October 2014 | The Evergreen, Greenhill School

Evergreen the

october 8, 2014

Everything Greenhill

volume 50, issue 1

the wa y

But that’s

we’ve

always

done it.

Should we break up with tradition?

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oday has been a very productive Saturday. I’ve finished all my homework. It’s 8 p.m., and the longest I’ve gone without checking Facebook is about seven minutes. Finally, at 11 p.m., the posts begin. My newsfeed is flooded with pictures of my friends before, during, and after the Homecoming dance. I’m not in any of them. This year, I didn’t go. This year, I wasn’t asked. Excluded by social norms, this student is the voice that Jack Oros, Dean of Students, is trying to speak up for. As Dean, he said he believes certain Homecoming traditions inhibit the progressive, inclusive environment that is Greenhill. He decided to devise and execute changes this year, and announced the changes during the individual Upper School class meetings. 10 a.m.: class meeting’s about to start; Mr. Oros approaches the front of the Lecture Hall and a cloud of suspense falls over the room. He explains the new decisions surrounding Homecoming and the entire student body reacts. “There was a lot of tension. A lot of people were not happy,” said senior Eric Yu of the atmosphere at the senior class meeting. “There were arguments and a little bit of a debate between two sides. Also, there was almost something like disbelief, like, ‘Why is he allowed to do that?’” Many students don’t want to let go of traditions they are used to, ones they were waiting to be a part of. But there is another side to the story. “If one girl doesn’t come to school or doesn’t come to the game because she doesn’t have a mum, that’s enough for me to say to change this,” Mr. Oros said.

“

If Greenhill has the opportunity to make more people feel included, then [the school] should take it.”

In an effort to include all students, Mr. Oros made changes regarding the 2014-2015 Homecoming and Sadie Hawkins dances. This year, Homecoming and Sadie’s are no longer “boys ask girls” and “girls ask boys” dances, respectively. Students can ask whomever, for whichever dance they prefer. Additionally, mums and garters will only bear one name, that of the person wearing them. Traditionally, dates would exchange mums and garters with both of

Views News On Seniority. p. 3

Serving Greenhill since 1966

Seniors analyze HSSSE. p. 6

their names on them. Finally, students are no longer allowed to have public “asks,” a practice reserved for seniors. Traditionally, groups of seniors would ask each other to the dance in front of a crowd of their peers. Elaborate “asks” might take weeks of planning. Texan high-school girls have been wearing mums for almost a century, and Greenhill has had the tradition for at least 30 years. According to Mr. Oros, over the past couple of years, he has seen many students’ feelings hurt over not being asked to Homecoming. Though there are no exact figures, the result is a tangible absence of some students from school on friday’s Homecoming activities, and the dance the next day. “[Greenhill] always looks at things progressively. We look at things not like everywhere else does,” Mr. Oros said, “And then when it comes to Homecoming, we revert to the 1950s. To some, the mum says ‘I have a date for the dance,’ and those without one are those without a date.” Mr. Oros said he wants to create an environment where everyone can wear a mum without fear of ridicule. “I think it’s a step in the right direction,” said junior Mansi Kumar. “Because [at] Greenhill we emphasize this very inclusive environment. It’s kind of [a] microcosm of acceptance.” Other students expressed similar views in regards to the changes. “I think [the change] is kind of nice,” said sophomore Julia Halm. “It’s more laid back and accepting. It’s the Greenhill thing to do.” However, some students feel that those who don’t have dates have no reason to feel excluded, because of Greenhill’s atmosphere. “Even if you don’t have a date, you’re still comfortable and people don’t make fun of you,” said sophomore Maddie Cook. “I saw last year people [bought] mums or garters with just their name, so I never really saw [people feeling left out] as a problem.” “Everyone that I’ve seen has had great spirits regardless,” said sophomore Jake Hershman. Other students feel that whether or not an individual student gets asked should not affect the rest of the community. “If someone doesn’t get asked, they choose how to react to that,” said junior Andrea Mora. “Say I didn’t get asked, I’m not going to make everyone else feel sorry for me because I didn’t

get asked. I can go by myself, buy my own mum and put my own name on it. But I don’t think that just because several girls feel excluded all of the other students have to be brought down with them,” Andrea said. Though the changes were made to prevent exclusion, the very process by which the changes were made was not open to the entire student body; only Student Council was made aware of the upcoming changes. Students are typically not consulted on these types of decisions. “I didn’t expect Student Council or the students to necessarily agree with the decision,” Mr. Oros said. “I just hope they understand my reasoning. Part of my role as Dean is to help develop character, compassion and understanding.” Members of Student Council i f also said they felt that it was in Mr. Oros’s domain to decide. “It’s [Mr. Oros’] decision, it’s the administration’s decision, [but Student Council] also agreed with it and supported it,” said senior Alex Raphael, Upper School Student Body President. “We also recognized that people would be upset, but there’s always difficulty accepting changes whenever traditions are swept away.” But there are members of the Greenhill community who said they feel the delivery of the change could have been different. “I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one that has an opinion on this,” Andrea said. “The dance and the Homecoming night [are] for us.” Karen Bradberry, Director of Equity & Inclusion, also said she wished that the opinions of the student body had been included in the decision-making process. “My preference would have been a Survey Monkey or an open forum, especially if it’s a decision that affects the community,” she said. This is not the first time Homecoming traditions have been changed. In the ‘70s, Homecoming court was nominated by the football team, whereas today, the entire senior class makes nominations. Over time, the changes simply become the new norm. “The essence of Homecoming remains intact; if Greenhill has the opportunity to make more people feel included, then [the school] should take it,” Alex said. story by Josh Rudner and Christina Zhu graphic by Sera Tuz

Feat. Arts Sports From Bulgaria to Dallas. p. 7

4141 Spring Valley Road, Addison, TX 75001

The Basis of Fear. p. 14

The Secret of Futsal. p. 17

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Rants&Raves

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A RANT to the lack of a full-body mirror in the boys’ bathroom. Noted civil-rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer once said, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” She may not have been talking about equal rights for look-conscious UpperSchool males, but we think she would agree with our saying every student needs–no, deserves–access to a full body mirror.

A RAVE to the new Upper School robotics lab. The most apparent additions are a 3D printer, a soldering iron, and a robotics arena. The high-tech space has piqued many students’ interest, inspiring a new generation of engineers, mechanics and rocket scientists. We just hope that our classmates use their power for good. Heaven knows the world doesn’t need another Dr. Evil.

A RANT to the lack of printer paper in the Upper School. Our mounting fear of an imminent West Nile/ Ebola/swine flu epidemic is only worsened by the daunting task of locating just one piece of blank paper to print our already three-day late AP set. We kindly ask that this issue be taken care of so we can get on with our procrastinating in peace.

A RAVE to the step forward in equality that has come in the form of Homecoming changes. While we understand the changes are unpopular with some, you can choose to be bitter, or you can choose to beat the system and put a stealth-couple name on your mum like, for example, Troy and Ash: Trash!

A RANT to awkward school pictures. Students of all ages have complained about the poses they were forced to take, noting not only how absurdly unnatural they looked (let’s allow the ‘90’s dad aesthetic to rest in peace), but also how incredibly painful the pose was. Three cases of scoliosis as a result of school pictures is no laughing matter.

A RAVE to the changed consessions stand hours in the gym. Thanks to the adjustment, our relentless effort is fueled not only by a fear of a livid coach, but also by the 210 calories of sheer bliss that are a $1 slab of milk chocolate. It’s just like Lana del Rey said:“Heaven is a place on earth with [candy bars].”

A RANT to the mess when field hockey players change in the Upper School bathrooms before practice. Straps, clasps and buckles fly at marvelous speeds as 30 girls struggle to change in time for practice. To add insult to injury, the bathroom’s lighting makes it nearly impossible for all but the most skilled to craft the perfect ponytail in time.

A RANT to the recent trend of teachers not abiding by set class schedules and flex days. While we empathize with the difficulty of fully explaining the meaning of light and shadow in Beowulf to a group of freshmen in 55 minutes, we live in a democracy, not an ancient federal monarchy, and as such, we demand the right to our flex periods.

A RAVE to the new charging station in the Buzz. Some days you get to school with 100 percent charge, but other days aren’t so good. Now we millenials can rest easy knowing our phones won’t die on us as we choose between Valencia and Kelvin for our Throwback Thursdays.

Our Table Manners Need Tending Staff Editorial At Greenhill, students and teachers are surrounded in a community that values honor, respect and compassion in everything they do, or so they say. But why, when entering the heavy, grey doors of Crossman Dining Hall, does it feel like one enters into a completely different atmosphere? The kindness that radiates throughout the rest of campus seems lacking in the cafeteria: voices are extremely loud, students and teachers rush through their meals and cut in line, and food and trash are left on the chairs and tables. We, the Evergreen staff, feel that the Greenhill community should bring the cafeteria back into the Greenhill bubble by bringing the core values through the grey doors of Crossman Hall. Imagine that you are a freshman who just got out of a third-period chemistry class on

F day. You are stuck in a line that goes out the door. You see all your friends already eating, but wait patiently in line. Near the silverware station, a group of upperclassmen approach the line and cut right in front of you to where one of their friends is standing. When you are about to get your food, two teachers come from the side doors and merge in line right in front of you. Finally at the front of the line, you see that the hamburgers you had been daydreaming about in chemistry are now just a couple of shriveled patties no longer at their ideal temperature. This is the daily story of countless students between the hours of 12:45 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. We know that compared to many things, this a small complaint. But the problem is not in someone missing out on the largest hamburger patty; the problem is

Evergreen staff

when people feel entitled to cut in line. People view lunchtime as a break from their rigorous daily lives, and we understand that. But that does not mean that we take a break from the values that make up Greenhill’s moral foundation. Some upperclassmen feel that they were subjected to cuts in line as underclassmen and saw other members of the community treat the cafeteria with disrespect, so now it’s fine if they do the same. This cycle of entitlement will not stop unless we, as Greenhill students, make the conscious effort to respect both the cafeteria and other students during lunch. We as the Evergreen staff urge the upperclassmen and teachers to act as role models to display the respect that is so evident in other places on campus. Certainly, the renovations that will

take place this summer may solve the issue of the long line-length. But that’s not the fundamental issue. We should be the kind of people who aren’t using logistical excuses to justify disrespect. You–yes, you–be the first to change this habit. Call out a friend who cuts the line to join you right as you near the food. Notice when someone slides another person’s tray to be closer to a friend. Would you slide over someone’s books in Precal or kick someone out of their seat in the Elliott center? No rule needs to be added to the handbook and no announcement needs to be made by Mr. Oros at C-day. We need to realize that, even on the busiest and most stressful of days, our individual needs do not come above anyone else’s. This realization cannot be mandated. It has to come from the heart.

the

Erratas, May 2014 issue

editor-in-chief

views editor

sports editors

asst. arts editor

Sera Tuz

Megan Wiora

executive editor

news editors

special sections editor

online editors

Andrew Friedman

Christian Holmes Ben Krakow

asst. news editor

business manager

Sofia Shirley

managing editor Sanah Hasan

Madison Goodrich Christina Zhu

features editors Varun Gupta Amna Naseem

arts editor

Catherine Leffert

Lane Hirsch Ben Schachter

Suman Chebrolu

asst. features editor Zach Rudner

Arhum Khan

Ryan Diebner

art director

Ariana Zhang

staff writers

Abbas Hasan Areeba Amer Ellen Margaret Andrews Joseph Weinberg Joshua Rudner Kathie Rojas Krish Shetty Leah Witheiler Lili Stern Maya Ghosh Mia Krumerman

Radhe Melwani Simra Abedi Sophie Bernstein Stephen Crotty Zayna Syed Zoe Allen Krish Shetty Lili Stern

advisor

Eve Hill-Agnus

staff artists

Sudeep Bhargava Alex Drossos Mansi Gaur Brianna Houston Arhum Khan Ashley Lee Jackson Lowen Adam Weider

p.19 Shelby Beauchamp was not the only senior girl on Track & Field last year. Logan McGill and Lindsey Mahomes were also on the team. p.2 The car in the Rants & Raves photo belongs to a faculty member. p.4 Donna Ferebee also retired last year. p.4 Neiswender was misspelled.

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Should senority be a factor in deciding leadership positions for students? No, seniority should not be a factor In a varsity team at Greenhill, the answer to whether or not seniority should play a major part in captaincies and starting positions is “No.” Seniority is a measure of time and is not an accurate indicator of one’s ability to meet the expectations of either a leadership role, such as a captaincy, or a starting position. A senior player may be more likely to have developed the traits that contribute to strong, positive leadership (i.e. discipline, confidence,and courage), but seniority should not be an actual factor. With regards to starting positions, there are three factors considered when evaluating players, and none of them are seniority. A player’s attitude/approach, work ethic and soccer ability are evaluated. Starters and substitutes are players that have demonstrated strength in all of those areas. Lastly, soccer plays a critical role in the overall development of Greenhill student-athletes and should attempt to prepare them for life ahead. It would be irresponsible to consider seniority as an important factor when in reality it is becoming less and less a considered factor in the world the students will encounter beyond Greenhill.

