The Pingry Record - March 2019

The Nation's Oldest Country Day School Newspaper

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Volume CXLV, Number III

The Pingry School, Basking Ridge, New Jersey

RENT Breaks Barriers for Pingry Drama

By BRIAN LI (III)

On February 21, 22, and 23, the Drama and Music Departments put on this year’s winter musical, Rent, a Pulitzer-Prize- and Tony Award-winning production

by Jonathan Larson. Influenced by Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème,

but Roger pushes her away.

Out on St. Mark’s Place, Maureen (Dorothea Miller (VI)), a performance artist, begins her performance to protest Benny’s eviction of the homeless. After, all the protesters meet at the Life Café, but see Benny there. He announces that

Although Rent was his first time directing for a Pingry production, Mr. Van Antwerp created a passionate and supportive environment for everybody. In order to allow the audience to see the magic within the performance, Mr. Van Antwerp taught the cast and

ful but now troubled rock musician. One of their friends, Tom Collins (Lucas Vazquez (VI)), plans to meet the two at their apartment, but is attacked and beaten. Meanwhile, Mark and Roger’s former friend and current landlord, Benny (Rajeev Doraswamy (VI)), demands last year’s rent, but the two roommates refuse to pay. On the street, a drag queen named Angel (Leo Zhu (VI)) finds Collins and the two instantly fall in love, revealing to each other that they are HIV+. Roger is also HIV+, contracted from his previous girlfriend. He tries to write a song on his guitar, but fails and is interrupted by Mimi (Katerina Deliargyris (VI)) knocking on the door. They instantly feel attracted to each other,

“Bohemia is dead,” but the protesters celebrate “La Vie Boheme.” However, beepers go off that remind them to take their HIV medicine.

Mimi and Roger discover that the other is HIV+, and decide to begin a relationship.

In the second act, the newly-formed group of friends face trials and tribulations that test their loyalties to one another. In the end, however, the family comes back together and agrees that there is “no day but today.”

Mr. Alan Van Antwerp brought his drama expertise as the director of the musical. With a background in performing in and managing professional and community productions, Mr. Van Antwerp was able to unlock the full potential of all the cast members.

crew about the importance of collaboration. Deliargyris elaborated, saying, “Having Van as the director, he’s amazing, and I feel extremely lucky that I’ve gotten the chance to work with him.” Combined with a group of phenomenal performers and students, the musical was breathtaking and captivating.

Rent follows a group of young artists suffering from HIV/ AIDS struggling to establish themselves in New York City’s Lower East Side.

The musical focuses on two roommates during Christmas Eve: Mark (Nick Grimaldi (VI)), a struggling filmmaker, and Roger (Ian Dugan (VI)), a previously success-

Opinion Rashida Mohammed (VI) presents her take on recent trends in English curricula across the nation.

School News Armani Davidson (VI) discusses Pingry’s recent Black History Month assembly.

Columns

Felicia Ho (VI) reviews Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, Julia Fu (III) discusses her latest favorite reads, Aneesh Karuppur (IV) highlights recent tech, and Kristine Fu (VI) looks ahead to spring fashion.

Bergam Wins LeBow Oratorical Competition

By EMMA DRZALA (III)

On February 22, six competitors sat on the Hauser stage waiting to present their speeches. Finalists Kaley Taylor (IV), Alexandra Weber (V), Carolyn Coyne (IV), Noah Bergam (IV), Jamie Wang (V), and Aneesh Karuppur (IV) qualified out of 20 other students in the preliminary round of the annual Lebow Oratorical Competition. Mr. Richard Karrat, the faculty advisor of Lebow for the last two years, said he loves working on this competition. He thinks, “Public speaking is an important skill to have.

This competition allows for students to showcase their speaking skills as well as convey their thoughts and opinions to the school community.”

The assembly opened starting with Coyne. Her speech “ D r i n k t h e Wa Editorials ter” was centered Co-Editors-in-Chief Miroslav around complaints.

Bergam (VI) and Ketaki Tavan (VI) Coyne argued that delve into retrospection and hidden we, as a commun i t y, a r e c a u g h t value. up on first world problems. Our comSports plaints rarely dive beneath Our sports reporters cover each the surface. Coyne pointed team’s end to the winter sports season. out that about 2,000,000 per year people die of dehydraSections tion alone, and so, “Even if the glass is half empty, we News......................................1, 6, 7 should drink the water.”

Following was Weber.

Commentary..........................2-4 Columns......................................5 She began her speech, “The Sports.....................................8 True Meaning of Music to my Ears,” by talking about

Inside the Record

Mr. Van Antwerp also served as the lighting designer, while Mr. Sean McAnally was the sound director. Dr. Andrew Moore directed the pit orchestra.

The stage managers were Grace Brown (VI), Udochi Emeghara (VI), Allie Matthias (VI). Ms. Jane Asch and Mr. Christopher Abbott worked to create the enchanting set for Rent, along with help from the students and parents.

D e l i a rg y r i s , who played Mimi, said that Rent was much more serious than her previous two musicals: “Trying to portray that message has been something I’m very grateful for and I think it’s very important that we show the message to the school.”

When asked what she will miss most about the Drama Department at Pingry, Deliargyris said, “I’m going to miss the community aspect of drama here and the teachers, as they always push you to be your best. I just love how everybody always loves coming to see the shows.”

the tragedies her family had gone through in the last year.

A song that got her through her hard times was Led Zeppelin’s “Thank-You.” Weber opened up to the audience, telling them how music is a communicator and can change your life if you allow it to. She ended the speech by telling us to, “Find your song, and enjoy your ride.”

Bergam opened his speech by reminiscing on a day in a Starbucks cafe. In his speech “Chasing Memes,” Bergam questioned memes. He noted memes as a way around the complexity of life. He challenged the audience to not chase shallow behavior, and instead to find a deeper understanding of themselves.

Bergam stated, “What intrigued me the most about the topic was both its scientific theory as well as its timeliness, in an Internet-driven world. I really enjoyed delving into this idea as it related to my own identity as well as the integrity of our communication at large.”

The next speech was “Be Open and be Aware” by Tay-

March 4, 2019

Career Day Keynote Becky Murphy Strickland ’98 Shares Her Wisdom

By BRYNN WEISHOLTZ (V), VICKY GU (V), NOAH BERGAM (IV)

On Friday, January 25, Pingry held its annual Career Day, during which Form V and VI students have the opportunity to hear from panels of Pingry alumni regarding their career paths.

The day began with a presentation from keynote speaker Ms. Becky Murphy Strickland ’98, a navy fighter pilot who later became an Amazon Operations Manager.

During her time at Pingry, Strickland helped lead the soccer team to the State Championships in her senior year. She affirmed that her athletic achievements played a role in her career path, preparing her for the physical standards of the military and the leadership skills of her current management position. She admitted that her roadmap wasn’t clearcut from the beginning – she originally planned on pursuing medicine, even during her time in the navy.

However, she grew fond of military life, specifically for its “brotherhood” and tightknit culture.

Those serving as naval aviators usually transition to work with the FBI, but when offered to work at Amazon, Strickland chose to break out of her comfort zone and enter the private sector. Though the day-to-day life of managing a team at Amazon differed greatly from that of active military service, the two shared a similar central goal: overcoming obstacles while making everyone feel included and useful. Strickland honed in on her leadership skills and innovation, inspired by the company’s desire for progress and development.

She learned how ideas can be adapted and bettered, reconciling viewpoints that were lor. She told us about how, in the last year, she realized the limit of how sensitive the Pingry community can really be. Taylor confessed some of the personal happenings within her family and related the speech back to her original thought that we all need to be more open.

Lastly, Taylor reminded us to connect with others on a deeper level and to get to know someone beyond their smile.

Wang’s “Barking Up the Wrong Tree” followed. She started the speech by telling the audience about a crush she once had. She went on to date him, but it didn’t work out. A year later, Wang went on to join the robotics

different from her own.

When asked about being a woman in the predominantly male environment of the U.S. Naval Academy, where she earned a degree in English, Strickland shared that she felt she had to work harder than her male peers to blend in. Seen as the new girl in the squadron, she made it a priority to become equal or better than those around her in flight training. This helped her develop a strong sense of selfconfidence, which now helps her at Amazon. Recognizing that Amazon, like the Naval Academy, is predominantly male, Strickland makes sure that her and her female teammates’ perspectives are valued alongside those of her male colleagues.

Although she is often called “ b o s s y, ” s h e prefers to be described as “a loveable badass.”

Strickland noted that becoming a parent has been her toughest but most rewarding challenge, as balancing her work and family life leaves her with little time in the day for herself.

According to Strickland, “being a parent is harder than being a fighter pilot or anything else in the world.”

After watching the keynote presentation, students attended three separate industryfocused sessions, assigned based on their preferences indicated a few weeks prior.

Each session featured two or more alumni panelists who shared their experiences in their current fields and answered any questions the students had for them.

Ms. Maureen Maher, who organized Career Day, commented on the value of these panels, saying, “The guidance and life lessons that returning alumni share with our students on Career Day are invaluable, and the Pingry alumni network is an amazing resource that continues to get stronger every year.” team. She had the realization that she had no more free time and started wondering what she really loved. As the speech came to an end, she reminded the audience to find something that we really love and run with it.

The final speech was “The History of Pingry” from Karuppur. He said, “I drew my inspiration from a summer internship I did. I was inspired by the school and its development.” Karuppur showed us of some of Pingry’s flaws and myths to remind the community that the school has its own complex and dynamic history, despite how many view it ass monolithic and unchanging.

