The Standard - Issue IV

Standard

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December 2014 | Volume XL, Issue III

A message fromThe Standard’s Editorial Board regarding the recent furore surrounding the student body’s relationship with the administration on page 6

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

CENTER SPREAD ON PAGES 14-15: Read about adopted ASL community members and their reactions to their respective familial situations by Lead Features Editor Zack Longboy and Editor-in-Chief Ian Scoville

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News

THE STANDARD | December 2014

Social Justice Council Ferguson

Global Partnerships suspended temporarily

Alex Gandhi Staff Writer

G

lobal Partnership trips to South Africa, China and the Dominican Republic have been temporarily suspended as the administration evaluates the program. Each of these allow a group of students to work with children in each country at charitable foundations partnered with ASL. The students do vari-

DeSimone stepped down from the position because she wanted to focus on full time teaching. Because of this, former Assistant Principal Annie Leonard, as well as the trip leaders, ran the program last year without a specific teacher to support the program.

“At the end of the year, we did an analysis that concluded that the trips were not sustainable in the current model. The trip leaders and the assistant leader had

with some help from the other trip leaders.

“I feel that the organization from my side was spot on and tight,” Williams said. “I would not have taken the responsibility of being a trip leader if I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to organize a trip, that would maximize a student’s experience. ” Williams believes that the community is losing opportunities to expand outside the com-

the amount of absences in trips away from school,” Phillips said.

In addition to these problems, there was difficulty in the financials and cost of the trip. “The trips are very expensive to run and there was an expense to the school as well as great expense to the families of the students going on this trip,” Phillips said.

The school is trying to “lower the bar” in financial costs so all students can attend or participate

lationships alive with the foundations and continue to support each of the charities which we would have worked with,” Gossett said.

While Global Partnerships trips have been cancelled, community partnerships will continue to operate. Geographically, the two partnerships differ dramatically, however Phillips believes that they can both offer a similar exposure.

“There is no question in my

AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE DID AN ANALYSIS THAT THE TRIPS WERE NOT SUSTAINABLE IN THE CURRENT MODEL PRINCIPAL JACK PHILLIPS

ous activities with groups of children from the foundation, varying from camping to bonding activities.

Based on her memorable experiences, Vice President of the South Africa Club Emily Gossett (’16) was upset when she first hard about the suspension of the Global Partnerships. “I gained a lot from this experience and the other people who went on this trip feel the same way,” she said.

Two years ago there was a faculty position, filled by World Languages and Cultures Teacher Nina DeSimone, within the High School that supported the organization of Global Partnerships.

DeSimone was involved with the planning of the three Global Partnerships trips last year and now this position no longer exists.

to pick up too much of the work in addition to their regular work.

It was simply too much,” Principal Jack Phillips said. “We have to make sure that students and teachers can have a meaningful experience, and in the current model of organization, we were not able to do that.”

The decision to suspend the trips, instead of improving the current model, was made because the program was a lower priority than other more pressing concerns.

PE Teacher Gwenndolyn Williams has a different view than Phillips. “When I speak for the South Africa trip, I think that this trip was not unorganized,” she said.

All of the planning of the South Africa trip was done by Williams,

munity of London and to become more accepting of people from different cultures. “These global partnership trips enable all of the students, including myself, to embrace the differences and diversity all over the globe,” Williams said.

Despite the suspension of the trips this year, Williams hopes that by making this decision, the school will be able to acknowledge the comments made about these trips in order to improve them.

Another reason the trips have been suspended is because of the shortening of spring break to 10 days. Because of this change, students would have no time off from school after the trips and the trips may have required missing school.

“There has been an increased push on my part and on the high school administration to reduce

on these trips. Phillips feels that these are experiences every student should be able to have.

All of these reasons led the administration to conclude that they needed to suspend the Global Partnership trips.

“Once I understood why the trips were cancelled, I was not angry; however, I was sad that other people wouldn’t be able to experience the things that I have on these trips,” Gossett said.

Gossett feels that the trips cannot be replaced or compensated for, but she thinks there are still ways to keep the spirit of the trip alive. Gossett explained that the South Africa Club will be hosting multiple fundraisers for the foundations.

“Even though we cannot be there, our goal is to keep the re-

Students who participated in the Global Partnership trip to South Africa had the opportunity work with children at local charities.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EMILY GOSSETT

mind that there are some unique aspects to traveling to a new country, but there are also lots of similarities with community partnerships. There are some things that are achieved through the global partnerships, but also locally in community partnerships,” Phillips said.

Students looking for a similar experience to global partnerships should talk to Director of Service Learning Brandon Block. Phillips thinks that these experiences are available if people are interested in paying for it. “Things like these trips exist, however they are not ASL-based,” Phillips said.

While the trips are suspended for this year, Phillips, Gossett and Williams are all hopeful that the Global Partnerships trips will be reinstated next year.

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

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News

Social Justice Council formed Zack Ashley Opinions Editor

The school’s new Social Justice Council held its first meeting on November 21, following the selection of members of the Council through an application process. The Council is spearheaded by Amnah Ahmad (’15) and Maria-Jose Nebreda (’15), and will be under the advisement of Math Department Head Neil Basu and Dean of Admissions Jodi Warren.

The committee of students who originally decided to start the Council, including Ahmad and Nebreda, tried to pick a diverse group of members after reading the ideas in their applications. From there, the committee used personal judgement as to whether they would be accessible people to approach if a student had an issue related to social justice.

The Council informally began in June, when club leaders from various diversity clubs came together to create a sort of umbrella club. Through conversation,

and a drive from Ahmad and Nebreda, the group was eventually altered to form the Social Justice Council.

Nebreda has her own personal reasons for starting the Council. “What made me feel so strongly about wanting to make it was that there were times that I wanted to do something or say something or wanted something to be done and there was no way to do that,” Nebreda said. “If you went to a club they would start a discussion and help me but there was no set group of people that I could go to if I felt uncomfortable about something.”

The Council’s goals are to discuss, educate, assist and provide support relating to all issues of social justice within the High School. “The goal is to make the school a better place; It’s cheesy but that’s actually it. My goal is to make everyone feel like they’re more included,” Ahmad said.

Much of the Council’s early work will pertain to establishing an identity for themselves within the High School. “The first year it’s going to be hard to get

started and do everything. It’s going to be a lot of seeing what we’ll have to do and putting our name out there and getting the reputation of what we’re going to be,” Nebreda said.

However, Nebreda is clear on the stance she wants to take in tackling the school’s social justice issues. “Obviously discussing things is good, but that’s already happening, what we wanted is the more action side of it,” she said.

The Council wants to take things a step further from discussion, instead using dialogue to raise awareness, and provide support for issues brought forth.

This can be achieved through posters, schoolwide conversation, or on the Council’s newly created website.

One of the most important aspects of social justice for Basu, which he hopes the Council will help to tackle, is placing more importance on education regarding issues of social justice.

“I don’t think that social change happens without education and I think a lot of times education

gets piled into just the core subjects,” he said. “I feel that some of the wider, and sometimes more important things about education get sidelined in conversations.”

For Ahmad, these issues encompass “anything to do with people, fairness and fitting in.”

Basu can simplify social justice to refer to equality. “One of the things social justice is about is looking where privilege exists in society and finding ways to reveal and acknowledge that privilege and find ways so that people who don’t have that privilege can be given the same chance of success and opportunity,” he said.

Simultaneously, Nebreda feels that providing a support system for students to use when something has happened to them and don’t feel comfortable approaching administration or faculty is of paramount importance in creating this Council.

“Having a place where the students are kind of helping other students is really important,” she said.

Council members: Amnah Ahmad (’15) Alec Ashley (’15) Lilian Badian (’16) Dexter Bohn (’16) Victoria Dreyer (’16) Maddie Kolajay (’16) Angie Kukielski (’15) Julia Leland (’16) James Lituchy (’15) Emily Lovett (’15) James Malin (’15) Tamara Masri (’15) Maria-Jose Nebreda (’15) Sasha Rechler (’18) Nadia Sawiris (’16) Camilla Vergara (’17) Neil Basu, Advisor Jodi Warren, Advisor

Overnight grade-wide event held Maya Jotwani Culture Editor

On November 14, an overnight event was organized for Grade 11 in an attempt to bring the grade together. The event, which was called a “Lock-in,” was organized by Student Council (StuCo) representatives and Grade 11 Dean Jennifer Craig. Dodgeball, karaoke and movies were among the many activities offered at the Lock-in.

As this was the first event of its kind at ASL, Craig didn’t know what to expect. Despite her initial fears, she believes the event was a roaring success. “My expectations were fairly low.

However, if I set the bar, people leapt over the bar with feet to spare,” Craig said.

Approximately 87 percent of 47 juniors surveyed enjoyed the Lock-In. Approximately 60 percent of students polled thought the event brought the grade closer together.

Craig believes that junior

year is a perfect time to hold an event like this. With the impending college process and the stress that accompanies it, upperclassmen soon begin to

“

It made me feel a lot more a part of the grade. I had stories to talk about now with people instead of hearing about stuff that happened last year Juliana Smith (’16) focus on themselves and their own futures. As Craig said, “To bond together before you go through that process, is great, it will make the juniors’ whole year, and next year, much more meaningful.”

However, some students believed that there were no lasting

affects of the lock-in that they could see. “The lock-in brought the grade together momentarily, but afterwards, I didn’t see any affects,” said Mackenzie Reid (‘16). She believed the Lock-In was not as effective as it could have been because individuals tended to drift towards their regular friend groups and did not put forth effor to get to know the rest of the grade.

On the other hand, Craig saw the effect of the Lock-In immediately, with various students approaching her to tell her how they made new friends as a result of the event. Even parents of new students emailed her, telling her that their children felt closer and more integrated in the community as a result of the lock-in. Out of 47 students surveyed, almost 70 percent said they got to know at least one person that they didn’t know before the Lock-In. Coming out of school the next morning, Juliana Smith (’16), new to ASL this year, left feel-

ing more a part of the grade and the ASL community. The event provided the perfect opportunity to create memories with her classmates and to subsequently form bonds that she would not have made otherwise. “It made me feel a lot more a part of the grade. I had stories to talk about now with people instead of hearing about stuff that happened last year,” she said.

The Lock-In was not only beneficial for the students, Craig believed, but also for the teachers that were there. Craig chaperoned the event along with Associate Dean of Admissions Kenneth Craig, Grade 9 Dean Renée Green and Grade 10 Dean Samrong So. She said that even the chaperones had a good time, performing karaoke along with the students.

StuCo representative Jed Alberts (’16) believes that the event could even be organized for other grades besides Grade 11. “The seniors saw that the Lock-In was a lot of fun, and wanted to do the

same thing. This could end up spreading to different grades,” he said.

Smith too feels that because the Lock-In went so well, that it should be organized for Grade 11 students every year. “It was definitely something that I think benefited my experience as a new kid, and I feel like for students next year who are new and coming into the 11th grade,” she said, “it can be a way to help them integrate more especially if they are having a little bit of trouble at the beginning of the year.”

Craig is already thinking about organizing the event for next year. “I’ve already talked to some of the [administration] about when we will do it next year, not if, but when,” she said.

However, some students believed that there were no lasting affects of the lock-in that they could see. “The lock-in brought the grade together momentarily, but afterwards, I didn’t see any affects,” Mackenzie Reid (’16) said.

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

THE STANDARD | December 2014

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News

News

Shooting catalyzes race discussion

Protests throughout America, from Washington, D.C. (left) to Seattle, WA (right) following death of black individuals at the hands of police officers.

Charlotte Young |

O

n August 9, eight days after graduating high school, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old AfricanAmerican Ferguson, MO resident, was shot dead.

Brown’s shooting gained national and international media attention as a result of the disputed circumstances of his death, questions regarding the U.S. judicial system’s relationship with African-Americans and whether or not

send Wilson to trial was due to eyewitnesses’ unreliability and physical evidence, which contrasted claims made

by Brown’s supporters.

However, protesters around the world have viewed Brown’s death, and the decision to not send Wilson to trial, as favoring the police force. Consequently, a major reason for the eruption of protests directly after Brown’s

they are thinking about it in the context of past cases of racism in the United States. “We’re looking at the historical roots of those things [racism], but the purpose of studying it is to understand why riots happen over a shooting like Michael Brown. If we don’t look back at the historical root of that, then it’s difficult to figure out what makes people so upset now,” Jaworski said.

a lot to scratch them,” she said. “To me, it just is a new way of doing it. I don’t think it’s a greater problem, or a different problem, it’s just newly shaped and there’s new language, and there’s new rules. But I think it’s the same as it perhaps always was.”

A major factor behind the recognition of Brown’s shooting is the uncertainty of the altercation between Brown and Wilson. After Jaworski heard about Brown’s shooting through the protests in Missouri, she found it hard to figure out what actually occurred. “[Social media] seems now to be clouding the ability of people to think about the facts of the case. Even places like CNN will start

instances that build and build and build, and it takes one particular instance to create a spark like this that’s now creating a national and international conversation about racial profiling.”

Racial profiling by police officers in the United States does currently exist: According to a 2012 supplementary homicide report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), police are 21 more times likely to shoot a black teenager than a white teenager.

According to an article published in The Atlantic in August 2014, while 67 percent of the community is African-American in Ferguson, only three of the city’s 63

have happened, that people are going to react in this way.

I don’t want to say that it doesn’t matter what Darren Wilson’s actual intentions were, but the consequences of it are happening and have started a discussion that has been [needing] to happen for a really long time,” she said.

While the United States currently has its first president of color, Green does not believe that having an African-American president helps the discussion of race issue in the U.S. “I really appreciate [Barack Obama], but at the same time he can only do so much because he doesn’t want to be seen as a black president for black people, he wants to be seen as a president for the entire United

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Nearly four months later, on November 24, a St. Louis grand jury decided not to send police officer Darren Wilson, Brown’s shooter, to trial, with charges ranging from first-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter dismissed. This decision occurred shortly before a New York grand jury, on December 4, decided not to send a police officer to trial who was filmed putting an AfricanAmerican man, Eric Garner, who was selling untaxed cigarettes on a street in Staten Island, died of a heart attack as a result of injuries sustained when he was placed in a chokehold.

