Issue 2 2017-2018

focus: “December stress” page 6

The Student Voice DECEMBER 12, 2017 | ISSUE 2, VOLUME 33 | THE BUCKLEY SCHOOL | 3900 STANSBURY AVENUE | SHERMAN OAKS, CA 91423

INSIDE VOLLEYBALL TAKES HOME 02

CAMPUS: Students and faculty kneel in protest

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CAMPUS: SoCal fires lead to school closure

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OFF-CAMPUS: Mission Statement compared to other schools

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A&E: Artist of the Month: Kate Blaylock

STUDENT

PU SE What do you do during the Pledge of Allegiance/ National Anthem?

CIF CHAMPIONSHIP!

ColetteKanbarian’19 CelineFarhadi’19 campus editors WyattMiller’20 staff reporter It took 39 years for the girls volleyball team to return to the CIF Finals and 85 years for them to leave with a ring. After a tense, four-set win against Capistrano Valley Christian on Friday, Nov. 6, Captain Senior Caroline Bloch’s hit narrowly landed on the back line, closing out their 2324 lead in the fourth set, ending the game in the Griffins’ favor, 3-1.

The six girls on the court fell to the floor in disbelief as the five on the bench sprinted to join their te ammates.

Head of Athletics Kerry Ku l i s e k jumped into the first-year Head Coach Anthony Mezzavilla’s arms, as the two laughed, taking in the immensity of the moment.

The Capistrano Valley Christian fans went silent.

“I remember feeling like everything was happening in super speed,” Bloch said.

The Griffins won the first set 2517, but the reason for the Eagles’ 27-5 overall record soon became clearer as Junior Florida State beach volleyball commit Keara Rutz began to heat up, ending with 29 kills overall. In the second set, the Eagles retaliated with a 25-21 win. The Griffins were able to narrowly close out the match, though, with two 25-23 wins.

Coming off an unexpected 3-2

libero positions, respectively, for the fourth consecutive year. The team’s Juniors, Celine Farhadi, middle, and Sabrina Yadidi, setter, also started for the third year in a row, giving the team an edge as far as experience with each other.

“Our strengths definitely include our court chemistry and trust. By the championship match,

we had mastered our libero-setteroutside hitter connection among many others. Moreover, from day one of season, we have always trusted each other’s ability and skill on the court,” said Bloch of her relationship with Antebi.

Additionally, Antebi said, “Caroline Bloch continued to be a leader on and off

t h e cour,” Bloch

said.

Bloch takes pride in her leadership with Antebi, describing their partnership as extraordinary and effective.

This season, the team rallied behind new Head Coach Anthony Mezzavilla, who was vital to their success this year, according to Antebi. The girls’ raw talent and dedication coupled with Mezzavilla’s

coaching resulted in the girls volleyball team’s first CIF win.

Mezzavilla brought a new coaching style and positive attitude that the players seemed to have responded well to. He went to UCLA and admired the Head Coach of Basketball, so like John Wooden, “I never use ‘win’ in the locker room. Our goal was not necessarily to win CIF [...] but, it was to execute our game plan and us playing in our system every step of the way [...] Great teams stay focused on little goals,” Mezzavilla said.

Assistant Coach Rae Basmagian, commends Mezzavilla’s coaching talents. She believes that the big difference between his coaching style and that of former Head Coach Julianne Piggott is the strong focus on improving defense this year, allowing the girls to make defensive plays that they would never have been able to pull off last year. Additionally, she believes that his emphasis on the mental game contributed greatly to their success.

After the game, Coach Mezavilla was informed by the announcers that every one of his defensive players had digs in the double digits.

“You tell me defense doesn’t win championships,” Mezzavilla triumphantly told his team after the match.

According to Antebi and Sophomore Annika Reff, the team’s talent and dedication were displayed throughout the season, leading to their unprecedented victory.

Basmagian returns to CIF Finals after 39 years

Courtesy of Buckley Images

167 responses collected Dec. 5-11

win in the semi-finals against the favored Upland Christian, the girls knew they had the potential to make history, according to Sophomore outside hitter Annika Reff.

Bloch, leading as Captain for the second year, and fellow Captain Senior Sophie Antebi played in their outside hitter and

DylanPrince’19 staff reporter In the Autumn of 1978, the Buckley Girls volleyball team

arrived at the school’s first ever CIF championship game. After five years of coaching at Buckley, Head Coach Rae Basmagian had led her team through an undefeated league season to get to this moment. But twenty-five minutes later, the team experienced their first ever CIF Championship loss.

Over three decades later, Basmagian once again accompanied Buckley Girls Volleyball to CIF championships after another undefeated league season. This

time, over an hour and a half later, Buckley had experienced their first ever CIF Championship win.

Basmagian notes how the game as well as Buckley have evolved significantly since her coaching years. When Basmagian started working at Buckley in 1973, girls athletics were largely disregarded.

Even though girls volleyball had been Buckley’s first team to enter CIF Championships, Basmagian says that it “was not a big deal.” In fact, 1978 was the first year CIF

even sanctioned their division’s playoffs.

In addition to lacking major support, the ‘78 girls volleyball team also faced challenges in regards to scheduling practices.

By qualifying for CIF Finals, girls volleyball had pushed further into basketball season than ever before, which led to confusion between the two sports and a rivalry over continued on page 17

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CAMPUS

tuesday, december 12, 2017 |

The Student Voice

Students take a knee to take a stand CelineFarhadi ’19 campus editor Across the nation, starting with NFL player Colin Kaepernick, student and professional athletes are claiming to take a stand against racial injustice by taking a knee; schools and organizations, as well as President Donald Trump, though, do not quite see it that way. They perceive their protests, despite the sentiments behind them, as disrespectful to the flag, to veterans, and to the nation, and have taken action against athletes kneeling.

Gyree Durante, a former second string quarterback for Albright College, was kicked off his team for taking a knee during the National Anthem. Larry McCullough and Cedric Ingram-Lewis, two African-American football players for the Victory and Praise Worship Center team in Texas, were immediately dismissed from their team and forced to take off their uniforms in front of their team and the crowd for kneeling and raising their fists during the anthem.

Despite the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell claiming to be proud of his league, hundreds of NFL players who have knelt for the anthem have suffered backlash from indignant Americans refusing to watch or attend football games, as well as President Trump, who characterizes allowing players to kneel for the anthem as “total disrespect for this great country!”

The Buckley administration, in light of the heated controversy, acknowledges the many students in the community joining the protest and addressed the issue at an assembly on Nov. 2. Upper School Dean of Student Life George Russo stood in front of grades 9-12 and assured students that should they decide to sit for the Pledge of Allegiance, the school will support them; however, he emphasized that the school encourages students to research the issue and come to an educated conclusion as to why they will or will not stand for the pledge.

There are three lenses students tend to look through when analyzing whether or not to say the National Anthem or the Pledge of Allegiance: its history/language, its symbolism of patriotism, and its representation of a

PROTEST: Students kneel during the Pledge of Allegiance to speak out against racial injustice in America. flawed nation.

Junior Safia Smith explains her decision to sit for the pledge by saying, “as a black American, I stand with all of those who have dealt with injustice and continue to deal with injustice because of the color of their skin on a daily basis.” Smith attributes her desire not to stand for the pledge to a belief that Americans continue to experience racial prejudice, and concludes that she cannot support a nation that would allow such continued discrimination. She also has members of her family who have served or are currently serving in the military and believes that the issue is, she said, “not about

Celine Farhadi The Student Voice

MORNING WAIT: After three years, students are still forced to wait outside the library.

Library line persists with no end in sight SaraBroukhim’20 opinion editor Prior to the recent schedule change, students usually only had trouble getting into the library before the start of school. Students waited outside the library, seeking a warm place to talk with friends or finish up some homework before school. After the schedule change, this library line has extended to office hours and has increased overcrowding in the library, according to Middle and Upper School Head Librarian Matthew Wittmer.

Math teacher Matthew Cano has helped

Wittmer in the library for seven years, and now enforces the maximum capacity of 78 by counting the number of students in the building. He tries to joke and talk with the kids outside the door because Cano notices they grow frustrated outside and can “lash out.”

The administration has tried some “loose attempts” to prevent overcrowding through the Community Center for the Arts or by providing chairs and tables outside the library, according to Cano and Wittmer.

“We were told when that building was open, we were going to draw a lot of stu-

Celine Farhadi The Student Voice

patriotism or the flag, it’s about how we all should be treated as Americans.”

On the other hand, Freshmen Leo Berenson believes that “people shouldn’t be allowed to kneel during the Pledge of Allegiance.” He concedes that the right to kneel is guaranteed to all American citizens by law, but he disagrees with students’ decisions to do so, because “the whole point of the pledge is for us all, no matter our creed or beliefs, to stand, if only for a few seconds, as a united nation… The pledge is not what America is, but instead what it should be.”

An in-depth look at the different views of the pledge on campus reveals more nuanced

interpretations, such as that of Freshmen Mahari Blanks, who stands for the pledge but replaces the words “God” with her own name. Just as Spanish teacher Nohemí Salazar said in the assembly, Blanks believes that religion has no place in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The administration made it clear to the students that whatever their beliefs may be, as long as they’re educated about the issue and respectful of others, they have the right to decide how to interpret and respond to the anthem without consequences.

dents that way to socialize there and that hasn’t been the case because there’s not a lot that goes on in that building that draws people that way,” Cano said. “Kids want the computers, they want access to the books.

No substantial effort [has been made] to fix this issue.”

Administration has also encouraged teachers to open their rooms early in the morning, according to Upper School Dean of Student Life George Russo. Russo added that, because the school cannot have any more construction, there is not much the school can do to improve this issue.

“We have [been] just trying to give them more areas to go to,” Russo said.

Wittmer advocates for a change in schedule and highlights the need for an indoor student space on campus. Wittmer was told

by Head of School James Busby that many students would “flock” to the new courtyard, but Wittmer believes students want to come inside because of the outside temperature.

Wittmer has a rule called the “60-80” rule, which means although the courtyard has 80 chairs, when it is 60 degrees outside, students do not sit in the courtyard.

“When you permit 500 bodies to roam around and don’t tell them where to go for over an hour, they’re gonna wanna come here. Who wouldn’t?” Wittmer said. “So you have to figure out a way to create a schedule that doesn’t permit 500 people the ability to

just walk in at their discretion.”

After the new library opened three years ago, students flooded into the library. Without a supervisor enforcing the capacity, more than 200 people crammed into the library (surpassing the maximum capacity by 122 people). Overcrowding created a “mob mentality” with students refusing to leave when asked, according to Wittmer.

Wittmer contacted the fire department to help him enforce the maximum capacity, or the school would risk losing their operating licence, forcing them into a 24-hour shutdown “Stopping students at the door made me want to quit those first few months in this new space because I don’t like denying entrance to students who rightfully want to be inside,” Wittmer said.

Cano feels like a problem has been created that has left the library staff with “no recourse.” Buckley must follow the fire code for safety. Even if the capacity would increase with the implementation of another door, a maximum capacity would still exist, according to Cano.

“If anything happens at all, [the fire department will] come in and say ‘well, there were too many people in the library.’ That’s a big liability on the school [and] on us as individuals. There’s really nothing we can do but enforce the capacity and create this big line,” Cano said.

The Student Voice

CAMPUS

OFF-CAMPUS

DIVERSITY

A&E

FOCUS

OPINION

BEATS

& PROFILES

SPORTS

tuesday, december 12, 2017 3

Buckley community unites in the face of tragic fires blazing through Southern California ElliotChoi’18 editor-in-chief Due to the adverse effects of recent fires in the vicinity, the administration decided to close campus last Wednesday through Friday, returning to campus on Dec. 11.

The 11 major fires in five Southern California counties resulted in mass evacuations, school cancellations, damaged residential and communal properties, massive traffic jams, and the exhaustion of thousands of firefighters, prompting Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, California Governor Jerry Brown, and President Donald Trump to officially declare a “state of emergency” in California.

As of Dec. 11, the Thomas, Skirball, Creek, Lilac, and Rye Fires had not been fully contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The Thomas Fire, now the fifth-largest fire in California history, has been 15% contained, while the Skirball Fire has been 80% contained. The Creek Fire has been 95% contained, and the Lilac Fire has been 80% contained. The Rye Fire has been 93% contained.

The smoke first became visible on the morning of Dec. 5., with follicles of white ash permeating the air and hazy skies shading the campus.

School was still in session, but all physical education and sports activities were suspended for the day, forcing coaches to reschedule or cancel sports games. The administration also advised students to remain inside with the “exception of quickly moving between classes,” according to an email sent that day from Head of School James Busby.

As conditions worsened, several students felt the effects of the fire. An email at 8:01 p.m. from Busby stated campus will be closed on Dec. 6 due to “Buckley’s unique location in the canyon and our concerns about air quality.”

“I had a headache, my stomach hurt a little bit, my eyes were watering a lot, and towards the end of the day, I started to cough,” Senior Olivia Giron said.

“I didn’t want my brother and I to be breathing in smoke,” Senior Nicholas Guzman said. “With a few friends, we drove off campus to my house in Los Feliz, where the fire and smoke did not reach us.”

By the end of lunch on Tuesday, the administration began to allow students to leave campus with parental consent. For students who decided to stay on campus, afternoon classes were turned into study hall periods.

Several Buckley families had to evacuate their homes due to their proximity to the fires.

“I woke up at 5:45 in the morning and heard I had to evacuate, so my family packed our stuff and went to the Beverly Hilton Hotel,” Senior Sam Zukin said. “I stayed there for the night, and left the next day after we were told it was safe.”

Around 5:30 a.m., Junior Kiana Soleiman learned she and her family had to evacuate from the alert system of her gated community that sends out mass texts for emergency announcements. After evacuating to her grandmother’s house in Tarzana, Soleiman returned home and saw “the mountains by [her] house were all black and completely demolished. There were no trees, just ashes,” Soleiman said.

Sophomore Michael Rossi, whose residence was affected by the Skirball Fire, also evacuated to a nearby hotel with his family

Courtesy of Kiana Soleiman

FIGHTING THE FLAMES: Junior Kiana Soleiman snapped a pic of firefighting helicopters dropping water outside her Bel Air Crest home.

Courtesy of Kiana Soleiman

LENDING A HAND: Tne Parents Association and FreshLunches teamed up to feed approximately 1500 firefighters on the front lines of the Skirball Fire over the course of two days. after receiving an alert the winds would become stronger overnight.

