The Standard - Issue 5 - 2018/19

the Standard

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

News 3-5

2020 Elections

As politicians shift their focus to the 2020 Presidential Elections, potential Democratic candidates have started campaigning. This election could be a defining moment in American history.

PAGE 4-5

Opinions 6-9

Editorial: Addressing our privilege Given the transactional nature of many student-adult relationships, the Editorial Board discusses the environment this creates and how our privilege plays into it.

Uncovering academic success

Although grades are just one component of the feedback given to students about their learning, they often perpetuate a culture of stress, especially when grading is seemingly inconsistent.

Ananya Prakash | Editor-in-Chief

Story on page 14

PAGE 6

Features 10-18 Examining a hook-up culture

Students observe the prevalence of a hook-up culture, and share varied opinions on the social consequences of “just hooking up.”

PAGE 10-11

Culture 19-21 The ethics of sampling songs

In today’s pop music, many musicians sample other works, often from smaller artists without proper recognition.

The question of whether this is ethical remains.

PAGE 21

Sports 22-24

Spotlighting the Langs

Twins Meghan and Olivia Lang (’22) are both three season athletes who have been playing sports since kindergarten. They discuss their passion and commitment to their teams.

PAGE 22

March/April 2019 | Volume 44, Issue 5

Online

CULTURE

FEATURES

• Finding the courage to act • Making it through March

• PCA Auction celebrates student photography for a cause • Finding an appreciation The Natural History for wildlife Program’s exhibition on Wildlife photography photography closes on 30 June.

• Why we can all relate to Hiccup Haddock in How to Train Your Dragon 3

PHOTO FROM NHM.CO.UK

PHOTO BY EMILY FORGASH

March is crowded with winter ISSTs, the Robotics trip, the Ecology trip and Alternatives.

Read online exclusive content... standard.asl.org NEWS

• Reflecting on global climate change protests • Q&A with new Student Council President and Vice President

OPINIONS

PHOTO BY EMILY FORGASH

Over 1.4 million students gathered globally to protest climate change on March 15.

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• Misconceptions fuel teen dieting • Casual antisemitism among Liberals should not be ignored

SPORTS

• Go to eaglesclaw.asl.org for winter ISSTs coverage

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANNE FASS

Girls varsity basketball won gold at ISSTs hosted by St. John’s International School.

@TheStandardASL

2 Online

The Standard

The rise in measles cases in the U.S. since the start of 2019 has lead to a possible correlation between the increase of the illness and the growing popularity of the anti-vaccine movement.

ZAINAB SHAFQAT ADIL STAFF WRITER Since the start of 2019 up until February 21, there were 159 individual measles cases in the U.S. across 10 different states. Measles is a highly contagious virus which spreads in the air through the form of sneezing and coughing. Washington State in particular has had an alarming number of these cases. During the first week of February, the state had an average of one case of measles a day, and since March 3, it’s had 71 confirmed cases altogether.

According to the Center of Infectious Disease Research and Policy,

the number of measles cases has been marked as the highest number of infections since 1996. Moreover, the majority of the measles victims were children who had not been vaccinated with the MMR vaccine.

The U.S. Center of Disease Control and Prevention said that out of every 1,000 cases of children with measles, one will result in death due to complications. However, the disease can be prevented by receiving the measles mumps and rubella vaccine. A single dose alone is 93 percent effective at preventing the virus when coming in contact with it, and two doses are 97 percent effective.

Nurse/Health Advisor Amy Curtis explains that though ASL does not have a direct policy about vaccinations for students, there are still certain

guidelines for parents about the subject. “There is a health guidance; there are recommendations, but nothing the school directly stipulates a student has to have...not a direct policy,”

“Having the vaccines and the risk associated with any vaccination far outweighs the illnesses that they’re protecting,” Amy Curtis, Nurse/Health Advisor

Though the outbreak is in the U.S., some students such as Amber Auh (’21) hold strong opinions regarding the anti-vaccine moveent.

Auh disagrees with those who choose

not to vaccinate their children, and believes not doing so, it endangers others. “Even though there’s a chance of allergic reactions [to the vaccine] and all that, that chance is so small... compared to what could happen if you don’t take the vaccines. I think you should definitely take them for safety reasons,” she said.

If ASL were ever to experience an outbreak similar to the ones in the U.S., there are steps the school would take to ensure the safety of everyone.“We would send out a Take Note on what to do, what to to look out for... we would inform the Department of Health... they would tell us what to do,” she said. “If it was an absolute epidemic, they may advise

News

Measles outbreak in the U.S.

us to shut the school down, the guidelines and information come from the Department of Health,” Curtis said.

Currently, ASL offers two different optional vaccines to students. The first is the flu vaccine given to students in Grade 4, which will also be given to students in Grade 5 starting in the 2019-2020 school year. The second is the HPV vaccine which is given to girls in Grade 7, but will also be given to boys next year.

The vaccines offered are decided by the National Health Service (NHS).

Curtis believes that though both vaccines are not mandatory, they are very important. “Having the vaccines and the risk associated with any vaccination far outweighs the illnesses that they’re protecting,” Curtis said.

Tension over Yemen continues The proxy war over Yemen fought between Iran and Saudi Arabia is a conflict stretching beyond the Middle East, affecting members of the ASL community.

MARTHA DUFF FEATURES EDITOR Since March 2015, the Yemeni Civil War has engulfed the Middle East. The conflict has grown into a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, catalyzed when former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced to hand over power to his Vice President, President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. The resignation of former President Saleh came after the Yemeni Revolution between 2011 and 2012.

As a result of this power exchange between Saleh and Hadi, Yemen experienced a drastic political and religious ideological shift from Sunni to Shi’a Islam. Hadi failed to address internal social issues such as food security and government corruption. When Houthi Shia rebels, an Islamic religious-political-armed movement took control of the North and the capital, Sana‘a, Hadi fled.

Saudi Arabia and its allies feared that the Houthis and their Shia-majority population could take over Yemen and instill a Shi’a government. This would provide power and superiority for the Shiamajority. In late 2015, the conflict escalated when Saudi Arabia and its eight Sunni Arab state allies launched an airstrike campaign against the Houthi rebel group, in turn destroying Yemen and killing tens of thousands of citizens. As

March/April 2019

a result, Saudi Arabian and Iranian forces fought for political dominance and ideological superiority in Yemen.

As Iran and Saudi Arabia fight for political power in the Middle East, Iranian, Saudi and other Muslim students and their families suffer from the ongoing conflict, and political and social divisions in the Middle East.

Cameron Moghadam (’19), whose family is Iranian, believes this conflict is “less of a conflict between ideologies or religious conflict and more of a battle for power, as Iran wants to be a sphere of influence and wants spheres of influence in the region.”

Seeds of Peace participant Faris Fakhry (’20) sees “Yemen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, not really as a conflict within Yemen itself,” and believes the religious sect division across the Middle East has manifested itself within the war.

“Being a Shia Muslim, obviously [Yemen] is a big topic,” Fakhry said.

“All across the Arab world there’s a Sunni- Shi’a tension, whether this be in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon or Kuwait, anywhere, there’s always this tension.”

Although Moghadam has never been to Iran, his Iranian nationality inherently connects him to the conflict. “I don’t support the Iranian government, but I do think that they are shooting themselves in the foot in that by funding these rebel groups and entering these proxy wars, countries such as the U.S. are

giving funds to Saudi Arabia and Israel,” Moghadam said. “This in turn hurts countries such as Iran as [the U.S.] impose sanctions…, and I don’t think it is worth it if Iran does want to become a more powerful nation and economically prosperous.”

Fakhry agrees with Moghadam and believes that “both [countries] are wrong,” but that the Saudi airstrikes have been the most devastating and crippling aspects to the war.

“There have been around 7000 or so deaths within this conflict,” Fakhry said. “[Drone strikes] are a significant wrong because then you are getting civilians caught up in the violence, you’re getting casualties that shouldn’t be happening.”

Although this civil war continues to affect the lives of Saudi and Iranian citizens, the Yemeni people are facing the brunt of it. As of early 2018, Yemen’s health system has deteriorated and Saudi forces have blocked medical and food aid from entering Yemen. Although Moghadam is Iranian, he believes that “both sides are at fault,” and credits this to the poor structure of both the Iranian and Saudi Arabia governments.

Fakhry believes that Yemen has escalated into a large scale humanitarian crisis, rather than just a war.

“Yemen has become a huge humanitarian catastrophe, just look at the cholera outbreak, the starvation,” Fakhry said. In order for the country to move forward and resume a civil society, Fakhry feels that the international community must not just ask

“‘how do we politically fix Yemen?’ but ‘how do we fix it on a humanitarian scale?’ and make it a country where people can live in.”

For Tara Tadjbakhsh (’19), whose father’s family is Iranian and fled Iran during the 1978-1979 Revolution, she believes that crises such as the one in Yemen are not discussed enough at ASL and that for students to be global citizens, they must understand and be knowledgeable about current events. “I think that as a student body people discuss some views, but in general not enough is discussed on the Middle East,” Tadjbakhsh said. “I know there are specific classes where conflicts in the Middle East are discussed at length, but personally not any that I am in.”

Moghadam agrees with Tadjbkhsh that ASL does not discuss current events and conflicts such as the Yemen Civil War as much as they should. “We’ve discussed it briefly [in Global Issues], we have it in our readings, which I do think is good,” he said. “I know that a lot of classes do not discuss what is going on in the world and I think that the vast majority of students would not have a clue about the conflict.”

Similarly, Fakhry believes that “[Yemen] is a very not spoken about issue” that needs to be addressed if ASL’s students are to be global citizens. “I feel that we talk a lot more about political conflicts primarily in the U.K. and U.S. and we don’t talk about ongoing wars as much as we should,” Fakhry said.

Fakhry partially feels as though sensitive topics are not discussed at ASL in order to prevent offending or isolating certain groups of students and faculty. “I feel like a lot of teachers and students are afraid to confront very sensitive and harsh topics, hence why we don’t talk about Palestine Israel here, why we don’t talk about Yemen, why we don’t talk about the religious splits between Saudi Arabia. These are very contentious issues which are very personal for some people yet they are not confronted,” Fakhry said.

Tadjbakhsh hopes that in the future, ASL will create a means of discussion for all students in the High School to openly share their views and opinions. “I wish there was a place where news and current events could be discussed in general,” Tadjbakhsh said. “I think that students don’t have the opportunity to have an open forum, so I do wish there was a place to have a discussion on important topics that aren’t directly impacting us and our lives.”

In order to make students more aware of such conflicts and current events, Moghadam believes that “studying contemporary history in regular history classes, especially classes such as World Civilizations,” would foster a more knowledgeable and understanding student body. “Of course it’s great to study history from a while back, but I do think it’s a necessary life skill to be able to know and talk about current events,” Moghadam said.

News 3

Presidential race has begun As both voters and politicians shift their focus towards the 2020 Presidential election, members of the community analyze each potential Democratic candidate and their future chances of success.

SAL CERRELL | STAFF WRITER

With the midterm elections now complete, and the elected candidates having assumed thenew offices, both voters and politicians have shifted their focus to the 2020 Presidential Election. The speculation on who will challenge President Donald Trump grows by the day, as potential candidates have begun to make the rounds on U.S. cable television, giving meticulously crafted responses when asked about their candidacy for President.

Regardless of who is nominated, the election is likely to be a defining moment in American history, as voters will be tasked with directing the country in the manner they deem to be appropriate at this contentious moment in the political world.

At the time of writing, several Democratic candidates have already announced their bids for the White House, including three U.S. Representatives, two state governors, two small-city mayors, a former Housing Secretary, six U.S. Senators, and two businessmen. The mere fact that 15 major candidates have already announced their campaigns is indicative of a potentially historic amount of candidates.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has been the subject of discussion, for voters and commentators alike for quite some time and is widely considered to be the early frontrunner. After nearly joining Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the democratic primary two years ago, he has refused to rule out a third bid for the presidency.

A former senator, as well having served as Vice President under Barack Obama, Biden was one of the first people to float a run for higher office. Biden’s connection with Obama is expected to help him in the Democratic primaries, where the former president is a near-universally admired figure.

However, Biden may find difficulties in dis-

Former Vice President and Senator Joe Biden from Delaware.

ALL PHOTOS FROM FLICKR

4 News

LUCAS ROMUALDO | GUEST WRITER

tinguishing himself from Obama’s record, much in the same way that people saw Hillary Clinton’s 2016 candidacy as Obama’s third term. Math Teacher Peggy Stetsko agrees with this issue.

“Disconnected from Obama, I don’t know what a Biden platform is,” Stetsko said.

Of the Democrats in contention, Biden tops them in public appearances. He has made numerous campaign visits to Democratic candidates in the 2018 midterms, as well as making trips to early presidential primary states. He spoke at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, saying, in part, that “America’s reputation is being tarnished” under the leadership of President Trump. Biden has stated that he is still making a final decision on whether to run, which he is expected to announce in April.

However, Social Studies Teacher Mike McGowan does not see a Biden candidacy being successful in the primaries. “I think that people who have any sort of power and sway in the Democratic Party will urge this old guard [like Joe Biden] to step aside,” he said.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has had one of the most successful campaign launches of the 2020 election thus far, having raised nearly $6 million in the first day of his campaign. Sanders already has a robust campaign infrastructure and supporter base, all of whom largely still enthusiastic about his candidacy after his narrow loss to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic Primaries.

Of the candidates declared so far, Sanders has garnered the most polling support and consistent media attention around his candidacy; Sanders is still widely seen as the torchbearer for the progressive and socialist wing of the Democratic Party.

Sanders, however, is sure to encounter a multitude of obstacles during the campaign season.

Perhaps the most significant change in the political climate is that many high-profile presidential candidates now support Sanders’ brand of progressivism, such as single-payer healthcare and

free college tuition. As such, Sanders may have a harder time amassing progressive supporters, who now have a plethora of candidates to choose from with similar ideologies.

Furthermore, in a field of six female and three African-American candidates, Sanders may have an increasingly hard time attracting the diverse Democratic electorate as a straight, older white man.

Age will also surely present itself as an issue, with both Biden and Sanders being nearly 80 years of age. Should Sanders be elected President, he would be the first to serve while over the age of 80, as well as the oldest elected and serving president in American history. Stetsko sees the age of candidates to be a serious issue in the primary. “A lot of [Democratic] candidates tend to be quite a bit older, and I think that a lot of people feel that maybe these people are out of touch with the voters today,” she said.