The decision made by the grand jury to not indict Wilson sent waves of outrage both in the United States and internationally, with protest sites outside the U.S. Embassy in London. Slogans for the protests include, “hands up, don’t shoot,” referring to Brown telling Wilson to not shoot him when he was asked to put his hands up.

St. Louis County Attorney Robert McCulloch held a press conference shortly after the decision to not indict Wilson, explaining the verdict made by the jury to not

shooting was the shared feeling among many citizens that racial profiling played a part in his shooting. Another concern is that racism is still prevalent in the U.S. even after the progress made during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s.

Social Studies Teacher Natalie Jaworski, while unsure whether shooting Brown was justified, believes that the decision made by the grand jury to not send Wilson to trial is part of a greater trend seen in the United States.

“What I have seen recently is that when there’s seemingly enough evidence to at least put a police officer on trial, not necessarily to indict them, they [the jury] aren’t doing that. I think that’s where the injustice lies,” she said.

Jaworski, who teaches the Race and Culture course at ASL, has already held a class with her students about Brown’s shooting, where they made presentations about different shootings by police in the United States in the past 20 years that were perceived to be racially motivated.

“The idea of the course for Race and Culture is to really think about how race, culture and human rights affect us right now,” she said.

While the class is learning about Brown’s shooting,

When Grade 9 Dean Renée Green first heard of the shooting of Brown over the summer, the first thing she thought of was her own family. “As a sister, as a daughter, as an aunt, I am terrified for the men of color in my family, whether it be that they’re walking, whether they’re on bicycles, whether they’re in cars; at any point they are subjected to the whim and will [authority] of police officers,” she said.

Green sees the shooting of Brown as an indication of a deeper issue within the United States of racial injustice.

“It’s hard to unearth and to address all of those historically inlaid racial problems that we have. The fact that... you can have Michael [Brown], you can have Eric [Garner], you have all of these instances of black children, boys, men being mowed down for seemingly no reason,” she said.

Green does not believe the United States has made significant steps toward addressing racism, with the killing of Brown as a specific indication. “I think that a lot of people want to say that America is post-racial and racism doesn’t exist anymore, and I think that’s not true. I think that there are lots of scabs of racism and it doesn’t take

reporting things because they’ve been tweeted, not necessarily because they’ve been researched and been true,” she said. “To figure out what happened at that moment seems to be more and more difficult with the type of technology that we have now. I’ve read so many conflicting stories about what happened with Michael Brown when he was shot that it’s hard to know the truth anymore.”

On the other hand, Bobby Collins (’16) believes that the grand jury decision to not send Wilson to trial for shooting Brown was clearly substantiated through the evidence behind the shooting. “I think Wilson was carrying out his duties as a police officer; he saw Brown and figured correctly that Brown was the person who robbed the store,” he said.

Aside from the verdict to not send Wilson to trial, Jaworski believes that the protests in the United States highlight a need for reform. “People in the United States have a right to be upset about the way that race is handled. I don’t disagree to the reaction people have had with regards to this case, whether the shooting was justified or not I’m not sure, but I understand the anger and why people are reacting the way they are,” she said. “We have

police officers are African-American. At the same time, 86 percent of the people who were stopped by police last year in Ferguson were African-American, and 92 percent of searches made by police officers were of AfricanAmericans.

Green believes that the police stop-and-search statistics highlight a problem of racial profiling. “I don’t think that the community of color can be represented when the people in power don’t reflect or don’t live in the communities that they’re serving or protecting, it just seems to me that there isn’t an alignment there,” she said.

While Collins does see racial inequality as an issue in the United States, he does not believe that the shooting of Brown was racially motivated. “If Michael Brown was white he would have been shot, if Wilson was black he would have shot Michael Brown. Regardless of race in this specific case, I don’t think the race of Wilson or the race of Brown had a factor in what the case was,” he said.

Jaworski partly agrees with Collins that Brown’s shooting might not be a complete issue of racial profiling in this case, although it is an indication. “Whether or not the actual action was racially motivated, so many things

States,” she said. “I think young people, college students, activists will be really important, people who are interested in social justice. It’s that kind of awakening that will make a difference. I don’t think it’s the politicians, I don’t think it’s the people in power, I think it needs to be coming from the bottom.”

Additionally, Jaworski believes that part of addressing racial inequality in America as well as the perceived injustice in the case of Brown’s shooting is for students to be informed. From there, they should make a decision for themselves on whether the shooting of Brown was justified or not. “We have you take history classes because history is not a line, it is a circle and we have to recognize the patterns that we see throughout history.

They’re not going to be exactly the same, but those patterns are very recognizable as you look over time and it helps you understand the motivations of where people are at now.”

As recent as December 13, large-scale protests have continued across the U.S., including Washington, D.C. and New York City, objecting to the treatment of African-Americans by police officers.

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Opinions

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

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Opinions

Eva Schloss Banter

No such thing as ‘just banter’

WE THE STUDENTS

We the students have a message for the administration in light of recent events.

Conference time on December 8 was taken up by a induction assembly. This one seemed to particularly pique student frustrations and anger after what had been a string of contradictory messages from the administration: Celebrate these accomplishments, but not those ones, let’s have an assembly for this, but not for that. Shared ownership, as coined by the administration, seems to have simply become an excuse for certain individuals, particularly those charged with “building community”, to drive down students’ throats what they had cherry-picked as being important to recognize, or more prestigious for the school to flaunt.

That morning, the assembly attempted to celebrated 51 students being inducted into an organization, the National Honor Society (NHS), whose main requisite is having a grade point average of 3.6 or higher.

At various points throughout the assembly, sarcastic clapping and enthusiasm could be heard from some of the students in attendance. A last-ditch, although admittedly juvenile, effort was meant to force the administration to recognize student frustration, when some students felt desperately as if they had no other ways to express themselves.

Our criticism is not directed towards the NHS, nor their induction ceremony – no, every part of the assembly was common tradition for the umbrella organization –, our criticism censures what this impromptu assembly represents for the students: A severe disconnect between the administration and the student body.

The perception being communicated to students is that we are inorganically elevating the NHS as opposed to other organizations within the school. The natural response is anger: It seems to students that the school is attempting to fabricate something of us, even an image of us, that is ingenuine and rather contemptuous of the talent, effort and drive actually present in our community.

We understand this was not the administration’s motive.

But this begs the question, what was the motive? A lot of what we have perceived, we believe, was not the intention, but would that not point towards a more pervasive failure by the administration this year: Proficient communication?

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

If you want to change and mold us, as any educational institution should, it won’t be with an autocratic, top-down movement. The question we pose lies not in whether we support the community initiative, which we wholeheartedly do, what we deem to be erroneous is the method with which the administration has gone forward in “building” this community. The removal of captain speeches, the removal of departmental awards, the alteration of baby photos: There must be some motive behind the elimination of integral traditions of this high school, yet it seems to have been lost behind closed doors. We, as students and an Editorial Board, are left to question with deep frustration: What

“

It seems to the students that the school is attempting to fabricate something of us, even an image of us, that is ingenuine and rather contemptuous of the talent, effort and drive actually present in our community is happening?

Yes, you are in charge of this school, but, yes, this is our school.

Shared ownership is a wonderful concept. However, from the student’s point of view it seems like a license to pick and choose what the administration wants to highlight. Perhaps the NHS is a prestigious group, but does it require the attention of the entire High School to celebrate such a narrow demographic? Doesn’t this logic run bull-headedly counter to the one applied to the Senior Baby Photo assembly, that it only celebrates the senior class (who number 123, exactly 72 more than NHS inductees)?

To put it into context: The week before, Principal Jack Phillips’ decision to remove the Senior Baby Photo assem-

bly was met by its fair share of criticism from the student body. In a meeting with senior Student Council representatives, he cited the fact that the Baby Photo assembly only celebrated a select group of students and not the entire high school, and perhaps so, but this decision should not have been some sort of autocratic handout – it should have been opened to discussion and ultimately communal decision.

With that, this Editorial Board proposes a simple and agonizingly easy solution. When all is said and done, we genuinely believe that both the student body and the administration have the same goals, harboring a community filled with eager, driven students drawn in by traditions.

There are countless ways to implement this. Town halls, organized by the students, inviting Phillips to come talk to the students and answer questions as well as an established weekly blog on The Standard’s website for frequent updates from the administration are only two of many ways to implement this. So, let’s talk: Let’s organize the town hall, let’s host that weekly blog, let’s inform each other.

The decisions, ultimately, will not be the administration’s nor the students’, they will be the School’s. Everything moving forward would be informed, it will meet little to no resistance, the sole cost being an extra step of bureaucracy.

Moving forward, nurturing a great relationship requires both parties to work together. Let’s give the administration the room to operate without criticism, but let’s be part of the discussions. Was there really a need for the intense anger fueled by the baby photo assembly cancellation? We, the students, need to give the administration a chance. We, the students, need to understand that not every decision is going to go our way and that, however much we may want it, the High School is not a democracy. We, the students, need to look at changes from the lens of the administration, to think more positively and to allow this school to fulfill its full potential.

No one is here to undermine the other’s experience. Our final goal is a greater ASL, perhaps not immediately for us, but for the future. Let’s end the stigma of the students fighting against the administration. Let’s unite and work together for the ASL we all want.

ZACK LONGBOY

“

How has our society become so desensitized that, under the guise of one word “banter”, all semblance of being sensitive or of having a filter is forgotten?

When Principal Jack Phillips took the stage to condemn specific acts of “unacceptable behavior” at our school, it was no mistake that he used the word “banter.”

While at the time his use of the word elicited a few stifled laughs from the student body, the concept of banter and its rising prevalence is anything but funny.

Used as a crutch, banter is a cheap imitation of a sense of humor for people who have none, and used in defense of sexist, racist or offensive comments it is a violation Not only is banter, or the use of, racist, sexist, homophobic and anti-semitic comments as “jokes”, becoming more prevalent, but it is becoming accepted and commonplace in our society. Take for example the recent firing of Malky Mackay, the manager of Cardiff City football club, when a shocking series of his text messages were leaked, including, “‘Not many white faces amongst that lot but worth considering,” (referencing a list of potential signings) and other offensive comments. While the messages are condemn-

able themselves, the most telling part of the scandal was Mackay’s press release in response to public outrage that ensued.

Any semblance of a remorseful apology was lost, with Mackay labeling his actions as “friendly text message banter”.

What may be even worse are the people that jumped to defend this notion. How has our society become so desensitized that, under the guise of one word “banter”, all semblance of being sensitive or of having a filter is forgotten?

This isn’t an isolated case (see Richard Keys and the sexist on-air comments he made about a female lineswoman - all under the defense of “prehistoric banter”). As banter continues to manifest itself, especially in the current teen generation, ASL is not immune. Not only in our school, but among teenagers across the globe, a “lad” culture has emerged.

Although it is not as clear cut as a perpetrator and a victim, two distinct roles are carved in this culture. Those partaking in the banter are rewarded; they are labeled “lads,” willing to say the unsayable, will-

ing to do anything to get a laugh. And those unwilling to take part? Those who are the unwilling recipients of racist, sexist and homophobic insults? They are vilified. Push back against the banter and you become an outsider.

Everyone should be entitled to feeling safe and comfortable and while this culture still exists, where individuals feel the need to seek, as Phillips put it, “some kind of twisted approval from friends”, it will be extremely difficult for that to be the norm. While I personally do not believe that our oft-maligned core values are comprehensive enough, in this situation the value of respect resonates with me.

Acting respectfully, and having morals are not particularly difficult ways to lead your life.

Daisy Buchanan of The Guardian put it best in her recent article “My five-point plan to ban banter”: Proponents of banter “love it because it makes them feel witty, sophisticated and urbane while allowing them to talk about having sex with one another’s mothers.”

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End of first semester senior year: (B+) We made it.

Three and a half years of work, including this murderous last semester, was all building up to our next outrageous six months together. Bring on the second semester. Senior Editors

Wonderland: (D) Beyond hearing el capitano 2. Winter Ian Scoville (’15) scream in fear on a rollercoaster, Win- 5.

Theft of Graphing Calculators: (F-) If I leave it for 30 seconds in a public area, it’s gone. To whoever is sitting at home with three £80 calculators with my initials on the back, please consider returning them. Tyler Skow

6.

Fleming/Conaty/Ringham trio: (A+) The Chemistry is real. Nadia Sawiris

orders. Also, those who steal others’ orders should be sent to the stocks (we will set this up at Top Orange).

Zack Longboy

COMMENTARIES CONTENT -

ter Wonderland was a bust. Avoid at all costs – you’ll end the night with muddy shoes, an empty wallet and nascent disappointment. James Malin

ENGAGEMENT WITH READERSHIP LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

3.

Mr. McGowan: (A+) Late night test study sessions at Starbucks, prompt online grades, detailed feedback, and cheese and baguettes in class - what more could you ask for? Mr. McG, keep doing you. Maya Jotwani

Post Scriptum: ASL is falling down, falling down, falling down. #NewFrontiers

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

Learning from our mistakes

Second chances aren’t a right

ZACK ASHLEY

zack_ashley@asl.org

“

When thinking about the nature of Evans’ crime I came to the conclusion that he doesn’t deserve to simply pretend as if what he did never happened

CHARLOTTE YOUNG charlotte_young@asl.org

When working on the online exclusive article Unwanted and Unwelcome, for the past few months I couldn’t help but feel anger that in the instances of Scarlett and Grant the perpetrators got away with it, and thus, thought what they did was acceptable. Sending a girl texts threatening to rape her is far from ok, groping and popping a middle school girl’s bra strap in class is far from ok, and performing oral sex on someone while they are sleeping is far from ok.

When these atrocities go unpunished, or when people are allowed to go on living like they never happened, it takes away from the gravity of what they have done.

Admittedly, some of the perpetrators in these articles were students, so while I don’t think they should be allowed to forget what they did, they should not be treated with the same harshness, in terms of legal repercussions, that Evans deserves.

However, for people like comedian Bill Cosby (if the recent allegations of sexual abuse are indeed true) it is an absolute disgrace that they get to continue to live life without paying the consequences for what they did.

