off everything we were looking for to lead our communications department. We can’t wait for her to get started!” Welsh serves as the School’s chief communications officer and a key member of the senior leadership team. In this role, she leads the development and implementation of the School’s brand, vision, strategy, and public relations with the goal of building Lawrenceville’s national reputation as one of the nation’s most prestigious and highly regarded independent boarding schools. “I realize I am transitioning to Lawrenceville at a very unusual time for the School and for our world,” said Welsh, acknowledging the coronavirus pandemic that required a pivot to virtual classrooms for the spring term. “I believe that adversity creates opportunity, and from the conversations I’ve had and people I’ve met, I know that Lawrentians will innovate, evolve, and emerge even stronger.”
Jessica Welsh Professional: L Director of Marketing and Communications, The Haverford School L Communications Officer, The Baldwin School L Senior Account Manager, Communications 21, Atlanta L Current co-chair, Rising Leaders Committee, Project HOME, Philadelphia
Education: L B.B.A., State University of New York at Geneseo
Welsh added that she “plans to honor and sustain the level of excellence for which Lawrenceville is known, while advancing its branding and positioning in an increasingly competitive and evolving educational environment. “This will require a communications strategy that is rooted in data and metrics, that champions its community, and that is ambitious but adaptable,” she said. “I hope to work with the community to establish a cohesive brand across platforms that speaks to Lawrentians past and present, and that aligns with a shared vision of who we are and who we aspire to be.”
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LAWRENCEVILLE DONATES OVER $4,500 OF FOOD TO HOMEFRONT After committing to virtual learning for the spring term, Lawrenceville donated over $4,500 of nonperishable food that would ordinarily be served in the School’s dining halls to the Lawrence-based nonprofit HomeFront. “The coronavirus pandemic has created an unprecedented strain on HomeFront’s resources, and our School community is happy to help their efforts,” said Steve Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21. “With an increasing number of local families needing assistance, HomeFront is more vital than ever.”
SPORTS BUSINESS CLUB HOSTS NBA’S QUIN SNYDER
Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder (Rick Bowmer/The Associated Press)
Lawrenceville’s student-led Sports Business Club hosted a virtual Q&A session with Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder via Zoom in April. Snyder offered insight into his experience during the pandemic, as well as words of advice to all the students gathered, saying that it’s important to feel “the humanity in the new experience” and to “try to do something significant that you can look back on outside of your professional career.” — Kylan Tatum ’21
POSNER TAPPED TO LEAD BOYS’ LACROSSE
Jon Posner claimed the top national ranking in three straight seasons at Culver.
When boys’ lacrosse takes to the field, it will be under the tutelage of championship coach Jon Posner, who comes to Lawrenceville after 16 years at Culver Military Academy in northern Indiana. There, Posner led Culver to a cumulative record of 278-55, and his teams finished first in end-of-season national polls in 2017 (USA Today), 2018 (US Lacrosse), and 2019 (Inside Lacrosse). Posner’s teams finished the last eight seasons ranked in the national top 25, and his most recent team was ranked third in the first poll of the 2020 season before the coronavirus pandemic scrapped the schedule. The three-time Midwest Coach of the Year has placed more than 100 student-athletes at NCAA Division I institutions, with graduates of his program earning NCAA All-America honors at such powerhouse programs as Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, and the University of Denver, and representing the U.S. and Canada. “I am eager to work with the young men of the lacrosse program, to help them grow as individual players and as a team, to build on a successful lacrosse history, and to continue to grow as a coach,” said Posner, whose teams captured four consecutive Indiana state titles. “My family and I are looking forward to returning to the East Coast and embarking on this new adventure at Lawrenceville. Go, Big Red!” Posner, who was the assistant director of admissions at Culver, will also serve Lawrenceville as its associate dean of admission/athletic recruiting coordinator.
EWANCHYNA AGAIN HEADS GIRLS’ LACROSSE Longtime field hockey coach brings her championship history back to lax. Lisa Rebane Ewanchyna P’23, whose Big Red field hockey teams have claimed an astonishing nine N.J.I.S.A.A. Prep A championships, will return to the girls’ lacrosse program to coach the team next spring. A former firstteam All-America pick in both sports at Princeton, Ewanchyna previously coached lacrosse at Lawrenceville from 2009-13, turning a .500 program around to post a winning record in each of her five seasons at the helm. “My passion for the sport and for assisting in the development of young women in the game that they love were the greatest influencers in this decision,” Ewanchyna said. “In the years since I stepped down, I have watched the young women of Lawrenceville flourish under impactful coaches, and I hope to continue the long, storied tradition of success in the program.” A four-year starter and the leading scorer on Princeton’s 1994 national championship lacrosse squad, Ewanchyna was a three-time AllAmerica selection as well as Ivy League Rookie and Player of the Year in both field hockey and lacrosse. She captained both squads as a senior and was named the University’s Sportswoman of the Year in 1996. Ewanchyna was also a member of the U.S. Developmental Lacrosse Team. Ewanchyna has piloted Big Red field hockey to nine Prep A championships, eight Mercer County Tournament titles, and four Mid-Atlantic Prep crowns. Her teams have built a 180-55-6 record, with numerous players continuing to play collegiately.
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DOUG DAVIS TAPPED TO LEAD BOYS’ HOOPS Former Princeton Tigers standout Doug Davis was named head coach of the Big Red boys’ basketball team for the 2020-21 season. Davis comes to Lawrenceville from Princeton Day School, where he was the boys’ varsity basketball coach and a member of the history department for the past two years. This past year he led Princeton Day to the N.J.I.S.A.A. Prep B State Championship and was honored by The Trentonian and Town Topics as the Boys’ Prep Coach of the Year. Previously, Davis was head coach of the boys’ varsity basketball team at Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts. Davis, who earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology, will serve as an assistant dean of admission and teach in the History Department. Davis succeeds Ron Kane ’83 P’20, who had led the team since 1991. Kane will continue his duties as an English teacher. “The tradition of excellence in academics and athletics at Lawrenceville makes joining the community a tremendous privilege,” said Davis, a graduate of The Hun School who became a four-year starter and team captain at Princeton. “I am excited about the basketball program here at Lawrenceville and eager to continue to build off of Coach Kane’s success.” As a standout point guard for the Tigers, Davis led Princeton to the 2011 Ivy League Championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament. Twice he was the team’s season leading scorer, and his 1,550 career points landed him at No. 3 among the program’s scoring leaders.
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GLADWELL ’CASTS LAWRENTIANS Acclaimed Tipping Point author and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell visited Lawrenceville in February, speaking with a group of students around a Harkness table about the concept of changing student government. They discussed whether traditional student council elections could be replaced by a simple lottery system and how that might that work at the college and national levels, and their conversation was recorded and adapted for Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast. Revisionist History looks back to reinterpret something from the past: an event, a person, an idea, things overlooked or misunderstood. You can hear their conversation on either Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or at revisionisthistory.com/seasons. The episode, “The Powerball Revolution,” is part of Season Five. Gladwell is the author of bestsellers The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, David and Goliath, and, most recently, Talking to Strangers. He has been named one of the 100 most influential people by TIME magazine and one of the Foreign Policy Top Global Thinkers.
Author Malcolm Gladwell included a conversation with Lawrentians in an episode of his Revisionist History podcast.
BIG RED RACE TOPS $36K FOR SCHOOL CAMP Participants in Big Red Race XVII: Virtual Semper Viridis raised more than $36,500 to benefit School Camp, Lawrenceville’s Asbury, N.J., summer camp that has served underprivileged youth for over a century.
Support for this year’s Big Red Race came from the mountaintops.
With COVID-19 restrictions in place, participants were unable to complete the usual 5K campus course, so the Race went virtual. A total of 629 Big Red Racers took part in 27 U.S. states (plus the District of Columbia) as well as in Bahrain, Canada, England, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand. The pandemic prevented this summer’s “Scamp” from happening, but hopes remain high for 2021.
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CAPSTONE BRINGS ELECTION EXPERTS HOME Lawrenceville brought U.S. election experts to Fifth Formers enrolled in its Capstone course — not as planned in Woods Memorial Hall but instead right to their homes. Speakers previously scheduled to address Lawrentians on campus did so virtually, allowing students to continue their examination of this year’s topic, the 2020 U.S. presidential election. “Since its inception, this course has been about a citizen’s duty to think deeply about questions that do not have obvious answers and are open to debate,” said history master Erik Chaput, co-director of the Capstone program, who added that the course “is about what much of Lawrenceville is about: citizenship and public affairs.” Chaput was grateful to the series of speakers who made themselves available for online speaking. The spring terms saw Capstone students benefit from the scholarship and expertise of: L Kristi Anderson, the Chapple Family
Professor of Citizenship and Democracy, Emerita, at Syracuse University, who provided an overview of the 2020 U.S. presidential race; L Keith Bybee, vice dean and the Paul E. and
Hon. Joanne F. Alper ’72 Judiciary Studies Professor at the Syracuse University College of Law, who addressed “The Contentious Supreme Court”; L William Hudson, professor of political
science at Providence College, who spoke about “Challenges to American Democracy”; L Julian Zelizer, the Malcolm Stevenson
Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton, who addressed “Crises in American Democracy”; L David W. Blight, the Class of 1954
Professor of American History and director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University;
Capstone speaker Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton, is also a regular contributor to CNN.
L Jami Floyd P’20, host of NPR’s All Things
Considered, on “Presidents and the Media”; L Sam Wang, professor of molecular biology
and neuroscience at Princeton and founder of the Princeton Election Consortium, on “Elections and Political Polarization”; L Michael J. Klarman, the Kirkland & Ellis
Professor at Harvard Law School, on “Brown v. Board of Education”;
UNDERFORM PRIZE ANNOUNCEMENTS CLOSE 2019-20 SCHOOL YEAR On the last day of classes in June, Lawrenceville awarded four of its most prestigious awards for underform students. Prizes awarded to graduating Fifth Form students are listed in the Commencement 2020 coverage on page 20. The Reuben T. and Charlotte Boykin Carlson Scholarship Witt Phillips ’22
L Gabe Debenedetti ’08, national
Awarded to a Third Form boarding student who epitomizes the traits of an exemplary Lawrentian. This award covers a portion of the student’s tuition and expenses for his/her remaining two years at Lawrenceville.
correspondent for New York magazine, on how COVID-19 will affect the election.
The Mario Award
L Robert George, the McCormick Professor
of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Institute at Princeton; and
In addition to learning from outside experts, students consumed a wide range of opinions on issues concerning the election before sharing and discussing their conclusions. Students then drafted papers addressing the three issues they believe will have the most impact on the election. Since 1990, the Culbertson Capstone Program has educated Lawrentians in contemporary issues, providing an opportunity for Fifth Formers to synthesize the intellectual skills they’ve developed over the course of their Lawrenceville careers. The course is highlighted by lectures from nationally known experts who present diverse points of view on topics of contemporary relevance — from climate change, to post-Katrina New Orleans, to religion and politics. In addition to Chaput, other Capstone instructors include history masters Kayla Corcoran, David FigueroaOrtiz, co-director Cara Hyson, and Regan Kerney.
Caroline Foster ’21 Eric Morais ’21 Given annually to two Fourth Formers — one from the Crescent and one from the Circle — for their contributions to their Houses and the greater Lawrenceville community. Recipients receive a portion of their Fifth Form year tuition, as well as funds for a summer experience of their choice, a House celebration, and for general House events.
The Katherine W. Dresdner Cup Stanley House Presented annually to the Crescent House earning the best record in both House and School athletics.
The Foresman Trophy Griswold House Presented annually to the Circle House earning the best record in both House and School athletics.