He impressed that we are building a foundation for the future; we are making history.

At the end of the assembly, Taylor was chosen as runner-up and Bergam was named the winner.

Images Courtesy of Pingry Communications

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THE PINGRY RECORD

EDITORIAL

Speaking of Public Speaking...

This past Friday’s LeBow Oratorical competition reminded me of what now feels like a distant high school memory: my 5-person, trimester-long Public Speaking class that I opted to take instead of Driver’s Ed. Every time I’m asked about my favorite class I’ve taken at Pingry or course recommendations from classmates, I unfailingly circle back to Public Speaking.

I initially gravitated towards the course due to an interest in improving my speech writing and delivery skills. We worked on these skills every day through observation, discussion, and practice. Class flowed freely and in accordance with what was happening around us — if there was a major speech at Pingry or in the wider world that week, we’d make it a point to discuss what worked and what didn’t, what we’d do differently and how we’d emulate the high points.

The practical speech writing and delivery skills (like cold-reading, for example) I took away from the course should not be overlooked — they’ve stuck with me to this day, and thanks to my experience with them I’ve pushed myself to give speeches to various circles in my community several times since the course ended. But personally, what made the course so special weren’t these takeaways that I anticipated when signing up, but rather the takeaways that I truly didn’t see coming.

Because of the nature of speech writing itself and the frequency with which we did it in the class, Public Speaking became a vehicle through which I was able to really process my ideas and feelings. I came out of the course having reflected on some of my own experiences and views on the world as well as some of the most effective ways to share them. I left with a portfolio full of these reflections that will not only inspire future pieces but also serve as a unique form of a diary documenting the ideas I grappled with throughout the course.

Not only did Public Speaking allow me to learn more about myself, but it also allowed me to learn more about my classmates. Because of the vulnerable and personal nature of speech writing, when I listened to the speeches my peers brought to class each day, I learned so much about their personalities, views, and how they contributed to a truly diverse Pingry community. Speeches often sparked political, social, and academic discussions where we learned about each of our viewpoints and, in terms of speech writing, how to strengthen them rhetorically. We learned to debate thoughtfully and intelligently with each other because it was the way we were taught to craft arguments through our speeches.

My class became a mini-community of friends who came in to each meeting excited to hear what the others had to share. We learned from each other and grew closer because of what each of us shared at the podium on any given day. This was a collaborative experience through which we took inspiration and were constantly offered advice by our peers. Each of my pieces became what felt like a group-effort from several people who really cared about the final product.

While Public Speaking may not catch most students’ eyes when searching for courses, I encourage my classmates to consider the hidden treasures that the class holds. An opportunity to learn skills that will universally serve you well in the future, as well as engage with the diversity of thought and personality within yourself and your community, Public Speaking truly is worth a trimester from each and every student.

—Ketaki

Tavan

COMMENTARY MARCH 4, 2019

Band-Aid Culture

By ETHAN MALZBERG (VI)

I grew up with a life-size band-aid covering wounds it never healed.

Though the expanse of years has erased much from my memory, I’ve never forgotten any of the comments on my gay voice.

The first was in fifth grade.

I beat him in a game of War, to which he responded, “At least I don’t have a gay voice!” It was a word still foreign to me, only heard on commercials for Modern Family, but it has altered the way I view myself even to this day. In a term I learned from Dr. Rodney Glasgow at the Student Diversity Leadership Conference, it was cognitive dissonance — an “identity bump” — with one comment completely changing my own perception of my identity in a way I had never considered before.

I ran home to my mom that day, impatient to tell her what that boy said.

After a brief pause, she delivered the normal parental recourse for when your kid is bullied: “You’re not gay, he’s just trying to insult you because he’s jealous. Don’t let him bring you down!”

It was a relief to hear this from my mother at the time: I was not the unfamiliar word with which he described my voice because my mom said so. It was a

By NOAH BERGAM (IV)

Ask almost any Pingry student who Billy McFarland is, and the response is quick: he’s the Fyre Festival guy. The fraudster. The former Pingry student.

For me, that last part has always been an afterthought, a small irony. I heard about it back when the festival came crashing down in 2017, and whenever the name came up it was a fun laugh.

But when I watched the Netflix documentary about the Fyre Festival, something about the whole disaster was brought to life in a disturbing way. Witnessing plans crash in real time, with the livelihoods of so many people put at risk, the amount of time Volume CXLV

Copy Editors Meghan Durkin Aneesh Karuppur Brooke Pan Eva Schiller Website Editor Justin Li

Editors-in-Chief Miroslav Bergam Ketaki Tavan Senior Assistant Editor

because my mom and guidance counselor said so. That is, of course, until the next “your voice is gay” would come just two months later at camp. Although the bandaid’s effect was fleeting, it was just what I needed at the time.

Years later, I discovered an email chain between my mother and my guidance counselor about the incident. “[Redacted] called Ethan’s voice ‘gay’ today,” my mother explained to the guidance counselor. “Of course, Ethan is not gay, but he was very hurt,” she finished. As I observe that exchange today, I gawk at how the situation was han-

voice throughout the entirety of my childhood -even the rabbi at my own Bar Mitzvah joked that it was “angelic” and “womanly” during his sermon, and the panacea has always been, “That’s not true! Your voice is normal.” Every time a band-aid was put on me, it was promptly ripped off, reapplied, ripped off, reapplied. An interminable cycle that all but begged the wound to fester.

I don’t blame my mom or my guidance counselor at all — or any adult for that matter, since the same situation arose more times than I can count and touched all areas of my being. Shifting soci-

Putting Out Fyres

Number III

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little band-aid to shield an enormous insecurity that has stalked me since.

It was also a relief to hear my guidance counselor repeat the same sentiment the following day. “You’re not gay, he’s just trying to insult you because he’s jealous. Don’t let him bring you down!” It was the perfect recipe for repression; I could now ignore his comment for the foreseeable future

dled. “You’re not gay”: not then, but now I am. “He’s just trying to insult you”: how is it an insult? “Don’t let him bring you down”: you just did! The truth is my voice is higher pitched than the average male. It always has been and it always will be; I recognize there is nothing wrong with this but my lasting insecurity tells me otherwise.

Instead of addressing reality, adults put a band-aid of denial over this wound.

People commented on my

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and money and pride put to waste on a fraudulent business model — it all makes you wonder what kind of person it takes to remorselessly allow this to happen.

Sure, he was a person who went to this school.

But he’s also a person that a lot of us will now immediately characterize as “crazy” or “malicious.”

Someone whose mind just works in a different, broken way that we can’t relate to. Someone who we can frame as the butt of endless SAC memes of the week.

But I believe that this mindset of quick assumptions is deeply flawed, and I don’t say that in defense of McFarland. I think we have to understand him and his intentions in a much more complex way in order to properly learn from his mistakes.

I would argue that Billy McFarland is the product of a greater generational shift, a far-reaching phenomenon that I like to call Fyre. It’s an addiction, an obsession with attention, in which one’s ambitious words and the attention they gather outpace their abilities to make those promises come true. This is what allowed Billy to get investors on his side and to turn his impossible festival into a sellout show — he had an excessive Fyre, a pride in his lies. The people

around him mistook that for true, entrepreneurial fire – and were proven utterly wrong.

But this idea applies to much more than just fraudulent tech startups.

We all, at some point, have set out on a course of action with faulty ambition and pride, saying things that we can’t fully back up.

This Fyre manifests itself everywhere across this very school — in promises to friends, club announcements, resumes, memes of the week, and probably even some Pingry Record

articles. And the reason I ask Pingry in specific to look inwards is because, in my experience, we reside in an extremely successoriented community.

I don’t think that statement would come as a surprise to anyone. Moreover, there is nothing wrong with that; in many ways, it inspires students to put their best foot forward.

That being said, this focus on success translates into an even larger focus

etal attitudes over the past eight years have changed the conversation on how to raise LGBTQ+ kids and I believe that email exchange would have been very different today. Regardless, every adult who recoursed the bullying I endured had the best intentions to make me feel better.

This Band-Aid Culture extends much further than my situation. It reminds me of the trophy debate: should every kid on every team be awarded a trophy?

We subliminally tell the youth that everyone is the best even if they aren’t.

In principle, this guards children from an unwarranted inferiority complex. In reality, we raise children to believe that the sole point of a game is to win. We prescribe trophies as band-aids to the losers, telling them “you are not a loser” instead of “it’s okay to lose, there is a greater purpose to the game than winning.”

Though not a perfect analogy to my situation, like trophies, adults slapped on a band-aid to my troubles, telling me “you are not gay” instead of “love yourself no matter who you are.” Using band-aids, we shield kids from pain at the expense of growth. The wound never heals; instead, it festers until it reaches its nadir, and eventually, it must be treated properly. We need to eliminate the band-aids and start handling issues at the onset.

on ego, on reputation.

Whether social or academic, these reputations can be boosted by exaggerations or small lies, which, over time, can add up. Often, especially in an environment as trusting as Pingry, these words can successfully create the desired illusion of wit or success, and thus be fostered further.

Perhaps more often than we as a community are willing to let on, people get away with this, and nobody gets hurt. But when this Fyre becomes an ingrained habit in our everyday lives, bubbles of lies begin to form. These bubbles can burgeon in importance, until at last, the needle of reality catches up, and the hard truth comes crashing down.

Hence, the story of Billy McFarland. A millennial Icarus, whose Fyre was enormously amplified by the distinctly modern power of an Internet Age. We, too, perhaps on a smaller level, are liable to make those mistakes in our Pingry community if we let lies or exaggerations overtake our reputations.