-Greg Krauss, Head Coach Varsity Boys Soccer

What does the neologism “seniority” mean in regards to positions and leadership roles for the student organizations at Greenhill? “I’m older than you, so I should receive a more qualified position than you.” But only merits and talents prompt success. How would a sports team do well if they chose seniors who don’t play well? How would a musical be performed to its highest capabilities if they chose seniors who don’t sing well? How would a class be organized if they chose seniors who don’t lead well? I believe that seniority should not play a major part in deciding highup positions in student organizations, because of their lack of qualifications. I remember when I was a freshman [at another school], and my band director did not allow me to go to the Midwest Clinic in Chicago with my band because of “seniority.” Everyone will be a senior at one point, so seniority seems as if it was put into account to accommodate those who feel left out in a certain field. However, there is nothing more important than competence levels; hence why seniority should not play a major part in deciding these high-up positions at Greenhill.​

-Nitish Jindal, junior Graphic by Ariana Zhang

Yes, senority should be a factor Every educator who is in the position of assigning students to performing roles, including in sports, has a careful balance to consider regarding the question of seniority. Students who have worked their way through the ranks justifiably feel they have paid their dues, and once they reach more senior levels, it’s their turn to take on the leading roles. Educators have to balance those considerations against demonstrable talents they recognize in younger students. What if it turns out that a freshman or sophomore, or a newcomer to the senior class for that matter, is a flat-out better performer than the student who has worked her or his way through the ranks? Anyone who’s a fan of Friday Night Lights knows that this is the exact dilemma that Coach Taylor faced when his senior and loyal quarterback, Matt Seracen, didn’t perform up to the level of a young newcomer to the team. After Coach Taylor honored Seracen’s loyalty by keeping him as the starting quarterback, he ultimately acknowledged the new kid was better and deserved the starting spot. The kid wound up performing like a star during the regular season. But here’s where the seniority equation comes into play: When the team was at a clutch moment in the playoffs, where the quarterback needed to keep a cool head and exercise maturity and leadership, the new kid fell apart. Seracen went back onto the field and won the game. How might such a scenario play out on the theatre stage? Let’s say a more senior actor who has patiently paid his/her dues is outshined in auditions by a very talented, younger actor. If the older actors doesn’t bring it in the auditions, or simply isn’t right for the role, then I have to follow my directing instincts and assign the role to the person most qualified to handle it, even if it’s a younger actor. At the same time, I have to keep in mind the pressures of live performance. What if another actor forgets his/her lines? Who can I rely on to fill that awkward gap of silence while everyone on stage is scrambling to come up with a line to get everyone back on track? It may be that the most senior actor is the one who will be most reliable–whether that person is in a leading role or a more supporting role on stage. As I say, it’s a careful balance. I weigh each situation according to the circumstances I face at the time. There are no inviolable rules that say seniority trumps all other considerations. It’s one of many elements that impact the educator’s decision.

-Catherine Hopkins, Upper School Theater Director I feel like seniority should always be taken into consideration when choosing students to hold important positions on sports teams, in plays, or within clubs, but I do not think it should be held against qualified underclassmen. In my opinion, the most committed and deserving candidate should receive the position regardless of age. Usually, however, the person with the most qualifications ends up being the oldest to begin with. Adequate experience is a crucial prerequisite regarding positions like these, and obviously the oldest students have the most of it. While I am a firm believer in picking the most worthy candidate, I have also seen firsthand the benefits of having lots of experience before taking on a leadership role. With that being said, the other person should only get priority if all qualifications are even. Since my freshman cross country season, Rachel Carp has been one of the captains. Even though I was shy and a little uncomfortable at first, Rachel made sure to make my transition to my new team (and school!) very enjoyable. As a captain, she introduced me to everyone, taught me the “do’s” and “don’ts” of our sport, and warned me about the brutality of our annual mile repeats during preseason. Using her past experience to ease my transition, Rachel would not have been able to be such an effective and comforting leader without the cushion of a couple of years in the program.

-Madison Cook, sophomore

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For more about new faculty, visit evergreengreenhill.wordpress.com.

On-campus security intensified, focus on visitor management son p m Tho e elin

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MARAUDERS MAP: The new visitor management system allows security to keep track of on-campus guests. Visitors are required to wear an ID badge that states their destination.

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Varun Gupta Amna Naseem Features Editors

Radhe Melwani Staff Writer

Before this summer, Greenhill did not have an effective system to keep track of visitors on campus. Following the security audit released this summer, the Board of Directors and Officer Steve Smith, Head of Security, urged the school to implement a visitor management system, otherwise known as the Raptor. Prior to the visitor management system, a sign-in sheet attached to a clipboard was the only written record for on-campus visitors. Enforcement was a major issue and guests that forgot to sign in at the front office were not accounted for. “I think [sign-in] was sort of haphazardly enforced and particularly with alums and parents that we know are part of the extended community. It’s sometimes awkward to say, ‘You have to go sign in at the office,”’ said Dan Kasten, Upper School English teacher. Additionally, the lack of a management system presented a safety issue. “If your parents came to visit on campus and there was a fire or some type of emergency, we wouldn’t know they were here. So we would not know to go look for them,” Officer Smith said. “[Raptor] does a record of attendance, keeping track of any visitor on campus.” Now, upon turning into the school’s campus, visible signs remind visitors to register at front office locations. Most school buildings, including the Upper School, Three Chimneys, and Lower School, require visitors to show a driver’s license or governmentissued ID before receiving a nametag with photo identification that approves their entry

on campus. The nametag badges display the visitor’s final campus destination and a photo printed from the person’s driver’s license. Some guests are resistant to the new process. “We were trained to delay the visitor until Security arrived to handle the situation,” said Chris Baker, Upper School Office Director. For example, while Mr. Baker monitored check-in last month, a former student declined to show hiss government identification. Mr. Baker said that Officer

“

If your parents came to visit on campus and there was a fire or some type of emergency, we wouldn’t know they were here. So we would not know to go look for them.”

Smith’s training sessions enabled him to assure the alum that Raptor is now standard procedure. The school wants to check all visitors ages 16 and over. Another function of Raptor is to screen for convicted sex offenders. Raptor’s encrypted computer system accesses the United States Department of Justice database of registered sex offenders. Established in 2005, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) enabled anyone to view a comprehensive list of charged sex offenders across all 50 states. If there is a match, the Raptor automatically notifies Officer Smith to intervene immediately and sends text messages to Head of School Scott Griggs and other relevant administrators. Delicate scenarios involving a suspected sex offender have not occurred, but staff and faculty understand the safety protocol. “I would stall [the visitor] by saying my machine or nametag reader is not working,”

Mr. Baker said. According to Officer Smith, our neighbor school, George Herbert Walker Bush Elementary, has utilized Raptor technologies for many years. Officer Smith himself implemented the Raptor system while head of security at Ursuline Academy. Since the implementation of the visitor management system at Greenhill, teachers and staff have had mixed feelings about the tightened security. “What has always made Greenhill special is the sense of community, a warm welcome,” Mr. Kasten said. “There is a risk of endangering that valuable atmosphere by demanding that [visitors] get cleared by the Raptor.” Mr. Baker, who oversees one of the Raptor stations, said he thinks Greenhill’s fundamental ambiance won’t change. “Our philosophy is different. We foster an open campus and camaraderie. You kind of feel like entering a prison with some other private schools,” said Mr. Baker. While some members of the community may be hesitant, the visitor management has addressed safety as the school’s primary objective. “I want kids to become more aware of their personal safety,” Officer Smith said. The security change also adds to the duties of the office staff. Staff must keep confidentiality when scanning people’s licenses, because the profile on Raptor reveals private information. The only way to maintain discretion is to have only staff members to use the check-in system, not parent volunteers. This means office staff has to cover for one another. “[College Counseling Coordinator Pam Hopkins] and I communicate with each other. When I go to the bathroom or lunch, she covers for me,” Mr. Baker said. To enforce the policy change, the school

briefed teachers and staff about the newly revised protocol for dealing with visitors on campus. Still, even protocol cannot cover all scenarios and leaves room for interpretation. Andrea Alexander, Three Chimneys Receptionist, encounters many such cases. Before the afternoon pick-up hour one afternoon, for example, she noticed a parent crossing to Lower School without registering upon arrival. “She was here 30 minutes early, so that was like a gray area,” said Mrs. Alexander. Through the months ahead the school will continue to navigate the Raptor’s capabilities, finding a delicate balance of safety and community.

The Cost of Safety

$2500 raptor license $645

per machine

$7000

total cost to school

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National Science Bowl replaces Science Olympiad Areeba Amer Staff Writer

Greenhill’s Science Olympiad team has been replaced by a National Science Quiz Bowl team. When Greenhill’s main Science Olympiad coach, Boyd Grayson left two years ago, the administration decided to phase out the program. Middle school science teacher Leslie Sinclair-Worley oversaw the transition and is the new National Science Bowl Coach for the Middle School. “It’s more representative of what we want our students to focus their energy on: scientific investigational process skills,” said Dr. Sinclair-Worley. Dr. Sinclair-Worley said that the Middle School curriculum focuses on the process of getting information, which is what National Science Bowl requires. In the National Science Bowl, students are given much less structure than in Science Olympiad. They have to research the broad topic areas given by Science Bowl in order to prepare for the tournament. The fact that they function as a team also increases team-building and leadership skills. In Science Olympiad, students have access to many resources and kits. This decreases a student’s need to research on his or her own. Dr. Sinclair-Worley said the lack of student commitment also contributed to the decision. She said that many students would show up for Saturday practice, but

not be productive. Many would also drop out before tournaments, making the coaches scramble to reorganize their teams. “People often treated Science Olympiad kind of like a stepchild,” Dr. Sinclair-Worley said. “They would come and work when they wanted to and then just either disappear or do really poorly in competitions.” National Science Bowl requires a high level of student commitment, though it needs fewer students per team than Science Olympiad. Only four students and one alternate are required per team, as opposed to the Science Olympiad team, where the team had roughly 15 students. Dr. Sinclair-Worley’s goal this year was to gather highly committed students by providing a fairly rigorous program. Anyone not fully committed should not join in the first place, she said. Dr. Sinclair-Worley attended one Texas regional competition before starting the program at Greenhill, describing the science and mathematics competition much like a Quiz Bowl tournament. “The two teams used buzzers and whoever pushed the buzzer first was allowed to answer the question,” she said. National Science Bowl has two main events, a science and mathematics tournament and an engineering event where students design, build and race electric cars from scratch. The Quiz Bowl-fashioned tournament covered a couple of broad, main areas which students

Photo by Jackson Lowen

READY, SET, BUZZ: The U.S. Department of Energy sponsors the National Science Bowl and hosts a regional, state, and national competetion. Nationals is in Washington DC and is an all-expense paied trip for students who qualify to compete in the National Science Bowl competetion.

would have to research and study to prepare. The questions may either be multiple-choice or short answer. This differs from Science Olympiad’s format which has as many as 25 events, ranging from Disease Detectives to Air Trajectory. Former Science Olympians miss the variety of interactive events in Science Olympiad the most. “They have more options in

Science Olympiad than they do in Science Bowl and I like having a wide variety of choices,” said seventh grader Campbell Crates, former Science Olympian. “What I thought was fun was the hands-on experience, and that’s what Science Olympiad was mostly about,” said freshman Shreya Agarwala. Senior Harris Chowdhary, Upper School Science Bowl

participant, finds Science Bowl’s variety of required knowledge to be a unique aspect of the program, though. “Everyone has to have a wide breadth of knowledge,” said Harris. “But it’s not just breadth, but also depth [of knowledge]. With other things, you sacrifice either breadth or depth, so I think you get both with Science Bowl, which is exciting.”

Snack Bar shuts down due to shortage of student participation Snack Bar Revenue

Stephen Crotty Staff Writer

The student-run Upper School snack bar did not open for the 2014-2015 school year. Gone are the days of pounding music and bustling sales of sugary snacks and drinks in the hallway closest to the Lecture Hall, between the Student Center and the Elliott Center. The snack bar’s hallway is now a simple hangout spot. The snack bar’s previous purpose was to provide Upper School student clubs with a chance to produce profits by selling snacks. The profits were used to give back to the school as well. According to Steve Warner, former snack bar faculty sponsor, over the years the snack bar has contributed money to a new sound system in the Elliott Center and new video cameras for Upper School and Middle School Visual Arts Teacher Corbin Doyle’s Video Production class. However, the snack bar’s profits declined in recent years, due in part to the increase in product variety at the Buzz, making the snack bar almost obsolete. The snack bar was the junior-class fundraiser until in the 1992-93 school year, the junior class had the idea of making it a club. Math teacher Barbara Currier was the sponsor for five or six years before Mr. Warner took over. “It was very popular,” Dr.

Photo by Adam Weider

BARREN BAR: The snack bar, once filled with snacks, is now closed down due to lack of student volunteers. Last year, reveue took a major fall.