Meanwhile, California Senator Kamala Harris has made her intentions clear, formally announcing her candidacy on January 21. Harris held her first campaign rally in her home city of Oakland, attracting an attendance of 20,000, larger than Obama’s equivalent in 2007. Having only been elected to the Senate in 2016, she was quick to make her mark on Wa s h i n g ton.

She vehemently opposed several of

Democratic Senator Kamala Harris from California.

The Standard

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren from Masschusetts.

Trump’s cabinet appointees, gaining airtime for the prosecutorial nature of her questions.

After the controversial immigration act that effectively banned all Muslim immigration from five countries into the U.S., enacted in 2017, Harris gave a scathing rebuke of the policy in a 12–minute speech on the Senate floor.

Harris is currently serving on both the Intelligence and Judiciary committees, which have been tasked with scrutinizing Trump’s various controversial appointments and firings. Harris has been hailed for her tough questioning of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. Brett Kavanaugh and Former United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions during their respective hearings, which alienated many of her Republican colleagues.

She has, however, found problems when it comes to her engagement with white rural voters in Iowa and New Hampshire (these states vote first in the nominating contest), something which other candidates, including lesser-known names like Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative John Delaney, have been more successful with thus far.

Former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke, has jumped into the frame in the last six months, after challenging, and nearly defeating, Republican incumbent Ted Cruz in the Texas Senate Election. This was unexpected to those in the political world, as the state has traditionally been a Republican stronghold; it has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1990. Though O’Rourke was unable to break that streak, he managed to make the state competitive for the first time since then.

The campaign he ran garnered national press attention, which was likely a factor in making it the most expensive Senate election in history.

Even during the late stages of his losing Senate campaign, the media debated a potential challenge to Trump. In March, O’Rourke formally announced his campaign in a web video, raising $6.1 million in the first day of his campaign.

O’Rourke, however, faces issues related to his government experience. While serving for six years in the House, he sponsored few pieces of legislation and was hardly known by anyone outside of his district, let alone his state. This has made his political stances unclear, something that Stetsko noted about the candidate. “I couldn’t tell you what Beto’s platform is,” Stetsko said.

However, the election of President Trump proved that government experience plays little role when voters go to the polls, instead favoring candidates who possess and demonstrate strong rhetorical abilities, which was noted as one of O’Rourke’s strengths.

McGowan, however, does not believe that O’Rourke could be successful, primarily due to the fact that he is no longer serving in office.

“Beto O’Rourke doesn’t have significant experience in doing anything,” McGowan said.

However, Cameron Lynch (’19) believes that O’Rourke’s youth and inexperience may not necessarily be an issue. “I think he really appeals to the younger generation,” Lynch said. She specifically thinks that O’Rourke’s ability to connect with young people through social media will be an asset in the 2020 election where more millennials than ever will be able to vote.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has also been the subject of speculation for a presidential campaign since the 2016 election, when many Democrats believed that she could unite the progressive and centrist factions of the party. Warren has been at the top of many 2020 candidate lists: CNN has previously rated Warren as their top pick for the 2020 election, citing her progressive views, support from the Clinton family’s network of donors, strategists, and policy aides, and the fact that she is a well-known, experienced Senator.

Warren announced her exploratory committee, a formality preceding an official run, for a presidential run on New Year’s Eve 2018, and formally launched her campaign at a rally at the site of an immigrant worker strike a century ago.

Former Democratic Representative Beto O’Rourke from Texas.

McGowan believes that Warren should be considered a frontrunner. “I think that Elizabeth Warren is probably at the top of a lot of people’s lists,” he said.

For McGowan Warren’s longtime progressive record could appeal to a lot of voters in a Democratic primary, saying that she “probably has an inside track” when it comes to turning out progressives in the primaries.

However, she has encountered criticism after releasing a DNA test to “prove” her Native American heritage. While teaching at Harvard, she was touted as a diverse faculty member, as she claimed to have Native American ancestry.

The DNA test released by Warren states that she had a Native American ancestor six to ten generations ago. However, conservative outlets were quick to point out, biologically, most white people have more Native American DNA than Warren.

Despite this criticism, Dylan Moran (’21) agrees with McGowan. “I think [Elizabeth Warren is a] person that could do a great job. She’s at the forefront of progressive Democratic politics, and has the skills to defeat Trump,” he said. He believes that the Democrats should match Trump with an extreme candidate, of which Warren is.

“I think it’s better for the Democrats to put up an extreme candidate, to best suit the current political climate,” Moran said.

Though it is a year and a half away, the 2020 Presidential race has already begun. With 16 members of the Democratic party having declared their campaigns, with up to eight more potentially running, the campaign to unseat Trump is underway. Despite this energy in the Democratic Party, the fact that the last three presidents have all been re-elected, as well as fairly weak polling numbers for many Democratic candidates should spur concerns in the Democratic Party establishment that their impressive slate of candidates may not be enough to oust one of the most unpopular presidents in American history.

Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.

March/April 2019

News 5

EDITORIAL

Understanding our privilege ILLUSTRATION BY GABY IWEGBUE

Building relationships with teachers is a vital part of creating a sense of community at ASL. Although many students attempt to establish and maintain strong relations with their teachers, the Editorial Board has noticed that this is happening less.

This trend was exemplified during a Grade 12 class meeting where members of faculty and staff voiced how they felt under-appreciated by students, sharing specific experiences when students showed little to no respect for them or their work.

The Grade 12 students on this Editorial Board all felt embarrassed about what the teachers explained. The Editorial Board believes that these messages must be delivered to the entire High School to serve as a wake up call for how we as a student body need to be aware of our privilege and sense of entitlement.

A resonating statement from the assembly came from Social Studies Department Head Natalie Jaworski. She described that on many occasions, once a student she taught is no longer in her class, the connection between them feels “transactional.” Students receive what they need

from their teacher in the form of a grade and then the relationship is over.

Jaworski’s sentiment was echoed by Administrative Assistant Shahira Moola, where she touched on her experience working at the Commencement ceremony every year. She emphasized that students only maintain relationships until we no longer need them.

For us, entitlement is an evident factor in many parts of ASL, whether we like to admit it or not. Many students come from a background of privilege. However, sometimes this privilege can be taken for granted and creates an atmosphere where students feel accustomed to the opportunities and resources that are presented to them. We each are entitled in some way, and that’s not necessarily a problem that needs to be immediately wiped out. It is something that is greatly affecting how students view their teachers, and therefore the level of respect that teachers receive.

As students, we owe it to our teachers to see them as more than “employees” and people who

ANANYA PRAKASH Editor-in-Chief PHAEDRA LETROU Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Print ALEXANDRA GERS Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Online CHRISTINA LEONARD Online Director SOPHIE ASHLEY Lead News Editor LEA GEORGE News Editor: Print JONATHAN NOVAK News Editor: Online JONATHAN PHILIPS Opinions Editor JOHN TOWFIGHI Lead Features Editor MARTHA DUFF Features Editor ISABELLE LHUILIER Features Editor NAZ OZTURK Culture Editor: Print ROHAN HAARMANN Culture Editor: Online LILY WHITMAN Sports Editor: Print MICHAEL FLAHERTY Sports Editor: Online QUINN WHITMAN Media Director EMILY FORGASH Media Editor IMOGEN WEISS Media Editor

CARTOONISTS Gaby Iwegbue, Zainab Shafqat Adil

SHANNON MILLER Adviser STAFF WRITERS Taylor Anderson, Sal Cerrell, Houdah Daniels, Anna Duffy, Izzy Harris, Estee Jorgensen, Lena Levey, Anastasia Ruimy, Zainab Shafqat Adil, Zarina Choudhari-Stewart, Polina Dashevsky, Vittoria del Balzo di Presenzano, Labeena Hanif, Raunak Lally, Isabel Link, Gabriel Menzies, Helen Roth, Cameron Spurr, Jasmin Taylor, Maddy Whitman

6 Editorial

pump out grades. Rather, we need to acknowledge that a student-teacher relationship is not transactional. Both parties should approach each other with respect and make an effort to improve the teaching-learning process.

Teachers work tirelessly to plan lessons for our classes only for us to crack jokes and feel as though we don’t need to do any work. This entitlement not only damages our relationships with our teachers, but it also enables students to waste the resources given to us by our teachers that could have ultimately furthered our education.

We need to recognize what type of education we are receiving, especially compared to the education people are receiving elsewhere. It is a luxury that we have so many teachers who care deeply about the type of education they are giving their students. We as a student body need to understand that these teachers are here for hours before and after school because they are dedicated to our futures.

Teachers nurture each class and help each student with care and commitment; in return, we

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should meet them with respect and care as well.

This Editorial Board calls for students to acknowledge this issue and recognize when they themselves are contributing to the problem as well as their peers around them. Noticing the issue is the first step to solving it. We are not exempt from this, but we hope that we have conveyed why we feel this is necessary.

If students ever find themselves not participating or working hard on assignments, they should take a moment to question why and then push themselves to change their attitude. It will never be that all students enjoy every single piece of work that they’re assigned, but it is always important to remember the hard work that teachers dedicate to us. They give each student a chance at the best future possible.

A simple greeting in the hallway, even if you are not currently enrolled in that teacher’s class, is a stepping stone to solving this issue and a way to reinforce a sense of community at our school. Relationships between teachers and students should last a whole academic career, not just a semester.

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The Standard

PHAEDRA LETROU

phaedra_letrou-papamarkakis@asl.org

“

Grades are often just a measure of one’s ability to perform well on tests, an inaccurate representation of one’s academic ability.

I support and appreciate the concept of congratulating students on their academic and extracurricular achievements. Students at ASL prioritize their academics, dedicating hours to studying and completing their work to the highest level.

Students devote themselves to extracurricular activities, whether that be through athletics, taking on demanding leadership roles or participating in community service. I value the concept behind why we have the National Honor Society (NHS) at this school, a platform where these values are celebrated and praised.

In reality, however, the NHS does not act purely as a platform for celebrating student achievement. Rather, it reinforces the competitive nature that this school struggles with. Having an organization where a prerequisite part of admission is having above a 3.6 grade point average perpetuates the idea that grades alone are enough for students to be considered as successful academically. This is false.

Grades are often just a measure of one’s ability to perform well on tests, an inaccurate representation of one’s academic ability.

By limiting applications to only those which are above a 3.6 GPA, students who are not awarded a chance to apply are given a subliminal message that their GPA is not good enough.

Our teachers constantly tell us that our grades are not, and should not, be considered a representation of who we are as students or people.

But by limiting the NHS’s applicants to such a select number of individuals that fit this criterion, the exact opposite message is being sent.

Additionally, a GPA is not actally representative of a students academic achievements and abilities. For example, if someone were to take five AP’s, given the academic challenges that come with these classes, their GPA might be lower than a student who takes no AP’s. The rigour of one's schedule should be considered.

The school frequently tells students that our stress levels are too high and that we focus too much on our grades rather than our learning.

While I agree with this message completely, it is unfair that both this idea can be delivered while at the same time retaining an organization like the NHS that has a specific prerequisite of a high GPA. Part of the NHS’s mission includes “to recognize the achievements and contributions of individuals in the areas of academics and service.”

However, the service element of the NHS’s statement is ambiguous.

According to their mission, the organization places equal value on both service and academics. However, if this were true there would be certain criteria on service such as mandatory hours, similar to that of the GPA requirement. More clarity is needed to support this statement.

We are also told that the NHS focuses on promoting students particiaption in service, yet their require-

OPINIONS

NHS cultivates unhealthy competition

ments of service are not truly giving back. Instead, members of the NHS are asked to hand out programs at graduation or sell used prep books at Top Orange.

One would expect that their service would extend past the ASL commuity, similar to the community service programs offered each season.

The recent college scandal that has taken place in U.S. Universities – where several students were admitted on bribes – has reinforced the overwhelming and unnecessary importance society has placed on receiving admission to a competitive university.

By continuing to have organisations that strengthens this idea of prioritizing grades over all else, this competition will only continue to increase exponentially. Moving forwards, I hope that the ASL administration and the NHS itself re-evaluates whether this organization should truly hold such a high-profile position, or any position at all in our school and community.

Making the case for Britain JONATHAN PHILIPS jonathan_philips@asl.org

“

The deal that the EU have negotiated with our Prime Minister is pitiful.

Plainly, it screws us over. Our Parliament knows it, and Europe know it too.

March/April 2019

Brexit. A word seemingly without a singular definition. The emotions Brexit stirs up are equally as varied as its meanings. Although perhaps cliché now, to me, Brexit means Brexit – that is a true British exit from the European Union. No single market and no customs union.

If you are like most of the ASL student body then your mouth just dropped, your brow furrowed and maybe if you are especially liberally inclined, your adrenaline levels spiked.

But before you put down the paper in anger, hear me out.

Before the Brexit vote, economists predicted that the vote itself would be detrimental to Britain’s economy.

In the build up to the referendum the government published a report on the immediate impacts of a Leave vote; The Economist said in a 2018 article that the report “[forecasted] that house prices would fall quickly, by up to a fifth, and that unemployment would rise by over 800,000.”

Scary right? However, the opposite has happened. Average house prices have continued to rise healthily, and unemployment (as of January 2019) is at its lowest since 1975. Not only that, workforce participation is higher than ever. The economy is doing very well.

With regards to Brexit, economists have continuously been doomsayers, and they have been wrong at almost every turn.

With Prime Minister Theresa May’s soft-Brexit deal floundering and a second referendum likely out of the question, a no-deal hard Brexit is looking more and more probable. As a small island country it will be, perhaps, daunting to be going it alone. There is, however, cause to be excited. Here is the case for Britain.

If a no-deal situation were to take place, the first thing the government would have to do is make the U.K. a more attractive place to work. Corporate tax must be made competitive, meaning lower than our main EU competitors. Regulations must be less severe and more friendly than on the continent and a warm business climate must be stimulated by the government.

The U.K. already has the technical know-how, a world class university system, the physical business infrastructure and the English language going for it – with the correct measures put into place, Britain can seize the great opportunity that Brexit provides.

People often make Brexit all about immigration. Although it is an important aspect of Brexit, it also is not a be all end all.

At the beginning of the negotiation process, May, as a measure of good faith, promised that EU citizens already living in the U.K. would be allowed to stay.

More than two percent of the entire respective populations of Poland, Romania, Lithuania and Latvia live in the U.K. As much as 6.6 percent of the Lithuanian population live in the U.K. Why does this matter, one may ask? Perhaps the most daunting part of Brexit is sizing up the U.K. to the EU, the U.S. and China. These blocs will be our trading partners: we are one nation, the EU will be 27. In short, the fear is that we have little leverage.