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GO BIG RED
CLEARING A HIGH BAR
C
High-jumper Amy Aririguzoh ’20 may have lost her last season of Big Red track, but she’s far from through.
oming off an indoor trackand-field season that saw her team capture the “triple crown” — titles in the MidAtlantic Prep League, the New Jersey Independent Schools Athletic Association, and Mercer County championship meets — Amy Aririguzoh ’20 and her teammates had every reason to anticipate big things when the outdoor track season began this spring. But then it never began. “We had so many plans for the spring in terms of relays, individual events, personal goals,” says Aririguzoh, who holds three individual and relay school records in the sport. “Everybody had stuff that they were looking forward to.” Lawrenceville students were on spring break when the School announced it would move to distance learning for the spring term due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the campus essentially shut down, the spring sports season was one of the first and most visible casualties of the decision. “Personally, I had a lot of very big goals for my final season at Lawrenceville,” Aririguzoh
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says, “so, yeah, I was looking forward to that.” The two-year captain missed her chance to improve on some personal bests, but more than that, Aririguzoh laments the loss of competing alongside her teammates and the camaraderie they have built under head coach Erik Chaput. “I loved the team at Lawrenceville. Whenever I start talking about the team, I just get really excited and very emotional — I can’t explain the atmosphere,” she says, her voice rising with enthusiasm. “It’s just so welcoming, a very positive atmosphere. I don’t think I could have been as good of an athlete if I hadn’t gone there and interacted with all the different girls on the team.” Aririguzoh is the best girls’ high-jumper in Big Red history, but she came to Lawrenceville more renowned as a sprinter. Right away, she was an integral part of the team, blazing her way up the all-time School charts in the 100 (fourth) and 200 meters (third) as a Second Former in 2017, and running the second-bestever time in the 400 meters the following spring. Aririguzoh also excelled from the start in the sprint relays. The speedy Second Former was thrown into Big Red’s top combinations and
was expected to carry her end of the bargain. She did — that spring’s 4x400 team is tops in School history and the 4x100 ranks third — but the youngest member of those relay squads also feared letting her older, upper-form teammates down. “At the time, I was feeling a lot of pressure from being on relays,” she explains of the weight she placed on herself in spite of her verifiable success. “I was the only freshman with [those] seniors and juniors, and I needed an outlet of sorts.” For relief, Aririguzoh looked to the field events to find a good individual fit. Pole vault? Too risky. The weights? “I’m just not a thrower, really,” she concedes. “I don’t have that much muscle.” But the high jump? “It looked really fun,” she recalls. Aririguzoh approached Chaput after a team workout and asked if she could give it a try. “He was like, ‘Why not? As long as you complete your workouts and it doesn’t cut into your sprinting training,’” she says. “After sprinting workouts, I would walk over to the high-jump mat after practice and work with the coaches for as long as they would let me.” Early in the following winter indoor season,
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The best girls’ high-jumper in Big Red history, Amy Aririguzoh ‘20 will now compete for Princeton.
Aririguzoh got her opportunity to compete in the event. The meet was her first time jumping since the previous spring’s practices, but she cleared a height better than she had ever managed. “It just came out of nowhere,” she says. “The coaches were like, OK, I guess we can work on this.” Later that season, Aririguzoh was beset by injuries that limited her ability to run, which increased her focus on her new event. “There was a time where I had to take it easy in terms of how much impact I had on my feet,” she recalls. “So, when I was still recovering, when I couldn’t run the 400, I really just poured myself into the high jump.”
It wasn’t long before Aririguzoh was ranked among the top three scholastic jumpers in New Jersey, clearing 5-foot-8. “I ended up seeing results,” she says. My junior winter, that’s when I jumped my personal record, 5-8. Then I just stuck with it.” Feeling healthy again this year, Aririguzoh was back running the 400-meter leg of the distance medley relay over the winter, approaching her personal best time and anticipating a strong spring season. She had also set a high bar in the high jump — literally and figuratively. “I was actually planning on going at least 5-10. My real goal was 6 feet; I didn’t tell a lot of people, because that’s kind of crazy,” she
reveals. “That’s a big goal for a high-schooler, but I put in a lot of work and I was really excited to just see how high I could go.” Her Big Red track career may have ended prematurely, but Aririguzoh’s life in the sport is far from over. She will compete this year for Princeton, following two older brothers who graduated from the university up the road. “I really was resistant to the idea of Princeton. I always want to take my own path,” says Aririguzoh, who adds that she and her siblings all attended different high schools. “But I just could not deny that I liked it the best. I really felt at home, and I liked the team. The atmosphere there was really great. It kind of reminded me of Lawrenceville.”
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ALREADY REELING FROM A PANDEMIC, THE PEOPLE OF A NATION SCREAMED “ENOUGH!” NO LONGER WILLING TO TOLERATE THE DEMEANING STATUS QUO, THEY CRIED OUT FOR TRUE EQUITY AND DEMANDED THE END OF INSTITUTIONAL RACISM. IN ITS PLEDGE TO BE AN ALLY, LAWRENCEVILLE ISSUED A SWEEPING
TO By SEAN RAMSDEN
ACTION
A Juneteenth celebration in Brooklyn on June 19 also incorporated imagery of George Floyd to protest his death in police custody. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images) 14
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FOR SOME REASON, IT WAS DIFFERENT THIS TIME. Almost immediately after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of a subdued George Floyd for nearly nine minutes while three other officers stood by without intervening on May 25, video of the incident spread quickly around the world. This dreadfully familiar scene fueled a catalytic moment for racial and social justice this summer, and it did not stop with demonstrations in the streets of large cities and small towns. The feeling that for some reason, “this time it was different” also came to the campuses of America’s colleges, universities, and schools, including Lawrenceville. Across the country, thousands of students, alumni, and faculty began to share their tales of pain, of being singled out, mistreated, and made to feel “less-than” on the sole basis of the color of their skin. The idea that Black lives matter – a movement by people of color to be seen and recognized before it was an organization of the same name – echoed in public squares and across the virtual classrooms of schools completing an academic year unlike any in memory. “We are witnessing a singular moment in American history. Make no mistake about that,” longtime Lawrenceville English teacher Wilburn Williams H’02 ’06 said in the June L10 News special ‘Say Their Names’: The View, The Grit, The Action. “There is no African American of my generation who I have talked to in the last three weeks who anticipated what we are seeing in our streets right now.” At Lawrenceville, many teachers provided space during the last week of classes in June to discuss what was happening from many angles. Students shared their own experiences with racism and expressed frustration with many of the situations they must navigate at school and beyond. The week included a vigil for Floyd and other Black victims of violence and concluded with an extraordinarily emotional end-of-year School meeting on Zoom in which Black students, faculty, and administrators powerfully voiced their experiences. “This is affecting all of us. We’re all members of the Black community, we’re all scared of the prevalent racism that we’re seeing in the media and in real life that is not going away and has been here for centuries,” Gabby Medina ’21, president of Alliance of Black Cultures, a Lawrenceville student organization, told L10 News. “So we’re all afraid, but we want to build community with one another and be present for other members of our Black community, especially the underclassmen.” Voices were amplified and shared through social media, and Instagram accounts dedicated to detailing the Black experience on campus began to sprout in a cultural soil fertile for their growth. The @BlackAtLawrenceville account promised to “shed light on the Black experience at Lawrenceville through stories from students and faculty, past and present,” as its initial post explained, and has continued to do so in more than one hundred seventy entries since
its June 14 debut. The often-jarring shared stories divulge a range of experiences from racial micro-aggressions – “I would have been extremely honored to have been voted Best Rapper in the senior superlative section of the yearbook if it weren’t for the fact that I had never rapped a day in my life” — to overt use of unprintable slurs with threats of physical harm though lynching. In a June 26 letter to the School community, Head of School Stephen Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 acknowledged the “outpouring of stories” from current students, graduates, parents, and faculty members through emails, phone conversations, meetings, and the @BlackAtLawrenceville Instagram about their own experiences. “These stories describe painful and wrenching experiences while at Lawrenceville that involve episodes of racial bias and other forms of discrimination,” Murray wrote. “The accounts range from awkward ignorance to far more serious behaviors that clearly cause harm and trauma, behaviors that fundamentally offend what we stand for at this School.” Murray’s letter served as the School’s introduction of its “Call to Action,” a series of steps to recommit to the ideals of true equity for all members of the Lawrenceville community. While the plan is rather detailed [see lawrenceville.org/about/diversity-and-inclusion], its underpinnings are three basic tenets: • Engaging in anti-racist work and educating ourselves and our children on the societal conditioning of anti-Black racism; • Ensuring that the race conversation is not one that is only had by people of color and members of our Black community; and • Engaging in educational opportunities and programming that seeks to heighten our awareness of racial identity development. “Only when every member of our Lawrenceville community, in particular members of groups who have been historically marginalized, are fully part of the fabric of our School will we be the stronger, better place we seek to be,” Murray wrote. “And to do so, we must look to our students, our classmates, our teachers with empathy, and we must listen with interest and humility as we do around the Harkness table to recognize the worth we all intrinsically possess as individuals.” Leading the charge will be Rick Holifield, the School’s new dean of diversity, inclusion, and community engagement. Hired in April, Holifield was to officially start on July 1, but because of the urgent need for him to shepherd these crucial conversations, he got to work almost immediately after the killing of Floyd in late May, working with students and faculty. Holifield’s role was the culmination of the two-year effort by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force, which was convened in spring 2018 to create a full-time, senior stafflevel position to build an equitable sense of belonging among all community members. On a high level, Holifield will develop and oversee an overarching framework to ensure that those DEI principles are being applied across student life, adult education
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and training, curriculum, advising, admissions, college counseling, and employee hiring and retention. Holifield had always planned to assess the climate at Lawrenceville and conduct an equity audit to identify challenges and devote resources to address them effectively, but the events of May and June had him jumping right into what he compares to an emergency medical situation occurring simultaneously with a more chronic condition. “It’s really dealing with both at the same time,” he explains. As a Black man with two young adult sons, Holifield fully understands that the summer’s protests aren’t a reaction so much to what’s happening today as they are a valve that has burst after generations of pent-up frustration. “You have to be strategic about doing these things, but I don’t think that the Lawrenceville community is going to be patient with only a strategic vision, where it’s three to five years out,” he says. “They want some immediate action because for so long, folks have felt marginalized and disenfranchised. And so we have to speak to those things now, while also creating a climate and a culture that cultivates inclusion as part of the details.” One key organization Holifield has been working with is the Lawrenceville Black Alumni Association, which presented a twentytwo-page “Anti-Racist Action Plan” in June through the @BlackAtLawrenceville Instagram page. It outlines sixty “executable steps to create safe, inclusive spaces for Black students and students of color,” including forty-one “high-impact systemic transformations” and notes those to which the School has already committed. “They’ve already been tremendously helpful in sharing ideas and recommendations with us, but also as a group, to help hold us accountable,” Holifield said in answer to a participant’s question during a virtual Call to Action forum in mid-August. “Just as we report to the board in signs of progress and forward movement, I think the LBAA can be another forum to report to and get [their] reaction to how we’re progressing and how we’re holding ourselves accountable.”
NEW YEAR, NEW PROGRAMMING
For the first time, diversity, equity, and inclusion training was formally included as part of Lawrenceville’s annual student leadership orientation in September. With help from Cultures of Dignity, a diverse set of Anti-Defamation League facilitators ran a session on anti-hate and anti-discrimination during back-to-school orientation with House prefects and members of the Diversity, Honor, and Student Councils. Lawrenceville has also partnered with several similar organizations to provide diversity and anti-bias training for faculty, staff, and students.
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▲ ▶ Painful testimonials such as these posted to the @BlackAtLawrenceville Instagram account by current and former students helped inform the School’s response.
