International Dateline - November 2019 Edition

3100 Macomb St. NW Washington, DC 20008

Washington International School

November, 2019

www.wisdateline.org

Clash of values nixes eighth-grade exchange with Peru Middle school parts ways with Lima school, adding to history of cultural issues surrounding annual trip DAVID ALLEN/INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

SENIOR SEASON: Senior Faysal Al-Kibbi holds up a “Senior Szn” sign at the Boys Varsity Soccer homecoming game in late September. The Boys and Girls Varsity Soccer teams took home the PVAC regular season and tournament banners, but made early exits in the D.C. state tournament. Girls Varsity Tennis and Cross Country also won their respective PVAC banners. See SPORTS, page 5

How WIS Handles Sexual Misconduct As scandals arise at D.C. private schools, WIS has a plan in place

By EMILY MUENZER, 2022

S

EXUAL abuse allegations at elite Northwest Washington D.C. private schools have been shedding light on decades of undocumented misconduct. WIS updated its procedures and plans regarding sexual misconduct this past year, in case any incidents were to occur.

Maret, a private school neighboring WIS, released an internal investigation at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, that revealed that four faculty members were suspected of sexually harassing students between 1975-2008. According to the Washington Post, the issue arose when a Maret alum contacted the school regarding abuse that they experienced while at the school and felt it was not properly handled at the time of the incident.

The report details “sexual intercourse, inappropriate touching with students, and grooming vulnerable students for sex,” according to the Post.

Marjo Talbott, the Maret head of school, wrote in a statement, ”the

findings of the independent investigation are sobering. [...] We deeply apologize for the impact these transgressions have had on the lives of those affected.”

A similar article, also published by the Washington Post, details previously unexposed sexual misconduct at the National Cathedral School (NCS), another elite private school in NW Washington, D.C.

NCS, St. Albans, and the Beauvoir School launched an investigation, which documented allegations against 16 members of staff, with the majority of incidents occurring between 19501980.

NCS sent out an email to their community, which stated that the investigation had revealed “incidents from our past that are deeply troubling,” according to the Washington Post.

Suzanna Jemsby, the head of school at WIS, believes that the reason Maret’s case, and many like theirs, are only being documented now is because of changing social norms, along with

inside look

people’s views about what is appropriate.

“I think some of it is empowerment from society at large, the #MeToo movement, people realizing that it’s ok to speak up,” Jemsby said.

Natasha Bhalla, the associate head of school at WIS, speaking from her personal point of view and not as a representative of WIS, reiterated Jemsby’s perspective, especially with how society is changing in a way that makes it seem like the victim will not be blamed.

“I think that the #MeToo movement has shown [...] women and men the idea that there can be action attached to making the accusation. I think before there was always a sense that the victim would somehow become the person who’s put on trial,” Bhalla said.

Additional reporting by Rebeka Tatham, 2022 and Ye’Amlak Zegeye, 2020

By SAUL PINK, 2021

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HE culture wars roiling countries around the world reached Tregaron this fall, when the administration ended this year’s eighthgrade Spanish language exchange with a school in Peru. Administrators decided to sever ties with Colegio Santa Margarita, a Catholic school in Lima, when the school in Peru objected to placing its students in same-sex or single-parent households during the exchange.

Each year, eighth-grade students host “correspondents” from France and Peru for a 10-day stay in Washington. WIS eighth-graders then travel to those countries and stay at the homes of their correspondents. The cultural exchange is a decades-long feature of the eighth-grade experience.

Last March, middle school principal Randy Althaus traveled to Peru to meet with Santa Margarita’s head of school Betsabé Márques de Gálmez, and to discuss extending the two schools’ relationship. In the meeting, Althaus mentioned that WIS had a variety of types of families which Gálmez said would not be a problem.

Althaus returned to Washington expecting that the language exchange with Santa Margarita would continue as usual in the 2019-20 school year. But, over the summer, Gálmez met with her school’s board of trustees, and they decided it was contrary to the Catholic school’s core values to place students in families that were not comprised of a mother and a father.

See MISCONDUCT, page 2

Tino’s Opens on Connecticut

Dateline’s arts editors investigate the performing arts budget.

At the new pizzeria, classic Italian fare meets modern twists.

arts page 7

food page 4

WIS News Global News Food Features Opinion Arts Sports Backpage

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online content

Funding for the Performing Arts

See PERU, page 3

INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

wisnews

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NOVEMBER, 2019

After Nearby Scandals, WIS Prepares to Manage Sexual Misconduct MISCONDUCT, from page 1

The updated version of WIS’ community handbook states, “WIS is committed to safeguarding minors from physical, mental, or sexual abuse, neglect, or other potential harm [...]

Sexual harassment will not be tolerated toward any member of the school community.”

With all the cases of sexual abuse and harassment coming up at schools around DC, WIS decided to update its procedure, in case any sexual abuse or harassment were to occur, for the 2019-2020 school year. The procedure was created by the school’s child protection team consisting of Jemsby, Bhalla, the principals, guidance counselors, and a few other members of the WIS community.

Currently, the child protection team meets monthly to train teachers, inform students and to ensure that all of the policies put in place are in the best interest of the students.

“We have a crisis handbook, which lays out all of our procedures and how we would go about it, it depends on the nature of what happens as to whether we would be calling the authorities for example,” Jemsby said.

WIS continues to take preventative measures to avoid situations where any of the procedures would be necessary.