“We were worried that the Skirball Fire would spread to the other side of the 405, which then would have increased the chances of it affecting our house,” Rossi said. “When we came back the next day, our house was covered in ash. I cleaned ash from the walls, the living room floor, and the pool.”

Freshman Christi-Ann Lin-Frazier woke up to a text from her landlord, who asked, “if the house was still standing.” After learning a fire was extremely close, Lin-Frazier and her family packed up essentials in a matter of 20 minutes and evacuated to the Beverly Hilton.

“I brought clothes that I loved, photographs of my childhood, and memorabilia from when I was a baby. I also brought a painting that my friend got me as a goingaway gift before I moved, and my dog,” LinFrazier said. “It was definitely stressful and scary, but left me feeling grateful that we

were okay.”

Many families offered their homes for those who needed to evacuate. Freshman Dimitri Lupescu, who resides in West Los Angeles, and Senior Mackenzie Morris are just two of many students who offered to house evacuees.

“I posted on my Snapchat story saying that if anyone needed a place to stay because of the fire, my guesthouse was open,” Lupescu said. “It was the only way I could support the community as of now.”

Approximately 10 faculty/staff members volunteered their homes for any colleagues who needed to evacuate, according to Director of Advancement Shelly Schroth.

“Seeing how the community embraced each other in this time of need was inspiring,” Schroth said. “All of us are overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and willingness to help whenever and however they could.”

The Buckley Parent Association (PA) organized a hotline for any family who had

to evacuate and were in need of temporary housing; a Google document composed of 23 families offered temporary housing.

Furthermore, as part of their BuckleyCares initiative, a separate Google document was created for families to indicate if they were in need of support, such as “food, clothing, rides, pet food, or want to break away a get a coffee,” according to an email sent by PA President Bridget Smith to all families.

“The Buckley community showed up in a big way during this time. I thank everyone who donated their time, talents, and treasure to this worthy cause.,” Smith said. “This is what community is about and our students and families served in a beautiful way.”

To support the firefighters, first responders, and police officers, meals for 1500 individuals were prepared by FreshLunches and was served by Buckley volunteers at UCLA from 5:00 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Dec. 8 and 9.

Approximately 47 Buckley parents and students assisted in serving food and support, according to Smith. Food donations such as muffins, breakfast pastries, and coffees were additionally provided by Buckley families.

“It was just a last minute effort organized by some of the parents in the community from JTD, Curtis, but mostly Buckley,” Junior Safia Smith said. “Usually firefighters are greeted by normal caterers, but because the fires impacted our community so directly, we wanted to show our thanks by giving them food and showing them love through hot meals prepared by the families and FreshLunches. We distributed boxed lunches to go while they were on the fire lines, hand made cards, and friendly faces.”

In regards to the testing schedule, the administration moved Review Days to Dec. 11 (D Day) and Dec. 12 (B Day), while Dec. 13 will remain a Study Day. The Science and World Languages finals will take place on Dec. 14, and the Social Sciences final will take place on Dec. 15. The remaining English and Mathematics finals will take place on Dec. 18, and Electives and makeup finals will be on Dec. 19.

In Señora Nury’s Spanish II class, the listening and speaking portions of the final exam were cancelled due to the the absence of school on Dec. 8, which would be “very difficult to reschedule these two sections,” according to an email sent by Nury. The final will only be composed of the reading and writing sections.

Buckley temporarily opened on Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., allowing students “to access materials on campus,” according to an email sent on the morning of Dec. 7 by Head and Assistant Head of Upper School Deborah Monroe and Dina Figueroa. Buckley decided to close campus on Dec. 8, as it was “not reasonably certain that [the school] can maintain a productive educational environment.”

Buckley decided to follow Los Angeles Unified School Districts schools affected by the fire, such as Pacific Palisades High School, who closed their campuses through Friday. Harvard-Westlake and Campbell Hall, however.

“I feel like the school would have liked to have fiven us Friday off, but knew that it would make it worse for finals and that the majority would have wanted school Friday,” Harvard-Westlake Freshman Lauren Nehorai said of her school’s decision to keep campus open.

4 tuesday, december 12, 2017

CAMPUS

DIVERSITY

FOCUS

OFF-CAMPUS

Colette Kanbarian The Student Voice

THEY’VE GOT CHEMISTRY: Co-founders of Chemistry Club, juniors Sam Itkin (left) and Dylan Prince (right) lead the club in an experiment.

A review of clubs on campus

ColetteKanbarian ’19 campus editor Forty-two student-run clubs are currently meeting, including new groups and established clubs, according to Dean of Student Life George Russo. He affirmed that the purpose of clubs is for students to develop their own passions for a subject, whether it is an academic, service learning, or fun club.

“We want to provide something different that is outside the curriculums. And what clubs do is they provide leadership opportunities: how to run meetings, how to organize sales, how to organize events. It gives realworld experience,” Russo said.

Russo ensured that most clubs are meeting by claiming to attend meetings and hecking in with advisors. According to Russo, some clubs will only meet for one of the semesters.

CHEMISTRY CLUB This year, cofounders and Juniors Sam Itkin, president, and Dylan Prince, vice president, revived Chemistry Club after a nineyear hiatus. Students perform experiments every Thursday at lunch in M101 with science teacher Daniel Kelleher. Prince said that the group conducts many hydrogenrelated experiments, including superheating steam and creating PVA polymer slime.

“We just ordered about $600 worth of experiments, paid for by the science department, which are very cool for students to interact with and are very interesting. We are very excited that Chemistry Club is such a big club at Buckley with about 60 students, and we are very excited for more to join,” Itkin said.

Puppies and hot chocolate: Honor Council helps alleviate finals stress ElliotChoi’18 editor-in-chief As part of their “campus productivity” initiative, the Honor Council providedcomplimentary hot chocolate on Dec. 11, according to Dean of Upper School Student Life George Russo. They’re also going to bring in puppies from Bark Therapy Dogs on Dec. 14 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in room A101.

Inspiration for the puppies on campus came from UCLA’s “Pre-finals puppy party,” which the university hosts each year to help students’ stress levels during finals. Additionally, Marymount University adopted a similar program, which they call “Doggie De-stress Wednesday.”

“The Honor Council is not just a reactionary body that just deals with discipline, but a group that encourages students to ask about exam/study habits and other academic inquiries,” Russo said.

For the second time, the Council will visit all ninth grade advisories to explain the purpose of the Honor Council, and go over study habits and preparations for finals. Council members will also “give out their email in case any of the 9th graders need any support,” according to Russo.

“It’s really valuable when older students go and share their knowledge, experience, and even mistakes with the younger ones,” Senior German Shabanets said.

Benefits of Therapy Dogs in Schools Physical: Studies have shown that therapy dogs can reduce blood pressure, engage students physically, and help to decrease pain.

Social: Therapy dogs have been know to promote self-esteem and healthier interactions with other students and teachers.

Cognitive: Therapy dogs improve memory and problem-solving skills.

A&E

OPINION

BEATS&PROFILES

BIC CLUB Buckley Improv Club (BIC), led by President Junior Isabel Liebgold, meets every Thursday, with the exception of the fourth Thursday of the month, in the theater room.

The group holds discussions and then plays various improvisational and stand-up comedy games.

“Honestly, people are talking about it and responding way more positively than I expected. I hope my street cred is good. I guess I’m passionate about BIC and I hope that it does have some kind of positive impact on campus,” Liebgold said.

FITE CLUB FITE (Feminists Inching Towards Equality) Club is continuing to meet from last year, led by Presidents Juniors Sophie Hood, Kaylen Melamed, and Celine Farhadi. In the latest meeting on Nov. 3, the group responded to Buckley’s Veteran’s Day assembly and how it related to topics of gender roles, and the topic shifted to discussing gender perceptions in sports.

“FITE Club has been going very well so far. We’ve been having insightful discussions and are enjoying the contributions of our new members,” Melamed said.

DIVERSITY CLUB Diversity Club, directed by President Senior Kelsey Gomez, is in the midst of preparing and brainstorming for the upcoming Diversity Symposiums in early January. The executive board consists of Co-Vice Presidents Seniors German Shabanets and Matteo Sloane, Secretary Junior Safia Smith, Treasurer Senior Carlos Otaño, and Diversity Symposium co-chairs Junior Nick Green and Sophomore Ryan Halperin.

“Diversity Club is going very well. In our meetings, we are discussing current events and how they relate to issues of diversity,” Smith said.

MODEL U.N. Model United Nations, led by President sSeniors Noah Nazarian and Elliot Choi,

SPORTS

The Student Voice

is preparing for their spring conference in New York City. In their meetings, they went over the committee terms for the conference and held their first of several mock debates in order to prep club members for the New York conference by giving them an idea of how the United Nations functions.

CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL The Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) Club, run by Sophomore Allison Gorshkov, raised over three hundred dollars in their recent Susie Cakes sale to donate to the hospital.

RADIO CLUB The Radio Club, led by Juniors Kat Millner and Ryan Norris, have had three meetings so far. The new club will have a podcast on their website, hosted by students, discussing topics of interest to students.

“Radio Club is off to a great start. We have had a lot of student interest, and it’s going to be a really cool experience for Buckley students who want to have their voice heard through podcasts,” Millner said.

JSA Junior State of America (JSA), meeting on Fridays, is in the midst of Buckley-themed debates.

“We [the JSA board] decided to do Buckley-themed debates because we feel that when we look at the larger picture we often neglect our community, and it’s important to look around our most immediate settings to evaluate the impact that certain issues have on us [students] here at our home,” JSA President Senior Sam Zukin said.

On the JSA executive board, Sophomore Jonah Stern is vice president, Junior Sam Itkin is media relations advisor and secretary, and Sophomore Annika Reff is executive officer. After 26 years, strengthening coach and Upper School Buckley Student Council (BSC) advisor Robert Wright stepped down as JSA advisor, and history teacher Clemente Perez-Garcia took over the role.

POLL: 9th Graders: Would you prefer that the English Department offer an honors class?

yes

51%

no

49% 70 responses were collected between Dec. 5 to Dec. 11

Ninth grade completes its first semester without Honors English SophiaNorouzi’21 staff reporter Last year, the English department decided to get rid of ninth grade English I Honors in an effort to follow the trends of fellow independent schools in Southern California, according to English teacher Michael Jaffe. The decision was debated for a while with the administration and the English department, ultimately deciding that a single course would benefit students more. This abolishment has resulted in one English course for all ninth graders taught

by Jaffe and Dr. Elizabeth Phillips.

According to Jaffe, the main reason for this change is because “ninth grade is a foundational year, so you’re building the tools and the skills to you need to succeed in reading, writing, and thinking in tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade.”

Due to the fact that 28% of the freshman student body is comprised of new students, there are a variety of skills. The foundational belief is that freshman year should be a year to hone these talents, instead of categorizing students into the honors or non-honors track. This takes some of the pressure of a title off, and helps students

find and curate passions rather than focusing on a grade, according to Phillips.

“I definitely am a student that would have loved to be in English Honors, but I think at least in our freshman year, it takes the aspect of competition away, which is exactly what the removal of the course was aiming for,” Freshman Caroline Newhart said.

However, some students think those who are especially passionate and above the proficiency level should be in an honors class.

“I definitely think there is a competitive aspect to the levels, but it’s a healthy competition,” said Freshman Leo Berenson. “I think we need it, because without it there is no inspiration for academic growth.”

However, studies show that this idea of competition, or “tracking,” is unhealthy for students who are still maturing, according to Phillips. “Tracking in the lower grades tends to be based more on emotional maturity than on passion for the subject matter and an eagerness to work hard to develop skills,” she said. Overall, the incentive for getting rid of this course was to create a larger community feel, and not have students so preoccupied with the title of the course.

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DIVERSITY tuesday, december 12, 2017 |

The Student Voice

The Buck Doesn’t $top Here...

Elizabeth Seo The Student Voice

ElizabethSeo ’18 diversity editor EmmaLotts ’21 staff reporter Because tuition for private schools have increased in the past ten years, with some schools surpassing those of universities, it is not surprising that independent schools contain students of the top 1%. But private schools are not just limited to students of a specific socioeconomic status. As the price for higher education continually grows, the need for financial aid is subsequently just as pertinent for students from lower socioeconomic statuses.

There are financial aid packages that can include certain things like SAT testing fees and college application fees to bus transportation and college visit trips. While financial aid can cover costs of books and school supplies, there are more areas that

are not or cannot be explicitly covered, and for Breast Cancer Awareness, the adminthis problem does not just occur at Buckley, istration could ask to bring $10 in order to wear free dress. However, it is possible but at all high schools.

Being in a lower socioeconomic class than that students want to support the cause but the average high school student has shown can not spare $10. Another example is how certain academic disadvantages. In terms of school events can charge money to attend. the SAT and ACT, there is not just a price to Recently, CIF charged money to watch the take the test, but a price to get a good score. Buckley Volleyball games. This is extremely Private SAT or ACT tutoring can easily cost problematic for someone whose intent is to $125 a session, which allows students with cheer on their classmates, but cannot afford more money to receive more practice and to spare the money to buy a ticket.

From school tuition to food, financial as a result, a higher chance of a better score on standardized tests. As standardized tests aid can cover a various amount of things are an essential part of admission in many for students at Buckley. According to Dicolleges, there is a disadvantage for students rector of Admission and Financial Aid SteCoutrtesy of Teleflora who get lower scores because of their socio- phen Milich, “Financial aid is very robust here at Buckley.” Although there are many economic status.

As a response to this, the College Board things that financial aid can cover, it is a well has recently tried to alleviate the obvious ad- known stereotype that not many students vantage of students of high socioeconomic attending Buckley have financial aid.

According to Milich, in the last year $3.5 statuses by offering free personalized SAT tutoring online through Khan Academy, million has been given to over 14% of the but even then, the practice online requires student population, which means many individuals could be put in those uncomfortthe internet and a computer.

Another example is the privilege to receive able situations because of their socioecoextra time for students with learning dis- nomic status. While conversations about abilities. Learning disability tests can cost socioeconomic status are often awkward, thousands of dollars, and for students who being able to discuss this topic is beneficial cannot afford these tests, it might cost them to recognizing socioeconomic differences their grades if they do not receive the extra and the impact on our lives through every aspect. time they deserve finish their assessments.

There are not just academic disadvantages from being in a lower socioeconomic staCoutrtesy of Karin’s Florist tus, but socially, students could be affected.