Helping Holifield to steer toward progress will be Marquis Scott, who was recently elevated to assistant head of school for strategic implementation. In his new role, Scott, who has been Lawrenceville’s chief information technology officer since 2018, began work immediately overseeing the initiatives enumerated in the Call to Action. Where Holifield’s work is primarily qualitative – negotiating the cultural divides that necessitate his work – Scott’s is a bit more quantitative, helping Holifield assess progress in a data-driven way. “It’s my job to look at that data [around faculty hiring and student enrollment], assess it, and begin to tell a story with Rick to make sure we can make the right decisions,” Scott says. “And then the other side is to help Rick look at the spectrum of the School and figure out who are the constituents we need to bring into the conversation.” Scott did just that – bringing together diverse elements of the School community in order to help shape its story – from early 2019 until this past July, when he also served as Lawrenceville’s interim director of communications and external affairs. The strategic importance of that process became acute once the spring term was eclipsed by the COVID-19 pandemic, followed shortly by the movement against racial injustice. “I think the broader question, which I’m still going to navigate,” he says, “is how do we assure that we are moving the School forward while building on its core principles?” To Holifield, those values are actualized through a commitment to diverse perspectives. “The diversity and inclusion work should be at the core of what we do, because it’s excellence in education,” he says. “So when our teachers aren’t following multicultural teaching practices, or
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multicultural education isn’t infused into the educational experience, then all we’re doing is the status quo, which is teaching kids from the original canon.” The real-world problems spurred by a failure to evolve are manifest to Holifield. He is quick to mention that although the voices decrying structural racism may be the loudest right now, “this is not just so that Black and Brown children can see images of themselves in the curriculum.” “This is about all the children,” he continues. “If our children go off to college and into the world and they’re not well versed in equity and inclusion and multicultural education, then they can’t speak to the issues that are plaguing our world today.” For the Lawrenceville community, beginning with those who are on campus every day, a shared understanding can begin only with frank, open, and respectful conversations about our differences – even if it is, at times, uncomfortable. “Every year students come up with a motto, and this year’s motto is ‘All In’” says Sam Washington ’81 H’04 P’14 ’17, director of multicultural affairs and senior associate dean of admission. “And in order for this [dialogue] to actually happen, that’s what needs to happen first. We all have to buy in to this – we have to all go in. We can’t have some of us who want to do this, but then have others who say, This doesn’t affect me; this is not about my teaching or my work here. “And if we can all get in, then those ‘ouch’ moments become a little less painful, a little less sensitive,’ Washington continues. “If we’re not all in, then those ouch moments will prevent people from actually going the extra step, going the extra mile, that needs to
LANGUAGE MATTERS
In reading this issue of The Lawrentian, you’ve likely noticed a historic change in the titles held by several Lawrenceville administrators, beginning on the very first page of this magazine. One of Stephen S. Murray’s immediate action steps detailed in his Call to Action letter in June was to retire the word “master” from his and all other titles at the School. Thus, Murray is now the Head of School, housemasters are Heads of House, and subject masters are teachers. “While the roots of this term may originally revert back to a rather different context in British boarding schools, I understand full well that it carries a painful connotation,” he reasoned. “I have decided on a personal level that, regardless of the origins, the term no longer belongs in my title – as indeed most peer schools have similarly recognized.” You may have also observed our adaptation of an editorial standard to capitalize “Black” in reference to people who use that racial identifier. This follows the guidance of the Associated Press to capitalize “Black” as of July in recognition of a shared experience across cultures by Black people in the United States. In addition, the National Association of Black Journalists recommends the capitalization of “White,” a guidance that after much internal discussion, Lawrenceville adopted in August based on the belief that the lowercase rendering of “white” frames it as neutral and as a racial standard.
happen in order for us to move forward.” To facilitate that dialogue, all students, faculty, and staff members were asked to read So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo this summer. In it, Oluo, a Black woman, delivers a guide to broach these discussions, which she fully acknowledges can be awkward and sloppy. Laced with tender humor and filled with anecdotes from her own experiences, the book explains how race and racism infect so many aspects of American life and how talking about individual experiences with humility and empathy can bridge divides. It’s an extension of serious student-led conversations that occurred during that pivotal final week of spring term, when students huddled together even as they were separated by the gulf of distance learning. Some saw that painful week, and the conversations it sparked, as bearing the seeds of promise, of hope. “I’m excited for people being more comfortable and confident in asking questions,” Barbara Odae ’22 of the School’s Diversity Council said in the L10 News special, “and making themselves present in unfamiliar spaces and owning the fact that even if they’re not knowledgeable on all topics – even if something doesn’t affect them – that they are willing to make themselves vulnerable if it means that they can learn more and truly grow.”
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Commencement
‘Watching You Make It Work Anyway’: Lawrenceville confers diplomas on a class that learned remotely while holding each other close.
2020!
“WELCOME, EVERYONE, TO LAWRENCEVILLE’S FIRSTEVER, HISTORICAL, UNUSUAL … YES, YOU GUESSED IT — VIRTUAL — CONFERRING OF DIPLOMAS!” With those words, the Rev. Sue Anne Steffey Morrow H’12, director of spiritual and religious life, welcomed online viewers around the world to an event unique in the 210-year history of the School. With the spring term conducted virtually and with learners spread across sixteen time zones due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the logical, if unfamiliar, conclusion to the academic year for the valiant Class of 2020. The prerecorded ceremony, which effectively functioned as the School’s Commencement exercises, was uploaded to YouTube and made accessible to the Lawrenceville community on the morning of May 31. With one of the two Abbott Dining Hall fireplace mantels at his back, elegantly carved to honor the Fifth Form, Head of School Stephen S. Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 delivered his remarks. He gratefully acknowledged 18
those members of the class who will continue their education at United States service academies next year: Brandon Agron and Jasmine Barco at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Tim Johnson at the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School prior to enrolling at West Point, and Nicholas Clark and Ashley Warren at the U.S. Naval Academy. Murray then announced the recipients of two of the School’s highest honors. Makayla Boxley received the Edward Sutliffe Brainard Prize, awarded annually by the faculty to the Fifth Form student whom they hold in the highest esteem, and Samika Hariharan claimed the Trustees’ Cup, presented annually by the head of school on behalf of the Board of Trustees to the student who has most influenced the School for good. Speaking from home, Michael Chae ’86, president of the Lawrenceville Board of Trustees, then authorized Murray to confer diplomas to the Class of 2020. “We’ve watched your impressive achievements over the past four years with great pride, and never more so than during the past three months,” Chae said in praise of the graduates. “Your remarkable resilience and leadership during this time will always
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“If there’s one thing harder than saying ‘goodbye,’ it’s not getting the chance to say goodbye.” — Ashley Duraiswamy ’20 class valedictorian ▶
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have a special place in our hearts and in the history of the School.” With that, Blake Eldridge ’96 H’12, dean of students, then read the names of the graduates, beginning with Student Council President Tayari Gachegua. Each of the 219 members of the class was pictured on a still slide, accompanied by their full name and hometown. Murray then introduced the class valedictorian, Ashley Duraiswamy, who delivered her address to the class backed, appropriately, by stacks of shelved books.
“We’ve watched your impressive achievements over the past four years with great pride, and never more so than during the past three months.” — Michael Chae ’86 President, Lawrenceville Board of Trustees
She spoke of returning from spring break to learn at home, via Zoom, and the skepticism she initially battled. “It was just morning after morning of watching many of your faces pop up on my screen; morning after morning of thinking this wouldn’t work, but watching you make it work anyway,” Duraiswamy said. “You showed me that every organization — every company, every government, every school — is just people, a group of people and everything they’re brilliant and daring enough to create.” Rabbi Lauren Levy H’97 ’01 P’01 ’02 ’09 closed the proceedings with ta benediction that urged the Class of 2020 to “grow, reach, bloom, and explore,” as they go forth as Lawrentians. “And as you move to your next destinations, your next adventures,” Levy said, “go slow and grow slow — slow and full.”
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Fifth Form Prizes
The John W. Gartner Prize Alannah Nathan The John P. Phelps Jr. Prize Emily Shapcott The Benjamin H. Trask Classics Prize Ashley Duraiswamy
The Robert Mammano Frezza Memorial Award Anika Bagaria The Nick Gusz Best Male Athlete Award C.J. Vilfort
The Chinese Language Prize Kate Partridge
The Melissa Magee Speidel Best Female Athlete Award Ashley Warren
Valedictorian Ashley Duraiswamy
Independence Foundation Prize Catherine Levy
The Tommy Sullivan Award Grace Faircloth
Edward Sutliffe Brainard Prize Makayla Boxley
The William Mayhew Dickey ’64 Prize Xavier Lacoste
The John H. Thompson Jr. Prize Lizzie Huesman
Trustees’ Cup Samika Hariharan
The Sterling Morton Prize Oliva Sieler
The Aurelian Honor Society Award Andrew Tokarski
Free Enterprise Award Jeffrey Cai
The Adam and Mackellar Violich Award Amy Aririguzoh Andrew Tokarski
The James E. Blake Prize Alexandra Mary Elizabeth Stach Max Wong
Walker W. Stevenson Jr. Prize Johnny Nguyen
Performing Arts Department Prize Anushka Agarwala
The Wendell Hertig Taylor Prize Emily Matcham
N.J.I.S.A.A. Female Scholar Athlete nominee Miranda Cai N.J.I.S.A.A. Male Scholar Athlete nominee T.J. Semptimphelter
Jean S. Stephens Performing Arts Department Prize Tasan Smith-Gandy
The Benjamin F. Howell Jr. Science Prize Fund Andrew Zheng
The Peter Candler Periwig Award Emily Matcham
The Lever F. Stewart Prize Tri Giao Vu Dinh
The Music Department Prize/ Instrumental Samika Hariharan
Aldo Leopold Ecology Prize Simon Cull Sidharth Sharma
The Music Department Prize/Vocal Isabelle Monaghan The Addison H. Gery Jr. Jazz Prize Santiago Parra-Vargas
Mr. and Mrs. W.R. Niblock Award Harrison Wang The Henry and Janie Woods Prize for Research Science Merrin Foltz
The Matthew Dominy Prize Tri Giao Vu Dinh
The Paul L. Marrow Award Samika Hariharan
Major L Blankets C.J. Vilfort Jake Simpson Heaven Figueroa Nicholas Clark Sydney Cornell Ellie Vogel Tait Mott Lizzie Huesman Ashley Warren Maggie Ross Isabelle Monaghan Alexander Pesendorfer Olivia Koch Grace Faircloth
The R. Jack Garver Visual Arts Department Prize Oona Pierre
Hubert M. Alyea Award Christopher Conyers
L12 Award Carolyn King
The Mathematics Faculty Award C.J. Vilfort
The Kathleen Wallace Award Beata Fylkner
Visual Art Department Prize Carolyn King The Visual Art Department Faculty Award Hazel Schaus
The Howard Hill Mathematics Award Liana Raguso
The Director’s Award: Tay Gachegua
The John T. O’Neil III Mathematics Team Award Harrison Wang
The Boczkowski Award Maggie Ross
The Herman Hollerith Prize Nicholas Healy
The Deans’ Award Andrew Tokarski
The English Department Prize for Achievement in Creative Writing Ashley Duraiswamy
The Lawther O. Smith Computer Science Prize Elizabeth Chou
The Elizabeth Louise Gray Prize Maxima Molgat
The Henry C. Woods Jr. Critical Writing Award Elyssa Chou
The Thomas F. Sharp Interdisciplinary Award Carolyn McLaughlin
The Owen C. Smith Poetry Prize Tri Giao Vu Dinh
The Richard H. Robinson Prize Makayla Boxley Carolyn King
The English Department Prize for General Excellence Catherine Levy
The Religious Life Prize Anika Bagaria Areeq Hasan Catherine Levy The Religion & Philosophy Department Prize Maryellen Vogel The James Sipple Award Areeq Hasan
The Class of 1995 Journalism Award Deven Kinney The Megna-Schonheiter Award Jack Collins
The Andrew T. Goodyear Class of 1983 Award Olivia Sieler The Max Maxwell Award Jax Floyd The Phi Beta Kappa Award Liana Raguso Masters’ Prize Tri Giao Vu Dinh
Parents at Lawrenceville Community Service Award Lauren Recto
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We’d love to thank you.