The fact is that millions of EU citizens live in the U.K. and want to continue to do so – their native governments also want them to do

so, because them being expatriates lowers unemployment and brings money into their respective countries through remittances and holiday "back home." A potential threat on the status-quo could prove to be fantastic leverage in post-Brexit negotiations with t h e EU

Britain will undoubtedl y , and indeed must, control her own borders after we have fully left the EU It is an undeniable truth that this is a benefit. Controlling the flow of workers and the type of workers that enter the U.K. will prove to be great for our economy. When we were part of the EU, any EU citizen was entitled to live in Britain. This will no longer be the case. People will need to demonstrate that the can effectively contribute to the British economy and that they can fill a gap within our workforce in order to live here. This will further improve our already record-breaking employment market.

The most invigorating aspect of a no-deal Brexit, as opposed to a soft

Brexit, is the U.K.’s returned ability to trade with whom we please and how we please. Perhaps this is the single biggest benefit of Brexit.

The U.S. has said that they will only make a trade agreement with the U.K. if we are out of the customs union. So, if we want to fully cash-in on Brexit then we must have a no-deal hard Brexit.

By freeing ourselves from the customs union we free ourselves from the burden of sacrificing our positions for those of the EU 27. Canada spent years negotiating a deal with Europe and it was held up for so long because the Belgian region of Wallonia did not find it suitable.

If the Brexit process has taught us anything it is that finding a unified compromise is hard: our parliament is still struggling to do so. Going through that process with 27 other member states means that each country will have to give up something important to them. The U.K.'s economy should be able to make its own deals and rules unhindered, and only a no-deal Brexit allows for this.

The entire Brexit negotiating process has personally made me more inclined to favor a no-deal Brexit. The arrogance and self-importance that EU bureaucrats conduct themselves with is appalling. The deal that they have negotiated with our Prime Minister is pitiful.

Plainly, it screws us over. Our Parliament knows it, and Europe knows it too. The most logical course of action right now is to leave Europe cleanly.

The U.K. needs to prosper on its own before re-tying itself to Europe with a deal, then we can use our leverage.

ORIGINAL UNION JACK FROM PIXABAY

Opinions 7

Venezuela needs a leadership change CAMERON SPURR cameron_spurr@asl.org

“

A free and fair general election or a resignation from Maduro are the only realistic ways that Maduro’s power can be stripped.

It is unlikely an impeachment will be successful.

In Venezuela, two men simultaneously claim to be running the nation. Self-declared Interim President Juan Guaidó provides the country with fresh economic opportunities, whereas the country’s sitting president, Nicolas Maduro, continues to destroy the country’s economy and make Venezuela an even more dangerous place.

Maduro has become a dictator, supported by a governmental system created by himself to perpetuate his power. Poverty and hyperinflation have destroyed the nation’s economy.

It is time for Maduro to step down from the presidency, or be forced out of it.

Not long ago Venezuela was an economic powerhouse. Its economy based on its oil reserves, was the largest in the world. Under the former President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, the country’s economy skyrocketed when oil prices rose in 2004. This led to an over-dependence on oil, and Chavez failed to diversify Venezuela’s economy.

Maduro was elected after Chavez’s death in 2013. A year after Maduro became president, oil prices fell, which caused a devastating blow to the country’s economy.

Maduro wants the world to accept a false narrative that the situation in Venezuela is fine. In an interview with ABC News, Maduro asserted that the U.S. is “trying to

fabricate a crisis to justify political escalation and military intervention in Venezuela to bring a war to South America.” The U.S. is justifiably worried about the crisis, and therefore they should be speaking out on these issues. Regardless of what Maduro says, the crisis in Venezuela is very real.

Today, Venezuela suffers from a monthly inflation rate of 94 percent according to Forbes. For context, according to the U.K. Office for National Statistics, the monthly inflation rate in the UK is 1.8 percent as of January 2019. These figures are a sign of the damage which has been done to Venezuela. The consequences of hyperinflation are already being seen. The Venezuelan Bolivar is essentially worthless.

Maduro’s opposition, Guaidó, has obtained support from leaders and in the U.S. as well as other nations who now recognize Guaidó as Interim President of Venezuela.

Guaidó claims that he has begun to work as President, filling presidential roles. However, there has not been an official transfer of power; Maduro still has the support from the majority of the military and high ranking advisors in the government, both of which are vital to maintaining power.

To say that the public doesn’t like Maduro would be an understatement. Violent protests in the streets of Caracas illustrate the outcries of

Progress Report ALTERNATIVES

BREXIT

LAYOUT

PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (right) shakes hands with President Iván Duque Márquez of Colombia (middle) and acting President of Venezuela JuJjJuan Guaidó in Colombia. the Venezuelan people. The same feed them, that largely questions the citizens who enjoyed the greatest humanity of Maduro.

A free and fair general election or a wealth in South America are now starving, sick and impoverished. Ef- resignation from Maduro are the only reforts have been made by the U.S. to alistic ways that Maduro’s power can be provide humanitarian aid for those stripped. While Venezuelan Parliament struggling in Venezuela. While some has voted to begin impeachment proaid has reached the Venezuelan peo- ceedings, it is unlikely an impeachment ple, aid trucks have been physically will be successful. If and when Maduro blocked at the border with Colum- loses his presidential powers, Guaidó still bia by orders from Maduro. Most of has a large effort ahead of him in stabilizthe aid ends up stacked in boxes, in a ing the nation. Nevertheless, with these changes the country would be heading Columbian warehouse.

Starving your citizens is one in the right direction and would have a thing, but when you begin to refuse signficantly improved chance of stability the help of others who are trying to under a Guaidó goverment.

PHOTOS 1 BY MARTHA DUFF PHOTOS 2, 5 FROM PIXABAY PHOTO 3 FROM CNN PHOTO 4 BY STAFF PHOTO 5 FROM PROGRAMMING WITH MOSH PHOTO 6 FROM INSPIRED FOUNTAIN

FEB TO SPRING SLOG

ASK MARTHA FOR PIC

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The Editorial Board gives the penultimate Progress Report of the school year.

Alternatives: (A+) Canary Islands, sun, swimming, sea urchins.

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Senior Year Q4: (A) Light at the end of the tunnel! Naz Ozturk

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Three tests in one day: (D) Thank u, next. Imogen Weiss

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Brexit deal: (B) Parliament finally got their say “No, No, No.” Jonathan Philips

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February to April Slog: (F) Time flies when you’re having fun.

Time has never moved slower. Quinn Whitman

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Martha Duff

Last Layout Week: (A) Bittersweet memories. Thanks for the laughs and computer eyesores. Will miss you all dearly. #endofanera. Alex Gers

Post Scriptum: senior farewell

8 Opinions

The Standard

ASL bubble blinds us all

JASMIN TAYLOR jasmin_taylor@asl.org

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The ‘ASL bubble’ shelters international students from these problems, and creates misconceptions or ignorance towards the serious issues many people living in London face.

Our school community is often referred to as the clichéd “ASL Bubble,” so much so that it has become a joke of how sheltered students are from issues that plague the rest of London.

Although there are some benefits to being sheltered, it leaves students with misconceptions of what it is like to really live in London.

An example of this is gentrification: the process of repairing and rebuilding homes and businesses in a “deteriorating area” (such as an urban neighborhood), accompanied by an influx of middle-class or affluent people. According to The Independent, gentrification has caused people living in the bottom 10 percent of “relative deprivation” to be “pushed out” of their homes because they can no longer afford to live in their borough, causing a dramatic change in London’s demographic. In addition, there has been a decrease in the number of inner city boroughs classified as “deprived” (based on 37 topics ranging from income and employment to health and education) in the past decade. The list includes Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Lambeth, Camden, Greenwich, Haringey, Islington and Newham.

Because much of the student body resides within St. John’s Wood or surrounding areas, which are not gentrified, and it is not uncommon for families to live in London for a short period

of time, it makes sense for gentrification to be an issue our school has little awareness of. This was shown when 32.6 percent of 129 students who responded to a Standard survey said they were somewhat or completely unaware of gentrification in London.

Similarly, only 10.6 percent of students responding to the survey claim to be aware of the police brutality issue in London. According to an article published by The Independent in May 2018, police are four times more likely to use force against black people than white people in London. And even though only 13 percent of London’s residents are black, 36 percent of excessive force incidents are between black people and the police. To contrast, there are 43 percent more white than black people in London, but excessive force incidents between white people and the police are only 8 percent higher than black people.

In October 2018, the Guardian published that the Metropolitan Police’s use of force increased 79 percent in one year, with black people more likely to be subjected to force such as handcuffing, stun guns, CS tear gas spray, batons and guns. There is a clear police brutality issue in London, and it is severely impacting people who are not in the school community, leaving students uninformed on the matter.

Misconceptions about the issues

in London only become dangerous when students begin to act on them, evident in the advertizing used for an upcoming bake sale for Jambalaya, the school’s literary arts magazine which said, “JAM NEEDS YOU ALIVE. Don’t carry a knife,” in big text in the middle and “+ happy valentines day” in the corner. These posters were a play on the government’s advertizement campaign to decrease knife crime, where their slogan is “London needs you alive don’t carry a knife.”

With this slogan, the government tries to raise awareness and encourage teenagers not to carry knives because they will be endangering themselves and others. It also tells them that they can have a positive impact in London without carrying a knife. As published in The Standard in December, 13.5 percent of 251 students didn’t believe London even has a knife crime issue, and an additional 34.3 percent of students were unsure whether London has knife crime problems.

Seeing Jambalaya’s posters made me think of how this would probably not happen at a British school where the students know people who have carried knives for defense and lost friends to knife crime. The posters downplayed their struggle and this issue, and Jambalaya unknowingly contributed to a long history of students trivializing serious issues in London because they aren’t

GRAPHIC BY EMILY FORGASH

Map above shows London boroughs. In blue is City of London, and green are nine gentrified boroughs according to the Independent.

exposed to them. Fortunately, student’s awareness of knife crime has increased since then, according to a more recent survey by The Standard, only 9 percent of 129 students considered themselves unaware of knife crime.

Some issues in London, such as gentrification and police brutality, exclusively affect British people, people of color or the working class, which for the most part our school is not comprised of.

The “ASL bubble” shelters students from these problems, and creates misconceptions or ignorance towards the serious issues many people living in London face. Students should attempt to become more aware of these issues, and then maybe things like the Jambalaya posters won’t happen.

It’s about more than just us

EMILY FORGASH emily_forgash@asl.org

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Privilege causes some of us to believe that failing a test is as detrimental as a deadly crisis taking place thousands of miles away.

March/April 2019

Up until recently, I had no idea about the conflict in Venezuela. I saw pictures of destruction, but I did not look further into them. I knew that there is a famine in Yemen, but I had not been reading up on it or trying to find out what I can do to help. If I had to pinpoint a reason for my ignorance on these matters, I’d have to admit that it was firstly because those crises do not directly affect me and secondly because they are distressing to learn about.

This is a trend I notice more and more in our community. Sometimes it is just human nature to block out the terrible, inhumane events that are greatly affecting people 4,000 miles away. However, “human nature” is simply not an excuse.

Try to imagine living in Yemen without the money that is usually associated with our community. Envision everyone around you at the fatal hands of starvation. Then think about people incountries without significant social and political turmoil that are almost completely unaware of your situation, even though it’s broadcasted in the news daily.

This ignorance is destructive to humanity for a number of reasons: it can allow for history to repeat itself and for injustices to continue, and it can taint our perspective on the lives we live.

History, and the way we remember it, directly relates to and affects the present. For example, the Nazis rose to power in Germany after World

War I in a calculated way. It was a time when desperation blinded the German citizens as to what would make for adequate leadership that would bring helpful solutions. The result of this was the most well known and unfathomable genocide in history.

The Holocaust is so hard to learn about and understand, that some people refuse to do so, and some even deny its reality. One reason for this might be because they believe that the Holocaust does not directly affect them.

I believe that forgetting about the Holocaust or ignoring its occurrence is not an option. When we forget history or pretend it never happened because we believe it’s consequences don’t directly affect us, we are making space for it to repeat itself. For example, another prejudiced leader might be able to do something similar again as a result of us losing sight of the past.

Additionally, In his book Night, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel explains how necessary it is to remember the Holocaust. “To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time,” he said.

The torment that the victims of the Holocaust had to endure cannot be for nothing. It would be incredibly insulting to allow these people’s legacies to die with them.

Not only does ignorance allow for a relapse of the past, but it also allows for people to unknowingly say offensive phrases. Everyone has their own

perception of where progressive becomes too liberal, where being careful with one’s words meets censoring one’s ideas. In every case, privilege should always be kept in mind.

Privilege creates a lens that contorts our views of the world we live in. It causes some of us to believe that failing a test is as detrimental as a deadly crisis taking place thousands of miles away.

I am not trying to minimize anyone’s problems; I am solely asking that we put our lives into perspective by considering what is happening elsewhere.

Not to be cliché, but I do believe that with great privilege comes great responsibility.

According to the Washington Post, almost 1,000 people were killed by police in 2017 in the U.S. We see such atrocities and then we forget about them. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a harrowing, realistic yet fictional story that follows a girl whose friend gets killed by a policeman on the grounds that his comb looked like a gun to the police officer. By thinking about The Hate U Give as just a reading assignment or another book on the shelf, we are allowing for the issue to continue growing. In contrast, I believe we should look at this book as a necessary read for all that can teach us about something affecting thousands of people.

Due to my race and where I live, I’ve never had to be taught how to act when a police officer pulls me over so that I will not be killed, and for

that I am endlessly grateful. However, I spent many years unaware of police brutality and its effects, and how some people have to be taught how to act around police, the people who are meant to keep them safe. We need to understand what a privilege it is that we can say that so many different monstrosities will probably never affect us in our lifetimes.

On March 18, 2018, Stephen Clark was talking on his phone in his backyard in Sacramento, California.

Regardless of his unquestionable innocence, he was shot eight times by two police officers. They were acting on a report of car break-ins in the area, and believed Clark’s phone to be a gun. He was only 22. How can we hear about something like this and then just forget about it?

There are thousands of other cases similar to Clark’s in America alone. I’m not saying that we should mourn every one of these victims individually, which is frankly what they deserve. Instead, I am urging everyone to pay attention to these horrors and let them help you shape your perspective and actions.

This state of not knowing, and not even taking the time to learn, ends up making people in this type of privileged position say things that could be seen as extremely offensive and ungrateful. To combat this, read the news and books, and then after learning the information, take time to absorb it and consider how it compares to your life.