Dance tickets are discounted at Buckley for students on financial aid, but for a dance like prom, there are many components that are not covered by financial aid, such as dresses, tuxedos, and transportation. For prom dresses, there is pressure not to buy the same dress, but what hapCoutrtesy of pens when more than one person Benbrook Li mo Service Rentals needs the cheapest dress?

There are additionally times where extra money is required for sales and free dress days. For example, when raising money

White-Washing in

ties do not even get cast for roles, in general. sponsibility,” Chief Executive Officer of Fuse grounds can relate.

ElizabethSeo ’18 Having different types of directors can inThere is a struggle for minority actors to get Media Michael Schwimmer, father of Senior diversity editor Whitewashing. It constantly gets hate from roles for movies and TV shows and mostly Hannah Schwimmer, said. Fuse Media has fluence how and which stories are told and viewers, so why do white actors keep getting when they do get casted, the role either plays made several new additions to its multiplat- which actors are cast, but by a white, straight casted for non-white roles? From Mickey into their own stereotype or their nationality form portfolio to appeal to “Cultural Ad- male dominated field can cause the same types of story rather than venturists,” young is inaccurate. For example, Rooney in Breakfast in catering to a diverse popuconsumers who Hawaii Five-O, a TV show, Tiffany’s to Jake Gyllenlation of viewers. are actively interhas caused conflict because haal in Prince of Persia, Jordan Peele, a black acest in culture for Asian actors, Daniel Dae Hollywood has a history tor, comedian, writer, and inspiration and Kim and Grace Park, were of whitewashing. It is no producer, wrote and directexploration, to unequally paid compared secret that audiences, ed Get Out which grossed appeal to Latino to the white actors on the particularly people of $254 million worldwide and multicultural show. On the other hand, color, feel uneasy about on a $4.5 million and Hid18-34 age group another problem is that the it. Rupert Sanders, the den Figures, which include audience. actors, although they are director of recent movie AT TIFFANY’S: OTHELLO: Laurence Olivier in “If you don’t GHOST IN THE SHELL: Scarlett minority women protagoAsian, are Korean and not Ghost in the Shell, origi- BREAKFAST Mickey Rooney dresses up as Mr. blackface as Othello in the 1965 film see yourself in Johansson playing Motoko Kusanagi nists, grossed $233.4 milnally a manga set in Yunioshi in the 1961 romantic Hawaiian. adaptation of Shkespear’s tragedy lion against a production media, some- in manga-turned movie The lack of representaJapan, cast Scarlett Jo- comedy movie of $25 million and was the tion does not just happen on screen, but times the hidden underlying hansson to play the protagonist Major Motoko Kusanagi. The live- behind the camera as well. A comprehensive messages are maybe that I’m not as im- highest-grossing Best Picture nominee at action movie grossed $40.5 million dollars study done by the USC Annenberg School portant or capable as the other person,” the 89th Academy Awards. Although whitein America and had a production budget for Communication and Journalism report- Schwimmer said. “The main reason why washing continues to be a problem, maybe of $110 million, and is considered to have ed that 96.6% of film directors are male and diversity is important is so that people can green will hopefully solve the case of white. feel empowered, feel important, and feel like 87.3% of film directors are white. failed at the box office.

“Media has a great deal of influence in our they have a place in society.”

Whitewashing is part of a bigger problem By having a diverse representation of peoin Hollywood: representation. Part of the society and has a responsibility to its viewers, issue of whitewashing is that these minori- so diversity is essential to fulfilling that re- ple on screen, viewers from different back-

6 tuesday, december 12, 2017

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Q&A with Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher Judith Sekler

SaraBroukhim’20 opinion editor

Q: How do you think meditation can help student relieve stress in general?

A: Meditation allows space for a quiet place inside that we can cultivate or have more access to that helps to calm sort of that free-floating anxiety that we all feel when we’re all overwhelmed because the anxiety is a product of the overwhelmed, the to-do list (all the things we have to do, all the possibilities of things going on). That’s generally where the mind goes and meditation generally acts as a way to develop an observation quality, to seeing the mind’s activity. “Oh that’s my mind again” thinking about everything I have to do and that’s why I’m paralyzed because I have so much to do so meditation sort of brings us to a space where we can observe our usual habits of thinking but then we can move beyond the usual and kind of calm down take the tasks as they come, [and] know that we’re going to be okay.

Q: Do you have any tips for students who get stressful situations like testing?

A: When we feel that rising tide of anxiety, it’s usually because there’s some element of perfectionism at work or we just want everything to be great so we can’t really get started because we think everything has to be great, and so we can’t ever feel like we’re ready so the anxiety rises and rises. And so to really know inside that our value or uniqueness doesn’t come from taking a test or being tested, that we’re just taking a test or just doing an essay that it’s the best that we can do in the moment. That essay, in itself, doesn’t determine our future and studying for that test doesn’t determine where we’re going to go to college. We have to spend time living in the present moment, otherwise we’re spending all of our time preparing for a future that may or may not come to fruition.

FOCUS

Q: How does one get rid of distractions during studying?

A: People commonly think that meditation is getting rid of everything and sort of getting to this place where everything is zen and cleared out and nothing’s on our mind and instead mindfulness teaches us to welcome all these distractions, to welcome people making noise in class, to welcome somebody who’s being annoying who sits two feet away from us, to welcome the fact when here we are zoning out on the internet when we really should be working. And to really sort of look at what we’re’ doing forgiving ourselves and accepting what we’ve done and beginning again with the next breath Q: What ways do you think Buckley can relieve the stress of students?

A: The school is really inventive and forward thing in bringing somebody like me there to teach students in middle school and upper school to teach meditation, mindfulness, practices of connectivity, and compassion. They’ve actually brought me here in an effort to explore different aspects of stress relief. I’m doing that for faculty (after school I have a mindfulness class for faculty).

I think the school is really ahead of many other schools in that the school recognizes that social and emotional learning are really important. So I think we all know that you all are going to leave here able to do history, being able to do math, being able to write a great essay, and what we really want you to leave here with is a sense of who you are in the world.

Who are you? Are you a compassionate being? Do you see other people for who they are?

Do you accept diversity? Do you encourage different voices? Do you encourage yourself to take risks? Do you encourage yourself to be who you are? I think the school really wants students to leave feeling good about themselves not just that they got into a really good college. A feeling like those years were fun, those years felt good. I took a meditation class that helped me through my day. I felt like the school was looking out for me. I do feel like Buckley is really focused on not just bringing up students but bringing up people who can go into the world and feel a really great sense of self.

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Methods to Alleviate Stress at Other Schools

RyanNorris’19 Yoga, meditation, and puppies...in the past year, schools across the countries have made an increased effort to alleviate stress amongst students. Every school has an individualized plan, but many high schools and colleges have used similar tactics.

One of the most popular additions is yoga, which has been integrated into gym classes. It has been paired with the practice of mindfulness in order to promote a healthier lifestyle, and abandon stress, worry, and depression, according to a 2013 study on yoga in schools.

This study found, “statistically significant pre- to posttest improvements.”

Additionally, when New York public and charter schools added a yoga intervention program for middle and high schoolers, they found that the students’ self-regulation, mindfulness, self-esteem, physical conditioning, academic performance, and stress reduction im-

proved during a year long trial.

Another tactic that has gained traction is bringing puppies to schools in order to decrease stress. Colleges and high schools in the United States and Canada have started bringing therapy dogs to school to ease stress and help students cope with anxiety. Studies have shown that dogs can alleviate depression, reduce anxiety, and decrease stress, among other things. Many schools have puppy rooms, filled with dogs that students can visit, while other schools bring in dogs during stressful times such as during finals or midterms.

In an environment that can be perceived as quite stressful, schools in the United States have been making consistent advances towards a more conducive and effective community, by strengthening outreach programs, and adding practices to help students remain cool, calm, and collected.

Handbook changes to ease homework load

Q: Do you have any exercises students could do before testing to relieve anxiety?

A: For me, yoga works. Because I need that move around so even if I do a few little movement, that helps. Breathing always helps because in the breathe there a beginning and there’s a beginning again and newness. So we begin on the inhale and let go on the exhale.

So we can begin to study or we can begin to greater that we can let go on what’s holding us back (the stress or the worry). Begin on inhale, let go on exhale. And there’s a ground nature to that that resides in here, you know we don’t have go out and look for other things to do. There’s a lot that we can access inside that still that’s quiet, that’s valuable, that moves towards equanimity, that moves toward wise decisions.

OPINION

CelineFarhadi’19 campus editor The faculty and administration, after reviewing the results of the two questionnaires they sent out, one to the student body and the other to their parents and guardians, has decided to reform the Family Handbook’s homework and testing policies, according to Upper School Principal Deborah Monroe.

In a meeting among all the Upper School department chairs on Nov. 29, the faculty and administration discussed how to combat the adverse effects of excessive homework. They decided to alter the testing policy for the 2018-19 year from the current cap at three major assessments in one day (tests, projects, presentations, and essays) to a maximum of two major assessments and one minor assessment (quizzes), or one major and two minor assessments.

They will also introduce “homework free nights” next year on the night of Halloween, as well as the nights before school-sanctioned practice SAT and ACT testing dates. However, while the day following Halloween will become an assessment-free day, teachers will still be allowed to assign exams and homework for the days af-

ter testing dates. Finally, beginning next year, the week containing Nov. 1, the early action deadline for most schools, will become “Dead Week,” an entire week in which teachers cannot assign homework or assessments to seniors.

The Educational Advisory Board, an organization that conducts research to enhance educational practices, in a presentation that included, “how excessive homework can negatively affect student well-being,” Monroe said, recommended sending out surveys to help them to address this issue.

Although the Family Handbook maintains that, “the homework load for Upper School students averages 2.5 – 3 hours per night, depending on the number of weighted courses,” and continues to state that, “classes that meet for 75 minutes typically assign 30-40 minutes of homework per session. English classes may assign an additional 10-15 minutes of homework per session due to the reading required in these classes,” the survey results proved that, while some students’ loads do reflect the handbook’s expectations and regulations, many do not.

15 14 Electives Dec. 20-Jan. 3 19 Make-ups Thursday

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New Finals Schedule AlexanderArejian’20 off-campus editor As part of the administration’s plan to reduce student stress and anxiety, a new finals schedule will be implemented this year, where students will take one final per day, over the course of eight days. Due to the school closures caused by the fires around Southern California, the new schedules will go into effect at the end of the year.

The school works with a company called the Educational Advisory Board (EAB), which does research on independent schools like Buckley, and provides the school with information on how to plan out the finals schedules in order to find what works best for students.

Last year, Buckley tried having finals in the regular classrooms with teachers, because studies show that taking a test in the same location helps with retrieval of information. But new research has emerged from the EAB that

shows it’s more beneficial to have one exam per day.

“We’re trying it this way, and we want student feedback afterwards to see how it worked out. Our plan is to help alleviate stress and help the students do better during finals.” said Assistant Head of Upper School Dina Figueroa.

The Harvard-Westlake School currently follows the five-day finals schedule at the end of their semester, which is similar to last year’s schedule.

Along with altering the finals schedule, the administration has been reviewing the homework surveys sent out last month.

“We wanted to see how much homework you all had, whether it varied by grade level or subject. As a result we had a faculty meeting where we shared the data with the departments, who will be addressing different questions and issues relating to the homework,” Figueroa said.

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tuesday, december 12, 2017 7

Stress and Sleep Deprivation and its Effect on Students ColetteKanbarian ’19 campus editor Stress and sleep deprivation, ailments our school has an abundance of, can have damaging effects on students, as confirmed by both national statistics and Buckley students and teachers, who are making an effort this year to combat the prevalence of stress and sleep deprivation on campus.

Science Department Chair Dr. Aidyl González-Serrichio believes while some stress is healthy, the extreme level of stress on our campus is excessive, causing anxiety and sleep deprivation, and even eating and mental disorders.

“I think we could lose kids physically. And I hate it. It’s actually getting worse,” González-Serrichio said.

Nearly all of the 20 students interviewed admitted to feeling an unhealthy amount of stress on a daily basis, and that this stress was a result of an overly heavy workload. Additionally, students interviewed reported getting, on average, about six to seven hours of sleep, compared to the eight to 10 hours typically recommended for adolescents.

“Due to the fact that I continuously stay up doing homework and stress out to finish my homework at night, I constantly come to school feeling extremely exhausted. Because of this, I am unable to do as well on tests and quizzes, or

Courtesy of Ark Liu

even focus in class,” Sophomore Yael Nosrati said.

According to AP Psychology and Brain and Behavior teacher Jessica Adam, her students reported that sleep deprivation result in irritability and impact concentration. One student described sleep deprivation as a “cloud forming over my head” bringing in a haze.

“I often find myself staying up late to study for a quiz or test, because of the stress I feel to get a good grade on the quiz or test. When I stay up late, I am really tired the next day, so it is hard to focus on my other classes. It just seems like a cycle that keeps repeating, and it feels like it will never end,” Freshman Claire O’Connell said.

González-Serrichio said that about 85 percent of students that she helps in her organizing workshops were stressed out and not finishing their work due to a lack of organization, emphasising how, when students broke down their work into pieces, they realized how much more efficiently could work, allowing them to finish their work in less time.

According to González-Serrichio, teachers, students, and administration are working together to try and find to find what is optimal homework learning level to reduce workload while still ensuring effective and sufficient learning for students.

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OFF-CAMPUS tuesday, december 12, 2017 |

The Student Voice

Transitioning to a Private School

Buckley students come from all over the world, all over the state, and all over the city, but one of the most interesting transitions is from home school or public school to private school

SophiaNorouzi ’21 staff reporter In the Upper School, there is an average of 82 students per grade, all of whom come from different backgrounds. Some are lifers at Buckley, some are from other private and public schools, and some come from a homeschooling background. To the students where the world of private school is a new one, there comes some trials, tribulations, and successes

in terms of adjusting.

Coming from the small public elementary school in the sixth grade, Freshman Aaron Moradi describes his transition as “scary and a bit intimidating.” He knew very few people at Buckley and feared he would not fit in.

“I thought that I would not be able to fit in with my other classmates and that I wouldn’t be as smart as them. The kids who had been there for years had the same

foundation from Lower School, and I didn’t. My first year at Buckley, I was more stressed out with work than I ever had been,” Moradi said.

Besides the struggles of being in school, the logistics of getting to Buckley are an issue as well.

“I lived walking distance away from my old school, so getting there was never an issue. At Buckley, I have to wake up an hour earlier to catch the bus,” said Moradi.