McFarland may be insane or malicious to some degree, but he showcased a Fyre that is present within all of us. We all need to recognize that instead of simply treating his mistakes as jokes. And hopefully, with that recognition, we all can create a school environment that puts out Fyres rather than encourages them.

Cartoons by Georgia Liu (VI)

THE PINGRY RECORD

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Word?

By RASHIDA MOHAMMED (VI)

The widely-known novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has recently been eliminated from Pingry’s American Literature curriculum. Additionally, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, which was on the book list for World Literature sent out this past summer, was not taught in any of the World Literature periods. This is following what seems to be a rising trend in the United States of removing books from English classrooms. Many complaints about the appropriateness of these texts or those similar often come from black parents (such was the case in The Duluth school district in Minnesota), black students (like those in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania), or the NAACP, which has labeled Huckleberry Finn’s use of the n-word over 200 times as offensive, a stance they’ve held since the 1950s.

I n t r y i n g t o u n d e rstand these complaints, I thought perhaps that people felt uncomfortable with students reading what

they considered to be a problematic piece of literature or were uncomfortable with students and teachers reading derogatory terms in a classroom setting.

After some thought, I think that there is a common theme related to all these qualms about reading such books: the inability to em-

“[Huckleberry Finn] goes where Americans really don’t want to go. We talk about race and racism and acceptance and inclusivity and equity...but we don’t really listen and engage in a real substantive conversation.”

In the past few years Pingry has seen progress

brace discomfort. This idea became better fleshed out after reading an interview with Jocelyn A. Chadwick, President of the National Council of Teachers of English, in which she said,

on topics of race relations in the form of its affinity groups and Black Student Union. Between these groups and our many advisory meetings, SDLC-hosted events, and

to come from people’s reviews of the school.

According to one anonymous Niche user, “I was not involved in many extracurricular activities at Pingry. In my experience, clubs and organizations are put on the backburner and academics are more valued. It seems to me that if a student is looking for extracurricular experience, they will participate in something outside of school.” Ouch.

But this user is not the only disgruntled person who is unsatisfied with Pingry’s clubs: “Great if the school cares about it” says another user. In general, the consensus seems to be that Pingry doesn’t put enough emphasis on

clubs.

In a sense, this is true.

Many clubs in Pingry are essentially autonomous, meaning they run without significant intervention from teachers or administration. This is especially true with clubs that don’t spend too much money.

Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing. But, what ends up happening is that clubs are running completely on individual student knowledge and initiative, which makes it difficult for the club to grow together because students have many other responsibilities to tend to.

After a certain point, students cannot offer the same amount of knowledge that a dedicated coach or advisor

leadership trainings, several conversation norms have been impressed onto us as important skills in school and in life. One of these norms is to lean into discomfort. Regardless of why Pingry made the decision to alter the curriculum, I hope that leaning into discomfort doesn’t leave the English classrooms as a skill. I cannot emphasize enough that it is not okay to feel unsafe in a learning environment, but the ability to disagree with and analyze multiple perspectives, even if it’s one that you may find offensive, is vital. I hope every school that removes books like Huckleberry Finn from their curriculum considers this opinion.

Arguing that other works like The Secret Life of Bees and The Lord of the Flies could replace these novels and convey the same sentiment is valid, but we need to be careful with where we draw the line. Living in such a vocally polarized country, we are more grounded in this debate about race now more than ever. So, why not let the discussion start in the classroom?

Why Pingry Clubs Get an A-

By ANEESH KARUPPUR (IV)

Pingry is known for a lot of things; just head over to a website like College Confidential or NJ.com and you’ll find many different opinions and rankings of the school. People always seem to compare our academics to Newark Academy’s, or our athletics to Delbarton’s, or the Pingry experience to the Lawrenceville experience, but Pingry’s broad variety of club activities are rarely mentioned. Why aren’t clubs more prominently featured? After all, any college counselor will tell you that colleges value extracurriculars in addition to academics or athletics.

Pingry’s profile on Niche. com, which features rankings and information about nearly every K-12 school in the country, tells us an interesting story. Pingry earns a high A in every category except – gasp – clubs!

Pingry’s clubs earn a mere, shameful A- according to Niche, but no reasoning or justification is provided.

Are Pingry clubs really so much less impressive than the other things the school has to offer?

The answer is no. Of course not! Pingry’s clubs are certainly high achieving– Pingry’s QuizBowl team, for example, has more trophies than can fit in Ms. Smith’s room, and the Model Congress club regularly collects gavels during trips.

But the impression that Pingry clubs stink seems

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COMMENTARY MARCH 4, 2019

can. However, the club’s advisors often have other responsibilities as well: advising plays, teaching students, coaching sports, running publications, and a whole host of other jobs that make it very difficult for them to put in the time needed. It simply doesn’t make sense for the club to expect its already burdened advisors to develop a level of understanding that is sufficiently greater than that of the students and help the club to grow.

Ridge High School has one of the top forensics programs in the country, in part because it has a dedicated coach who visits weekly to run the club meetings. Without that kind of teacher intervention, students are less motivated to join and, without enough students, the cost of a dedicated teacher becomes too high. It’s a vicious cycle of stagnation.

Even from a monetary perspective, the “let the kids deal with it” attitude doesn’t seem to work well.

Without sufficient support, clubs won’t be able to reach their potential or win accolades for the school.

Pingry definitely supports its clubs in terms of facilities. Clubs (usually) have the tools and equipment that they need to function, but what is missing is that last link of a fully invested, dedicated, single-job teacher that would allow Pingry’s clubs to be as successful as the sports teams, at least in the eyes of the administra-

EDITORIAL

Rethinking Retrospect If you log onto my email, you’ll be greeted by anywhere from 40 to 50 emails all sent from me to myself.

My camera roll and Google Photos account store all of the photo and video evidence of my existence, which is oftentimes uploaded to iMovie in a weak attempt to document my life. My Spotify library is composed of meticulously curated playlists labelled by season: “Fall 2017”, “Winter 2018”, and so on. My bookshelf contains every book I’ve read (and physically own), each piece forever marked by annotations and therefore irreplaceable. The notes app on my phone details every TV show or movie I watch, every book I read, and all of my financial transactions, whether it’s the money I earn tutoring or spend at Whole Foods. Finally, my journals recount the day-to-day happenings of my life. Everything, of course, is stamped with the date and time.

When the week is over, a great deal of energy has been expended on documenting the happenings of my life. My reasons for doing so stretch far back. I’ve had an innate sense of sentimentality since I was a child. I would guess that sharing a room my entire life, with more than one sibling for some time, has made me a bit territorial and protective of my ‘things.’ Scraps of paper, old notebooks, and action figures became treasures to me because they were wholly and physically mine in a house where everything, including my bedroom, is shared and communal. I revelled in my ownership of them and their ability to transport me back to their associated memories: my hobby of collecting and recording began.

Eventually, it became a matter of memory. My desire to cherish old memories outpaced my ability to remember them. My memory has never been particularly sharp.

Silly mistakes – like misplacing my backpack during lunch sometimes thrice a week (and being late to class as a result) – became serious stressors that made me acutely aware of my forgetfulness, so the precautions I took against them became important, sacred. My habits of emailing myself anecdotes and reminders, writing in journals, and snapping photographs developed almost out of necessity. For the sake of both practicality and sentimentality, I became the archivist of my own life.

Whatever the diagnosis, I soon realized that side effects include being plagued by compulsive thoughts. I had the unshocking feeling that the system I’ve carved out throughout my life and become completely dependent on is anything but perfect. The impetus that led to this realization? I ran out of room in my current journal.

A busy schedule has kept me from buying another one, and in the meantime, days of unrecorded memories have ticked by. Each night as I’m about to fall asleep, I’m temporarily kept awake by the anxiety of not having journalled: how will I remember what happened in this class or how what that friend said at lunch? My brain and limbs feel heavier, weighed down by the things I haven’t gotten to write, record, and immortalize. My fear of forgetting blazes.

I was supposed to pick up a new journal this weekend, but I stopped myself at my front door. I sat down on the bottom step of my staircase and contemplated. I even texted a friend for advice. Eventually, I relinquished my keys. My plan to neurotically recount the last undocumented half-month of my life, scavenging my texts, photos, and emails-to-self to string back together the recent history of my life and transfer it onto paper along with my building anxiety, was foiled. I marched back upstairs, took out my laptop, and began Netflix’s You to drown out my misgivings.

Living my life in retrospect has done a lot for me.

My personal sense of stability has often hinged on my ability to flip to a page in my notebook or open a certain playlist and clearly remember the sounds, smells, feelings of a moment in time. But time travelling to the past can quickly become toxic. It’s a good lesson to learn now: reminiscing can’t stand in for forging ahead – not now and especially not in the whirlwind of college. Living and processing in the same moment is a vital skill I’ve yet to acquire.

I’m going to get a new journal next week. I’m going to sift through my to:me emails. But I will go easier on myself. Life is speeding up and my notebook can’t quite keep pace. It’s time to accept that that’s okay.

—Miro

tion. Some clubs are now defunct because there was no advisor to continue their existence.

It is quite likely that other members of the community have brought up this

Bergam

suggestion in the past.

Nonetheless, the idea is intriguing for future implementation, and could move Pingry’s club score from an A- to an A+.