Opinions 9

FEATURES

No strings attached In recent years the trend of ‘hooking-up,’ sexual encounters between two people with no romantic attachment, has become more prevelent. Students observe the rise of hookup culture and share their varied opinions on the consequences of ‘just hooking up.’

Polina Dashevsky | Staff Writer

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he High School has caught up with the trend of “hooking up,”which is a way of expressing sexual relationships, rather than dating. While long-term relationships have not disappeared entirely, many students have observed an increase in casual hookups over the past few years and believe they are gradually eclipsing longterm relationships.

Hookup culture ignores the traditional ideas of dating and having a long-term emotional attachment.

Instead, it encourages sexual encounters between two people without any “strings attached.”

Russell Cornelius (’20) recognizes the presence of a culture surrounding casual hookups, yet doesn’t think it’s specific to ASL. “I think it’s something that’s prominent in every high school... and pretty much among all young people,” he said.

According to a recent survey of 174 High School students conducted by The Standard, 153 said they believe that a hookup culture has become more prevalent in recent years.

For many, hookup culture has a reputation of being normalized through popular 18+ dating apps,

such as Tinder and Bumble, where users swipe right or left on people they like or don’t like respectively.

reputation is fundamentally built on people looking to find a hookup or more casual connections.

This culture is promoted in a slightly different manner, in high school at ASL, where hooking up is most commonly and openly advertized through social media, social gatherings and parties. The survey revealed that 61.4 percent of respondents believe that social media promotes a culture of casual hookups.

Hooking up takes on a new form in the media age, as it allows for anonymous harmful practices. Platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and almost every other social media app have seen instances of harassment and sexualization of women.

Transportation of sexual graphic images is faster and easier than ever before.

Emi McCarthy (’21) understands the impact of technology on hookup culture and feels that online interactions differ significantly to the face-toface interactions. She believes that individuals can hide behind screens, where they are more likely to make sexual comments, whilst dismissing their consequences. “I think hookup culture is so popular now, because when we are

“I THINK IT’S SOMETHING THAT’S PROMINENT IN EVERY HIGH SCHOOL AND PRETTY MUCH AMONG ALL YOUNG PEOPLE.” RUSSELL CORNELIUS (‘20)

10 Features

While the intent of these apps is to match people with similar interests and encourage them to date, their

Kendall Lubkeman (’19) thinks that the popularity of hooking up is also inspired

all on our phones, we can just hide behind the screens, say what we want to say without feeling embarrassed.

Some people can send nudes and hideaway from that in person.

On our phones, people can send what they want to send, and say what they want to say,” McCarthy said.

by mainstream movies and shows. “I think probably in movies and T.V. shows, like the fact that there are movies called ‘Friends with Benefits’ are normalizing the fact that there are less emotions put on [relationships] and more just for the actions itself,” she said.

“I think that changed the culture in a way.”

However, Cornelius believes that the popularity of this trend derives from its less time-consuming nature. Even though Cornelius is currently in a relationship, he understands why many people take part in hookup culture. “People would rather hook up with people and experiment, rather than be in a

The Standard

“IT’S MUCH MORE COMMON WITH [UNDER CLASSMEN] ... NOT THAT IT’S BAD, YOU JUST DON’T REALLY UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE.” ALICIA TOLCHINSKY (‘19)

relationship,” he said. “Relationships also take time and a lot of people don’t have time for that.”

According to a 2013 article by the American Psychological Association (APA), the presence of a hookup trend originated from a cultural revolution.

Hooking up has always been a part of life, yet it was not as socially acceptable in the past.

Since the rise of feminism in the 1960s, women have gained more rights and respect which they did not have prior. Women who wanted to hook up feared less judgement from doing so.

With the combination of female empowerment and media development caused the taboo topic of casual hookups to become more acceptable and, as a result, more noticeable.

While the trend is nowadays more tolerated across age groups, Alicia Tolchinsky (’19) believes that hooking up is more prevalent at younger ages. “I think it’s much more common [with lower classmen] than with upperclassmen, because [younger] people don’t assume that there are going to be repercussions,” she said. “It’s because

March/April 2019

y o u’r e young and you are doing whatever you want. Not that it’s bad, you just don’t really understand the consequences at such a young age.”

Jay Heyman (’21) confirms that hooking up is a “phase” that is more likely to pass, as emotional attachment is still of integral value.

“I think that a hookup culture is good when you are young, but when you get older,

you want to have someone you can share everything with,” he said.

According to a 2014 survey from Duke University, in which students were asked about social relations, 75 percent of 622 students indicated that they hook up almost once a month. Only 39 percent of students responded that they were in a committed relationship.

There are various complications about what is classified as a simple hookup or which relationships involve emotional attachment. Cooper (’22)* believes there is a fine line between feelings and hooking up. “[Hooking up] is more stressful than dating, but then it’s more casual and cool because if it doesn’t work out, it’s just a hookup. After the hookup you can see if you actually like the person and then maybe take it further and not have some awkward break up,” he said.

Cooper believes that hooking up can actually lead to understanding whether you have feelings for that person. However, discovering feelings for someone after the hookup is not always the case, as Cooper recognizes that feelings won’t necessarily be mutual and there may be a host of negative consequences.

Despite its popularity, hookup culture can have implications for mental health. According to the same article by the APA, in a study of 109 female and 31 male undergraduates in college, women who engaged in an uncommitted hookup showed higher rates of mental stress.

Pheobe* (’22) also believes that there are also possible social consequences

from the rise of this trend. “Personally, [hookup culture] hasn’t specifically influenced me, but I have noticed from afar that it can bring out the worst in people and that it’s harmful,” she said. “It is also possible to lose respect from others. You lose respect if people will think that you only have your body to offer to people, and that you don’t want a real relationship, so they’ll treat you like an object.”

Pheobe believes that, in the worst cases, hooking up may degrade one’s social image and have far-reaching consequences. Objectification of women and loss of respect are just some of them.

“[Hookup culture] hasn’t specifically influenced me, but I have noticed from afar that it can bring out the worst in people.”

Pheobe* (‘22)

Pheobe has noticed that there are certain stereotypes, which, for centuries, have painted a fake illusion of women and their relation to provocative behavior. For instance, if a girl behaves promiscuously, she is automatically labeled a ‘slut.’ Men are much less likely to receive such disapproval from society.

Lubkeman believes that the consequences of hooking up are harsher for girls. “It’s perceived that there’s more repercussions for girls if they hook up a lot, compared to guys, and the labels that can be placed,” she said. “In mainstream media, if a girl is seen with a lot more guys, compared to guys being seen with a lot of girls, he’s a player or a ladies man, but the media isn’t as nice to females.”

Women have endured not only the consequence of hooking up, but also the implications of deciding to obstain from this culture. Freya (’22)* has experienced the negative stereotypes of not wanting to engage in hookup culture. “This one time I dated a guy, and when I didn’t want to hook up with him, he was being very rude. When I broke up with him, he told everyone that he broke up with me instead, as I apparently was a huge prude,” she said.

Even though women are most commonly associated with such assumptions, guys are also expected to uphold a certain image. Can Suyur (’20) elaborates on the expectations surrounding men in this culture. “If a guy hooks up with a lot of girls, let’s say pretty girls, he becomes more respected, and then he is treated better in the friend group,” he said. The dynamic between females and males differs, as guys may benefit from getting with many girls, while females often struggle with distressing labels.

Ultimately, Pheobe believes the hookup culture is becoming prominent as well as its repercussions.

Although some believe this trend is eclipsing traditional dating, the choice still lies in the hands of every person. Pheobe believes that there is a place for dating in modern society, and that it should be brought back.“I think that a lot of people don’t really know what it means to date,” she said. I think it should be revived, but not in the sense of making it a label for hooking up.”

* Editors note: names have been changed to protect the identity of certain students

Features 11

y too

Looking beyond labels Age-based practices within school relationships and in leadership roles can cause power imbalances in educational settings. But it has also led to the mobilization of Generation Z through activism.

Maddy Whitman | Staff Writer

Quinn Whitman | Media Director

Under a microscope

W

hen Grade 10 Dean Renée Green first started working at ASL, it was as a member of the Admissions team. She describes her experience in this position as one where she often felt she was under a microscope from prospective families. “The first person that parents often met from the school would be me, and they would ask some

sorts of indirect but direct questions about trying to figure out my age and what I have done. They would ask things like ‘how did you end up here?’,” she said.

Green defines ageism as the idea of “having conceptions of people because of how old they are and having that influence your practice and engagement with them.”

The Educa

Relationships and leadership roles hen transitioning into the High W School, Gigi Patmore (’22) felt that she became much more conscious of her

actions in front of older students in the school. “I've never sat anywhere that I didn't think I wasn't supposed to because I didn't want backlash from it,” she said.

Patmore feels that ageism is present in the High School and that it plays into the dynamic between grades.

Patmore believes that ageism can have an effect on how freshmen interact with upperclassmen. “I feel like, because of ageism, [some people in] the younger grades can be hesitant to interact with the upperclassmen,” she said.

Patmore also feels that grades can be stereotyped when people only know a handful of people from that grade. “If you're only hearing from certain people, then you can generalize that grade as a whole,” she said.

John Nation (’19) agrees with Patmore in that grades can be stereotyped based on age. “Just looking back at how I was as a freshman, I was just so generally immature,” he said. “Even when I was so confident in myself as a freshman, I realized in retrospect how many things I did wrong and the mistakes that I made as a result of my confidence.”

Although Patmore feels she has

12 Features

been negatively impacted by the ideas of ageism and seniority, she understands why it exists in a high school environment. “I [understand the structure] of seniority because the seniors have been here longer and were here before us,” she said.

However, Green does not necessarily agree that the seniors have been at ASL longer than younger students, because some have only recently arrived. “The truth is that we have new seniors all the time and there are some freshmen who have been here for eight or nine years,” she said. “Somehow we equate that senior with knowing more and being more of a leader as opposed to a freshman.”

Middle School Social Studies Teacher Latham Cameron, who led a Aequitas Day worksop on ageism, echoes Green and believes that there should be equal respect granted to new and existing members of the community, as they both provide different perspectives to how the school environment can be improved. “We should respect people who have been here longer because they have institutional knowledge,” he said. “The person who has been here a long time should respect people who are newer because they can see things that the person who

has been here longer has grown insensitive to, because it is a norm.”

Patmore also recognizes that ageism in high schools is a widespread issue, not exclusive to ASL, and that other schools struggle with it as well. “It's something that's normal in almost every high school, so it's come to be accepted,” she said.

“That doesn't exactly mean that it's OK.” However, Karis Gilbert (’22) believes that students often look to the same people as leaders. “In music [classes], there's going to be seniority with section leaders, [so] it's always going to be an upperclassman," she said. Gilbert believes that because the upperclassmen have been a part of the ensembles for at least a year, their experience is one of the deciding factors when selecting a leader.

Green agrees with Gilbert in that specific roles seem to be designated for upperclassmen. “Obviously the Student [Council] President is going to be a senior... It is just something that is inherently known,” she said.

Green feels that the roles of leadership must be monitored to ensure that there isn’t a continuous bias. “If we don't check ourselves then the inlaid bias will always continue to play itself out,” she said.

Green feels that leadership shouldn’t be limited to the oldest students. “I

think about some students I have who are sophomores and I think that they are probably some of the best leaders I have ever met indiscriminate of age and gender,” she said.

However, Gilbert views seniority in most instances as something more positive than negative, as younger students can learn from older students. “I don't think [seniority] is a negative thing, I think it makes people realize that they need to become more responsible and that they are seen as more of a role model [as they get older],” she said.

Green believes that age is something that isn’t really thought about and is rather something that is subconsciously digested. “I think that age is one of those things we probably don't spend a lot of time thinking about. Therefore, if we are not thinking about it and being intentional about it, it creeps into everything,” she said.

Cameron agrees with Green and feels that ageism isn’t widely recognized because it is a newer concept. “People are just starting to think about this power imbalance and one of the first steps to creating a more equitable society is actually starting to be aware of [these imbalances] and using [them] as a lens to critique our behaviors toward each other,” he said.

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Green cites the deci School to stop assignin way for students to be ex learning. “They are not d rization but they are in

March/April 201

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thing that is fundamentally important to them,” she said. “[It] is spending quality time with people that matter to them and I think that provides the kind of development that is appropriate for all people.”

Green feels that the pushback that occurred from adults was a result of the desire to stick with a tradition that had worked for so long. “Because that is what worked for them and that was what helped get them to a place where they are successful, it is something that they believe needs to continue to happen,” she said. “We live in a completely different world.”

Green believes that students’ curiosity should pave the way for learning so that there can be more of a power balance between student and teacher. “Harkness is one step towards that but it really requires that the teacher steps away and lets the students be the facilitators,” she said.

Director of Service Learning Brandon Block believes that the education system in general does not encourage enough opportunities for student activism. "Young people are doing what they are doing despite their education, which prioritizes test taking and achievement," he said. "Often times getting institutional recognition means putting aside [activism] and towing the line."

Generation Z Activism ilbert feels that power through seniority Geffect can have both a positive and negative depending on how one uses their

power. “Seniority can be seen as responsibility and something that you earn... or it can be seen as 'I have seniority and I'm going to take advantage of that based on my age’,” she said.

Agreeing with Gilbert, Green believes that older people in society should work to help younger people bring their ideas to the table. “I think it is critical for those who are [at the table] to make space so we can bring others in,” she said.

Similarly, Block feels that young people have more of a platform to voice their opinions. "You don't have to be in a grey suit and be interviewed by Channel 4 News to get your voice heard anymore," he said. "If you can say something in a really compelling way that speaks to the heart and soul ... then you can move millions."

Nation believes that one part of being younger is that he feels he sometimes has to prove his opinion to older people. “I feel like it's a matter of mak-

ing it worth someone's time to listen to what you have to say,” he said.

The Youth Climate Strike on March 15 was one time when Nation felt he had to validate his opinion to older people. “The point of protesting is to induce a change in society or a political scene, and those two aspects are already pre-set just by older generations of people,” he said. “Our parents who've all grown up with different backgrounds… look at us and they see the ways they are different, they don't always necessarily approve of that.

They see that as a sign of immaturity.”

Green believes that young people often have to deal with stereotypes such as always being on social media and being lazy, “The youth often get a bad rep like they take selfies and they just want to drink and hang out,” she said. “They are a huge source of energy, they’re interested and optimistic in a way that I think people as they get older get jaded.”