Currier said. “But we didn’t have the Buzz. It was a great leadership opportunity. They were basically running a business.” According to Mr. Warner, the snack bar is primarily closing its doors because it was too time-consuming for its student operators. The snack bar was open less and less as time went on, and this caused profits to decline. Junior Naya Sharp, a frequent snack bar volunteer, considered her time spent at the snack bar not as work, but as energizing. She regrets the loss of the

snack bar. “I never felt like it was taking time away because you would work it during your free break,” she said. Naya said she found the snack bar to be a place that gives her freedom to do what she wants to do. “It was a peaceful and great place to do homework and study, while of course playing your music freely,” she said. Evan White ‘14, also recalled the snack bar as a place free of worries. “I spent most of my time there. I don’t know how to describe it.

There were not really any problems,” he said. “I never really noticed that we had a decline in sales.” There are no current plans to reopen the snack bar, however. Mr. Warner said the area might become a teacher’s office or storage space. Students still have access to the Buzz and the dining hall. The snack bar did not play the role of sole source of snacks like it did in its first years, when the Buzz did not exist. Mr. Warner said he is sad to see it go, however, because it was a way for students to help their

community. “It’s been around since at least as long as I have been here. So it’s a part of Greenhill history, but I think its run its course.” Evan still wishes that the business would continue on. He was part of the last generation of snack-bar volunteers that dedicated their time and made the place vibrant. “I’m a little upset it’s closing, but nothing can last forever. Maybe there will be a new inspiration, a new student who wants to bring it back,” he said.

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Sociology class analyzes HSSSE testing results Mia Krumerman Staff Writer

Last April, the Upper School student body participated in the High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE). The questionnaire assesses the levels of student engagement and the facets, in and out of the classroom, that could improve. The results will help administration better understand students’ general feelings about and experience at the school. This year, students in Upper School history teacher David Lowen’s sociology class are analyzing the survey results. They will later present their findings to the Board of Trustees as a final project. “I was looking for a tool that would help us put some numbers to the less quantifiable aspects of the student experience,” said Laura Ross, Head of Upper School. “We had things like grades, [Advanced Placement] scores, and SAT results, but I did not feel that these are what makes Greenhill special. I did not think that we had a good sense of the majority of students’ experiences in different aspects of life at Greenhill.” During a faculty meeting early in the year, Mrs. Ross noted that she had received an abundance of data from the survey, but would love to have help analyzing it. “Jokingly, she said maybe my sociology class would like to do it. After reflection, I talked to my sociology class about it and they were interested in finding out what these results truly meant for our school,” said Mr. Lowen.

Sociology is a senior history elective in which students study human social behavior. “It’s a new way to look at things,” said senior Torri Hayden, a student in the class. “Instead of learning how to do something, we are learning why we do certain things.” According to Torri, the students are excited to apply their new knowledge to a real-world experience. Students were assigned to analyze different portions of the data. The HSSSE results indicated three main areas for improvement, which Mr. Lowen decided would be the most interesting areas to investigate on a sociological level. Students broke into groups and determined survey questions that would help them find out why students feel the way they do. This would allow them to add more nuance to their understanding of these sometimes surprising results. “One of the strengths was the fairness of our rules, but one of our weaknesses was that they thought the rules were not enforced fairly. That seems counterintuitive. You would think that if the rules were fair, they would think the rules were fairly enforced,” said Mr. Lowen, “I have a group looking at that. They are developing questions regarding that disconnect.” Another group is analyzing levels of boredom in class, which the survey indicated to be prevalent amongst the student body. Fifty-seven percent of students responded that they were sometimes bored in class because the materials or teaching methods were not interesting. The students

STUDENT STATS: This is one of many graphs sociology students will analyze. It compares the percentages of different levels of boredom in Greenhill classrooms to the percentages in other private schools and public schools.

in Mr. Lowen’s sociology class are looking to see if there are correlations between boredom and a particular class, grade, extracurricular, or number of hours students sleep per night. They are creating a survey to understand the root of the students’ boredom in school. Students said they have enjoyed this

project because it is something that they can genuinely relate to on a personal level. “I wanted to enlist the help of the sociology class because they are already looking at data. I thought, ‘Why not have them look at something that might interest them: [its] their own school [experience]’,” said Mrs. Ross.

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For more on the Urban Studies Segway field trip in Dallas, see p. 9.

Graphic and photo by Mansi Gaur

6,000 MILES FROM HOME: Through the exchange program ASSIST, junior Bibby Georgieva (pictured below) is attending Greenhill for the 2014-15 school year. She has joined the cross country team and dance company and is taking advanced math and science courses. The skylines (above) of Sofia, Bulgaria and Dallas, Texas differ as significantly as their cultures.

A Tale of Two Cities: From Sofia to Dallas Meet 17-year-old Bibby Georgieva from Sofia, Bulgaria, who brings an outside perspective to Greenhill’s social interactions and daily lives.

Abbas Hasan Kathie Rojas Staff Writers

In Texas, the land is flat and extends for miles without the slightest hint of change. People here get used to it. But coming from a country thousands of miles away, where mountains tower throughout the landscape, the difference would be startling. It is differences like this that junior Bilyana Georgieva has encountered since coming to the United States as a foreign exchange student. Bilyana, better known on the Greenhill campus as “Bibby,” has come to the school from Sofia, Bulgaria, and is staying with the Arata family for the year. She decided that Bibby, a nickname her Bulgarian friends gave her, would suit her best in Dallas when she heard students try and fail to pronounce Bilyana. “No one here can really say that,” Bibby said. Bibby immediately had a warm connection with her host family. Senior Hanna Arata and sophomore Julianna Arata are her host siblings. “Right off the bat she was really friendly and she hugged me,” said Hanna. Her positivity was conveyed in

other relationships she developed at Greenhill as well. Early on, Bibby was introduced to senior Rachel Carp on the cross country team. During her first days as a Greenhill cross country runner, Bibby said she noted the dramatic difference in temperature between Bulgaria and Texas.

“[Bibby] is really positive. While sometimes I think the heat is hard, she is always smiling,” Rachel said. In Bulgaria, Bibby ran approximately five kilometers every day, or about three miles, as a hobby. “I used to run in the mornings with my mom,” Bibby said. “It was really calm, and I would just run around my neighborhood.”

At Greenhill, running shifted from a hobby to a sport. When asked about the “Relentless Effort” motto, Bibby replied with an answer that would please any head of athletics: “It’s inspirational. Here, everyone tries to develop themselves,” she said. Academically, Bibby has a liking towards math and science courses, and because of that, she is taking AP Statistics and Physics. In contrast to Greenhill, where academics are focused on well-roundedness, Bibby’s school in Bulgaria is based more on math and science. Her Bulgarian school’s setup is quite different from Greenhill’s. There, she takes 14 classes, including Geography and three language classes. Not all these classes meet every day; only math and science do. Each grade is split into six cohorts of 30. Bibby also spends every day with the same 30 students. “We stay in the same classroom and the teacher comes [in] and lectures,” Bibby said. The friendships created in her Bulgarian school are mainly within these classes. There, Bibby’s friendships are tight-knit and amongst a smaller group of friends. “Here [at Greenhill], everyone

has a bunch of good friends,” Bibby said. About her friends in Bulgaria, she said “they are like brothers and sisters.” When asked about her favorite Bulgarian tradition, she cited the holiday Martenitsa, which takes place in March. Friends exchange white and red bracelets to celebrate the arrival of spring. Usually students receive about 30 bracelets from friends in their school. However, it is common for students to only wear the bracelets from those they are closest to. “You only have to wear two or three for your closest friends,” said Bibby. Not only is there a change in her friend groups in the United States, but there is also a

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Coming to America is a oncein-a-lifetime experience and I know my friends and family will always be there for me. “ change in family lifestyles. At her school in Bulgaria, the school day ends at 2:20 p.m., giving students time to get work done before the evening starts.

“In Bulgaria, most of the families have dinner together. We are just not that busy. I know that a lot of American families don’t,” Bibby said. “But the Aratas try to have dinner together every night. I really like that.” She noted the change in pace of her day-to-day activities. “People are busier here. You have to make an effort to have dinner together,” Bibby said. On her second night in the United States, Bibby managed to make a meal for her host family on her own. “She made dinner for us on her second night. It was really good,” said Hanna. Bibby’s time in the United States is limited, and her host family plans to make the most of her visit. This includes a list of places and attractions to see in the Metroplex. “I’m making a bucket list for her before she goes,” Hanna said. “I want her to experience America in the short time that she’s here.” Although Bibby is still accommodating to her new lifestyle here in the United States, she is excited and grateful. “Coming to America is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I know my friends and family will always be there for me,” Bibby said.

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wednesday, october 8, 2014

Urban Studies Class Takes Downtown by Segway M

y memories of downtown Dallas have always been fragmented snapshots: a visit to the Dallas World Aquarium, a trip to the Texas State Fair, seats at the Mavs game, my sister’s dance recital at the Meyerson Symphony Center. I am a life-long resident of the Metroplex and always say, “I’m from Dallas” when introducing myself to someone from a different state, but I still feel like I don’t deserve that privilege. Plano residents, I now realize, have close to no idea of what “Dallas” actually is. I don’t spend much time outside the realm of McMansions, strip malls and Starbucks stores, and I never had thoughts of visiting the city. Receiving my driver’s license in the spring of my sophomore year gave me a way to explore previously unavailable areas of the city. But still, the closest I came to experiencing downtown on foot was at the 2012 Dallas Half-Marathon, when I ran over the newly constructed Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge with 10,000 of my closest friends. But about a week ago, what I thought I knew about Dallas was turned on its head. Greenhill’s Urban Studies class, created by Becky Daniels, Upper School History teacher, embarked on a field trip to explore the city by Segway. Ms. Daniels could have stuck strictly to the textbook–literally–but instead she taught the college-level class by immersing her students in their own city. “So many people don’t understand [where] they grow up until they move away,” Mrs. Daniels said. “It was my hope to help them [understand] where they’re from.” The class is a comparative study between global and US cities, and as such it draws its reading from a variety of sources: along with the textbook, we read medical journals, newspaper editorials and excerpts of novels set in cities. In addition to taking the Segway tour downtown, the class will also conduct a neighborhood walkability study to assess the pedestrian accessibility of the Metroplex’s diverse neighborhoods, ranging from the Bishop Arts District to downtown East Plano. Students also have had the opportunity to

hear from other Greenhill faculty members, prominent real-estate developers, and the mayors of Addison, Plano and Desoto about their experiences with urban environments. Strangely enough, the amazing speakers and field trips were not the primary reason I decided to take the class. Although it’s hard to ignore the importance of the history of Western Civilization as a whole, it is also important for me to learn about the community in which I live. But Wikipedia comes up short on Dallas history. I was convinced there was more to be discovered. Through the trip, we experienced the daily commuting routine of a bona fide city dweller. At 7:45 a.m., we stood in line at a dispensing machine and bought tickets for the DART train at the Spring Valley Station, boarded the Red Line downtown, and witnessed commuters fill the train car to the brim at Forest Road. I overheard diverse conversations while standing in the stairwell (the aisles had become jam-packed). The inhabitants of our car poured out at Pearl Street station, and along with them a sense of liveliness. We exited at West End Station for our Segway adventure. Although we were about nine inches above the ground, we obtained a close to authentic perspective of what city life is like without sacrificing speed. Segways can travel up to 12 miles per hour, as we quickly learned while doing test runs in front of the tour company’s building. The Segway contains a gyroscope that responds to shifts in weight: lean forward and move forward, lean backward and move backward, turn the handlebar left and rotate left with no turning radius. They were the ideal vehicles for rapid transit along pedestrian walkways. “And they were fun,” said Daniels, “I wanted the trip to be fun.” We visited nearly every historic and architectural highlight of Dallas: Pioneer Park, the Adolphus Hotel, the Magnolia, AT&T Plaza, Dallas City Hall, Thanksgiving Square, the Winspear Opera House, the Meyerson Symphony Center, Klyde Warren

Photo by Emily Wilson

MAKE WAY FOR SEGWAYS: Ms. Daniels’ Urban Studies Class stands together on their segways as they tour Downtown Dallas. The group took lessons to learn how to use them.

Park, the Dallas Museum of Art, the John F. Kennedy Memorial, and the Old Red Courthouse and Museum all in three hours. We also saw some of Dallas’ precious history being destroyed. In transit to Thanksgiving Square, a thick shroud of dust was being expelled from a small cross-street a block in front of us. Upon riding into the narrow lane, we saw the 30-foot-tall eyeball sculpture by artist Tony Tasset, a piece in the Nasher Sculpture Center’s extended collection. We also were dismayed to see an enormous crane bombarding a 129-year old Romanesque Revival building at 1611 Main Street with a wrecking ball. The destruction of this property has been covered by the Dallas Morning News and most recently in D Magazine’s FrontBurner site, one article is aptly named “1611 Main Street, RIP.” Thankfully, much of Dallas’ unique history is preserved in the Old Red

Courthouse, which houses a museum entirely dedicated to Dallas’ history from its pre-colonial era to the modern age. I found myself sitting in the theater of each of its four era-themed rooms, watching their videos on subjects like the railroad’s impact on Dallas’ economy or the Civil War as it occurred in Dallas. As I leaned my trusty Segway against the wall of our tour company’s office building at the end of the trip, I realized my disappointment. I really wanted to buy a Segway. But more importantly, I was disappointed that in one year, I would have to leave an intriguing city that I had only begun to understand. I still have much to learn about the city that I’m from, but I am grateful for the chance to connect the disparate dots of my memories via Segway. story by Andrew Friedman

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features

9

Why WordSmart? Why not?