Freshman Jem Burch is a quarter into first year at a physical school. Prior to ninth grade at Buckley, he was homeschooled all his life, but according to Burch, Buckley has been a “rather easy transition.”

For Burch, going “directly from basically five hours of school a week to more like six a day has been quite difficult.” Additionally, the increased workload was a large adjustment for Burch.

However, Burch’s main obstacle was the social component of private school; it was difficult for him to become “used to being around so many more people a day, and more people my age as well... I used to a school for homeschoolers...there were maybe a 150 kids who went there in total, which means I was one of nine kids in my grade.”

CHARLIE CRYER Attended Hermosa Beach Middle School “The first difference that I noticed was just that there area so fewer people at private school, and you know everyone a bit better.

If you fall out with a friend or something you can’t really escape them.”

LILLIAN LINDEN Attended Wonderland Elementary School “Public school was a lot easier and at my school, people were kind of lucky because we had a really good parent association that raised money for us to have art classes and things like that.”

RYAN VOCK Attended Millikan Middle School “At first, I was skeptical of the size of Buckley, but once I became familiar with my classmates, the size was not an issue. Now I appreciate the intimacy and opportunity for bonding which Buckley and its size provides.”

ANGUS BLACK Attended Science Hill High School “This school is nicer, the kids seem like they want to learn a lot more than at a public school.

They are more motivated. The teachers seem to be at a higher caliber and the food is 1002 times better.”

MASON LEE Attended Roosevelt Elementary School “The transition from a public school to Buckley, honestly, was not that bad, but the biggest change that I saw here is the socioeconomic status of the people.”

photos by ryan norris The Student Voice

THE PRICE YOU PAY: DETENTION FEES

sara sarkissian The Student Voice

LOCK HER UP: The library has become a detention hub, as Head Librarian Matthew Wittmer gives an average 4-12 students every week. in no later than two days after sences and tardies.

SaraSarkissian ’19 the student’s return to school, Buckley’s current policy restaff reporter that states an excusable reason garding absences states that Rules regarding absences and for the absence. At Buckley, an missing over half of a class petardies in Los Angeles private unexcused absence results in riod constitutes an absence.

If schools vary largely dependthe failure of any assignments a student is to be absent to any ing on the school. The Armedue in class on the day of the classes during the day, parents nian General Benevolent Union absence. Other private schools, are required to email or call the (AGBU) Manoogian-Demirdsuch as Harvard-Westlake, have Dean of Students or the school jian School, located in Canoga made distinctions about exoffice, and such absences must Park, has begun implementing cused and unexcused absences be followed with a note, turned harsher punishments for ab-

FAST FACTS

How many students would be affected if Buckley charged for tardiness and detentions?

10-15

tardies reported

within their handbooks.

The Harvard-Westlake Student Handbook states, “A student with an unexcused absence can expect detention before or after school, which may mean missing an athletic or extracurricular responsibility, regardless of its importance, or another consequence as determined by the dean.”

California Law states that students must attend at least 80 percent of their classes within a year. As a result, all private schools offer incentives and punishments to prevent students from exceeding the maximum of 20 percent absences in a class. At Buckley, students who are absent to over 20 percent of a class risk failing the class. Students who surpass the limit of absences also lose their ability to take personal days, go on field trips, and have offcampus privileges.

However, AGBU’s policies go beyond California law, stating that absences will affect the class participation category of all classes, worth 10 percent of the grade, as they occur. The

2-3

AGBU handbook states that, “a student’s grade will be lowered by one letter on the 10th absence, and a student will receive a grade of an ‘F’ on the 15th absence per course, per semester.”

Missing a block period because of an absence is counted as two absences. AGBU has adopted a strict system to prevent excessive tardies. At the school, the tenth incident of a tardy results in an after-school Friday detention of two hours and a $25 fine. The 15th incident results in a two-hour detention served on a Saturday with a $50 fine, and every five tardies after the 15 result in an additional $50 fine.

At Buckley, five tardies within a week result in a detention.

Harvard-Westlake has a similar rule of six tardies per quarter resulting in a detention.

“We are very concerned when students have tardy issues. If it is an ongoing theme, especially when getting to school in the morning, we meet with parents to ensure that the student gets to school on time,” Dean of Student Life George Russo said.

2

students in a rotation unexcused absences in given a detention due a month to tardiness

*approximations according to Upper School Dean of Student Life George Russo

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ryan norris The Student Voice

SERVICE CITY: With the first semester coming to a close, last-minute community service opportunities appear on campus, such as the Wellness Cafe and Animal Community Service.

Community Service at other Independent L. A. Schools As Buckley’s community service policies change yearly, other L.A. independent schools adapt their own.

ElliotChoi ’18 editor-in-chief Community service programs are popular in the independent school community, requiring students to participate in curriculum-based, student-led, or independent projects.

According to the Buckley Handbook, Upper School students are “asked to commit to at least one meaningful service project per academic year.” Community Engagements Project range from school-led programs to studentled group service projects to school-approved independent projects.

Service-learning projects include the Hunger and Homelessness project (combining SOVA, Hope of the Valley, and Shiloh Emergency Center programs), Animal Protection project, and two orphanage-based projects (Tijuana and Calcutta orphanages).

Independent programs must be approved by the Community Service Council, and must take place in a “schoolapproved non-profit agency,” according to the Handbook.

While Buckley does not require a certain number of hours, the school requires students to participate in at least three “substantial project-related activities on three separate occasions,” according to Upper School Director of Experiential and Service Learning Abi Basch.

“Community service

opportunities such as the Children’s Hospital project are ways for students to give back to a place that helps kids every day,” Sophomore Julia Weiss said.

“I’ve personally worked with the hospital over the summer, and it was a meaningful way to serve the community.”

Service learning and community service programs at Oakwood School and Marlborough School for Girls are similar to Buckley’s structure. According to Oakwood’s service learning website, Oakwood provides “structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development, service-learning encourages students to do things with others rather than for them.”

While Oakwood provides service programs such as Beads for Life (teaching women in Uganda how to make jewelry out of paper to support their family) and LA Family Housing (students tutoring and teaching art to children living in LA Family housing shelters), students mainly participate in Community Youth Partnership (CYP) programs, according to Oakwood Senior Stephen Kim. “CYP programs are [Oakwood] student-led workshops that offer LAUSD students free art, music, and science classes,” Kim said.

“Oakwood’s service learning definitely makes an impact because we take an initiative to better our community, such as promoting clubs that are only

targeted towards community service.”

Marlborough’s community service program hosts approximately 50 clubs, half of which are dedicated to social justice issues. Marlborough also hosts annual volunteer events, such as a class service day in which an entire class volunteers together, and semiannual parent-daughter volunteer days. Marlborough does not require hours, according to Marlborough Community Outreach Program Head Pamela Wright.

“I am less interested in the number of hours a person volunteers, but rather, the actual experience,” Wright said. “Did a singular volunteer experience speak to a student in a profound way? If so, that can as successful as students who commit multiple hours.”

Marlborough students are also encouraged to devise their own service projects. Students who are interested in creating a service club must submit an application to the Dean of Students and Wright, who review the application and ensure the goals and visions are “realistic,” according to Wright.

Club leaders attend a club orientation to review expectations, and Club Fair (similar to Buckley’s ClubFest) gives the opportunity for students to “pitch their club ideas to prospective members,” according to Wright.

“Marlborough provides many

opportunities to donate items to different organizations like ones helping women and children living in shelters. So I think that as a whole, Marlborough is good at giving back to surrounding communities,” Marlborough Junior Lindsay Pantell said. “They tend to make an impact on the community at Marlborough because it furthers the knowledge that the girls have on non-privileged families and communities living so close to them.”

Community service requirements in Loyola High School require students to perform a minimum of 138 hours of community service over the course of four years. Loyola students have different requirements based on grade level. Freshmen are required to attend an orientation meeting and two sessions of the High School Placement Test Prep Tutoring Program for 8th Graders, also known as the HSPT-8 tutoring program, which provides interdisciplinary tutoring for over 600 eighth graders, according to Loyola’s community service website. Sophomores and juniors are required to perform 25 hours of community service projects offered by the school, a pre-qualified service site, or an individual project for the underserved and marginalized population. Seniors are required to complete 78 hours of community service as part of their Senior

Service Project at a pre-qualified and approved service site.

“Service and justice are the two feet of social justice; they are basically homogenous,” Loyola Director of Community Service Thomas Zeko said. “When justice has not been served, in respect to the housing, food, education, environment, employment, healthcare, and much more, it is our duty to serve the community.

Service challenges the given for my students, and this is a critical element of what we do.”

One of Loyola’s pre-approved programs includes Baja Build, a service opportunity which takes 12 father-son teams to build houses in “impoverished conditions in the Colonia de San Bernardo in Eastern Tijuana,” according to Zeko. Another pre-approved project is the Los Angeles Urban Plunge program, which allows a 12-14 student team to immerse themselves in the conditions of the streets and shelters of Skid Row, East Los Angeles, and Hollywood up to three weeks.

“I think Loyola’s strict community service requirements truly portray their mission: developing their students to become men for others. I can assert that Loyola’s requirements do impact the community in a very positive manner,” Loyola Senior Kenny Jung said. “Being able to look at people’s faces of gratitude and happiness makes us enjoy serving the community.

SHERMAN OAKS NEWS fast five things happening just outside the Buckley gates CHRISTMAS TREES TO EXPERIENCE HIKE IN PRICE DUE TO SHORTAGE This holiday season there is a shortage of Christmas trees, prompting a boost in pricing and limiting of choices. An average Christmas tree takes eight years to grow, and with fewer trees planted, fewer are being sold. Tree prices could go up as much as 10, 15, or 20 percent.

NOTRE DAME HIGH SCHOOL ALUM ANNOUNCED AS NATIONAL LEAGUE MVP Giancarlo Stanton, right-fielder for the Miami Marlins, was announced as the MVP award winner for the National League. He graduated from Notre Dame High School after transferring in as a junior. Stanton was one of the greatest all-around athletes in Southern Section history. He earned all CIF honors in football, basketball, and baseball as a senior in the 2006-2007.

LOCAL GIRL TO WED PRINCE HARRY Los Angeles native Meghan Markle is set to marry Prince Henry of Wales. The couple announced their wedding will take place at Windsor Castle, sometime in May 2018. Markle attended Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse and later Immaculate Heart High School.

YASIEL PUIG’S SHERMAN OAKS HOME BROKEN INTO While Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers’ right fielder, was recovering after the Game Seven loss in the World Series, his Sherman Oaks home was being burglarized. Officers found a window was smashed and items had been taken.

SHOOTING AT WESTFIELD FASHION SQUARE MALL A man was found fatally shot on Nov. 6, in the Westfield Fashion Square parking lot. The shooting did not seem to impede many shoppers, as only the second level of the structure was closed. It is being investigated as possible suicide.

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COLLEGE STARTS WHEN?: Isabelle Buckley, founder of The Buckley School, wrote a signature Plan of Education, pictured here with her photographs and artwork.

HOW UNIQUE IS OUR MISSION STATEMENT?

RyanNorris ’19 AlexanderArejian ’20 off-campus editors Throughout the last school year, administrative and faculty members have met periodically to piece together ideas of what makes Buckley distinct. Considering Buckley’s core values and the commitment, they established the current mission statement, unveiled at an assembly last year.

According to Director of Diversity, Multiculturalism, and Inclusion, Ralinda Watts, the mission statement is intended to serve as a guidepost for the school.

To ensure that the mission statement did not sound overwhelmingly familiar, the committee took mission statements from fellow

independent schools in Los Angeles into consideration, looking to make Buckley’s goal completely individualized.

“The entire faculty was on part of contributing and giving feedback. We were not just restricted to the small committee of people.

Instead, the committee served as a representation. We took everyone’s thoughts to encapsulate the mission statement,” Watts said.

Buckley’s mission stands out as being more concise than those of private schools in the area, but it uses similar phrases to that of The Marlborough School for Girls and the Harvard-Westlake School. Campbell Hall’s statement is long, and divided into sections, while Brentwood created a different mission statement for Diversity, Arts, and Athletics, instead

NEWS QUIZ

1. Which of the following canceled reality shows is coming back for a reunion series? a. Jerseylicious b. I Am Cait c. Jersey Shore

In terms of student and faculty response, the mission statement has been met with mixed reviews. Sophomore Malena Mourino finds the statement to be “great,” and feels like she “should should live [her] life by it, on and off campus.” However, Senior Viv Rubanenko said the mission statement includes words that “feel empty” to her.

According to Middle and Upper School Head Librarian Matthew Wittmer, a mission statement that stands out was the impetus for creating one.

“By saying that Buckley is a dynamic and nurturing community they distinguish themselves, since I don’t think other schools are saying things like that,” Wittmer said.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

3. How did Donald Trump refer to Elizabeth Warren? a. Moana b. Sacagawea c. Pocahantas 4. Which of these people has NOT been accused of sexual assault? a. Al Roker b. Kevin Spacey c. Jeffrey Tambor Answers: 1. c, 2. a, 3. c, 4. a

2. Who was nominated for the most Grammys this year? a. Jay Z b. Kendrick Lamar c. Alessia Cara

of one encapsulating paragraph.

Words like “dynamic” and “innovative” appeared in most schools statements. Phrases like “equity and inclusion” and, “inspire creativity, courage, and collaboration” only appear in Buckley’s statement.

Most of the featured words have been decided based on the popularity of the word used by faculty when asked to describe the school.

“I would say that ‘by promoting a balanced development of mind, body, and character’ is the part that is most distinct to Buckley. We want our students to have character, whether it’s a moral character, or having empathy, this is the part that resonated with me the most,” Watts said.

BRENTWOOD AND CROSSROADS HOST GSA EVENTS AlexanderArejian ’20 off-campus editor The Brentwood School hosts annual events to gather the GenderSexuality Alliance (GSA) clubs from other nearby Independent schools as a way of creating a network for LGBTQ+ students and providing a safe, open, and youth-centered space, according to Brentwood Yearbook Advisor Asako Kurosaka-Jost.

In February, Brentwood is hosting the School Pride Project, where the Brentwood GSA invites students from other nearby independent school GSA clubs.

“LGBTQ+ youth still experience hyper-scrutinization even when doing the simple act of holding the hand of someone they like. Creating a space in which youth on the spectrum, awesome allies, etc. can come together to socialize is extremely important. This is why I am committed to holding this yearly dance event,” Kurosaka-Jost said.