Please tell us if you have included Lawrenceville in your will or living trust, or as a beneficiary of a retirement account or life insurance policy. We want to welcome you to the John Cleve Green Society – alumni, parents, and friends who have committed to keeping our school great for generations to come.
For more information on leaving a bequest to Lawrenceville or for other planned giving opportunities, or if you have included Lawrenceville in your will but have not yet informed the School, please contact Jerry Muntz at the Lawrenceville Office of Planned Giving at 609-620-6064 or jmuntz@lawrenceville.org, or go to www.lawrenceville.org/plannedgiving. If your class ends in a 1 or 6, your planned gift will be included in your milestone Reunion Class Gift.
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BROADWAYBLUES
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After battling COVID-19 in March to a complete recovery, Daniel Rose ’88 grabbed his iPhone11 Pro Max and hit the streets of Manhattan this spring to chronicle his views of his city, one rather changed by the pandemic. One of his images graced the cover of the June issue of Commentary magazine, with others illustrating the accompanying article, “The Empty City,” by John Podhoretz. To see more of Rose’s work, follow him at @dantheiphoneman on Instagram. Prints of his images are available for purchase at dantheiphoneman.darkroom. tech, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to COVID-19 relief efforts.
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By SEAN RAMSDEN ■ ILLUSTRATIONS BY ELLY WALTON
Sometimes, It Takes a Virtual VILLEage In a world reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lawrenceville community can always rely on itself to seek the best for all. 24 T H E L A W R E N T I A N
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y now, as you read this, the threat of the novel coronavirus and the dynamics surrounding it have long since descended on us like a fog, settling heavily into every crack and crevice of our lives. It is difficult to imagine that only months have passed since its tidal wave of disruption forced Lawrenceville to grapple with what might have been unthinkable just a month before — pivoting to distance learning for the spring term. By the waning days of February, it was clear that the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was no idle threat. After tracking its advance for a number of weeks and planning for a myriad of contingencies, Head of School Stephen Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 and his assembled Executive COVID-19 Team (ECT) of key campus administrators began to make difficult decisions. School-sponsored international spring break trips were canceled on February 29, and spring break itself, which began on March 3, took on an air of cloudiness. What would the School be like when students returned? When would they return? On Monday, March 9, spring athletics trips were dashed. By week’s end, the inevitable had arrived: Lawrenceville would implement distance learning when the spring term resumed. Athletics schedules were scuttled. For the first time in the 210-year history of the School, no classes would take place in person. “In reaching this decision […] I am acutely aware of the impact on our close-knit community. Lawrenceville is built on caring relationships with devoted teachers and lifelong friendships nurtured on our historic campus. Engaging in debate around Harkness tables, striving together on teams, and bonding with Housemates are the lifeblood of this institution and sustain us,” Murray wrote in a March 13 email to the entire School 26
community. “Even with this in mind, the urgency of outside conditions beyond our control moves me to take these measures. In the recent words of the World Health Organization’s Head of Emergencies, ‘Hope is not a strategy.’”
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hat all happened really fast, actually. Steve formed this executive coronavirus team even before we left from winter term,” says Chris Cunningham P’14 ’18, assistant head of school and dean of faculty, who also served on the ECT. “In that first week of March, we looked at the horizon, and we thought, ‘You know what? This is not going to get any better. It’s just going to get worse.’” Cunningham says the decision to cancel spring term triggered a whirlwind of planning and faculty training to allow the School to make the unprecedented pivot to online instruction, but the ECT knew it was best for Lawrenceville to proceed
pragmatically. “A number of our peers had said, ‘Look, we’re going to be virtual the first two weeks of term, then we’ll come back in mid-April,’” he recalls. “We were looking at what was happening and we said, ‘That’s fantasy.’” As grave as it was, those most immediately affected understood the facts that informed the choice. “In the midst of it all, there was the deep understanding that what we were doing was for everybody’s health and safety,” says Dana Kooistra H’14 P’20, director of teaching, learning, and external partnerships. “I think that knowing that what you’re doing is for the best possible reason, to make sure for all the people that you know and love and yourself that you stay safe, also really helped everybody.” Kooistra says that the conviction of Murray and the ECT in their decision to protect the community and successfully implement virtual learning became a rallying point for everyone involved.
“In that first week of March, we looked at the horizon, and we thought, ‘You know what? This is not going to get any better. It’s just going to get worse.’”
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“Asynchronous work is really the core of an online program,” Kooistra says. However, with House and Harkness being at the very heart of the School’s mission, that community aspect of student life could simply not be ignored.
“I was actually really, really proud of our institution for seeing the writing on the wall very early and saying this is not going to be possible, so we’re going to do the best work that we can in a distancelearning setting,” she says. “I think that that commitment carried over so beautifully not just to academics, but really to the whole community.” Still, the clock was ticking. The spring term — which would be dubbed the “Virtual VILLEage” — would begin on March 30, leaving two weeks to re-create the Lawrenceville experience in the best way possible. Even before the call to close campus, Cunningham and David Laws P’21 ’23, dean of academics, tasked Kooistra and Alison Easterling P’20, assistant dean of faculty, with designing a way to shift to a totally virtual spring term. They enrolled in the Global Online Academy, or GOA, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower students and educators to thrive in a globally
networked society. Kooistra says the experience with GOA enabled her, Easterling, science department chair Ilana Saxe, and Spanish teacher Elizabeth Montes to incorporate many invaluable online teaching techniques with the established expertise the Lawrenceville faculty had already honed, specific to the School’s students. “That’s why we made our own course, feeling like it would better to tailor it to our particular environment,” Kooistra says. Creating a curriculum that could integrate students now dispersed across sixteen time zones was a high hurdle. Cunningham said that while there were no perfect scenarios for all students, a great deal of consideration went into scheduling time to “meet” synchronously in class, via the Zoom videoconferencing platform. “If you go in the afternoon here, then it is four in the morning in Seoul. If you start at 9 a.m. here, it’s six in the morning in California, and so we played it with various scenarios and finally hit upon a three-hour
block,” he says. “If we meet from nine to noon or ten to one, that’s a compromise. It’s not great for the West Coast and it’s not great for Asia, but it’s just on the edge of doable for both.” Kooistra says that of all the planning that occurred following the pivot to distance learning, the schedule was likely the most timeconsuming. “The thing we wrangled over the most was: Do we start at 9? Do we start at 10?” she recalls. “Dave Laws built a time-zone map of where everybody was and we literally counted — OK, we have 81 kids in Asia and 46 kids in the West Coast and, say, 43 kids in Europe — and went from there.” One factor working in Lawrenceville’s favor is the recommended best practice that distance learning ought not to be all synchronous classes. “The other piece we had to design was the asynchronous side, which is some preparation for class, but frankly is just learning in its own right,” Cunningham says. The ECT settled on two class meetings a week on alternating days: MondayTuesday, and Thursday-Friday. “Asynchronous work is really the core of an online program,” Kooistra says. However, with House and Harkness being at the very heart of the School’s mission, that community aspect of student life could simply not be ignored. “We set aside Wednesday as a community day when faculty could meet. That’s when School Meeting and House meetings could happen,” Cunningham says, adding that the midweek respites were known as VILLEage days. “We knew that for all those relationships, which are so much a part Lawrenceville, we had to plan space for those things to happen.” The team then had to ensure that the entire faculty was ready to enter this brave new pedagogical world when the spring term commenced. S U M M E R / FA L L
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“Some departments use a lot of technology in their teaching already, Cunningham says, “but there are some departments that make very limited use of it, and so we knew there was going to be a range of faculty expertise and comfort with all this.” Prior to spring break, a large assembly room such as the Heely Room in Woods Memorial Hall would have been ideal for a training seminar to acquaint faculty members with the new online format. But by March 16, it was out of the question. Professional staff whose roles allowed for it had been sent home to work, and if it was not safe for students to convene upon return, the same applied to their teachers. “That wouldn’t be safe; it wouldn’t be socially distant,” Cunningham says, adding that Kooistra, Easterling, Saxe, and Montes had a brilliant solution: designing their own distance-learning course on how to do distance teaching. The challenges involved more than learning to use Zoom, however, with faculty members having to feel their way through a labyrinth of logistical, curricular, and pedagogical challenges. “You couldn’t simply just cut and paste from the old way of doing things,” Cunningham says. “If you were a science teacher and you’ve got labs, well, suddenly that has to be reimagined. How do you do that? The Visual Arts Department had to reimagine what it needs to do art instruction when you’re not in the same space with students.” In such cases, teachers sent art supplies to all their students to ensure that they would be able to do their artwork from home. Students still made art and later gathered on Zoom to show their works, followed by critiques. In science classes, students weren’t able to do handson work like their own titrations or mixing, but they could still perform their pre-lab preparations, watch labs 28
on video, and then analyze and do statistical calculations afterward. In the end, the classroom experiences were remarkably translatable to distance learning. “I think the only course we actually didn’t run was ceramics,” Cunningham says. “We just could not figure it out. There was no way for students to throw pots.”
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he beginning of spring term would have been eagerly anticipated under any circumstances. But adding an extra week to the break after being plunged into the world of the pandemic had students and their teachers gladder than usual to reconnect, albeit remotely. “I was so happy to see my students — I almost cried from relief! I had one student call in from South Korea, where it was 1 a.m. and another from Vietnam, where it was 11 p.m.,” Easterling said during the first week of the term about her history class. “Everyone was ready to work and above all ready to reconnect. When I finished class, my spirits felt truly lifted and I felt better than I have in three weeks.”
Students greeted the challenges and disappointments of having their spring turned upside-down with grace and optimism. “Classes went pretty well!” said Makayla Boxley ’20. “In most of my classes, we spent the beginning of our time together getting a sense of where everyone is geographically and how they’ve been feeling about the transition to virtual learning and interaction this spring. It felt very different, of course, but it still felt like Lawrenceville.” Part of feeling like Lawrenceville, of course, is the sense of community driven by the House System, gathering as a school once a week at School Meeting, and a sense of investment in each other. “The Dean of Students office — Blake [Eldridge ’96 H’12, dean of students] and I — wanted to make sure that as we moved into the term, which would be new for everyone, that we could retain as much normalcy as possible,” says Emilie Kosoff H’88 ’96 ’00 ’18 P’19, associate dean of students. Typically, School Meeting is a central part of the school week. Everyone pauses at 10 a.m. every
In science classes, students weren’t able to do hands-on work like their own titrations or mixing, but they could still perform their pre-lab preparations, watch labs on video, and then analyze and do statistical calculations afterward. In the end, the classroom experiences were remarkably translatable to distance learning.
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This past spring also saw Lawrenceville hold its firstever virtual debate between candidates for School president when Soleil Saint-Cyr ’21 and Kylan Tatum ’21 faced questions from representatives of The Lawrence and L10. SaintCyr won what surely was one of the very few worldwide elections for any academic office, anywhere.