Zach Rudner

Asst. Features Editor

Sophie Bernstein Staff Writer

Tenth and eleventh graders huddle around tables in the English pod. “What does bucolic mean?” a sophomore asks, frantically searching through his copy of WordSmart as the minutes countdown to quiz-time. A group of sophomores’ panic is quickly stifled as their teacher walks by: superimposed calm hangs in the air. WordSmart, created by test-prep experts at The Princeton Review, is the vocabularylearning program employed by the English department for tenth and eleventh graders. Weekly quizzes test students’ knowledge of each unit’s vocabulary, covering words like “ephemeral” and “iconoclast.” These weekly quizzes have garnered a reputation of notoriety, particularly for their difficult analogy portion. Former Greenhill English teacher Lexi Eagles introduced WordSmart to Greenhill over a dozen years ago. Before that, the teaching methods for vocabulary varied across the department. “The juniors had some lists of words that had minimal definition and were in a pamphlet that used rather small print. The presentation was not inviting, and the whole endeavor seemed more of an add-on than an integral part of the English curriculum,” said Ms. Eagles. “I chose [WordSmart] specifically because the definitions for the words were thorough, and sometimes amusing, and much more than just synonyms,” she said. Ultimately, memorizing lists of words is not the most natural way to enrich vocabulary. “The best way to learn vocabulary is to read good books, to read The New York Times, to read The Economist, to read Atlantic Monthly, to read a lot, and to talk to people who are literate,” said Dan Kasten, Upper School English teacher. “I think probably everybody would acknowledge that giving kids an alphabetical list of words and saying, ‘Here, memorize these,’ is not the best vocabulary-building program.”

Mrs. Parker, Upper School Learning Specialist, also confirmed that learning vocabulary in context is the most valuable method. WordSmart has been continually employed, however, since Ms. Eagles introduced it to Greenhill. Context-based programs would require more classtime than WordSmart currently does, class time that English teachers already preciously value. Other non-context-based programs are similar to WordSmart, and no other program has stood out enough to justify switching.

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WordSmart is more than a vocabulary-learning mechanism employed by the English department. It is a test of students’ integrity as well.” The English department has continued using WordSmart mainly because it is practical.WordSmart allows English teachers to use a synchronized vocabulary program, testing all sophomores and juniors to the same standards of vocabulary knowledge. The quizzes do not change on a class-to-class basis, or even on a yearly basis. After the teachers selected WordSmart, Ms. Eagles created the original set of quizzes over the summer. Throughout the year, teachers edited the sentences and questions. “I think both [Ms. Eagles] and I were surprised that you are still using [WordSmart],” said Christine Eastus, former Head of the Upper School English Department. However, switching programs would require lots of unwanted work that might not be worth the effort. “We put a lot of work into it, so I suppose if you had asked, I would have hoped that it would be useful as long as that particular book stayed in print, and I’m always glad that it has,” said Ms. Eagles. “From a selfish perspective, we spend a whole bunch of time setting up the format of the quizzes that we give on a weekly basis.

Is that the best use of our time, to recreate a program which might be a little bit better, but is it enough better to justify what we would have to put into launching it?” Mr. Kasten said. The students have varying opinions. “I like that it broadens my vocabulary and introduces me to words that I did not know before,” said sophomore Hayes Barton. “I have become familiar with [the words] by using them. I feel like I’ve picked up some of the words, [but] I think that learning them in context [would be] better than having quizzes on them.” Other students feel more averse towards WordSmart. “WordSmart stinks because it’s less helpful than learning through context,” said senior Sam Cowger. “ L e a r n i n g through context provides a more natural way to learn definitions than weekly quizzes that have an impact on GPAs.” For some classes, WordSmart quizzes are taken on the students’ own time, outside of class time. This creates a potential for cheating, since students do not have eyes watching them while taking their quizzes. T h u s , WordSmart is more than a vocabularyl e a r n i n g mechanism employed by the English department. It is a test of students’ integrity as well. “ [ W e ] hope the kids use the honor code, and I think for the most part kids are honorable about it and do

it on their own, but do [some] kids cheat on WordSmart? Probably,” said Jack Oros, Dean of Students. Until a substantially better option is found that is worth the English department’s effort and work, WordSmart vocabulary will continue to be taught. Besides, it appears to be working. In September, Upper School English teacher Karin Thomas, who teaches both tenth graders and eleventh graders, accidentally gave her eleventh graders the tenth graders’ WordSmart quiz, with words they had learned the previous year. The eleventh graders performed surprisingly well, Dr. Thomas noted, suggesting that the words they had learned had in fact been added to their permanent vocabulary.

Graphic by

Arhum Kh an

In the Spotlight... Andrew Friedman Special Sections Editor

Looking for junior Madison Grimes on a Saturday morning? You might find her scrutinizing the overlooked shelves of the Antique Shop of Highland Park in search of the perfect photos for her artwork. Madison is a collage enthusiast. “I wanted a creative outlet, but I never had the patience for drawing or painting,” Madison said, describing the rationale behind her hobby. “It’s a cool way to pass my time,” Madison said. Although she occasionally sifts through boxes of vintage photos for interesting pictures that can give her work unique texture, Madison most frequently discovers content for her art by perusing old fashion magazines, ripping out pages that catch her attention. “Whenever I get a new magazine I’ll flip through it and [if I see] any pictures I find interesting, I’ll just rip the entire page out,” she said, “I won’t even cut it out.” “They tend to have really cool

COLLAGE CRAZE: Junior Madison Grimes shares one of her many quirky and fun collages.

photography setups with weird makeup and outfits,” said Madison, regarding why she uses fashion magazines. Occasionally, Madison will rearrange these outfits to create her own composition. “I recently made one [in

which] I made flowers out of the skirts of different dresses. When I saw [a dress], it reminded me of what a flower looked like,” she said. Some of Madison’s work has its origins in serendipity: collages occur by chance through looking at the right photos at the right time. Just as Madison organizes the seemingly disparate graphic elements of her collages, she manages the different elements of her life. In addition to being an artist, Madison is also a Twitter enthusiast. Just like some of her collages, her tweets originate from spur-of-the-moment thoughts; she never drafts tweets. “An idea will pop in my head and I’ll type it out; I just post thoughts when I notice things that are funny,” she said. Although she describes Twitter as something she does for fun, her social media humility belies her dedicated following. Fellow junior Andrea Mora describes her tweets as “original” while senior Camille Andrews calls

them “sassy.” “She sees the world around her through a unique lens, and her tweets reflect that,” said senior Harris Chowdhary. Madison is a relatively new resident of the Dallas area, having moved from Episcopal High School Houston to Greenhill her sophomore year. Nondenominational, coeducational, and free of uniforms, Greenhill is more liberal and more open-minded than her previous school, she said. Perhaps these unique qualities of Greenhill galvanized her artistic side. Madison has a twin sister named Morgan. Though their tastes in music diverge–Morgan listens to ‘90s rock bands like Green Day and Nirvana, while Madison prefers Kanye West and the Arctic Monkeys–the two share a close relationship. “You’re never alone at home, and you always have someone to do something with,” Morgan said. Madison compares being a twin to having a friend everywhere,

even on family vacations. Although some, upon first glance, might assume that Morgan, with her brightly colored hair, is the artsy one and Madison is the not-artsy one (a designation with which Madison does not disagree), Madison was the twin to first start a collage collection, and Morgan picked up collaging from her. “It’s a way to put your thoughts down, but it’s in more of an artistic style than a ‘writing your emotions down’ sort of thing,” Morgan said of the philosophy behind collaging. Madison agreed. “It’s a way of journaling based on what I feel or what’s happened,” she said. In a way, her collection of collages serves as a personal artistic diary, and that is why Madison does not plan on exhibiting her work; she opts instead to store her finished pieces in her room. She does plan on continuing her hobby, however. “As long as it’s a fun passtime,” she said.

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Friendship May Be the Sera Tuz

Editor-in-Chief

Sofia Shirley Executive Editor

No seat saving—at least that’s what the rule says. A crafty seventh-grade girl makes a beeline for the far left table in the cafeteria. She places her lunch box on the third seat, where her friends will soon end up, then returns to the hot lunch line. The box is only a decoy. It’s actually empty. It is saving her seat. Another cunning boy begs his parents to pack him lunch everyday. But it’s not about his mom’s peanut butter and banana sandwich; it’s about getting to the right table at the right time. Both of these students are ensuring that they get the seats they want, and they do it before anyone else has even grabbed their tray. These students will do anything to not be the student, tray in hand, anxiously scanning the cafeteria for a seat with the “right people.” The irony here is that, in the context of a 30-minute lunch period, students really only end up with 10 minutes seated together, which is hardly enough time to eat their food, let alone have rich, meaningful discussions. However, lunch is when exclusivity hits its peak and where friend groups are often defined.

ALL BY MYSELF: Inclusion and exclusion are just some of the many complexities of friendship that students navigate as they grow up–and sometimes apart.

The friend groups so fiercely defended in the cafeteria were cultivated in the days of matching ponytail scrunchies and finger painting. Initially, friends are formed by circumstance. They are in the same carpool group; their dads go fishing together; they play on the same T-ball team. At this stage, also, children are still playing in the same sandbox. Everyone in the grade is invited to birthday parties at the bowling alley. Everyone is friends with each other. By Middle School, birthday parties have turned into slumber parties, and the invite list is narrowed down to 10. “In Middle School, it’s all about belonging,” said Ginna Johnson, Middle School Guidance Counselor. “Most kids want to have a group to identify with.” For whatever reason, seventh grade seems to become a Year of Crisis. Hormones, harder classes, and budding identities with parents create a perfect storm. One effect is that students latch onto their friends more. This is when the cliques you hear about in movies start to pop up. They are more exclusive, drama-filled, and vicious. “Seventh grade is a whole new ball game,” Ms. Johnson said. “You add the whole attraction and hormones, and the brain starts developing again. Identity becomes

very important.” At the same time, not all students end up identifying with only one friend group. This can be liberating, but lonely. “Some people are perfectly happy being the roamers,” Ms. Johnson said. “They’re nice to everyone, so people admire them, but in Middle School, sometimes it can be hard and lonely.” As students later move across the quad, their friend groups go through yet another transition.

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Because they’ve been ‘friends forever,’ they feel bad that they don’t want to be friends anymore.” “I think that the shell or core of the groups stays the same, but because of the choices [available in Upper School], kids tend to branch out more and really look at what they’re interested in,” Ms. Johnson said. These developing interests do not always align perfectly with students’ childhood friends. The friend you took swim lessons with in Kindergarten now volunteers at the soup kitchen every weekend while you rock out with your heavy-metal band. Friend groups are now based on self-chosen priorities. “Some of the people I was friends with started to have different interests. Starting in high school, I started to hang out with new people in addition to my old friends,” said senior Rachel Carp, who has been at Greenhill since Kindergarten and transitioned between friend groups in high school. This sort of switch is human nature, so the transition similarly happens naturally rather than abruptly. “It’s not always that you don’t like somebody anymore; it’s that you might be growing apart,” said Laura Ross, Head of Upper School.