When we don’t properly punish extreme incidents of sexual misconduct people will continue to think these things are ok, and that they won’t be punished.

In an ideal world, people’s own consciences would be enough to tell them this kind of behavior is not ok and to prevent incidents like these from happening.

Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world. The only way to stop these things from happening is making sure the perpetrators are met with the harshest of punishments and forced to remember the heinous crimes they have committed for the rest of their lives.

The importance of mentors MAYA JOTWANI

maya_jotwani@asl.org

“

An adult mentor at school can help you find your way, discover your interests, and support you through the trials and tribulations of the four-year journey

High school can often feel like navigating a massive city without a common language, a phone or a map – it is so easy to get lost.

There are so many different paths to take, people to know and things to figure out.

However, there is one incredible resource to help you not only navigate the large, intimidating place that is our High School, but to also thrive in it: The adults in the community.

An adult mentor at school can help you find your way, discover your interests and support you through the trials and tribulations of the four-year journey.

Find someone – whether it be your social studies or math teacher, a college counselor or dean – with whom you can identify and trust. These adults can be your very own tour guide. They can direct you, help you and encourage you through this journey. They know the school even better than you do and they know what it takes to be successful in it.

Their knowledge and experience is invaluable and tapping into it is crucial.

The only adults you see as often – and sometimes more often – as your parents are the adults at school. You see them five days a week, for a minimum of seven hours a day, 179 days of the year.

The endless opportunities to get to know

teachers, combined with their knowledge and experience, results in an ideal mentor.

They can help you navigate your academic life, your successes, your defeats, and they can even help you plan for the future.

Teachers can also help you realize who you are as a person. A main reason behind the confusion and chaos of high school is the fact that most students are trying to find and understand who they are as people. Although this process is something largely done by yourself, an adult mentor can help you immensely. Teachers can often pick up on qualities and assets that even your parents may miss – they know us in ways others just don’t. Then, they can push you to explore it by directing you to a class, or an after-school club, or even to talk to another similarly interested person. They can help you discover who you are.

Having a prominent role model throughout your childhood is very important developmentally, emotionally and socially. According to parenting.org, social learning scientists have shown that a large amount of learning in childhood comes from observation and imitation. Children learn by imitating the behavior of those they admire.

Although in adolescence, one doesn’t have to

learn by imitation to the same level, it is still important to have a role model to look to for support, advice or even to look to as a good example.

I did not realize the importance of having an adult mentor at school until this year. This summer, I was subject to health issues that prompted a fairly significant surgery. Upon return to school two weeks late, I was faced with junior-year work intensity, a new social situation, new routines, and most importantly, my recovery. One person in particular emerged to be my main supporter at school, a teacher. They supported me through academic challenges, the changes that accompanied my health issues, and simply became someone that looked out for me at school.

Without him, my journey would have been a much longer and more painful struggle.

Everyone should remember that teachers are not only accessible inside the classroom, but also outside the classroom for social or even emotional matters.

Someone to anchor you, confide in and celebrate with, is irreplaceable. High school can be tough and intimidating, or it can be fun and exciting. Adult mentors can help tip the scale and make your high school experience feel safe, inspiring and enjoyable.

Page 9

Opinions

Opinions

On April 20, 2012, Ched Evans, then a player for Sheffield United Football Club, was sentenced to five years in prison for the alleged rape of a 19-year-old woman in a hotel in the Welsh town of Rhys. He was released from prison after serving half of his sentence.

Evans was subsequently allowed by Sheffield United to train with the club again.

This decision led to national outrage, as well as club patrons - such as Olympic gold medalist Jessica Ennis-Hill - to threaten to end all association with the club should Evans be offered a full-time contract. In response to this public reaction, Sheffield United retracted their offer for Evans to train with the team.

While many people were infuriated by Sheffield United allowing Evans to train with them, there were those who took the stance that everyone deserves a second chance.

At first I was torn when thinking about this. I agreed that anyone can make a mistake and that people should be allowed to redeem themselves, but when thinking about the nature of Evans’ crime I came to the conclusion that he doesn’t deserve to simply pretend as if what he did never happened, and have others do the same. The victim certainly won’t.

When a horrible act such as rape is committed, you don’t get to forget what you did.

Of course it is up to the discretion of specific individuals and organizations whether or not to hire or associate with the perpetrator, but they also have every right to know what this person has done and choose to stay away from the person.

Instead of focusing on giving convicted rapists a second chance, we should be focusing on making sure the ones who have gotten away with it are properly punished for what they have done and to ensure they understand the gravity of their actions.

•••

THE STANDARD | December 2014

“

If there’s one thing we should take away from Schloss, it is that the world will not change without us, the future generation, getting involved

After the full High School showing of A Light in the Darkness: A Story of Hope During the Holocaust, what truly moved me was hearing Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss speak. Schloss made the point that hatred and violence continue to surround us every day; it did not end after the killing of 11 million people: Jews, Roma Gypsies, homosexuals and Poles alike.

When the Holocaust ended, everyone said “never again”. Looking around today, and indeed, what Schloss highlighted, was that we humans do not learn from our mistakes. Schloss, like many other survivors of the Holocaust, chose to tell her story to try to stop history repeating itself, but yet harmony still does not exist.

I now find myself questioning what one person can do about hatred and anger in our own society. It is not hard to understand how one may feel insignificant if it is one voice against a thousand. I know in many cases, especially when having to choose sides in a political issue, choosing the underdog or David over the perceived Goliath due to societal pressure versus personal beliefs is hard. But from my perspective, one informed voice is worth more than a thousand angry and spiteful ones.

We students are the future, and it is in this spirit that I implore everyone to try to understand the world we live in. As conflict continues to envelop our world, to understand the problems and events in different places is to make a difference.

Too often, I feel as though we are more

ANGIE KUKIELSKI

“

It is important to realize that the empathy of a person with male privilege, as powerful and important as that empathy is, is not the same as the lived experiences of someone faced with sexist oppression

genocides in both Rwanda and Bosnia occurred.

We’re lucky in many senses: To have a constitutional monarchy which is viewed as a powerful government by other nations is valuable, as is the level of our education. If we are part of this society where we are lucky enough to be afforded these privileges, how can we look on so passively at these injustices in other parts of the world?

If there’s one thing we should take away from Schloss, it is that the world will not change without us, the future generation, getting involved in politics and trying to understand what is happening both near and far away. It begins with understanding: To read a variety of sources, to discuss with family, or friends, or teachers, and then finally to act based on your own convictions. Do not let yourself give into societal pressure, do not allow yourself to be swayed by a group when you do not actually know what is going on. Be informed in politics, in what is happening in our world, because it is the world we are living in.

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” In this case, education is to read current events. Once one has understood the injustices that surround him or her, whether a thousand miles removed or in their own country, that is when change can truly happen because they will feel empowered to make a difference.

‘More than our genders’ letter To the Editor:

angie_kukielski@asl.org

focused on what is directly affecting us in London over what is happening to others internationally.

One of the problems with the Holocaust was that regular people allowed it to happen. They were passive, because they were not the ones victimized. Thus, killings began because many did not have strong enough convictions to stop the murdering and persecution of millions.

Yes, there were people who were part of the resistance, and we owe much to them.

However, the mentality of many was, “if I’m not being affected, why should it matter to me?”

This mentality lives on. We do not try to understand conflict in regions far away from us because we do not think it will affect us. In other cases, quite simply, sometimes when we are informed, we are not doing enough to actively help to solve the problem. This is similar to the Holocaust, as many knew of the deportation of Jews to concentration camps, but continued to stand by thinking that they would not be listened to because their opinion was insignificant.

If the Syrian population is being exposed to chemical weapons by its president, why should it matter to an American student in London, especially since we are thousands of miles removed? Why should the killing of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, MO matter to us? At the same time, genocides of similar nature continues to happen even after the mass killings of Jews. Take as recent as the 1990s, where

I was disappointed to read James Malin’s article, “We are more than our genders,” in the most recent issue of The Standard (Volume XL Issue II). I found it to be a flagrant display of privilege and a misunderstanding of how both sexism and feminism work.

First, it is necessary to address the fact that sexism manifests itself in many forms; it is not just people “genuinely [feeling] that [other] people should be denied opportunities due to their gender.” To name that and only that as sexism is to erase the countless other ways in which people experience sexism and to invalidate the ways in which feminism seeks to fight those forms of unconscious oppression.

The article, however, seems to express the view that one’s gender is irrelevant and that it should not be taken into consideration both within the feminist movement and in the broader world. The core of the article seems to suggest that it is wrong to group together one set of experiences as female and another as male because men and women are not monolithic and assuming so enforces gender essentialism (i.e. that some things are inherently female and others male, like empathy or strength).

This, however, is not what we feminists mean when we lend importance to one’s gender. We are not saying that men do not understand some of the things that people of other genders go through due to some bio-

logical difference that somehow separates the genders from each other. We are instead saying that our experiences are informed by our genders, and that the difference between these experiences due to sexism must be taken into account. Without doing so, we cannot collaborate as people with differently gendered experiences within the feminist movement, and male privilege continues entirely unchecked.

Of course, people of all genders are both welcome into the feminist movement and able to call themselves feminists. However, it is important to realize that the empathy of a person with male privilege, as powerful and important as that empathy is, is not the same as the lived experiences of someone faced with sexist oppression. Of course male opinions matter in the movement to end sexism, just as the individual experiences of other genders are not the be-all end-all of feminist discourse.

However, it is important to take note of the different perspectives from which we are speaking, privileged or otherwise. Without doing so, the view of a man who has never experienced catcalls and who is making light of the sexist harassment that women face often on a daily basis, for example, carries equal weight to the view of a woman who has been leered and shouted at every day on her way to work. The person who has experienced the oppression clearly has a better understanding of the situation in this instance, but that would not be visible if no one’s gender was

taken into account in that situation.

Also, most importantly, to ignore one’s own gender as was done in the article when saying that “If I succeed, that will be James succeeding, not another man,” the system that affords men privilege over other genders is allowed to continue unchecked.

After all, how can we tackle an oppressive system without acknowledging how we are affected by and complicit within it? Because if James succeeds, he will not just be James, a person, succeeding; he will be joining the ranks of millions of other men who have been able to succeed where people of other genders have not been able to do so due to their genders.

Say, for example, that he becomes a Fortune 500 CEO, generally seen as successful in today’s broader culture. Without taking his gender into consideration, his place in the context of broader society cannot be understood. Because when James becomes a Fortune 500 CEO, for instance, James also becomes one more of the currently 474 male Fortune 500 CEOs. To not realize this is to do an injustice to those who face inequity due to their genders.

It is important that we take our genders into account because how we move through the world is structured by gender. Pretending that gender does not impact one’s success is not feminist and is violent in its erasure of people’s experiences. It therefore is not gender essentialism that feminism supports; it is being critical of our world as it is.

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Page 10

THE STANDARD | December 2014

Opinions

•••

THE STANDARD | December 2014

Six word stories Coding profiles

Racial unrest in the United States

Page 11

Features

Is college really worth it?

Lorenzo Maglione |

JAMES MALIN A St. Louis grand jury recently came to the unanimous decision to not indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who killed Michael Brown, an 18-year-old AfricanAmerican resident of Ferguson, MO. The murder took place during an attempt to detain Brown for questioning regarding a shoplifting he was suspected to have committed.

Following the verdict, unrest ensued. Riots broke out in Ferguson, protests took place all around the United States and London; the verdict gained so much media coverage that President Barack Obama even made an address regarding the case.

In his address, Obama reiterated a point made by Brown’s parents following the grand jury’s decision to not indict Wilson, requesting that all protests be carried out peacefully in order to catalyse positive change, rather than destruction. This plea was not adhered to in Ferguson.

Ferguson quickly became the epicentre of mass riots; stores were looted, cars were tipped over and burned – this ruckus induced the police’s retaliation, which included gunfire in an attempt to subdue the rioters.

The reaction to the non-indictment caused was rooted in frustration; this case was viewed as the latest episode of the continuing trend of African Americans falling victim to police brutality and receiving unfair treatment from the justice system.

As a white teenager who has never lived in America, I am not qualified to discuss the details of the case, nor have I ever experienced the perceived atrocities African Americans suffer at the hand of the police.

Because of my inability to truly empathize with the cause, my initial reaction was not about the non-indictment. When I woke up and saw the events unfold on the news, I was angry; I was not angry at the grand jury, nor was I angry at the police – I was angry at the media.

With the new, communal nature of the manner in which news is reported, there is no guarantee of objectivity. More tradi-

tional news sources, such as the New York Times, abide by ethical codes which forbid subjective, biased reporting; this steadfast, moral approach helped ensure that such reactions were more sparse.

Now, with the primary platform for the proliferation of news being social media, these more trusted news sources are becoming obsolete, for better or worse. These ethical codes allowed for well-informed opinions, which are harder to come by these days as there is no such code in guerilla journalism.

Not only does this undermine the journalistic industry, it also devalues the justice system. As soon as Brown’s story gained traction in the media, Wilson was effectively guilty, regardless of the verdict the grand jury would come to. It was almost ir-

relevant that he avoided indictment: If he went to trial and was acquitted, his name’s cache would always be the man who killed an unarmed black teenager; if he was sentenced to serve jail time, that would not be too different to the life he will live anyway.

Due to the nature that news is disseminated in nowadays, there is little room for nuance – after all, how much can you fit in 140 characters? This reduces cases such as Brown’s to being oversimplified and sensationalized.

Again, I am not qualified enough to try to dissect the case itself; but, I would guess, and hope, that there is a lot more to the story than is portrayed by the media. When it is reduced to the barebones of the case as it was, the likelihood of such a visceral reaction increases greatly. This is clearly a contentious issue and to cover it in such a heavy-handed, clumsy manner is irresponsible.

It is incumbent upon the media to treat such sensitive matters responsibly and with objective reason. That has not been the case recently, and we have seen the damage that can cause.