Many teachers have previously worked overseas or in a different country, so WIS uses many sources for background checks to avoid teacher-student incidents.

WIS has a procedure in place for if any sexual abuse or harassment were to occur, created by the school’s child protection team.

“[The] background checks [...]DC, national, international databases, as well as the sex offender registry, so we know that everyone who is working here has a clean background,” Bhalla said.

Another step that WIS takes to prevent sexual abuse or harassment between students and/or between teachers, is informing teachers about what sexual abuse looks like, how to handle situations, and mandating that teachers report sexual abuse

“We [teachers] are bound by law to be mandated reporters, which means if any child, any minor is in any kind of

COURTESY OF NATALIE SANCHEZ

WIS recently prepared a procedure for if any sexual misconduct were to occur at school. This was in reaction to scandals at nearby D.C. private schools.

danger from an adult we have to report that,” Anne Hutchinson, the upper school counselor, said.

According to Randy Althaus, the middle school principal, WIS requires teachers to do an online course that is provided by the DC government.

“Every year, here at WIS,[...] we have rigorous training and retraining for all our faculty, but that’s somewhat recent in the world of education,” Jemsby said.

WIS has procedures in place and does as much as they can to prevent sexual abuse from occurring at school.

However, faculty and staff are prepared for a situation with each person having a role should an incident occur at WIS.

Jemsby ensures that all WIS teachers know the consequences of being responsible for a sexual misconduct incident at school.

“You know what you’re taking on as a teacher, you know that your job is to educate and to protect minors and if you decide to violate that, that is the biggest violation in our profession and you should expect the consequences that come your way,” Jemsby said.

A Science Building for Future Generations Admin works to finalize design for new facility

By JOOST ALMEKINDERS, 2023

W

IS is trying to build a new science facility, however, they have not been successful due to backlash from neighbors and failed compliance with the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board.

The ongoing struggle to build a new science facility has continued for seven years. The school is located on historic grounds which makes construction much more difficult and caused WIS to take their building plans to the District of Columbia government.

The school again pitched the idea of a new building to the Government of the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Board last year. According to the transcript of a hearing with the Mayor’s Agent, the former head of school Clayton Lewis said, “the proposed addition and underground parking is necessary in the public interest because it is consistent with the purposes of the preservation law.”

After giving many presentations, members from both the District of Columbia government and the Macomb neighborhood declined all five of WIS’ submissions for the new building with changes. This rejection caused the administration to rethink the plans and start from scratch.

After heading back to the drawing board, WIS administration worked with Shalom Baranes Associates (SBA) to

cilities sharing aspects of the Carriage House they like, as well as areas of improvement.

“I like the lab’s intimacy. I don’t like that there is no storage space and its a little grubby. Uneven floors. It is also thermally challenged,” Tony Godwin, an upper school physics teacher, said.

The science teachers spoke highly of their offices on the second floor of the Carriage House. They like how they are all working in one place.

“The science department members are in an office together where we exchange ideas on a daily basis. We develop our comradery and we have space next to the office where we can meet with students,” Godwin said.

DAVID ALLEN/INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

Some people may not believe a A science lab in the Carriage House. WIS is looking to upgrade its outdated new science building is needed. Howevscience facilities with a brand new building. er, Godwin thinks that the current facilifind a location on campus that will get not much being planned for the inside ties are sufficient but lack adequate storapproved. of the building, the administration has age space.

“SBA has extensive experience basic goals for the science labs in the “What goes on in the classroom with DC approvals, particularly in the new building. is far more important than the classroom realm of historic preservation. SBA’s Adding science labs will be the itself,” Godwin said. foremost priority was to identify a lo- main focus of the new building and The administration is ready to cation that will allow us to modernize WIS has already decided on basic tar- take suggestions about what they should our classrooms and curriculum, and get sizes. Based on the use the Carriage maximize the potential for regulatory recommended size of House for, but will approval,” Suzanna Jemsby wrote in a forty-two square feet do so once the What goes on in the only recent letter to parents. of space per student, new building is ap WIS has since finalized a de- the administration classroom is far more proved. sign for a new science building that will has tried to make the “It could be an important than the is planned to be built where the Dacha new labs bigger. art space, robotcurrently sits. The administration would “The prob- classroom itself. ics lab. It can benot share images of the design with lem with the Carriage come the design Dateline.

House is the size of TONY GODWIN lab and we put the

This building will “add as much the rooms. There is no library back. There as 50,000 square feet (gross space). This space for storage. The are many options,” enables WIS to meet our STEAM-related actual workspace is very small and the Jemsby said. programming goals and offers the possi- recommended size for a science lab is According to Jemsby, there is bility of a substantially upgraded kitch- more than double what we have. We currently no scheduled day for when en and dining facility,” Jemsby said. are looking for more flexible space,” they can start construction because the

The interior layout of the build- Jemsby said. plans are not approved. However, once ing is a subject that many students won- Many students and teachers the actual building commences it will der about. According to Jemsby, despite have opinions on current science fa- take about 18 months to complete.

INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

wisnews

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NOVEMBER, 2019

Cultural Incompatibility Ends Exchange With Peru School PERU, from page 1

“That, of course, precluded many of our same-sex families, but also potentially divorced families or families with single parents,” Althaus said.