But this transition can be hard, especially in a school like Greenhill, where a large part of the graduating class has been together since they lost their first teeth. “We spend so much time reassuring new parents and new kids that ‘You’re going to be fine.’ But in reality, that is, in some ways, the easy part,” said Mrs. Ross. You are not expected to have the same friends from the time you learn to read to the time you learn to drive. But for Greenhill lifers, who have been in school together for over a decade, it is often hard to let go of old friendships. “Because they’ve been ‘friends forever,’ they feel bad that they don’t want to be friends anymore,” Ms. Johnson said. The transition is easiest in fifth and ninth grade, though, as everyone is new to the division, and many new students are added to the grade as well. But being that new student can still be hard. Often freshmen must navigate through unwritten codes, largely seen during lunch. Mrs. Ross said a freshman asked her on the first day of school this year where he should sit for lunch. She began to tell him about seating options in the cafeteria, quad, and Student Center but was cut off by the student’s real question: “No, where should I sit?” “Meaning,” Mrs. Ross said, “as a ninth grader, is there a place I am going to sit where everyone is going to say, ‘Ninth grader, you’re not supposed to be there?’” There are places, such as the courtyard between the two Upper School buildings, where only upperclassmen sit. Or the hallway in front of Mrs. Rosenberg’s office, where a group of seniors traditionally cram in to watch freshmen pull the push-door on the first day of school. Navigating these unwritten codes can be tricky. The primary desire is to do what everyone else is doing, to find a crowd and a place to belong. Some students, however, discover that

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e Hardest Task of All they have to have the courage to take initiative and strike out on their own. “I don’t think everyone would be willing to leave their friend group” Rachel said. “Friend groups don’t have to be as rigid as we think they are.” But this is easier said than done. Even in senior year, there can still be a perceived “group think” mentality, from which it’s hard to break. “I don’t even think it’s an option [to switch friend groups],” said senior Melina van Oers. “It’s really up to the group to decide whether you’re a part of it or not.” Senior Paulo Springer has also experienced these pressures. “You can feel like you don’t relate to your friend group as much as you used to, and feel like you need to take a break, but it’s hard to make a concerted effort to find new friends,” Paulo said. Knowing where to eat at lunch may be small, but counselors have noticed students complaining about difficult classes when, after some conversation, they find out that the student is really agonizing over friend groups. Regardless of how little or how much friendship drama one has had in high school, the entire high school experience can be bookended by anxiety over friend-group change. “The same way freshmen get anxious at Homecoming, I saw a lot of anxiety about Prom for seniors last year,” said Priya Singhvi, Upper School Guidance Counselor. Seniors have a particular predicament: graduation looms, and soon, they will disperse across the country and maybe even around the world. “Do I continue to attach, fully knowing that we are going to have to detach later?” Ms. Singhvi said. With all of the self-reflection that comes with senior year–specifically the dozens of college essays–many friend groups shift yet another time. In fact, Ms. Singhvi said many

students came to her last May complaining that the peers they wrote to on their senior page for the Cavalcade, written only nine months earlier, no longer reflected their current friends. The current millennial generation also has the unique burden of twenty-first century technology, which has drawn clearer boundaries between friend groups. Facebook and Instagram allow students to immediately see what their friends are up to, and who is hanging out without them. The selectivity of what students share on social media often portrays a more idealized picture of their lives, prompting insecurity about one’s own social status. With all this, it isn’t any wonder that Greenhill is taking strides to improve inclusion and promote breaking through distinct friendship circles. How much can the school do? At St. Stephens Episcopal School in Austin, TX, where Mrs. Ross previously worked, students have assigned seating for lunch. The seating changes every three weeks. With a teacher at every table and no cell phones allowed, assigned seating creates an environment where boarding students and day students interact. As Greenhill prepares to renovate the cafeteria, administrators have given thought to how space can shape social dynamics. The renovated cafeteria, which will be ready for the 2015-2016 school year, will be filled with round tables rather than the long, rectangular ones currently in place. Circular tables promote discussion across larger groups of people. This is a feature Ms. Johnson said she is very excited about. “With the rectangular tables, you could only communicate with the students next to you and maybe the students across from you,” she said. Believe it or not, changing the shape of the tables can make all the difference. “It is very easy to exclude people by turning your back,” Ms. Johnson said.

Do you see yourself staying close with your childhood friends for the rest of your life?

No 21%

Yes 79%

taken from a poll of 120 Upper School students

How do I make a friend? Tips from Upper School Guidance Counselor Priya Singhvi • Start by being a good friend to yourself. • Know what you want out of a friendship. • Then, be assertive about getting it. • Put yourself out there. • Learn to say “no.” • Chase after what’s meaningful to you. • Don’t be afraid of discomfort. • Friendship is not about pleasing others. • Seek out people who are supportive of your goals. photo by Brianna Houston graphic by Sera Tuz

Special Report the

The Face of Normal What Greenhill Can Teach Us

Sanah Hasan Managing Editor

Suman Chebrolu Asst. News Editor

Krishna Shetty Staff Writer

The human face is not perfect. In fact, a slight asymmetry is normal. “We all have this asymmetry. The question is how much asymmetry before it is ‘abnormal’?” asked Dr. Alex Kane, a plastic surgeon and father of Hava ‘13, junior Mose, and sophomore Geli. Humans notice subtle changes between faces. Obvious facial differences exist in people with congenital defects, such as cleft palate, or those who have a very distinct “look.” But not enough research exists on what causes people to recognize faces as “normal” or “abnormal.” Dr. Kane is hoping to gather more data. “We have a lot of research on children with abnormal facial features, but we need to find data on the normal before we can fully understand the abnormal. There’s a reason why people can pick out the details in a human face, but we need to understand what makes that face different,” Dr. Kane said. According to him, this will be the first time a study is done on the evolution and differences between normal faces. Like any scientist does when preparing for an experiment, Dr. Kane starts by gathering his e x p e r i m e nt a l subjects. In this case, they are Greenhill students. For the study, Dr. Kane will take annual photographs of 100 Greenhill students, who have consented to be a part of the study. These students are drawn from a pool of approximately 100 students from kindergarten, first grade and primer in his study to assemble data. “Nobody in the world (to my knowledge) has data which follows the same kid or group of kids over time. We really do not have enough 3D data about how normal children’s faces and heads grow in this kind of detail. There is a need to track the changes in the human face as it grows throughout time. This is valuable information to share with researchers in many fields,” he said.

Dr. Kane had the idea to pursue this study after Ravi Narula ‘14, approached him as a junior interested in doing research. “We wanted to think of a research idea that could combine Greenhill and the lab,” Ravi said. Dr. Kane and Ravi realized a full-fledged experiment that tracks the growth of the normal human face. He will track their facial growth until they graduate. The research will take place in his lab at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. “Having students in one place for 14 years at a time is ideal for this study. I think Greenhill is a great place to conduct the study, because the students often stay here for their entire schooling. Also, Greenhill parents and the school are enthusiastic to participate in this study, and they appreciate the benefits and purpose of this research.” He added that “Greenhill is also a diverse place, full of kids from a variety of races and ethnicities, which you wouldn’t necessarily have at other schools.” The project was Dr. Kane’s idea, but Ravi helped execute the details. While Ravi was a senior, he did large amounts of the legwork, including drafting documents like procedures and proposals for the study. “It’s super cool that at Greenhill I could explore my passions with research and that I have an opportunity to work with students and parents. It’s awesome to take advantage of this opportunity,” Ravi said. Once the proposals were finished, the duo needed to obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), to ensure the study is ethical and safe. Nearly everything must go through the IRB, down to the registration sheets, and the approval process took approximately one year. “The process to get the approval from the medical school to do the research is stringent. Only after the review board’s approval were we able to approach the families,” Dr. Kane said. Once Dr. Kane received consent from the Board, he presented to Lower School parents to promote the study. The children will have 3-D images taken of their face annually. He uses several imaging techniques in his lab, but Greenhill students will be involved in a specific technique called stereophotogrammetry, which creates a 3-D image of the student’s face. Students will step into a booth with nine cameras, much like normal photo booths. These cameras take pictures like those of digital cameras, but when put together, they make a 3-D rendering of the face. Although the imaging aspect of the study has not yet begun, there has been extensive preparation for that phase. Dr. Kane hopes to begin imaging later this school-year. All the images will be taken when the grades take a field trip to Children’s Hospital. “This type of imaging allows us to view the face at many different angles, and we can focus on the parts of the face we specifically want to learn more about,” he said. Dr. Kane will send the data to advanced statisticians,who will assist in interpreting the results. He will have to wait three to five years before he can analyze patterns of development. “We have to wait a few years before we can compare the kids’ images and track their growth. You can’t measure growth unless you have at least a few pictures of the child over time,” he said. Students will have a field trip to the Children’s Hospital on their “imaging” day. Even if a child is not in the study, he or she can go on the

field trips and take part in the learning process if they are in the class of 2027 and 2028. When first pitching the idea, Ravi and Dr. Kane met with Head of School Scott Griggs, Head of Greenhill School, Mr. Simpson, Susan Palmer, Head of the Middle School, and many other community members. Dr. Kane will work with science teachers throughout the process to ensure that students understand why they are having their pictures taken, and how those pictures help answer the overarching question of normalcy in a human face. “We obviously don’t want to talk about the mathematical analysis behind the study to a five yearold. The teaching needs to be tailored to age. But as the kids get older, we can start exploring with them some of the more complex ideas behind the study of faces”, Dr. Kane said. Dr. Kane further discussed the benefits of participating in the study. “It’s a win-win situation for both the students, who will get long-term exposure to the science behind the project as well as a copy of their images each year, and for the scientific community, which will benefit from having this rare and valuable data on how faces grow,” he said. Additionally, the 3-D pictures will be given to families so that they can track their child’s growth through the years. “I imagine [the kids] as seniors. Having these photos will have captured their growth,” said Michael Simpson, Head of Lower School. “Whether that happens onstage at the Meyerson [during graduation] I don’t know.” “At the beginning of the discussion, the first question in my mind was ‘Are we just guinea pigs here?’” Mr. Simpson said. “What was exciting about it to us was our kids would have their experience here enhanced a little bit.” Currently the children in kindergarten, primer, and first grade do not know about this project, but the news will be revealed to them sometime in the spring. “This study is truly special. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to work with young kids and to have a unique partnership with the Greenhill community from which my family has received so much,” Dr. Kane said.

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To learn about the new Montage class and its sponsors, see p. 15.

Learning the ABC’s of Film

Alum furthers film career, gets insider view at American Broadcasting Company

Zoe Allen Staff Writer

Zoe Marshall ’11 knows that only a small percentage of those who pursue screenwriting actually make it into a television network’s writers’ room, the dream for all aspiring screenwriters. The number that end up being successful in film and writing is small, but Zoe pursues her dream anyway, and with each day that passes, it gets closer to becoming a reality. Zoe is currently interning with the assistant to the Vice President of Programming for American Broadcasting Company (ABC). “I work in their current programming division, and then I also work in their television drama development–anything that falls into the category of one of their drama series: it could be Revenge, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal. I do script coverage, meaning a script comes to my desk and I’m the first set of eyes that looks at it,” Zoe said. She creates notes and summaries used by executives and writers planning the shows. When she interned at smaller companies, she had the role of giving a script a green light or a veto. “If I read the pilot of Mad Men or Game of Thrones and was like, ‘Wow, this is garbage, and isn’t going anywhere,’ then my boss would be like, ‘Why did this just get picked up by HBO? Why did Mad Men just win five Emmy’s?’ And you’re fired,” said Zoe. Zoe’s position at ABC is not a role of decisionmaking and judgment calls. Her job description is less prestigious; but she is climbing the ladder of broadcasting companies by working at ABC. “The writers on shows like Modern Family or How To Get Away with Murder send the episode summaries or outlines over to us, I read them and put together an episode breakdown,” Zoe said. “I have the unique opportunity to see every point of show development, from conception to completion.” In her new job with one of the largest broadcasting

companies in America, there is pressure to acclimate to the work culture. “They tell you it’s business casual. In every other part of the country business casual means collared shirt, closed–toed shoes, certain types of fabrics you avoid, whereas business casual in LA usually means denim, and it’s super casual,” Zoe said. “Which is nerve wracking, because when you’re at the bottom of the totem pole and you’re several pay grades below everybody else, you don’t want to be too casual.” ​ Zoe is in her senior year of college at the University of Southern California (USC), where she double majors in screenwriting and public relations. She was able to get her job through her god sister, Ashley Holland, who is a literary agent for scripted television. Zoe chose ABC, saying that it “most closely aligns with what I want to do in this stage of my career and after college.” She’s qualified to use the word career because in 2012 she premiered a film at one of the biggest international film festivals, Cannes International Film Festival. There she premiered Passing, which is based on the concept of racial passing. It is very autobiographical, she said. She interned in Cannes, France, two summers ago, and had the chance to interact with the likes of Jessica Chastain and Quentin Tarantino and attended Ryan Gosling’s after–party. “I have the cellphone number of Jeremy Kleiner, who’s the producer of Twelve Years a Slave. I met him right before he won his Oscar, ” Zoe said. She attributes her landing her current internship to her experience at Cannes, but her love and taste for film go beyond two summers ago, to her high school experience at Greenhill. She took Advanced Video Production (AVP) from Corbin Doyle, Upper School Visual Arts teacher. “I came [back] to visit Greenhill right after I found out my film was going to Cannes, and he was one of the first people that I told,” Zoe said.

Mr. Doyle introduced her to many types of film, specifically the post-war Hollywood films that she is now obsessed with. Zoe also spent a lot of time doing debate and other activities at school, instead of spending all her time in the small, humble video–production room that many film aficionados at Greenhill call home. “Most people would assume that Zoe spent all of her time in [the AVP room], but she didn’t.” Mr. Doyle said. “She was kind of like a satellite of all of the AVPers. But she would come to me almost every day and go, ‘I have a great question’ and ask me about film stuff, and we’d have great discussions about that.” It wasn’t until her freshman year at USC that Zoe found her true passion for film. “It’s just the whole thing of finding your world as you get older and start to learn more about yourself, and I think that she’s one of the great examples of that,” Mr. Doyle said. Zoe went into her first year at USC double– majoring in creative writing and public relations, but during her freshman year, her friend applied to switch his major to screenwriting. “And for some reason I was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s what I want to do!” said Zoe. She switched from her creative writing major to a screen writing major sophomore year, but kept majoring in public relations. She was completely honest with herself, knowing that very few people make it to the the point where story ideas are pitched and scripts are built through long days and nights of laughter, frustration, bad ideas and lots of food. “There’s a certain danger in majoring in film, I think less than one percent of the people who pursue something like film- writing actually make it,” Zoe said. But according to Zoe, the intern to the assistant to the VP usually becomes the assistant, a closer step to the writers’ room–her ultimate goal.

