Issue II

Standard

the

October/November 2015 | Volume XLI, Issue II

News: 2-5 Opinions: 6-10 Features: 11-17 Culture: 18-21 Sports: 22-24

Understanding Syria Explaining and analyzing the current situation in Syria, as well as the U.S. and Russia’s role in the civil war.

Pages 4-5

EDITORIAL

Reforming the SFDB election process The Standard’s Editorial board calls for more clarity in the SFDB election process.

Page 6

Dimensions of Diversity Exploring the different forms of diversity within ASL and their various effects on the school.

Pages 12-13

Online music vs.

AN OCEAN OF SEPARATION A look into the lives of students who have parents who live abroad and the social, academic and personal impact Zack Longboy | Deputy Editor-in-Chief

Comparing and contrasting the music streaming services Spotify and Apple Music.

Story on pages 16-17

Pages 20-21

The American School in London | One Waverley Place | London NW8 0NP U.K. | standard.asl.org

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Page 2

News

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

SAT Syria

Ubuntu founder visits

TYLER SKOW DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

In his senior year, Jacob Lief (’94) attended an ASL-sponsored trip to South Africa that changed his life forever.

Given free time to wander the streets of a township only just liberated from apartheid, Lief crossed paths with an elderly South African woman. She explained without any prompting, “I just waited 30 hours to cast my ballot.” Without thinking, Lief responded, “I don’t understand, how can you wait 30 hours?” and she said back to him, “No, you don’t understand, I have waited 85 years.”

After that, Lief knew he wanted to become part of the demographically transitioning South Africa.

On October 13, Lief, the founder and CEO of the Ubuntu Education Fund, visited ASL to speak and answer questions in AP Human Geography, Race and Culture classes and after school in a Speakers Series event.

Having attended ASL for high school, Lief recalled how his experience here molded his passion for charitable institution.

“I think most importantly, what influenced me at ASL was the

Jacob Lief (’94) is the founder of the Ubuntu Education Fund.

PHOTO FROM TWITTER.COM/UBUNTUJAKES While in university, Lief spent six months living with a family in South Africa where he observed millions of philanthropic dollars pouring into the post–apartheid

like putting a Band–Aid on an ax wound. It’s not going to work.

It’s almost criminal to see this approach and I started to realize how did I get to a top university

ship children by providing them with what all children deserve – everything,” was born. “I wanted to take the kids who have been raped or who have lost their parents, the bottom of the bottom and prove that if we invested in them – the same way someone invested in me – they would make it out,” Lief said.

Lief was particularly persuaded by the Ubuntu Education Fund Model the night he drove home a South African child during a storm.

“One day there was a huge storm and this boy asked if I would drive him home and I said, ‘Of course’,” Leif said. “I dropped him off and he said, ‘Do you want to come see my home?’ and so I went in this dark shack, water dripping through the roof, a nasty mattress on the ground, one bowl in the corner and I said, ‘Oh, where is your family?’ and he told me, ‘I live here on my own’.”

The boy was only 13 years old.

And that was 17 years ago.

Since then, the Ubuntu Education Fund has grown dramatically and Lief does not plan on slowing development any time soon.

“Over the next five years we are going to grow our campus into a continued state of the art education campus,” he said. We are

velop community institutions in the same mold as us.”

One of the greatest challenges Lief experiences in philanthropic work is the unrealistic expectations placed on organizations to succeed. “I always say if everyone was doing half of what they say they were doing there would be no poverty in the world,” Lief said. “It speaks to this need to just market pure successes no matter how ridiculous they may be.”

Lief believes the process of acquiring funds for charitable organizations has essentially become theatrics. “We exist on these 12 month grant cycles where they give you a grant and they expect you to create miracles and if you don’t you lose your funding, so what do you do? You manipulate your data,” he said.

Lief believes the relationship between donors and organizations needs to be one where failure can exist in order to yield the best results for those in need.

Children who are a part of the Ubuntu Education Fund tend to end up on one of two paths.

When the children turn 16-17, they are either put in a university track, which is usually about 10-20 kids a year, or put on a vocational training camp track, where they put about 100 kids a

“WHAT INFLUENCED ME THE MOST AT ASL WAS THE DIVERSE STUDENT VOICE BASE” JACOB LIEF (‘94) diverse student voice base,” he said. “We had 57 countries represented in the High School and the teachers exposed us to different ways of thinking.”

country. While this money was reaching hundreds of thousands, even millions of people, Lief was skeptical that it could actually have any significant impact. “It’s

in America, how much was invested in me?” he said.

Thus, the premise of the Ubuntu Education Fund, the notion of “helping [to] raise town-

going to “figure out how to leverage, not scale our model, and that means for us building an institute where we train young early stage ventures and help them de-

LEFT: Students attend a lunch meeting to talk with Lief. RIGHT: The Ubuntu Education center in South Africa LEFT: PHOTO BY DREW LEARNER RIGHT: PHOTO FROM UBUNTUFUND.ORG/PHOTO-GALLERY

year. “Whatever [the path] might be, at the end of the day it’s about being healthy, taking home an income, supporting your family and being a citizen,” Lief said.

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Page 3

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

News

ASL creates Software Center EdAid

gains attention

QUINN WHITMAN STAFF WRITER

The Managed Software Center is a new way for students to download and use educational software in a more efficient manner. The software center visually looks similar to the App Store, a factory-installed app on all Mac computers, and replicates it in a similar, user-friendly way. Students and faculty can now download licensed software to their computers with a single click.

Previously, all ASL-owned laptops included many programs of software that some students would never utilize. The software center fixes this issue since students download only the applications they need.

“Users are now allowed to download specific pieces of software to their computers, instead of having multiple unused applications on their system” High School Technology Coordinator Mariam Mathew explained.

The software center also makes the application download process easier for students. “[Prior to the software center] there were many steps to this process,” Tatiana Kalb (’17) said. “For one app I had to download, I had to first go to a link, sign up with a username and password, and then the application would be downloaded onto my computer.”

The software center is free and can be

ANASTASIA RUIMY STAFF WRITER

The software center allows students to easily download a variety of apps they might need for school. PHOTO BY YARRA ELMASRY downloaded through the HS Tech Resources page on Haiku.

In addition to downloading applications, students can download the ASL Virtual Private Network (VPN), which means students can access the ASL servers at other places in London or the world. All a student needs to do is go onto the tech links on the software center and click on the ASL VPN button to

activate it. VPN can allow students to access more of the work they do at school, at home and at other places in the world, Systems Administrator Dominic Carpenter explained.

“The goals of [the software center] were to trial and improve the workflow of teaching and learning, just with a single click,” Carpenter said.

College Board changes SAT ANNA COSTELLO STAFF WRITER

Every once in awhile the College Board needs to review and redesign the SAT so it coincides with what students are actually learning. The current changes to the SAT are structural and the new test will be first administered in March 2016, meaning the class of 2017 will be the first to take the new test.

“

The 2400 SAT had never been successful.

Colleges have never really welcomed the writing section.

College Counselor Patty Strohm

The multiple choice section will be changed to have only four responses to choose from rather than five but is still testing on the same topics as before: reading comprehension, writing and math.

Another change is that students’ scores will be accumulated only from questions answered correctly, so incorrect responses won’t have any negative

effect on the final score.

A major structural change is the revision of the point system, which is reverting back to 1600 points rather than 2400.

Director of Academic Advising and College Counseling Patty Strohm believes this change is for the better. “The 2400 SAT had never been successful,” she said.

“The colleges have never really welcomed the writing section, they haven’t found it useful.”

Students now have an option to write an essay at the end, similar to the ACT where the writing portion is optional.

Colleges will announce whether they want to have the essay completed or not, but have not done so yet.

Grade 11 Dean Jennifer Craig believes that all students should continue doing the writing portion of the SAT. “Everybody should plan on writing the essay because depending on where you’re applying, you may or may not have to have written the essay and you won’t know before the test,” she said.

Many of the students preparing to take the new SAT are looking forward to the changes, especially because of the modified multiple choice section. Elizabeth Bennett (’17) believes the changes are “better” and is not particularly concerned, especially since “you don’t get points off for what you get wrong.”

The redesigned SAT will only have four answer choices rather than five.

PHOTO BY YARRA ELMASRY Despite the changes, the redesigned SAT doesn’t change much in the way students should study for it. “What’s been true forever: The best way to prepare for the SAT is to read as much as possible,” Strohm said. “The SAT reading score is the most important score because college success is based on the ability to do hours of independent reading.”

With its motto “#FundingtheFuture”, the London based organization EdAid is an online world for displaying talents to find supporters to invest. Launched in 2015 by founder Tom Woolfe and his team, the organization is increasingly visible across the media.

The system EdAid uses is simple enough: All students have to do is register and create a profile for supporters to pick from. The process helps students as they “benefit by learning about themselves because whenever you have to sell yourself you have to first know what skills, what qualities do I have that are going to appeal to other people,” College Counselor Ivan Hauck said.

Hannah Link (’16), believes EdAid’s ability to help students raise funds interest free is extremely “necessary”, given “how high and crippling student debt can be.”

In order to complete their profiles, students have to step out of their day-to-day self and observe who they are from a holistic perspective. This can be challenging for some, as the pressure to create the “perfect profile feels competitive, that suddenly you realize you’re competing with other people to get the most investment moving forward,” Hauck said.

The advantage of the process is that the financial loans are seen not just as service in the present, but as something that helps students construct a path to future jobs.

“I would definitely take part in [EdAid] because it’s not free money but it’s somewhere to start. A lot of people don’t have that jumping off point which I think is a great thing they’re providing,” Link said.

However, Hauck points out a potential flaw in the system. “If you’ve gone to schools all your life where you have technology access and you know how to create a profile... that’s going to help you more in the process than somebody who doesn’t have [those] resources,” he said.

Luke Zeigler (’17), disagrees. “I almost feel like this is targeted to people less like ASL who might have less opportunity or less support; in that sense I’m not certain if I would myself [participate in EdAid].”

Despite disagreements about the target market for EdAid, the organization is changing the way that students fund their education. The cost of education is rising at an exponential rate, and the burden of debt that students potentially have to carry can be a huge disincentive to go into higher education. Starting life without debt is very likely to transform the lives of students who would, if such a facility had not been available, been reluctant to take their education forward.

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Page 4

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

News

d n U

g n i d n a t s er

a i r Sy

An analysis of the conflict in Syria and the impact it has rendered on the region Charlotte Young | Lead News Editor

The details The uprisings for democracy that began in 2011 across the Middle East ignited a civil war in Syria. Many of Syria’s citizens are calling for the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, son of former President Hafez alAssad.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), over 3 million Syrians have left the country since the outbreak of the war in 2011, and have fled to neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. Six million Syrians have been displaced within Syria and it is estimated by the New York Times that 250,000 Syrians have died in the conflict since 2011.