AMNAH AHMAD On July 17, 2014 Eric Garner, a 43-year -old black man, was put in a chokehold, and later died as a result, in New York by white policeman, Daniel Pantaleo, as he resisted arrest for selling loose cigarettes and evading tax. On August 9, 2014 Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot dead in Ferguson,

MO, by white policeman Darren Wilson, for aggressive behavior.

On 22 November, 2014, Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black boy, was shot dead in a public park in Ohio by white policeman Timothy Loehmann, as he brandished a toy gun. All three black deaths were unjustified and smacked of racial profiling amongst police officers across different cities. In response to these events, protests have erupted across the United States, ranging from peaceful to violent. People are out on the streets rallying against the discrimination of black males by the police force.

I have been following these three cases, as well as the reactions to them, for the past few months, both in the press and at ASL. When I read about the protests in the U.S., I could see that the core issue is about discrimination and injustice.

Closer to home, at ASL, where the majority of the students are American, the reaction to the cases are quite shocking.

Instead of discussing the prejudice that exists in the police force and extends to

the legal system, some of my peers try to justify the officers’ actions.

I know these ASL students are not racist but, to me it seems they do not want to accept the ugly reality of the issue that is present in their country. Their response is not driven by prejudice but by a prevalent chauvinistic attitude.

Another aspect that comes into play is “white privilege,” which is one of the most difficult topics to talk about. Our community needs to acknowledge its existence and learn how to use it positively.

If Eric Garner had been white, I believe the attitude of Pantaleo to the situation would have been different. I don’t think Pantaleo would have used the chokehold against a white man resisting arrest for a petty crime. If the police used undue force on a white man, who then died from the incident, I don’t doubt that justice would have been served. I think the police would have been indicted, and a jury would not have found it difficult to produce a just verdict. In my opinion, the crime is the same but the reaction differs based on the colour of the victim. Protests following the man’s death had he been white would have had a wider acceptability, as well. The defensive attitude that I hear, even at ASL, about the police would have instead gone in favor of the white victim. These reactions frustrates me.

Now, let’s look at Cleveland, Ohio. This time it was a black boy who was shot and once again the police officer got away without indictment. Now let’s imagine Tamir Rice as a white boy playing with a BB gun with no orange safety sticker on it. First off, I don’t think anyone would even have bothered to call the police.

If the police had been called, I think they would have handled the situation differently. The police officer would not have shot this 12-year-old white boy. He would perhaps have talked him out of waving a gun around, realized it was a toy gun and left the situation uneventfully.

So now, with these two examples where I have replaced the black men and boys for white people, don’t the cases seem to be issues of racism and discrimination?

Three different cities in three different states, located 500 to 1,000 miles apart.

I can’t pass this as a mere coincidence.

We must stand up and speak out. Accept that we have a problem. This is the first big step towards a solution.

F

or roughly $200,000, you could buy an average house in America. Or, you could put a student through four years of college education.

As the cost of college continues to rise in both the U.S. and abroad, many students are having to ask the

Cost in 1978

question: Is a college education really worth it?

Over the past 25 years, private college tuition in the U.S. has increased by over 1000 percent; the average tuition price now costs approximately $45,000 a year, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

During this same period, average U.S. household income has barely moved, essentially stuck at the 50,000 dollar mark. Consequently, the vast majority of American students need to take on substantial student loans in order to obtain a college education.

Economically however, the numbers for those armed with a college degree appear to speak for themselves. Statistics show that Americans who graduate with a college degree earn significantly more than those who don’t: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, students who graduate from college can expect to make over 60 percent more than those with a high school diploma.

Regardless of the economic advantages, College Counselor Ivan Hauck believes that the college experience can be beneficial in other ways. “The three, four, five years at university where students are getting involved in clubs and learning about how to be independent, for most students, is the first time they’ve lived on their own. Those are the skills a college experience provides, that are worth the costs,” he said.

Similarly, Director of Academic Advising and College Counseling Patty Strohm believes that the value depends entirely on what the student makes of their experience.“I think most parents feel ‘I’ll be willing to [make the financial commitment] because my son or daughter is going to grow as a person,” she said. “They’re going to learn new things, they’re going to become confident, they’ll learn skills, and they’ll meet new interesting people that will be part of their entire life.”

However, these non-accounting benefits are easier to consider when a student is not confronted with the prospect of having to take on debt that, in most cases, far exceeds their household income.

And, in today’s tough economic environment, many ASL students are focused far more on the job market that will greet them after their four years in college.

For Ana Salitan-Alvarez (’16), the primary purpose of attending college isn’t necessarily for greater education as much as it is to increase her chances when applying for jobs. “I don’t know if the education is the fundamental part,” she said. “If you go to get a job and you don’t have that college education you’re not going to be taken seriously.”

Yet despite what seem to be clear fi-

ter experience, because you know in two years you have to transfer so you need very strong grades freshman and sophomore year,” he said.

“Most community colleges don’t hold your hand or have one-on-one advisors so it also promotes even further independence.”

With the growing issue of student debt, not only the value of certain colleges but also the value of specific degrees are being called into question.

According to a study done

by Pew Research Center, Biomedical Engineering, Biochemistry, and Computer Science are amongst the most valuable college majors, with an average starting pay of approximately $51,000.

The same study ranked English Literature, Fine Arts, and Photographic Arts as amongst the least valuable, with an average starting pay of approximately 30,000.

However, Strohm believes that choice in a degree should be based purely on interests, and not just the amount of money one might make.

But many students, like Max Barnett (’15), believe that majoring in your true passion isn’t always the best option and that being realistic is more important. “The truth is, especially with people who are already weighing the cost benefit ratio of college, the cost benefit [of the degree] is going to be a big deal if you take something that’s going to be useful or not,” Barnett said. “Follow your passions to a certain extent. [But] be reasonable.”

Salitan-Alvarez echoed Barnett’s sentiments. With high financial stakes, the decision to attend college and even to pick a degree must be weighed for cost and benefit.

“That’s the sad thing, a lot of people say follow your passions, and do what you want to do but you also have to be realistic,” she said.

“You may want to be a painter, but is that going to help you to lead a successful life?”

Medical care

Housing

Food

800%

The cost of college and its related costs has risen 1,120% between 1978 and 2012 according to a study by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Tuition

1000%

nancial advantages of a college diploma, the value of a college education may be declining according to a new study by the nonprofit Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP). It suggests that nearly half of working Americans with college degrees are overqualified for their current job, creating a situation where there are too many college graduates and not enough jobs that require a college education.

The cost of college and, for some, the subsequent debt that follows, is another factor when calculating the worth of college. In fact, a study by The Institute for College Access and Success reported that 69 percent of college graduates from both public and private colleges in America graduated with an average of about $29,000 of student loan debt.

For Katja Kukelski (’15), the value of a college education is still worth graduating with debt. She cites the example of her father who, after attending both the University of Rhode Island and then Stanford University, was able to pay back his significant student loans through hard work and dedication. “In the long run, you’re going to have to work really hard, but in the end it’s worth it,” she said. “If you do the right things and connect with the right people you’ll be able to pay it off.”

Hauck, who has spent the majority of his career working with families who couldn’t afford college, believes that there are other options for financially troubled students, such as going to a community college for two years and then transferring to a four year university. “For the right type of person, a community college can be an even bet-

600%

400%

200%

0%

Cost in 2012

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Page 12

THE STANDARD | December 2014

THE STANDARD | December 2014

•••

Features

Features

Tech Whizzes

From keyboards to drones

F

Sam Zorek (’15) dreams of being an astronaut.

GANDHI

Martha Collins |

Bored of video games

E

ric Volpert (’16) went from hacking simple computer games, to making $65 per hour working for himself.

Two and a half years ago in Pennsylvania, Volpert started his own IT support company called Volptech. He began with a “$20 seed investment”, which he used to buy business cards for himself. Volpert handed out business cards to people at “any opportunity”, in order to promote his business.

He started off riding his bike and being driven by his mother to various appointments, charging $20 per hour.

“Once you pick up the first few clients they start referring you to everybody, which is great,” Volpert said. As his client base grew, Volpert began to charge more for his services. By the time he left the U.S.

time in Pennsylvania didn’t offer it.

Online courses are hugely beneficial to Volpert, as he said, “I’m learning what I do as I work.”

He sources a lot of information from Coursera, which offers online courses from top universities for free, and Udasity, which offers online courses by professionals in the tech industry.

Volpert believes that schools need to put more of an emphasis on programming, “the technologies that we use every day are all powered by code. Kids should be learning to code as young as you could possibly teach them because it’s what the future is going to look like and you want to be preparing kids for their futures,” he said.

He envisions that students will be learning programming languages with the same importance that they’re learning grammar.

month. The events are generally sponsored by companies who give out their software components, and each team works to develop the most creative and impressive software program with the code that they’re given. “[I’m] incorporating as much coding as I can in my regular core classes,” Volpert said. He was assigned a creative project assignment in his Shakespeare class, so he decided to create “a musical abstraction of a Shakespeare text.” He created a program that was able to read the text, detect specific mood-triggering words and assign an arbitrary rating to specific passages based on the mood. From there, the rating system feeds into a keyboard, which will play a piece of music that develops and shifts mood with the Shakespeare text.

Moving forward, Volpert plans to relaunch Volptech, or launch an entirely new company that’s versatile enough to

wants to step foot on mars

S

You want to be alert, you want to be aware of what’s going on, and be aware of emerging technologies ERIC VOLPERT (’16) to move to London this past year, Volpert was working 6 to 10 hours a week, charging $65 per hour.

Volptech is a general IT company, meaning that Volpert provides various in-home technology services. These tasks include speeding up computers, setting up additional security on devices and fixing hardware problems for his clients.

When he was younger, Volpert played a lot of computer games. Around the age of 10, he “got bored of the games so [he] was looking at ways to hack the games.” Then, instead of breaking the existing programs, he began to write additional scripts to assist him with the games.

The majority of Volpert’s computer science knowledge was self-taught or individually sourced. He took Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science through Stanford University online courses in his freshman year because his school at the

“The biggest struggle [with Volptech] right now most definitely is gaining clients in London,” Volpert said. His handful of London-based clients doesn’t compare to the 85 he had at home in Pennsylvania.

The London IT business market is hard for Volpert to get into. “The people back home I’d lived with my entire life and grown up with,” Volpert said. He hopes to get referred in the ASL bulletin, Take Point, once he begins servicing clients within the ASL community.

Another issue Volpert is facing with Volptech is that it’s not “scalable.” If he were to employ others to work at his company, Volpert feels that the standard of service would be compromised. However, single-handedly, he can only also sustain so many clients.

Volpert is also a member of a “hackathon” team. He and the other four members travel to hackathons a few times per

jump on any project “that could possibly turn a profit.” He envisions a company that will adapt with the fastpaced technology industry, constantly seeking to work with the newest ideas and innovations.

“You want to be alert, you want to be aware of what’s going on, and be aware of emerging technologies and be able to capitalize on those emerging technologies,” Volpert said.

“Dedicating yourself to a single idea and to a single product is not the way to do that.”

Eric Volpert (’16) earns an income as an IT coordinator.

Page 13

am Zorek (’15) has been working toward his goal of becoming an astronaut by pursuing computer science and engineering in and out of the classroom.

Zorek began studying computer science in a Grade 8 Interactive Animation Class. He then took Java Programming and AP Computer Science during his freshman and sophomore years, respectively.

“From the start, I’ve viewed computer science and programming as an opportunity to create things that could be of use to others,” Zorek said.

This pursuit for service is exemplified in his work at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Two summers ago, Zorek had an internship funded by the Office of Naval Research, in the center for cyber warfare.

His job was to develop malware (malicious computer software, often viruses), with the object of elucidating weak points in their computer programs. In turn, this enables the Navy to strengthen their system’s security.

“I enjoyed being able to contribute to the greater cause and help protect America and its allies,” Zorek said of his work in malware development. The amount of information Zorek can disclose about his work with malware is limited, as it concerns U.S. national security.

This past summer, Zorek had another internship at the Naval Postgraduate School, but this time in the Space Systems lab. “I worked on a High Altitude Balloon (HAB) project to test technologies in a near-space environment,” Zorek said.

Specifically, he worked with the mechanical hardware and the software components for the HAB flight.

Originally, Zorek was seeking an in-

ternship with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), however those internship programs were defunded and shut down due to a budget crisis in the U.S. He found both his internship positions when searching online for engineering internships.

The most intimidating and challenging part of computer science, in Zorek’s opinion, is learning the first coding language. “At its core, computer science is a way of converting human thought into something that a machine can process and understand,” Zorek said. He accepts that teaching one’s brain to think in a computational manner can be an obstacle.

The first coding language Zorek learned was Java; he then went on to learn C++ and Python on his own. “One of the nice things about programming languages is that once you learn one high-level language, it’s relatively simple to learn others,” Zorek said.

Zorek is currently one of the captains of the robotics team. He focuses primarily on the mechanical design and physical building aspects of the robots. However, his strong computer science knowledge enables him to fully comprehend and assist with the software aspects.

Although Zorek has been interested in computer science throughout high school, he wants to pursue mechanical or aerospace engineering.

Similar to his work with robotics, he wants to focus on the hardware, as opposed to the software. Despite this, he appreciates the growing value of having computer science skills, as they “are applicable to lots of fields.”

“In a world where computers and machines can perform lots of different tasks that were originally done by humans, the value of humans being able to process things on their own repetitively has decreased, and instead the value of humans will be to control the computers and use them,” Zorek said.

rom a young age, Trevor Adams (’18) was intrigued by computers because he had “no idea how they worked.” He began playing around with the hardware components of various electronics, such as keyboards and computers, his interest driven by his curiosity. And, through his tinkering, he developed the basis of his interest in engineering and design.

When Adams was about 12 or 13, he took note of the drones he was seeing all over the news in Iraq. He was excited by “something that can do a mission without anybody touching it,” and so tried to delve into that.

However, Adams’ interest lies within the practical application of unmanned flying machines. His ideas and intentions are slightly more peaceful in comparison to their military counterparts.

“I’m trying to make drones look more approachable,” Adams said. He believes most people focus on the violent functions of drones, and aren’t aware that they can be used for quick food delivery or even avalanche rescue missions.