Cartoons by Georgia Liu (VI)

4

THE PINGRY RECORD

COMMENTARY MARCH 4, 2019

Bad News: A Necessary Evil

By MARTHA LEWAND (V)

It may be hard to believe, but I recently had an interesting revelation when I took the ACT. Of course, most students consider the test both stressful and painful - it is a quintuple whammy of English, math, reading, science, and the essay. By the time I started to write that essay, I was thinking more about completing it than having a profound insight. But something about the essay got me thinking. Among other things, the prompt asked me to consider the perspective that we should block out as much bad news as we can, because too much negativity can lead people to believe that they can never solve the world’s problems.

While that idea was initially appealing – after all, who wants to listen to bad news – I eventually concluded that bad news should be heard, not so we can wallow in depression and self-pity, but because hearing bad news is the first and most necessary step towards making the world a better place. As disturbing as bad news can be, it often is the impetus for positive change. Bad news may leave people

frustrated, dispirited, and helpless, but when bad news inspires us to make a difference, it has the effect of bringing out the best in the human spirit, allowing us to find the solutions to the problems that plague us. To make ourselves better, we need bad news.

For example, take the Parkland school shooting in February 2018. In the aftermath, many people struggled to understand how such a thing could have happened. When I first heard about the incident, I

was shocked, struggling to comprehend and grasp what had occurred. A few days later, however, I came across an article that detailed the biographies of the seventeen victims. As I scrolled down the list, tears began to stream down my face.

I saw profiles that reminded me of students I knew and I also saw a profile that reminded me of myself. It described a seventeen-year-old boy named Nicholas Dworet.

Nicholas was tall with blonde hair and blue eyes, like me; not only was Nicholas a swimmer, like me, but he was committed to swim at the University of India-

had finally had enough.

Soon after, I heard about the March for Our Lives movement, the student-led demonstration that would take place in Washington D.C. I had

napolis next fall. Yet, he would never get to fulfill his dreams of attending college and pursuing the sport he loved.

Gradually, my sadness and heartbreak transformed into fiery frustration. I was tired of senseless gun violence in our schools; I was tired of hearing “thoughts and prayers” instead of demands for change. I

never attended any sort of march before, but I knew this was a chance to use my voice along with hundreds of thousands of activists and demand change. On March 24, 2018, I woke up at 3:45 AM and made my way to our capital to march with my friend. We stood with our signs, marched on Pennsylvania Avenue with fellow students, and made our voices heard. I had

Finding Compassion in Come From Away

By BRYNN WEISHOLTZ (V)

Standing in line to see Come From Away at the Schoenfeld Theater in New York City, I found myself wishing I were on a different line waiting for basically any other show. I peered around at the other shows n e a r m e. I s aw Dear Evan Hansen and sighed; Kinky Boots and smiled; Hamilton and gasped. Indeed, I knew nothing about Come From Away except that my mother had met an older woman at Dear Evan Hansen who raved about it and convinced her to catapult Come From Away to the t o p o f our Br oadw ay wish list.

As the doors opened at 7:30, the line filed into the smallest theater I had ever been in. My family took our seats and, as I looked around, I noticed that the average age of the audience was somewhere between the ages of my parents and my grandparents. Suddenly, I heard a woman explaining that she and her husband had flown into New York

City from Newfoundland this very morning to see the play. As the lights began to dim, my curiosity was piqued by her story; she had, in fact, lived through some of the events that were to be featured in the musical.

I knew Come From

Away centered around the small town of Gander in Newfoundland, Canada, where an intimate community rallied to help strangers following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

However, I did not have any concept of how the tragic events of the day forever changed the lives of the selfless people of Gander. With air traffic halted and planes unable

to land in the United States, 38 planes were diverted to Gander Airport, and Gander, with a population of only 9,000, welcomed over 7,000 strangers from across the world with open arms. At a moment’s notice, cots were set up in schools, supplies were retrieved from local stores, food was prepared, and no questions were asked except, “What else can I do?”

I was truly in awe of all the people who opened their hearts and homes to complete strangers.

The residents of Gander welcomed citizens from all walks of life and were not deterred by language or cultural barriers; instead, they bonded, embraced one another, celebrated life, and mourned the world’s tragedy alongside strangers, some of whom would become lifelong friends.

Throughout the 100-minute musical, I was entranced by the story depicted on stage, one that brought both laughter and tears to my fellow onlookers and myself.

While the majority of the audience appeared to viv-

never felt so empowered.

What came out of the Parkland shooting for me and many others was a newfound passion for political activism and the resolve to fight for better laws to prevent gun violence. I learned how important it is that young people stand up and fight for what we believe in. Finally, I understood that exposure to bad news is necessary because it can turn tragedy into something good, something that can inspire us to make change for the better.

Of course, no one wishes for bad news. That ACT essay perspective I mentioned made a good point: If we hear too much bad news, our hope for a brighter future may be crushed. In the face of catastrophe, we may just want to give up and stop trying. I felt that way after the Parkland shooting. However, out of our darkest fears and deepest despairs must come the resolve to make things better. To paraphrase, Edmund Burke once famously wrote that evil triumphs when good people stand by and

do nothing. We have to be the force for positive social change. To become that force, we must confront the evil around us. When we learn of bad news, a school shooting, a race riot, or the murder of a journalist, we must resist the temptation to flip the channel or turn the page. As tough as it may be, we have to see the bad news as a chance to do something about it.

R e c e n t l y, t h e U . S .

Congress banned bump stocks, which will keep someone from converting a legally purchased rifle into an automatic weapon. This will not end gun violence in America, but it is a critically important step toward making our schools, shopping malls, hospitals, and synagogues safer. That ban was passed because people were motivated by the grim reality of mass shootings in America. They accomplished this progress because they had the courage to confront a difficult truth and the conviction to act on their beliefs. We have to stare bad news in the face and work to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Only then will we build the country we want.

Georgia Liu (VI)

idly remember the events of 9/11, I only know of that day through second hand stories, as I was not yet born. Growing up in a post-9/11 world, I cannot fully comprehend how different life used to be, but the musical brought me to a better under-

standing of how radically the world around me has changed. Although I was not alive that fateful September morning, the tears I shed at the performance of Come From Away connected me with the people in that theater

just as the people of Gander connected with their visitors. The show I regretted leaving my house for opened my eyes to see how selfless humans can truly be.

Cartoons by Georgia Liu (VI)

THE PINGRY RECORD

Fu’s Fantastic Reads

By JULIA FU (III)

In this book column, I will run through and review some of my favorite books I’ve recently read. My first suggestion is Becoming by Michelle Obama, a refreshingly candid autobiography.

She delves into her childhood and life as the first African American First Lady, telling the reader about her background and how she found her voice. Obama shares her authentic self with the reader, taking us through her life full of accomplishments and meaning.

The book is split into three parts: “Becoming Me,” “Becoming Us,” and “Becoming More.”

Each section brings new perspectives and sheds light onto her own life and the life of her husband, former President Barack Obama. As the story continues, you see how she grows, not only as a person, but as a mother, a wife, and a First Lady.

Enduring and facing many obstacles, Michelle Obama inspires the reader to become truly and unabashedly themselves.

My next suggestion is Death on the Nile by Agatha

Christie. A very complex book with a chilling plot and well-developed characters, Death on the Nile is a great book to get you started in the Hercule Poirot series. The book starts slowly by introducing all of the characters and eventually

building up to the murder on a cruise in Egypt. The real investigations begin when Linnet Ridgeway, a beautiful, rich socialite, is murdered in the prime of her life. She comes onto the cruise for her honeymoon with her new husband. Luckily, Hercule Poirot, world-renowned de-

COLUMNS MARCH 4, 2019

tective, happens to be on the same boat. The people on the boat all have separate motives and agendas, and it is up to Hercule Poirot to uncover the truth. Christie introduces many plotlines in the book, and, as the reader, you must avoid the red herrings and try to solve the murder.

Finally, Six of Crows

by Leigh Bardugo is a heist story with diverse characters in a fantasy world. The book begins with a short prologue that introduces the setting of this story: a city of thieves, liars, and opportunity. Like many fantasy novels, it does start slow, but the pace quickly picks up. The book is focused on six central characters, each with their own narratives and different skill sets.

All the characters have interesting flaws that draw the reader to sympathize with them. Bardugo weaves a grimy fantasy complete with knives, guns, magic, and technology. The character clashes and interactions increase tensions, and, as you keep reading the book, the stakes get higher and higher until the final moment when all is revealed.

Baked to Perfection: Livingston’s Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza

By FELICIA HO (VI)

Craving a slice of pie in the cold days of winter? Dreaming of that crispy brown crust crumbling with a satisfying crunch and that smooth tomato sauce melting with a fresh layer of mozzarella cheese? Put down the phone for Pizza Brothers, Dominos, Pizza Hut, or wherever your pizza pangs typically lead you. Instead, stop by the nearest Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza to dig into some hearty Italian fare.

With six locations in New Jersey alone, Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza has exploded in popularity since its first doors opened in 2002. Anthony Bruno, the founder, takes pride in every step of the process – picking the freshest ingredients, making and stretching the dough daily, handling orders, sliding the pizza into an 800-degree coal fired oven, and presenting the pie to customers.

In fact, every single item on the menu (excluding the cheesecake and the salads, of course!) is baked in the 800-degree coal

fired oven and delivers a smoky and crunchy first bite.

While you are anxiously waiting for that first bite, take a look around the restaurant.