Thursday to fill the Kirby Arts Center where students hype upcoming athletic events, tout House fundraising events, share musical or vocal talents, listen to studentsponsored speakers, compete in House-driven games, and promote numerous other events that dot the extracurricular calendars of students. It’s important, but it could have easily fallen by the wayside in a distancelearning environment. Kosoff says that among many individual and group efforts, “Student Council in particular was instrumental this spring in putting countless hours and a lot of energy into making things happen.” The initial two School Meetings were recorded in advance and shown at a set time, but, as Kosoff notes, “that took a really, really long time to put together. So, as we all got adjusted to using Zoom a bit more and using the [live] webinar format, we switched and that actually was, I think, a good format.” This past spring also saw Lawrenceville hold its first-ever virtual debate between candidates for School president when Soleil SaintCyr ’21 and Kylan Tatum ’21 faced questions from representatives of The Lawrence and L10. Saint-Cyr won what surely was one of the very few worldwide elections for any academic office, anywhere. “Overwhelmingly, they were in support of electing the whole Student Council this spring,” Kosoff says. “In terms of the work that started once they were elected, it’s a great thing because they really are invested in the experience and want to make it the best that they can.” A host of other virtual programming filled the spring term, from coffeehouses with live performances to weekly teambuilding practices for athletics squads to a master class in baking. The Spring Dance Concert became a YouTube exclusive, and student art and photography were impressively
displayed along the walls of a realistic three-dimensional rendering of the School’s Hutchins Galleries, while various student publications carried forth with digital or PDF issues of their latest editions and video programming like L10 and the comedy sketch-driven SNLville continued to release new episodes. “I think it was a big question mark how the community piece would go. Would kids keep showing up for Lawrenceville events when they’re at home?” Cunningham says. “The fact that they chose to throw themselves into it to this extent says a lot about them, but also, the people who are keeping their heads in it for them, working to keep them involved, is a testament to what they’ve done, too.” Kosoff, who helped created an environment that would encourage that sort of schoolwide participation, says the community successes were, appropriately, a community effort. “It took a village,” she says. “We can help make things happen, and you want to be able to have a few little highlights outside of the classroom in the spring like this.” No one had ever lived through a “spring like this,” but for much of the spring, it seemed as if Lawrenceville — and the country — might just make it through intact and hope for better come the fall. But a season of unprecedented disruption was about to be underscored by a phenomenon that seems always to be at our side.
official autopsy report. Floyd’s death
he scenes coming out of the cities were so horrible that we just felt that it was really important to have time for community, to sustain those ties that kids had built, to create really robust space for that,” Kooistra says of the days following the May 25 killing of George Floyd, the Black man whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police was ruled a homicide in the
were important.” Kosoff mentioned
“T
and the delay to charge the officers involved lit the fuse for protests against police brutality and for racial justice in cities and towns from coast to coast in the days and weeks that followed. Along with several other violent episodes involving clear racial bias, those events also threw open the door for current and past Lawrenceville students, as well as members of the faculty, to bring to light their own painful experiences with racism at the School [see Page 14 for more]. Diplomas were conferred upon the Class of 2020 in a virtual Commencement on May 31, but as unrest grew nationwide, it dominated the conversation during the last week of school for the remaining Second, Third, and Fourth Forms, too. The fluency that students and their teachers had developed in distance learning helped provide a forum for them to share their feelings about what was happening. “I think many miss that ability to be with each other at a time that is tense and worrisome,” Kosoff says. “Over that weekend we heard from more and more students about their not being all right, not being OK, and needing to meet and talk, whether they be club meetings or House meetings. There were a number of student gatherings in that last week of classes that I think several schoolwide events, such as a vigil that Tuesday to an emotional end-of-year meeting in which several students and administrators of color bared their emotions around the systemic racism that directly affects their lives. “To hear student and faculty voices was quite powerful,” she says of what will remain an ongoing conversation at Lawrenceville. S U M M E R / FA L L
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ife amid the COVID-19 pandemic means even the most careful plans are drawn in the sand, but Lawrenceville is carefully navigating Virtual VILLEage 2.0 this fall. Students returned in September for a version of the familiar campus experience, but the fall term will be neither like this past spring nor like the typical autumn. Prior to their arrival, students, parents, faculty, and staff signed a “Best for All” social compact that affirms their commitment to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, including maskwearing, social distancing, handwashing, and other healthy practices. “A prudent reopening strategy, coupled with cooperation from all members of our community, will not only support the viability of the upcoming academic year, but also the continued vitality of the School,” Murray wrote in the fall reopening guide for the community. Student leaders arrived on September 10, followed the next two days by international students and those traveling from states identified in the New Jersey travel advisory as having a significant spread of COVID-19 to allow for appropriate quarantine terms. On September 25 and 26, day students and those coming from states not included in the advisory returned. The first two weeks of classes, which began September 14, were conducted via Zoom, much as the spring term was, but students on campus began in-person classes on October 1. Hybrid classes are capped at twelve students, which accounts for a socially distanced eight learners in the room, with four others attending virtually. Classrooms have been fitted with 360-degree cameras so that teachers and students present through Zoom can, as much as possible, what is happening around the table. “A number of us are going to
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teach extra sections in order to accommodate the smaller classes,” says Kooistra, who teaches history. “We didn’t want the students to not have their choices. We still wanted them to be able to have the electives, the things that they had been looking forward to.” Social distancing in common spaces outside the classroom is also vital, so in order to reduce living density in the Houses, the School has contracted with the nearby Hilton Garden Inn to provide more than one hundred rooms to Fifth Formers. The mixed-gender residence will have students and members of the Lawrenceville faculty living on all three floors, with a Duty Team assigned to the Hilton. On campus, a multitude of stateof-the-art hygiene enhancements were adapted for health and safety, including High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter air units in classrooms, bathrooms, offices, and
other spaces; MERV 13 filters in all building mechanical air-handling systems; and touchless bathroom toilets and sinks, among many other accommodations. Interscholastic athletics have been canceled for the fall season, but every effort is being made to preserve performing arts, community service, and club activities. “I think it will be steep for everyone as we get used to what being on campus during COVID means,” Kosoff says. “But again, if the spring showed us anything, it’s that we can adjust, and we are resilient.” Circumstances around the pandemic may necessitate another pivot to all distance learning prior to the Thanksgiving break, but after the esprit de corps she witnessed in the spring, Kosoff believes Lawrenceville will adapt to what will come. “I would say,” she maintains, “that we can make almost any idea a reality.”
“A number of us are going to teach extra sections in order to accommodate the smaller classes,” says Kooistra, who teaches history. “We still wanted students to have the electives, the things that they had been looking forward to.”
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Stay connected with the NEW Lawrenceville Alumni Network App
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The NEW! Lawrenceville Alumni Network, now powered by Graduway, makes it easier than ever for alumni to connect worldwide. Available on your desktop/laptop or your Apple or Android mobile device, the Lawrenceville Alumni Network app combines the scope of our alumni database and the power of Facebook and LinkedIn to connect you with your fellow Lawrentians wherever you and they may be. For download instructions, go to lawrenceville.org and click “Connect and Network” on the Alumni tab, or simply search for “Lawrenceville Alumni Network” on the App Store for iPhone or Google Play for Android.
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GOOD WORKS GO VIRAL By SEAN RAMSDEN AS COVID-19 SPREAD ACROSS THE UNITED STATES THIS SPRING, RESULTING IN SHELTER-IN-PLACE AND QUARANTINE ORDERS FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, MANY LAWRENTIANS REFUSED TO STAND IDLY BY WHILE SOME IN THEIR COMMUNITIES SUFFERED IN FEAR, OFTEN WITHOUT ACCESS TO ADEQUATE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. HERE ARE JUST A FEW MEMBERS OF THE LAWRENCEVILLE FAMILY WHO JUMPED IN TO HELP OTHERS IN A VARIETY OF WAYS.
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AN EYE ON SAFETY NICK CHERUKURI ’12 AND HIS ThirdEyeGen’s X2 AUGMENTED REALITY GLASSES HELP KEEP FRONT-LINE HELPERS SAFE. Many people think of augmented reality as technology of the future, something whose day will come — eventually. But for emergency medical technicians and other firstresponders in the health care field, the future is already here, and given the dangerous realities they’ve faced in the fight against COVID-19, it arrived none too soon. Nick Cherukuri ’12, founder and chief executive officer of ThirdEyeGen, says his Princetonbased company’s X2 mixed reality glasses protect EMTs and expedite the treatment of patients who display symptoms or injuries related to anything from COVID-19 to broken bones. “When this crisis hit, one of our sponsors brought firstresponder use to our attention,” said Cherukuri, who founded ThirdEyeGen in 2016 after his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania. “When the first
responders go in onsite, they’re actually at the most risk. They are the ones who are interacting with the patients in the field, and that’s where we saw these two main use cases for augmented reality.” The first of these uses, which became most vital during the coronavirus pandemic, was the X2’s thermal-scanning feature that allows the wearer to get an accurate temperature reading on a patient from five to ten meters away without any physical contact. The second application — the one Cherukuri says has the more significant long-term applications — is telehealth. The X2 is equipped to send real-time audio and video to hospitals hundreds or even thousands of miles away, enabling doctors to see everything the EMT can see, while freeing EMTs to apply first aid to patients. “Obviously, we’re trying to help in this current crisis, but even when this subsides, the telehealth applications will be there,” he explained, adding that the X2’s multiple screens and facial-recognition technology can link almost instantly to a patient’s medical history. In many ways, the augmented-reality glasses recall the era of a doctor’s house call — albeit virtually. “In a rural area, for example, a nurse could wear the glasses and a doctor can provide live telehealth,” Cherukuri said. The X2 glasses weigh just 9.8 ounces and feature a 42-degree field of sight and 5G compatability, and at a unit price of $1,800, the technology seems like a bargain when compared with an iPhone 11 Pro Max, which retails at $1,100.
Introduced in 2019, the glasses were pressed into battle against COVID-19 in the Philadelphia area when the fire department in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, received eight X2 sets courtesy of Sunoco Pipeline, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer and a major employer in the heavily industrialized municipality. “Awesome — very awesome,” Chief Ken Smith of the Marcus Hook Trainer Fire Department told Philadelphia’s 6ABC Action News at an April 15 press conference announcing the donation. “We couldn’t be happier than to be part of this new step in technology.” Cherukuri’s ThirdEyeGen innovation is not limited to health care, though. He said that manufacturing, field services, and industrial companies are also buying the X2, noting that the same technology that enables medics to immediately consult with doctors enables an aircraft mechanic to check with an expert. Likewise, an architect can virtually visit a proposed construction site to examine the terrain.
The X2’s health care applications are diverse, however, especially when the glasses are worn by patients, such as those with impaired vision. “We’re working with a lot of companies that have software on the glasses to help someone who’s visually impaired – or maybe even blind – be able to see properly by providing them feedback of what’s in front of them and other type of data,” Cherukuri explained, adding that the user-friendliness of the X2 is eventually going to make such products ubiquitous. “One of the reasons the iPhone took off is the user interface is so friendly. On these glasses, as well, we try to make it really simple, using head motion or voice commands,” he said. “The reason augmented reality is considered the future of technology is it’s basically a phone on your face. In five to ten years, a lot of people anticipate that these will eventually replace your handheld phone.”
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UNMASKING INEQUITIES THROUGH PANTECT, PHILIP HAN ’21 AND KYLAN TATUM ’21 DELIVERED MASKS AND AWARENESS TO PEOPLE IN NEED. Philip Han ’21 was about to board a flight home to South Korea in March when his mother pleaded with him to wear a mask to prevent the transmission of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. Like many people who were just coming to terms with the developing pandemic, Han’s impulse was to balk at the mask. But the long flight home gave Han a chance to reflect. Looking around, he noticed the prevalence
of masks on his airliner, and his research revealed that the primary reasoning behind them was not self-protection, but more of a civic alliance to prevent the spread to others. “That just kind of struck me. I realized that every year in Korea during flu season, people tend to wear more masks, just for protection’s sake,” Han said. “Maybe it’s just a communal understanding, a dedication to get through this that stood out to me about people wearing masks. And I felt this urge to want to do this for my friends and teachers, everyone I know back in the States.” Han reached out to classmate Kylan Tatum ’21, who was back at home in central New Jersey, and they discussed a plan to get masks to people in need in the greater Lawrenceville area. Together, they founded Pantect, a nonprofit dedicated to donating cloth masks in bulk while spreading awareness of mask use to stem the tide of COVID-19. “I like to keep up with current events and I also had the opportunity to take the Infectious Diseases and Social Injustices class at School,” Tatum said. “From those two things, I realized that what this crisis has done for us is highlight certain disparities in terms of health care and how we’re dealing with these things.” Tatum said that while it was challenging for everyone to obtain masks this spring, it was disproportionately difficult for certain groups to gain access amid shortages – an issue that speaks to socioeconomic status and, quite often, race. “There are also certain policies about going into grocery stores without wearing masks,” he said,
“I realized that what this crisis has done for us is highlight certain disparities in terms of health care and how we’re dealing with these things.” – Kylan Tatum ’21 “and if you look at the people who
with the people who may not be
may struggle the most, then that
able to get their hands on a mask.”
also may have some correlation
To that end, Pantect (a portmanteau
Kylan Tatum ‘21 presented Mercer Street Friends with a shipment of face coverings courtesy of Pantect this spring.