The political instability in Syria has also allowed for the Islamic State (IS) to capture parts of the country. In March 2013, the Syrian city Raqqa fell under IS control and now serves as the self-proclaimed capital of IS. While the U.S. has been conducting air-

strikes in Syria since September 2014, it has avoided areas that could aid Assad’s regime against rebel groups. On September 30, Russia began carrying out air and missile strikes in Syria against IS. However, there are questions regarding the true intentions of Russia’s airstrikes. Russia’s strikes have targeted areas such as the town of Talbiseh, a stronghold that is against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Senator John McCain has also confirmed that Russian air strikes have targeted the Free Syrian Army, a U.S.-backed rebel group.

There has been an historical alliance between Russia and Syria. Since the early 1970s, Russia has held a naval base in Tartus, 150 miles away from the Syrian capital city of Damascus.

The relationship between Syria and Russia has continued to evolve since the Sovietera days. Following the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011, Russia has been a strong political ally to Syria’s government.

On September 11, 2013, Russian President

Vladimir Putin wrote an Op-Ed piece for the New York Times. In the piece, he condemned President Barack Obama’s White House address from the previous day where he had requested Congress to begin airstrikes in the region if it was confirmed that Assad had used chemical weapons against the Syrian population.

After Russia began carrying out air and missile strikes in Syria, Assad flew to Moscow on October 20 to meet with President Vladimir Putin. This was the first time Assad had left Syria since the beginning of the civil war. Many news outlets saw his trip to Russia as a sign of Assad’s growing confidence.

On October 28, Iran, an ally of the Assad regime, accepted an invitation to meet in Vienna on October 30 for talks on finding a solution to the civil war in Syria. This also highlights a shift in U.S. foreign policy toward the Syrian crisis as Russia’s presence has strengthened in the region and as a result of the Iran Nuclear Deal with the U.S.

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Page 5

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Timeline of events

News

1946 RUSSO-SYRIA AGREEMENT SIGNED

1971 RUSSIAN NAVAL facility IN SYRIA first leased

2000 Bashar Al-Assad becomes president

Asl weighs in

themselves. “My best option would be that they discredit themselves over time,” he said.

The intricacies of past U.S. foreign relations in the Middle East also provide a roadblock for more of a committed handling of IS in the region. Prior U.S. involvement in the Middle East includes the unpopular invasion of Iraq and the recent alliance with the Kurdish population in Iraq, a relationship that has alienated other Middle Eastern people from trusting the U.S. Dima Fayyad (’16), who lived in Jordan when protests in Syria first began in 2011, points to complexity of the U.S.’s foreign policies in the Middle East as a reason why Russia has the capability to take a strong military stance in Syria. “I’m not surprised that Russia is getting involved there,” Fayyad said.

Furthermore, Russia’s strong diplomatic relationship with Syria has aided Russia’s stance in Syria. “It’s [Russia] doing the same idea of airstrikes, but Russia also has the support of the Syrian government, so it’s in a stronger position in Syria than the

U.S. is,” Fayyad said. “Economically, Russia is not the best right now, and this is kind of bringing Russia back up as seeming strong by being involved in foreign relations. I think [Putin’s] relationship with Assad is definitely a big part of it because there aren’t that many countries where [Russia] has the

opportunity to get involved,” she said.

Gladis agrees with Fayyad, highlighting the differences between Russian presence in Crimea and the Ukraine in the past year to its appearance in Syria. “I look at Syria as being a Russia and Putin proving ground,” he said. “I always feel like with Ukraine, Russia was totally frozen out; there were sanc-

out airstrikes in rebel parts of Syria, Fayyad still questions Putin’s motives. “I’m obviously concerned because [Putin is] helping Assad’s regime, which is the regime that’s causing the most violence and most deaths in the region so far. It’s the root of the problem,” she said. “I know that Russia is fighting against IS, but they’re still with Assad.”

March 2013 Raqqa falls under IS control

September 2014 U.S. begins carrying out airstrikes

September 2015 Russia begins carrying out airstrikes

From Social Studies Teacher Terry Gladis’ perspective, there is no easy answer on how to combat IS strongholds in Syria.

Gladis partly attributes this difficulty to the intelligence of IS. “They are methodical, they are savvy, they’re extremely wealthy. I look at high school kids in this day and age and they’re unbelievable with social media.

Multiply that by 20 and you have IS,” he said.

Likewise, Gladis believes that when IS takes control of a town, they often replace a government that does not take care of its population. “They’re actually getting a lot of those people to support them because they run [their strongholds] like a government; they’re collecting state taxes, they’re giving healthcare,” Gladis said. “It’s their ideology and the reaction of the people that they’re taking over in many ways has been positive; that’s a tough thing to fight against.”

Gladis believes one way to fight IS in the Middle East is to allow them to weaken

September 2013 ASSAD ACCUSSED OF USING CHEMICAL WEAPONS ON SYRIAN POPULATION

2011 Syrian civil war begins

tions put on them. But now they’re like, ‘You know what, we’re not sequestered anymore, we’re coming back in’ they’re saying they’re knocking out IS.” Despite Russia’s assertions that their military is targeting IS posts in Syria and not supporting Assad’s regime by carrying

I look at Syria as being a Russia and putin proving ground Social Studies Teacher Terry Gladis

ALL PHOTOS FROM WIKIMEDIA.ORG

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Page 6

Opinions

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Career day Point|Counterpoint

Voting for Values Integrity

Courage to act

Respect

Responsibility

The Student-Faculty Disciplinary Board (SFDB) is one of the most valuable student-led organizations in the school. As an Editorial Board, we believe the perspective that the SFDB offers in disciplinary matters is indispensable and therefore a crucial part of the community.

However, integrity, one of the most important characteristics of an SFDB member, is currently lacking in its election process.

The measure of an individual’s integrity should be the single most significant factor in the election process for the SFDB. Yet, this year, the only factor that went into the voting process was the names of the candidates.

On October 21, students were sent an email containing the link to an online ballot for SFBD elections. The directions included the following statement: “Please take a few seconds to vote for who you think would best represent your class on the StudentFaculty Disciplinary Board this

year” leaving us with the question: Should it really only take a few seconds for students to make an informed decision based upon the moral strength and principles of an individual? A few seconds is not sufficient to select representatives with the power to influence decisions that will have long-lasting implications on those who go before the board.

Not to mention, the electoral window was open for less than six hours, which minimized the voice of students resulting in a 88 percent voting turnout average across the High School.

The ballot consisted solely of the candidates’ names, no description of their experience on the board nor what qualities we should be looking for in a candidate to represent us. How can we, as a student body, possibly feel compelled to vote for individuals who have the power to judge the gravity of our academic breaches and magnitude of our consequences when we

have such limited information about them?

One of the pillars of the SFDB is to promote a community of trust. This Editorial Board would argue that not disclosing more information about the candidates is distrusting.

The shortcomings of this ballot system encourage students casting their votes to gravitate toward their friends.

The process is also exclusive to new students in two ways.

New students who are candidates have no way to convey their qualifications to the electorate, coming at an almost unrecoverable disadvantage in such a vote. Additionally, new voters have little context for what the SFDB is, or what principles they should judge the candidates on.

All aspects of the election process should be both fair and extensive considering that the SFDB representatives hold substantial power within the school.

The decision to eliminate the

Standard

essay portion of the application trivialized the process. The SFDB application must be comprehensive enough so those applying are prepared for the responsibility.

In order to instill integrity in the SFDB election process, we need a full biography of the candidates in the form of a paragraph of written information from each. In addition, a clear written explanation of what the selection should be based on should be included on the ballot.

We would urge the inclusion of a description of the job position on the email or Google form and a list of qualities that we should look for in our representative, such as “integrity” or the “courage to act.”

While we acknowledge extensive campaigning would result in a popularity contest, there must be some balance between voting based on no information, and voting based on a candidate’s social reputation.

Not only were candidate pro-

files non-existent, but also the process for candidates to reach the ballot stage of the application process was ambiguous. The student body has a right to know what factors went into narrowing down the candidates from each grade level to the number that appeared on the ballot.

The SFBD written application included questions based around “core values” and disciplinary problems. These are factors that are apt judgments of candidates’ qualifications to be a representative. However, the student body did not have access to candidates’ responses to these questions, and these factors were not even mentioned during the student-voting process.

In order to legitimize the voting process of SFDB, the appropriate qualifications of candidates need to be publicized along with parts of candidate’s application, establishing credibility to one of the most important student organizations in the school.

the YARRA ELMASRY Editor-in-Chief

Micah Skariah, Quinn Whitman

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

through letters to the editor, guest columns, online comments,

ZACK LONGBOY Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Content

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CARTOONIST

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Page 7

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Opinions Sexualization of Halloween

RENATA WILSON

renata_wilson@asl.org

“

Women should wear whatever they want for Halloween, not what they feel pressured into wearing by societal expectations.

Halloween costumes used to be a holiday characterized by red tubes of fake blood and gruesome masks. This was before an innocent holiday was transformed into a day when young girls dress provocatively and women are forced to choose between wearing revealing costumes or being labeled prudes.

While this is a stark generalization, it is the current trend with Halloween costumes.

In recent years, Halloween has expanded from a children’s holiday into one that includes adults, marking the start of “sexy” Halloween costume manufacturing.

Sexualized Halloween costumes have grown in popularity, and the production of these costumes has begun to trickle down into the children’s market. As a conerning result, young girls’ costumes have become sexualized, with many costumes in-

cluding fishnet stockings, bustier tops and shorter skirts. Come on, fishnets on a 9-year-old?

Children aren’t the only ones being hit with this reinvention of what it means to celebrate Halloween. Costumes for young women are becoming limited to “sexy [insert basically any occupation, animal or inanimate object]”, with creative, or even scary costumes becoming discouraged. This cultural phenomenon is degrading as it sexually objectifies women.

All it takes is a quick Google search to realize the massive disparities between female and male costumes. For example, a male cop costume looks like what an actual cop would wear on the job. However, the female versions of cop costumes consist of mini-skirts, tutus and fishnets. Last time I checked, women in law enforcement don’t dress like that. In real-

Progress Report ADELE

SNAPCHAT UDPADE

SJC

ity, their uniforms look almost identical to those of male police officers.

Women’s costumes have deteriorated to the point where“sexy Ebola nurse” and “sexy Rosie the Riveter” (a feminist icon from WWII) are actual costumes.

At the end of the day, women should wear whatever they want for Halloween, not what they feel pressured into wearing by societal expectations – as long as it’s not the sexy Ebola nurse costume.

With that being said, if someone genuinely wants to dress a certain way for Halloween, then I encourage them to. The frustrating aspect is the fact that sexualized costumes are being held as the standard. People should feel free to wear whatever costumes they want for Halloween, and not have to fit into a certain mold of what is expected from them.