Hanging on the walls are a few signs left behind from those who came before you. There’s a framed, signed jersey, probably from legendary quarterback Dan Marino, who frequents Anthony’s Pizza in Florida and is the inspiration behind the Eggplant Marino pizza; some magazine and newspaper clippings; and a series of black-andwhite photos with celebrities.

In a few moments, you too will join their ranks.

When ordering, keep in mind that portion sizes are large, as the dishes are meant to be shared with family and friends.

As for appetizers, try the Coal Oven Roasted Chicken Wings with caramelized onions and focaccia, a flat oven-baked Italian bread that is nicely seasoned with a mix of spices that accents the flavor of the onions.

The drumsticks are incredibly juicy, and the blackened char adds an edge to the tender, white

chicken.

If you’re feeling adventurous, go for the speciality pies; personal favorites of mine include the Philly Cheesesteak and the Eggplant Marino.

Topped with caramelized onions and marinated steak, a slice of the philly cheesesteak does a great job of rekindling memories of Philadelphia’s best. The Eggplant Marino is a must-get – especially for any vegetarians in the family. Even though the eggplant is sliced into paper-thin pieces, each bite is juicy and tangy, complimenting the thickness of the cheese.

Of course, there is always the trustworthy build-your-ownpizza option to solve any arguments at the table.

A few thoughts to consider before you wrap up your order: if you are ordering the calzone, be prepared for a small pool of oil oozing out of the ricotta and cheese stuffed into the shell. It is definitely not a finger food, and even the length of a small calzone is about the diameter of small pie. Experiment by adding a little color to your plate - try the Arugula Pizza or the classic Arugula Salad with Burrata.

One of the downsides to Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza might be just how filling it is: by the end of every lunch at Anthony’s, I am ready to fall into a food coma. Of course, that blissful happiness of finishing a meal well done attests to the rich flavor even in the crispy, thin pizzas. Where else can you grab a slice right out of a 800-degree coal fired oven?

Karuppur on the Consumer Electronics Show

By ANEESH KARUPPUR (IV)

Welcome back to The Pingry Record’s Tech Column! There’s a lot to talk about this issue — namely the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada — but there’s still exciting stuff going on back home at Pingry, too.

First up, Pingry’s Student Technology Committee (STC) has made a lot of progress over the season.

Pingry’s Apple Authorized Service Provider, called The Bear Repair, has fixed many students’ computers since it was started this fall. The Bear Repair has done everything from troubleshooting problems to running official diagnostic tests to performing display and battery replacements.

It provides the same level of service as an Apple Genius Bar, but without the hassle of driving to a different place or making an appointment far in advance. STC’s Apple Certified M a c Te c h n i cians (ACMT) are fully qualified and follow official procedures, and The Bear Repair’s pricing is lower as well. Check it out in the back of the tech office.

Consultations, troubleshooting, and problem diagnoses are completely free! More ACMTs are being trained as this article is being written, so there will be even more available technicians in the coming months.

STC’s Tech Team has undertaken an endeavor to provide charging carts around the school, so students don’t have to leave their laptop in the tech office or sit in the library if it needs to be charged. The Charging Station team is currently working on the logistics and the placement of these carts

and hopes to roll them out as soon as possible.

Tech Team is also working on getting the most out of the school’s 3D printer.

New members are being trained on how to use computer-aided design (CAD) to make and print models. All students are allowed to use the 3D printer provided they design the models themselves.

In global tech news, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was a big deal. Computers, specifically gaming laptops, made a big splash at the show. Many highperformance computers were released with Nvidia’s latest RTX line of graphics processing units (GPUs).

Additionally, laptop maker

Gigabyte released a laptop that uses artificial intelligence to optimize power delivery. All of these innovations, while very expensive and not completely practical yet, point towards a software-driven future.

Another big theme at the show was new smartphones. Many manufacturers showed off unique designs, including smart flip phones, and more notably foldable phones. These devices are important since they feature screens that can bend almost a full 360 degrees. This could potentially mean more screen size in the same form factor and could increase portability. Companies like Apple and Samsung have developed proprietary

Counter-Couture

By KRISTINE FU (VI)

During this bleak winter season, comfort is the priority. Many girls are sporting cozy shearling jackets and teddy coats to stay warm.

Though, despite the winter aesthetic of oversized sweaters and leggings, there are many exciting fashion trends on the rise at Pingry.

What was once dismissed as kitschy and gaudy is making a comeback; animal prints have been spotted on skirts, turtlenecks, and even phone cases! Pair your favorite basic sweater with a leopard print skirt or finish a monochromatic outfit with faux snakeskin shoes. On a night out, wear a leopard print coat with heels for the “city-girl look.”

With the spring season only a few weeks away, it’s time to break out the Lilly Pulitzer dresses and pastel skirts, as this year’s spring trends are reminiscent of Sixties fashion. The counterculture of the 1960’s represented a rebellion against the values of traditional society. During this time of social upheaval, main-

stream fashion was radically changed with the emergence of Bohemian fashion.

The same trends of flared sleeves, fringe jackets, and flowy peasant dresses can be seen at today’s popular

clothing stores, such as Free People and Forever 21. Embrace the Boho-chic style with floral print dresses and embroidered denim jackets.

For a comfortable and stylish outfit, wear a pair of flowy and flared pants with a plain tee-shirt.

With the revival of Six-

5

knowledge and techniques in this technology due to their promises.

Virtual reality is also becoming more important. HTC, which makes the Vive headset, demonstrated a new eye-tracking technology that allows you to look around a virtual space without moving your head.

Oculus debuted the Quest, a new headset which provides a virtual reality experience without the hassle of hooking up a computer. In fact, Pingry has both HTC Vive and Oculus headsets, and a desktop to power them, so students will hopefully be able to use virtual reality technology in their classes in the coming years.

The television section has traditionally been a standout performer at CES, since most of the cutting-edge display innovations debut on large, expensive, televisions and gradually trickle down into mobile devices and laptops. LG, in addition to showing off a production version of its rollable TV, demonstrated a transparent 55-inch TV. This TV can blend into the wall behind it by pretending to be a piece of glass, but it can display images like a normal TV when needed.

All of these new technologies are cool, but not very practical right now. For one, they aren’t exactly sturdy, and these prototypes are unlikely to be able to survive rigorous daily use. However, it is quite likely that you will find these emerging technologies in your next iPhone or MacBook.

That’s all for this issue!

Stay tuned for another issue in the world of technology. ties Mod, you’ll be seeing lots of brightly-colored culottes and tweed tops this spring. If you’re looking for the essential mini dress, find one with a fun and flirty print, like polka dots or colored stripes. Though once regarded as a fashion faux pas, mixing prints is in vogue once again. So, don’t be afraid to experiment with the broad color palette. This was the era of bold, innovative, and creative fashion that broke all the rules and created new trends. English model, Twiggy, popularized the plaid mini skirt, which had initially shocked the public. Leopard print was born in the wardrobe of the first lady and Sixties fashion icon, Jackie Kennedy.

Yves Saint Laurent’s kneehigh boots demonstrated that fashion had both functional and aesthetic value.

As the Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli once said, “In difficult times, fashion is always outrageous.”

Whether it’s mixing prints or trying a vintage trend, take a fashion risk this season to find your own style. The values of individuality and self-discovery were fundamental to the counterculture revolution.

Photo Credits (Left to Right) : Google Images, Google Images, Felicia Ho (VI), Urban Outfitters

6

THE PINGRY RECORD

SCHOOL NEWS MARCH 4, 2019

Lunar New Year Assembly Students Dance the Night Away Offers Diverse Performances at Snowball

By RHEA KAPUR (IV)

On February 8th, the highly anticipated Lunar New Year Assembly opened with a bright, lively rendition of the traditional dragon dance.

This was performed by students from the Form II Chinese class with taiko drumming by Mr. Christopher Leone in the background. During this standard compo-

nent of festive Chinese celebrations, students maneuvered a long dragon figure using poles positioned throughout the body to simulate the “river spirit,” which the dragon represents. They also symbolize Chinese culture and are thought to bring good luck for the new year.

The 2019 Lunar New Year began on February 5th and ended on the 19th. As per the zodiac calendar, 2019 is the Year of the Pig – the 12th animal in the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac signs.

In China, pigs generally symbolize wealth. Those born in the Year of the Pig are thought to be blessed with good fortune, happiness, and success later in life.

First, and a definite highlight from this year’s assembly, were 12 exchange students from Quzhou No. 2 High School, Pingry’s sister school in southeastern China. The students, who visited Pingry for 2 weeks and were hosted by the families of various Upper School students, first introduced themselves to the school and then proceeded to sing songs they had prepared that reflected the

spirit of their city and school.

Next, the brother-andsister dynamic duo, Elbert Ho (Grade 6) on piano and Felicia Ho (VI) on violin, performed a duet of the traditional Chinese folk song “The Joy of Spring” to welcome in the spring, all while dressed in traditional Chinese clothing. Belinda Poh (III), Francesca Rainuzzo (IV), Udochi Emeghara (VI), and Annaya Baynes (VI), members of the K-Pop Dance club, followed with another energetic, more modern performance of “DDU-DU DDU-DU” by the K-Pop girl group Black Pink.

The Taiko Drumming Club introduced a new

performance piece, “Dokokara,” during the assembly, featuring solos

by Noah Bergam (IV), Julian Lee (IV), Justin Li (IV), and Guan Liang (IV). This year’s piece was “one of the hardest yet, especially in terms of technique” said Lee, “with many complicated elements that involved interaction between us four soloists – we had to pass the beat back and forth.” Next was The Purple Swans Dance Troupe, a group focused on displaying the beauty, ideas, and significance behind Chinese culture through peking opera, which combines opera with dancing, acting, and acrobatics. Many members of the Pingry community belong to this group, and some took part in their dance performance during the assembly, titled, “The Song of the Pear Blossom.”