“We recognize that we are going to places where people might have some different perspectives and we value that as part of our language trip,” Althaus said. “We encourage a diversity of perspectives and that includes religious perspectives or more conservative perspectives that generally our community is not associated with.”

However, the exclusion of some WIS families was a sticking point. After consulting with Head of School Suzanna Jemsby and Associate Head of School Natasha Bhalla, Althaus decided to cancel this year’s Spanish exchange with the school in Peru.

This year was not the first time issues with cultural compatibility arose in the eighth grade language exchange. In the past five years, WIS ended its French exchange with a school in Toulouse, as well as the Spanish program with Colegio San Agustín in Madrid.

Althaus noted that the main reason for the end of the Madrid trip was that San Agustín could not meet its commitment of sending a certain

amount of students to Washington.

But, he also claimed that the school in Spain refused to place their students in “certain types of households”, which gave him a “sense of concern” about Peru.

However, David Reyes, the head of the English department at Colegio San Agustín who is in charge of the exchange, denied any concerns with students being placed in samesex or single-parent households.

“The different conditions and particularities of each household have never been a problem for us,” Reyes wrote in an email, translated from Spanish.

Reyes agreed with Althaus that the main issue with the exchange was insufficient Spanish students signing up for the trip, to match the amount of WIS students. But, in his email to Dateline, he raised other cultural issues.

“We did notice on some occasions some ‘positive discrimination’ on the part of [WIS] with some realities I suppose have a marked sensitivity,” Reyes said. He refused to go into detail on what he meant by “positive discrimination,” which generally means the practice of favoring groups known to have been discriminated against.

Although WIS eighth-graders won’t have a homestay exchange, they will travel to Peru. WIS has part-

nered with EdOdyssey, a student travel company, to plan a language and cultural trip to Peru. Students will stay in hotels rather than the traditional homestay that has occurred in previous years.

Althaus said students and parents have been supportive of the decision to part ways with the school in Peru. He

is disappointed that there will be not homestay this year, but he felt that he could not exclude members of the WIS community from the exchange.

“It was non-negotiable for us,” Althaus said. “Inclusivity is non-negotiable for WIS.”

COURTESY OF RANDY ALTHAUS

Last year’s eighth-graders explore Lima during the annual language trip. This year’s trip will not include a homestay because WIS’ partner school refused to place its students in non-traditional households.

globalnews Who is Greta Thunberg?

By ANNA MARTINELLI-PARKER, 2020

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N September 20, Greta Thunberg led four million people across 161 countries in the largest climate strike ever. However, up until last August, Thunberg was a normal Swedish student about to begin her freshman year. She had been concerned by climate change ever since learning about it when she was eight years old.

At 11, she became depressed by the apparent global inaction towards daily environmental destruction. In May 2018, she wrote an essay focused on climate change that won a competition hosted by the Swedish climate newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. This essay was

MELISSA RENWICK/THE CANADIAN PRESS

the start of her career in activism.

Last August, Thunberg began Skolstrejk För Klimatet (School Strike for Climate), also known as Fridays for Future. Originally, this was a lone effort; Thunberg hadn’t managed to garner much interest from her classmates. She decided to strike from August 20 until the Swedish general election on September 9; she placed herself outside the Riksdag and made her sign. Her goal was to encourage the Swedish parliament to comply with the terms of the Paris Agreement for reducing carbon emissions.

Thunberg posted images of her protest on social media, and these images went viral. Soon after, more people began joining her on her strike. She received increased public attention after the Swedish climate company We Don’t Have Time featured her on their social media, and after a representative from the Swedish bank Nordea quoted her in a Twitter post. Journalists began reporting on her story, and the attention she received went from local to national to global.

Following the Swedish general election, Thunberg started

striking every Friday, and she inspired 20,000 students around the world to do the same. She began to give high profile speeches, such as at the World Economic Summit, the Australian World Summit, and the European Union.

On September 23, Thunberg delivered a passionate speech in front of the United Nations, where she told world leaders: “People are suffering.

People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!”

Thunberg has become a highly influential figure, to the extent that she was nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. At heart, though, she remains a teenager, with many of the same concerns as teenagers all over the world.

Thunberg has Asperger’s syndrome, and she credits it as her “superpower” because it allows her to be more straightforward about climate change.

However, she also says that she doesn’t like to be at the center of attention and that she forces herself to remain in the spotlight because she knows she can use her platform to “do something good”. She also says that when she is around too many people, she has to “shut off” her brain, as a way to not let the external stimuli surrounding her overwhelm her. Thunberg has not allowed her newfound fame or her discomfort with it to shift her priorities, and she has not deviated promoting her message of action against climate change.

Thunberg’s story is as inspirational as her message. She is living proof that any person can step up to make a difference in the world.

INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

food

4

NOVEMBER, 2019

Hard-Working Chef Creates Delicious Pizza at Tino’s Pizzeria

By ROSE BOEHM, 2022

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VER the summer, Tino’s Pizzeria opened replacing Chipotle on Connecticut Avenue. The dedication of the hard-working chef and owner, Logan Griffith, is evident in the quality of the food and the restaurant’s ambiance.

Background

Griffith takes a modern approach to Neapolitan pizza with the topping combinations, but he mainly places an emphasis on the more traditional crust. The chefs put a lot of effort into the crust and it is possibly one of the best crusts in the DMV. The crust is light, airy, and cooked perfectly to have a good amount of char that you expect with wood-burning pizza ovens.