Nation believes that in order to take on responsibility, actions like the Youth Climate Strike demonstrate how young people are ready to take

control. “I feel like we do prove ourselves in some way and show how serious we are about this.”

Green feels that events such as this strike give young people a voice in an issue that is going to affect their future.

“I think it's wonderful that people are walking out, but I think it's even more wonderful that this is happening across the world in 60 different cities and that students are feeling like, 'you know what, if we don't say something, we will never be heard’,” she said.

Green also believes that it is a positive to hear young voices when the people in charge are failing to reach solutions to detrimental world issues.

“Adults who are supposed to be in charge haven't been doing that good of a job if we find ourselves in this situation,” she said.

Green looks forward to what the future holds for young people. “I'm super excited about millennials and young people because I think they're going to hold adults like me accountable,” she said. “The youth keeps me optimistic and hopeful.”

The Standard

Behind the grades

Grades are used in every high school class as a way of assessing students’ progress. However, increasing academic pressure and seemingly inconsistent grading has created a culture of stress and competition.

Ananya Prakash | Editor-in-Chief

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pon entering high school, the one piece of advice that Yaqoob Ahmad (’22) got from an older student was to maintain his GPA and build good study techniques. “It’s all about building your habits, discipling yourself into getting good grades, keeping it consistent,” Ahmad said.

Despite the pressure to do well academically, Ahmad believes that grades can be one dimensional and are unable to tell a full story. “It sums up all the work you’ve done into one letter grade or number.” However, Ahmad appreciates that teachers recognize this and are willing to work with students to ensure they are meeting the standards. “[Teachers] take really great steps to make it easier for you, they want you to succeed.”

Caroline Harms (’19) believes this pressure to achieve academically throughout the High School results in students only focusing on tangible grades, which “creates a culture of competition between people.” As a result, she has seen many of her peers approaching teachers to “bump-up” their grade. “That doesn’t inspire learning because you’re just getting a certain grade instead of understanding the material,” she said. “I guess to some extent that’s at all schools.”

World Languages and Cultures Department Head Ruth McDonough emphasizes that grades are just one part of a student’s learning process. “Grading is sort of a red herring for what’s important. When we talk about feedback, grades are only one kind of feedback and they tend to be one of the most limited types,” she said.

When learning a language at any level, McDonough explains that students in the Language Department are assessed on their proficiency level based on a target level for a class. “Proficiency is about consistency over time and consistency in your ability to either communicate or understand communication in the language, culture and context,” McDonough said.

Similarly, Science Teacher Derek Fleming describes how the Science Department uses the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as a “reference point” when assessing students. “We have picked out what we call our power standards, and all of those power standards have descriptive statements saying exactly what content students need to learn and what skills students need to learn,” Fleming said. These descriptive statements are observable features of student performance.

Although Yvette Brisebois (’19) recognizes that grades are simply one indicator of how she is doing in a class, she is aware of the external pressures that give grades disproportionate impor-

14 Features

tance. “A lot of people really depend on grades, especially because we are going to be submitting them to universities.”

Harms echoes Brisebois and said, “people put a lot of emphasis on their grades, especially in relation to college.” She noticed that during the first semester of her senior year, many of her teachers were lenient in their grading, partially alleviating the pressure that comes with sending transcripts to colleges. “It took some stress off. In the classes where that happened, [there is a risk] of setting the precedent that you don’t have to work that hard, but that hasn’t been the case,” she said. “It comes with the expectation that you still have to do work and I understand that.”

Along with external pressures, Brisebois believes that inconsistencies in grading creates a more tense environment, especially in her Advanced Placement (AP) classes that have been following the AP format. “Sometimes teachers use the AP scale and everything has to be oriented towards that exam in the end, but then some teachers have their own philosophy about [grading]. Then there’s some teachers that are really relaxed, so they’ll just be like, ‘it doesn’t really matter what you got,’ and are still going to give you an A,” she said.

With these variations, Brisebois feels her focus is then shifted away from descriptive feedback on her progress in a class. “You end up sort of fixating on trying to be in a ballpark [of a grade] and then that obviously distracts you from actually being passionate about the material or learning about the material in a meaningful manner,” Brisebois said.

Harms has similarly experienced inconsistencies when it comes to grading. While she acknowledges that every department and class needs to have its own specific way of grading, Harms believes more uniformity is need. In some AP classes, Harms has noticed that the AP curve is used for every quiz and test, whereas in other AP classes, this hasn’t been the case.

When creating assessments for AP Chemistry, Fleming and Science Teacher Deb Luheshi use questions from secure past AP papers. “When we’re grading [tests] we use the grading standards that are sent to us by College Board. Therefore, the grade that we award is based on the grade that your answers would have got on an AP examination,” Fleming said. “So in that sense, it’s a very standardized grading operation.”

For Science 9 and Science 10 classes, assessments are graded based on the NGSS. “We don’t curve because that’s not the way we write the assessments. It’s not based on the scale an AP would be written,” Luheshi said.

When there are multiple teachers

teaching a subject, Luheshi notes the importance of consistency among classes. “We make sure that the two sections that are taught by different teachers are as close as possible for the student experience in terms of the content that is covered and the way that students are assessed,” Luheshi said. “So it doesn’t really matter which class [students are] in, they still have the same standards that they have to meet.”

With the shift to standards based learning and students being evaluated on set outcomes, Harms has noticed that the increasing use of rubrics has oftentimes given clarity on how she is being assessed. “I think [rubrics are] helpful to me because I do know what to do, but I think in a lot of classes they don’t necessarily hold true,” Harms said. “There are a lot of times where you’ll do what’s on the rubric, but it won’t be ‘technically’ what was on it so you’ll still get points off.”

In contrast, Ahmad believes there to be consistent grading policies in the High School. He was, however, taken aback by the contrast between how students are assessed in Middle School and High School. “In Middle School, teachers were super lenient, they were allowing you to retake tests whenever. You could come in during lunch, if you wanted an extension, they would happily give you one. In High School, I recently asked for one and was denied it because that wasn’t how it worked,” he said.

For Ahmad, working hard and learning is directly correlated to grading. “You really associate learning with what your grades are because the only way to get a grade that you want is through learning. How do you get a good grade? You study for it, you practice, you revise, so that is learning. It’s all about the process of learning,” he said.

When teaching, McDonough highlights the importance of feedback when discussing performance. “We’re always trying to figure out new ways to help our students grow… The grade itself ends up being one piece of a reflection of how that growth happens. When we talk about grades, they’re not our focus and they’re not our goal,” she said. “Our goal is not to produce a grade. A grade is a reflection of student performance against those proficiency standards.”

McDonough believes that students need to be engaged in the process of feedback. “Having that be a student-oriented process, not a teacher-oriented process helps students to engage and be a part of their own learning in a way that they can actually progress and see that they’re progressing,” McDonough said. “That’s so much more important than putting a letter on someone’s paper.”

“GRADES ARE ONLY ONE KIND OF FEEDBACK AND THEY TEND TO BE ONE OF THE MOST LIMITED TYPES.” RUTH MCDONOUGH, WORLD LANGUAGES AND CULTURE DEPARTMENT HEAD

“A LOT OF PEOPLE REALLY DEPEND ON GRADES BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO BE SUBMITTING THEM TO UNIVERSITIES.” YVETTE BRISEBOIS (’19)

The Standard

Unscrambling dyslexia Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects the way the written word is perceived.

It is estimated that 1 in 10 people have a form of dyslexia. SLD students and teachers outline the advantages and struggles that come with learning differently.

Martha Duff | Features Editor

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s a young child, Monet Streit’s (’19) parents first attributed her reading difficulties to the fact that they spoke both French and English at home. However, when Streit read aloud a letter that she had written to her father for his birthday, her parents realized that it was a more serious issue. “Everything that I read out loud was spelled backwards or upside down so they were like ‘OK something is definitely wrong’,” she said. “They had me tested with a learning specialist and I was diagnosed with [dyslexia].”

Similarly, Amanda Mond (’20) was not initially diagnosed with a learning disability and her difficulties in school were attributed to a lack of effort. “My teacher [at my previous school] told my parents that I was just really stupid, refused to work on my spellings and just a bad student. That was a really hard time for me because I just felt like school was really hard and my teachers were horrible to me and my parents were like you need to do more work,” she said.

Dyslexia is a learning disability that impacts the way that the written word is seen, which in turn affects a person’s ability to read and write.

However,

lexia to another but [how it impacts that person] is still very much on an individual basis,” she said.

Statz believes that dyslexia affects high school students across all subject areas but differently depending on the subject. “The really important

March/April 2019

through that so they're getting the information and approaching it in a way that's most beneficial.”

Although the effects of dyslexia are specific to each person, Streit describes that in her case, words will disappear or appear whilst she is

However, when she moved to ASL, Streit felt the strong SLD program, which her previous schools lacked, helped her become more open about her learning disability. “Having this SLD department, that I didn't have anywhere else, it let me think ‘look at all

“WHILE IT CAN BE FRUSTRATING, THAT’S WHAT MAKES UP THE WAY YOU SEE THE WORLD AND THAT IS AN INCREDIBLE THING.” LEARNING SPECIALIST HEATHER STATZ thing as a teacher is to know that it's going to look a certain way in math for this student and a very different way in their English course,” she said.

“Really explicit instruction on how to tackle those sources needs to be given and also individualized because if you have student A and B seeing differently, you need to help them

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Learning Specialist Heather Statz emphasizes that dyslexia looks very different in different individuals. “There are definitely similarities in one person's dys-

Isabelle Lhuilier | Features Editor

reading. “For some people the letters flip, for some people the letters disappear, but for me its entire words or lines disappear or appear,” she said.

“I add a lot of random words or just make them up… so that's why it takes so much longer for me to read because I have to keep going back.”

For Mond, dyslexia meant she would often struggle with spelling as a child. “I’d forget to cross my T’s and dot my I’s. I'd add E’s to the end of words, I remember once I was asked to spell milk and I spellecd it M-I-L-K-E,” she said.

However, Streit believes that living with dyslexia from a young age has helped her become a more successful student. “Growing up knowing that I had dyslexia I have been able to learn how to deal with it and learn how to be really organized,” she said.

Although Streit is now open and willing to discuss her dyslexia, she was not always comfortable talking about it. “Being someone who’s the slowest in your class, the only person who can’t read as fast, not able to write as fast as everyone, the teacher is always putting you outside the classroom because you need extra time,” Streit said. “For me [my dyslexia] was one of my biggest insecurities growing up.”

these other students in SLD with me, look at these other people who I can do this with and who are going through similar things’,” she said. “It just makes me much more able to talk about it.”

On the other hand, Mond feels that she has always been comfortable talking about her dyslexia. “The whole time I have been at ASL I have never really been

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embarrassed about it. I think maybe when I first found out that I had a learning specialty, when it was very new and other kids didn't really understand why I was getting pulled out of class… I'd get loads of questions but I would be able to answer them,” she said. “I just accept that that's how I am and I'm thankful that I am given the facilities to help.”

Due to her successful experience, Streit feels that ASL should expand it's SLD program because at its current size, students with less severe learning differences are missing out. “In that extent its kind of saying ‘Oh who's [learning difficulty] is the worst? You can have accommodations everyone else can't. It's not fair to people who have a learning disability and need SLD but don’t get it,” she said “I definitely think it's something that needs to be expanded especially considering it's such a great program.”

Although Statz acknowledges how frustrating dyslexia can be for students, she emphasizes how it can also give them a unique mindset. “We all have something that we think sometimes ‘I wish I could change this … it would be so much easier if I just thought the way other people do,’” she said. “But what if that changed your incredible way that you're able to see architecture and innately understand it or in

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the way that you're able to create music like no one else so, while it can be frustrating, that’s what makes up your mind and the way you see the world and that is an incredible thing.”

Features 15

In matrimony: married teachers share their lives Working in the same building for many years, two married couples find joy and commonality in their shared profession.

Alexandra Gers | Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Online

Steve Reed and David Papenhagen

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he phrase “opposites attract” has often been used when referring to successful relationships. However, if one married couple embodies this phrase quintessentially, it’s Library Administrative Assistant Steve Reed and Band Teacher David Papenhagen. A self-described “dingbat,” Papenhagen’s easy-going manner pairs perfectly with Reed’s more organized personality.

“We met [in New York City] in April 2009. We walked in Tompkins Square Park, we had lunch, we hung out all day in the East Village and it was interesting because we just clicked right away and spent all day together,”

hagen, “I’ll let you tell this, you were the instigator.” Although Papenhagen wasn’t necessarily looking for a new job, he came across the posting at ASL. “I distinctly remember sitting in our apartment at home and I yelled down the hall to [Reed], 'Do you want to move to London?' and he said 'Oh, yeah!'”

That same weekend Papenhagen filled out the job application, and within a few months the pair moved overseas. Despite the spontaneity, there was no hesitation from either one of them. “Both of us were very excited to [move]. I think we were both a little incredulous that it was happening,” Reed said.

different locations and tasks, they rarely overlap. “A floor separates us, we don't teach in the same department, so it’s kind of strange that there's a big divide,” Papenhagen said. However, Papenhagen always stops in the library on his way home to talk about what the two will eat for dinner.

Despite the physical divide, Reed and Papenhagen feel that working in the same institution provides a commonality. “We go home and we can talk about what happens at school and each of us knows what the other one is talking about, all the issues and all the people so there's a lot of familiarity there,” Reed said.

tle bit,” Papenhagen recalled.

Despite only spending 15 minutes with Reed and Papenhagen, I got a sense of the life they live together. The duality was there in the way they remembered their time travelling to Seychelles, China and Vietnam amongst other places. Reed described himself as the type of person to hike 12 miles, while Papenhagen prefers to take it easy and explore. “We balance each other out,” Reed said. “It’s been amazing to explore so much of the world with [Papenhagen].”

In the end, they couldn’t pick one trip or one memory as their favorite, but rather Reed and Papenhagen reflected on the sum of their time spent

PHOTOS BY ALEXANDRA GERS

Library Administrative Assistant Steve Reed and Band Teacher David Papenhagen have been together since they met in 2009. Moving to London in 2011, the two have spent the last eight years feeling fortunate to work in the same building.

“THAT’S WHAT MARRIAGE IS, REALLY, I THINK IT’S YOUR LIFETIME TOGETHER. ALL THE LITTLE THINGS THAT BIND YOU ARE THE SMALL MOMENTS.” LIBRARY ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT STEVE REED Reed said, smiling.