New additions to the 2019 assembly included Natalie DeVito (III)’s recital of the poem “Facing the Sea by the Warmth of Spring” by the famous poet Hai Zi entirely in Chinese. The closing element, an exclusive interview with Pingry Sage Dining Executive Chef Mr. Won Ho, a Chinese immigrant, and James Wang (V) was also a highlight. Overall, the many diverse performances of this year’s Lunar New Year Assembly emphasized the beauty of Chinese culture and its core virtues, something to remember and look back on for the year to come.

Sage Dining Crossword

By JUSTIN LI (IV)

1 2 3

4 5

6 7

8 9 10

Down: 1.

Hearty Seafood and Sausage ____________ 2.

Chicken Noodle ____________ 4.

Chicken ____________ Masala 6.

Korean ____________ Bowl Station 7. ____________ Stroganoff 8. ____________ Pao Chicken

ANSWERS:

Across: 2.

Butternut ____________ 3.

Garlic Roasted ____________ Wedges 5.

Rodeo ____________ 7.

Fresh-____________ Cookies 9.

Fish & Hand-cut ____________ 10.

Lo Mein ____________ Bar

By MEGHAN DURKIN (IV)

On Saturday, January 26, students arrived at The Westin Governor Morris in Morristown, NJ for Pingry’s annual winter dance, Snowball. Snowball is a “Sadie Hawkins”-style dance, in which girls traditionally invite partners to attend the dance with them. Students, dressed in formal attire, filled the hotel for a night of dancing, music, and friendship.

Last year, The Westin served as the location for Snowball for the first time.

The venue turned out to be a terrific space, with a large dance floor, spacious lobby, and plenty of dining tables for students.

Because it was so wellreceived by the community, Student Government decided to hold the dance at The Westin again. Upon arrival, students entered a main lobby where they could check their coats and bags. Up a flight of stairs, there was a buffet along with soft drinks and a dance floor.

The food choices were a highlight of the event, including macaroni and cheese, dumplings, and

burgers. Student Body President Andrew Cowen (VI) agreed that “the food was great.” Along with the food, students could take pictures in the photo booth with props, while the event as a whole was photographed by Peter Chollick Photography.

Helen Baeck-Hubloux (V) said, “I found the photo booth to be a very good experience for bonding.”

This year, music included both popular songs, like Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow,” and old favorites, like “Come on Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.”Many students crowded the dance floor throughout the night, including Baeck-Hubloux, who added, “[I] had a

wonderful time dancing with friends.”

Students agreed that Snowball served as a great opportunity to connect with classmates. Maile Winterbottom (IV) said that it is a “good time for the school to get together as a community and everyone to just bond over something super cool and fun and to get dressed up.”

Sydney Stovall (IV) said, “Snowball is a great time to get with friends and meet new people. You are all dressed up, so it’s a really fun atmosphere.

Of course, it’s a good time to release some stress.”

Snowball, once again, provided a time for the student body to come together with dancing, music, and food.

Black History Month Assembly Focuses on Community

By ARMANI DAVIDSON (VI)

Black History Month was established to honor the accomplishments of African Americans throughout U.S. history.

On Friday, February 1, Upper and Middle school students came together for the annual Black History Month Assembly.

The assembly paid tribute to Black History Month with student performances including singing, dancing, acting, and poetry. Nolan Baynes (IV), one of the presidents of the Black Student Union, noted that, “With this assembly, we wanted to display the gravity of Black History in a new and creative way to grab the attention of our peers.”

The Pingry Buttondowns and Balladeers opened the assembly with the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by J. Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson. The Buttondowns and Balladeers were followed by a group of middle schoolers who reenacted pivotal moments that took place during the Civil Rights Act, such as the first student sitin in Greensboro, North Carolina, Martin Luther K i n g J r. ’s “ I H a v e a Dream” speech during the March on Washington, and Rosa Parks’ refusal to stand for a white passenger on a

Montgomery bus. These middle schoolers “time traveled” using a time capsule full of mementos a l l udi ng t o hi s t or i c a l events to illustrate the hardships and progress that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement.

Members of the Black Student Union, including Kamal Brown (VI), Solape Fakorede (VI), Rashida Mohammed (VI), Nia Phillips (VI), and Veronica Williams (VI) performed “I, Too”

by Langston Hughes.

The poem describes how Hughes was able to identify as an American, even though he is the “darker brother.” Williams

an award-winning step routine. Stepping, a type of dance that uses movement, words, and sounds to communicate, is a tradition in African and black communities that originated in the 1900s. Angelina Mayers (VI) felt that “The Black Student Union did a great job with the poem, “I, To o , ” a s d i d t h e s t e p group from North Star.

It was so riveting! I was excited and empowered to celebrate Black History Month.” The assembly ended with the Balladeers singing “Imagine” by John Lennon.

Phillips, one of the presidents of BSU, said

said, “Reciting Langston Hughes’ “I, Too” made me feel proud as I was able to stand strong in my own skin.”

Da Boyz, from North Star Academy Clinton Hill Middle School in Newark, NJ, performed

that “The Black History Month Assembly was a chance for not only the Black Student Union, but also the middle school to pay homage to the African Americans in history who have done so much for the progress of society.”

Photo Credits (Left to Right): Pingry Communications, Peter Chollick Photography, Pingry Communications

THE PINGRY RECORD SCHOOL NEWS MARCH 4, 2019

P4GE Sparks Great Interest in its First Year

By BROOKE PAN ( IV)

Pingry for Girls Empowerment (P4GE) is a new club in Pingry this year, looking “to raise awareness on contemporary issues affecting women and girls both nationwide and around the world,” according to club co-leader Eva Schiller (IV). The other co-leaders, Emma Huang (IV) and Sydney Stovall (IV), join Schiller to broaden the scope of girls’ empowerment both within and outside the Pingry community.

The club consists of a group of students interested in learning more about the fight f o r w o m e n ’s rights and taking a more active role in advocating for women’s rights in today’s society. Although it was only established this year, P4GE has already gathered a diverse group of students who are eager to participate in the rich opportunities the club has to offer.

One of the main priorities P4GE leaders had when creating this club was differentiating it from Girls’ Affinity group, a group with similar interests. “The Girls’ Affinity group is definitely an extremely important asset to the school, so we wanted to make sure [our missions]

weren’t clashing,” Stovall explains. “An Affinity Group is designed to bring people together that share the same identity to discuss topics that relate their shared identity.

P4GE strives to be open to all genders because we believe women’s equality should not solely be an issue to women.”

P4GE hopes to attract any student who shares the same goals as the club by hosting

fun activities at each meeting.

The success and popularity of P4GE can be attributed to the creative ideas and opportunities the leaders have.

When asked about her reaction to the response of the club, Schiller adds, “The leaders and I were very excited at the response of our club.

Right now a large part of our club consists of sophomores, but we got a lot of attention at the club fair, and can hopefully expand further as we plan more activities.”

These activities include

“female guest speakers from varying backgrounds to talk about female empowerment on a small panel,” according to Stovall, as well as “[taking] action by writing letters to government representatives” according to Schiller. With these plans in mind, the leaders hope to spark an interest for others to take initiative as well.

One of the first outside– of–school events the leaders planned was a trip to t h e Wo m e n ’s March in New York City, NY. However, due to forecasts suggesting unfavora b l e w e a t h e r, the trip had to be cancelled.

Fortunately, the Women’s March did not go unattended as Grace Wang (IV) travelled to the city to attend the march. “I was disappointed when the trip got cancelled because I was really looking forward to it,” says Wang. “I decided to go anyway. It was such a nice atmosphere, and I had a great time!”

This year, P4GE hopes to encourage more students to participate in their club and to build on the environment at Pingry as a whole. The leaders are excited to see what the future brings for P4GE, and they aspire to spread their enthusiasm to other Pingry students as well.

“Check, Please!” Drama II Takes on First Dates

By MONICA CHAN (IV)

On January 22, the sophomore Drama II class held their annual assembly, showcasing the skills they have practiced this year.

The performance written

by Jonathan Rand was entitled “Check, Please!”

It consisted of multiple small scenes of different first dates, poking fun at the awkward and quirky people one may encounter. Many of the students had multiple roles throughout the assembly, pushing their ability to quickly switch between roles and immerse themselves in different characters.

The class performed thirteen scenes, each depicting the comical flaws of first dates. They featured a woman who was a die-hard fan of football, another who ignored her date entirely, one who was absolutely convinced

he would spend the rest of his life with his date, and many more amusing personalities.

“It was a very rigorous process. We didn’t have much time to put the assembly together, only six rehearsals total,” said Jonathan Marsico (IV). Guan Liang (IV) shared, “Before the assembly started, I was

so nervous that I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest.”

“Every character was so unique and complex and I think that [Mr. Van Antwerp] did a really great job casting to everyone’s strengths,” said Josie Alston (IV). Alston, in one scene, had a completely silent role as a mime, which was a particular challenge

for her. She noted, “Having to act as a mime towards the end of the show was really difficult because I had to rely solely on my body to communicate my character’s story and intention with the audience.”

Each scene elicited laughter and applause from the audience. “I could really sense the friendliness and acceptance of the whole school. I know that all of us really appreciated the positive feedback from the first few scenes because they really helped us overcome the uncomfortableness and thrive onstage,” said Liang.