The Buckley GSA does not participate in the Brentwood GSA

Dance and has considered the possibility of organizing a similar event.

“I think it is helpful for schools to host events to gather GSA clubs in one place because it brings together people who may or may not feel under represented in their own school, into an environment that is oversaturated with members of the LGBTQ+ community. This is a good thing because it can lead to self acceptance and normalization,” Buckley GSA President Senior Nicholas Guzman said.

The Crossroads School’s GSA club PRIDE, hosts a monthly film night for LGBTQ+ and straight ally youth from all over the Los Angeles area. According to Adam Waters, the School Counselor at Crossroads, the monthly film nights are one of the few opportunities LGBTQ+ youth have to gather.

“Despite Los Angeles being a major metropolis, there are relatively few opportunties for LGBTQ+ youth from different schools to gather, have fun, share their sto-

ries, and support each other,” Waters said. “It’s amazing to witness.”

Attendance at local GSA events is not very common with the Buckley GSA. “Our GSA club does get invited to certain events like these, we usually leave it up to the students to decide whether or not they want to go.,” Visual Arts teacher and GSA advisor Rourk Reagan said.

The Conditional Use Permit (CUP) puts restrictions on the amount of events Buckley can host because Buckley is in a residential area. A CUP allows the city to consider uses which may be essential or desirable, but which are not allowed as a matter of right within a zoning district, through a public hearing process.

According to Reagan, Buckley would be able to plan a GSA event like this if they planned it early.

“A lot of kids feel isolated, so it’s important to have an event to express yourself, and meet people” GSA club member, Sophomore Fiona Dalali Crowe said.

Courtesy of Ralinda Watts

TIMELESS: The 2017 dance was held at the Brentwood School in February. Details regarding 2018’s event will be released at a later date.

11

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT tuesday, december 12, 2017 |

Makeup

The Student Voice

rtist

of the Month

ALL IMAGES courtesy of Kate Blaylock

URSULA’S LOOK: To complete Senior Ella Beatty’s makeup for her role as Ursula in The Little Mermiad, Blaylock spent roughly an hour and half doing her makeup each night. The white makeup required many coats.

PLAN AHEAD: Blaylock plans makeup looks before meeting with clients to have a clear plan that she is proud of and ensure her client likes the design.

LaurenGood ’18 editor-in-chief Ever since Senior Kate Blaylock was a little girl, she was always interested in makeup. Blaylock would sneak through her mother’s makeup drawers and create looks of fantastical characters, such as an evil witch or Snow White. Blaylock believes she has always been “weird,” meaning she likes to take creative risks, but she makes no qualms about it — she said she likes being the one people look at.

“Makeup has been such a passion of mine and such an outlet. It has been the one thing I can hold onto because I know I can do well with it,” Blaylock said. “Even when I do not feel good enough, my creativity has been there to support me.”

Blaylock first realized she could pursue makeup as a career when she acted as the Wicked Witch in a middle school production of The Wizard of Oz. “I had to be covered in green paint. The whole process of doing it was amazing because I did not realize it could be a profession, but I loved creating characters and having the canvas be my face,” she said.

Blaylock plans to attend college for a creative business degree, then attend a cosmetology school to become a licensed makeup artist. She wants to work in the makeup industry before opening her own makeup brand. What she believes will differentiate her from other companies is her desire to help others with her cosmetics.

“I want to do something I know I am good at and something I love, but also create something that is for the people and can help people,” Blaylock said. “[I want to]

EXPERIMENTING WITH COLOR: This look was inpsired by primary colors. Blaylock used yellow, red, and blue eyeshadows.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: On the weekends, Blaylock practices different makeup looks.

BLUE & RED: Blaylock was inspired by makeup artist Jordan Hanz, who did a similar look with red and blue.

create more diversity in foundation shades, find makeup that is good for people with allergies or acne, or even make collaborative makeup lines with charities where all the proceeds go towards their cause.”

Blaylock’s commitment to makeup allowed her to serve as Buckley’s makeup artist for The Addams Family last year, in which she created “creepy yet comical characters.” This year, Blaylock did the makeup for seniors working the maze at the Halloween Dance and for the cast of The Little Mermaid.

“My favorite part of doing makeup at

Buckley is working with classmates who I did not know very well as a new student who entered in junior year. The theater community at Buckley is very open and it was fun to be around everyone. If I am not able to be in a show, I want to help out in a show,” she said.

Blaylock is heavily inspired by pop culture. She began studying special effects makeup while watching horror movies, which she said do not scare her, but she watches for the artistic elements. She also follows makeup artists on social media who do work for music videos and television for ideas. Additionally, one of her biggest

“

I do not walk out of the house every day wearing orange eyeshadow to try to attract a man who likes orange. Makeup is not superficial.”

sources of inspiration is RuPaul’s Drag Race, because she believes the show is a fun way to let the world know it is acceptable for people to express who they are through makeup, regardless of gender.

“As I was flipping channels when I was 13, I saw men in dresses and makeup, and thought it was really cool. I became addicted and finished like three seasons that week. Drag brings in other topics that I love, such as performance art and beauty, so when I got into doing my makeup every day, it was because of RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Blaylock said.

When Blaylock has a client (friends, family, or people who hear about her work through word-of-mouth), she often maps their makeup on her own face at home so she goes into their session prepared. She also makes sure to figure out every individual’s face shape and skin type, because she believes “what looks good on one person does not look good on every person.”

According to Blaylock, makeup is not something she does to impress others, but something she does for herself. To her clients who feel insecure with their looks and want to use makeup to hide, Blaylock reminds them that they are beautiful the way they are.

“I do not walk out of the house every day wearing orange eyeshadow to try to attract a man who likes orange. Makeup is not superficial,” Blaylock said. “I think that any way to express yourself artistically is an art form. My face is a blank canvas and I can color it any way I want to.

12

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT tuesday, december 12, 2017 |

The Student Voice

Who does arts outside of school?

Francisco Hernández

courtesy of Francisco Hernández

Sophie Hood

Buckley students may know Junior Sophie Hood from her days as assistant director of The Little Mermaid or her short films played in assemblies, but Hood also spends her Saturdays playing in her band, Fanny.

“It’s fun because it’s something I’d never thought I’d end up doing. It feels like playing pretend when you’re little in a fun way,” Hood said.

Through a mutual friend, Hood met Emily, who needed a bassist, and the band was formed over this past summer.

With two other girls, Lily James and Sophie Ramirez, they write their own songs and Hood classified their music as rock or garage rock.

Some dancers choreograph and watch their image come into play, while other dancers enjoy dancing in an actual production, according to Assistant Director of Admissions Francisco Hernández. Hernández does both. Either participating in a class himself at Millennium Dance Complex and teaching a class (like Work-it-Out Wednesday), Hernández involves himself in all forms of dance.

“When you’re on state, you just forget. And when I’m at rehearsal, I just have a good time,” Hernández said.

When Hernández attended Harvard University, he involved himself in the Expression Dance Company after watching his little sister on the cheer squad in high school.

He became the director of Expressions his senior year, while participating as a dancer.

“Ever since the first time I’ve performed, for me, hip hop has always been something that let me put a lot of my emotional baggage out there and just leave it on the floor and just perform,” Hernández said.

Although there are different types of hip hop (island hip hop, reggae hip hop), Hernández prefers “old school” or street hip-hop.

“It’s more about, the word we use in hip hop is, swag. It’s more about the personality, not that I would never backup dance for Beyoncé, we would call that more fierce hip hop.

It’s more putting on a show,” Hernández said. “With street hip hop it’s more angry, it’s more raw, it’s more emotional.

Whereas when you’re doing Around the World for Beyoncé, it’s more about empowerment.”

“I’ve always really liked music and I guess the ability to have it be like, “oh, we all really like this artists or show somebody’s songs.”It’s like this inspires me, let’s bring part of this into our music,” Hood said. “Music has always been something I’ve really enjoyed from a spectator point of view, and it’s really fun to say these are the people we really respect musically and we want to emulate that.”

Hood started playing the bass on campus when she borrowed the bass from band class and fell in love with the instrument.

“It’s very visceral in a way. Sometimes I’ll play music where I’ll have to read music but if it’s just a melody I remember from a song or something that I’m making up,” Hood said. “I’m somebody who’s really in their head and playing is very out of your head. It’s very in your body, I guess, and I really like that variation.”

Alvin Liu

By joining his middle school jazz band, Sophomore Alvin Liu found his instrument: the saxophone. Although playing the sax may seem hard, it is secretly easy, according to Liu. Because he loves the sax, Liu plays it in his free time.

“When people hear the soothing sound of a sax, people’s panties fly off when they hear the sax. It sounds so good,” Liu said.

Courtesy of Sophie Hood

His musical instrument has lead him to study different kinds of music beyond “weird EDM” that many teenagers listen to today. From Charlie Parker to Louis Armstrong to Duke Ellington, Liu kept listening to good jazz players to improve his musicianship from learning from the jazz greats.

Liu previously has performed “Careless Whisper” at the school talent show and plans to enact a “part two” at this year’s performance.

“When you blow into the saxophone, it vibrates and as you blow out, it’s like you’re feeling the notes,” Liu said.

Viv Rubanenko GRACE MESENBRING The StudentVoice

Senior Viv Rubanenko loves to write songs so much that some of her compositions have taken a year to complete.

Rubanenko goes to recording studios with her mother, who is a professional songwriter, and feels inspired by her mother’s work. According to Rubanenko, her mother passed down “her gift” of songwriting.

“My mom is my biggest fan and always listens to songs and helps me out,” she said.

Songwriting provides a creative outlet for Rubanenko whenever she feels stressed or anxious. She pours her emotions into each songs she writes and by the end can understand her issue through a third perspective, according to Rubanenko.

Courtesy of Maria O’Driscoll

“[My songs] may be in the first person but I’m able to detach myself and give myself more clarity and perspective when things are hard to deal with,” she said.

While Rubanenko participated in the school musical in her freshman year, she prefers singing to acting and shares her music with family and friends (with a couple of songs published on iTunes).

“Singing and doing music is really special. Just having my voice heard in new way that is unique to me,” Rubanenko said.

Although she does not wish to pursue songwriting as a career, she loves the process. According to her, the process of writing a song is complicated to explain because she does not write songs in a formulaic manner. Rubananeko said the music just pours out of her.

Maria O’Driscoll

Tom Cruise once said he “would never act on the Globe [stage] because it was too scary,” according to the stage manager at The Globe in London. English teacher Maria O’Driscoll attended a summer program (Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance) and performed in Macbeth as Lady Macbeth and the Porter at midnight at the Globe Theater three years ago.

“It was one of the best experience of my life,” O’Driscoll said.

For 10-12 hours a day, O’Driscoll and 30 other American teachers studied the works of Shakespeare (particularly Macbeth), learned Elizabethan dance and music, worked with school children (some with a “limited education”), and spent time in the costume department, where they did not use sewing machines to parallel 17th century England.

“We were sort of delving into not only the language of

Courtesy of Viv Rubanenko

Shakespeare but the culture surrounding that, and demystifying the idea of Shakespeare being very esoteric or very sophisticated,” she said.

While working with children, O’Driscoll loved the children’s energy and noticed that this energy improved the performance.

“They’re willing to open up their hearts and take a risk. I think we can learn a lot by kids and through them and their attitudes. And they just have a sense of fun, which prohibits an adult actor in some ways,” she said.

Working at the Globe taught O’Driscoll not only the codependence of actor and author in Shakespearian acting but also the importance of risk-taking.

“As a teacher, you can feel like you’re in a position of complete vulnerability when you have to learn how to dance in an Elizabethan style,” O’Driscoll said. “You don’t know how to do it, you’ve never done it, you feel like a complete novice, but it’s funny because it’s humbling.”

13

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Artistic vs. Creative tuesday, december 12, 2017 |

GraceMesenbring ’19 a&e editor “The art world and creativity can often be two separate and distinct things,” said Head Librarian Matthew Wittmer, who earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Southwest Missouri State University and Master of Fine Arts degree from University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Although the art world and creativity are often interwoven as one entity, a person can be creative in fields separate to the arts.

Junior Connor Lammas said he does not view himself as an artist in terms of “working with his hands,” He said. “I can’t draw or paint, but I do consider myself artistic when it comes to things like graphic design or writing,” Lammas said.

In Buckley art classes, Lammas learned about color theory, negative space, and composition. When it comes to his personal creativity, he believes his critical thinking and creative analyzation makes him creative.

Wittmer affirmed that critical thinking, problem solving, making something new, or living with imagination, all require creativity.

“I have seen a lot of art that has lacked creativity,” Wittmer said.

“As a boy, I was always making

The Student Voice

things.” Whether it be reconstructed boxes, drawings or silly pictures, “creativity has guided me.”

Wittmer argued that creativity is dependent on the judge. In the same manner in which art and beauty is subjective to an individual’s view on the subject, creativity is dependent on contrasting ideas, use of resources, and thinking beyond what is considered “normal,” whatever that may be. To achieve this level of creativity, one must think without being limited by boundaries.

“Anyone can have artistic abilities, but creativity is something that has to be pursued,” Visual Arts Chair Ellen Mahoney said.

She said that people can have natural artistic talent and a skill set, while creativity is the application of the skills in new ways.

“There is certainly outsider art that is made from those without formal artistic training, but they worked at it and used creativity,” Mahoney said. Outsider art is an example of art made by people without proper artistic training or relation to what the art world deems as “fine art,” according to Raw Vision Magazine. Outsider art is the application of expression, creativity, and new ideas that

make a new style or entity.

Creativity is not solely confined to art. Science Department CoChair and STEAM Director Dr. Aidyl S. González-Serricchio defined art as trying something new and testing ideas without consequences. “I attribute [my creativity] to my ADHD and ADD. I do magic, I watch cartoons, I read comic books, and I try to visit the lower school to tap into the fun part of life that high schoolers don’t always think about,” Gonález-Serricchio said.

González-Serricchio had an activity with her biology class in which they played with fire alongside a quizlet game. When someone won, they got to burn their flash cards with the problems on them. This activity was a creative way to learn but had no relation to art.

According to Gonález-Serricchio, students cannot be afraid to fail, as creativity does not always have to be successful. “Half of the applied science projects blow up or explode and you learn from that,” Gonález-Serricchio said. “I could show you so many projects that have failed. My last project and my current project both were not a success. But it’s okay. What’s great about creativity is that there

are no consequences.”