Adams recently finished his first fullybuilt drone. When making a drone, the first step for Adams is using Inventor and Adobe Illustrator applications to design all the structural parts of the pilotless aircraft. He then sends many of his designs out to a company that custom-cuts the pieces out of carbon fiber for him. Adams uses carbon fiber because “it’s as light as plastic but stronger than aluminium.” Creating a stable lightweight aircraft is essential for Adams, as he is working to use his drones for videography.

Adams also uses wood for structural aspects of his drones because it eliminates camera shake by absorbing vibrations, which makes for a clearer video.

Once he’s outlined the structure of the drone, Adams then works with the electrical aspects. He begins with the propellor and

the motor, which he sources from an online “hobby company.”

Adams prides himself in creating “fully autonomous” drones. In order to achieve that, he codes the drone’s control board to adjust the specific altitude, speed and climb rate aspects of the drone’s movement. He uses a “dumbed down version of bear code” (an application development program), called APM Flight Planner.

The entire process, from first opening his design application, to tweaking the final algorithm, took about six months.

“I study drones and their integration in culture,” Adams said. He works to use drones in civilian settings, namely focusing on using them for aerial photography and aerial videography. In the future, Adams hopes to use a 3D mapping application with his drone.

“Everyone has this overriding fear of drones because… drones don’t have a face, they’re faceless,” Adams said. One of the biggest obstacles Adams has run into is public opinion. When working with drones at his home in Rhode Island, he’s been approached multiple times by people who question the legality of his activity and his motives in working with drones. As long as Adams stays within the regulations regarding where he can fly the drones, his work is completely within the law.

Adams recently transferred from ASL to Kimball Union, a boarding school in New Hampshire. Despite his relocation, he will continue his drone work and hopes to work with videography and cinematography.

Although Adams is fully aware of the negative stigma that comes with drone work, due to their usage in military combat, he is set on pursuing a profession in the civilian drone industry.

“It’s weird doing what I do for fun because people so disapprove of it and are so shaded by the controversy of it,” Adams said.

However, he doesn’t care: He’s working hard to implement his first drone into civilian society and plans to work on larger drone-related projects in the future.

Trevor Adams (’18) explores the non-military functions of drones.

A LOT OF TIMES MY FRIENDS WILL SAY, ‘OH, I GOT THIS [TRAIT] FROM MY PARENTS’ OR ‘MY DAD PASSED THIS ON TO ME.’ I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT IS LIKE; I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO

EXPERIENCE THAT. ZARA MANDEL (‘16)

J

An evolving family tree Exploring how adoption shapes students and their high school experiences Zack Longboy | Lead Features Editor ILLUSTRATION BY ISABELLE PREDDY

Ian Scoville | Editor-in-Chief

ules Barlow (’15) will never meet her biological parents.

After being abandoned on the steps of a police station in southern China, Jules wound up in a Chinese orphanage before being adopted when she was 11 months old.

While they may not have conceived her, nor share many physical traits with her, for Jules, the San Franciscan couple that adopted her are her parents – just like anyone else with biological parents. “People always ask me, ‘do you wish you could meet your real parents?’ But I don’t know, I think it would probably be pretty depressing... They’re really not my parents,” Jules said.

Home life for Nicki Kidd (’17) has been anything but easy.

Though not contentious, her relationship with her family isn’t exactly harmonious. “There’s sometimes when I’m having a fight with a good friend and I just want to go to somebody, you know? Or when I have questions about life and how it works. I could totally ask my parents, without a doubt I could, but I know it would be so much easier if I could ask somebody who is blood-related,” she said. “I’m not going to lie, there are times when you feel completely isolated. You could go out into the world and even when you take the tube, it’s like I’m not blood related to any of you. But imagine that same feeling walking into your house.”

Abbie Dillon (’16), who was adopted from Tomsk, Russia, has always felt positive about her parents. Her parents “didn’t raise me thinking ‘oh this isn’t my daughter’,” Dillon said. And, as long as she can remember, they have always been open about both her and her sister’s adoptions, often

remarking: “We are not blood related, but we are as close as it can get.”

While she also celebrates her birthday, December 10 is celebrated in the Dillon household as a day “of gratitude.” Family Day, as she calls it, commemorates the day that the family brought Dillon home. “In a way it’s almost more important than a birthday,” Dillon said. “It makes me think how grateful I am, and [it commemorates] a turning point in my life for the better.”

While Jules’ adopted-sister Emily Barlow (’18) has noticed that certain stigmas exist regarding adopted children and their parents, she too described her relationship with her parents as positive. Frequently her parents will even crack jokes about it, Emily said. “Sometimes you’re lucky that you don’t look like us,” her parents will say. “If you’re embarrassed about us you can say ‘I don’t know them’.”

Kidd admits that the independence she feels isn’t all bad. “I think it’s just something you have to get used to. And it’s the built-in independence that adoptive children or foster children have that’s so cool.”

Home life doesn’t only involve parents, though. Kidd’s relationship with her sister, who is also adopted, has evolved over the years – from one of separation to one of togetherness. “It would be like sharing a dorm room with somebody. Like that sort of separation; you wouldn’t really talk to the other person, it was very sort of friendzoned, if you will. But over time we’ve become sort of like best friends,” Kidd said.

That positive relationship, though, does not necessarily carry over to Kidd and her sister feel-

ing sister-like. “I don’t think we’ll ever be sisters, because we’re two polar opposites of each other. But there’s that best friend relationship, rather than sister relationship,” she said.

Like Kidd, Madison Wells (’16) experiences a unique relationship with her brother who is also adopted. “We never fight,” she said jokingly. “Maybe because we don’t have the same blood [it means] we don’t hate each other.”

In retrospect The hardest part for Zara Mandel (’16) is not knowing about her biological parents. It’s not like she regrets being adopted – Mandel admits that she does have a good life – but, “I wish I could ask some questions, or even just look at them,” she said. “I don’t even know my mom’s last name.”

Mandel was adopted from Kazakhstan by her American parents when she was about 2 months old. A closed adoption – where it is made impossible for the adopted child to ever meet his or her biological parents – means Mandel will never meet her parents. The memories of her biological parents amount to just one picture of her mother.

Like Mandel, Kidd has a similar curiosity about who her mother is – but also an insatiable love for her. “I have so much love for her. Because I know that she was trying to do what was best for me, even though she didn’t know me, and that if I were ever to come into contact with her that it would be the same feelings.”

Under the agreement that Kidd’s family has with LDS Family Services – a part of the Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the group that arranged her adoption – Kidd will be able to meet her mother if they both request a meeting with each other.

Kidd will be eligible for this when she turns 18 and plans to exercise her half of the agreement.

When Counselor Stephanie Oliver, who was also adopted, was younger, curiosity about her biological lineage was not at the forefront of her mind. While she used to believe that “it didn’t matter”, this mindset has changed as she has grown up.

A few years ago Oliver found out that her biological father was Portuguese. “I know nothing about Portugal, I’ve never been,” she said. “But to think I know something about myself that I didn’t know before is really powerful.”

Contrary to the stigmas surrounding adoption such as unstable parental relationships and its reputation as a delicate conversational topic, many people who have been adopted are open about their past, eager to confront their differences rather than hide them.

Confronting their differences In her early childhood years, Mandel was often met with, “I feel so sorry for you, it must be so awful” when the fact that she was adopted was discovered by her peers. While for her it wasn’t a big deal, the response did have an effect. “Should you feel sorry for me?” she found herself thinking.

“Is there something wrong with me?”

In Kidd’s case, it’s the smaller things that can make her feel dif-

ferent. Kidd’s biological parents had her when they were seniors in high school, the result of an unplanned pregnancy. “Sensitivity comes up when people talk about abortion. Because it could have very well been easier to abort an adopted child. Especially in my situation where I wasn’t planned,” she said.

A few years ago, Mandel struggled with depression, and in particular, an abandonment problem. “When my friends would leave or change schools I would take it a lot harder than I should,” Mandel said. “I wonder if it relates back to the fact that I was ‘abandoned’ at birth.”

Mandel has also momentarily felt separation between her and her friends. “A lot of times my friends will say, ‘oh, I got this [trait] from my parents’ or ‘my dad passed this on to me,’” she said. “I have no idea what that is like; I have never been able to experience that.”

There are things that Mandel, Wells and others may never experience due to the fact that they were adopted, but instead of harboring any hard feelings toward their biological parents, many consider themselves lucky. “I kind of feel like I owe my [biological mother],” Wells said, grateful for the sacrifice that her mother made in order for her to live a better life.

The fact that she is adopted is not something that Wells hides.

In a way, she takes a certain pride in it. And, while there are adopted children who do struggle to define their identity, she feels that living with this mindset has helped her: “Even though you were probably an accident, you’re still meant to have the life that you have,” she said. “You’re no less entitled to being around than anyone else.”

PHOTO BY YARRA ELMASRY

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

Features

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Features

DISPARATE LEARNING If a student is approved by the SLD Department and Psychologist K-12 Student Support Team Department Head Helen Jackson, they receive testing accommodations - including extra time.

James Malin Tyler Skow

L

Zack Longboy

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ell into his sophomore year, Ryan Farrell (’16) faced the frustration of going through school with an improperly diagnosed learning disorder. Although Farrell underwent testing years before, he still entered sophomore year without proper support. “It was frustrating to see other people studying the same amount and working just as hard and getting better grades,” Farrell said.

Students like Farrell find themselves struggling with their learning profiles, stemming from the disparate manner in which these students’ brains learn and process information.

Farrell was eventually re-tested his sophomore year, and his dyslexia was revealed.

He describes the effects of dyslexia, by stating that the disorder affects his reading comprehension. “It makes it difficult for me to understand what I am reading, I mean I know how to read without stuttering, but when it goes through my mind I don’t actually know how to comprehend it,” Farrell said.

Nick Wilson (’15) also has dyslexia. For Wilson, dyslexia not only impacts his learning style, but also his performance in school.

“I’ve always been a bit shy about reading in class openly. I’d never raise my hand,” he said. “I would never read because I knew

Defining the Differences I’d screw up, whether it was because I just couldn’t do it or because I was just scared.”

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that causes students to struggle with sounds and symbol correspondence.

While some students in the SLD program have dyslexia, it is not the only learning disorder present within the school. Of the 82 students who are either members of the SLD department or receive testing accommodations, there are a multitude of disorders that are documented.

The learning disorders these students are afflicted by are neurological conditions that impede certain academic and social skills.

Learning Specialist and SLD Department Head Roger Smith said that, “when we are thinking about learning disabilities in the school setting we are talking about some kids who on average are processing language differently, whether they are either reading it, listening to it, producing, verbally or if they’re writing it, it’s a more difficult task than [for] the average student,” Smith said.

When diagnosing a learning disorder, Psychologist and K-12 Student Support Team Department Head Helen Jackson conducts comprehensive testing, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of a student. One of the many ways Jackson tests for a learn-

ing disorder is by comparing a student’s potential to their achievement. Determining a student’s potential is done through an IQ test, and achievement is measured through teacher observation and a range of listening, writing and memory tests.

In the United States, schools adhere to federal law when defining what is a learning disorder by these test scores, however ASL does not follow such strict guidelines. “[At] ASL we are not bound by these laws, and it is much more around what is the statistical significance of that difference between potential and achievement,” Jackson said.

When a student is diagnosed with a learning disorder the school takes certain supportive measures – said measures are typically either enrollment in the SLD program or testing accommodations.

Learning Specialist Jerri Byrom explains that the SLD program tries to “equalize the curriculum making it accessible for each student so that they can learn in the ways that are best for them, and also so they can express the information so the teacher knows what they know.”

A large part of the SLD department’s job is to act as a liaison between SLD students and their teachers. This communication is carried out with the intention of helping teachers make their curriculum accessible for all learning profiles.

World Languages and Culture Teacher Mario Rojas was struck by the SLD department’s attempts to assimilate both new teachers and their students to the curriculum when he first assumed his role at the school. What Rojas experienced is standard procedure at the beginning of each school year: Smith, or whomever is the department head that year, will explain to teachers the SLD department’s purpose and different steps teachers can take to make their courses more accessible to all learning profiles.

Beyond attempting to help teachers foster a more inclusive academic environment for SLD students, the department has other pursuits. Smith regards the process wherein they try to assuage some students’ belief that they are unintelligent compared to their peers as one of the most important aims of the department. “I see kids getting discouraged and probably what we do more than anything in SLD is try to continually validate the intelligence, fortitude and the goodness of the humanity of the kids in [the SLD program]. “[SLD students] all go to college, they all go to schools they are happy about.

They make it through knowing by the time they [graduate] ... that they’re not dumb,” Smith said.

The Stigma

ivy Scott (’17) is often called lucky.

Her reaction to this sentiment, however, is different than most would envisage: She is angered. That is because the “luck” that people note is rooted in their belief that she is receiving an unfair academic advantage.

Scott receives testing accommodations due to her mild dysgraphia, a disorder that limits one’s ability to write coherently, and testing anxiety – this is what her peers consider to be lucky. “The fact that I get two hours on an essay [that] everyone else gets an hour on is perceived to be unfair,” she said. “When I talk to people

get into college,” he said.

Emphasizing that this culture is compounded as high school progresses and the college process begins, Wilson said, “when it gets competitive, people see it [acquiring extra time] as an extra bump to get your score higher.”

Both Jackson and Smith maintain that learning disorders have no correlation with intelligence. “The SLD students may appear to be of equal intelligence to the other kids in their class and that tends to be the case because we have a lot of really smart students with intellectual skills and abilities. The problem is their process of

desirable is becoming increasingly prevalent, to the extent that some may try to manipulate the diagnosis system to gain testing accommodations. “There are people who are trying to play the system,” Jackson said.

While Jackson has heard about this type of fraud occurring in the U.S., to both her and Smith’s knowledge, this has never occurred at ASL. This is something that the department has to remain ever-vigilant about while assessing students seeking enrollment in the SLD program or accommodations.

“There are evaluation reports that we do

lege Board and ACT have adopted. While the school may sanction accommodations for students who do not have documented learning disorders, the College Board requires “a student must have documentation showing evidence of the following: The disability, the degree to which the student’s activities are affected (functional limitation) [and] the need for the specific accommodations requested.”