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of “pandemic” and “protect”) made its largest donation – four thousand masks – to Mercer Street Friends, a Trenton-based, Quaker-affiliated food bank and community resource center. This followed its initial gift of one thousand masks to the Trenton Office of Emergency Operations. Tatum and Han were connected to Mercer Street Friends through the Princeton Area Community Foundation, on whose board Tatum’s mother, Lisa Skeete Tatum P’19 ’21, serves. “They have access to those people who may be in need or be a victim of those disparities, which allows us to lessen those effects as much as possible,” the younger Tatum said. The aid they provided hit the mark. “They were very intentional with regard to ensuring that the distribution help mitigate institutionalized disparities in our community,” says Bernie Flynn, a Princeton Community Foundation trustee who began serving as the volunteer CEO of Mercer Street Friends in February. “The spirit of their undertaking is needed now more than ever.” Pantect, whose staff of volunteers includes alumni Nikhil Gopal ’18 and Will Venizelos ’18 and thirty students, almost all of whom attend Lawrenceville, has also directed its efforts to areas beyond the School’s local footprint. As of mid-July, Pantect had shipped at least nine thousand masks to such places as Jon Bon Jovi’s JBJ Soul Kitchen at Mill House Inn in New York, as well as community centers in Massachusetts, and Connecticut. However, giving back locally was what first fueled Han’s idea. “A lot of the people here take care of us when we’re at school. 36
They look out for us, whether it’s just restaurants on Main Street or obviously the police and fire department,” he said. “I wanted to provide an opportunity for everyone to chip in and give back to the community that has served them and created their memories in such a cool, special place.”
THAT’S THE
SPIRIT! SAGE DISCH ’09 AND THE TEAM AT SOURLAND MOUNTAIN SPIRITS SWIVELED FROM AWARDWINNING LIBATIONS TO BADLY NEEDED HAND SANITIZER. Under normal circumstances, Sage Disch ’09 and the team at Sourland Mountain Spirits spend their days concocting awardwinning craft spirits to help people celebrate life. By the end of March, however, as COVID-19 continued to spread rapidly, the Hopewell, New Jersey-based distillery helped to save lives by turning its means of production over to making hand sanitizer for health care systems, first responders, and local nonprofits. “We’ve dedicated April and May, at a minimum, to producing sanitizer,” said Disch, whose father, Ray Disch P’09, founded Sourland Mountain Spirits in 2017 and is its CEO, in April. By May, Sourland Mountain
Spirits had supplied the equivalent of thirty thousand 8-ounce bottles to the American Red Cross, New Jersey National Guard, Princeton Medical Center in Plainsboro, Capital Health Medical Center in Hopewell, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton, HomeFront NJ in Lawrence, and the Quakerbridge Mall testing center, also in Lawrence. To make hand sanitizer, Disch and the Sourland Mountain Spirits team took its organic neutral grain at 92 percent alcohol and distilled it down to 80 percent alcohol (by extracting evaporated ethanol), which surpasses the requirement to kill a virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Then the local distillers added aloe and hydrogen peroxide to fill the bottle. Disch, a New York Citybased entrepreneur, joined Sourland Mountain Spirits just as the distillery was converting production to sanitizer. He and brother Cody Disch had spent the past four years running Ace & Everett, purveyors of fine fashion socks, guiding the brand into such retail outlets as Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. Disch’s expertise in
procuring supplies for production could not have arrived at a better time, as the distillery had an urgent need for the neutral grain spirit that is the base of the sanitizer, as well as hydrogen peroxide and aloe vera. “For us, the biggest challenge has been sourcing these raw materials,” he explained in April. “Because as all of these craft distilleries across the country have made this conversion, demand has surged and it is extremely challenging to source any of those three raw materials, with neutral grain spirit being the most challenging.” Disch, his father, and the entire Sourland Mountain Spirits team were looking ahead to the time when they could fully restore their distillery to its intended use. Before transforming into a small hand sanitizer factory, Sourland Mountain Spirits made various specialty craft spirits, including bourbon, vodka, and apple brandy. Its flagship Gin Reserve was named one of the Top 100 spirits of 2019 by Wine Enthusiast and this year won a gold medal and best in category award from the American Distilling Institute. But the needs of the community were just too strong to ignore. “It’s been overwhelming, to be honest,” Disch said in the
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spring. “They’re in such dire need of all protective materials and ventilators that they are so appreciative for anyone who is able to help.” He related a personal example from a friend who is one of the head nurses at Princeton Medical Center, who picked up a supply of sanitizer from the distillery. “She was telling us how appreciative she was that she is now going to be able to make sure that the doctors and the nurses there at least have sanitizer to be able to help them be as safe as possible while continuing to provide care,” Disch said. “I think everyone’s just so excited to have an opportunity to contribute. It’s been amazing to join and see in real time everyone on our team rallying around this cause.”
‘LIKE SOMETHING FROM SCIENCE FICTION’ PULMONOLOGIST MARC CSETE ’74 IS TREATING COVID-19 PATIENTS WITH MODERN MEDICINE WHILE LOOKING TO THE PAST FOR PRECEDENT. In the middle of April, when infection rates were reaching
what we now know was just their initial peak, Marc Csete ’74, M.D., was already seeing a pattern that ran contrary to a popular notion about COVID-19. Csete, a pulmonologist and chief of the Critical Care Division at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, noted the preponderance of younger people seeking medical attention for classic symptoms of coronavirus infection. “We’re seeing some elderly, but the shocking thing we’re seeing is really younger people in their thirties and forties,” Csete said. “They’ve not been previously ill, no co-morbidities, no diabetes, no heart disease.” Csete, who has been at Mount Sinai for more than a dozen years, said a number of other COVID-19 patients in that age range needed the aid of an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation device, or ECMO, which uses a pump to circulate blood through an artificial lung back into the bloodstream. “It’s basically a heart-lung machine to save their life,” he explained. Csete said his hospital was ready for the virus and by midApril had not been overwhelmed by sheer numbers of admitted patients nor by lack of materials. Even as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was first reopening beaches statewide for restricted use in April, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber ordered those within his city to remain shut. “We probably won’t [reopen yet] here because in Miami-Dade County, we’re kind of the state epicenter,” Csete said at the time, gesturing toward the past to inform the present and future. “If you look back at the data from influenza in 1918, that was a bi-modal distribution. After the initial wave, the restrictions
“They come walking into the ER, short of breath, and then they just … this disease just takes an incredible foothold and escalates phenomenally.” – Marc Csete ’74 were relaxed, and then there was another peak,” he explained. “And I think that’s the big risk of relaxing the social-distancing measures too soon.” True enough, after Florida’s statewide second reopening phase was declared by DeSantis on June 4, the state’s daily infection rate began rising almost right away. After reporting just 612 new COVID-19 cases on June 2 — the conclusion of a six-week span in which the seven-day average had remained remarkably stable — daily infections began rising, reaching 5,511 on June 24 and doubling to 10,109 on July 3, with the sevenday average depicting a steady and dizzying upward rate all the way up to its July 18 peak. Csete is grateful for any guidance the past can provide, given that COVID-19 is unlike any disease he and his colleagues have ever experienced. Its singularity saw the medical staff at Mount Sinai using untried strategies to combat the disease in the spring, hoping for success. “What we’re doing in the hospital is basically, totally experimental. None of this stuff that we’re doing has been proven to work,” Csete said, pointing to such treatments as the controversial hydroxychloroquine, as well as steroids and convalescent plasma. “There’s been a number of studies coming out showing hydroxycholoquine’s no better
than placebo. We’re giving other medications, steroids; it’s kind of a big melting pot and we’re making soup. We’re just putting in more ingredients, and we’re hoping for the best.” Csete says that while the staff adheres to the axiom of “do no harm,” these flurries of experimental medical interventions make it harder to be certain which are working and which are not. During the spring, he was also expecting Mount Sinai to begin treatment with remdesivir, a broad-spectrum antiviral medication. “I think time will tell,’ he said, “whether it really works.” Even after nearly thirty-five years as a practicing physician, Csete never expected to see anything like COVID-19, which he said is like “something from a science-fiction novel,” particularly because of the many remaining unknowns regarding treatment. Prevention, however, is another story with a template to follow. He only hopes people will. “I think how we do is really going to depend on how we govern ourselves, socially,” Csete said in April when asked to predict whether lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders would remain by the end of July. “So, I think if we let our guard down too soon and there is, as a result of that, a second wave, this could certainly last well into the summer and the fall.” S U M M E R / FA L L
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‘THOSE WORDS MAY COME BACK TO HAUNT US’
By SEAN RAMSDEN
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s a biodefense expert and epidemiologist who spent years working in a U.S. Army research lab, Mark Kortepeter ’79 P’11 has studied and seen every infectious disease from A to Z — as in anthrax to Zika virus. He understands the characteristics and conditions of each one, so when he was asked what contagious-disease scenario keeps him up at night, Kortepeter had his answer ready to go. “I had a call with a reporter about a year ago, and I told him: ‘A highly transmissible respiratory virus that is deadly, SARS-like and influenza-
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like,’” Kortepeter said in May, describing the very sort of malady that he feared most from a public health standpoint. By now, this description of a lethal, quick-spreading, airborne disease sounds all too familiar. But Kortepeter, now a professor of epidemiology who heads the Special Pathogens Research Network at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), was ready for COVID-19 by the time the World Health Organization first sent out what he calls the “red flag that something’s going on here” last winter. Kortepeter recognized the potential of the SARS-CoV-2 virus early enough to know it could represent the manifestation of his fears, describing its “highly transmissible” nature in a February 11 Reuters article about the rapid spread aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Yokohama, Japan. “A small number of virus
particles is likely needed to infect, making it an efficient spreader,” he told reporters. Several of the more than seven hundred infected passengers were eventually transported to Nebraska, where they were observed in the UNMC’s quarantine unit. “So I think even back then, in early February, it was pretty obvious this was a dangerous thing,” Kortepeter said in late May. “And that cruise ship was really sort of the warning, the red flag for what was to come in terms of what we’re seeing in these meat packing plants, nursing homes, any place where a large number of people congregate.” Kortepeter also took to Twitter on February 27 to caution the United States about the novel coronavirus, bucking popular opinion at the time and urging the use of widespread testing. “We do ourselves a disservice by repeating ‘the U.S. risk is low,’” he tweeted. “Those words may come back to haunt us. COVID-19 is likely already spreading, but we haven’t been testing for it. Instead, we should emphasize that most have mild illness and we need to protect the elderly and infirm.” In retrospect, the sagacity of Kortepeter’s tweet was clear. Two weeks later, life in America
RENOWNED EPIDEMIOLOGIST MARK KORTEPETER ’79 P’11 HAS SPENT HIS ENTIRE CAREER READYING FOR COVID-19.