A “sexy Ebola nurse” costume is avaliable for purchase online for Halloween. PHOTO FROM

FLIKR//TENGRAIN

PHOTOS 1, 5 AND 6 BY YARRA ELMASRY; PHOTO 2 FROM WIKIPEDIA.ORG; PHOTO 3 FROM MAIL.ASL.ORG; PHOTO 4 BY ZACK LONGBOY

COFFEE

1

2

3

4

5

6

Mid-day naps: (A+) There is nothing like a mid-school The Editorial Board of 1. day nap to recharge your batteries before tackling your 4. next class. Is this what the relaxation room is for? Maya Jotwani The Standard gives its (A+) Thank you, Adele, for coming out of hiding. second progress report of 2. Hello: Your voice is stunning and provides the best entertain5. ment when I try to replicate it. the school year.

Michaela Towfighi ft. MJ

Snapchat update: (B-) Thanks, Snapchat. I really needed 17 videos a day of my friends throwing up rainbows. (On the plus side, the reverse and slowmo video features are pretty sweet).

Zack Longboy

emails: (F) The office is live tweeting their life 3. Athletics 6. over email. Stop the spam. Martha Collins

Coffee: (A) Side effects include me feeling crosseyed after consuming two large lattes before 10 a.m.

Charlotte Young

SJC Strikes Again: (A) An effective, yet simple way to talk about an important issue: Body image. Keep it coming. Yarra Elmasry

Post Scriptum: formative

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Page 8

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Opinions

Implementing a career day

YARRA ELMASRY yarra_elmasry@asl.org

“

terests, but I am also still young enough to be open to new possibilities and career paths. Right now, as a high school student, is the time when I need to be exposed to career options for the future. This is exactly why there is such a great need for a career day in the High School.

The current career day in Grade 8 is a perfect way for students to learn about what interests them and the career paths they could take. Learning about how to become a blues musician and the struggles of promoting your music opened my eyes to the music industry in middle school. However, at that age, I wasn’t fully prepared to make the most out of that experience and analyze all of the information being presented to me.

This career day needs to be replicated in the High School, where it would prove more effective as

students are older and have a better sense of their interests.

The day would consist of parents and other adults in the community coming in to discuss their professions. Students would have the opportunity to attend multiple sessions and learn about the different paths within the field of work.

Being able to ask questions and learn about a profession that you have interest in is a valuable experience. I want to learn the ins’ and outs’ of what goes on in a newsroom, or the planning that is taken into consideration with the Cross Rails project, and to then be able to compare that information side by side.

Similarly, being able to learn about careers I had never considered before is pragmatic because it will broaden my horizons.

Having a career day would shed light on possible paths that stu-

Buzz

dents can take. This would add clarity to what areas of study students might focus on in college, as well as what potential line of work the student might be interested in.

Understanding what is necessary to obtain a job in a specific profession is imperative to being successful. Learning the factors that apply to careers early on in our lives will help us gauge a better understanding of what is required from us.

We have parents that work in professions ranging from banking to fashion and politics. Our parent body is made up of every possible profession that I can think of; they have had incredible experiences and have learned many valuable lessons. It would be foolish if we didn’t ask them to share their wisdom and advice with us. We have unbelievable resources at our fingertips that we aren’t taking advantage of.

The

Right now, as a high school student, is the time where I need to be exposed to career options for the future.

My passions and interests lie in so many different subjects and professions, this uncertainty scares me.

When I think about what job I want to have, I get flustered. There are endless possibilities of what my career might be, and I am fortunate that I have so many choices and opportunities as a potential career path, but I need some direction.

Granted, I have some vague ideas, but I don’t know the preparation needed to enter specific fields of work. I know that I am interested in journalism, history and art.

However, I also know that I want to learn more about engineering, astronomy and the potential career options in those professions. I want to know the factors required to design a bridge, or how NASA captures and analyzes space images.

I have many passions and in-

THE DATA Do you know what field you want to go into or what career you would like to have in the future?

WITH OPINIONS EDITOR MARTHA COLLINS

Should there be a career day in the High School?

THE VOICES

“There are a lot of different careers and fields that people don’t necessarily know about. [Career day] is practical in the sense that people who aren’t geared towards the future are forced to look towards it.”

- Sierra Prasad (’17) “We had [a career day] in Middle School and that was really helpful, but now I think it may be a little late. At this point, we have to have decided already.”

- Anna Graham (’16)

YES 41.3%

NO 58.7%

DATA TAKEN FROM A SURVEY OF 172 STUDENTS CONDUCTED BY THE STANDARD

YES 84.3%

NO 15.7%

“I think that [ASL students] would benefit from a career day because people can get a better idea of the jobs out there and what they want to do after high school.”

- Ned McLean (’17)

Staff Writers Lillie Atkins and Daniel Zimmermann contributed to reporting.

•••

Page 9

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Opinions

Point Counterpoint Standards Based Learning

NADIA SAWIRIS

Standards based learning creates an unfair grading process. There is too much emphasis on summative assesments.

nadia_sawiris@asl.org Failure, without a doubt, is crucially beneficial to our learning and growth – whether it be in the classroom or our dayto-day lives. It helps us gauge how we need to change our approach to certain actions and gives us the drive to improve in the future.

In terms of academics, the times I’ve moved on from my failure and truly learned from it was when I received a bad grade on an assessment. It was a testament to my lack of understanding of the material and effort I could have put in beforehand to do better.

In my Advanced Placement (AP) United States History course last year, we had short “notecard assessments” in which we would be graded on a question pertaining

system, in which students work all year round to prepare for final exams.

This reformed system is also an inaccurate representation of a student’s understanding and mastery of a class’ work.

It no longer encompasses a student’s overarching skills and knowledge, but rather a student’s ability to write an essay on one particular topic in a language course, or analyze one set and only one set of documents in a history course. Though by the end of the academic year, the variety in assessments will equate to a more accurate representation of a student’s mastery and level, for a senior, who must send his or her first quarter grades to colleges, one summative test should not count for the majority or in some cases entirety of that

“

There are certain methods of testing that I performed better in - most of which are considered formative methods of assessment. to material in the previous few classes. If I received a good grade and positive feedback, I would have felt proud of my work and saw it as a reward for the effort I put in.

When I performed badly on the note-card assessment it gave me the determination to study harder during the rest of the unit in order to improve for the end of unit assessment.

With the school’s recent move to a standards based assessment method, most departments, including the social studies and world languages departments, have reformed their grading policies, emphasizing summative assessments.

I have found various flaws in the increased weighting of summative assessments. The first being the fact that removing the weighted grading of formative assessments disincentivizes students to stay on top of their work throughout the unit as they can get away with not working until the night before their assessment.

This defect is one that the American educational system previously prided itself with not having – unlike the British educational

person’s grade in a class.

I have personally struggled with this change. As English is my third language there are certain methods of testing that I perform better in – most of which are considered formative methods of assessment. For example, in previous years, discussions and debates in social studies classes would be weighed as heavily as inclass essays; however, this year, such an assessment will count as “formative” and will count in a category that equates to 10 percent of my overall grade in the class.

Standards based learning fails because it allows someone who could have only done minimal work throughout a unit and studied the night before the summative exam the potential to get a better grade than someone who consistently worked hard in a class yet did not feel confident with an essay topic on the assessment, or has testing anxiety.

I do not think that the day-to-day mastery, effort and work put into a class throughout the unit is represented by our grade with standards based learning.

Standards based learning makes for a better learning environment as it provides students with an opportunity to learn from their mistakes.

There is a reason we have the saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.” Learning is making mistakes and correcting them. Learning is perfecting one piece at a time and then building them together to form a well-oiled machine.

The Standard has covered it in the past – it is undeniable that this fear of failure mentality is pervasive at competitive institutions like ASL. And now, standards based instruction and the strict division of formative and summative assignments presents us with an academic structure that might be our way out from under the pervasive fear of failure.

While standards based instruction is a vast and complicated beast, the part that I want to focus on – and really what I would

ZACK LONGBOY

zack_longboy@asl.org

Formative assessments, and this process of building to a summative assessment, takes the emphasis away from grades and places it on learning. When the burden of a grade is lifted from a student’s back, their energy can be solely focused on attaining a better understanding of the material.

I understand that it’s hard to see – I was also incredibly skeptical when I first heard about the idea. And, as a senior currently applying to college, the importance of grades is not lost on me. But buying into standards based learning is a decision between selfishness and the true meaning of learning. We as a student body need to decide what is more important: The grade or our learning experience.

“

Formative assessments, and this process of building to a summative assessment, takes the emphasis away from grades and places it on learning. champion as the most important development of this structure – is the formative versus summative assessments.

While over the past few years many teachers at our school have loosely had some concept of skill-building and ungraded assignments, this year, in the social studies and languages departments, it has been taken to a new level. In AP Economics or AP European History, for example, we often have a “notecard assessment” - a one question assessment answered on a notecard that the teacher will then grade.

This doesn’t count in the gradebook, but the mark gives us valuable, individual feedback on a very specific, building-block concept.

By removing “formative” assessments from the grade book, the stakes of failing are lowered, allowing us to truly put our ability to the test without long term ramifications. Our failure is not officially recorded – except in our heads, where it truly counts. And, instead of being just another grade, it becomes a vital measuring stick.

I understand the drawbacks – this system seems to put an inordinate amount of weight on the few and far between summative assessments. However, when broken down, that is not the case. Summative assessments are a compilation of all of the formative work that the student has done to prepare. The formative process provides ample opportunities to highlight red flags or concerns in preparation for the summative.

Beyond this, standards based learning, at least in the form it currently manifests itself, is a way to keep the integrity of the grade. It can be argued that grade inflation, another topic The Standard has covered previously, occurs at ASL, and standards based learning is a response to that. In this system, we are being properly tested and grades have to be earned, not faked.

More importantly, learning is not about a grade. Learning is about expanding your knowledge and your skills. How can we learn, or grow as learners, if we aren’t allowed to fail? The short answer is, we can’t.

•••

Page 10

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Opinions

Validation is not the point

MAYA JOTWANI

maya_jotwani@asl.org

“

Social media has implanted in our generation this compulsive need for validation: For our opinions, our art, our ideas to be acknowledged and approved.

THEO LONGBOY

theo_longboy@asl.org

“

In all of the preparation within the classroom for our transition from middle school to high school, the school left out a key component of acclimation for the freshmen.

Recently, 19-year-old Instagram star Essena O’Neill spoke out against social media and its harmful consequences. She described how she became so consumed with likes, comments, views and any indication of others’ approval, that her life revolved around it – what she ate that day, what she wore, even her mood.

As this news story blew up in the media, I began to think about how I, too, care about likes on Instagram and often tailor my photos according to what I think other people will like.