Griffith’s interest in dough sparked from creating pita dough for a private event before his interest grew into pizza. He has spent a lot of time working to perfect his dough. His next step in the process of creating the pizza was determining the right toppings to compliment the dough.

Food

Tino’s has a variety of options you can try, ranging from the distinctive “Octopie” to “A Simple Pie” or a dessert pizza with Nutella and seasonal fruit.

“A Simple Pie” is topped with just mozzarella and sauce, which can never go wrong, and it is my personal favorite pizza. This pizza most accurately represents traditional and authentic Neapolitan pizza.

The “I’m Cocoa for Hazelnut” pizza features Nutella, hazelnuts, chocolate nibs, coconut, and seasonal

fruit. The current seasonal fruit is figs, which are very fresh quality. All of the different elements complement each other to make any chocolate or dessert lover happy.

Finally, the stand out pizza is the “Octopie.” This pizza has octopus that’s cooked for five hours then charred and sliced and served along with olives, pesto, mozzarella, and tomato sauce.

The odd combo is definitely not traditional, but according to Griffith, “[the pizza] is briny, it’s good.”

The Octopie isn’t Griffith’s favorite pizza but the modern and unique topping options show his creativity as a chef.

Price

The prices at Tino’s are slightly high compared to other restaurants in the neighborhood. The basic simple pie is similar at $10 but the others mainly range from $15-17. Tino’s uses a variety of ingredients like fresh octo-

TINO’S PIZZERIA/INSTAGRAM

Logan Griffith holds one of his signature pies at Tino’s Pizzeria on Connecticut Avenue. Tino’s recently opened this summer, replacing Chipotle.

“We did all the construction in here. We did all the contracting. We did everything,” Griffith said. Griffith’s commitment paid off as the restaurant has a warming ambiance.

“I want to bring good food back to Cleveland Park.

It’s going to be a struggle to do it. I want to do it, and I feel like I can.”

LOGAN GRIFFITH, HEAD CHEF AT TINO’S PIZZERIA pus and figs, which may be the reason for the higher pricing. Tino’s competes directly with Vace Italian Delicatessen, which serves a larger pizza for only $8.

Ambiance

Walking into the restaurant you can tell that visual design is important. Griffith explained that he and his business partner, Joe McCarthy, focused on creating the restaurant atmosphere they wanted.

Griffith said that he didn’t want to hire anyone, which is shocking because of the outcome of the restaurant.

The size of the property limited Griffith and McCarthy to a fast-casual setup. Yet, the fast-casual approach makes the restaurant different from other pizza restaurants in the area and makes it easier for residents in the area to enjoy a quick meal.

The Chef

Griffith has worked in a few different restaurants including the Watergate Hotel and Blue Duck Tavern, and the principles he learned working in other places is what he wants to share with his employees.

“I mean yeah I can cook, I can do all that, but it is the integrity that I try to instill in my employees,” Griffith said. “The disciplines that I’ve learned coming up through different restaurants I’ve worked. Just my work ethic in general that I try to instill in other people.”

Overall, Tino’s Pizzeria is truly worth visiting. It is close to WIS and is enjoyable with a small group of friends.

Connecticut Avenue businesses have a history of closing, like Chipotle and one of Griffith’s favorites, Pollena. Nonetheless, Griffith feels as if he can change that.

“I want to bring good food back to Cleveland Park,” Griffith said “It’s going to be a struggle to do it. I want to do it, and I feel like I can.”

features A 1980s WIS Love Story How my parents met at Tregaron

By OLIVIA IRELAND, 2023

F

IFTY-THREE years ago, Dorothy Goodman led her first class in the basement of her home in Washington, DC. This class started Washington International School, and the first class only had three students.

Over the years WIS grew in size allowing some people to meet their future spouses.

Robert Ireland and Astrid Dyssegaard graduated from WIS in 1984. Ireland had attended for a long time and knew his way around, while Dyssegaard was the “new kid” when she started attending in 1980.

In the first few days of ninth

grade, Dyssegaard was having trouble opening her locker, which allowed the two to meet for the first time. This began a relationship that lasted all the way until years after their high school graduation.

Ireland frequently tried to find opportunities to talk to Dyssegaard during school for them to get closer.

“One of our first interactions was congratulating each other on both getting A’s on our first history tests,” Ireland said. They socialized outside of school, as they remember going to the Georgetown theater with their friends.

They did not share any extracurriculars, so classes were the main time they spent together. The two passed notes during class so the teachers would not notice.

“We had scheduled study hall and library time together because we didn’t have much other time during or after school together,” Dyssegaard said.

Up until senior year, Ireland and

Dyssegaard were very close, but they weren’t dating. They split ways when they left for college.

“I went to university in New Jersey, and Astrid flew 4000 miles away to attend the University of Copenhagen,” Ireland said

After having moved to Denmark in the summer of 1984, Ireland visited Dyssegaard before beginning university.

“In the summer of 1984, I flew over to see Astrid for 10 days at her house in Copenhagen before starting university.” Ireland said.

After Ireland left Denmark, many years went by where Dyssegaard and Ireland did not connect.

“We grew apart, became adults, and lost touch during the 17 years after graduating high school,” Dyssegaard said.

After many years of not seeing each other, Ireland decided to reach out to Dyssegaard.

“In 2001, I was going to be vacationing somewhere in Scandinavia, so I decided to look up Astrid to see if I

could reconnect with her,” Ireland said.