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was essentially put on hold, with shelter-in-place orders in many states, the suspension of professional and collegiate sports, and the decision by Lawrenceville to pivot to distance learning for the spring term. Kortepeter’s years at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, or USAMRIID, saw him become its deputy commander. It is also where he first encountered
exposures that occur in a laboratory setting, including anthrax, botulism, and Ebola. Now, Kortepeter finds himself in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and although the scale of the crisis is unprecedented in his lifetime, all of its characteristics are familiar. Given his knowledge of infectious diseases and their arcs, it’s tempting to query Kortepeter about what most people ultimately want to know:
“If you’re going to stay closed until there are no cases in the world … well, that may never happen.” – Mark Kortepeter ’79 P’11 When will things return to normal? “I quote Yogi Berra, who said, ‘I don’t like making predictions, especially about the future,’” he quips before explaining “It’s all about what you put into the model, because it’s all based on assumptions.” Kortepeter, who has periodically contributed to the “Coronavirus Frontlines” series of column on Forbes.com since the spring, acknowledges that over time, the pressures to reopen schools and universities will increase, especially if we can chart declining caseloads and less community spread. “The biggest challenge with schools, whether it be universities or high schools and grade schools, is it’s probably not so much the risk to the children,” he says. “It’s really the risk to the professors or the teachers or grandpa at home who’s living in the same household.” Even as the number of daily deaths was declining by late July, the rate of cases was surging, and Kortepeter said it would be unsurprising to him to see fatalities increase if people increasingly ignored preventative measures. “Hoping that this problem will go away is not a plan,” he wrote in Forbes on July 3. “If you are driving down the highway and a car in front of you stops, you will put your foot on the brakes. If you let up on the brakes too soon, you will crash,” he wrote in the same column. “This is what has been occurring across the country. As businesses re-open, they have let up on the brakes. If it
occurs too quickly, a ‘crash’ is inevitable.” Kortepeter is more sanguine about the prospects of a successful reopening for Lawrenceville this fall. He thought back to a conversation he had with the School’s medical director during the H1N1 swine flu outbreak in 2009 when Kortepeter’s son, Luke Kortepeter ’11, was a student. “We were talking in terms of how Lawrenceville actually is ideally positioned to handle this to some degree, in that you essentially have your contained units – your Houses – at least for housing,” he says. “There obviously is mixing in the classrooms and other places, but I think in some ways it’s a much better environment, because you have a fair amount of control in how to handle it.” Still, Kortepeter is realistic about life in the time of COVID-19. Without a vaccine he says that every institution is going to have to accept some level of risk. “When would you open again? When there are no cases in the world?” he asks. “Because otherwise, the way the place is set up, with people coming in the fall from every place around the world and around all the States, are you going to say you’re never going to open again? That’s essentially what you’re talking about. If this virus is still out there, it’s coming into your school in the next five years. If you’re going to stay closed until there are no cases in the world … well, that may never happen.”
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Extended STAY By J. SCOTT DYER ’73
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In mid-March, as the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 began to prompt widespread closings of public spaces across the United States, it was also taking hold in other parts of the world. J. Scott Dyer ’73 and his wife, Kathryn, were nearing the end of their vacation in Peru — or so they thought. Scott shared his recollections of their attempts to return home from the South American nation with The Lawrentian.
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ur Peru adventure came crashing down on us as we stepped down off the overnight bus from Chiclayo to Chachapoyas at 7 a.m. on March 16. Our guide in Chachapoyas greeted us with with, ¡Buenos dias!, followed by, “Have you heard the news?” She said that Peru was closing its borders at midnight and that there would be no commerical travel in or out of the nation for the foreseeable future, nor any travel within Peru. “Wherever you are at midnight, you’ll have to stay for at least fifteen days,” she declared. My wife, Kathryn, and I were enjoying our second trip to Peru. In 2019, we had visited many of the traditional sites in the South, such as the Nazca Lines and Machu Picchu, and our return trip this year had taken us on an ambitious, two-and-a-half-week journey through Northern Peru, touring older archeological sides dating to before 1500 B.C.E. It was tightly planned, and that plan was now going to change. Chachapoyas, which we saw from the second-story window of our room overlooking the main square, was pleasant enough, but it lacked what we might require for a stay of more than two weeks. Some 750 miles away, Lima had the only international airport in the country, and we realized immediately we had to try to get there. If we were to be stuck in one place, Lima – a world-class city with great food – would be it. After talking to our travel agent in Lima, our guide managed to get us on the one flight from Chachapoyas to Lima before the shutdown, leaving around 11 a.m. A driver, along with our guide, shuttled us fifteen minutes to the airport before talking their way in, past the guards. Inside, we found that our one checked bag and one carry-on each, typically fine for international travel, would not do on this flight; the combined weight was too much. We speak little Spanish – un poquito – but the agent and supervisor thought about it and quickly relented, permitting it “this one time only.” S U M M E R / FA L L
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Kathryn’s ticket data didn’t match her passport number, and the agent nixed her boarding. Once again, however, the supervisor and agent talked, and the problem was – thankfully – ignored. After screening and a wait, we were on the way to Lima.
We arrived there with ten hours remaining before the midnight deadline, but not many options for flights to the United States. We stood in different lines for hours. Most of the U.S. flights were scheduled to depart after midnight and thus would be prohibited under the quarantine. Earlier ones were already booked. Avianca Airlines from Bogotá, Colombia, was not available for onward travel. Copa Airlines had no seats through Panama City or elsewhere. No luck on American. The internet was a joke. Calling reservations was at least a forty- to sixty-minute wait for nothing.
Facebook group for Americans stuck in Peru. It proved invaluable, providing us with realtime information about what was happening around us. Two days after we arrived in Lima, our hotel closed. A round of negotiations conducted by our travel agent got us into a hotel just one block away for no additional charge. It was a notch or two lower on the food scale, but it was safe. We continued to wait. We were ten days into the quarantine before the U.S. Department of State organized some rescue and repatriation flights. Starting right away, we got on all the lists, as I worked my congressional and media contacts. The progress was painfully slow, however. One whole day’s worth of commercial flights was scrubbed. One American jet made it to within an hour of Lima before returning to the United States. It took a few days before the State Department conceded that for us, repatriation via government flights was the only way home.
Earlier, I had purchased a ticket on Delta Airlines for April 3 – just in case – though I fully expected the quarantine to be extended beyond its initial fifteen-day term. We were left to await news from the U.S. Embassy regarding our flight home, checking our phones by the minute. Each minute was disappointing. At the second hotel, the screws tightened. We were completely restricted from leaving. The police came repeatedly. Ultimately, we were eating only in our rooms. Peru also imposed a no-nonsense, 8 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew, which was later extended to start at 6 p.m. Jail sentences and even shootings were authorized for violators. Priority for flights was supposedly granted to older travelers and those on medication or with medical needs. As we are both in our sixties, we waited eagerly for our flight assignment, but to no avail. Priority seemed not to matter. Would filling out new forms cause more delays? No one knew. Each day was a trial of boredom. We
The normally bustling streets of Lima were deserted once the quarantine issue was ordered.
We resigned ourselves to Peru. Our agent was able to secure us reservations at a hotel in Lima. A forty-minute cab ride to the hotel later, we were there.
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t seems quaint to think of it now, but we were surprised to find that dining out wasn’t an option; all restaurants were closed. Hotel food was it for us. Trips beyond the hotel doors were limited to the grocery store and pharmacy. I paid in advance for the hotel though the fifteen-day period. It was the evening of March 16. In the morning we went to the grocery and updated our U.S. Embassy information. Then we waited. Thankfully, we found a
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would feel some hope between 4 and 8 p.m., when the embassy issued emails for the next day’s flights, but day after day passed in vain. The embassy kept touting the number of Americans getting out of Peru, but our priority seemed not to matter, even while twenty- and thirty-somethings were on their way home. Finally, after two weeks, we received an email about a possible departure, but our brief joy was dashed when we realized that the departure was from Cusco – some 700 miles from Lima – and we couldn’t travel there. The next day, we received notice at 1 a.m. of a repatriation flight in two days, but leaving from Trujillo – an eight-hour bus ride away. Again, not for us. We contacted Congress and the embassy, and again, we waited. The final day of March brought new tension to our confinement. The previous night, March 30, a group of about one hundred Peruvians were returned to their native land, but by government fiat, they were required to be quarantined for fourteen days – in our hotel. Including Kathryn and me, there were about ten non-Peruvians staying there, all planning to leave as soon as possible, but now these repatriated Peruvians posed an enormous problem: If any of them tested positive for COVID-19, we could all be quarantined at a hostel in Cusco with no hope of seeing the United States for another month or more. Near panic, we consulted our travel agent, who got us into a high-priced hotel just across the street from the U.S. Embassy. Still: How would we get there? This was more than a grocery run. We had no required travel papers. We feigned a trip to our embassy with a cab driver, who talked his way through three full-battle-dress roadblocks to get us there. On arrival, we disembarked from the cab, veered toward the hotel, and were safe. That same afternoon, we received the email we had been waiting for: evacuation the next day, April 1, on a flight to Washington, D.C.
In order to board, passengers had to climb up into the hulking Boeing 777 that would take them home.
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e lined up outside the embassy, where the staff graciously and efficiently dealt with us. A caravan of eight buses took us from the embassy to an air base at the northwest end of the Lima airport with a police escort. With all international flights now going through the base, departures were limited to just eight per day. Inside the hangar, it was a clinic in military efficiency. We were quickly processed; these Marines, Army, and Navy personnel knew what they were doing. We each got a seat. We were called by rows from the hangar to board a United Boeing 777 from the ramp, climbing directly up from ground level. It’s a tall aircraft and some people with movement disabilities had problems, but our embassy and military personnel helped them negotiate the steep steps. The crew on our 777 was special. They flew inbound from Houston with many returning Peruvians as passengers. United brought their own baggage handlers and mechanics. One-way would have been a normal day for the crews, but they doubled it for us. By the time we left them at Dulles
International, they were dead tired. Once we were airborne, our meal came immediately and it was very good. The cabin crew was professional and welcoming, fine people to see at a time like that. We made it a point to thank them, and the flight crew, on arrival. We landed at Dulles about seven hours after takeoff, at 11:30 p.m. local time. Customs was quick, and we were on our way to a hotel before traveling home to New York the next day. There were plenty of lessons learned. The Peruvian people were first-rate with us the whole way; their humanity was noticed and appreciated. Same with the folks who helped us at the embassy once we were in line and thereafter. The military people were superb. Peru did us a hardship but, on balance, did it right for the Peruvian people. We returned to an environment that in terms of COVID-19 transmission rates was actually more dangerous than the one we left. But we were home. And we were glad to be there.