I love photography and I love to share my own work, but isn’t it sad when I take into consideration the amount of likes I will get on a photo before sharing it?

It is common for people to spend hours crafting a concise and witty comment on Facebook for the sole intention of receiving likes. It is as if social adeptness and charm is based on a Facebook like or an Instagram double-tap. If you allow it to be, social media can be the predictor of your worth as a person, as it was for O’Neill.

Social media has implanted in our generation this compulsive need for validation: For our

opinions, our art and our ideas to be acknowledged and approved. The validation we feel from getting likes has become a driving force to share anything at all.

This attitude has prevailed past the computer screen and into our daily lives. My peers now hesitate to share their opinions or jokes in person. They engage in conversation tentatively and only begin to speak up when someone else laughs or chimes in to validate a point that they were going to say.

Sharing ourselves – whether it be in the form of art, opinion, or even a joke – should be a selfless activity. It should be done to let other people into your world, to persuade others of your perspective, to make people laugh or cry. But now, it has become a selfish activity. We now instead share to reaffirm our beliefs and our work.

We spend hours looking at our like-counts or freaking out if a specific person, who was online at the time, didn’t like a photo. We let likes dictate what we do and do not post. When we spend so much time looking at others, what’s the point of sharing ourselves in the first place?

I fumbled for my ID card at the Loudoun entrance barrier; it was my second week of high school and I wanted to make a good impression on my teachers. As I walked briskly up the stairs, I checked my phone. It was 8:07 a.m., my efforts to be on time had been in vain. Suddenly, I thought to myself, what now? I knew exactly what to do in middle school, but the High School process for being late was completely foreign to me. At that moment, I had no idea who or where Attendance Officer Shahira Moola’s office was, or anything about her infamous red slips.

In all of the preparation within the classroom for our transition from middle school to high school, the school left out a key component of acclimation for the freshmen. And this goes far beyond informing us about the late slip procedures: We need a freshmen orientation.

Within the classroom, I felt prepared. I knew how to contribute to the Harkness table and how to

approach teachers with questions.

I knew which electives interested me, and I knew which environments I worked best in. But when it came to the nuts and bolts of the High School, I was completely lost.

I didn’t know where anything was, not my classrooms, nor my teachers’ offices, not even the bathrooms. I couldn’t identify any of the important staff or faculty members that high school students needs in their day-to-day lives, such as the tech support staff.

Even my dean was a myth to me, which of course would have changed immediately if only I had known where to find his office. I was thinking of switching out of one of my electives, but I had no idea how many credits I needed as I had been told it was not something to worry about.

Since we had never had a comprehensive introduction to the High School academic structure, the importance of art and technology credits were completely lost on many students of the freshmen class.

CARTOON BY YAËL SCHULKES

Freshmen need orientation Once sports tryouts began I had no idea where to sign up or where I needed to go to tryout for them.

Along with this, when I misplaced my jacket, I had no idea where to start looking – where was the lost and found?

I was in a better position than most, given the fact I have a brother who is an upperclassman. I had a faint idea of what went on in the High School and a valuable resource to fill me in on these little details. Others, however, are not so fortunate. In fact, a few days before school, a friend texted me – she had no idea where to go on the first day of school.

This problem is one that can be easily solved. An orientation for new students is already in place, I am suggesting is an orientation for the entire freshman class. This would be an opportunity for freshmen to learn about the practicalities of the High School before having to worry about school work.

Freshmen orientation should

occur a few days before school starts, as a day where we split up into our advisory groups to be shown important offices, where pods are and which classes we might have there. We would get an opportunity to put faces to some of the relevant staff members, like Moola, Technology Support Specialist Luchano Bogdanov and Director of Student Life James Perry. In addition to this, an assembly where the late policy, credits, electives and sports tryouts are discussed with our Dean would be incredible useful. Finally, the day would conclude with a “get-to-know you” time in the commons to add a social aspect to the day.

There is a good support system for freshmen with the addition of advisory this year. However, a considerable gap in the system still remains and needs to be filled. As freshmen, no matter whether we’ve been at ASL for 10 years or two days, we are all new students in the High School, and we all need an orientation.

•••

Page 11

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Features This man is building a telescope Political correctness Following parents’ careers

PHOTO BY YARRA ELMASRY

W

Zack Longboy | Deputy Editor-in-Chief

hen you ask Science Teacher Andrew Ringham if he always wanted to be a teacher, he is quick to respond. “Never. Not at all. I went into college thinking I wanted to be a physicist. I had it all planned out, I would go get a PhD... I was going to be a researching scientist,” Ringham said. “I was sure about that when I was 18.”

But then, midway through his senior year of college, at the University of Minnesota, something changed.

As his college years wound down, Ringham was working diligently on his physics thesis. He even had his own little lab, “literally only the size of this table,” in the depths of the science building. “I spent so much time down there,” he said. “I never saw daylight, I was underground all the time and I was just sitting in this closet, by myself, working on this lab.”

At the same time, above ground, Ringham worked as a teaching assistant for some intro level physics courses at his university, which he enjoyed immensely. “I was blowing off my research halfway through my senior year... in order to go meet with students outside of class and help them with their homework.” he said. “I was enjoying that way more than actually doing my research so I thought to myself, maybe I ought to try teaching instead... And that’s what I did. I found a job teaching physics in Indianapolis and the rest is history.”

Ringham’s experience, his lonely lab in the sub-basement and his subsequent discovery of his love for teaching runs almost parallel to the story of how he ended up in London. Before moving abroad he worked for the New Tech Network, an U.S. educational organization which runs around 140 secondary schools, predicated on project learning. Three years ago, Ringham was

O

n Wednesday nights every other week, if you are looking for Science Teachers Andrew Ringham and David Partridge, you won’t be able to find them – they are busy building a telescope, from scratch.

About seven months ago, Ringham and Partridge joined a London-based community group centered around creating telescopes and embarked on the process of making their own.

While there is no definite timeline for the completion of the telescope, Ringham reckons they have a long way to go.

“We chose a pretty ambitious project to

hired to expand the online program, teaching two classes of astronomy and physics and facilitating interaction between students “from California to New York.”

While he enjoyed his experience, Ringham again grappled with the cramped and lonely feelings he had felt in his little lab. “It was pretty lonely because I just kind of sat in my house,” he said. “I had a dog, but the only people I really saw all day were through the computer.” He missed the ambience of a real, physical classroom.

Now in his second year at ASL, Ringham teaches AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2 and AP Science Teacher Physics C, considered by many as some of the Andrew Ringham (pictured) school’s most difficult classes. At first, Ringis attempting to build a ham found the transition difficult, moving to telescope from scratch a school that was “definitely a different kind with Science Teacher of environment.” But, once he figured out David Partridge. “the type of culture present at ASL,” he was able to find his role.

Favorite sports team? Indianapolis Colts. They’re going to make a comeback this year, His love for London certainly didn’t hurt his transition. “Personally, I love don’t worry about it, they’re coming.

London. I love that there is so much to do in all these different corners of Star Wars or Star Trek? It’s definitely Star Wars. the city that you wouldn’t necessarily know existed unless you were there,” Night out with the lads, where are you going? We might be watching football, either he said. “I love the energy.”

American or European, or we might be at the Roundhouse at a concert.

Although his goal was never to be a teacher, when you ask Ringham what If you were reincarnated as vegetable what would it be? I feel like I’d have to be a drives him to continue teaching, he is carrot, I’m not sure why, that’s just the natural thing I’d want to be. again quick to respond. “There’s a moment when a student starts to really If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it? The other day, I connect their 16 years of real experience and has a certain realization – matching was walking through Mr. Partridge’s astronomy class and there was something on the the things that they do everyday without screen that I was like, ‘that’s what I would title my autobiography.’ Something like, thinking about, to the really abstract, “When Knowledge Conquered Fear,” which was an episode of Cosmos. technical, conceptualization[s],” he said. “There is always this big moment What’s the best joke you know? In France, why do they only have one egg for where they put the two together and it is breakfast? Because one is en-ough. truly incredible to watch.”

The project start with,” he said. “Most people, when they start off, build a telescope with a much smaller mirror, like four inches or six inches. Ours is 12 inches, so it’s a lot of glass you have to grind away.”

The process begins with a 300-millimeter thick piece of glass (in their case, 12 inches in diameter) and a lengthy grinding operation. “You have to grind the glass away so instead of being flat on top, it has that spherical indentation in it,” Ringham said. “Then, the light coming in will bounce off that mirror, the mirror will focus it and we can look at that point

and see the magnified image.”

Meeting with the group every other Wednesday for the past seven months, Partridge and Ringham have carried out the grinding process using small metal filings.

Working alongside Ringham, Partridge sees the telescope as fufillment of a “boyhood dream for both of us.”

The only difference? “His boyhood was a lot closer than mine,” Patridge joked. “It’s great to have a young, enthusiastic teacher, like [Ringham] to work with.”

Ringham estimates that it will be about six more months before the piece of pyrex

is ready to be aluminized and the rest of the telescope ready to be built. “We keep joking that it’s never really going to happen,” Ringham said.

But will it all be worth it? The two have also joked about that. “Because telescopes are pretty expensive to buy and we were like, ‘ok sure, we can buy this piece of glass...’” Ringham said. “But then, by the time we actually account for all the costs and going to the [community group] for such a long time, it would have probably been cheaper to actually just buy a telescope.”

the

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What diversity means, how it is perceiv and what the school is doing to deepe Maya Jotwani | Lead Features Editor

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hen Khari Brandes (’16) first stepped into ASL in 2011, he felt out of place among the mostly white students in the halls. Brandes, who is Caribbean-American, did not see many mixed-race kids like him.

He had previously attended Petchey Academy in Hackney where he saw a lot of diversity on the surface in the form of racial diversity. “[My old school] appeared more diverse to me because I saw lots of black people, lots of mixed race people, lots of Indian people, lots of Asians and lots of white people, too,” he said.

At ASL, he doesn’t see the same racial diversity. “When I look around, I only see white people,” Brandes said. But, he doesn’t feel that ASL is any less diverse because of it. Despite the lack of racial diversity, Brandes believes ASL is still diverse, just in another way. He points to differences in upbringing and life experiences that make this so.

On the other hand, Math Department Head Neil Basu sees a lot of diversity on the surface – in aspects like race, gender and sexuality. Basu is a member of the Diversity and Admissions subcommittee of the Board of Trustees which investigates and researches ways that the school can diversify itself.

However, Basu thinks there is a lack of

diversity below the surface.

“The prevailing culture of the school is very monolithic,” he said. “I don’t feel the diversity of the school on a day-to-day basis.” The languages, accents and music that are heard in the hallways, the clothing people wear and the sports that are discussed; Basu believes they are all the same.