Mahoney said with regard to creativity, “A lot of it is about getting out of your own way and continue free associate and those free associations lead you to creative development.”

“Every artist is going to have their own independent idea about what creativity is and what art is,” Wittmer said. “The question ‘what art is?’ is a question that every art student will have think about or write papers on because art is subjective.

“I don’t know where the line that divides the two stand,” Mahoney said.

15%

85%

Do you consider yourself CREATIVE?

42% 58%

Do you consider yourself ARTISTIC?

Poll collected on December 11, 2017 with 166 responses

Music: A Platform for Social & Political Change “ I think when big artists use their platforms to shed light on issues, people open their minds up more.

They look up to musicians and they respect them more than they respect and listen to the common people sitting next to them. So when they hear musicians like Beyoncé, Joyner Lucas, and Kendrick Lamar preach about systemic issues, they are more willing to listen.”

- Safia Smith ’19

“Kendrick Lamar often talks about people of color in America. He makes commentary through his music that brings awarenss to current injustices.” Taylor Rowe ’19

“F**k tha Police by N.W.A. comments on police brutality and makes a statement.”

- Will Stieg ’19

DylanPrince ’19 Staff Reporter When Justin Bieber decided to remix the Latin single “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee back in late April, the United States saw something that had never happened before: the chart topping success of a mainly Spanish spoken song—for a consecutive 16 weeks. Rivaled only by Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men’s 1995 hit “One Sweet Day,” the Justin Bieber remix of “Despacito” tied for the longest-running No. 1 spot on the Billboard 100 Charts, even though the lyrics of the summer anthem remained foreign to most American listeners.

“Despacito’s” success reflected a change in American demographics: the influence of Latin American culture. In the U.S. ,the Spanish language and Latin culture has begun to blossom over the past decades with cities like Los Angeles, where almost half the current population is Latino.

The Canadian singer’s remix paved the way for a Latin music revolution in America, with big American artists beginning to collaborate with Latin ones, such as Beyoncé on J Balvin and Willy William hit “Mi Gente,” yet also reflected a change in demographics across the United States. “Despacito’s” popularity stands as recognition and embrace of the ever-growing Latino population in America.

This all raises the question: how can music impact us? Though not all chart toppers in the past have had the social impact of “Despacito,” music can be an effective tool to bring about social, economic, and even political change.

Music has been a platform of struggle and a call for change for years. From 19th century heartwrenching abolitionist slave hymns to Bob Dylan’s meditative, question-raising 1963 “Blowin’ in the Wind” to YG and Nipsey Hussle’s wrathful 2016 presidential protest “FDT” (which resulted in efforts by the Secret Service to censor the song), music has shown to be a way to advocate for or to critique social political and economic conditions.

Music has proven to be an effective tool for change; the Civil Rights movement was characterized by its protest songs like Nina Simone’s “Mississippi God-

damn.”

In 2017, musicians still use their art to better society. Chance Bennett, better known by his stage name “Chance the Rapper,” is one of these musicians who utilize music for positive change. The 24-year-old has been a proud activist and leader for young people in his hometown of Chicago. From partnering with the Chicago Public Library on free open mic events to donating $1 million to Chicago Public schools to reciting lyrics like “Everybody’s somebody’s everything. I know you right. Nobody’s nothing. That’s right,” Chance has used his music and his music career to inspire millennials and younger generations, proving the positive impact of modern music.

Senior Sam Zukin’s favorite song is Jay Z & Kanye West’s 2011“No Church in the Wild” featuring Frank Ocean and The-Dream, due to the song’s thought provoking nature. It’s cinematic: a thumping bassline hums with dangerous rhythm while the string-backed chorus’ lyrics discuss faith in our modern-day wild world. While the song does not call for direct change, Frank Ocean’s hook exemplifies the song’s topic of an existential crisis with faith in the face of economic turmoil and political unrest: “Human beings in a mob What’s a mob to a king? What’s a king to a god? What’s a god to a non-believer who don’t believe in anything? Will he make it out alive? Alright, alright, no church in the wild.” Zukin remarks that the lyrics “fuse differing examples of power struggles related toward the use of God and religion as a tool of oppression,” which makes the song invigorating and contemplative and appealing to him.

Music — especially in today’s restless time has proven to be an effective tool in bringing about the betterment of the human condition, unity, and expression of one’s political standpoint. Whether it be bass heavy rap anthems or melodic folk songs, music is a form of art and expression, and a way to bring awareness to issues.

14

OPINION

tuesday, october 17, 2017 |

Elliot Choi’18 Editor-in-chief

Oppose the voice of the majority to ensure originality

In elementary school, I participated in public forum debate. I debated resolutions on mandatory childhood vaccinations, illegal immigration policies, and my favorite, the justification of an unilateral force preventing nuclear proliferation. Of course, the contentions my partner and I presented weren’t the most polished or brilliant arguments. However, the contentions were original. We would make a pro/con list and discuss perspectives with the whole class. Then, we would research for primary/secondary sources that supported our points. Our “opinions” became constructive arguments backed by evidence.

In high school, however, I find it arduous writing an original opinion for The Student Voice. This very opinion is more than three weeks late. I could have easily written an opinion on the high-profile men accused of sexual assault, on condemning North Korea

The Student Voice

for its missile tests, or even on “my growing patriotism” due to the POTUS’s racist tweets (this one is an actual opinion by Kashana Cauley published in The New York Times on Dec. 3). Don’t get me wrong, they are all legitimate opinions to write about, and I agree with many of the perspectives. However, would it be my opinion, or would it be a regurgitation of the general consensus and what the media is voicing?

We are constantly being influenced, whether it is scrolling through our Instagram feeds, reading the news, watching LastWeekTonight with James Evans John Oliver, or even listening to teachers. Because we spent most of our time on homework, social media, school, spending time with friends/ family, there is barely any time to process and individualize the information given to us. So when we give our opinions on the high-profile men, North Korea, or the president, we are only repeating what late-night TV hosts, social media, and the news are stating.

An opinion is only legitimate when one does the thinking, one does the research to support his or her claim, and one comprehends opposing perspectives. Like my contentions in elementary school, our individual opinions should be backed by evidence from news networks an the media, not the other way around.

If we continue to rely on the media to create our opinions, not only would it lead to a loss of identity, but also a society where individuals conform to only one opinion created by the majority. While it may seem obvious, take the time to think why the high-profile men accused of sexual assault deserve to be condemned in your original words and thoughts. Question yourself: How do I feel about the president’s tweets, and how does it affect me? Use your own brilliant thoughts and words to develop an opinion.

Over winter break, be curious, discover something different

Sara Sara Broukhim Broukhim ’20 ’20 Opinion Editor opinion editor

O

ver the Thanksgiving break, I interviewed my grandpa, inspired by an English assignment. I live five minutes from my grandparents house, slept over, and traveled with both of them

on numerous trips to Disneyland. We all still talk about the time my grandma’s infamous green visor flew off on Thunder Mountain.

I’ve had countless interviews with teachers, administrators, and students on this campus, all fulfilling, yet none quite as heartwarming or personal as the one I completed with my grandfather. I plan on continuing this trend of interviews with other family members (like my mom or aunt) outside my English class because of a desire to find something once undiscovered.

Aside from my grandma yelling/repeating questions I asked from across the table because my grandfather is hard of hearing, the interview was very relaxing. We talked over tea, with him doing most of the talking, and I learned more about my grandfather and family in indescribable ways. He told

Colette Kanbarian ’19 campus editor

How the pre-college process changed me The transcript: a combination of letters and numbers in black and white, 8.5x11 sheet of paper are meant to define us, to encompass the best qualities of ourself.

No matter how unjust or inaccurate this portrayal can be, it is the reality of our educational system—we must be the ones who look out for our own mental, physical, and emotional health in a society that only sees us in two-dimensions.

Towards the end of last year, I began to lose sight of my personal values, and began to view what was truly unnecessary, such as the highest grade and the perfect GPA, as essential. In turn, sleep, lunch, and free time became luxuries, and I would rarely walk downstairs to eat dinner with my family or spend time with my little brother. I started to focus more and more on the concrete deadlines, the numbers which lived under the “Progress” tab of MyBuckley, and began to view myself and my decisions through the eyes of a college admissions director.

In the beginning of my junior year, I

me about his immigration story sparked by the Iranian Revolution; he had to choose between staying in Iran to sort out the family finances (which would take a long time but provide financial support) or to leave Iran to start anew with his family. He left.

At 50, he left everything behind for his family, knowing very little English, and he had to re-earn his license to practice in California. Some of his other family members decided to stay in Iran, while their intermediate family immigrated to America. He never regretted his decision because his arrival with his family allowed my mom and aunt to have someone to support them in a new country and eventually study to become doctors. My mother has told me this story a countless amount of times before. But hearing the story from my grandfather was like listening a really good book with the author as a narrator.

Talking with my grandpa for a few hours allowed me gain a new perspective not only on his life but on the rest of my family’s as well. Moreover, while his story may not be

began to realize that, twenty years from now, I will not look back on my high school experience and wish that I spent more time studying, but that I will wish I enjoyed the years as they flew by. I will regret not spending more time with my friends, not putting down the computer to go outside, and regret wasting precious moments stressing over a percentage.

It can be dangerous to become obsessed with how someone who has never met you will judge you, and how to shape your transcript to be reflective of a version of yourself you strive to one day become. It might be ambitious, and it might be outright ridiculous. But frankly, as Buckley students, we choose to feed into this insatiable drive for the top, this climb with no ceiling. In most cases, this devotion and dedication can be the driving force that will lead to better grades and academic achievement.

However, the real issue is that beneath the façade of perfection, a detrimental culture of competition and pressure surrounds Buckley students—and a sense of self-respect and independent thinking can save us from being enveloped.

I can sympathize with the hope that an Ivy League acceptance letter will bring an unprecedented source of happiness, an accomplishment coupled with validation and security. However, if my values, my connection with my family and friends, and my health are sacrificed in the process, then the crimson sweatshirt will never be worth it to me. If the version of myself that walks to the mailbox to retrieve that acceptance letter is a version of myself I am not satisfied with, then I will not have really accomplished much at all. I know that there is so much more to the world when you see yourself beyond the two-dimensional lens of a high school transcript.

recorded in the history books, a recording of our conversation will allow me to remember the past of my family and carry it with me to the future. Learning about my greatgrandma and mom’s childhood tap dancing lessons, ultimately learning where I come from in a bigger picture, truly permits for a understanding of where I come from beyond place of origin.

Although the little stories that may not mean much to others, they are sometimes the stories that can make us laugh the hardest or shed a tear or two. Each individualistic story of hardship or laughter makes us, and in extension, our families unique and special and that should be cherished in the simplest of forms (like through an interview or conversation or anything of the like).

So whether you’re having yourself a “Merry Little Christmas” or partying on your eight crazy nights of Hanukkah, I invite you, this holiday season, to interview a family member for the new memories you might find or just to learn a little more about them; you never know what you might discover.

The Voice wishes everyone happy holidays!

Over the break, we wish you safe travels, wonderful times spent with family or friends, and relaxing endeavors. Enjoy your break (you deserve it)!

15

OPINION

tuesday, december 12, 2017 |

The Student Voice

staff editorial

The Voice praises the efforts of the school and members of our community Due to the recent fires, thousands of acres of land burned, hundreds of schools closed down, and many civilians had to evacuate their homes in search of safety, according to CNN. In the flurry of all this destruction and chaos, the administration and Buckley, as a community, has acted admirably and professionally to accommodate students with revisions to the finals schedule, offers of temporary residents for those affected by the fire (from students and the Parents’ Association), and many volunteers to organize an event in appreciation of firefighters.

The Editorial Board applauds the actions of the administration of providing two review days on Dec. 11-12, a study day on Dec.

13, and finals on Dec. 15-16 and 18, while providing the student body with two free dress days. In a time of disarray, the administration acted promptly and professionally to inform parents, students, and faculty of all updates made to schedule changes.

Moreover, Buckley has acted compassionately to students who were affected by the recent natural disasters.

Buckley has additionally accommodated the finals schedule by opening the school gates on Dec. 7 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. for students to retrieve any necessary materials for studying. This action highlights the school’s awareness to students needs even in times of high anxiety.

The administration has also provided emotional support (if needed) for students who experienced anxiety due to recent events through the school counselor and by providing resources from the American Psychological Association.

Furthermore, the Editorial Board expresses great praise for the multilateral partnership of the administration, FreshLunches, and Lower School student volunteers for feeding over 1500 firefighters combatting the Skirball Fire.

The Voice acclaims the efforts of the administration by making this time of disorder as painless as possible, as well as prioritizing the safety of students.

the student newspaper of The Buckley School Contact The Voice at: 3900 Stansbury Avenue, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 818.783.1610 ext. 461 studentvoice@buckley.org editors-in-chief Elliot Choi ‘18 Lauren Good ’18 managing editors Amir Behbahani ’19 Colette Kanbarian ‘19 campus editors Celine Farhadi ‘19 Colette Kanbarian ‘19 off-campus editors Ryan Norris ‘19 Alexander Arejian ’20 opinion editor Sara Broukhim ‘20

The Editorial Board voted 11-0 in favor of this editorial.

diversity editor Elizabeth Seo ’18 arts and entertainment editor Grace Mesenbring ’19 news beats & profiles editor Amir Behbahani ‘19 sports editor Sebestian Moftakhar ’20 business manager Sebestian Moftakhar ’20 staff reporters Dylan Prince ‘19, Sara Sarkissian ’19, Andrew Choi ’20, Wyatt Miller ‘20, Emma Lotts ’21, Sophia Norouzi ’21, Cameron Ryan ’21 faculty advisor Mitch Kohn

Courtesy of Bridget Smith

#SeoToo: Seo adds her story to the recent movement of sexual harrasment allegations

elizabeth seo ’18 diversity editor It was Halloween of 2008. I was a naive third grader invited to my classmate’s Halloween party. It was the first Halloween party I had ever been invited to. I begged my mom to go to Rite-Aid (I did not know that Party City existed at this time) to pick out some Halloween costumes. I wanted this Halloween to be extravagant so I picked out the sparkliest thing I saw: a witch dress.

The dress was a thin fabric that went down to my knees. It was very poorly made and probably the cheapest costume ever, but my mom bought it for me anyway.