While the ramifications of having learning disorders varies from studentto-student, their response and attitude to their differences remain their prerogative. “I’ve always prided myself that I don’t

about it, their first reaction is, ‘oh that’s so lucky’.”

What these individuals don’t see are Scott’s struggles. Due to her dysgraphia, she finds performing tasks of verbal reasoning difficult which can, in her opinion, lead to negative perceptions of her work ethic. “I think because of my spelling and grammar being so bad I can be written off as lazy or people think I don’t try that hard,” she said.

Wilson, on the other hand, found that his peers thought he had an edge when it came to standardized testing. “It mainly got bad when things like SATs or ACTs came around when this one test score means – or is derived to mean by people – the determinant of whether or not they

getting information into their heads and getting it onto a piece of paper is different to the rest of the kids,” Smith said.

Another response that Smith is aware of is confusion: Students, he believes, get confused when their peers take tests with extra time. For some, as Wilson noted, this can be seen as an unfair advantage.

National Honor Society (NHS) President Caroline Schneider (’15) echoes Wilson’s sentiment that these beliefs are driven by the inherently competitive nature of ASL. “Seeing other people get extra time is almost like an incentive for those who don’t get extra time themselves [to try and figure out how to get it],” she said.

The trend of learning disorders and testing accommodations being viewed as

not fully accept, because we feel they are [not] robust enough, or that they are [not] the kind of evaluations that we expect,” Jackson said.

When this occurs, Jackson will reach out to the evaluators and request a more detailed report; often times, the threshold is lower in the U.S. Due to the more thorough diagnosis process at ASL, it becomes harder for the students illegitimately seeking accommodations to manipulate the system. “All the testing that is done in-house through Jackson [is] a really comprehensive evaluation,” Smith said.

One of the many repercussions of manipulating the diagnosis system is the rigorous application process that the Col-

think my [disorders] define me,” Scott said. “A learning disorder does not make or break how you are as a student, it just makes it a little bit harder,” she said.

Wilson is proud of how he’s adapted as a student because of his dyslexia, and recognizes its impact on his entire personality. “I would never turn out the way I am today if I didn’t have dyslexia. It’s a part of me. I don’t know exactly how it’s made me who I am but I know even if you changed a little thing about me, I’d be a totally different person.

“Whether that means I would’ve become confident earlier or something else, I don’t know – I don’t regret having dyslexia though, it’s just who I am,” Wilson said. “Everyone has their own little things, and that’s mine.”

WHEN IT GETS COMPETITIVE, PEOPLE SEE [EXTRA TIME] AS AN EXTRA BUMP TO GET YOUR SCORE HIGHER NICK WILSON (’15)

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

THE STANDARD | December 2014

Features

ichaela ow ghi

A look back at Maya Jotwani Nadia Sawiris

A look into the matriculation of British students into the American curriculum

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Culture

Extreme Hobbies American Culture

The British are coming

native Londoner, Zayn Daniels (’18) moved to ASL this year after attending Acton High School, a British state school, for three years. If Daniels had continued at Acton, he would be starting his General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams, his last two years of high school before beginning his A-level exams.

With the transition to ASL, Daniels has the opportunity to begin high school in the American system, with the ultimate goal of preparing himself to attend an American university.

With the desire to go to American universities, many European and local British students are moving to ASL and switching to the American curriculum.

Mimi Albanese (’16) experienced a similar situation to Daniels at her former school, Godolphin and Latymer, a British school in West London. Albanese was new to ASL at the beginning of her sophomore year; her transition coming at a logical time as she avoided the GCSE exam process and knew that ultimately she also wanted to attend an American university.

English Teacher Megan McGilchrist, who worked in the British school system prior to

•••

her current position at ASL, also recognizes an appeal to go to American universities influencing British students. McGilchrist believes that, for some students, the school is a “way in” to American universities.

As Daniels noticed, many of his classmates were motivated to switch to the American curriculum by the appeal of attending university abroad.

In addition to preparing students to apply to American universities, ASL is also appealing curriculum-wise. The electives program at ASL is something European and British students do not get to experience. Following an exam-based system, there is a certain amount of material that teachers must go through over the course of an academic year in order to prepare the students for these exams.

While the exam system is similar to AP courses, the same level of academic freedom does not exist throughout British curriculum. After Year 10 (equivalent of grade nine), all classes become exam-based, focusing students on particular courses of their choice, limiting the breadth of courses a student can take. “It is fun here, it is a lot of fun,” McGilchrist said. “It’s fun for students,

it’s fun for teachers and I think that issue of academic freedom is huge because even in a very good British school, your curriculum after tenth grade is [fairly rigid].”

American content and subject matter can also be influential in British courses.“I remember teaching Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird. I was surprised actually, at how much American literature there is on British syllabi,” McGilchrist said.

Despite the influence, McGilchrist says that it is very difficult to compare systems, as it would be like comparing “apples and oranges.”

The British system is very rigorous and there is a sense of formality which is not implied in schools such as ASL. In most British schools, all students wear uniforms, and address their teachers as either “Sir” or “Miss.”

This formality and structure is present not only within the school, but also in the exams that students take. All tests are held externally, which means they are national exams and not graded by employees of the school. In this system there is little grading pressure on teachers.

Amanda Welch (’18), who along with Daniels was new to

the High School this year, transitioned from The American School in Surrey (TASIS). TASIS, which has a smaller community compared to ASL, consists of approximately 750 students, while ASL has a student population of 1,350.

With the smaller community at TASIS, Welch felt that it was not as diverse. She did not agree that TASIS’s “community aspects” like friend-group inclusivity were very strong. In Welch’s opinion, ASL’s the academic community is also stronger, as there is more “hands-on learning” and teachers are more understanding, making the school more appealing to her learning style.

Albanese also recognized a different approach to teaching at ASL compared to her previous school. “The teachers are a lot nicer [at ASL] and have better relationships with the students and more willing to help students outside of class,” Albanese said.

“We’re the odd ones out here in terms of European education because Europe is all exam-based,” McGilchrist said. “I think a good American education and the freedom the kids have, the academic freedom and the freedom to explore, is huge.”

2 014

“I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the GREATEST GIFTS God has given me.“ Apple CEO Tim Cook announces that he is gay in an editorial for Bloomberg Businessweek on October 30.

41 1.3 million

copies of Taylor Swift’s 1989 sold in one weekbreaking the 2014 record Freshmen that came from a British school

Culture Editors’ TOP Picks Top SONGS Top TV SHOWS

1Waves – Robin Schulz 2 Game of Thrones 2 Drunk in Love - Beyonce 3 The Walking Dead 3Shake it off - Taylor Swift

1 House of Cards

Beloved actor and comedian Robin Williams died on August 11, sending waves of emotion throughout the entertainment industry.

– 4 Orange is the New Black 4 dem boyz – 5 Scandal 5We Wiz Khalifa Tuesday ILOVEMAKONNEN

148 3.3 million

“

retweets of Ellen Degeneres’ tweet of a selfie taken at the Academy Awards

Students in the high school that came from a British school

#BreaktheInternet Kim Kardashian bares all in the October issue of PAPER magazine shot

by Jean-Paul Goude

Six word stories rom left to right Phoebe errick ( ), la Sheves ( ), nglish eacher Stephan Potchatek and ibrar Administrative Assistant Steve eed.

$98.2 million donated to support Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) from the months of July to August due to the viral #ALSicebucketchallenge

[The Nobel Peace Prize] is not just for me. It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change.

“

Malala Yousafzai accepts the Nobel

Peace Prize for her work in girl’s education in her Taliban-ruled hometown in NorthWestern Pakistan on 10 October. At 17, she is the youngest recipient of the prize.

#putyourbatsout

Australian cricket player Phillip Hughes died at age 25 following being struck in the face by a ball during a match at age 25. A campaign started on Twitter to remember the cricket player. Users posted pictures of cricket bats in support of Hughes.

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

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Culture

Culture

Excessive INDULgEnce Gabriel Ruimy |

I

Temi Otedola (’15) likes to go shopping as a distraction.

t’s 1 a.m., everyone in his house has gone to bed, but he is commanding hundreds of Roman legionnaires. At his laptop that is, mindful yet undisturbed by the fact that seven hours from now he will be at One Waverley Place. But, “whatever,” he is accustomed to a small amount of sleep.

Christopher Vann (’15) admits he casually indulges in reading or video games, particularly novel fiction and single-player historical strategy games like Total War, but when it becomes detrimental in any way, he knows how to stop. He, in short, procrastinates

eral scheduling of his procrastination comes with excessive reading followed by completion of his assignments and homework, which sometimes affords him time to play video games. Never, he stresses, does he forgo sociability, work, or food – as he places them in order of ascending importance – to play or read.

Vann’s casual binging, in fact, is a welcome break from a hefty senior workload. “It’s an escape from work, but always in reason,” he said. Though he admits sometimes, with a hyperbolical laugh, that a book can turn half of an

them, then I’ll go out for dinner, come back and play for another two to three hours,” Marouf said.

When alone, this also happens.

“I’d spend four hours on a Saturday night [playing FIFA],” Marouf said, and then, looking at the clock in the dead of night, “I ask myself, ‘what did I just do?’”

But Marouf points out that he doesn’t feel a particular addiction to the game, and that it is just filling a void. He has spare time, and he wants a hobby: “I get to relax and play something that I like with FIFA. If I didn’t have that, I would have to find another game.”

there are points where I wish I'D [say] 'No, sleep!’

Christopher Vann (’15)

Amin Ojjeh (’16) eats for pleasure incessantly.

Jackie Hess (’16) likes to casually binge watch TV.

excessively: When he finds time – sometimes through, procrastination –, whether it be 30 minutes or six hours, he will read or he will play.

Addicted? Not particularly so.

Vann said, “I wouldn’t say I’m addicted because I can stop when I want to.” Although he said, “there are points where I wish I’d [say], ‘No, sleep!’” His ability to stop at will, and a consequent independence from what he does binge on, makes independent from his habit. Yes, he will spend hours playing video games instead of sleeping, but when he needs to stop, he will stop.

“It’s never had a physical negative effect on me, but I’ll procrastinate by playing hours or reading way too much,” he said. The gen-

hour into four.

Mahmoud Marouf (’17) does his homework every night, goes out on the weekend to see friends, and never compromises daily obligations, such as meals and hygiene. However, when any time can be found, even at the expense of sleep, he will fill it with a few, or many, online matches of FIFA15 – the latest installment in EA Games soccer video game series.

During the week, Marouf controls himself and prioritizes homework, playing up to 30 minutes a day – once again, the lack of detriment accompanying his excessive hobby marks it as a hobby rather than an addiction. However, “on the weekends, sometimes it might get out of hand, if friends come over I’ll play two hours with

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asual binging, synonymous with procrastination, is a common occurrence for most teenagers – almost universally. But however much time it might devour from an individual, the condition that it is not an addiction marks it from more harmful irregularities, such as Binge Eating Disorder (BED).

Binge eating, as the medical label suggests, is a formal disorder associated with individuals who physically cannot stop themselves from eating. Overindulgence, with food in this case, creates a chemical response in the body: Each time a binge eater hereafter eats, the brain will release dopamine and opioids that make eating physically addictive.

Nadia Sawiris |

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ideo games, TV shows, eating, and many other hobbies turn from semi-addictive recreations to full-fledged dependences once consumed enough.

This cerebral nature, as psychology websites like psychologytoday.com point out, create the recreation that can enthrall individuals for hours on end. Whatever a person enjoys doing, in short, could easily turn into a physical addiction.

Amin Ojjeh (’16) considers himself to be a excessive eater. “I love food, I eat all the time, It’s like a hobby of mine,” he said. Ojjeh not only eats when he is hungry, but when he is bored. Ojjeh sees food as a source of distraction when he is working. “I’m usually up until midnight because of work so I sometimes take breaks and go downstairs to the kitchen to find some food and eat a little bit and then continue working,” he said.

He is not always conscious of the amount of food he is eating.“If I’m eating for the fun of eating, I eat a lot and don’t realize it,” he said.

However, “I realize how much I ate and think ‘Oh my God, I ate so much.’” Though he loves food and is constantly eating, he thinks of this as an unharmful hobby that he can stop if he tried to, a casual binge.

However, it wasn’t always as such, when he was younger, he had the same eating habits yet never exercised. A few years ago he changed the nature of his habit by exercising. “[How much I ate] was part of the reason which got me to exercise excessively, which balances out with my eating habits,” he said.

Extreme consumption also extends to activities that are more addictive, like television watching.

TV series often become the object of extreme procrastination and casual binging, due to their seemingly endless nature. One episode slowly morphs into the next and

into the next until what a rational conscious promised would be only 30 minutes turns into three hours.

For Jackie Hess (’16), this occurred over the space of a week, when she completed the entirety of the TV show Friday Night Lights, five seasons of over 60 hours of running time, in the space of seven days.

“I tell myself ‘I’m just going to watch another 40 minutes’... But then when I’m done, I ask myself ‘where did [the] time go?’” Hess said. This is often a result of what differentiates these binging lures from other forms of recreations: Where video games like Vann’s promise endless campaigns, the TV shows Hess and millions of other teenagers enjoy employ cliffhangers to keep viewers virtually hooked.

Perhaps indicative of an addiction, it in fact isn’t, as Hess confirms she can stop herself when it matters – when sleep, work, or whatever other task becomes incumbent.

However, Hess acknowledges that she often succumbs to the temptation of TV shows. “I binge watch TV a lot whenever there’s a break and I always catch up on seasons of TV shows,” she said.

Hess believes that excessive consumption of TV shows is not a fundamental issue at ASL, though “a lot of people at ASL do it,” especially when spare time is handy, such as weekends and breaks. She credits the number of extreme TV consumers to the advent of streaming websites such as Netflix. veryone has their form of procrastination, ranging from excessive usage of websites like Reddit to the incessant consumption of food. For Temi Otedola (’15), however, this usually comes in the form of online shopping. “I could online shop for hours,” she said.