The scenes were wellrehearsed and the cast did an excellent job of collaborating to make sure the transitions were smooth. Pingry is excited to see what else is in store for these talented thespians.

7

Pingry Introduces Students from Quzhou to American Culture

By EVA SCHILLER (IV)

On the first day of Chinese New Year, Quzhou, China, was filled with warmth and gaiety. School and work went on break as people returned home to their families and celebrated the coming of the new y e a r. B u t for twelve students from Quzhou Number 2 High School, the first day of Chinese N e w Ye a r meant saying goodbye to their families and boarding a plane to the other side of the world.

On the evening of February 5th, these students landed in Newark, New Jersey and were welcomed by Ms. Yi Hao, Pingry Chinese teacher, and several Pingry host families.

Over the next week, they explored foods, activities, and places that highlight American culture. On the Pingry campus, this included visiting the lower school, observing Chinese classes and speaking with the students, hiking to Pingry’s green campus features, and watching school sporting events. The twelve students and their English teacher even sang a beautiful medley of American and Chinese songs at the Lunar New

Year assembly.

Outside of Pingry, the host families were tasked with planning their guests’ activities. These included, but were not limited to, shopping in New York City, skiing, visiting famous museums, and trying fro-yo and Chinese

takeout. In fact, many of the students had a delicious taste of apple pie (an American classic!) during their stay. These activities were truly the highlights of the exchange, as the students got to “see the similarities and differences in American and Chinese teen culture,” according to Monica Chan (IV), one of the host students. By showing their guests how to eat toast (use your hands, not a fork), use Snapchat, and bowl, the hosts discovered the joy “of introducing someone to a new culture, and watching them grow as they try new things,” in the words of Guan Liang (IV).

Although the Chinese students are all studying English, the exchange also encouraged Pingry students to work on their

Chinese skills and reach across language barriers to connect with their guests.

Alex Strasser (VI) commented, “Hosting has been an amazing experience for me, and it has reinforced my desire to study Chinese language and culture in college.”

Although the Chinese students were only here for one week, they formed loving, lasting relationships with their host families. At the farewell dinner, each guest and host made an impromptu speech about their experiences, and how they would “remember it all, forever,” according to JiaYi, the guest of Eva Schiller (IV). Tears were shed by both hosts and guests during the event as they reminisced about the week and reminded one another to keep in touch.

Many of the speeches also included a heartfelt thankyou to Ms. Hao and Mr. Jeff Jewett for their hard work and time spent planning.

After leaving Pingry, the students visited tourist spots in Washington D.C. and New York City, sending photos to their host families along the way. Monica Chan’s guest, Ming, described the exchange best: “Good food, good people, and I had a wonderful time!”

TanTan and the Spizzwinks Dazzle at All-School Assembly

By ALEX KAPLAN (IV)

On January 8, Pingry welcomed back TanTan Wang ‘16, who visited to perform with his collegiate a cappella group, the S p i z z w i n k s . Wa n g i s currently a member of Yale U n i v e r s i t y ’s Class of 2020.

During his time at Pingry, he was an avid member of the school’s drama and music programs. Wang was a longtime member and president of the Buttondowns, participated in multiple Pingry productions, and received two Pingry Arts Awards in 2016 – the Outstanding A Capella Group Award and the Pingry Drama “Bottom” Award. The Spizzwinks returned to Pingry as a part of their hometown tour, which takes the group through the homes of each of its members.

The East Coast leg of the hometown tour featured performances in Summit

and Millburn; eventually the group opted to add Pingry as a stop to their tour. The performance included a capella renditions of popular songs, as well as spoken

word skits performed by the members of the Spizzwinks.

The concert had an overwhelmingly positive response from t h e c o m m u n i t y. D r.

Andrew Moore shared his thoughts, saying, “The Spizzwinks were wonderful.” He commented on the technique and song choice of the group, adding that, “They draw on a long tradition of a cappella music mixing

traditional and current popular songs in their repertoire,” and that, “The group has continued a high level of performance skill in both choral blend and solo singing.”

D r. M o o r e fondly recounted his time teaching Wa n g , s a y i n g that, “TanTan was a real cheerleader for the music program at Pingry. He was an outstanding Glee Club president, and was supportive of everyone in the performing arts in o u r c o m m u n i t y. ” Wang is one of many great examples of Pingry alumni involved in the arts. Dr. Moore expressed his appreciation for alumni like Wang, remarking, “I am so proud of all of our Pingry alumni who have gone on to sing in many of the great collegiate choral groups throughout the country.”

Photo Credits (Left to Right): Rhea Kapur (IV), Kapur, Pingry Communications, Pingry Communications

8

Page Volume CXLV, Number III

SportS The Pingry School, Basking Ridge, New Jersey

(VI) and Michael Vessa (VI), the team is

By JUSTIN LI (IV), poised for success in the Conference and VICKY GU (V), ALISON State Tournaments. starting goalie, Kevin Parnham LEE (V), MATT LEE (V), (IV),Their has led the team’s strong defense EVA SCHILLER (IV), all season. With 5 shutouts and many JOSIE JAHNG (VI), crucial saves, he has clearly had a very season. Matt Keller has also WALKER JOHNSON successful been a driving force on defense. Daniel (IV), DEAN KOENIG Schnack (VI), Joe Faccone (V), Eric Bush (IV) & BRIAN LI (III) (IV), and Jared Kordonsky (IV) have

BOYS’ SWIMMING 10-0 Pingry boys’ swimming has had yet another dominant season. Like last year, they’ve maintained an undefeated record, and, as senior captain Kevin Ma (VI) states, “Although we graduated an extremely strong senior class last year, we still managed to prove to everyone that we are the best team in the state.” The team’s commanding 109-61 win over Bridgewater, the next best team in the state, serves as evidence of their strength this year.

Their performance earned them a first place finish at the Skyland Conference Championship, where they claimed 17 top-six swims and placed first in every relay. They also won the Prep Championships against other strong teams, including Delbarton and Pennington. In addition to their success at meets, the team’s season was filled with record-breaking swims. Individually, Matt Fallon (IV) set both new school and pool records in the 200 meter IM, 200 yard IM, 400 meter freestyle, and 100 yard breastroke. Kevin Ma (VI) also broke the Skyland Conference record for the 50 yard free. As they head into the state tournament, they hope to continue their success and add yet another title to an already impressive season.

GIRLS’ SWIMMING 7-3

The girls’ swim team is finishing up the season with a strong winning record.

The team came in first place at the Prep A Championships and second in the combined Somerset County/Skyland Conference meet.

Captain Grace O’Mara (VI) explains that the season began with a rough start, as “most of our athletes were swimming in club meets and couldn’t be at our dual meets,” but everyone’s hard work allowed them to recover and win the semi-finals of the state tournament against Mount Saint Mary. The troubles from the beginning of the season inspired everyone to “push ourselves and go outside our comfort zone,” in the words of team member Lily Arrom (IV). For that, O’Mara states, “I am immensely proud of the team, and hopefully they will continue the momentum we gained this season!”

Though four swimmers and one team manager are graduating this year, Captain Darlene Fung (VI) says that she is “so excited to see what the team does in the future, because not only are they a fast group of girls, they have such an amazing energy and strong work ethic. I know they will be great leaders for future members of our team, and as long as they keep having fun, the fast swimming will come automatically.”

The team will compete against Immaculate Heart in the state finals on Sunday, February 23.

BOYS’ ICE HOCKEY 16-2-1 The boys’ ice hockey team entered this season hungry for victory. After losing to Ridge in last year’s Skyland Conference Tournament finals, the team vowed to return this year and win. With that goal in mind, they had an extremely strong showing throughout the season, with an impressive winning record. Under the leadership of captain Matthew Keller (VI) and assistant captains Daniel Schnack

been leading the attack, with each player scoring over thirty points, a rarity in high school hockey. In addition to these star players, the depth of the team has truly helped propel them to victories. Head Coach Scott Garrow said that the key to success this year was “depth up front and on defense,” which allowed the coaches to “put a lot of players on the ice and wear other teams down over the course of the game.”

Since the regular season is over, the playoffs are now the team’s focus. With all of the hard work and preparation that they have put in, Coach Garrow says the only thing left to do is “win a Championship.”

GIRLS’ ICE HOCKEY

6-11

The girls’ ice hockey team, led by captains Clare Hall (VI) and Sophia Smith (VI), has powered through the season to finish with six wins and eleven losses.

Despite having only thirteen members and facing large, competitive teams, the team has stayed resilient, and in the end, made it all the way to the MSU league semifinals. Although they unfortunately lost to Chatham-Madison, the team is new to the league, which makes their success in the tournament impressive nonetheless.

Perhaps more important than their record is their energy and how close they are as a team, both of which can be attributed to their relatively small size.

“We’re always really supportive,” team member Anushka Agrawal states (IV).

They are also very excited for success in the future. As Co-captain Clare Hall says, “Although the team was small this year and will be losing two seniors, we hope that many girls join next year and that the team has a successful season!”

BOYS’ WINTER TRACK The boys’ winter track team has had a great season so far. This year, the team is led by Captains Nick Robinson (VI) and Joe Shilts (VI). Though the team lost several key players to graduation last year, that did not stop the team’s success on the track. When asked about the season so far, Robinson said that, “Considering how few members we had this year, I’m really proud of what we were able to accomplish.” During practice, the team pushed through some hard running workouts, and they lifted in the BAC to build up their strength. Over the course of the season, “everyone managed to improve and ran some great times,” Robinson noted. The biggest contributors and scorers this year

included Henry Wood (IV), who runs the 4x400m, 800m, and 1600m; and Joe Shilts, who does the 55m hurdles, 55m, and 200m. For next year, the team hopes to have more new members to increase their depth and continue their success.