From then on, the relationship seemed to come naturally to the pair. Reed, who was working as a journalist at The New York Times, and Papenhagen, who was in culinary school at the time, then moved to New Jersey where Papenhagen began working as the band director at East Brunswick High School.

In 2010, Papenhagen and Reed got civil unioned, five years before same-sex marriage became legalized in the U.S. In 2011, they found themselves experiencing another major relationship milestone: moving across the world.

Reed laughed as he recalled what brought them to London and said, motioning to Papen-

16 Features

Reed, Papenhagen jokes, spent the first year as the “trailing spouse” and did not immediately take up the position he currently holds in the library, but applied for the opening after two years of living here. “I’ve always loved libraries,” Reed said.

“His last name is Reed,” Papenhagen interjected, smiling.

“I was preordained for this job. I love reading, I love books and I love introducing kids to reading so it just seemed like a really good opportunity for me,” Reed said.

At many points during the interview I noticed the ease at which the two spoke of and with each other. At most, I felt intrusive and at least I felt lucky to be able to witness the joy that Reed and Papenhagen shared.

Although Reed and Papenhagen work in the same school, due to their

“Working here and being married is a relationship strengthener in a lot of ways... it gives us a lot of things to talk about, to share together.”

When Reed and Papenhagen first moved to the U.K., they noticed the ease and acceptance of their marriage not only in the country but also at ASL. “The U.K. recognized civil unions as a full marriage and - that’s pretty advanced for a whole country - but the school is even more welcoming,” Papenhagen said.

While the two didn’t feel any judgement from the ASL community, and in fact notice the comfort with which people discuss same-sex relationships, Papenhagen remembers a slightly different experience at his previous school. “It was pressure and a little bit more standoffish, nothing really overt.

It came from some students, too, a lit-

together. Whether that be Papenhagen teaching Reed to garden and cook, or Reed coming to see Papenhagen’s concerts. “That’s what marriage is,” Reed said. “Really, I think it’s your lifetime together and all the little things that bind you are the small moments.”

The Standard

Matt and Jessie Twiest Having met in 2011 at a graduate program, HS Cross Country Coach and Grade 5 Humanities Teacher Matt Twiest and Grade 6 Humanities Teacher Jessie Twiest have spent almost a decade teaching and spending their lives together.

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hen asked what the two have taught each other, there is a palpable pause as HS Cross Country Coach and Grade 5 Humanities Teacher Matt Twiest and Grade 6 Humanities Teacher Jessie Twiest ponder the question. Suddenly, Matt dives in, “It’s not that Jessie has sat down and taught me something, but you grow with that person. I learned a lot through my relationship with Jessie. I think I’ve learned about how to be a husband and father because of what she is. I’ve been inspired by her,” he said.

The way ‘the Twiests,’ as they are colloquially known, look at each other is what you picture from the movies: in awe. Within minutes of the interview commencing, you can tell there is mutual respect and admiration, most likely from their years of working together.

program, the pair were both transferred to the same school for their first jobs as teachers. Having carpooled together and worked together for so long, Matt explained, the feelings were already there, and they knew that there was something more to it. “We were friends and when we started working together after graduate school it was love at first sight,” Jessie said.

Wanting to keep a professional profile at their new school, Matt and Jessie didn’t tell any of their colleagues and friends, although they believe that “everyone probably knew by the time [they] told them.”

“The head of school actually brought me in and said, ‘You know, I think you might be dating Ms. Lenox [Jessie’s maiden name], and it’s OK’,” Matt recalls.

In 2010, the pair moved to Lon-

frightening, but Matt and Jessie relish the opportunity. Jessie recalls how even in graduate school she enjoyed watching Matt teach and she said she learns from him even today.

“I remember going to observe Matt teaching and just being so amazed at how much he brought to the classroom and how much the kids loved him. He was so energetic and creative,” she said. “It’s a very hard act to follow when they come to Grade 6 because they think I'm going to be just like Mr. Twiest. Truth is no one can be just like Mr. Twiest – you have big shoes to fill.”

However, working in the same profession is not without its struggles. As a result of the similarities in teaching Grades 5 and 6, Matt explained that the days can feel repetitive. “Students move and get older and our years can be a little Ground-

share the successes with someone who understands those successes and what that means.”

“This is like marriage counselling,” Matt joked.

Outside of the classroom, the Twiests have been able to share in another joy. In 2016, the Twiests had their first son, Theo, and are expecting another baby boy this coming May. Through parenthood, the pair explain that they’ve been able to teach and learn from each other in a very different way.

For Matt, his favorite memory of Jessie isn’t just one moment but his experience of watching her be a mother. “Obviously [having a baby] is an emotional time, that’s got to be one of the most special or memorable things that happens to someone

“WE’RE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE PRESSURES WE FACE AT WORK AND THE STRESSES THAT WE HAVE AND SO WE DON’T NEED TO WORK TO SHARE THAT WITH EACH OTHER.” GRADE 5 HUMANITIES TEACHER MATT TWIEST In 2005, Matt and Jessie met at a graduate teaching program at Shady Hill School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Shortly after the graduate

March/April 2019

don, just three weeks after getting married. “We had been together for a long time so in some ways it didn’t feel any different, but in other ways it feels completely different just to have that label and that commitment even though somehow, intellectually, it doesn't feel like it should make a difference,” Matt said. “And then that along with coming here felt like just this whole new start, the next chapter.”

For some couples, the thought of working together for so many years and in sch close proximity would be

hog Day-ish. Because we both have the same job and same experience it can sometimes feel a little one note– which isn't a bad thing, but it’s not as dynamic as other people's experiences,” he said.

Despite this, both Matt and Jessie are quick to point out the benefits: They understand each other, and more importantly, they get to start and end their days together. “We walk home from work together and that’s when you debrief and decompress and leave it behind. We're able to recognize the pressures we face at work and the stresses that we have and so we don't need to work to share that with each other,” Matt said.

Agreeing with Matt, Jessie explained that both being married and being teachers allows them to share the joy of their students’ learning.

“Most of the time it’s about sharing excitement. Because he knows what I do and he’ll know students that I will have taught,” she said. “Most of the time it’s really nice to be able to

... after having gone through that I saw Jessie in a whole new light and I always will. She was a dynamo,” he said.

Jessie jokes that she’s not allowed to answer second any more and claims that she won’t answer as “eloquently as Matt did”– I disagree. “Watching Matt with our son it’s such an amazing thing to watch. He is just so gracious and patient and caring and to see how much our son loves him, it’s the best thing in the world,” she said.

In the end, I could tell that they were just grateful for each others’ presence through life’s ups and downs. Despite uprooting their entire lives just three weeks after getting married, the Twiests found solace and comfort in the other being there. “I think that was a real source of strength because were in this together, and we were going to be okay no what happens,” Jessie said.

Features 17

Coming of age Four teachers give insight into what defines being an “adult” and whether or not one is able to truly determine the age of transition from childhood to adulthood.

Jonathan Novak | News Editor: Online

Concept of Adulthood

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or Math Teacher Tony Bracht, the concept of adulthood as coming with a certain age skims over the true essence of what becoming an adult really signifies. “An age sounds like a binary thing - ‘you become an adult when you’re 17’ - it’s not like you wake up on your 17th birthday and you suddenly become an adult,” he said. “It’s continuous growth and development.”

Bracht believes that this transition into adulthood is different for each individual, and is mainly influenced by family and culture. “Some people grow up and develop a level of independence and responsibility earlier than others,” he said. “It depends on the culture as well, some cultures thrust young people into adulthood much earlier than other cultures.”

Along with these influences, Bracht thinks that societal expectations brought upon an individual as a part of growing up and going to school help shape the start of adulthood. “When you go to college, that first time you step out of the house, you now have those responsibilities, [you’re] essentially an adult,” he said. “So society kind of says, ‘you are now responsible for yourself in these capacities’.”

A major part of the maturity that comes with these new responsibilities can be in the realm of decision making.

Science Teacher Brad Moore believes the switch into adulthood can partly be marked by people having “to be wise and making the right decisions” when faced with difficult situations or given important choices. “Part of maturity is ... when you’re given the opportunity to make a decision you take everything in [to account],” he said.

Similar to Moore, PE teacher Gwenndolyn Williams believes that responsibility and decision making are important parts of being an adult. For her, this is evident in responsibility over practical parts of adulthood such as paying taxes or managing a bank account. “I know a lot of 18 year olds that are responsible and I could give them certain things to do, certain re-

sponsibilities, but when it comes to legality of signing papers, or going for a credit card, or a loan, then I really have reservations,” she said.

Williams also noted that the feeling of being an adult can be developed in a more personal sense as well. She thinks an important part of adulthood comes in self recognition and feeling able to take on a more mature part of life. “Thinking about your life, when did you feel that you were an adult?” she said.

Moreover, Bracht feels that there can be a disconnect between when people practically reach an age of full independence versus when they feel they’ve taken full responsibility for themselves. “Going off to college you’re semi-dependent upon your parents financially, and so all of society around you is telling you that you’re not an adult yet because you’re not 100 percent responsible whereas you feel the ability to be independent,” he said. “You feel like an adult because you could be independent and responsible.”

Individual Experiences English Teacher Megan McGilchrist had a quick transition into adulthood as a 22 year old when she joined the workforce. “I think it was my first job, my first teaching job, because I was really young,” she said.

“I had been in England for a year doing graduate work and I went back to California because I had a job to go to.

I went suddenly from being a student to being a teacher just like that.”

For McGilchrist, the transition from living like a student, focused on soley her own responsibilities, to becoming a teacher and being in charge and partly responsible for others, made her feel like that was when she became an adult. “I was teaching at a boarding school and I had to live on campus, so I really had to be in charge and ... be really aware of everything I did,” she said.

“It was more than just a job.”

Williams had a different experience being the eldest of her siblings as she had a responsibility for others from an early age. She feels this made her realize that she could take on some

John Towfighi | Lead Features Editor

responsibilities as an adult as she grew up, but not everything. “I felt [that] I [was] a young adult and able to take on those responsibilities that my parents gave me,” she said. “But I didn’t want to take on the financial burdens or certain aspects of having to make decisions unless I had to.”

“

I probably became an adult at 17–it felt like that at times–but in retrospect I probably wasn’t an adult until maybe my 40s.

Science Teacher Brad Moore Echoing Bracht’s sentiment about going off to school, a turning point for Williams was when she attended college and learned to be more independent. “When I became 21, and went through college, I think the independence I learned helped,” she said. “[The independence] was the bedrock of me becoming the responsible adult that I now am... being able to make decisions in wise ways.”

For those who have children, raising a child can signify reaching a certain level of adulthood. McGilchrist recalls having her first child as a point of feeling added responsibility. “I can remember coming home and thinking it’s not about us, my husband and I, anymore.

It’s about this person,” she said.

Having a child brought a new feeling of constant awareness and concern for her those in her family. “You can never

relax once you have a child,” she said.

“You can relax about little things like falling out of their cribs, [them] falling down the stairs, but my kids are now 33, 31 and 29 and I still everyday think ‘oh no what are they doing.’”

Similar to McGilchrist, Moore thinks having his first child at age 20 brought on new responsibilities, and he felt like he was able to deal with adultlike situations at that age. “I had school and work, and I was able to survive financially and schoolwise and all those other things as a young kid,” Moore said. “I was able to do those things that people would normally associate with adulthood [for example] taking care of yourself and others.”

Further into life as he had more time to reflect, Moore feels like he went through different stages of adulthood depending on his life circumstances.

“I probably became an adult at 17 - it felt like that at times - but in retrospect I probably wasn’t an adult until maybe my 40s,” he said.

Looking back on when he was 20, Moore sometimes feels bewildered at the fact that he was able to manage so many different responsibilities, and felt like he lacked a certain maturity in his decision making at the time. “When you are young, you’re apprehensive to rely on people that you don’t respect for their opinion and use that in influencing of your decision. But… as I got older, I realized I could make decisions more based on experience rather than

trying to guess who the best person to listen to is,” Moore said.

Lessons Learned Williams feels that one of the most important things about being an adult is knowing when to ask for help. “If you don’t know how to do something, to ask for advice, if you find something challenging, ask for advice, because in life we need to ask for advice.”

Like Williams, Moore feels that “being OK with ignorance,” is an important lessons he’s learned. “What I found for people that are most able to do things that one might call adultlike or mature are people that can be OK with making mistakes and understand that that’s not a character flaw,” he said. “By being able to deal with that, it sure makes adulthood more fun and less of a pain in the butt because it is difficult to have a lot of responsibility for yourself.”

McGilchrist agrees that the notion of continuous growth and learning is an essential part of adulthood and maturity.

“I feel like maturity is something that just keeps happening to you,” she said.

“I’m 63 and sometimes I think ‘gosh that was a dumb thing to do’ or dumb thing to say or ‘I should have known better than that.’ It just carries on your whole life if you let it.”

CARTOON BY GABY IWEGBUE

18 Features

The Standard

CULTURE

Vintage shopping is a trendy, sustainable alternative Rapidly growing fast fashion stores have caused students to explore more sustainable options such as charity shops and thrift stores.

Isabel Link | Staff Writer

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rowsing shops on a local high street, there is a seemingly constant supply of new, trendy clothing being produced. Some companies like H&M, Zara and Primark are known for their “fast fashion,” which can be defined as the rapid production of clothes, coinciding with quick-changing fashion trends.

Due to these practices, many people decide to get rid of clothes after little use. The end of the fashion season therefore marks the end of some clothes’ life cycles. According to a survey conducted by The Times, 300,000 tons of clothing were brought to landfills in the U.K. in 2018.

However, there are vintage stores, charity shops and secondhand shopping websites that provide an alternative to this polluting industry.

One clothing company, Rokit, states on their website that they keep “style conscious, environmentally aware vintage lovers in mind.” Akin to other vintage stores, Rokit sources their clothes from multiple providers, receiving clothes from a variety of decades and fashion periods.

Consignment stores also stock items from big retailers in exchange for a percentage of the price: a lot of the garments being from famous or recognizable brands.

Store Assistant Dannii at Rokit’s Covent Garden location reaffirms that one of the store’s focuses is sustainability. Buying vintage is a great way to help the environment while also being trendy. “It’s cool...There’s history in clothes,” she said.

Grace Perfect (’22) believes the main reason vintage clothes are in high demand right now is that “fash-

March/April 2019

ion repeats itself. What’s coming back is things from the 70s through 90s and even early 2000s a bit now,” she said.