Graphic by Arhum Khan and Jackson Lowen

Photos courtesy of Zoe Marshall

YES SHE CANNES: (Left to right) Zoe Marshall ‘11 with her camera Homecoming Friday her senior year; meeting Scandal star Guillermo Diaz at the NAACP Image Awards; on the red carpet at the premiere of How To Train Your Dragon 2 at the Cannes International Film Festival 2014; and at the opening ceremony of the Cannes International Film Festival 2014. Zoe also worked the red carpet premiere of This is 40 as an intern for Universal Studios in 2012.

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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Horror It is a little past four on a Friday afternoon, bright sunlight envelops north Dallas in a gorgeous glow, and yet all of our windows and doors are locked. “Amna, did you hear that? I swear there is someone opening your door.” “Lane, please, I am trying to pay attention. Things are just starting to get good!” Why were we so afraid? Three words: The Twilight Zone. The 1960s television show was the reason we were tucked snuggly under the covers, fearfully watching as a hitchhiker stalked a woman commuting from New York to Los Angeles. “I would have made a phone call by now to the police.” We were both shaking, the hair on our neck standing as high as the 1950s hair-dos in the episode. “It’s that premise of the show that gets you. The episode is scary in its possible applicability to our own life.” The fear factor of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone does not come from pop-outs or amazing action scenes. It is scary in its normality, in its ability to take everyday situations and create predicaments that take root within a person because they relate to them in some way. The prospect that your seemingly normal life can take a trip through the twilight zone triggers this fear. People like to think they can laugh off ridiculous scenarios, but we fear the unknown, and we cannot say for sure if any of this is impossible. That small inkling of possibility translates into irrational terror. Purposefully scaring ourselves on a beautiful fall Friday was a frightening precursor intended to get us in the mood for the terrifying main event of the night: the Strangling Brothers Haunted Circus. Voted the seventh scariest haunted house in the world by the

Graphic by Ashley Lee Photo by Ariana Zhang

Top Haunts Voting Poll in 2013, this haunted house travels to various parts of the country because of its unique set-up. The entire haunted house consists of 29 trailers, each containing a multitude of effects, such as strobe lights, trap doors and moving floors. Pumped for our excursion, we left around 7:30 p.m. for the haunted house. Nothing could have prepared us for the experience ahead. “I can’t see anything, it is pitch

black.” “Just keep walking, you’ll find a door to your–” At that moment a trap door in the wall was released and a face popped out and screamed in our faces, prompting us to scream and run, despite the no-running rule, out of the first trailer. Throughout the haunted house, random bursts of wind from the floor would strike our feet, and clowns hid behind every turn. “I was the most scared when

the person, who I thought was a mannequin, jumped off the surgeon’s table right in front of me.” “That was terrifying, but I think the worst was walking through the pitch-black trailer decked out as a railroad and having the animatronic train start moving, as if it was about to hit us.” The animatronics and props were amazing; we were not, however, the biggest advocates of the use of the chainsaw.

“Lane, I could have sworn you started to cry when the guy ran at you with the chainsaw.” “The strobe lights must have blinded you. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Let’s keep it between us, because yes, it is possible that a few tears may have been shed during the experience. However, they were warranted, because it was definitely the most terrifying experience of our lives. The fear was more intense than during The Twilight Zone, which can be attributed to the fact that the haunted house was an interactive experience. The fear came from physically participating in the experience, clenching our teeth and wringing our hands every time a zombie screamed or jumped in front of us. A computer can be shut off and banished to the farthest corner of our bed, whereas we have no control over the haunted house experience. Relinquishing that control is a new kind of fear that far surpasses that of watching a scary movie. What is the reason behind our desire to be scared? From our experience, we can say that while the house was frightening, it was also, well, fun. Fun to experience that with a friend and know that they felt the exact same way. It was fun to be inside this structure built solely to terrify, and to have it work. There was also a sense of challenge: seeing if we would actually be scared. If we had gone through the same experience as children, we would probably have been scarred beyond repair. As it was, we were just unable to sleep for a few weeks.Maybe we are not so far off from our kid selves. And maybe that is not such a bad thing. story by Lane Hirsch and Amna Naseem

Junior learns new form of debate for International Championships Lili Stern Leah Witheiler Staff Writers

Senior Mitali Mathur recently had the privilege of participating in the World Schools Debating Championships, the “Olympics” of high school debate, which were held in Thailand this summer. Originally, Mitali was not selected as one of the four students to represent Team USA. However, due to military conflicts in Thailand, the competition was postponed. Weeks before the tournament, she replaced a representative who could not attend. “I was very excited and grateful to be there,” Mitali said. Applicants for Team USA wrote an essay and created a video demonstrating their debating skills. Thirty students were chosen for follow up interviews, and Mitali was one of them. Cindi Timmons, USA team manager and the wife of Greenhill debate coach Aaron Timmons, told Mitali she earned the spot. She called Mitali at debate camp three weeks before the tournament, and although

Mitali had prior plans, she decided that the tournament was a priority. “I couldn’t turn down that opportunity,” Mitali said. Mitali and Mr. Timmons spent hours in the Greenhill debate room over the summer, practicing and developing new debate skills. Mrs. Timmons also assisted Mitali’s team in preparation. The USA team had to adjust from the fast-paced Lincoln-Douglas style which is popular in the United States to the much slower and more deliberate World School’s style, which is the standard of the World School’s Debating Championships. “World School’s debate is a style that has existed for 30 years,” said Mr. Timmons. “It’s a combination of the British and Australian system of government. You have a prime minister and the opposition against you.” Mitali spent up to three hours a day on Google Hangouts, conversing with her future teammates from Colorado, California and Louisiana. Google Hangout sessions were their method of bonding and rehearsing before the championships. Though they had never

met in person, the team cohered. After much preparation, Mitali and her team were finally ready for Thailand. They translated their virtual friendships and relationships into real ones. Mitali and her team debated near Bangkok during the day, competing against other teams from around the world in an unfamiliar style and with new friends. The team finished 24th out of 47 teams. Mitali was one of the team’s strongest members, competing in seven of the eight rounds.

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It was a period of growth both on a personal level and on a debate level.” One of Mitali’s favorite nights of the trip was not a night of debate, but a cultural exchange night, when each nation that was represented in the tournament brought a piece of their culture and shared it with delegations from the other countries. “I made a lot of friends and enjoyed experiencing the Thai culture. Being in a

room with smart kids around the world who are all pursuing a common passion makes this debate tournament especially fun and competitive,” Mitali said. Mitali learned a lot about herself as a debater and as a person as well. “This is definitely one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Throughout, I was able to remember the reasons why I do debate,” Mitali said. “It was a period of growth both on a personal level and on a debate level.” After undergoing the same selection process, Mitali was recently accepted to the 2015 World School’s Debating Championships to be held in Singapore. Twelve students were selected for the USA team, but only five will actually go to Singapore. So even though Mitali was accepted, her travel spot is not guaranteed. If Mitali participates in the competition, she will have a better idea of what to expect and now have a leg up on the competition. The location is an additional perk. Mitali lived in Singapore during middle school, so she will have the opportunity to visit her friends.

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Quartet cures summer boredom Simra Abedi Staff Writer

Junior Nicolas Suarez’s passion for music inspired him to involve his friends in creating of Summer Fever, his album which was released on iTunes over the summer. Nicolas, with the help of juniors Rachel Poole and Seven Benjamin and his Lakehill Preparatory School student, Brandon Douglas wrote and recorded eight original songs. “You kind of get bored after the first two, three weeks, and you run out of things to do,” Nicolas said. “So me and my friend were like, ‘Oh, we should just start doing something.’” Nicolas’ interest in music

Graphic by Mansi Gaur Photo Courtesy of Nicolas Suarez

STUDIO STANCE: Junior Nicolas Suarez recorded the eight tracks on Summer Fever in his homemade recording studio.

began at five years old, when he started playing piano. Since then, he has been making music for fun. Rachel has also been singing since she was young. Seven and Brandon have experience rapping. Together, Nicolas, Rachel, Seven and Brandon created an album with a mellow sound and slow beats. They recorded at Nicolas’s house, where they set up all the equipment in his parents’ study. Nicolas used money from his birthday to buy new recording tools that the quartet could use to record the album. “We brought in Rachel, because she has a good voice. And Brandon wanted to do his rapping thing. We worked together on it and thought that we should make an EP,” said Nicholas. The repertoire started off as a single song, “Summer Fever.” “We were like, ‘Wow, this song is actually turning out kind of good,’” Nicolas said. As they wrote more music, it developed into an Extended Play (EP), and eventually the album. “We would make the beat, and then we had an interface and a microphone and we recorded into the microphone.” Nicolas said. When they finished the recording process, they mastered the track on GarageBand, which ensured that the vocals did not overpower the music and everything sounded clear. After that, they exported to iTunes and filtered the music through GarageBand again, which resulted in a higher quality sound when they fed it back into iTunes. From there, the group used a website

called Tunecore, which publishes music and distributes it to vendors who send it out to stores in copies. “I listened to the 30second preview and all of a sudden I hear my voice on iTunes,” Rachel said. “I didn’t even know what to do with myself. I was speechless. You only dream about stuff like that.” The songs are about the chilled-out environment of summer: no homework, no dealing with teachers, no essays, and no tests. “Summer Fever” and “Forget Hw” are among the most popular songs on the album, according to iTunes numbers. Making the album was not always easy. “We had to start over so many times, because we just kept laughing,” Seven said. It was often difficult to stay focused on the album in the midst of summer, when other things seemed more captivating, and the members of the group had conflicting activities. “There were some days when they would be like, ‘Maybe we could do this,’ or ‘I have an idea for this,’” Nicolas said. “And I’m just like, ‘I just want to play video games.’” Even with all these obstacles, Nicolas and his friends were able to write, record, and get the album on iTunes in about two months.

People have expressed various reactions, according to Nicolas. “Everyone who I talk to either likes it, or doesn’t like the way it sounds, but they like the fact that I did it,” Nicolas said. “I like getting the feedback.” With the money he made selling copies of the album, he intends to buy new recording equipment and start writing a second album. “There’s a lot of stuff we wanna change,” Nicolas said. “We want to make [the second album] more serious and have deeper meanings.” Nicolas wants to start recording the second album over Thanksgiving break and release it over winter break.

New Montage class, new sponsors, new direction Photo by Sudheep Bhargava

DESIGN DUO: (left to right) Emily Wilson and Lesley Rucker are working alongside student editors Maya Muralidhar, Rachel Davis and Maddie Montoya to produce the annual literary publication, Montage.

Christian Holmes Online Editor

They labor for hours on end, reviewing, editing, and finalizing pages for submission. Fifteen and 16 year-olds look over poems and essays with a critical eye, giving the final nod for publication. These are the members of Montage, Greenhill’s literary magazine published at the end of every school year and featuring written and artistic work from Upper School students. This year, the student-run publication is ushering in a new elective course, and welcoming two new faculty sponsors. Joel Garza, English teacher and previous Montage faculty sponsor, who spearheaded the formation of the new, third-trimester Montage course. “I pitched Montage a few years ago as a course, so I’m happy this year that it will finally be happening,” he said. He is passing the baton to new sponsors. Emily Wilson, Creative Services Manager, and Lesley Rucker, Middle and Upper School Visual Art teacher. “I loved my time on the staff, but now I’ll have more time to do things like attend my kids’ first season of soccer games,” Mr. Garza said. The new sponsors, said they want to build upon the magazine’s strong foundation. “Montage truly highlights the insightful

relationship between image and text that has the power to breathe life into the work,” Mrs. Wilson said. “I’m always impressed by the level of sophistication that Greenhill students achieve.” Because Montage was not a class previously, members had to embrace pages on their own time, usually during weekends in the spring. With an official class time, Ms. Rucker and Mrs. Wilson said they hope Montage members can layout the pages in March and the magazine can go to press in May, as opposed to a rushed layout in April and quick publication turn-around. “The new course, coupled with an earlier deadline for submissions, should alleviate a lot of pre-publication stress,” Ms. Rucker said. As Creative Services Manager, Mrs. Wilson’s primary job is copyrighting and design for Greenhill’s Marketing and Communications Department. Additionally, she works to produce The Hill magazine. Her new role will allow her the opportunity to work creatively with students in her area of interest. “I took a lot of creative writing and art classes in college. That led to my career in design,” Mrs. Wilson said. “I usually work with the administration on design, projects and writing, so this will be a great pulse into student life.”

Above all, both sponsors said they want the creative autonomy of Montage to remain unchanged. “As new faculty sponsors, we try to guide the process as best we can but still allow the students to run the show,” Mrs. Wilson said. According to Ms. Rucker, who is also a

faculty sponsor for the Cavalcade yearbook, all students are welcome to join. “The great thing about Greenhill publications is any Upper School student can feel involved through submitting pieces, taking the classes, or going to the club meetings,” Ms. Rucker said.

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For more about a recently reuinted football duo, see p. 17.