The night of the party, I decided to do my makeup. I borrowed my mom’s old makeup and carefully applied it to my face and as the finishing touch, I put on some red lip gloss that clearly was too sticky. I put on my costume and I immediately loved it. I got to my friend’s house and I saw my friends dressed in princess and Power Ranger costumes. I sang along to some 2008 classics, I ate some

pizza, and I talked to all of my friends. It was truly a great time. In fact, I was having so much fun, I told my mom to come later than 9 p.m. because I did not want to leave the party.

As I told my mom to come later, some of my friends had started to leave, I could see that the kid-to-adult ratio had suddenly gone from 5:1 to 1:5. I saw the adults drinking alcohol and started to feel uncomfortable as I was the only girl left from the party.

I called my mom to come quickly because the male adults were starting to act weird.

I got self-conscious about what I was wearing and the makeup I had put on excitedly hours before. As I was impatiently waiting for my mom to come, I watched the men dancing around. I just wanted my mom to arrive, and I was getting angry at her, but my emotions were numbed when I saw a man, very drunk, approaching me. I just froze; I did not know what to do. He came close to me, made a remark about how I looked, held my head, and kissed my forehead. I did not know what was happening; all I knew was that the only people who had ever kissed me were my dad and my mom and that this man’s kiss felt wrong and disgusting.

My mom had finally arrived and I got into the car and yelled at my mom for not coming sooner. I went back home and tried to comprehend what had happened to me.

I cried in my witch costume. I cried off all the makeup that I had so carefully put on. I thought to myself, “I should not have worn

that dress. I should not have put on that mascara. I should not have put on that red lip gloss.” I thought that I had made myself tempting to that man and that it was my fault that this man had kissed me. I was 7.

Growing up, that experience has always subconsciously stuck in my head. I’m always scared to wear “revealing” clothing or wear too much makeup. I envied girls who were so confident with their bodies, while I only wore clothes that would hide mine.

It is extremely sad that I had no idea what that man had done. I thought for a very long time that I was to blame and that I had to change myself in order for this incident to never happen again. I blamed my mom for not coming any sooner as well.

It was only when I got to high school that I realized it was not my fault this had happened to me. It was not the dress made of thin fabric, or the red lip gloss, or the makeup I had put on. I know that there are many stories that are much more serious and intense than mine, and I know mine seems like such a minuscule event that happened.

But the truth is, it affected my life more than I expected it to.

I know that sharing a story might seem like the least effective way to spread awareness about this issue, but truthfully reading these stories made me realize that this had happened to me too. While not all of us have a #metoo moment, happily, we need to build empathy, build our awareness, and build safe and caring communities.

mission statement The Voice strives to inform and educate the students of the school as well as provide leadership on significant issues impacting the school community. editorial policy Writers and editors adhere to the highest principles of excellence in journalism including accuracy, honesty, respect, integrity, and precision. editorials Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Board of Editors of The Student Voice and not necessarily the student body’s.

Signed editorials and columns reflect only the writer’s opinion. graphics Illustrations and artistic renderings may or may not represent the opinions of the artist. advertising Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or by the school. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. distribution 1000 copies are distributed free of charge on campus and mailed to subscribers. reader input The Voice values reader input via letters, guest columns, and story ideas.

Email Sara Broukhim ’20 at sbroukhim@buckley.org for additional information.

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letters to the editor

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tions, their gifts, their ability to inspire and entertain others; why does the school not do more to support and foster their creativity?

Why can’t the school put on events – like a fashion show, an art gallery, a film festival – to celebrate these wonderful minds at our school? At my old school, the administration helped put on after-school “coffee shops,” where they would provide baked goods and a safe space for students to put on cabarets, choir performances, multiple plays per level, and more.

I feel like this school, which is known for fostering a true sense of community and protecting the Buckley bubble, could do more to support students who want to explore themselves in more artistic ways.

I feel like, if we all work to make students feel more comfortable to embrace their individual identities, especially in an environment like Buckley, that can only help us learn more about our fellow students as well as more about ourselves – a progression that can only help us as we seek to become not only more attractive college applicants but also more fully realized young adults.

Sincerely, Kate Blaylock ’18

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Improv Workshop

Theater 1, 2, and 3

Drawing & Painting

By enforcing a dress code that requires opaque, black tights, the administration solidifies the notion that girls’ bodies are inherently sexual. Girls, in this critical time of adolescence, should be taught to love and respect their bodies. By forbidding girls from

campus, many girls will not feel the need to hike up their skirts to impress guys. Girls are exposed to hundreds of images in the media daily that reinforce the idea that a woman’s power or worth lies in her sexuality. It is only natural that these students continue to

I remember one time, at an assembly, when a boy took off his shirt. No one batted an eye, no one was offended, and a teacher actually took a picture with him. I have to pose the question: what kind of message does this send to the female student body?

My 11-year-old sister is a sixth grader at Buckley. Although I had known before that the middle schoolers were required to wear tights, the severity of this issue was made clear to me when I realized that this would affect her. The sixth graders are still kids: they are growing and maturing, but they are still kids. It is concerning that at 11-yearolds, these kids are already being sexualized.

Not just in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandals or the #metoo movement, but in recognition of the sexual harassment women face on a daily basis, it is critical that we take a stand against misogyny, and a revision of the current dress code is a strong first step.

creative fashion, much of the joy and meaning that I find in life, and much of the impact that I’ve made in the world thus far, has come through my artistic expression. However, I feel like Buckley falls short in presenting its students with many creative opportunities. I do not mean to say that the teachers at Buckley are less than helpful and support-

Considering their inclinations, their gifts, their ability to inspire and entertain others, why does the school not do more to support and foster their creativity?” ive; that is not the case. Speaking on my own experience, I can say that many teachers like Mr. Nash and Ms. Bamford have provided

Number of Students in...

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AP Art History

Girl’s dress code sexualizes our female student body

EmeBass ’18 guest writer We live in a sexist world. While progress has been made in the pursuit of the equality, misogyny, and/or internalized patriarchal notions, sexism still colors the experiences of most women. Young women really come face-to-face with these experiences in middle and high school. Sadly, as these years commence, it is almost expected and tolerated that teenage boys sexualize and degrade their female classmates. Buckley is not immune to this problem. Whether or not they are actively aware of it, the administration contributes to this phenomenon; the dress code for female students, which attempts to limit the sexualization of female students, only perpetuates this issue further.

I was actually prompted to write this article after I saw a teacher call out a middle school girl, in front of all of her friends, for wearing tights that were not opaque enough. It did not make sense to me why the darkness of a 13-year-old girl’s tights was so offensive that she needed to be publicly shamed for them.

I understand the reasoning behind the dress code. I have heard my fair share of stories about how teachers or prospective families on tour would be flashed as girls hurried up the stairs. I do not want to see up anyone’s skirt, either. However, people who violate the dress code or have inappropriately short skirts should be punished individually.

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me with the opportunity to flex my skills and showcase my passions as a makeup artist on both The Addams Family and The Little Mermaid. Bam has also gifted me a book about makeup design from her personal collection, as has Mr. Rollman and Mr. Wittmer – a fount of knowledge and someone with makeup experience himself – has loaned me a video on this passion of mine.

That said, I cannot help but notice how this wonderful school fails to promote the work of many of its talented students.

Though Buckley offers classes from video production to photography to theater, there appears to be very limited times when these students’ works are presented outside of the classroom. Rather, these creative minds must compete for the one video slot reserved during the school assembly or spaces in the hallway outside the dance room. Even the improv students, who, every once in awhile, get to showcase their skills and entertain their peers during the wonderfully odd improv lunch event, suffer from Buckley’s lack of promotion. And so I must ask, why?

I know so many individuals in my grade alone who are so interested in the arts. I’m sure this is true for many in the other grades aside from mine. Considering their inclina-

Buckley can promote the arts by providing balance between academics and craft ear Editor, I write to you today to initiate a conversation that I hope the school’s faculty will hear and consider. They will certainly recognize the mission statement, which reads: The Buckley School is a dynamic, nurturing learning community committed to equity and inclusion. Our innovative teachers and challenging programs inspire creativity, courage, and collaboration. By promoting a balanced development of mind, body, and character, we encourage each student to find joy and meaning in life and make an impact in the world.

Given this new mission, I must inquire, how has the school actually promoted the creativity and “balanced development” they promised us?

As a student whose mind works in a rather

tuesday, december 12, 2017

STUDENTPOLL Do you think the dress code is unfair?

Courtesy of Eme Bass

showing their legs, they are being taught that their bodies are erotic or shameful. This is the same message being displayed to the male student body. School should be a safe place where girls are not fearful of their bodies. If we promote a healthy body image on

sexualize themselves if they are being taught from a young age that their bodies are objects of desire. Buckley, a diverse and progressive school, should be combatting these notions of internalized sexism, not feeding into them.

75%

25%

Yes

No

165 responses collected from Dec. 5 to Dec. 11

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PROFILES & NEWS BEATS tuesday, december 12, 2017 |

The Student Voice

Basmagian returns to CIF after 39 years continued from page 1

Mock trial successful with addition of new lowerclassmen

AmirBehbahani ’19 news beats & profiles editor Buckley’s Mock Trial club continues this year with new co-presidents, Senior Jessica Bushman and Junior Imogen Katcher, and advisor Steve Milich.

On Nov. 2 and Nov. 9, the students attended Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles and participated in a court trial simulation. Bushman said she was very excited for the new members of the club.

“I was really happy this year because in years prior we had more upperclassmen than lowerclassmen, but this year, the lowerclassmen brought a lot of spirit. They performed really well in the trial and were really engaged,” Bushman said.

During the first trial, the defense

consisted of Senior Bushman and Senior Matteen Taghavi, Juniors Ryan Norris, Sara Sarkissian, and Katcher, and Freshmen Kaayla Nehmadi and Amelia Shaffer.

During the second trial, the prosecutors included Senior Lauren Good, Juniors Janet Lee and Kiana Soleiman, Sophomore Jonathan Baron, and Freshmen Benjamin Kaplan, Nikki Shirazi, and Icusa Kakinuma.

The judge’s verdict was not in the team’s favor during the first trial on Nov. 2, but the team won the the judge’s decision on Nov. 9.

The team is awaiting results to see if it will continue onto the next round of competition this year.

“I was excited to see the team work together and really come together. We did amazing this year and I am looking forward to next year,” Katcher said.

Courtesy of Buckley Images

SERVING UP VICTORY: Coach Rae Basmagian [seen on right] demonstrates a serving technique to the Varsity Girls Volleyball Team. gym time. Though only advocating for her team’s necessary training, Basmagian says that others thought that the potential championship team “was more of a nuisance than anything.” So, that night before playoffs, the maintenance department had decided clean the gym’s stage with ammonia for the holidays concerts which were five weeks away, a decision which prevented the girls from preparing for the most important match of their high school careers.

Basmagian also said that her team had not been playing at full capacity during the championship game. The match had taken place near South Beach, so members of team had decided to stay on one of the parent’s yacht the night before. “I believe to this day, that I think I had one sober player on the court that saturday morning in 1978,” says Basmagian. “As a coach you think you’ve

done everything right and to sabotage ourselves like that, I have never forgotten.”

Thirty years later, Ms. Basmagian is still coaching, but with a different title. Ms. Basmagian is now the assistant coach to girls Volleyball, a title which she characterizes as feeling, “like you are lucky to be a part of [the team], because you don’t have all the responsibility of the Head Coach.”

Ms. Basmagian’s enthusiasm and appreciation of the game persists as she says “the fact that I’m still even coaching, still even around the game, I’ve learned so much. The game has evolved. I’ve learned a lot from Juliane, Anthony. I’m just so glad to be around it. I’m grateful.”

To Ms. Basmagian, the 2017 girls volleyball season and champion are “memories of a lifetime.”

Community Engagement Council proposes new “pre-spirit points” to BSC

CelineFarhadi’19 campus editor Buckley Student Council (BSC) keeps busy planning the upcoming Aloha Friday, which will take on a new form this month, and teaming up with the Community Engagement members to add a service element to Spirit Week.

BSC and the Community Engagement Council are discussing the creation of “pre-spirit points,” points that grades earn throughout the year by participating in service activities, which are added to their Spirit Week scores in March. According to Community Engagement Council member Sophomore Annika Reff, the activities that grades can earn points for include participating in drives, sales, and community service events with their advisory. Pre-spirit

points are “a way to increase Buckley’s spirit throughout the year while also causing good,” Reff said.

In an effort to ensure equity and that no grade gets too much of an advantage going into Spirit Week, the Student Council Advisor Robert Wright intends to keep the points high enough to create a real incentive but low enough not to decide a winner before the week even begins, although he has yet to assign specific point values to service activities.

“Spirit Week is meant to be a fun time that encourages grades to engage in friendly competitions. Part of making it fun is the level of fairness and planning that goes into Spirit Week,” Wright said.

Courtesy of Emme Shaffer

JUDGE’S VERDICT : Buckley’s Mock Trial Team members celebrates their victory as they find out they have won their case.

HARRY L. DOUGHERTY JR. D.D.S., M.S.

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Neighborhood Council meets, discusses housing

SaraSarkissian’19 staff reporter The Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council met on Nov. 13 to request taking action on guidelines being adopted by the city of Los Angeles about higher density housing, specifically in Sherman Oaks.

The Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council is one of 96 councils across Los Angeles formed in 2000 in response to interest in the San Fernando Valley to secede from the city of Los Angeles, as an attempt to bring local government to the people.

The council in Sherman Oaks is divided into seven sections, each consisting of three representatives: a resident representative, a business representative, and a community interest representative. Each representative must also be a member of a separate committee, which meets once a month to discuss the business aspects of the council.

The councils are intended to represent the interests of the people, and as a recommending groups, they examine issues that are relevant to the community and make recommendations to city departments or councilmen about how the councils thinks departments and councilmen should legislate. Members also participate in community outreach and charity programs.

Meetings are held once a month on the second Monday of the month, and members of the community are allowed to attend meetings and participate. The meetings typically begin with a presentation by local community representatives, such as police officers, firemen, people from the councilman’s district, and state government representatives, and follow agendas with specific topics and projects to be discussed.

According to Head of the Middle School

and of the Area 7 Neighborhood Council Neal Roden, development projects attract the largest crowds. The school had to go before the neighborhood council to discuss plans for development, such as plans for the construction of the Community Center of the Arts and, more recently, the renovated Quinn Martin Building. As a result of the Neighborhood Council’s legislation, Buckley has a formal limit on the number of development projects allowed and will be unable to construct any new buildings for at least ten years.

In the past, the neighborhood council has also played a role in placing limitations on the school’s maximum capacity of people.