Over time, it becomes more and more likely that an item of clothing you buy will be one of the only ones in circulation; the retro feel of the clothes makes them a rare commodity and a valuable piece to own. Perfect adds that this is a great benefit to thrifting. “You get unique pieces that maybe no one else has,” she said.

Sometimes the driving force of secondhand shopping can be finding retro pieces from current, popular labels that are also sold at cheaper prices than the original retail price.

“Brands like Levi’s Jeans or Tommy Hilfiger are popular with vintage stuff, too,” Perfect said.

Additionally, labels like Adidas, Burberry, Calvin Klein and Champion are often sourced out specifically by shoppers. Online companies such as thredUP even sort their clothes by designer for easy access.

Charlie Park (’20) purchases the majority of his clothing pre-owned and mainly from online stores like eBay and Grailed. A recent survey conducted

by The Standard revealed that about 15 percent of the 137 students who responded go thrifting regularly. Park doesn’t see himself as following this trend of wearing vintage clothes, and he is not necessarily concerned with the name on the tag. “If I can get an item that would otherwise go to waste, if I really like it and I found it for a good price because someone may have worn it once or twice, then it’s a plus,” he said.

However, Park’s reasoning for buying second hand also concerns the labor that goes into the pro-

duction of fast fashion garments.

“There’s a lot of workers’ rights violations,” he said.

One example that brought this issue to attention was the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh. “People were unable to leave and not given proper care and protection from their work,” Park said.

Park believes putting workers into these poor conditions is atrocious.

Additionally, the clothes that companies pay for are made of cheap materials. The clothes last for a shorter period of time and therefore pieces are quickly being cast aside. “If you buy an item from H&M or Zara, the probability you’re gonna wear it until it’s very old and ratted out...it’s kind of unlikely,” Park said. He added that this comes based on the fact that their clothes easily wear out, especially after being put in the wash.

On the other hand, Science Teacher Marisa Wilson believes people should not limit themselves from shopping at mainstream stores just because they may not be doing the most to help the environment. “You should definitely look for brands that are doing the right thing, and you should shop at charity shops, and you should buy quality clothing that lasts a long time so you don’t need to shop a lot,” she said. “But it doesn’t mean that you should not buy from the big brands.”

Wilson argues that if shoppers were to boycott certain shops, the stores’ diminished income would damage the lives of workers who produce the products. For as long as Wilson can think of, she has been concerned with the influence the clothing industry has on people and

the world. However, in about the last three years she has become very conscious as more and more of the general public take into consideration issues of sustainability. As a consumer, she believes a person’s focus must be on “protecting workers and the environment.”

Perfect believes that fast fashion stores should be avoided for their detrimental impact on the environment. Perfect admits that getting away from them is difficult but important for her to acknowledge. “A cool part of the [thrifting] trend is that it’s also helping the environment,” she said.

In the same survey, almost 39 percent of students who replied said they have tried thrifting and around 15 percent said they have not tried it but would like to.

In Wilson’s experience, going to second hand stores or charity shops is an effective choice to lessen environmental impacts of fast fashion companies. “What [secondhand shopping] does is it extends the lifetime of a piece of clothing,” she said.

“The longer we can extend the lifetime, the less we’re going to be going out there buying new stuff which requires using more resources.”

Materials like inorganic cotton, wood based fibers like viscose and synthetic or chemically processed fibers such as polyester are especially damaging to nature.

Park agrees that vintage shopping is better for the environment. “We have enough stuff. We don’t really need to be making a lot more of it,” he said. “Unless you use it, it’s just going to be thrown out and wasted,” he said.

39% of students have shopped at thrift stores before, but don’t do it regularly

31% of students have never shopped at vintage or thrift stores

Culture 19

Deciphering the use of language in rap music Students and faculty debate the effects of derogatory and misogynistic language in rap music.

Imogen Weiss | Media Editor

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itting toward the back of the bus during Music Tour last year, Cate Parkinson (’21) was listening to music blasting from a speaker when an explicit rap song came on. “[The song] took me aback because the language was very derogatory,” she said.

However, what surprised Parkinson the most was that students, both her male and female peers, were rapping along to particularly offensive lyrics about women.

“Whenever a rap song comes on that has derogatory language about women it’s a reminder that there is still a lot of misogyny out there,” she said. “It’s one of those small things that you feel every day that reminds you that a patriarchy still exists and people still want to put down or degrade women.”Nonetheless, Parkinson still enjoys and listens to rap

music, mostly when playing sports because it gets her “hyped up.” However, she makes a conscious effort to listen to songs that parallel her morals. “There are some rappers who have a history of sexual harassment or assault which is something I don’t condone, so I try not to listen to their music because it doesn’t align with my values,” she said.

Comparatively, Dylan Sweidan (’20) does not listen to or enjoy rap, instead gravitating toward rock music. He finds rap to be an interesting medium of music because it can express emotion using extremely derogatory language. “Often times the words that are used [in rap songs] are stereotypically offensive, but they seem to empower people,” he said.

He has noticed in particular that women seem to be empowered by

the lyrics used in rap songs: rapping and singing along to explicit rap lyrics at parties.

Similarly, Parkinson also acknowledges that while some lyrics used in rap songs are derogatory toward women, “it’s a different listening experience for each individual.

You can hear the exact same lyric and it can mean a different thing,” she said.

Parkinson believes that in certain situations, women rapping along to the lyrics “take back the power,” but in other cases it can further add to the misogyny surrounding rap culture.

Director of Student Life James Perry does not “buy that girls are taking back the power when they rap along to these songs.” He, however, does see how women rapping along to explicit lyrics counters certain

rap lyric’s misogynistic messages.

Perry would like to see rappers “be more responsible and see that there

“[Derogatory language] is one of those small things that you feel everyday that reminds you that patriarchy still exists.”

Cate Parkinson (’21)

are other people who are implicitly or explicitly processing those lyrics... I’d love to see the language used

change because the beat is so good,” he said.

Sweidan thinks that one significance of rap music is the usage of explicit lyrics. “[It] removes a stigma around those words and almost normalizes them. I think people think they can say that word in their daily lives or at parties and it’s not a problem because they hear it in a song,” he said.

Perry echoes Sweidan sentiments and worries that offensive lyrics can “desensitize someone to certain things and all of a sudden it’s a little more accepted for a guy to do this or people to talk to one another in a certain way,” Perry said.

“It would be naive to think that our attitudes are not affected by the lyrics of the songs we listen to day in, and day out.”

RedFarm: the most Instagram worthy restaurant in London The unique food might look good, but the tastes aren’t as inspiring.

Lily Whitman | Sports Editor: Print

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edFarm London, located five minutes from the Covent Garden tube station on Russell Street in Covent Garden, is the epitome of an Instagram-worthy dinner. The atmosphere, food, and ambiance combined to create an interesting dining experience, both good and overwhelming. Although RedFarm catered a unique meal, the dinner still didn’t manage to meet the unrealistic hype advertised by Instagram food accounts.

RedFarm originally opened locations in the Upper West Side and the West Village in New York City and moved to London in August 2018. The restaurant is known for its innovative cuisine, mixing dim sum Chinese dishes with classic American flavors. Some of the most popular dishes at RedFarm include the ‘Pac Man’ Shrimp Dumplings, the Black Truffle and Chicken Soup Dumplings, the Cheeseburger spring rolls and the Vegetable Spring Rolls in the Shape of a Flower, which are some of the most frequent posts on Instagram when looking at RedFarm’s Instagram.

Although the atmosphere of the restaurant was a combination of upscale and rustic, the service was not very attentive, which was surprising for me, as I had booked a reservation for Sunday lunch. I had arrived when service was busy, but the restaurant

20 Culture

was not too full, and I was seated at a communal table, but I never really had a particular server. When things got busier, service dropped off to the point where I could not find my server for half of the meal, which was disappointing.

The variety of food served at RedFarm was both inviting and unsatisfactory. It seems as though RedFarm put all their focus into creating “Instagrammable” foods to draw customers in, rather than developing flavor profiles for the food. Sure, the Pac Man Shrimp Dumplings were inviting to look at, and I do admit that I only ordered them to take a picture, they were nothing special. Even though I am not a fan of shrimp in dumplings (something about the texture and taste is unappetizing to me), I decided to try the Pac Man dumplings seeing as I already ordered them and was not going to waste food. I would definitely skip the shrimp dumplings in favor of anything else on the menu.

The best item I tried on my visit was either the mango and arugula salad or the square-shaped beef dumplings. The salad was beautifully balanced with arugula, tomatoes, mango and raspberries, and was a perfect combination of sweet, savory

and tart flavors. Usually, I refrain from ordering a salad because salad dishes typically either have not nearly enough dressing or are completely overdressed to the point where it isn’t enjoyable. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed the mango and arugula salad, as it was a fantastic balance of flavors.

The square-shaped beef dumplings with hoisin sauce were incredible. Although they were a little bit hidden in the menu, I believe I made the right choice in ordering them. The dumplings were salty, but not overwhelmingly so, and they were a great combination of flavors. I would very much recommend both.

I came to RedFarm with an idea of what I was going to order, which was mainly consisting of what I had previously seen on RedFarm’s Instagram. Although I was happy with the vegetable spring rolls in the shape of a flower and the cheeseburger spring rolls, I was extremely underwhelmed and disappointed with the black truffle and chicken soup dumplings. The dumplings lacked flavor, and although they were packed with truffles, they were complicated to eat and were bland.

As I said before, obviously presentation is important at restaurants, but when I am eating food, I prioritize

taste over presentation 100 percent of the time. I would much rather eat something delicious with a less appealing presentation than be intrigued by a dish, but the taste is mediocre at best. I would recommend RedFarm because of the atmosphere and the dining experience. Although the food is quite expensive, it is worth a trip into Covent Garden for some delicious dim sum. Overall, I would rate the entire experience an 8 out of 10, definitely worth the 30-minute venture out of St. John’s Wood.

RedFarm in Covent Garden specializes in creating quirky dim-sum and dumplings, such as truffle soup dumplings (left) and square shaped beef hoisin dumplings (right).

PHOTOS BY LILY WHITMAN

The Standard

Sampling to make a 21st century hit Recognizing the unethical pattern of sampling songs in today’s pop music.

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Naz Ozturk | Culture Editor: Print

ewind to the summer of 2017. The radio is on and the number one hit is “Wild Thoughts” by DJ Khaled. Skip to spring 2018: this time listeners have popularized “Nice for What” by Drake.

And now “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande has debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 list in the U.S. for seven weeks in a row.

These songs, although from different artists, have a distinct characteristic in common. It’s not only that they all reached the top of the charts at the time of their releases; rather, they have reached this pinnacle of the music industry by sampling the songs (defined as reusing a portion of another artist’s song) and works of other musicians. As it becomes increasingly prevalent for musicians of this generation to sample songs, I question whether it is morally and ethically correct to use a part of someone else’s work to advance your own.

This question plagues me especially because many songs that have been sampled are not necessarily well-known.

Therefore, artists like DJ Khaled and Ariana Grande are celebrated for work that is not truly their own. In particular, with Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts” I was immediately able to recognize Carlos Santana’s signature guitar riff that was sampled throughout the song.

However, I started to notice that most people began to recognize Khaled’s song due to the iconic guitar solo. By the end of the summer, when anyone heard the guitar riff they would instantly recognize the melody from “Wild Thoughts,” rather than “Maria Maria” by Carlos Santana. While I enjoyed listening to “Wild Thoughts” I still felt unsettled by the lack of credit and recognition attributed to Santana for his contributions to the song.

Even though Khaled had gained Santana’s permission to use the melody in “Maria Maria,” using the song without properly notifying his listeners to Santana’s influence seems akin to cheating.

Sampling a song isn’t something new that arose with the pop era. The action of sampling a song or gaining influence from a previous piece has forever been a staple in the creation of music. Even in classical and romantic era compositions, it is common to see two pieces that sound similar in a certain rhythmic pattern, style, or melody.

Nevertheless, just because a practice has been prevalent in music culture for a vast amount of time does not mean that the industry shouldn’t fix this prac-

March/April 2019

tice’s flaws. Drawing inspiration from other musicians and artists is always appreciated in any art platform. However, shamelessly using an entire melody of a song, merely adding new lyrics and then calling it an original creation should not be something that listeners and the music industry encourages.

Already in the first months of 2019, I have seen two songs – “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande and “Lucid Dreams”

by Juice WRLD – rising in the charts that profusely sample songs from the past century.

While taking a cab ride this February break, I was listening to a popular radio station when I noticed a familiar tune playing over the car stereo. Hearing the prominent plucked guitar melody, my mind immediately identified the song as “Shape of My Heart” by Sting. Expecting the mellow lyrics and continuation

“

In sampling songs, it is important to pay homage to the original artist and creation rather than stealing the music as one’s own. of the acoustic guitar of the original, I was instead shocked when instead I heard a beat drop followed with a rap by Juice WRLD. Whipping out my phone instantly, I found out that the song was rather called “Lucid Dreams” and sampled “Shape of My Heart” in its creation.

Sampling is an understatement of how Juice WRLD had used “Shape of My Heart” in writing “Lucid Dreams.”

My perspective on this stems from the fact that the entire instrumental melody of the original song is used throughout “Lucid Dreams” as the background melody. Although Juice WRLD pairs the acoustic instrumental of the original song with a low beat and a rough rap to create a modern, juxtaposing sound, I found it difficult to appreciate his work. The oxymoronic sound that Juice WRLD had made intrigued me, but I often found myself admiring the acoustic guitar sound in the background. This admiration of the background melody, in turn, stirred a feeling of guilt. I became aware that the main part of Juice WRLD’s song, maybe even the most

enjoyable part, wasn’t even his original creation but rather something he had recycled from another artist. Nevertheless, Juice WRLD’s “Lucid Dreams” rose up the charts. Furthermore, as the song became more well-known and relevant to today’s music industry, more people started to associate the laid-back acoustic instrumental melody with “Lucid Dreams” rather than the original song.

While there are copyright laws in music, they are known to be quite loose. A musician can manipulate another artist’s song just enough to still make it legal to use, while still keeping the song’s influence, beauty and recognizability. Moreover, if a musician receives permission from the artist to use their original song, then the musician can slaughter, recreate, and exploit the song as much as they would like without even giving the artist proper praise.

Therefore, while musicians can use sampling as a way to create a sure-fire hit, most of the time the original artist of the sampled song is cheated out of the praise that they rightfully deserve.