After reconnecting, they started to date in September, 2001. Ireland had come to Copenhagen to visit Dyssegaard, but they talked about finding a way to live in the same country. Ireland asked Dyssegaard if she wanted to marry him, and she said yes.

“We got married on a very beautiful day in Denmark, on May 22nd, 2003,” Ireland said.

“[When attending WIS] We were randomly in the same place at the same time; we came from different countries and cultures, and after reconnecting after around 20 years, there was still a great connection between us,” Dyssegaard said.

Despite coming from opposite sides of the ocean, and separating for years after high school, when they met again, it was as if they had never left.

“My favorite part about coming to school every day was seeing my future wife!” Ireland said.

The writer is the daughter of the couple in the story

INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

sports

5

NOVEMBER, 2019

Angela Caloia ‘19 Makes Immediate Impact for Harvard Women’s Soccer

By ANDERS WESTERMANN, 2021

C

LASS of 2019 student and former WIS soccer standout Angela Caloia is off to a hot start with the Harvard women’s soccer team, tallying 6 goals and 11 assists in her first sixteen games.

Her dominance at the collegiate level comes as no surprise since she has been playing at a high level for many years now. After starting out with local travel team DC Stoddert, she moved to McLean Youth Soccer, a team that plays on the East Coast National League (ECNL) circuit and is one of the 11 teams representing the entire Mid-Atlantic region.

Caloia was selected to the ECNL All-American team in 2018 and ranked as a top 150 recruit in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer, an American soccer website. She also represented the Italian U-19 national team at the La Manga tournament in Spain and European qualifiers.

At WIS she was a dominant force on the pitch, but also in the classroom.

Caloia was named to the DC All-State Team in 2019 and scored double-digit goals in multiple seasons. Academically, she reached first honors every year of high school and won the 2019 Socrates Award given to the student who is most “enthusiastic about learning” and uses “critical thinking to reach higher levels of understanding.”

“She [Angela] was always prepared for class. It didn’t matter where she was, even if it was outside the country in a tournament in Europe, she would always send me her homework or do any assignment,” Antonio Ramallo, Angela’s IB Spanish teacher, said.

This balance between sports and academics is something her parents have been preaching since the beginning. Giuliano Caloia and Alessandra Marini emphasize that school is always a top priority, but acknowledge the value of sports in their children’s lives.

QUINN PERINI/THE HARVARD CRIMSON

Angela Caloia ‘19 plays for Harvard in an October game against Brown.

Caloia has made a great impact for the Harvard Women’s Soccer team after graduating from WIS in May.

“They believe that academics are very important but that sports can be used as a gateway to better academic schools and colleges,” Matteo Caloia, Angela’s younger brother said.

This belief clearly paid off as Harvard University boasts one of the top academic reputations in the world but also has a world-class women’s soccer program, winning thirteen Ivy League championships since 1977.

Caloia did not respond when contacted for an interview.

Her freshman season has clearly been a success in terms of on-field play but more importantly, she has settled into her new life on campus.

“It’s at Harvard where Caloia has found a culture that suits her perfectly,’’ remarked The New England Soccer Journal.

Fall Sports in Photos

A photographic recap of WIS’ banner-filled fall

NICO VALLADA/INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

Girls Varsity Soccer took home both PVAC banners, but lost to Maret in the DCSAA quarterfinals.

DAVID ALLEN/INTERNATIONLA DATELINE

Boys Varsity Soccer won the PVAC regular season and tounament banners

COURTESY OF GUY NEAL

Girls Varsity Tennis continued their PVAC dominance with their 28th straight banner.

COURTESY OF ROSE BOEHM

Girls Varsity Cross Country won the PVAC banner, while Varsity Boys finished third in championships.

introducing the dateline podcast Scan the QR code to hear about history teacher Don Boehm’s culinary past!

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INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

opinion

6

NOVEMBER, 2019

iGen: Moniker or Misnomer?

By ELISE NAFTULIN, 2022

T

HE first time I stumbled upon the word “iGen,” I must have been in seventh or eighth grade. My mother had recently explained that each generation was given a name as a way to understand its character. Since I was thirteen, I’d immediately thought about my generation, and I’d asked her what we were called. She didn’t know. I was “Something After Millennials.”

Sometime in the next few months, I looked it up on a school desktop. “Generation Z,” proclaimed the Internet. I wasn’t very satisfied. “Generation Z” didn’t tell me anything about myself, and it definitely didn’t sound as cool as “Millennial.” I scrolled and searched for an alternative label, one I could wear more proudly. My eyes landed on “iGen.”

I was bothered right away, although I couldn’t explain why. I had grown up with technology all my life, hadn’t I? It seemed only fitting for someone to call us “iGen.” Certainly no one was more iGen than my generation. That day I decided I was content with the new name.

The instant I told someone what we were called, the instant I said “iGen” out loud, I realized I wasn’t content at all.

I was angry. I started to understand why, too. Adults always told me that I was one of the unlucky kids these days, destined for failure, hypnotized by the glowing blue light in my palms. That’s what they told me, over and over. And now the adults were summing us up, trying to convey the essence of growing up in the twenty-first century, borrowing trademarked Apple branding from “iPhone” or “iPad” to show what they thought of us. They were insisting they knew who we were before we, as adolescents, even knew.