FRESH FACES: Senior Alex Bryan sprints down the football field on a kickoff during the Greenhill football team’s 50-23 win over The John Cooper School on Sept. 5. Alex, along with 11 other players, joined the football team late in preseason or during the school year without previous football experience. These new players make up almost one third of the team.

Friday fervor draws athletes to join football Joseph Weinberg Staff Writer

At the Greenhill football home opener this season, it was hard to miss Alan Bliss’ bone-crushing block and Alex Bryan flying down the field on a kickoff delivering another big hit. The sideline was going crazy. The Hornets’ Nest was out of control. A true “Friday Night Lights” experience. However, these two seniors, who are not the only new players, have only been on the team for a short period of time. In addition to the athletes playing football this year as students new to Greenhill, 11 returning upperclassmen and one sophomore have joined the team after not playing last year. Ten of these players joined without participating in most of the August practices, leaving them three weeks behind other players. Normally, Greenhill fall varsity sports teams require their players to participate in all summer preseason practices in order to play, but this years’ football team is an exception. “With a new philosophy and a new coach, we are trying to gain some momentum and are happy to have anyone join who is interested in helping the football team,” said Tom Williams, new Head Football Coach. One of the fresh faces on the team that joined in the third week of school is sophomore Xavier Bryant. Xavier, who played varsity basketball as a freshman last year, never wanted to play

football because of the high injury risk which could jeopardize his basketball career. However, after meeting with Coach Williams during the first few weeks of school, Xavier’s perspective on injury changed, and he decided to join the team. “Coach Williams talked to me about how playing football would really help me for basketball with athleticism and strength,” Xavier said. Alex Bryan’s original decision not to play football throughout high school was also related to getting injured. At the end of his sophomore year, Alex considered playing football in the following fall, but he was diagnosed with a concussion while playing lacrosse. “When I got my concussion, it completely wiped football off the table because I didn’t want another serious injury,” Alex said.

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The fans’ support and the atmosphere is what really pushed me over the top to play. It’s just the excitement of football.” A year later, Alex reconsidered playing after talking with his dad as well as then Head Football Coach Ralph Dintino. He approached the decision with a “now or never” mentality, but did not join the team until after this year’s season opener against Pantego Christian on Aug.

30, which galvanized him. “I would never have another chance to play football and I knew that if I didn’t play, I’d regret it for the rest of my life,” Alex said. Like Xavier, Alex said he thinks playing football will also help him improve his speed and agility for other sports. “Football is a more physical game than any other sport and that toughness you develop while playing can give you an advantage in most other sports,” Coach Williams said. Alan said his choice ultimately came down to the spirit of Friday night games, where the crowd is so different than any other high school sporting event. “Playing baseball, you maybe get 10 students to come to a weekday game, but for football, you basically get the whole school to come out,” Alan said. Xavier similarly recalls the spirit of Friday nights being an inspiration to join the program. His decision became final after he witnessed the Hornets’ victory over John Cooper under the lights on Sept. 6, a special Friday night at Brinkman Field. On that night, the team picked up their second win in three years in front of an electric atmosphere. “The fans’ support and the atmosphere is what really pushed me over the top to play. It’s just the excitement of football,” Xavier said.

Despite joining late, the new players do not feel that the rest of the team treats them differently than the other players even though they were absent in preseason practices. “It’s like a brotherhood. No one gets left out,” Alan said. The players who did not attend most of the preseason workouts find themselves behind the other

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When you have smart kids and a great coaching staff, it’s not too hard for the kids to catch on quickly.”

players and they miss out on more than just the X’s and O’s of the game. “Besides the plays, I think the biggest thing they miss out on is the conditioning aspect,” said Jordan Steinberg, senior captain. Many of the football players start their conditioning and weight lifting in the beginning of June and continue all the way up until two-a-days start in the first week of August. That being said, the new players who haven’t been attending the workouts in the High Performance Center all summer might find themselves at a noticeable disadvantage. “If you join late, not only are you behind on your conditioning, you’re behind in your weightlifting

as well,” Jordan said. The new players also have to learn a playbook that all the others learned in the August practices, but Coach Williams does not believe this presents too big of a problem. “When you have smart kids and a great coaching staff, it’s not too hard for the kids to catch on quickly,” he said. The experienced players on the team as well as the coaches are bringing the new guys up to date, whether it is in practices or on sidelines in the middle of the game. As a captain, Jordan wants to make sure everyone feels included. “It’s the small things that matter like just saying ‘Hi’ to anyone on the team at school,” Jordan said. “Team chemistry goes beyond the field and beyond the locker room.” The initiative the players have taken upon themselves to make everyone feel included has impressed Coach Williams, but he is not surprised given the community his players come from. “Our team is no different than the greater Greenhill community,” he said. “There is an overall sense of inclusion.” Coach Williams believes this team bonding is a big step forward for the future of the team. “You know the program is headed in the right direction when teammates are helping each other out as opposed to just the coaches,” he said.

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Football Duo Reunites on the Field Ben Krakow Online Editor

They sit in a room together watching video of their first win of the season. The two teammates face the computer, laughing at each other’s plays and commenting on their own ability to make defenders miss. Yet, at the same time, they criticize each other for not making plays that they should have. Neither of them takes offense at the criticism. Juniors Ryan Bradberry and Jacob Pugh bring something different to their comaraderie as crucial players on the football team: they also happen to be childhood friends. Ryan returned to Greenhill this fall after attending Prestonwood Christian Academy for three years. Ryan had hopes of furthering his football career at Prestonwood, but ultimately decided that Greenhill is the place for him. He said he believes that the strong academic environment and close bonds he has with his friends at Greenhill will help get him ready for both college academics and football. There is one friend in particular who is one of the main reasons Ryan is back at Greenhill. That friend is Jacob. The two first became teammates and best friends when they were eight years old. Their families spent time together and the boys stayed close friends even when Ryan left Greenhill for Prestonwood. “He is the one guy who knows what I am going through and I know what he is going through.

There is a lot of trust between us and we both depend on each other,” Jacob said. Jacob and his father convinced Ryan this summer to have a meeting with new Greenhill football coach Tom Williams. “Ryan had been trying to get me to leave Greenhill forever, and I just kept saying no. I decided to try to convince Ryan to come to Greenhill,” Jacob said, “I had him meet Coach Williams, and all three of us clicked. I think the opportunity to come back and play with me definitely helped.” In his first meeting with Ryan, Coach Williams said he tried to persuade Ryan about what the Greenhill football program could be and how Coach Williams himself could help him with his future. “I told him that I had some experience and that I thought I could help him develop into the player he is capable of being. I think I can give him some college and NFL perspective as a coach,” Coach Williams said. Initially, Ryan decided to stay at Prestonwood. Then, a few weeks before the school year started, he contacted Coach Williams and told him that he had changed his mind and wanted to return to Greenhill. Since then, he has become a key player for the team, leading the team in rushing and touchdowns through five games. Ryan plays running back and Jacob blocks for him on the offensive line. With Jacob and the rest of the offensive line blocking

Futsal Fiend, Soccer Star Arhum Khan Asst. Arts Editor

Ellen Margaret Andrews Staff Writer

When sophomore Chris Quintero plays soccer, his ability to attack the defense with sharp and efficient techniques stands out. Behind the scenes, Chris has sharpened these skills through competitive futsal. In fact, Chris will join the United States Under-16 Boys futsal team when they go to Barcelona for the 2014 World Futsal Cup in December. Futsal is a form of indoor soccer invented in South America during the 1930s. It was formally introduced as a training tool for the World-Cup winning Uruguayan national team in order to add creativity and skill to their game. Futsal has now been engrained in South American culture, and kids across the continent grow up playing street futsal from a young age. Chris, who was born in Columbia, believes his Latin roots are one of the many reasons he was drawn towards soccer and futsal. “My love [for soccer] has really been there since I was little,” said Chris. In a competitive setting, futsal is played five versus five on a small indoor court. With the low numbers and a smaller area of play, there is constant intensity in a futsal match. The ball is heavier and smaller than a soccer ball, and it doesn’t bounce. Players penetrate the defense with precise dribbling to score. This helps improve technical skills for soccer. “What I enjoy about futsal is that the players are smarter.” Chris said. “Sometimes [soccer] can be so disorganized.” Chris said he enjoys the fast-paced level of play because of how it reflects his playing style in soccer. He appreciates a more structured setting, which is essential futsal. Chris has been playing soccer for eight

years. His South American club soccer coaches introduced him to the sport three years ago. At the time, Chris was passionate about soccer and even now, he still hopes to pursue soccer at the Division-1 level in college. As Chris gained more experience in futsal, his coaches saw that he could take his game to the next level. Chris played for the Under-16 regional team, which made it to the national futsal tournament in Kansas City last year. At nationals, Chris was selected from a group of over 400 elite futsal players to be on the US National team. After being notified he made the team in late July, Chris said he was excited to be able to represent the United States.

“

My love [for soccer] has really been there since I was little.” “I spent all of August just kind of being happy about it,” he said. Although the international tournament falls in the middle of Greenhill’s soccer season, Greg Krauss, Head Boy’s Soccer Coach at Greenhill, said he is supportive of Chris’ venture Chris is the only player on Greenhill’s Varsity boys soccer team to be a competitive futsal player and Coach Krauss explained that he is happy when one of his players explores their personal passions off the soccer field. “I’m excited for Chris. I hope he views it with the correct attitude and sees it as a great opportunity,” Coach Krauss said. Although the first training sessions with the national team have yet to be announced, Chris continues to train individually at City Futsal in Carrolton as he prepares for the tournament in December.

for him, Ryan has run for 791 yards through five games this season, second most among Dallas area private school running backs. Ryan and Jacob said that they both have a special confidence in each other on the football field. They said this confidence comes from playing together for such a long time. “There is definitely some comfort knowing that Ryan is behind me. I just know he knows what holes to hit as long as I make my blocks,” Jacob said. So far, with the duo back together, the team has achieved success they have not had in many years. This season, the team won its first SPC conference counter game in six years and won multiple games in a season for the first time since 2008. Both boys have college football aspirations and would not rule out playing together in college if the situation presented itself. “I think right now we have different schools that we are each looking at, but if playing football together at a school that fits both of our preferences is a possibility, I think that is something that both of us would definitely consider,” Ryan said.

FAST FRIENDS: Juniors Jacob Pugh (left) and Ryan Bradberry (right) led the football team to two wins in their first five games, the most in the past five seasons. Photos by Brianna Houston

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wednesday, october 8, 2014

Committed to Senior Year

Ben Schachter Sports Editor

Maya Ghosh Staff Writer

The school year has started and seniors are hard at work, frantically attempting to complete numerous college applications. Meanwhile, five seniors can relax and enjoy the ride that is senior year. They have all committed to a college for sports. “I see a lot of my friends freaking out because of the 13 supplement essays they have to write and having no idea that they could be accepted or denied from anywhere,” said senior Reed Russ, who has committed to play golf for Dartmouth College. “I wouldn’t trade [my situation] for anything.” One of the benefits of committing to play a sport in college is only having to complete one college application. On the other hand, the recruiting process accumulates the same amount of stress; it just starts earlier and is spread over a longer period of time. Athletes have to attend camps, send out videos, and play under the critical eyes of college coaches, not to mention the countless hours of practice that go into their sport. This process is not confined to the first trimester of their senior year. “The [recruiting] process got really stressful,” said Auston Evans, who committed to play basketball at Lafayette College. “It felt like I was doing the same thing over and

By the numbers

over again.” Reed said that before committing, it was stressful knowing college coaches were watching his every move. Paige Ashley, girls varsity soccer coach, has two players who have committed to play in college. “[They] are always excited to tell me about [committing to college]. It alleviates some of the stress of being a senior,” said Coach Ashley. Jaye Andrews is a Greenhill Middle School math teacher as well as the father of senior Camille Andrews. Camille has committed to play soccer at Bucknell University. Mr. Andrews, who has had one daughter go through the typical admissions process of applying to a number of different schools, said that Camille’s experience was less nerve-wracking. “Since our first daughter, Melanie, had to go through the normal application process like most seniors, there was natural worry and uncertainty. I just remember that being an anxious time,” said Mr. Andrews. “When Camille got the offer in the early summer to attend and play soccer at Bucknell, it came with a guarantee of admission. Though she has worked hard on the application she still needs to submit, it is a strange but good feeling to know it’s already a done deal.” Camille, like her dad, has felt a burden lifted from her. “I’m at that point now [where]

1

The number of Southwest Prepartory Conference (SPC) counter games that the Greenhill football team has won the past six years. The lone win occured against Oakridge School on Sept. 26, 2014.

Photo by Ariana Zhang

COLLEGE COMMITS: Seniors Reed Russ, Sydnie Schindler, Camille Andrews and Hayley Isenberg sport tshirts from colleges to which they have committed. Senior Auston Evans (not pictured) has also committed.