Kat Boachie-Yiadom (’18) feels this lack of cultural diversity everyday. When Boachie-Yiadom first arrived at ASL last year, she could immediately feel that she didn’t fit into the “ASL demographic” of white and American. Boachie-Yiadom identifies as British, while her parents are Polish and Ghanaian. Her background made her

but also in nationality.

In her eyes, the social scene is often divided by nationality; she cites groups that exclusively consist of only Americans, only Italians, or only Arabs. If there was a greater diversity of nationalities, she believes the High School would be more socially integrated. “It would allow people to mix with each other, learn different things and not just stick with the same group,” she said.

On a more personal level, BoachieYiadom still believes that the administration doesn’t fully understand how the student body is divided and how students of minority races feel. “They don’t

come with our own particular cultural lens,” he said.

However, the administration is striving to create an environment where all backgrounds are understood and made to feel comfortable. “I think the more students from varied backgrounds see that their cultural identities are being reflected in the curriculum, the more they are going to feel welcome,” Phillips said.

Basu sees a further way to help. He hopes that clubs like Unity in Diversity and the Social Justice Council can facilitate conversation to highlight and acknowledge cultural differences. These conversations, he hopes, can help dissolve social divisions and help students who may feel different at school feel more comfortable.

Phillips echoes this and recognizes the importance of being aware and informed of different backgrounds. “You’re going to have to be able to be at your best in various contexts, with all kinds of people of cultural backgrounds and different political beliefs and different religions,” Phillips said.

Like Boachie-Yiadom, Marius Skaerved (’16) doesn’t feel like he fits into the “ASL

I don’t fit in with [my friends]. Everything we do is completely opposite. The way they dress, the way I dress.

The way that they speak, the way that I speak...

Kat Boachie - Yiadom (’18) feel different than her mostly white American peers. “I don’t fit in with [my friends],” she said. “Everything we do is completely opposite. The way they dress, the way I dress. The way that they speak, the way that I speak...”

Not only does Boachie-Yiadom believe that the school is homogenous in culture,

realize how [people like me] feel. How we stand out,” she said. “[The school] needs to be told.”

High School Principal Jack Phillips believes that no one can fully understand what an individual experiences during their time in high school. “I think we can never fully know, because we always

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oeconomic part.

Skaerved comes from a more modest fincial background in comparison to his ers. “My apartment is a one bedroom,” said. “But, I go to these massive manns... and I’m kind of taken aback, beuse that’s the kind of wealth you just n’t see in the majority of homes.”

Although it has never been a problem him, Skaerved can feel the difference. ’s something you get accustomed to, mething which becomes normal and you d ways of stepping around and finding ernative solutions,” he said. Skaerved s to be aware of how much internet he es or how often he eats out, luxuries that ost of his peers don’t think twice about.

The administration has acknowledged e lack of socioeconomic diversity. In 10, the Board of Trustees formally anunced a commitment to diversity, enting the help of the Diversity and Adssions sub-committee to advise them a financial aid program.

Director of Advancement William ughan has been focusing much of s attention to this program. “I think at the school overall has really taken is [financial aid program] to heart and opted it,” he said. “Certainly from the ard of Trustees’ perspective, they all derstand the importance.”

The funds for this program are coming

from the New Frontiers campaign. With a goal of raising a total of £22 million, the school plans to use £12 million for construction, whilst the remaining £10 million will go to the financial aid fund.

There are currently 134 students on financial aid from kindergarten to Grade 12, who have between 10 percent and 99 percent of their tuition paid by the school.

As part of the expansion of the financial aid program, admissions is reaching out to the local community to advertise the school. Dean of Admissions Jodi Warren cites financial aid open-houses, visits to local primary schools and advertisements in local publications as ways of doing this.

In advertising, admissions also hopes to bring in more diversity in terms of nationality.

Skaevard hopes that this program particularly brings in even more British students. “I’m British, but when I come to ASL the majority of people are American, which is interesting, because it’s like coming to a different country every day.”

At the end of the day, while Phillips concurs that having a diverse environment may be outside of the comfort zone for some, it is imperative for students’ growth. “All of our students are going to benefit if, in the classroom and in the hallways [they’re] interacting with people who are not like [themselves].”

A professional’s perspective: Rosetta Lee Maya Jotwani | Lead Features Editor

During her week-long visit, diversity consultant Rosetta Lee spoke at a High School assembly on October 27 about the importance of diversity and cultural competency. As a diversity consultant, Lee travels around the world to facilitate conversation about these topics in schools.

Lee compares diversity to an iceberg.

The tip of the iceberg represents the physical elements – gender, clothing, accent, hair. The second level or water-line level of the iceberg are elements of diversity such as religion and the food that you eat. The third level is below the iceberg, and is not as easy to spot. “It shows up in deep and important ways like engaging in conflict, communication styles, deeply held values and belief systems,” she said.

It is this below-the-iceberg diversity that Lee highlights as the most important.

“When I look at the deeply held under-thewater stuff, not only is this the place that we deeply bond to each other, but that is where we can deeply leverage the human potential that is there,” she said.

The way that this diversity can be “leveraged” and understood is by engaging in conversation. Lee believes that these conversations can be difficult to have as they often bring personal values into question.

“So many times the conversation around diversity and equity and social justice becomes a moral debate. I say, if we can put that off the table [then the] judgement factor is lifted [and] folks are much more willing to engage and willing to be curious,” she said. “I think there is

this atmosphere of judgement around this work [which] makes people scared to engage and makes people pick camps.”

By consulting with different institutions, Lee hopes to open up conversations to provoke change in the makeup of school populations as well as change in the tolerance of diversity.

In schools, Lee is a proponent of financial aid to fuel diversity. She believes that every institution needs to ask itself one question: “Are you drawing from the very best of the folks who can afford this education, or are you drawing from the very best of all walks of life?”

Financial aid can be controversial because it can be interpreted as “charity” by some.

“There is this mythology of lowering the academic bar because of financial aid.

This hints at this deep-seated societal belief that people end up in socioeconomic situations because they didn’t work hard enough,” she said.

Instead, Lee believes that financial aid benefits both the receivers and the school as a whole. When financial aid isn’t given, “I think about what [a school] is missing out on because we are only drawing from those who are capable of affording it,” she said.

She believes that at the end of the day, a more diverse student body will help accomplish the mission of the school. “As an educational institution with its goal to provide the world with critical thinking leaders, isn’t it [a school’s] job to get those leaders?”

“There is this mythology of lowering the academic bar because of financial aid.

This hints at this deep-seated societal belief that people end up in socioeconomic situations because they didn’t work hard enough.”

Diversity consultant Rosetta Lee

•••

Page 14

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Features

political correctness The emphasis on politically correct language in ASL and its impact Renata Wilson | Features Editor

E

van DaCosta (’16) believes that political correctness tends to form a society that “walks on eggshells”. He himself is not a supporter of typical political correctness because he feels that “when you change your language to avoid offending someone, all you are doing is highlighting the differences between yourself and that person, which creates more of an ‘us and them’ complex,” in which disparities

when he feels unable to voice his opinions due to the fact that they are not “politically correct”.

He expects to be shot down by his peers with this justification, which DaCosta claims proves his point about political correctness emphasizing differences.

While the concept of political correctness itself is rather elusive, the dictionary definition is “the idea that people should be careful to not use language or be-

political correctness] is a different norm.” Times have changed, and so has the range of “acceptable” language.

While Cancella does not see political correctness as inherently negative or positive, he believes that some people who promote political correctness are motivated by “awareness, concern and sensitivity, but others are motivated by a desire to control and to dictate and to be in charge,” such

affect people, shape identity and potentially even undermine is key. “For some, just the idea of suggesting that certain terms may be subtly demeaning will anger people, such as using ‘he’ as a gender neutral term even though it’s not.”

Cancella also sees obliviousness as part of the problem. “The tension for political correctness is that it is trying to draw attention to things one might not al-

they are exponential and varied”.

Vonn Albright (’18) strongly believes that political correctness is a positive concept, and that it should be synonymous with being “polite and respectful”.

“I think some people see political correctness in a negative [light], because they think it’s rampant and taking over our language, but I don’t agree. I see it as everyone [gaining] more of an understanding of other cultures,

Just the idea of suggesting that certain terms may be subtly demeaning will anger [some] people AP PSYCHOLOGY TEACHER JASON CANCELLA

between people are extrapolated.

DaCosta acknowledges that respect is a necessity, however he believes that when political correctness is taken to the extreme it “emphasizes contrasts between people, which is what was trying to be avoided in the first place. So it’s really counterproductive.”

DaCosta often experiences moments within the High School

have in a way that could offend a particular group of people” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

AP Psychology teacher Jason Cancella believes that political correctness is rising in notoriety recently because “there were other norms before where it was okay to be verbally abusive to women or people of ethnic minorities, and now this [culture of

Evan DaCosta (’16) believes that political correctness can lead to a society that ‘walks on eggshells’.

PHOTO BY OLIVIA ABRAMS AND YARRA ELMASRY

as many current American politicians.

In Cancella’s opinion, a productive conversation regarding political correctness would consist of more than simply “saying you can use this word and you can’t use this word.” In order for progress to be made, Cancella believes that discussing the ways in which language can actually

ready notice and that cognitive dissonance is not always easy to navigate.” From a psychological perspective, Cancella believes that people can easily ignore impact around the use of language.

This is because the impacts of certain types of language may not be a direct impact on yourself but rather “a collective impact where the consequences are not linear,

people, and ideas,” Albright said.

For Albright, political correctness is prevalent at ASL, especially regarding race and gender. She believes that knowledge regarding issues of race, gender identity and equality are key when it comes to political correctness, especially in a school that is as culturally diverse as ASL.

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Page 15

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Features

Following in parents’ footsteps Exploring the notion of students who wish to pursue the same career as their parents

J

Andrew Gilroy | Staff Writer

agger Boussuge (’17) and his father are both keen photographers. So keen, in fact, that their passion can take over the Boussuge home. “It’s always competitive around the household, who’s better at taking pictures.”

However, the competition does not negatively affect Boussuge. “I think it’s a great thing.

Whenever it comes to Christmas cards, we always argue whose [photo] to use.” Like Boussuge, some students have parents or guardians who have succeeded in their fields. Because of this, certain students are driven to follow in their footsteps.

Like Boussuge, Amaan Zafar (’18) has aspirations to follow his

father’s career path and make his way into the banking world. For Zafar the most noteworthy thing that his father has taught him is the “moral of determination and hard work.”

Like Zafar, Gigi McQuarrie (’19) shares a similar passion

Reacher and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation.

McQuarrie admits that there are both pros and cons to having her father in the same line of work as she wishes to pursue.

“He can definitely help me, but I feel like then people might think that it’s an unfair advantage.”

For her, one of the greatest advantages of having a close family member in the same industry is the connections that can arise at any time. “He is fairly well established in the industry so if I wanted to do anything in the business he would know exactly the right people who could help me,” she said.