Grande’s “7 Rings” has recently been in a controversial frenzy regarding whether the artist sampled multiple songs without permission to create her hit song. However, it’s only been confirmed that Grande used “My Favorite Things” as a sample. It is unrealistic to believe that musicians will never draw inspiration or sample other songs. Nevertheless, in sampling songs, it is important to pay homage to the original artist and creation rather than stealing the music as one’s own.

I believe that Grande did just that with her sampling of “My Favorite Things.” Grande’s choice of sampling a famous song for “7 Rings” and then using the sampled song’s original (and most well-known) lyric – “these are a few of my favorite things” – clearly showed that Grande didn’t have the intention of passing the song off as her own. Rather she was portraying a recognition for the original song, and by adding her own twist, making it relevant again in today’s pop-culture.

This, to me, is the proper way and purpose of sampling a song for music: giving a forgotten song a new life and relevance in music today.

Album covers ripped apart and segments pasted back together to depict the mix and match process of sampling songs in music.

ARTWORK BY NAZ OZTURK

Culture Commentary 21

Two triple threats Since moving to London from California at age 11, twins Meghan Lang (’22), left, and Olivia Lang (’22), right, have become three season athletes. The sisters share how they got into sports, their memories and their plans for the future.

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Lily Whitman Sports Editor: Print

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eghan Lang (’22) started playing sports when she was in kindergarten, and has been playing soccer, basketball, and softball ever since.

Olivia Lang (’22) is also a three season athlete. Olivia plays soccer, basketball and runs on the track team during the spring season.

The Lang twins moved from Manhattan Beach, California to London when they were 11–years–old. Meghan describes her parents as being essential in getting her into playing so many sports. “My parents got me into sports when I was about 4 or 5,” she said. “My dad coached our basketball team which was in the Youth League. We won the championship, and it was awesome.”

Like Meghan, Olivia has been playing soccer for as long as she can remember. “I’ve been playing soccer since I was like 4 or 5, maybe 6. My parents just signed me up. When I was little, I did it, but it was never really like I loved it. I started really enjoying it once I hit Middle School.”

During her years of taking part in sports, Meghan has played soccer, basketball, softball, swimming and lacrosse. “I was on the swim team when I was younger, I wasn’t that great, but I was decent. I didn’t like it,” she said.

“I tried lacrosse one year, but I wasn’t that great at it. I just tried a lot of different sports to see what I liked, and then I narrowed it down to which ones I wanted to focus on.”

However, Meghan has stuck with softball since she was younger. “I started on recreational teams, and then at the end of the season, they chose an all-

22 Sports

star team, so it was the kids that were the best from each team. We went to the district and state tournaments and played there. I also played for my school,” she said.

Olivia played the same sports as Meghan growing up, but decided to run track. “I used to play softball as my spring sport, and I didn’t really like it. It was kind of boring for me, and the rules are different here in London. You can’t steal, and it’s not fast pitch, and that makes the game even slower,” she said.

“I just chose track because it seemed like an option and that I’d be decent.”

Meghan was a vital member of the 2018 varsity softball team as a grade 8 student, winning all-tournament honors in softball ISSTs in spring 2018.

“I feel like winning basketball ISSTs this year was my biggest sporting accomplishment. I really wanted to beat Cobham and it felt so good beating them.”

Meghan Lang (’22)

“[Playing varsity softball] was really fun. I felt like all the girls protected me, so it was fun. I liked being on the team because it was really [strong]. We got some good competition and winning ISSTs was fun,” she said.

Going into this softball season,

Meghan is feeling confident in the team and her abilities. “I think that we have a lot of good players that stayed on the team, and hopefully our new upcoming players will definitely rise to the occasion and do well. I am hoping for another gold,” she said.

Meghan is not only successful in softball, but she is also a keen basketball player, having played on the varsity girls team this winter with Olivia, and winning the ISST gold medal in early March. “Playing basketball was fun this year. Playing with Maddie [Wilkin (’22)] and Olivia was awesome. Three freshmen playing with the older girls, it was good. I think that we worked really well together,” she said. “It’s just great to get some good competition beyond a good team together.”

Going to basketball ISSTs and beating Cobham was one of Meghan’s most significant sporting accomplishments. “I feel like ISSTs for basketball this year was [my biggest sporting accomplishment] because I just really wanted to beat Cobham and it felt so good beating them,” she said.

Agreeing with Meghan, Olivia enjoys competition in teams and ISST competition. “I probably prefer team sports more just because I feel like winning with a team makes you feel so much better,” she said. “Winning for yourself is a great feeling, but winning for the entire team and having everyone happy and excited makes the win so much better.”

Olivia plays three sports regularly,

but she has a hard time choosing between the three. “I love all of them for different reasons. I like soccer because it’s such an adrenaline sport.

It’s like you are constantly going, going, going. I love basketball because I have always liked the team, and teams on basketball are a lot closer together because you are going in and out. It’s not like soccer where if you score one goal, it could possibly be the end of the game,” she said. “I like track, and it’s very individual. It is a mental game, and it is fun to do stuff on my own as well.”

Although there was an age gap on the varsity girls basketball team,

“I like soccer because it’s such an adrenaline sport. It’s like you are constantly going, going, going.”

Olivia Lang (’22)

Meghan felt that her experience was similar to years before when she played on multiple teams with older players. “I feel like a lot of the teams that I’ve played on, we all really want to win, and where everyone was committed to winning. There is a unity within the team that we all work hard towards.”

Meghan noticed a drive to win in varsity teams “I feel like there is definitely more of a drive to do better

because you have the ‘I want to win ISSTs’ and you have the drive to do better, and for the varsity teams that I have been on, I feel like we were more of a unit rather than individuals playing with talent. We were a complete team,” she said.

Overall, Meghan enjoys the team aspects of sports and believes that is where she can make friends and thrive. “I like the team aspect a lot.

I think that I can be a leader out there on the field. You make so many friends based off of our team. I have made friends on the teams that I have been on throughout the years of my life. My main friend group is mostly my sports friends, so I think sports are a great aspect of friendship and a way to bond,” she said.

Meghan recalls one of her favorite sports memories with her friends and teammates in California. “When I played softball when I was little, once a year we would have this practice where we would all go to the park and bring slip and slides, and we would hit marshmallows with baseball bats and try to catch them in our mouths. The slip and slides were the bases, which was fun.”

Looking into the extended future, Olivia is not too sure about her path but knows that sports are always going to be crucial in her life. “I want to do sports in college, probably soccer or track, but just because those are more my forte. I don’t want to have to feel like sports dictate my life, and dictate my academics as well,” Olivia said.

The Standard

Friend or foe?

For every sports fan, there is one rival team that their team needs to beat.

Many sport fans at ASL have friends who support rivaling teams.

Cameron Spurr | Staff Writer

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alking out of Fenway Park after a New York Yankees win, Patrick Kennedy (’20) can’t help but feel satisfied and smile, surrounded by rival Red Sox fans who just suffered a loss.

Professional sports rivalries are often built up over many years. The location of two teams, the history between them, the number of championships and meetings are all factors which can be foundations for a rivalry.

The Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees are two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams which fit that

ticket. Both teams are successful, home to big cities near one another, and have a long history of intense competition.

The inciting incident for this particular rivalry happened back in 1919 when the Red Sox traded Hall of Fame pitcher Babe Ruth to the Yankees starting “the curse of the Bambino.”

For the next 86 years, the Red Sox didn’t win a single World Series, while the Yankees won 26. The Red Sox defeated the Yankees in an exceptional American League Championship series in 2004, advancing to win the World Series and breaking the curse.

James De Ridder (’20) is a Red Sox fan. He described watching Red Sox vs.

Yankees games as a stressful situation. “If the Sox win, it is an amazing relief. If the Sox lose, it’s frustrating because of how intense Yankees fans are,” he said.

Kennedy affirmed this point as a Yankees fan, with an added component.

This being that Kennedy used to live in Boston and attended games at Fenway Park. “Red Sox fans are going to yell at you, but I’m prepared for that, it’s what I go there for,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy and De Ridder often engage in friendly banter about the rivalry.

Kennedy described their interactions as, “nicer than the typical Red Sox versus Yankees interactions [that] fans would have with each other.” Nevertheless, they still “give each other stick” as many rival fans do.

This rivalry is making its way across the pond to play at the London Stadium in June for a two-game series. Both De Ridder and Kennedy will be attending and supporting their teams. The NFL and the NBA have already established their brand here in the U.K., with each league scheduling at least one regular season game annually. The question stands: will the MLB be able to do the same?

“There are going to be British fans who don’t know much about baseball. But it will get them into it and show them that kind of environment and that kind of fire that the fans have,” Kennedy said.

In the Premier League, there are multiple rivalries including Arsenal versus Tottenham, commonly regarded as the North London Derby

because of the locations of both teams’ stadiums.

Alex Siegel (’22) was a Tottenham fan before he moved from New York to London, but he claims that the atmosphere of supporting a soccer team is much different here. “Coming from the U.S. where soccer wasn’t as big, it’s great coming here and seeing people loving their sport and loving their team,” Siegel said.

Of course, with most rivalries, there is a so-called ‘dirty side’. In soccer, there may be a malicious slide tackle. In baseball, a pitcher intentionally hitting a batter. “It’s always fun to see the players being invested in the rivalry, and being willing to go for it for the team,” De Ridder said.

Kennedy carries a slightly different view on this aspect of the rivalry. “I like it a lot of the time because it’s a part of their history... it keeps the rivalry alive and keeps the fans engaged,” Kennedy said. “You can’t help but get emotional about it because it’s your team and someone’s punching them.”

As rivalries are so relevant in sports culture, ASL students and faculty alike

converse, argue and joke about the rivalry. Varsity Boys Basketball Coach James Markham is an Arsenal fan, the opposite to Siegel, who is coached by Markham.

“Coach [Markham] is a big Arsenal fan.

We talk about it all of the time, and it’s great to see his perspective on Tottenham’s players and then my perspective on Arsenal’s players,” Siegel said.

“I feel, especially with [Arsenal vs.

Tottenham] because the teams are so good. I feel every time they play... it’s so competitive and intensified,” Siegel said.

“All of the fans want their team to win.”

Being female in a majority male sports world

While there can be advantages to being a female athlete and sports fan, one of the disadvantages is dealing with the casual sexism of a male dominated field.

Lily Whitman | Sports Editor: Print

M

y entire life has been filled with sports. I have been obsessed with baseball, ice hockey and basically all American and British sports since I could walk, and have always grown up being lucky enough to go to countless sports events with my family. I went to my first Fulham Football Club (FFC) game when I was four and a half, I went to my first Colorado Rockies baseball game when I just turned 7 years old, and ever since I have been hooked on watching sports events, teams and statistics.

In my experience, at least outside of school, sports have been different because I am female. Being a female in a male-dominated sports world is somewhat intimidating, to say the least.

Even though I consider myself to be relatively educated in multiple sports, as I watch basketball, soccer, football, baseball, ice hockey, and field hockey regularly, I often feel inferior in knowledge and confidence when talking to others, especially men.

Last summer, I went to a program

March/April 2019

by the School of the New York Times called Sports Media and Management.

The class consisted of 17 boys and three other girls and we discussed baseball, soccer and American football for two full weeks. I first stepped into the room feeling confident about my knowledge, and honestly excited to share my baseball insights with others.

However, I was instantly overwhelmed when I sat down next to two boys arguing over the starting lineup of the 1980 Golden State Warriors basketball team, which included players like World B. Free, Bernard King, Joe Barry Carroll and Larry Smith, all of whom I had never heard of. I also sat a row behind two other boys talking about the Most Valuable Players from the MLB in 1955, who were Yogi Berra of the New York Yankees and Roy Campanella of the Brooklyn Dodgers. I became instantly overwhelmed, and I felt like it meant nothing that I knew every single fact and statistic about Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon, or the impor-

tant stats from the Toronto Maple Leafs 2017–2018 season.

Throughout my years of being head-over-heels in love with everything sports related, I have noticed a considerable gender gap. There is an misguided feeling and belief that boys are just so much more knowledgeable about sports than girls are, and although that is may be true sometimes, that specific sentiment should not be a standard. I, for one, may be incredibly shy and quiet, but I could talk to anyone about sports for hours, but when I feel like I have no place or way of joining into a conversation, I become uncomfortable.

This sentiment isn’t just applicable when talking about sports; there is a similar idea in the sports world with differing jobs at news publications and sports teams. When our group visited Bleacher Report and was tasked with presenting about our own made up sports firms, boys were unhappy with the girls presenting about aspects of

baseball and basketball that could be altered to increase viewership. It was embarrassing being interrupted and talked over in front of the entire program group, and many workers at Bleacher Report. I felt as if I had no control over myself or others, as my peers in my program were constantly “mansplaining” and interrupting what I had to say.

After presentations, all of the girls were singled out and told (in front of the 17 boys in our program and many other employees at Bleacher Report) that we had a significantly higher chance at getting hired in the sports world only based on gender. To be honest, being told this in front of 30 other people, 90 percent of them being men, was quite embarrassing.

For starters, I do not want to merely be chosen because a company needs diversity, or because they need to pick a woman. I want to be selected for a job because I am the best candidate that the company can find, or in this example, the most educated,

well-spoken and knowledgeable person for that job in the sporting world.

I certainly do not want to be singled out, and chosen simply because I was the only girl applying for a job.

It was a horrible feeling being singled out in front of people that I didn’t know very well. Although it was a valid point and description of a way for me to get into a job for something that I am really passionate about, it wasn’t a good feeling being told in front of what felt like a room filled with people.

Obviously, my experience might have been one isolated incident, as when I am at ASL, I certainly do not feel nearly as singled out or judged for my sporting interests. I feel that this should be a lesson, and although ASL is not by any means a perfect example, it is a place where healthy sports debates and challenges can be made, and it is important to recognize females as having an equal role in sports.

Sports 23

Sports

Two triple threats girls varsity softball team won their first home Tishegame against ACS Cobham 9-5 on March 27. This Meghan Lang’s (’22) second year on the team de-

spite being a freshman. Meghan started playing sports when she was in kindergarten, and has been playing soccer, basketball, and softball ever since.

Her sister, Olivia Lang (’22) is also a three season athlete. Olivia plays soccer, basketball and runs on the track team during the spring season. Turn to page 22 for more information on Meghan and Olivia’s sporting careers at ASL and beyond.

like we were more of “a unitI feelrather than individuals

“

playing with talent, we were like a complete team.

Meghan Lang (’22)

Meghan Lang (’22) catches the ball for an out on third base. The girls varsity softball team won the game 9 to 5.

PHOTO BY EMILY FORGASH

24 Sports

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