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• ALUMNI
0•
END 20 EEK 2 W
Wait ’Til Next Year! The first weekend of May saw Lawrenceville’s campus quieted by the coronavirus pandemic, postponing Alumni Weekend 2020 and its much anticipated reunions for the classes of the 0s and 5s. The now-ubiquitous Zoom videoconferencing platform enabled reunion classes to gather virtually on May 2, and laughter and reminiscences were shared by determined Lawrentians. Though these reunion classes will have to wait until May 2021 to embrace in person again, they also managed to welcome sixteen new honorary alumni to their ranks, while the Alumni Association bestowed its prestigious Distinguished Alumnus Award upon Bert Getz Jr. ’55 P’85 GP’18 ’20 for his longtime commitment and service to the School. 44
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New Honorary Alumni/ae THE CLASS OF 1965
• John E. Gore Jr. H’61 ’64 David E. Schorr H’88 ’97 ’02 P’80 ’82 ’88 • Col. ’00 GP’97 ’09 ’12 ’17 THE CLASS OF 1970
• Edith Baird Eglin H’52 ’65 ’66 ’67 GP’19 THE CLASS OF 1975
• R. Graham Akers H’71 ’72 ’74 P’94 • Arthur R. Schonheiter ’52 P’90 GP’01 ’03 • William M. Polk H’68 ’72 THE CLASS OF 1980
“Champ” Atlee ’62 H’74 ’75 ’79 • Benjamin ’83 ’84 ’87C.’89 ’06 P’92 ames T. Adams ’65 H’82 ’93 ’96 ’01 P’93 • J(posthumously)
THE CLASS OF 1995
• Josiah Bunting III H’37’59 ’88 ’91 P’88 ’97 • Scott Albert H’92 ’94 (posthumously) THE CLASS OF 2000
• Erik J. Chaput • Timothy B. Brown H’84 ’04 P’04’08 • Dana T. Kooistra H’14 P’20 • Emilie D. Kosoff H’88 ’96 ’00 ’18 P’19 K NEW ALUMNI TRUSTEE Vincent J. “Biff” Cahill ’68 P’09
K NEW ALUMNI SELECTORS Maine Park ’88 P’22 ’23 Emily Starkey ’03
Bert Getz ’55 P’85 GP’18 ’20 (right), seen here at Commencement 2018 with son Bert Jr. ’85 and grandson Bert III ’18, was announced as the Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient for 2020.
BERT GETZ ’55 P’85 GP’18 ’20 NAMED DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS Bert Getz ’55 P’85 GP’18 ’20 is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2020. The prestigious accolade is conferred annually by the Lawrenceville School Alumni Association Executive Committee to a Lawrentian in recognition of exceptional efforts to promote the best interests of the School. Getz came to Lawrenceville from Winnetka, Illinois, and after serving as president of Griswold House and captaining the swim team, he was elected School president as a Fifth Former. After earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan in 1959, Getz embarked on a successful career that has seen him rise to chair of the Globe Corporation, a diversified investment company founded in 1901 by his grandfather. Today,
the company manages the extensive holdings of the Getz family enterprises, including real estate, asset management, and private equity. He served as president of Globe Corporation from 1974-99 after serving in executive positions at various banks. An active alumnus since graduation, Getz is a trustee emeritus and served as board president from 198490, when he received the Outstanding Trustee Award. He is also a member of the Sixth Form and is a former class agent, 55th Reunion Committee member, and Bicentennial Leadership and Steering Committees member who served as honorary co-chair of the Bicentennial Campaign. Getz and his wife, Sandra “Sandy” Getz, have been married for over 50 years. They have three children, and seven grandchildren, with the family linage boasting three other Lawrentians: Bert Jr. ’85 P’18 ’20, Bert III ’18, and Lachlan ’20.
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A
ALUMNI NEWS
THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2020/2021 PRESIDENT Charlie C. Keller ’95 FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Heather Elliott Hoover ’91 P’20 ’23 ’24 SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Gregory G. Melconian ’87 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Charles Hughes ’68 Ralph Spooner ’75 Tres Arnett ’79 P’16 Matt Dominy ’65 Elizabeth Greenberg Wilkinson ’02 Emily Wilson ’05 Morgan Dever Morris ’06 Porter Braswell ’07 ALUMNI TRUSTEES Heather Woods Rodbell ’91 Mark M. Larsen ’72 P’01 ’04 ’06 Jennifer Ridley Staikos ’91 Vincent J. “Biff” Cahill ’68 P’09 SELECTORS James A. Rowan Jr. ’66 Emily Wilson ’05 Rocky Barber ’69 P’08 Nina Mackenzie Kumar ’02 Maine Huang Park ’88 P’22 ’23 Emily Starkey ’03 FACULTY LIAISON Emilie Kosoff H’88 ’96 ’00 ’18 P’19 EX OFFICIO Cat Bramhall ’88 (Lawrenciana)
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FROM THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT
s a parent of two elementary school children, I feel as though my job is threefold: 1) to keep them safe; 2) to impart the Golden Rule and raise them to be considerate and compassionate human beings; and 3) to make sure they develop some grit, i.e., the resilience and resourcefulness to handle the challenges that life will throw at them. On a neardaily basis I am reminded that it is an ongoing process, but I believe in the importance of the mission, and I want to do it well. I see the same at Lawrenceville. My final year as president of the Alumni Association was eventful, to say the least; our school is not immune to localized adversity, nor to the forces that have so dramatically changed all of our lives around the world. I have watched Lawrenceville respond, and I am immensely proud of our leadership and our community. I have often said that — for better or for worse — the point of a private institution is to create its own culture. I have always felt that Lawrenceville has done it for the better, and I believe that now more than ever. Having had the chance to work closely with the School’s culture-setters for the last few years, I have great faith in our trustees, led by Michael Chae ’86, and our administration, led by Head of School Stephen Murray H’54 ’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21, to guide Lawrenceville through challenging times. I have seen crises arise and be met with great integrity. I have seen difficult circumstances acknowledged and addressed with accountability and good faith. Most recently, I have seen the School and its many constituents respond to a global pandemic with tremendous resilience, determined to make the best of an unfortunate situation and to continue moving forward. Our alma mater was founded shortly after the American Revolution by a Presbyterian minister who was unequivocally optimistic about this new country and about the ability of Lawrenceville graduates to use their gifts to improve upon the life of man, which, as Thomas Hobbes observed, is all too often “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” We have successfully nurtured that optimism for 210 years because we care deeply about Lawrenceville and its place in the world. Today is no different; we will once again rise to the challenges that face us, overcome them, and be better for the considerable efforts asked of us all. It has been an honor to work with all the members of the Alumni Association Executive Committee, and I greatly appreciate the assistance provided to us by the Alumni Office. I am grateful for the thoughtful guidance and advice of my predecessors Leigh Lockwood ’65 P’97 ’02, Tim Wojciechowicz ’78 P’06 ’10 ’12, and Jennifer Ridley Staikos ’91, each of whom led the Alumni Association with skill and grace. I know that my successor and classmate Charlie Keller ’95 is more than ready to step in as president, which he did in July. I wish you and yours all the best as we collectively navigate all that 2020 has in store for us — and whatever comes next. Let us move forward with compassion and resilience, and with optimism. To be a Lifelong Lawrentian requires nothing less. Kind regards, Ian Rice ’95 Outgoing President, Alumni Association ianrice@gmail.com
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OLD SCHOOL
50 YEARS AGO IN The Lawrentian
SUMMER 1970
HUNGRY SMEAD DEFEATED
Where does he put it? Somehow, Robert Paschal ’70 found room to put away fifty-one pancakes, more than the fabled Hungry Smead of Lawrenceville lore.
When the dateline [sic] of The Lawrence for Alumni Day read “Hungry Smead Returns,” it was not an unkind generalization about alumni appetites or spreading waistlines; it was a reference to Hungry Smead’s pancake record, a challenge offered to Peter Haag and Bob Paschal of the Class of ’70. They had planned to try for a new record on Alumni Weekend, but something went wrong. Rumors say that Paschal felt he hadn’t trained long enough. At any rate, about two weeks later, on a Wednesday afternoon on the Esplanade, Paschal did indeed break Hungry Smead’s record by eating fifty-one pancakes. — From Echoes of the Campus by Thomas J. Johnston
30 YEARS AGO IN The Lawrentian
SUMMER 1990
THE JIGGER SHOP BURNS IN EARLY MORNING FIRE
The old Jigger Shop at 2651 Main Street, now a law office, sits boarded up following the August 1990 blaze.
The Jigger Shop, famous in the historic village of Lawrenceville and in the pages of Owen Johnson’s Lawrenceville Stories, was badly damaged in an early morning fire on August 10. […] Most of the textbooks for the opening of the academic year were destroyed in the fire. Their value was estimated to be approximately $350,000. Another $500,000 worth of merchandise was also ruined. […] “We will use this sad occasion as an opportunity to build or renovate a successor to the Jigger that will combine all the wonderful features people associate with that building,” [Head of School Josiah] Bunting commented. — From the “Around the Campus” news roundup
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LEADING FROM OFF THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Sign of the Times:
On Truth “… dogmatism rests on a conviction of certainty, not absolute truth.”
“T On the Cover: Virtual Semper Viridis: Temporarily transformed by the pandemic, Lawrenceville adapted.
– Israel Scheffler, Conditions of Knowledge
he truth” is an ideal we tend toward, though, like the asymptote of a curve, we never quite touch. Put differently, pursuing an unassailable, perfect, single distillation of facts is a fool’s errand, or worse, the root of dogmatic belief. It is precisely when we seek conflicting perspectives, challenge our own assumptions, allow for multiple truths, as it were, that we find ourselves moving ever closer to this ideal of understanding and clarity of vision. Filmmaker Ken Burns interviewed James Baldwin about the Statue of Liberty on the occasion of its centennial some 35 years ago, and his first question was, “What is liberty?” With more than a hint of wry irony, Baldwin responded, “Well, I can always quote the Declaration of Independence, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all Men are created equal.’ And the moment I do that, I get into trouble … because obviously I am not included in that pronouncement.” Baldwin goes on to reflect on his own experience and the implications for the famous statue dedicated in New York Harbor in 1886: “For a Black American, for a Black inhabitant of this country, the Statue of Liberty is simply … a very bitter joke.” Burns drew from that conversation what he refers to as an indelible lesson, that “our monuments are representations of myth, not fact.” He goes on further to say that as we consider the role that monuments play in our culture, “…it is the history, not the mythology, that we must remember.” And of course the history of this particular statue is not a single, settled narrative. The inspiration for the work by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was the abolition
Walking New York City on April 16, Dan Rose ’88 captured the essence of life in 2020.
of slavery in the United States, and the truth is, it was intended as a celebration of democracy and liberty. But as Baldwin reminds us, there is the promise of liberty — some would say the myth of liberty — embodied in this monumental sculpture, and then there is the lived experience of whole sectors of our society who have not been granted in equal measure “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and there is important truth there as well. To see one perspective and not the other, in either case, is to see through a limited lens. One does not negate the other, one is not more true than the other — together they amplify our understanding. One shows what we might aspire to, and the other teaches us, if we are serious about our aspiration, how far we fall short. Other monuments provoke even more divisive and irreconcilable reactions. At first glance, the 26-foothigh statue of Robert E. Lee located in Market Street Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, might seem to some to be simply a tangible display of local history, a tribute to a loyal son of this southern commonwealth. While Lee is an historical figure and is indeed a Virginian, the view that the statue merely represents Civil War history is dramatically incomplete if not all but incorrect. The statue was erected in 1924, at the height of a second resurgence of Ku Klux Klan membership — estimated by the Southern Poverty Law Center to be 4 million strong at that point, a time when the Klan had broadened the target of their violence to include Catholics and Jews, and a time when the tale of the Civil War had been deconstructed and rewritten as a glorious “Lost Cause,” as Henry Louis Gates Jr. describes in his recent book, Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow. No, that is not simply a statue of Robert E. Lee, loyal Virginian and reluctant participant in “The War of Northern Aggression” … and furthermore, two years
Illustration by Elly Walton
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usps no. 306-700 the Lawrenceville School Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648 Parents of alumni: If this magazine is addressed to a son or daughter who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please email us at kzsenak@lawrenceville.org with his or her new address. Thank you!
Lawrentian SUMMER/FALL 2020
THE LAWRENTIAN • SUMMER/FALL 2020
Lawrentian THE
THE
Popping In! Just like these faculty members, we can hardly mask our pleasure to see you again! Look for the next issues of The Lawrentian to be published in December and February as we work our way through a most unusual academic year together.
A Virtual VILLEage
The spring term was unlike any in Lawrenceville’s two centuries. As COVID-19 digs in, a nimble School finds a way to stay a step ahead.
A CALL TO ACTION FOR A MORE INCLUSIVE, MORE ANTIRACIST LAWRENCEVILLE – PAGE 14 COVER with SPINE S/F 2020.indd 1
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