“Generation Z” started to sound much better. “iGen” told me I was no better than the iMac I’d used to search for my generation’s name.

Yes, I was angry, but I was also curious. After a few Google searches I found Jean Twenge, a psychologist and the author of a book called iGen. I couldn’t believe it. Someone had written three hundred and fifty two pages about us, and the word “iGen” was on the cover. Not only that — the second half of the title said my generation was “completely unprepared for adulthood.” I wondered then and I wonder now: why are adults so convinced that our brains are slowing down like old iPhones?

Adults say my generation lacks life experiences because everything is accessible with a click or a tap. Our phones can bring food to our doors, get us a ride home, and find information from all over the world. Older generations worry that technology is making Gen Z less independent.

Is it? Instead, technology seems to be mobilizing our self-expression.

When adults tell me about kids these days, I’ll say I agree. Just look at kids these days if you want proof our devices won’t make us less independent, less creative, or less proactive. Look at how social media and the Web help millions of kids to share their music and art, organize school walk-outs and worldwide climate change protests, and raise awareness for causes like childhood cancer.

Our conviction isn’t written in zeroes and ones, regardless of what the “i” in “iGen” suggests. Rather, the technology we get to use speaks with the voice we already have.

“i” stood for Internet back when Steve Jobs built his first i-gadgets; as a generation label it says his products built us too. The “i” that supposedly defines us tells us we are nothing but hopeless consumers, feeding the jangling pockets of inventors, programmers, and designers. Yes, addiction to technology is real and measurable, but are we really

letter to the editor In response to “Trump: The Modern-Day Hitler”

We recently read the Oct. 1 opinion piece “Trump: The Modern-Day Hitler” in a club meeting and suffice it so say, we are disappointed. The column does not align with the morals that are supposed to be exhibited here at WIS. WIS’ core values include embracing “diverse cultures and viewpoints.” The article produces a toxic environment in which an entire side of the political spectrum cannot feel comfortable. By comparing the president of the U.S. to Adolf Hitler, the author insinuates that any of Trump’s supporters are proponents of the mass xenophobia, anti-semitism, racism, and cruelty that Hitler created in Nazi Germany.

One’s political alignments, especially in this day and age, come down to a variety of factors which can include economics, federalism, taxation, and others. For many voters, these are the only government actions that affect their day-to-day lives, so they vote for who they believe will best suit their needs. This was the case in the most recent election, in which many voters chose Donald Trump because he seemed to them a better option than Hillary Clinton. The article attacks conservatives as a whole, likening their choices in the 2016 election to choosing Adolf Hitler, a man who’s evil must not even be described.

Including the viewpoints of conservatives has been a continued challenge for WIS in the previous years and the number of students who actively share their right-wing beliefs is dwindling. Such an article continues to make conservatives feel unsafe in their school community, directly conflicting with what our school is supposed to stand for.

WIS Politics Club See “Trump: The Modern-Day Hitler” on wisdateline.org/category/op-ed/

the only addicts? Every day I ride the Metro home from school, and every day I scan the rows of pink and beige and blue plastic seats for people not absorbed in smartphones. If I’m lucky, I’ll find two or three in the entire car.

Everyone else in that busy train, from Boomers to Millennials to Gen Z, are completely hooked. In a sense, the app developers have made everyone into iGen — technology use is not unique to Gen Z at all.

To be fair, my generation is much more comfortable navigating the latest MacBook than our grandparents are. But young people have always adjusted more quickly to new technology. When Guglielmo Marconi invented the radio, he changed the face of communication. We wouldn’t even have the Internet if he hadn’t given us the idea of broadcasting and collecting information from a faraway source.

Yet my great-grandmother’s generation, growing up in a smaller world than had ever existed before, is not called Radio-Gen. They are the Greatest Generation or the G.I. Generation, known for the actions that helped win the Second World War. They are recognized for something much bigger than the technology in their lives: the work they did, the action they took.

Like all generations, we deserve a label that reflects either the people we become or the culture behind the becoming. If that culture can’t be expressed without mentioning technology, then go ahead and mention technology. But technology is not Gen Z’s only marker. We don’t deserve to be branded as if we were spit out of an Apple conveyor belt. We’re still young, and in the coming years we will show our character. We will prove we are more than “iGen.” In fact, we already do.

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international dateline November 2019 Editorial Board Managing Editors Celeste Bloom and Charlie Lane Publications Editors Saul Pink and Ye’Amlak Zegeye Print Layout Saul Pink Middle School News Ainhoa Petri-Hidalgo Marketing Managers Nico Vallada and Anders Westermann Faculty Adviser Alexandra Wilding WIS News Sophia Racine and Ye’Amlak Zegeye Global News Nicolas Greamo and Anna Martinelli-Parker Features Emily Muenzer and Ainhoa Petri-Hidalgo Opinions Julia Brownell and Rebeka Tatham Arts Abigail Bown and Maia Nehme Food Rose Boehm Sports Nico Vallada and Anders Westermann The Back Page Maya Lopez Photography David Allen

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INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

arts

7

NOVEMBER, 2019

Inside the Performing Arts Budget

By ABIGAIL BOWN, 2023 and MAIA NEHME, 2023

A

CCORDING to New York Times reporter Perri Klass, “arts education helps develop [kids’] capacity for collaboration, for creativity, and even for asking questions.” These skills can help students in many other areas of study.

However, many schools in the U.S. have insufficient funds for all of their programs .