Despite this, McQuarrie be-

“[My father] can definitely help me, but I feel like people might think that it’s an unfair advantage” Gigi McQuarrie (’19)

with her father. McQuarrie is interested in film-making and the movie industry. Her father, Christopher McQuarrie, has directed movies such as Jack

Jagger Boussuge (’17) inherited his father’s passion for photography. PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER BOUSSUGE lieves that her connections will only benefit her to a certain point. “I think that it would be unfair to only use connections to get what I want, and also impossible because if you have absolutely nothing to offer you’re not going to get anywhere no matter who is helping you,” she said.

McQuarrie has already shown that she is not going use solely

her family name to succeed. “I did actually do a movie recently. I was in a Chinese film and I got the role myself. I think that it is good to try to succeed on your own with minimal help from your parents because ultimately, you want to be able to go to sleep at night knowing that you have achieved something,” she said. “You have to work hard no matter what advantages you have.”

Impact of Community Partnerships

A look into how partnerships shape the community within and outside of ASL

T

his quarter, 200 students and venture playground, ASL stuteachers participated in a dents play with, and serve as role Community Partnership in the models to, local children.

Six-year-old Lily Nesste goes High School.

Naphtali, who is 6 years old, to the Adventure Playground every day after and a regular school and beat the Winch lieves ASL stu(a charity dents make the with different playground a branches happier and throughout more inclusive London that space. “No one focus on imis ever left out proving the and everyone community) feels welcomed feels an imback,” she said. pact on her life M i l l y when the ASL Grange, who students come is 11 years old, and volunteer. spends every “They are really funny, and Nicolas Demetris (’18) volunteers afternoon at they make a big at the St. John’s Wood Adventure the Adventure Playground. d i f f e r e n c e , ” Playground.

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA GERS “Before ASL Naphtali said.

At another Community Part- volunteers come, it’s boring. nership, the St. Johns Wood Ad- When they arrive, that’s when we

Martha Duff | Staff Writer all start to have fun. You all make me want to come here after school, and it’s sad when you leave”.

Students at ASL also benefit from Community Partnerships.

Aerin Agyei (‘19) explains how the partnerships change the relationship between American and British students. “For some kids and adults these programs provide a first time introduction to Americans. It provides a great chance to break down some common stereotypes,” Agyei said.

Apart from human interaction and disproving stereotypes, the partnerships help ASL students understand the city they live in.

Ana Salitan (‘16) said the three partnerships she has been involved with gave her “a perspec-

tive on my own neighborhood, the differences in income and wealth within St. John’s Wood, and an insight into other people’s lives. It made me much more empathetic towards different situations.”

Director of Student Learning Brandon Block has been involved in community partnerships for

and become less [consumed] by their own lives,” he said.

Comfort levels grow quickly and bonds between ASL students and other kids are established.

“There is a clear sense of respect from both sides,” Block said.

It is clear that these acts of community service affect all teachers, students, and people at the partnerships, and makes everyone involved feel more positive.

“ASL students may not initially realize the impact they have on someone else’s life until they get involved.

Another benefit is the increased level of confidence students gain by working in new and possibly unknown areas around London, with people who may not naturally enter their lives,” Block said.

“[Community Partnerships] provide a great chance to break down some common stereotypes” Aerin Agyei (’19)

most of his student and teaching life. “I really like the enthusiasm that I see when our students participate in programs, helping young people do good in the world

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THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Features

Living APART A look into the lives of students who have parents that live and work abroad and the social, academic and personal impact Zack Longboy | Deputy Editor-in-Chief

I

n the summer of his junior year, Trilok Sadarangani (’16) said goodbye to his father. Following a work commitment, Sadarangani’s father had moved to Seoul, South Korea, leaving Sadarangani and his mother behind in London.

“It didn’t really sink in until the way back when I realized he wasn’t on the flight with us,” he said. “Usually it’s my mom on my left and my father on my right, but now it’s just my mom and a stranger. That’s when I realized that he’s staying there for good, he’s not coming back.”

Sadarangani has had to get used to a situation atypical of the “normal” family dynamic while he lives apart from his father.

Sadarangani’s parents are not divorced. In fact they are far from it – he describes their relationship as very close even though they live apart. But there are certain difficulties that Sadarangani and other students with parents that live abroad face.

When Sadarangani’s father first told him about the move, in the beginning of junior year, Sadarangani thought he was joking. But, “as the year progressed he kept mentioning it and he even tried to convince me to come to Korea and study there.

That’s when I knew it was getting serious,” he said. “But I think he knew that I wanted to graduate with my class and graduate [from] ASL, so he moved alone.”

While his father visits London every month and a half or

so, for anniversaries, birthdays and breaks, Sadarangani feels somewhat responsible for the fact that his parents are living apart – a consequence, he believes, of his desire to stay at ASL. There are certain times when Sadarangani notices his father’s absence more than others – his crew races the most pertinent example. Before, his father was “always the loud one, cheering me on, taking pictures. Now I don’t have that anymore; I see the other parents there for their kids and I think, ‘Where are mine’?” Sadarangani said. “I definitely wish that my dad was [also] here cheering me on.”

Another repercussion from his father’s temporary absence is a change that Sadarangani has noticed in his mom. “Now my mom always wants to spend more time with me. She always wants to have dinner with me, or for me to work outside, or in the living room with her,” he said. “And on the weekends, usually it’s kind of a given that I will go out with my friends or have crew practice, but now she’ll recommend things like, ‘Let’s go to this art museum, or let’s go get lunch’.”

Juliana Smith (’16), whose father moved from the U.S. to London and worked here for two years before Smith and her mom followed, also noticed a change in the individual personalities of her mother and sister as a result of the separation. For her, it was

PAGE 1 GRAPHIC COURTESY OF WORLD MAPS ONLINE

more of an imbalance within the family dynamic. “When [my sister and I] and my mom were all in a bad mood, my dad was the voice of reason,” she said. “So it changed things in the sense that we could all be really upset at each other over something super irrational, but since we didn’t have my dad there to say

know her in a different way that I haven’t seen before... I notice little interests that my mom has that I didn’t necessarily notice before,” Sadarangani said.

Academically, both Sadarangani and Smith’s parents have attempted to stay keyed in to their children’s lives, although with the time difference

her father’s location created a divide. “There was this kind of disconnect in a sense. He used to be involved in every aspect of my life and then there was this literal ocean of separation between us when he moved,” she said.

Both also agree that the time they do get to spend together is at a premium. In fact, Smith

“HE USED TO BE INVOLVED IN EVERY ASPECT OF MY LIFE AND THEN THERE WAS THIS LITERAL OCEAN OF SEPARATION BETWEEN US WHEN HE MOVED” JULIANA SMITH (’16) ‘Okay, calm down.’ Things got hectic sometimes.”

Both Smith and Sadarangani have noticed a deepening relationship with the parent who they still live with. Smith believes that, during the two years her dad was abroad, she learned to rely more on her mother while Sadarangani believes living alone with his mother has exposed a whole new side of her.

“I’ve gotten to see my mom in a different light, I’ve gotten to

it hasn’t always been easy. “[My dad] tries to stay a part of [my academics and college process] just as much as he did when he was here, but it is hard because of the time difference,” Sadarangani said. “He wakes up really early, at like 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. just to speak on the phone [with me].”

While in the bigger picture Smith feels that her father was always still there for her. It was on the day-to-day level where

highlights this as the one benefit of the situation. While for her, there were certainly “moments when he was gone where I hated his employer and wanted him to be home, and to have that ‘normal’ four person household again,” Smith recognizes that, “looking back on it, I think my relationship with my father got stronger with the fact that he was gone because I learned to appreciate him more and [not] take him for granted.”

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THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Features “I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT I STILL DO HAVE MY MOM AND DAD IN MY LIFE EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT BOTH PHYSICALLY WITH ME” IMAN BOUHARA (’18)

ED

C R O V DI E

ver since Iman Bouhara (’18) was 6 years old, she has lived in a divided household – her mother living with her and her father shuffling between Monaco and Dubai.

Yet, despite the divorce and despite living over 3,000 miles across the globe, she has tried to keep him in her life. “Even though he’s been living in a different country since I was six, I know he’s still there for me,” she said. “I can call him saying ‘Dad, I need you’ and he will always help me.”

While she only gets to see him in person every two months, she believes that “he is still part of my life, he didn’t just disappear or anything” although this connection is often more through text messages or the occasional Skype call, rather than in person.

While some find the time spent with their parents to be exponentially more valuable when separated, Bouhara just feels conflicted.

While with her mother, Bouhara often finds herself missing her

f a ther and vice versa when she spends time with her father.

However, as she has grown older and gained more independence from her parents, she has begun to notice his absence less.

Without question, she feels that her father is still part of her life, but she does feel like “he could be there a lot more [and that] he is a bit absent because of his work.”

Now that her father has remarried, Bouhara also worries that other factors might distract him, like the possibility of step-siblings.

While she sometimes struggles, she keeps her situation in perspective: At least she still has both parents. “I appreciate the fact that I still do have my mom and dad in my life even if they are not both physically with me,” she said.

Yet the effects of living apart from her father are clear. Especially when she compares herself with friends – almost all of whom still live with both their parents.

Once, as a young girl, the realization of her parents divorce had a particulary powerful effect on her.

“I went to a Justin Bieber concert as a kid and I remember seeing all of the dads bringing their daughters while I was just with another friend whose parents were divorced,” she said. “All I could think was, ‘I wish my dad was still here’.”

“WE LIKE TO CALL IT ‘LIVE APART-NERS’ [MY PARENTS] ARE TOGETHER BUT LIVING APART” MOMO STEELE (’16)

fo ap r m ar t S on th s

i n c e January of her sophomore year, Momo Steele’s (’16) father has worked abroad, living apart from Steele and her mother for months at a time.

Her father’s travel schedule – and consequentially, when she gets to see him – is sporadic in that he doesn’t always know when he will be able to come back. “He is here only when he is travelling through to somewhere else or when he is taking vacations with us,” Steele said.

“So it is more sporadic than it is with other people.”

Recently, this distance between her and her father has become more painful as she begins to go through her senior year. Thinking about college has made her realize that, “because I am not living with him [now], I might not ever live with him again,” she said. “It’s just sad to think I have already stopped living with my father.”

Steele however, would say that his absence has been exponentially harder on her mother than on herself as her mother is not distracted by school work and extracurriculars. “She is now fully in charge of the house,” Steele said. “If someone were to break in she would have to protect me, where it used to be

that h e r and my dad had to protect me.”

She added, “we like to call it ‘live apart-ners’ they are together but living apart.” For Steele, the obvious outcome has been the change in the time she does get to spend with her dad – those few days become more and more valuable. “I definitely cherish the moments I have with him more,” she said. “I know it is morbid, but I am terrified that he will be in car accident and die and I will not have seen him for months – that really scares me.”