Otedola’s online shopping habits, though, are not a consumer tendency as much as a form of casual binging. “I’m not even shopping, I’m just looking at stuff,” she said.

Her self-proclaimed indecisiveness coupled with procrastination then consume hours from her until she finds what she wants, which, ironically, “I’ll look at a million other pieces of clothes and finally it’s the first one I saw that I buy.”

For Otedola, online shopping is a form of escape, retail therapy, as she puts it. “It’s just mindless.

If I’m really stressed, it just relaxes me,” she said. rocrastination can often be a beneficial thing, a time where students can pause and take a breath between assignments. But often that breath can stretch for many hours, eventually consuming time required for assignments. Extreme procrastination is just that: When individuals and students indulge in something to the extreme, spending hours on a book, evenings on video games, or days shopping. It can be detrimental, but as Otedola points out, “I could be doing more important things, like work, but apart from that, it’s fine as long as you don’t go overboard!” The question remains as to what is overboard.

P

ahmoud arouf ( video games.

Christopher ann (

) binge pla s

) sta s up late at night to read.

E

ackie ess (

), along with other students at AS use et i to gorge on their favorite

shows.

Culture Commentary n o i t u l o v The e s e i v o m o of books t Dana Marderstein

d the detail structure and lacke e th of cts pe as t g differen of the novel. exalta- and seein earts are filled with f true to m their point of view. fro ie ov m The movie started of ar he ers e lov th e ok se bo to en g wh tin tion the Greek It is also interes e book, as it brought orite th fav rs eir to th rec at di th e ws th ne the s and visdecisions ythological character ovie. creative m m a eto m in so e e ar ad m ich be ver, I was make, wh novel will l effects to life. Howe t at and actors ua bu t, ren pe em ’s or cit th ex au of e s rent the ges to th There is lot ocked by how diffe uc- times chan sh rel be ov ay m m e s th fan In e l. ve their no ovie by the the same tim es to spective in book was from the m m d co it ere en alt r wh to it rec di tch at the port, the tant to wa r in ie Divergen end. I was also amazed fea a ch is su , ere ok Th bo e n. th ree t out or blatails from the big sc tions the director lef at the small de th ist ds on in ag m ot eir pr th e th of izing was slightly the back me- as emphas tantly changed and I so er ov all p s. m ter sto ac ll her char I walked out director wi uch over the ot disappointed when m y so t all tu en ac sp ve s ha ge chan ng more of thing they These hout of the theater, expecti ug ro in Th as er. ie, ov ov g m in time pour engthened the become the str l about the movie. ovie born the years, books have ng too much detai di clu As far as seeing a m . ies ov m in r t fo ul sis res ba d d ul an wo n ters u had read motivatio The other charac from a book that yo es d ak m an d ok cte bo ra a ot r pr ve is too ld not be Whene t my a film that and loved, you shou lis er ym ell d sts ke be as I es n m Ti tio even though The ques New York too critical because hen is tedious. y ‘w rit is, teg t in gh e ou th t th no e er or e story line immediat ’ Out self is wheth they are from the sam t? e ou e Th m d. co ne to g tai in ain go m ed individuok was the movie they should be judg novels of the bo t e ul th ad te g ita un im yo to 10 ve p ies should d not ha of the to ally. Books and mov stsell- movie di be pes ca m s Ti wa rk do Yo to w the writer, it needed on The Ne show off the talent of made book, all . en t be en ve rg ha ve Di six of t, e lis nc e esse They should ing novels ger ture the tru director, and actors. lon cno su s s ok wa at Bo th . k ies in the same. me, I th into mov not be considered t now If you ask bu s ok bo st ju as ne with the stand alo Sometimes you agree eding cessful. ec rs pr to e th rec s, di se en ca t wh os d and someare, in m I do not min director’s decisions books gh ok ou bo th e Al . th ies of ov s m scripts to e out portion , times you do not. ore detailed tak t central to the plot s are no no e are undoubtedly m ar ich wh It seems as if book e an id e ov pr tak to ies e ov cid m , de ies ey e sole purr times th than mov longer written for th k: Vis- but othe lac dls clu ve in no e rs, th de rea ich e that th t are shaped aspect wh pose of writing, bu to see out parts g e in th cit es ex uc ely red m is tre Th ex , love. s of how enuals. It is by a heavy awarenes len in ing myself fal dve rea ha e I th at in th s th wi ter d ac as a movie. the char emotions invoke tertaining it could be reen. sc ne on tli e ou lif to sic e ba m e co th iting books g only love with Authors should be wr in Our er, leavin s t ul nt Fa ne e po Th m co ok all bo t e tic passion In th ry. No because of their artis tween of the sto be ge ip pa sh m on fro ati on rel iti e ns should not e the tra Stars, th for writing and they Augus- can mak s, ere ter th ac ss ar ele ch rth ain ve m ne success and n, and the two be focused on the e, was to scree ac r ve Gr l we ze ho Ha t, d los an g in rs ll be gained tus Wate ays someth recognition that wi lling. In is alw pe m r. co we d vie an e g th tin ting to the story to captiva from transitioning of the disappoin o y tw rc e Pe ar e th ey of th , ie ov ion of writing a my opin In the first m a movie. The value l in love se fal s to an s pi ter ym ac Ol ar e ch trinsic, and and th easiest book should be in layed in Jackson e sp th di , ly ar ief cle Th s g wa in is tn potential to e Ligh with. Th not influenced by its if you ries, Th as of t os ng di alm s en e wa th It d ie. ge the mov rectors chan become a movie. acters, feeling di ich, reshaped the wh ry, were the actual char sto e th experienced the emotions they

H

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

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Culture the American (?) school in london Zack Ashley

ASL, as stated in its title, is an American school, albeit one that will always be unique in terms of its location and demographics. As the school continues to stress the importance of diversity and global citizenship, a question arises: Has ASL come to an identity crisis, regarding whether the school is in fact an American school, or rather an international school, with certain aspects of an American curriculum?

Curriculum Social Studies Teacher Mike McGowan is new this year and, prior to his arrival at ASL, taught at three different schools in the United States. McGowan believes that ASL is more American in teaching style than his previous schools. “I’d say ASL is more American than any school I’ve taught at. I feel like ASL is specifically trying to fit into a category about what it means to be American and, in terms of curriculum, I feel like it’s very self-conscious of trying to be an American educational experience,” he said.

Head of School Coreen Hester agrees that ASL has an American curriculum, but believes that the school tries to implement a global perspective lens to this as well. “I always say that ASL is a hybrid of public and private American schools and an international school.

Our curriculum is essentially American,” she said. “I think we use the global perspective lens when we do the curriculum; we want to make sure that we are injecting into English and History classrooms a few different cultures, voices and religions.”

Hester, along with Director of Curriculum Roberto d’Erizans, sees the ultimate goal, in terms

of curriculum, as making sure students get into, and are prepared for, college. The majority of ASL students look to attend college in the United States, so ASL’s curriculum has to cater to that. Many families decide to send their children to ASL, specifically for this reason.

However, d’Erizans stresses that, while designing the curriculum, the school simply uses the most up-to-date benchmarks for different departments, which come from a variety of countries.

“In science,

we’re beginning to study the next generation science standards out of the U.S. because it’s the most recent work that’s internationally benchmarked,” he said.

“However, just yesterday my counterpart [Assistant Director of Curriculum] Alethea Young looked at Ontario’s curricu-

lum for literacy and New South Wales’; and these other curriculums that are very well known.

What I would emphasize is that we do our homework to make sure what we adopt and what we align ourselves to, is the best.” d’Erizans also stresses that the school is continuously looking to incorporate the global perspective aspect into its curriculum citing the introduction o f non tradi-

al is via experiential interaction with London. “I think [there has been a] whole push over the past few years about the service learning of our curriculum, whether its just in health or the after-school program, [as] a way to get to know London,” he said.

Culture Despite the multitude of ethnicities and nationalities represented amongst the faculty and student body, approximately 75 percent of the ASL population is still an American.

“I have a 9-yearold son, he and I walk t o

school everyday, and he’s walking in his Nike basketCH ball shoes, shorts, Y NBA shirt and we walk K C I M

by British kids going to BY C RT N school and they’re in uniforms,” tional McGowan said. “The closer we english electives, get to ASL, the more kids we see such as Latin American Litera- who look like my son. I think in ture. terms of dress it’s much more Another way d’Erizans be- American than international. I lieves the curriculum is at- think certainly if you look at the tempting to become more glob- Lower and Middle schools it’s K

THE STANDARD | December 2014

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like a little America over there.”

Ben Hewett (’17), who is of British nationality, feels similarly in that there are aspects of the school that have an international feel, but overall it is very American. “A lot of my friends aren’t American so in that sense it’s international. But we are the American School in London, [the administration] want to give it the idea of being international but let’s be real here, we are American,” he said. Hewett cites instances of pop culture and the Booster Club as especially American aspects of the school.

Despite recognizing ASL’s Lower and Middle school as a microcosm of America, McGowan does also notice that students at the school have a different perspective than those from his previous schools in America.

“Certainly with the student body it’s a much more cosmopolitan point of view than what I’m accustomed to as students are coming from a lot of different backgrounds,” he said.

Hester, however, does believe that there is room for improvement in expanding the schools global perspective. In realizing this, she also notices that we have a large number of available resources for us to take advantage of in improving this. “I think we have to make sure, particularly here, that we use London,” she said. “We happen to be in a city that is global. We don’t have to even leave the outskirts of London to have a global perspective, because we live in such an international city.”

Despite potentially feeling excluded as a more international student in, what he would describe, a very American school, Hewett does not see a need for change. “We are majority American, why would we change that for the minority? If I really didn’t like how American it was I could leave, [but] I’m fine with it.”

European Championships 2003-2004 Gold medalist Johan Max Obermayer (’04) for 2004 European Championship

Underclassmen athletes impress at ISSTs

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he fall sports season ended with the varsity girls soccer and volleyball placing first in ISSTs, varsity boys soccer and volleyball placing second in ISSTs and field hockey placing fourth.

The fall season showed that the future of ASL sports is bright and looking towards the future, the results are bound to be similar due to the plethora of underclassmen competing in their respective sports. Underclassmen made significant impacts in both ISSTs and LSSAs, and were imperative to the JV and varsity squads’ successes.

Riley Evans (’17) alone scored four out of the 10 goals for varsity girls soccer, playing an integral role in the team’s success and ultimate gold medal.

Abby Ball (’17), an ISST alltournament winner, was one of six sophomores on the gold medal-winning varsity girls volleyball team this year. Ball attributes a lot of the team’s success to their chemistry.

Jack Jameson | Staff Writer

“It did help that we had played with each other before, a lot of the girls play on a club team together and we had also played in middle school together as well,” she said.

Although Ball would like to improve as an individual on the team, she believes teamwork and

“There was no real tension between upperclassmen and underclassmen” John Castello (’18) team progression takes precedence over individual skill. “Volleyball is a team sport, you can’t just rely on one person, it’s a whole team effort to be successful,” she said.

Even though the team consisted of different age groups and experienced the addition of new players, Ball felt the team had a positive atmosphere and believes that because of this, the team had more success during the season and ultimately during ISSTs. “I

think there are really good relationships between teammates this year,” she said.

JV cross country runner John Castello (’18) excelled as an individual runner this past season and praised the cross country program.

Referring to the freshmen and sophomores on the team, Castello said, “I think they did pretty well, but there is definitely room for improvement, but they definitely do have a lot of potential.”

Castello admits that the cross country season was tough, shown by the fierce competition at ISSTs. However, he wants to build a strong work ethic and progress as a runner.

“There was no real tension between upperclassmen and underclassmen, it was kind of just one team, grade didn’t really matter, they [upperclasmen] give you respect as a person, not your grade,”he said.

Castello believes that camaraderie was a leading factor for the team’s success in the past season.

Similar to Ball, he believes that the player’s abilities to connect with each other attributed to the team’s overall success.

Owen Gaynor (’17) and Shaun Franz (’17), were two sophomores on varsity boys soccer. Along with four freshmen, the team was the youngest it has been in a long time, however, the potential was clearly demonstrated as the team managed to reach the finals of ISSTs, only to be narrowly beaten

by ACS Cobham, and to win a silver medal.

Despite the considerable age differences in the squad, Franz believes the team possessed a strong work ethic. “Everyone worked really well together, and the freshmen show a lot of potential for the future years,” he said.

Gaynor expressed his support for the freshmen and believes they had a strong season. “They really put in the work for us, they didn’t complain, they did what they had to do, and they’d grind through it if they had to,” he said.

Mia Holtze (’18) played goal-

keeper Mentioning the chemistry between the upper and underclassmen, Holtze said, “They were very inclusive and worked well together.” She believes that team bonding was a major factor in the the succesful season.

As proven by its sports teams performances at ISSTs, ASL is full of ambitious young athletes who are forming relationships that will extend beyond their elevated team performances.

Underclassmen played a pivotal role on varsity teams and JV teams, and are ushering in a new era of ASL sports, one of extreme promise and potential.

ISST Underclassmen All-Tournament Honors

Abby Ball (’17) Taegan Kopfler (’17) Maya Matejcek (’17) Harry Nevins (’18) Livy Scott (’17)

in the appointment of a new assistant coach for girls basketball, while Grade 11 Dean Jennifer Craig was made the new JV Girls Basketball Assistant Coach.

Girls Basketball hen Grade 11 Dean and JV Girls Basketball Coach Jennifer Craig graduated from Amherst College, a college soccer player and rower, the prospect of ultimately becoming The Hotchkiss School’s varsity girls basketball coach seemed a remote possibility. Prior to her first job in a basketball environment, Craig admits she had rarely played the sport competitively.

“I really think of myself more as a soccer player, but my second year of teaching I was a soccer coach, and they needed somebody to help with the basketball program. I played a ton of pick-up basketball growing up but I think I played one year of organized basketball,” Craig said.

Since then, Craig has accumulated over 20 years of experience as a basketball coach, serving as the Varsity Girls Basketball Coach at Hotchkiss for eight years. After becoming an administrator at the school in 2008, however, Craig was forced to allocate more time to her new role, consequently resulting in her stepping down as head coach. However, Craig remained on the varsity girls team as an assistant coach for the following six years.