GIRLS’ WINTER TRACK The girls’ winter track team is off to a fantastic start to their season. Led by captains Cathleen Parker (VI) and Ally Lima (VI), the team has been working hard

both in the weight room and on the track to prepare for their meets. Despite losing some seniors to graduation, the addition of newcomers has created great depth to a strong veteran squad. Parker notes that “we have a much more diverse team this year, including a number of pole vaulters and throwers which is something we’ve never had in the past.” Key contributors include: Nikki Vanasse (V), who has set and broke her own records in the 1600m and won the 3200m at Groups; Ryan Davi (IV), who has come back from injury to lead the team in the 400m; Caroline Dannenbaum (V), who is the secondbest in the pole vault in New Jersey and a consistent scorer; and Lauren Taylor (V), who has placed at multiple championship meets and set new school records in the 200m. Going forward, Vanasse, Dannenbaum, and the 4x4 team of Davi, Kierstyn Brown (V), Parker, and Dylan Anidjar (V) will be competing at the Meet of Champions. In addition, the 4x8 team and the pole vaulters will be competing at Easterns. Their goal is to continue their success on the track and qualify for the New Balance Nationals in March.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

15-3

The boys’ basketball team wrapped up their regular season on February 9th with a victory over Somerset Tech. Led by Captains Nate Hefner (VI), Kyle Anstoots (VI), and Ray Fluet (V), the team has seen great success this season. Although last year was a tough year for the team, this season has been entirely different. They are undefeated in conference play with 8 wins and no losses, and hold an impressive overall record of 15-3 with big wins over Hillsborough, Voorhees, and Somerville.

When asked about the team’s success, Head Coach Jason Murdock credited the “camaraderie” between players and their willingness “to play for one another.”

With the Somerset County tournament set to begin this week, and the Non-Public North A state tournament kicking off in two weeks, the team is preparing to have a strong postseason showing. Coach Murdock hopes that the experience and competitiveness of his upperclassmen will lead the team to victory. Tough games lie ahead, but Coach Murdock knows that the team will use the “great defense, ability to share the ball, and competitive spirit that they have displayed all season long.”

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

6-12

It took some time for the girls’ basketball team to find its momentum this season, but the girls became much more comfortable on the court by January.

Starting guard Olivia Volpe (IV) explained that the team’s goal midway through the season was “to beat teams we lost to the first time we played them”; such teams included Bernards, Delaware Valley,

and Voorhees, all of which Big Blue later beat. The second time Pingry played these teams, they beat Bernards by three points, Delaware Valley by one point, and Voorhees by one point. Evidently, the key difference between the first and second half of the season was Pingry’s ability to successfully finish tight games.

Volpe expressed the team’s excitement for the County and Prep Championships, saying, “We are looking forward to going as far as we can in the upcoming tourna-

ments.” She also sees how far the team has come since its start: “We are playing our best basketball right now. I’m excited for our potential next year.”

BOYS’ SQUASH

15-2

This year, the boys’ squash team had an excellent season and finished with a very strong record. The team also placed 17th at Nationals, becoming Division II National Champions in the process. Under the captainship of Jeffrey Xiao (VI) and Chris Zachary (VI), they went into every match with the determination to overcome all barriers and win.

Coached by Mr. Ramsay Vehslage, the team beat Lawrenceville 6-1, claiming the unofficial title of State Champions yet again. The team also performed exceptionally well at the High School National Championships in Hartford, Connecticut.

Despite not qualifying for Division I this season, they put all their effort into the tournament and won Division II, beating some of the top schools in the country, including Choate Rosemary Hall and Phillips Andover. Mr. Vehslage commented, “The boys played with incredible heart all weekend … We’ve been working hard all season long, and it’s great to see the consistent effort paying off when it mattered the most.”

On January 6, the boys’ squash team competed in the New Jersey High School Squash Championship. The players had an impressive showing, with Chris Zachary placing second and Alex Chiang (V) finishing in third place.

Although seniors Xiao and Zachary are leaving this year, the team is looking forward to the arrival of new freshmen and hopes to continue competing at the highest level in the future.

GIRLS’ SQUASH

4-2

The girls’ squash team had a successful season with a final record of 6-6 and finished 16th at the U.S. Squash High School National Championships.

Many of the team’s members also competed in the NJ High School Squash Championship on January 6th. Renee Chan (V) secured a victory for Pingry, Alisa Chokshi (VI) took second, and Olivia Hung (III) finished third.

Coaching a young team with lots of potential, Head Coach Tina Rix-Stout is excited to see how the team’s players develop and progress in the future. Although captains Chokshi and Aashiya Jaggi (VI) are graduating this year, the addition of four new freshmen on the team makes its future very promising.

Despite performing well over the season, the team recognized a few areas they need to improve in. In order to prepare for next season, Coach Rix said, “[As] a team, we need to work on our fitness and endurance. By doing this, the players will be more confident in their skills and able to withstand matches that are longer in duration and intensity.”

The team is excited to continue building a supportive culture and strong

MARCH 4, 2019

connections with each other. Coach Rix explained that “Everybody should put all their effort into the team to ensure we put our best foot forward at the start of the new season.”

BOYS’ FENCING 1-11

The boys’ fencing team started the season strong, with a 15-12 win against Gill St. Bernards. Despite three seniors having graduated last year, each nationally rated in their weapon, the team “had a lot of new fencers join the team that made good progress this year,” according to Captain Chris Yu (VI).

This year, they fenced particularly well at the Somerset County Tournament, competing against larger and more experienced teams like Ridge, Bernards, and Montgomery. Captain Michael Sun (VI) placed first and Yu placed second in the tournament’s individual competition.

They also led a first-place victory in the sabre squad competition.

Sun comments, “As one of the smaller sports teams at Pingry, we all became much closer with each other and kept a great attitude throughout the entire season.

As fencers, everyone saw major improvement, and I hope all future fencing seasons continue like this.”

Though the season did not go as well as hoped, Yu expects to see progress in the fencing team over the coming years, with new talent coming in and current fencers improving. Nevertheless, struggling with sickness and injury, the team was able to push through the season. Though this was both Yu’s and Sun’s last year, the team looks forward to next year.

GIRLS’ FENCING 6-7 The girls’ fencing team has performed strongly throughout the entire season. At the beginning of the season, they fenced in the Somerset County tournament; Captain Georgia Liu (VI) placed third and Alison Lee (V) placed second in their individual competitions.

Throughout the season, the team has improved with intense practice and private lessons. “I think that this season the team is very close, which is super nice. Even though the majority of the team is underclassmen, they do their best every practice/meet,” Liu says. One proud moment for the team was when they beat Watchung Hills 14-13.

The team also finished well at Districts, securing second as a team and qualifying for Sweet Sixteens. Though the Pingry team was seeded 10th, they fought 7th seed Bernards and lost with a close score of 12-15.

In addition, the épee squad placed first and the foil squad placed second. Both squads will fence in State Squads.

Four people qualified for district individuals, including Josie Alston (IV) and Ameera Ebrahim (IV). Two fencers, Jessica Lin (IV) and Alison Lee (V), also performed well enough to compete in state individuals.

Ashna Kumar (V) comments, “Considering some of the freshman girls are new to high school fencing or their weapon, what the team accomplished

was extraordinary. I’m so proud of every single one of them, even the freshmen.”

SKI TEAM

The varsity ski team, led by captains Annie Leithead (VI), Brian Kaplan (VI), Matt Dispenza (V), and Rosemary Collins (IV), is off to an impressive start.

Overall, the team is looking great on the slopes and has continued to improve throughout the season. Leithead has noticed “a lot more aggressive skiing out of many individuals on the team.

They showed up this season with more confidence and poise, and you can see it in the execution of the runs very clearly.”

Assistant Coach Susan Kinney commends the high level of commitment shown by the team members, who travel over an hour each way to the mountain for practice and races and often do not return until after 8:30 PM. She is deeply impressed by their enthusiasm for skiing as well as their support for one other.

The girls’ team is looking to repeat last year’s Non-Public State Championship title, while the boys’ team aims to qualify for states. The captains also hope to compete in the Race of Champions in March.

WRESTLING

4-8

As the Pingry wrestling season approaches its end, the team prepares for some upcoming tournament play. Last year, Brandon Spellman (VI) was the only wrestler to make the State Tournament, and Coach George Sullivan says that he wishes “to expand on that this year.” Spellman has put together a fantastic final season, attaining a 27-4 record. In addition, he was the champion of the Pandy Leh tournament, the Hunterdon Central Invitational, and County Championships. He was even named the Outstanding Wrestler of the County Championships.

Zach Dobson (VI) was also a champion of the Pandy Leh tournament for his weight class and finished second at the Hunterdon Invitational and county championships. He finished the season with a 27-2 record.

The team experienced a series of injuries, but younger wrestlers were able to step up and fill in the gaps. Coach Sullivan said that “the team has battled and maintained a competitive spirit all season.” If this spirit is kept throughout the district tournament, the team could send more wrestlers to the regional and state tournaments. Heavyweight wrestler Ore Shote (IV) commended this year’s senior class: “they paved the way for what is to come.”

All scores are updated as of March 4th.

Go Big Blue!

Images Courtesy of Bruce Morrison