While a negative effect of a “dynamic where you feel like something is missing in the house” has certainly been felt

by Steele, the positive side of the situation has also been eyeopening – she no longer takes her father for granted. “I think what is important,” she said. “Is that it makes you realize how short life is.”

Max Roth contributed to reporting.

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Page 18

Culture

London from above Online music

A Narcos review Spoiler Alert

¿Plata o Plomo? Silver or lead?

The mantra that simplistically describes the ruthless charisma of the infamous Pablo Escobar in the stunning new Netflix Original Series, Narcos.

I love a little bit of history mixed in with my television. That way I can label the hours I spend plugged into my computer’s screen as an intellectual activity, not just mindless procrastination. With this single appeal, the ten-part dramatic series directed

by José Padiha caught my attention.

Little did I know I was committing to a story told primarily from the point of view of

WWW.NETFLIX.COM

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

the Medellin drug cartel head honcho Pablo Escobar. Played by Waner Moura, Escobar leaves behind in every episode a wake of drugs, mass murder and mountains of money.

For those yet to watch the series, stop reading here. Sprinkled past this sentence may be the occasional spoiler.

The television series blends together modern and authentic footage, giving the stroy a documentary feel. The austere narration from the Drug Enforcement Agent (DEA) Steve Murphy – played by Boyd Holbrook – also feeds into the historical sensation behind the show.

Not to mention the dialogue strings a perfect melody with the combination of both Spanish

and English, which adds to the authenticity of the series. While I understand more acute language speakers have identified that Moura’s accent is actually incorrect for the region, it hardly detracts from his phenomenal efforts, which included him moving to the hometown of Escobar and putting on a hefty 40 pounds.

The plot is equally as impressive as the functional characteristics of the series. The ten episodes tell the story of how a once fair minded, ambitious and humble man turned into the greatest villain of Central America. Escobar by no means started off evil, and the series shows his transformation into a power hungry megalomanic who bombs airplanes to get even with the government.

Breaking Bad watchers can likely draw the comparison that at times, especially in the beginning of the series, you find yourself rooting for Escobar, the villain, a phenomenon that eventually matures as his character evolves. Like Walter White, Escobar blures the line of morality.

Don’t be fooled, though, as the story line captures so much more then just the life of Escobar and his savage sicarios - although at times you wish it only did. Narcos also depicts the “by any means necessary” attitude of the U.S government as they frequently bypass bureaucracy in order to even the score with the drug lords. At times the merciless nature of American foreign policy bleeds through the series. This, however, hardly compares to the shocking determination of the Search Bloc, which forces viewers to call into question the morality of societies chosen heroes.

The DEA certainly do come across as heroes in the series

A Netflix Original Tyler Skow

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Starring: Wanger Moura Boyd Holbrook Pedro Pascal Joanna Christie Maurice Compte Paulina Gaitan Danielle Kennedy

though, as the forces they are faced to reckon with, men who could build their own prisons, transcends the imagination of viewers. Many Colombian government officials too have their heroic qualities revealed in the show as they stick to their values when death lives around the corner.

The only drawback of the series is that it is fairly male dominated. The major female roles are Connie Murphy, played by Joanna Christie, who works as a nurse in a Columbian hospital and is the wife of Murphy. And Tata Escobar, the wife of Escobar, played

by Paulina Gaitan. While both characters are conveyed as submissive to their husbands, it is likely an accurate representation

of the situation, and perhaps beneath the facade of the compliant housewife that Tata plays so well, is a ruthless killer on par with her husband. Take for example Tata’s conversation with her mother-inlaw about the plane crash: Tata acknowledges Pablo’s violent nature and supports him to do whatever it takes.

The opening scene of the first episode acuretly defines, “magical realism”. Magical realism is by far the best description for this series.

The non-fictional story of Pablo Escobar rising to power seems like a show created from your imagination. If you have time and can handle a complex story line and a bit of Spanish, I highly recommend, Narcos.

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THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Culture

LONDON FROM ABOVE

sky garden

Many ASL students have viewed London’s skyline from classic points like Primrose Hill and the London Eye. Yet there are many other locations from which the city can be seen from above

London’s highest public garden is spread out over the top three floors of 20 Fenchurch Street, which is also known as the “Walkie Talkie Building.” Covered by a large glass dome, the garden has amazing views over London and includes two restaurants, a cafe and a bar.

Tips: The easiest way to get there is to take the tube to Bank Street station and take exit six. From there it is around a three minute walk. The entrance is around the back of the building. Also, it can be quite chilly but they have blankets for bad weather.

Address: 20 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 3BY Hours: Weekdays 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., weekends 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Cost: Free

PHOTO FROM FLICKR//GARYULLAH

Christina Leonard | Staff Writer

TOWER BRIDGE GLASS FLOOR

Above Tower Bridge, the walkways that connect the tops of the two towers are 42 metres above the river and have glass floors which pedestrians can walk across. Take in London’s busy river traffic along with the cars, buses and people below.

Tips: Make sure to book online and print out your tickets, so you won’t have to wait in the queue when you arrive. For the most amazing view, plan your visit for when the drawbridge is going up (times listed on the website), and stake out a spot on the west walkway with the London Eye behind you.

Address: Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 2UP Hours: 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Cost: £9/adult; £3.90/child (5-15 years); £6.30/student; various family rates

TREETOP WALKWAY KEW GARDENS Walking across a bridge-like walkway amongst the treetops 60 feet above ground, you will be able to see nature up close whilst getting a spectacular view of the world famous botanic garden.

Tips: The walkway is open all year, however, it is closed on Mondays. The easiest way to get there is to take the Overground to Kew Gardens.

Address: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AB Hours: Daily from 10 a.m.; closing times vary Cost: £14/adult; £2.50/child (4 -16 years); family tickets are also available

PHOTO FROM WIKIPEDIA.ORG

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Page 20

Culture

Features With a free Spotify account users have access to various features. Users can save music to their library and create playlists. Spotify also offers free radio channels, which can be created based on a favorite song, artist or genre. In the “Browse” section, Spotify offers thousands of playlists, organized by genre. In “Browse” users can also find the top charts across the world as well as new releases. Finally, the “Discover” tab recommends songs based off of the accounts the user follows. On the mobile app, Spotify offers “Running”, a feature which detects the speed at which you are running and provides playlists which match your tempo.

Design & Interface The Spotify website and desktop application are clean and straightforward. The five main features are found down the lefthand side: Search, Browse, Radio, Your Music, and Follow. It is simple to add a song to your music library, as there is a check mark to the left of every track. The only drawback Spotify’s design is the ellipsis symbol. An ellipsis can be found to the right of all songs, and opens a drop down menu when clicked. This menu provides users with the option such as to add the song to a playlist, share it, delete it, play it next or start a radio based on this track. As this menu offers many functions, it should be a more prominent feature. Spotify’s mobile app mirrors the online and desktop versions.

Offline Listening Users can listen offline, with a catch. Those who pay £9.99 a month for Spotify premium can listen on the go, however, those who do not pay the price, cannot access this feature.

Free users can still download the mobile app, but they must listen connected to wifi and use “Shuffle Play,” limiting the number of songs they can skip. Premium users can download individual songs or playlists to make available offline, as long as they have storage on their device. Users can choose to make full playlists avaliable offline or specific songs. Songs that are avaliable offline have a green arrow to the left of them which indicates users are able to listen to this track whenever.

Social

Spotify allows users to be social over common interest of music. Users can follow each other to get updates on new playlists and liked songs, or they can choose to follow single playlists. On a user’s profile, you can view their followers, who they follow and any playlists they have made public. Another feature, which is frequently overlooked, is the ability to message songs and playlists to other users.

Users can also connect their account with Facebook to let their Facebook friends know what they are listening to.

8.5/10

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Online Comparing two of the biggest music streaming platforms in the industry

Page 21

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music Michaela Towfighi | Culture Editor

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Culture

Features Similar to Spotify, Apple Music offers a radio feature to its users. The difference being that Apple Music offers a Beats 1 live radio station. In addition to Beats 1, Apple offers stations organized by genre, podcasts and stations run by artists. Users can also create personalized stations based on their favorite tracks or artists.

There is also the ability to save music to their library and make songs available offline. Apple Music also has a tab “For You,” which recommends playlists based on who you follow. On occasion, Apple Music will encourage artists to release podcasts or videos that are exclusive to users.

Design & Interface Although the design of Apple Music is aesthetically pleasing, it is difficult to navigate. The main features are listed in tabs across the page, but within these tabs, the functions are unclear. In “My Music”, users can find songs they have added to their library and their playlists. Similar to Spotify, Apple Music relies on an ellipsis symbol for main functions. By clicking on the ellipsis, a drop down menu appears and users have the ability to add music to their library or make it available offline. Again, this symbol should be easier to find, since it offers prominent features. Apple Music is also slow to load, and signing into your Apple ID can be complicated as you can only have a certain number of devices associated with an account.

Offline Listening Anyone paying £9.99 a month for an Apple Music account has the ability to download songs for offline listening. For users paying £14.99 a month for a Family Plan there are some restrictions. If a user on a Family sharing plan wants to save music to their library without making it available offline, they can only view it if they view their family’s entire music library. For families who have purchased thousands of songs, this is a drawback as users now have to navigate a crowded library. There is a way to fix this issue, however I have yet to discover it. My only solution is to make every song available offline, which unfortunately eats storage on the user’s device.

Social

Apple Music lacks on the social front. Users are able to connect with artists using the “Connect” feature, they do not have the opportunity to connect with each other.

In “Connect”, users can follow their favorite artists, and artists can post media such as behind the scenes footage from tours, songs or pictures. Fans can then comment, like and share these posts. Apple Music does not allow users to follow each other which is a feature Spotify offers.

6.5/10

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Page 22

THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Sports

Interrupted academics Examining the benefits and consequences of travelling abroad to participate in sporting events Sourna Daneshvar, Jr. | Sports Editor

W

ith the November 1 Early Action (EA) and Early Decision (ED) deadline for many U.S. universities passed, a large workload was lifted from Leif Merlino’s (’16) shoulders: a workload he had spent numerous weeks tackling.

When the rest of the varsity boys volleyball team traveled to Brussels to play against St. John’s on October 16 and 17 Merlino stayed home writing college essays and preparing for the ACT. Although Merlino believes “traveling to another country to play a game is a much greater experience [than playing locally],” he views some aspects of the travel as difficult. “As far as a commitment goes, it’s huge. You go to another country just for a few games,” Merlino said.

Maya Matejcek (’17), a varsity girls volleyball player, views the time she spends on schoolwork during these trips as unproductive. “It’s hard to actually do work when you’re traveling because the primary reason you are there is for sports,” Matejcek said.