Craig’s most significant accomplishment with Hotchkiss remains reaching the New England Region Girls Basketball Tournament. Despite losing in the first round, participating in the tournament was a great honor for the team, an achievement the school had failed to achieve in the 12 years prior to Craig’s appointment.

Intent on instilling a strong work ethic amongst the JV team, Craig admits the concreteness of

coaching and ability of a group to work collaboratively t o -

R

2006-2007

Excited by the prospect of working with Head Coach Josh Davis, a former three-time ISST winner with St. Johns International School, Callaway believes Davis’ prolific experience will play an integral role in their success at ISSTs. “[Davis] understands as a former athlete at St. Johns and threetime ISST winner exactly what we need to win and his goal is for us to win ISSTs,” Callaway said. ecently settled into his new role as Varsity Boys Basketball Assistant Coach, Rich Harris is intent on instilling a motivated work ethic amongst the team. Having played college basketball at Southwestern College in Kansas, and coaching student athletes since 1996, Harris’ experience with basketball is plentiful.

“My principle for coaching is for the kids to always give the maximum effort that they can.

To work harder than anyone else, and if they have that kind of spirit, it’s going to create a great team atmosphere,” he said.

Although Harris believes a successful season does not necessarily entail winning ISSTs, he hopes to implement an atmosphere wherein players exhibit grace and commitment on the court, no matter the outcome of the game.

“Success would be leaving every game, or at the end of the season, saying we couldn’t have done more.”

A feat he believes needs to be maintened throughout the entire season, Harris wants the players to form relationships that will extend beyond the confines of the court.

“We’ve got some new guys on the team, and it’s [going] to take a while to fit in, so helping those guys fit in as quickly as we can will help our team,” Harris said.

Changes to the basketball program have not been solely limited to the boys basketball team however. Harris’ departure resulted

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8 boys

Sebastian Mayr | Jonny Sheves |

Above: Coach Josh Davis Right: Anton Foy (’15) Below: Coach JenniferCraig

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20 boys

tepping onto the court in what would be his last tryout for the High School basketball team, James Callaway (’15) brushed aside the lingering reality: Of the varsity boys’ previous 12 players, four had graduated, while two had moved on to other schools. The departure of Head Coach Joe Chodl and Assistant Coach Terry Gladis further added to the departures, and marked the end of a management era that lasted for three years.

“It certainly brings to issue just losing four senior guys each who were really good basketball players, and each who were skilled in different aspects of the game. Fortunately it wasn’t like my sophomore year where we lost eight kids. It was nothing of that magnitude, which is something definitely to take motivation from,” Callaway said.

Reflecting upon his previous two years on the team, Callaway believes the varsity boys’ hard work ethic coupled with a tight defensive display were integral aspects of Chodl and Gladis’ coaching philosophies.

Callaway also holds the team’s work ethic to be true for the majority of sports at ASL: Despite at times not possessing the greatest skillset collectively in comparison to the opposition, ASL teams place strong emphasis on a solid fitness base.

“We were always the team, who, whether or not we had the most talent with the ball, always worked the hardest, always ran for every loose ball and always outworked the other teams,” Callaway said.

Into his third and final year on varsity boys basketball, Callaway hopes the team members will integrate better with each other this year. Despite forming cohesive relationships on the court the previous years, he believes the team chemistry outside practice was lacking. Intent on instilling an improved sense of collaboration and collectiveness, Callaway maintains the issue can be resolved through organizing more social events such as Friday team dinners.

BY

translate into academic and everyday life. “Many of the wrestlers were high profile students,” Mazzenga said. Not only were these athletes well known and respected, but also good students who knew the importance of hard work.

Zubin Jotwani (’16), who wrestled at the American School in Japan, recognizes the benefits associated with the sport through his personal experiences. “There was a big fitness aspect to [wrestling], I learned how to grind my way

2003-2004

Boys Basketball

O

tors and spectators alike.

Brodie Craig (’18), lived on New England boarding school, Hotchkiss’ campus for his entire life, and he believes wrestlers were known and respected around the entire school.“There was a big turnout for wrestling matches. It’s so physical, it attracts huge crowds,” he said.

Craig saw how the community recognized the work and devotion that wrestlers had put into their sport, team and body.

The sport’s values and lessons

Wrestling team members

A

OT PH

ASL wrestling team 2007: The program was terminated the year after

through when I thought I couldn’t go on anymore,” Jotwani said.

The main style of wrestling in America is Collegiate style. It developed from a combination of traditional Native American and various European styles brought to America through immigrants. Folk style wrestling is purely an American sport, and has remained a classic to this day.

Mazzenga believes that wrestling plays an important role in the American high school culture, and is a significant aspect of the community.

“There would definitely be an interest in a team, people would enjoy more sport variety,” Craig said.

Jack DeNoma (’16) was a wrestler for his school in Pennsylvania, and he believes that if enough interest was generated, a wrestling team could be possible.

“Wrestling could start like lacrosse, with only a small club, but could gain support and develop into a team at ASL,” Mazzenga said.

Sports

HI BOTTOM X GAND PHO TO

H

igh School English Teacher Mark Mazzenga vividly remembers the infamous wrestler and valedictorian Craig Mullaney for crashing into Bishop Hendricken High School clad in sweatpants, ankle weights, and a trash bag after his morning run.

The “relentless” Rocky Balboalike Mullaney often ran to school, both in and out of the wrestling season to stay in peak shape. His devout discipline and attire created an image that stuck with Mazzenga.

Mazzenga’s high school memory exemplifies the typical image of high school wrestling: Tough, disciplined and physical.

The High School currently does not have a wrestling team, but it has in the past. Some students think that a wrestling team at ASL would be successful, and serve as a good alternative to the limited winter sports selection.

Wrestling’s sheer physicality demands hard work and dedication, and it draws respect from competi-

Harry Morris | Staff Writer

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Wrestlers call for return of program

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

wards a comm o n goal, enticed her to originally become a basketball coach.

“There is something really special about working with a group of students who are working towards some type of performance,” Craig said.

Craig’s ability to pool players together and form a cohesive team has been a clear source of her previous successes at Hotchkiss. “We probably overachieved because of the way we worked together, not because we were this great juggernaut of a team,” Craig said.

Undergoing a period of reform, the basketball teams will

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have to prove their resiliency and ability to adjust to the departure of past players and coaches.

Although Callaway believes the changes to the boys basketball team do not compare with those experienced two years ago, he maintains the importance of team bonding for a successful season.

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

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THE STANDARD | December 2014

fade away, which I was afraid of in that I’m still part of the team, only that I’m not playing, and that has really saved me in this whole experience,” he said.

While practicing for his club team, Westside, months ago, Nelson Boachie-Yiadom (’17) went up for a layup - like Parnell - and collided with another player, resulting in pain in one of his ribs.

Boachie-Yiadom at first thought the pain was from his muscles or his spine, disregarding it and

capable of completing even the most basic physical tasks, such as exercise. “I think not being able to exercise will be difficult because I love exercising. I also do crossfit and I can’t do that,” she said.

Due to the severe nature of her injury, Parnell will undergo surgery in late December. What particularly makes Parnell anxious is the disruption to what she considers a given component of her daily life, “It’s going

soccer, Evans broke her wrist, causing her to miss the rest of the season, including ISSTs. Following her recovery from the broken wrist, bad luck struck again for Evans.

One day during practice for varsity girls basketball, Evans was standing as a teammate took a free-throw. The shot airballed and landed right on Evans’ head, causing a concussion. Evans would miss out on the remainder of the season, including ISSTs.

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Sports

change that, and winning I wish I could be a part of that,” he said.

As a result of his extended break from basketball, BoachieYiadom’s focus shifted elsewhere “I’ve got more time to do more homework, and grades have gone up which is good,” he said.

This improvement in academic performance that Boachie-Yiadom notes is shared by Parnell. With basketball no longer consuming the bulk of her time, she plans to dedicate herself to schoolwork to

going mental recovery. “What really is carrying me through this injury is the rugby team.

Without all of those guys and the coaches and the captains and the players, I would not be able to get up in the morning.

“And it’s the fact that they still consider me a team member, that I am so dedicated and so motivated to get back from this injury as quickly as I can,” Skow said.

Parnell shares Skow’s opti-

I was thinking ‘why is this happening?

This shouldn’t be happening.’

From left to right: Nelson Boachie-Yiadom (’17), Riley Evans (’17), Andrew Skow (’17) and Je’Anna Parnell (’15).

Broken Seasons Yarra Elmasry | James Malin |

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hen Je’Anna Parnell (’15) reached out to catch the basketball to complete a layup - as she had done many times - she did not know it would spell the end of her high school basketball career.

What ensued seemed to occur in slow motion for Parnell.

“My knee twisted - I felt it twist one way, then twist another way.

Then I fell on the floor,” she said.

A sharp, involuntary scream reverberated around the gym; her coaches huddled around her, concern etched on their faces.

These concerns proved to be

warranted: Athletic Trainer Jenny Newell rushed to the gym to attend to Parnell, and, following a brief examination of her knee, understood the injury was very serious.

As the shock of the injury began to subside, Parnell began to comprehend her situation. “In my mind I was thinking ‘why is this happening? This shouldn’t be happening’,” she said.

Parnell’s doctor’s appointment had a difficult conclusion: /her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was torn.“It’s upsetting because basketball is my favorite sport

and it’s my senior year, and I’m not going to play in college so it’s my last time to ever play basketball,” Parnell said.

During a JV rugby game, Andrew Skow (’17) planted his left foot in an attempt to change direction. Instead of turning, however, he was met with immense pain; his foot remained stationary as his cleats were stuck in the ground, causing his lower femur to twist. His knee - unlike his foot - didn’t remain stationary: It twisted, thus tearing his ACL. “Based on the sound and the crippling effect of the injury, I knew

that something bad had happened, but not to what extent,” he said.

While his injury occurred during a JV rugby game, the first moment of realization was not related to ASL rugby; instead, his mind looked toward the coming weekend. “That weekend I had a tryout for my county [Middlesex] team, the second trials, and I knew that I couldn’t go to that.

That realization hit me first,” he said.

Once Skow connected the dots and figured out that he wouldn’t be able to go to the Middlesex try-

out, he experienced a multitude of emotions. “It was shock, it was fear, it was panic to the extent of what had happened because I knew that the effect would be adverse.”

Although Skow will not be able to participate physically throughout the entire rugby season, he has been attending practices and assisting his coaches by voicing his opinion on things he has observed. Additionally, Skow was afraid that he would not be as close with his teammates as before due to his injury. However, “the camaraderie didn’t really

JE’ANNA PARNELL (’15)

continuing to play. While playing he found it very painful when going up for rebounds, especially when players pushed him in the ribs. The pain extended to his daily life at home, too. “If I moved in my bed I could feel it [the pain] in my back.”

When the pain continued for a few months, he went to the hospital to get an x-ray, showing that he had bent one of his ribs, which would keep him out of action for six weeks.

As Boachie-Yiadom’s injury coincided with the beginning of tryouts, he was unable to participate.. “It’s been tough. I’ve been sitting on the sideline trying to watch, and it’s really sad because I want to play with my teammates,” Boachie-Yiadom said. Even though he is unable to play, he attends tryouts as well as practices to encourage his teammates. “[The injury] is allowing me to sit on the sidelines, and I’ve been trying to encourage my teammates during this tryout, especially because it’s been very hard this year,” he said.

However,Boachie-Yiadom found reassurance in the knowledge he’d be able to resume action soon. He was able to start playing the week before Thanksgiving break with minimal pain, and quickly regained the pleasure of “being able to dunk again.”

In addition to missing out on basketball, Parnell, an avid exerciser, will be in-

to change everything about how I work out,” she said.

Things that she used to take for granted, such as comfort, are now hard to come by. “My leg is uncomfortable no matter of its position. It’s something that probably won’t go away for a while. When I’m sleeping I can only be in a certain position for me to be somewhat comfortable,” she said.

Despite not being able to play, Parnell hopes to remain part of the team in some form. Newell believes that it is incumbent upon her as the school’s trainer to assist injured athletes to feel they still belong to the team. “One of the onuses on me and the coach is to help an athlete still feel that they’re a part of the team and able to participate up to the level that they can, safely.

“The wonderful thing about athletics is that there is such a range within every game of things that you can contribute to, being on the court or not being on the court,” she said. Newell also emphasises the importance of longterm injured athletes seeing their game through a player-coach mentality, thus allowing them to view the game from a different perspective.

Riley Evans (’17) is no stranger to the physio’s table. Early in her freshman season for varsity girls

This year - Evans’ sophomore year - she’d find herself injured again. In the final group stage game of varsity girls soccer’s ISST campaign against Frankfurt International School (FIS), Evans sprained her ankle. This time, however, she refused to let the injury consign her to the sidelines. “[My ankle] got really swollen and bruised, but I was able to play through the rest of the tournament.” This determination was soon validated: Varsity girls soccer went on to win the tournament, with Evans scoring in the final against Cairo American College (CAC).

While Evans did her best to continue playing during girls soccer ISSTs, the magnitude of Skow’s injury rendered him unable to finish the match.

Skow has found it very hard to manage mentally since his injury.

“It is a heavy toll not being able to play, having to go to games and watch the team,” he said. Regardless of the result, Skow’s experience is tinged with regret. “[When we lose] I feel that I could have contributed something to

the same extent as she would athletics. “I’m focusing on school. I have time - I’m just sitting around, icing my leg,” she said.

As Newell said, the injured athlete’s involvement in the team does not begin and end with playing. Skow believes the rugby team’s continued inclusion of him in the team is helping his on-

mistic, forward-looking attitude. As stressed by her mother following the confirmation of her injury, basketball is not everything. “I keep telling myself that everything happens for a reason and even though I might not know what that reason is, there is a reason out there,” Parnell said.

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Sports

THE STANDARD | December 2014

Wrestling Changes in basketball

INSIDE THE MINDS OF INJURED ATHLETES Yarra Elmasry James Malin

PHOTO COURTESY OF YARRA ELMASRY