WIS provides its students with a variety of arts classes such as vocal music, band, theater, and art. Sufficient funding is implemented for the arts programs and needs of the teachers, however, according to performing arts teachers, there were recent reductions to the performing arts’ budget. These changes may have a significant impact on the future of arts at WIS.

How the budget process works

Each year, the departments present their budgets to the administration.

Theatre and Vocal teachers Kerri Rambow and John Munt presented their best projections of the budget for the shows and classes for that coming year. They presented ideas for the shows, not even knowing if they would get the rights for those productions. “We were asked to cut good chunks of money out of each of the budgets which was a little painful and can be nerve-wrecking,” Rambow said.

Yearbook and vocal music teacher Madeline Gondek added on to how presenting the budget works. According to Gondek, in order to calculate each individual budget “we put all our things in our spreadsheet and then we just find the total number.”

How is the budget divided?

The performing arts budget covers a variety of expenses. The instrumental department is able to purchase new instruments and the vocal department rents concert music. The budget allows the theater department to buy scripts and take their students to shows.

According to Rambow, all performing arts classes take from the same

Is there sufficient funding for the arts at WIS? pool of money. The sections have no designated amount, instead they divide up the budget based upon their needs. However, the needs of each department vary. Rambow supports this system stating “it simply wouldn’t be fair if it was just divided equally” before adding that “the lion’s share [of the budget] goes to music.”

Limitations of the arts budget

While Gondek and Rambow agree that Theater and Vocal are generally well funded, they expressed some frustration with recent changes.

Rambow states that often, the department doesn’t spend all of the money that they are given. She believes this is the reason that the school decided to allocate less money to the department. However, the needs of each department can vary from one year to another.

While there are years where not all the money is spent, there are other years where Rambow worries they might not have a large enough budget.

“Having been given cuts last year, there needs to be some more flexibility because shows are not always the same,” Gondek said. She adds that flexibility is key for the productions, and if the department wanted to “do something huge, like Les Mis[érables], you have to account for more instrumentalists and that adds up.”

Different perspectives

Sarah Polland, upper school principal, stated that she feels WIS funds their performing arts program very generously, which Rambow and Gondek both agree is true overall.

Gondek and Rambow claim that after presenting their budget projections, cuts were made to the student produc-

COURTESY OF WIS.EDU

Junior Nicolas Greamo performs in the winter 2019 Upper School play, “Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth”.

tion budget for this coming spring.

However, Polland disagrees. She claimed that the students’ production budget has actually increased by a substantial amount over the last two years. Polland states that she wasn’t at WIS while these “changes” were happening, but after looking over previous budget spreadsheets, she didn’t see any budget cuts.

The lion’s share [of the budget] goes to music.

KERRI RAMBOW

Rambow explains that she doesn’t track the budgets year to year. Rambow describes the previous budget as one large reserve of fundings stating “we used to have lump… here’s how much we have for student productions and we would all produce from that and then last year they started wanting us to do show by show.” “Last year when we turned the budgets in, we were asked to cut the numbers fairly dramatically,” Rambow said.

Looking at the future

In addition, Gondek and Polland have some new ideas to improve the arts program in the future. When the idea of a potential fifth show was brought up, Gondek was intrigued.

She suggested that to minimize cost, WIS could do a Cabaret style show, meaning students would perform various songs from many musicals.

Since only one or two songs would be selected from each show, she would only need to purchase the sheet music. This is much cheaper than buying the rights to a show. Gondek explained that doing this is completely legal, “as long as you’re just not trying to sell it as a show.”

Polland discussed her plans for improving the arts programs, introducing the idea of after school arts and theater classes for students who don’t take art as an elective.

Despite perceived budgets cuts and improvements to hopefully be made in the future, WIS’ arts programs are well funded. Teachers agreed that while they may have been frustrated in the past, overall their funding was enough to accomplish their goals.

arts opinion

M.S. Musical Remains Unsuitable for WIS Despite changed focus, WIS’ diversity does not do ‘Once on This Island’ justice

By ABIGAIL BOWN, 2023 and MAIA NEHME, 2023

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MMA Strauss and Madeleine Gondek, the Middle School Musical directors, recently announced that the spring show will be “Once on This Island” (OOTI) Jr. At first glance, this is a great choice. OOTI Jr. allows for a large cast, with 17 parts, not including the ensemble. The musical takes place in the Carribean and illustrates a poor girl who falls in love with a wealthy boy and her struggles to combat prejudice and hatred.

“Once on This Island” explores themes of overcoming discrimination, while additionally teaching students about how socio-economic status impacts the characters socially and romantically. However, the original musical was written for an all-black cast, similar to “The Wiz”, a Wizard of Oz adaptation.

OOTI contains many underlying themes

of racial oppression and power dynamics between races. Having a totally African American cast is crucial and without it, an entire part of the story is getting ignored.

After examining racial diversity at WIS, it seems that the school does not have the diversity to pull off this musical. However, Strauss confirms that they will perform the show “from the standpoint of socio-economic difference rather than racial difference.” Gondek clarifies that the benefit to the junior version of the musical over the full show is that “MTI [Music Theatre International], the company that we license from,” contains certain edits to the original story so “we’re not changing anything. They edited it for us to keep the integrity of the story but they do flip it in that way of socio-economic [divide]”.