Not only does the amount of homework pile up with whole days and a large portion of a weekend committed to travel, but also missing multiple classes intensifies the academic burden on athletes when they return home.

Often on these trips Matejcek will attempt to discuss content she has missed in class with teammates. Friends who don’t travel for athletics and attend the same classes as Matejcek – ones she

School Starts 8.05 a.m.

An example schedule for teams traveling based off the varsity girls soccer itinerary on their trip to Brussles.

has missed because of travel – also play a large role in helping her academically and alleviating some of the stress caused by missing class. “[When traveling] you have to rely on your friends’ notes. I’ve even gotten people to record parts of a class for me.”

There are many reasons why international trips are organized by the Athletics Department. Team bonding, diversification of ISST competition and the

Residing with host families, albeit for a limited time, provided Edelstein a learning environment unlike any available in a classroom. “Staying with host families opens your eyes to different kinds of lifestyles and different kinds of people,” she said.

Experiences on the trips, particularly living with teammates and host families, further develop the camaraderie on a team, Matejcek believes.

”

It’s hard to actually do work when you’re traveling because the primary reason you are there is for sports Maya Matejcek (’17) amount of games in a short timeframe rank most importantly in the incentives for competition abroad.

While traveling proves inconvenient for many athletes, especially those in their senior year, traveling affords students with an invaluable experience.

For varsity field hockey player Anya Edelstein (’18), team bonding is a major benefit gained from traveling abroad.

“Everyone gets to know each other really well, not just as players, but also as people, so everyone becomes closer.” Edelstein said.

Depart asl 8.55 a.m.

game 1 vs. st johns

8.30 a.m.

Athletic trips also vary from those Edelstein would normally take with her family, which she appreciates. “Traveling with your team as opposed to traveling with your family is a different kind of atmosphere. It’s more relaxed,” she said.

Although Athletic Director John Farmer respects students’ education inside the classroom, he also values what students can learn beyond the classroom on these trips.

As ambassadors of the school, students are expected to represent the school to the best of their ability and

behave accordingly. “It’s part of what I call the ASL experience... there are times when the time outside of class with their classmates can be equally educational, just in a different way,” he said.

From an academic perspective though, Merlino finds time spent on the bus and train for traveling mostly idle. “There’s a lot of time you have to account for travel and it’s very tough to do work when you travel,” he said.

Dedicating Friday and Saturday to sport limits Matejcek’s flexibility on Sunday. “[Travelling] puts a lot of pressure on you to be productive on the Sunday when you get back.”

Recognizing the challenges of working during these trips, Matejcek feels she develops as a student while travelling for games abroad. “It’s a good way to build how responsible you can be with yourself because there’s no one there to say when to do your work,” Matejcek said.

While Merlino admits any anxieties about missing schoolwork and classes fade after arriving at the host school, they immediately return upon coming back to London. “You get in this mindset, ‘Oh, we’re going to another country, I don’t really need to worry about school right now’ and then you realize that Monday back that you really need to get back on track,” Merlino said.

Edelstein views the games as “highstakes,” with nothing short of a victory sufficing after travelling so far at the expense of missed classes and homework assignments.

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA GERS

depart st. pancras

game 2 vs. BSB

11.00 a.m.

10.58 a.m.

arrive at host 13.05 p.m.

depart from host

15.56 p.m.

school ends 15.05 p.m.

arrive St. Pancras

18.06 p.m.

arrive at asl 19.00 p.m.

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THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Sports

SPORTS COMMENTARY

Lack of underclassmen hurts rugby

DANIEL ZIMMERMANN STAFF WRITER

R

ugby, as a professional sport, is thriving. The Rugby World Cup has just capped off a great showing in London and as a result, the sport seems to be on more advertisements and receiving more television coverage than ever before.

But the global interest has not translated into a similar affinity for ASL rugby. As it stands, five sophomores and just two freshmen represent the underclassmen currently on the rugby program.

While there have been occasional JV games in previous years, varsity players have had to complete the team because of limited numbers. Thus, there has not been a true, organized JV team for the program since the fall of 2014. This lack of underclassmen participation poses a major problem for the rugby team.

Unfortunately, the underclassmen who joined the program are unable to succeed in game situations. Of the current sophomore group only three players have seen action in varsity games, while the other sophomores are striving to achieve varsity status.

It isn’t fair to these younger players, who show up to every practice and game, to not get an opportunity to feel what it is like to be a key member of a team.

That is what a JV team is for: to teach players the game, then how to impact the game. Players need the experience of being an important member of a team before they get to the varsity stage. The gradual progression of learning the game in JV, influencing the game in JV, learning the game in varsity, then influencing the game in varsity, is the route that I and the rest of current senior class took.

The senior class which I am a part of is fortunate to have been on a JV team that nurtured and de-

veloped us into the players we are today: players who are an integral part of the varsity team.

But now, with the apparent

“

Absence of participation from younger grades needs to change because if it doesn’t, a team for next year may be hard to come by dearth of underclassmen, the formation of a JV team remains a secondary issue. The team isn’t clawing for players right now with a roster of 17 upperclassmen to suit up each game. Finding new, committed players that can carry on the varsity team after the 14 current seniors graduate, is the priority.

While the junior class has some very important players on the

team, three players is certainly not enough to prevent the termination of the program for next year and possibly following ones thereafter.

Absence of participation from younger grades needs to change because if it doesn’t, a team for next year may be hard to come by.

The team is looking for mentally tough players who can come in and help, whether it be through varsity involvement or JV players, if enough players join. Forming a JV squad, if possible, would provide valuable experience in game-time situations. The physicality is just a bonus, because even if you aren’t tough when you get to the team, the program will make you tough.

Younger, potential players shouldn’t be intimidated by the 14 seniors on the team. Rather, they should look forward to learning from us and being apart of something bigger than themselves. Not many teams have the strong upperclassman backbone that rugby does and joining now would pro-

vide an opportunity to learn from an established core, rather than needing to create one.

Rugby isn’t just another high school sport. It has special character, special benefits and forms a special relationship between teammates. No other team clobbers each other in practice, laughs afterwards and then uses that practice to smash opponents. No other team spends muddy, dark nights late in January bonding. My best friends and some of my best accomplishments are through rugby. There is a major opportunity for anyone, especially underclassmen still wanting to join the program, to create the same memories that I have.

The rugby team has a solidified role at this school. Whether it be clashing with British schools in their own sport or helping with charity fundraisers like Breast Cancer Awareness night, the rugby team deserves to be carried on. Don’t let it falter into irrelevance.

Travel transition from bus to tube SOURNA DANESHVAR, JR. SPORTS EDITOR

T

ransportation to and from Canons Park will happen via train rather than bus for most soccer players. Athletics Director John Farmer decided it “would be worthwhile to pilot” the change from bus to tube.

Farmer asked the varsity boys soccer team to travel to and depart from Canons Park by tube on October 2, with the remaining boys soccer teams testing the change in transportation on October 8. On October 9 the entire girls soccer program started using the tube to and from Canons park.

Speed of the tube facilitates an earlier practice time, but on the bus there are opportunities to bond with teammates and complete homework, whereas both of those benefits are impractical on the tube. Kendal Fass (’19) wishes an opportunity to take either the tube or the bus is present. “It’s frustrating when we don’t have the bus or don’t have the option to take the tube or the bus,” Fass said.

As the tube is more environmentally friendly, faster and cheaper, Farmer sees the benefits of transportation by tube outweigh those of the bus. “To

me, it feels like a no brainer,” he said.

While the environmental factor convinced Farmer to attempt the change, all factors, including efficiency of travel and finances impacted his decision. “I go up to Canons Park and I look at and see the number of people who don’t take the bus [home] and think we’re just throwing away money,” Farmer said.

Although the form of transportation was altered and the cost fell “substantially”, the Athletics Department’s responsibility to financially cover student’s transportation for sports remains. Students will be fully reimbursed if they highlight travel relating to athletics on a printed Oyster card log, calculate the trips’ cost and deliver the information to the Athletics Department.

John Carrafiell (’18) traveled to Canons Park by tube prior to the change even though few teammates joined him. “The main reason for me taking [the tube] up there and back home was that it was significantly faster,” he said.

When Claire Noel (’17) injured her ankle during a practice at Canons Park she returned to school on a Middle School team bus because no High School bus was present.

She could not attend her team’s

game against Cobham on October 14 because the injury prevented her from travelling by tube, which highlighted one of her many annoyances with the tube.

Easier access to the bus and an inability to complete homework constitute the main frustrations for Noel. “It’s really inconvenient more than anything and I feel like it’s going to present more problems in the future,” she said.

Should an injury occur with no buses present, Sports Facilities and Equipment Coordinator William Smeulders, who works at Canons park, would drive the student to school.

For safety purposes, the Athletics Department insists a team travel together to discourage students from crossing the highways when walking to Canons Park from its nearest station. “By virtue of going with the teams and their coaches, they are going to cross [the street] together as a whole group and to me student safety is the number one concern,” Farmer said.

Some time is wasted, Carrafiell feels, because the whole team must congregate after school before they depart to Canons Park. “I believe that the system could be improved further... if it didn’t have to be so structured such that we had to get on the same train,” Carrafiell said.

Boys soccer players enter St. John’s Wood Tube Station. The teams now take the tube to Cannons park instead of the bus.

Cost for tube travel can be covered by the Athletics Department.

PHOTO BY JORDAN KOSKI Though Farmer received preliminary feedback on the change he continued with the pilot, considering responses after the trial. Most teams continued with the change, though reaction from the varsity girls soccer team to Farmer were “very strongly in favor of reinstating the bus.”

The team now travels by bus from Monday to Thursday after Farmer considered the girls’ request. Feedback Farmer received expressed that the bus is a more relaxing environment to sleep and complete work.

On Fridays the team will travel by tube as Farmer feels both fac-

tors are mitigated because students have an increased opportunity to sleep and work on the weekend.

Other soccer teams will travel by tube unless Farmer is prompted otherwise. “I’m not changing [the transportation] until I have a good reason to do so, which would mean a lot of people saying ‘Hey, we don’t like it’,” Farmer said.

Regardless of any feedback Farmer receives this season, he intends to trial a similar transportation change in the spring because of the needs of spring athletes. “It’s just hard for me to picture that [this method of transportation] is not a good idea.”

Page 24

Sports

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THE STANDARD | October/November 2015

Rugby program commentary Academic effects of competition abroad

From a line-out, Jack Neblett (’16) focuses on retaining possession for the Pirates. On October 23, Breast Cancer Awareness night, the Pirates beat Zurich International School 31-0. Breast Cancer Awareness night was an initiative organized by the Pink Ribbon Club for Wear It Pink Day. In total, the Pink Ribbon Club raised £450 for breast cancer research.

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE BRENDSEL