The school is currently only allowed to have 830 students on campus on a school day and during the weekends, the number is limited to under a 100 people. The school is allotted 20 days in a year where over 100 people are allowed to be on campus during the weekend, and in the evenings, only four events past 6:30 pm can be held on campus in a month, including sports games, musicals, and plays.

“We have been very fortunate to have councilmen who have been very supportive of education, and they try to work with neighbors and local groups as well as the school to come up with the best compromises while trying to help Buckley reach its goals for the interest of its students,” said Roden.

In the future, the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council has plans to assist the community with environmental and social concerns through programs, such as working to get the homeless of Sherman Oaks to work and a tree giveaway program to help the environment.

Business Office relocates onto campus LaurenGood’18 editor-in-chief The Buckley Business Office, headed

by Chief Financial Officer Lisa Turchan, relocated their office from an offsite building at 14140 Ventura Boulevard onto campus.

According to Turchan, the relocation was due to financial reasons, as the lease was expiring, and “the desire to have greater integration with our campus operations to better serve the needs of teachers, students, families, and administration of the school.”

The Business Office is temporarily in the construction trailers and has no immediate or specific plans of where it will move.

Turchan said she and other members of the Business Office are happy to be back on campus.

The Business Office just completed the Annual Financial Audit of the school and the annual report will be issued along with other highlights from the year.

Amir Behbahani The Student Voice

SAFER CAMPUS: Head Nurse Paula Ptacek has been part of the new EpiPen protocol.

Health Office adds new way to safely dispose of EpiPens EmmaLotts’21 staff reporter The health office is now disposing EpiPens in a separate box from the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) boxes to make them more accessible. According to Head Nurse Paula Ptacek, about three years ago California invented a program where an EpiPen can be kept in schools and businesses. EpiPens are typically held in bright yellow boxes and are specifically used during emergencies. The boxes are kept in monitored settings where there are trained individuals who know when to use them.

“We have had these at Buckley for at least two or three years. In the past, they were stationed in the AED boxes but soon, they are gonna be in bright yellow boxes next to

the AED and first aid boxes,” Ptacek said.

The box contains the same medicine but is just in a different shape. This new system called Auvi-Q will talk to and guide the individual in the emergency.

“I believe that this gives people comfort that they can help even if they forget the steps,” Ptacek said. “It also gives parents comfort that their children could help themselves.”

Also new in the health office, Ptacek has just started the “Superhero against Germs” program in the lower school for this first time since last year. She said it “help[s] provide infection control, to minimize the spread of germs that cause illness at school and at home.”

Original play for Spring Drama selected GraceMesenbring’19 a&e editor “The spring drama is a world premiere.

It’s very exciting,” Drama and Dance Department Chair Neil Nash said.

For the 2018 spring drama, the Drama Department has selected an original play written by Lower and Middle School drama teacher Dr. Steven Totland. Titled Isabel and Alice, the play is based on the novel Cousin Henry, by 19th century French novelist Anthony Trollope. Totland has done treatment of Cousin Henry, updated it, and changed some of the characters.

The play is about a dying wealthy man who is torn about who to bequeath his estate to an immediate family member or someone who has been like a daughter to

him,” Nash said.

The adaptation takes place in modern day in the California Central Valley and poses ethical questions, relationship questions, and questions about what happens after death.

There is a total of 20 roles for both male and female students. The main roles are the two female leads who are vying for the estate, according to Nash. Totland will be involved in the audition process, casting process, and play rehearsal.

Auditions for Isabel and Alice were delayed because of the days of school cancelled due to the fire. Callbacks will be held soon after and rehearsals will start immediately after winter break in January.

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SPORTS

tuesday, december 12, 2017 |

The Student Voice

“Historic boys soccer win” over Sierra Canyon, Brentwood AndrewChoi ’20 staff reporter Despite windy and unpleasant conditions, the boys soccer team managed to defeat the Brentwood Eagles (2-1) on Nov. 29 and the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers (4-1) on Dec. 4 for the first time in Head Coach Andrew Pearce’s coaching years.

The Griffins hold a 2-2 overall record.

The Griffins scored three goals in the first half of the game against Sierra Canyon, compared to the Trailblazer’s one goal. Junior Anday Tural scored one goal, and sophomore Robert Manella scored two. Senior Matteo Sloane scored the only goal in the second half, ensuring the Griffins’ victory.

“We were playing a team that was a division higher than us, and we have never defeated [Sierra Canyon] before,” Left Midfielder Senior Luka Presburger said.

“We showed great teamwork in passing to an open player during crucial striking situations, and it definitely improved our scoring skills.”

In their victory against the Eagles, the Griffins were down one goal within the first minute of play. However, Forward Sophomore Aaron Nazarian scored two

goals in the second half, allowing the Griffins to make a comeback.

“Things during the Brentwood game started to click. Scoring a goal at the right time can boost an athlete’s level of play,” Pearce said.

Although losing Hal Rothwell ’17, and Dashiell Gordon ’17, the team boasts 24 players, nine of whom are seniors. With Senior Mackenzie Morris and Nicholas Boedeker and Manella as captains, Pearce hopes the leadership and experience will result in a “more mature team.”

The Griffins’ two losses were to nonleague opponents: Viewpoint and Crossroads. Key players such as Presburger, who was injured, and Manella, who had club obligations, were absent from both games.

“The schools we play are loaded with club players who have been playing games for the last 12 weeks. We have some club players, but the majority plays in high school, so it takes us a good 3-4 weeks or so of practices and games to get up to that level of play,” Pearce said.

The Griffins play at home against Santa Clarita Christian on Jan 5.

Courtesy of Michael Goldfeder

HEAVY LIFTING: Senior Michael Goldfeder, the sole member of the boys wrestling team, uses a double-blast technique against a Michigan state champion.

Goldfeder places first in first and second CIF matches ElliotChoi ’18 editor-in-chief Senior Michael Goldfeder, the sole member of the boys wrestling team, placed first in his first CIF tournament in Lake Arrowhead. Goldfeder also placed first out of 24 wrestlers in his second CIF match in Irvine on Dec. 9, wrestling in five matches. Goldfeder competes in the 160-pound weight class.

He will take part in his third CIF tournament in Rosemead, a two-day competi-

tion where he will compete in eight to nine matches.

Golfeder placed third in the California World Challenge on Oct. 15, wrestling in the ELITE High School 163-pound weight class. Goldfeder won by a 4-3 decision over Alexander Escudero (Los Gatos Wrestling Club), a significant win according to TrackWrestling.

Goldfeder placed first out of 64 wrestlers in the Cerritos College Halloween Open on Oct. 28.

Wagner, Wappet crowned All-Liberty League MVP

ElliotChoi ’18 editor-in-chief After being crowned All-Liberty Leagues doubles MVP after winning three straight matches in the Liberty League Tourney on Oct. 25 and 28 in 110-degree weather, the girls tennis doubles team consisting of Sophomores Alyssa Wagner and Charli Wappet qualified for CIF. “It was such a crazy experience that made me feel quite honestly euphoric. I had been working so hard during the season, and it was amazing to see all the hard work pay off,” Wappet said. “Alyssa and I had come

GIRLS Basketball GIRLS Soccer

BOYS Basketball BOYS Soccer

from getting third in the Liberty League tournament as freshmen to first and receiving the title of MVPs of the Liberty League only a year later.”

In the first round of the Liberty League Tourney, Wagner and Wappet faced a doubles team from Archer, while Freshmen Isabel Werdesheim and Alizée Davis-Bezamat faced Oakwood. Wagner and Wappet defeated Archer, 8-2, but Werdesheim and Davis-Bezamat lost to the Oakwood Gorillas, 8-2. Wagner and Wappet faced Oakwood in the second round and defeated the Gorillas 6-3 and 6-2. In the final round, Wagner and

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Wappet faced Chloe Richards and Chloe Eshel from Archer, the only team the duo lost to in a league match this season. The Griffins lost the first set 6-7, but came back in the second set, winning 6-2. In the third set, the Griffins triumphed 10-4 in the match tiebreak.

“One cannot put two players together and think they can make a doubles team,” Head Coach Sue Sherman said. “[Wagner and Wappet] finished two seasons together and they are much more in-sync like sisters.

They gained some form of maturity and confidence through experience; neither one

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of them freezes up when under pressure.”

The duo lost lost to West Ranch in the first round of CIF on Nov. 20.

The Griffins ended their season with a 2-6 league and 3-9 overall record.

“As a freshman, this season was a learning experience and building year knowing that more than half the team is comprised of new players,” Werdesheim said. “Going into our league matches, we were more familiar with our opponents and understood they were older but this did not change our goal: to apply what we have been working on all season.”

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The Student Voice

Increased numbers bring new team dynamic for girls soccer CelineFarhadi ’19 campus editor The girls soccer team began their season on Monday, Nov. 13 with five new freshmen and three sophomores, giving them eight more players than they ended with last year.

Practicing three times a week in preparation for the start of the season, with strength conditioning on Mondays, drills on Tuesdays, and scrimmages on Thursday, they have “strengthened certain crucial skills and gotten [the team] warmed up for season,” according to Captain Senior Dabney Welborn.

After a season rife with injury and adversity, the pinnacle of which was playing their Senior Night game with only seven of the 11 players, the team anticipates their increase in numbers to spawn a smoother season.

“We just had the first few days of practice and it was incredible. The technical ability and camaraderie of the group were outstanding,” Head Coach George Russo said.

However, the boost in numbers comes with its own set of challenges, including having to adjust to a new team dynamic and develop chemistry, according to Welborn. The team remains senior heavy, though, with six seniors to “raise the maturity of the group,” according to Russo.

Freshman Emme Schaffer, a club soccer player since the age of nine, will join the team as a right defender “excited to get an opportunity to play and bond with upperclassmen.”

When asked about the potential strengths of this year’s team, Welborn said, “Dedication. As far as I can tell, the group of girls that signed up to play soccer this season aren’t the types to lose and give up—they’re there for the sport and the team.”

The Griffins face Lennox Academy in an away game on Jan 4.

Courtesy of Clemente Perez-Garcia

FRESH START: Point guard Sophomore Shawn Wayans drains a three-pointer against the Bellarmine-Jefferson Guards in a home match on Nov. 21, the Griffins’ first game. The Griffins won with an overwhelming 50-point difference, 79-29.

4-2 record after brutal five-game, sixday tournament for boys basketball

ElliotChoi ’18 editor-in-chief SebastianMoftakhar ’20 sports editor Playing five games in six days in the North East Valley Tournament, the boys basketball team has earned a 4-2 overall record despite playing higher division city opponents, such as the Chatsworth Chancellors. According to Hamilton, the goal this year is the CIF Championship.

During the first game of the season, the Griffins dominated with a 50-score difference win against Bellarmine-Jefferson on Nov. 21, 79-29. The Griffins have previously lost to the Guards.

“It was a revenge game. We came out with a lot of energy,” Head Coach Mike Hamilton said.

The Griffins then competed in the North East Valley Tournament at Vaughn and Panorama High School, winning three out of the five games. The Griffins defeated the Central City Value Jaguars (80-41), the Monroe Vikings (58-57), and the Vaughn White Tigers (68-60).

The Griffins’ first loss in the tournament was to the Sherman Oaks CES Knights on Nov. 27, 69-64.

“We moved the ball well, and everyone was contributing, but we didn’t execute down the stretch,” Guard Sophomore Shawn Wayans said.

The Griffins also lost to Chatsworth on Nov. 29, losing by a 17-point difference.

The Chancellors scored 23 points in the first quarter, giving them a 14-point lead after the first quarter. The Griffins managed to narrow the difference at the end of the third quarter (35-44), managing a hope for a comeback.

Near the end of the fourth quarter, the Griffins were down only 46-51 before missing a layup and two free throws, which would have put them at a 1-point difference. However, the Chancellors scored 18 points in the last couple of minutes in the fourth quarter, ending the game in the Griffins’ loss, 69-52.

“We didn’t come out with the hunger needed to win. We’ll definitely play better next game,” Captain Senior Kanoa Johnson said.

Johnson’s prediction was correct. On Nov. 30 against Monroe, the boys pulled out a close 59-57 victory at Panorama High.

The Griffins won the last game against Vaughn High School 68-60.

According to Hamilton, the Vaughn game was “the best game Paul [Bingaman] had

played.”

Despite the Griffins’ success in the tournament, there is still room for improvement, according to Hamilton.

“We are giving away too many points, so we need to strengthen our defense. I also want to see scoring balanced among the offensive players, and I want to score more points per quarter,” Hamilton said. “Most of all, I want a team that plays for each other.”

The team implemented a new pre-season plan, which include including running a timed mile around two times a week to increase their speed and stamina. They have been practicing two hours each day, which includes strength conditioning in the fitness center and drills in the gym.

“Running the mile around Gilley Field has helped us compete with our tough competition in Real Run, our Saturday league,” Captain Senior Eric Ghassemieh said.

The Griffins will be playing in a tournament in Las Vegas over Winter Break.

According to Hamilton, the team went 3-1 last year in the Las Vegas tournament and hopes to win the tournament championship this year.

The Griffins play their first league game against the Oakwood Jaguars on Jan. 12.

Girls basketball revamping lineup in new season and division; holds 1-2 overall record

Courtesy of Clemente Perez-Garcia

DRIBBLE ALLEY: Senior Yasmine Topacio searches for an open teammate while dribbling the ball against the St. Bernard Vikings on Nov. 21 in a home game. The Griffins lost 58-54.

ElliotChoi ’18 editor-in-chief With the graduation of former captain Alyssa Furukawa ’17, the girls basketball team is revamping its lineup in hopes of finding a player who will “make up the rebounds and points,” according to Head Coach Marie Philman.

The Griffins hold a 1-2 overall record, with losses coming from their first game against the St. Bernard Vikings (58-54) on Nov. 21 and the Avalon Lancers (66-63) on Dec. 1.

The Griffins, however, dominated their first win against Yeshiva with a 36-point difference, 51-15.

“Coming together as a team, knowing offense strategies, and knowing how we play together in preseason will have us prepared for the regular season,” Philman said. “We have a solid team. If we stay injury-free, we have potential to win leagues again.”

The Griffins play in Division 5 AAA this year, a lower division from last year. Division placings are determined by CIF. Philman hopes to transition freshman players to “game mode” with the help of upperclassmen/returning players as quickly as possible.

The Griffins play their first home league match against Oakwood on Jan. 9.