Gondek is aware that “in the original context [of the musical] the

racial element was important”, however, she feels that the junior version’s exclusion of the racial aspect isn’t changing the story or the original intention of the show drastically. Additionally, the full Once on This Island’s “idea of two different worlds does encapsulate socio-economic status and that’s why it’s a nice transition” into the junior version, as they “don’t have to change too much of the story.”

Besides the racial aspect, another crucial component of the story is its setting on an island in the Caribbean, which is present in both the full and junior versions of the musical. Part of the intention behind the show’s creation was to celebrate the Caribbean’s vibrant culture. Ahrens and Flaherty, the composers, utilized typical musical styles from the area and ensured that each character had an accurate accent to bring the setting to life. Nonetheless, to avoid offending anybody, Gondek

assures that “we’re not using accents.

We’re not trying to imitate anything or anyone.”

Although Gondek and Strauss mean well and hope to do the musical justice, it seems as though a WIS production of it wouldn’t convey the intention behind the piece properly, since two critical elements from the original would be totally removed.

While the Junior version of OOTI removes the racial aspect, it still seems inappropriate to try and perform a musical whose roots lie in power dynamics between races, especially since they are effectively removing the cultural aspect as well.

Despite Gondek and Strauss’ clear enthusiasm about directing it, it seems that “Once on This Island Jr.” isn’t a fitting choice for their M.S. musical this spring.

INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

backpage

8

NOVEMBER, 2019

satire

Malodorous Mansion Makes Many Mad

By CHARLIE LANE, 2020

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UILT in 1912, the Mansion was once a shining beacon: a proud monument to the power and prowess of our students and faculty, a resting place for sleepy upperclassman fighting the IB, and a nice spot to enjoy a hot coffee in winter months. Yet the opulence of the mansion is fading, and beneath it lies a foul reality.

In 1944, Marjorie Merriwether Post and her husband, Joseph Davies (who gives name to Davies Hall) moved into the Mansion, then named the Hillwood Estate. Post’s extravagant and decadent parties, which took place throughout the house and boasted an extensive selection of drinks and food, made her renowned in the D.C. region.

Today, however, the lavish fare of the mansion was replaced with something far less appetizing.

It was Thursday, October 10 at 8:30 am when James Bourke, upper school assistant principal for the IB diploma program, sent an email to all upperclassmen: Dear seniors and juniors with cafe lockers, There is a highly unpleasant smell emanating from the Cafe lockers. We believe that someone has spoiled food or some other rancid item in their locker. Please check your locker ASAP and remove anything that might be causing the smell.

Thank you, Mr. Bourke

In his email, Bourke described a smell that had originated around the cafe lockers and radiated to every corner and cranny of the ancient building. On the day of the email, students could be seen scurrying through the worst affected region of the mansion, holding their noses. However, there was no clear explanation of the origins of the smell.

When questioned about the cause of the smell, junior Dean Atassi responded, “the poop smell? [It was] definitely food-related.”

Fellow junior Liam Byrne had similar thoughts. However, Byrne claimed that the smell was the aftermath of food consumed by an unnamed sophomore. “The smell matched the build,” Byrne said.

The smell was pungent yet brief.

When students returned the following day the smell had completely dissipated. However, what appeared in the upstairs mansion bathroom was equally unsettling. Students and staff alike were shocked to find that the toilet bowl had been blocked with an excess of fecal matter and toilet paper.

Junior Clara Mello described her experience with the deadly drop of October 11. Mello went to use the restroom during her first-period class, however, “decided not to because the toilet was infested with (expletive).” Mello also “didn’t think it smelled.”

The toilet was infested with (expletive)!

CLARA MELLO, 2021

That being said, it is not uncommon for the upstairs mansion bathroom to be smelly, or even blocked. Students favor that particular bathroom for #2 as the door locks securely, and they will be undisturbed during their business.

However, privacy is also the bathroom’s downfall. Because only one person can use the bathroom at a time, going #2 can be dangerous as bathroom users risk having someone waiting to use the bathroom after them, and subsequently must face the awkward interaction of walking out of the bathroom while the other student enters to find a lingering funk.

This makes the case of the debilitating dump all the more peculiar.

DAVID ALLEN/INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

The bathroom on the second-floor of the mansion, which is students’ favorite place to go #2 on campus.

If someone were to have blocked the toilet, it is likely that there would be eyewitnesses waiting outside the bathroom. There are rumors circling campus about the true identity of the dumper, however, none with verifiable sources.

When questioned about the two incidents, Bourke explained that the smell originating in the cafe was due to “suction in one of the pipes that allowed for sewer gas to go up the pipes.” Just prior to this statement, Bourke said, “well, you know I’m not a plumber.” Bourke then claimed that he had not heard about any incidents in the upstairs bathroom.

Many students find the combination of the smell on October 10 and then the putrid plop the following

day suspicious. Senior Faysal Al-Kibbi believes that the administration was attempting to cover up dubious behavior, saying, “well, they have the power to do that.” Fellow senior Zoe Abel then offered a counterpoint. “It could have been Mr. Bourke,” Abel said.

Despite this, students seem to manage the Mansion’s funk. Students and faculty enjoy the café and upperclassmen spaces as well as the recently renovated classrooms. WIS students are often portrayed to be silver-spoon students who cannot handle any hardship. However, their grit and determination throughout the saga of smells should silence any claims about their adversity.

back page meme contest winners Noah Stier, 2024

William Green, 2025