I’m only applying to one school and that’s really nice,” Camille said. Though Camille and the other seniors have already committed and have received “highly likely letters,” their acceptance is still pending until they receive the university’s official decision in December. While it might be easy to relax about school as many “third-trimester seniors” do, Reed said that with a whole year of high school remaining, there is still much to do. “I committed August 2. That month, I was just like, ‘I’m going to breeze through [this year]’,” said Reed. “But once I realized that it was my last year at Greenhill, I didn’t want to leave knowing I didn’t try.” Hayley Isenberg, who has

The number of minutes in the varsity cheerleading squad’s Homecoming dance routine. They will perform their routine on Oct. 10 for the school pep rally and then at the halftime of Greenhill’s footbal game versus Holland Hall.

committed to play basketball at Harvard, said that school is not just about college. “A lot of people ask why I’m still working hard or stressed about school,’” said Hayley. “The main reason is that I have always worked hard in school because I love learning, not because of college.” With a full athletic career still ahead of them, the committed seniors have injury in the back of their mind too, though Hayley cautioned going into the season worried about it. “There’s always that [feeling] like, ‘Oh, I really hope I don’t get hurt,’ but when you play scared, there’s always a higher chance of getting injured,” Haley said. On the other hand, Sydnie Schindler, who has committed to Rhodes College for soccer, said

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4:40

The number of wins that the girls’ varsity field hockey team has accumulated in their first 11 games this season. As of Oct. 3, the team has an 8-1-2 overall record including one SPC counter victory.

development of good bone density. Without puberty, stress fractures are more frequent in female athletes,” Coach Glengarry said. “It can be frustrating because no matter how hard you work or prepare, there is an element of inability to control how your body may feel on a particular day. Girls especially know that bodies can change on a day to day basis, and that physical uncertainty can really affect your times,” Madison said. This uncertainty is an aspect of life that these girls must learn to deal with. In some cases, it feels dissimilar from most of the other aspects of their lives, which are fairly structured. The very nature of cross country as a sport includes variations and unknowns. The line-up for any race can alter at any time based on performance during practice, as well as performance in previous races. Running in one varsity race does not guarantee a permanent “position” on the varsity team. Instead, the team compositions vary constantly.

“My Greenhill life is pretty under control in terms of knowing when all my assignments will be. In cross country, however, there is not that definite absolute that someone will run a varsity or JV race,” Cameron said. Being on JV or varsity depends on an athlete’s times during practice race, but because of the aforementioned factors, those times can significantly differ. The mental challenge is to take all of this in stride. Yet, many girls of the cross country team said that instead of griping about it, they choose to accept it. This mature attitude is one that is not surprising to their coach. “In my experience as a runner and a coach, cross country tends to attract those seeking a physical and mental challenge,” said Jason Yaffee, Head Coach of Varsity Cross Country. The sport requires refined mental prowess. This is necessary in winning races, but also in grasping that outside of the Greenhill bubble, life cannot be regulated.

that she’s avoided the after-school recreational games open to anyone who wants to play. She does this out of fear of injury. “It is always something in my head. [An injury] would just downplay everything,” said Sydnie. Like most athletes, these seniors go into the season with a common goal: a Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) championship. “While I’m still in high school, my goal is still to win SPC and to do whatever it takes to help everyone on the team have a great experience,” said Hayley. Sydnie’s expectations are no different. “Every league still has a championship at the end [of the season] and we all want to win that,” Sydnie said.

The number of kills that the girls’ varsity volleyball had in their SPC counter match victory against Oakridge School on Sept. 30. They have a 17-10 overall record as of Oct. 3.

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Girls Cross Country races the inevitable obstacles of growing up Lane Hirsch Sports Editor

Zayna Syed Staff Writer

Speed is the name of the game when it comes to being recognized as a fierce competitor on the girls cross country team. In this sport, there is no ball to hit or throw; the focus of the sport is on the body and its capabilities. In a sport like this, where the body is the main component of the game, any alterations to that primary mechanism can be detrimental. There are vital life lessons to be learned, however, from taking these challenges in stride. “For some female athletes, puberty can cause weight gain which can have an adverse affect on their performance,” said Jillian Glengarry, Director of High Performance & Auxiliary Fitness Programs. When differences in times are measured by hundredths of a second, any increase in time can make a significant difference. The changes can take some

girls by surprise. “Puberty is obviously something that we are all aware is going to happen. When you start out, however, most freshman bodies have not developed yet, therefore we do not have to worry or think about any extra weight on us; we’re basically just limbs and lungs,” said freshman Cameron Crates. Individual build is another factor that one cannot fundmentally alter. Some athletes have bodies that provide a natural advantage, such as longer legs that equate to longer strides and an overall faster rate. These genetic benefits often frustrate runners who do not have the unsolicited advantage. “You cannot control the shape of your own body. Your opponent may have more of a ‘runner’s body’ than you and have an advantage that you [do not have] yourself,” said sophomore Madison Cook. The effects of puberty are not all negative, however. “Puberty provides the hormones essential for the

“Cross country definitely teaches you a lot of important lessons about life. A lot of things are out of your control in the sport, and that relates to real-world scenarios,” Cameron said. This is an obstacle that most students do not have to face until they graduate. These girls are prematurely forced to get over that hurdle, figuratively and literally. “[Cross country] really helps prepare you for problems in the future because it is a sport full of adversities that you have to individually and collectively combat in order to be successful,” Cameron said. The benefits of hard work in practice cannot be ignored. “The thing I can control as a coach is how we train. That’s the only thing I can really control,” Coach Yaffee said. Considering their thirdplace win out of 19 teams at the Oklahoma State University Cowboy Jamboree on Sept. 27, it seems these girls are doing pretty well with their times–and the life lessons.

wednesday, october 8, 2014

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Evergreen

Build From the Ground Up

afterwords

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A plastic shard broke off the ruler I was aggressively pressing against the cardboard. I stole a glance outside, and my heart sank as I saw the sun disappear behind the monolithic façade of USC’s Rossier School of Education building. I unsheathed my box

cutter, plunged it into the cardboard, and cut straight down, following the ticked marks of the 1/8” scale edge of my ruler. I had to get this model done by tomorrow. Another crack, another plastic shard of my ruler flying off and hitting me in the arm. Frustrated and stressed, I retired to the restroom. “Architecture,” I would say, whenever anyone asked what I wanted to be when I grow up. In fifth grade, that is what I chose as my future career. At my fifth grade graduation, most of my classmates had drawn pictures of teachers, doctors, astronauts, but I chose something unique to put on my poster: me in a hardhat, blueprints in hand, standing confidently in front of my building. I reassured myself that I wasn’t lying to my relatives when I said that I wanted to be an

architect. After all, I was into origami and loved to think in three dimensions. But after my time at USC’s four-week architecture program this summer, my career’s blueprint was coming apart. I just couldn’t see myself making cardboard models and sketching things for the rest of my career. It’s become standard for high schoolaged kids to enter college knowing what they want to do for a living. This system of accelerated career choice is being encouraged at many levels: colleges force the decision between engineering or arts & sciences, admissions officers search for intriguing extracurricular activities in applications, and parents urge their kids to apply for competitive summer internships. But for me, pursuing architecture in college

would be a mistake. I chose to delay that choice. And now I am clearing ground for the future. It was difficult, but I began to tell people that architecture is not for me. “Maybe I’ll do it in graduate school,” I said, but I was sure I would not commit to five years of architecture school as an undergraduate. And I think that’s OK. The current system suits those who are especially motivated and dedicated to their field of study, but it also limits those like me who want to explore other career options before committing. Although I may not be able to satisfy my relatives with a firm career choice, I can enjoy the excitement of not knowing for four more years of college. Perhaps then I can truly build from the ground up.

I was a little freshman, scrolling through iTunes, when I stumbled upon a song called “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. I was hooked. Since then, I have been a die-hard member of the One Direction fan club. I’ve even undergone the embarrassing five stages of boy-band fandom. I started off by buying their albums. I memorized each song’s lyrics. I decorated

my bedroom walls with posters of the singers. I creepily stalked their lives and memorized random facts about them. Finally, I attended as many concerts as I could. Three years later, One Direction has obviously gotten older... and uglier. Their music has progressively worsened, and to be quite honest, their most recent album was horrible. For a fanatic of the band, their decline is heart-breaking. I even broke the number one rule of a fanclub: admitting the band sucks. Upon reflection, my love for them never really was about the quality of their music. What started as a typical boy-band crush, has evolved into much more Many aspects of my freshman self have changed, however, One Direction has remained constant throughout the years. Even though I may not be as obsessed with the band as I used to be, I still pre-order every album, the iTunes deluxe versions, and fangirl

whenever a new music video comes out. This past summer, I went to a One Direction concert with friends. We were in a suite, and there were younger middle school students with us. At this point, girls our age not find the band “cool” anymore, so my friends and I represented the oldest age demographic at the concert. The middle schoolers claimed to be obsessed, but as soon as One Direction started playing, they just stood still; they didn’t even sing along! In comparison, my friends and I were jumping up and down, screaming the lyrics at the top of our lungs. While I was concert, my friends and I did not bring up college once. We forgot about the essays and applications that needed to be done. We enjoyed every moment, regardless of the bad music and stares we received from the girls in our suite. To me, One Direction represents a chance for me to hold onto my youth. The

music, although cheesy, is distracting and upbeat; I can forget about the responsibilities I have for just a few, fleeting moments. The reason I like One Direction now is not so much their looks or their songs, but rather what there music offers. Whenever I hear a One Direction song, I flash back to when the whole craze started; school was not as difficult or demanding, and there were fewer expectations and responsibilities I had to live up to. This boy band represents my attempts to hold onto the past and retain my youth. In a mere seven months, I will graduating from high school. My journey into “real life” will start. I do not have control over what the future has to offer, and that is intimidating. However, I know that whenever the impending prospect of the future becomes too daunting, I can turn on a One Direction song and be transported to a simpler time.

America’s favorite pastime. I can walk from our parking space to my seat in my sleep. I’m friends with Fred, the head security guard, and the lyrics of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” will stay ingrained in my head forever. If I’m not at a game, I’ll watch it on T.V. or constantly refresh the Gamecast on ESPN SportsCenter. Baseball is by far my favorite sport to watch. I love the anticipation before every swing, the collective intake of breath as the crowd watches to see if a ball is going, going, gone. Even after a disappointing strikeout, there’s always another at bat. And there’s nothing more rewarding than hearing the announcer cry out, “Hello, win column!” I love baseball’s simplicity: three strikes, three outs, nine innings. During a game, my greatest challenge is deciding between mint chocolate chip ice cream (in a Rangers hat cup) or a lemon chill. But as I’ve grown up, the team has too.

I’ll pretend I was fine when Hamilton left us for the Angels after saying Dallas wasn’t “a true baseball town,” but I secretly missed him quite a lot. I could have told them letting Ian Kinsler go was a mistake. He was my grandma’s favorite player because he always wore his long socks over his baseball pants, just like old-school baseball players. As I’ve gotten older, my ballpark visits have grown few and far between. When I attended my first game this season, I saw a team I barely recognized. This was not the team from my childhood. I realized I didn’t even have a favorite player. Always rooting for the underdog, I arbitrarily chose the player with the worst batting average. I cringed every time he struck out, and rejoiced when his bat finally sent the ball into the field with a spectacular hit. That felt like the game I knew. But still, I kept scanning the field for my old favorites.

And now, I don’t even have the coach. I haven’t been to a game since manager Ron Washington announced his sudden departure, and I can’t imagine a game without him in the nearby corner of the dugout. I loved watching him march onto the field to contest a call, or grin at himself on the Jumbotron during the Ron Washington highlight reel, spewing sunflower seeds throughout. My dad always told me that Ron Washington knew how to talk to the players, and he had the baseball spirit. The camaraderie he helped build in the dugout was incredible to see. When I leave for college in a year, I hope to catch an away game or two. I might get a little lost wandering through foreign stands to a random seat. I soon may not recognize a single player on the lineup. However, they’re still my team. The lineup may change, but I’ll be a Rangers fan till the end.

parents gave it to me in Middle School. Since then, I added the longest necklace, a plain chain with three charms, which have changed many times over the years. They currently include an Aaron Basha baby shoe (my mom got this when I was born and recently passed it on to me), two beads that change color in UV light (which I got with close friends at a program this summer) and a gold and turquoise talisman. I also added a short necklace with a white Hamsa palm last month. This hand, along with the talisman charm, are what I believe repel evil. My grandmother has always been the superstitious one in my family, a trait she has carries from her life in Turkey. Before I tell her about a dream, she must first say hayirdir in Turkish, meaning “good wishes.” This saying will supposedly make only the good parts of the dream come true. I’ve only reluctantly gone along with all of her superstitions except one, which I truly believe in: the nazar boncugu (evil eye). The nazar boncugu is made up of three concentric circles, traditionally in blue, white and black. Though it looks a bit

different from the talisman and Hamsa on my necklace, they all serve the same purpose— protection from evil eyes. If the talisman breaks, falls off or cracks while on, it’s because it protected me from an “evil eye,” someone who inflicted malicious wishes on me. So while I am not a superstitious creature, I don’t take any chances: I wear an evil eye on my ring, and keychain, have multiple in my room and even drew one on my laptop charger. It’s safe to say I believe three concentric circles are the reason for my safety. This May, my flimsy evil-eye keychain broke off, and, not making a big deal of the situation, I did not rush to replace it. About a week later, and frustratingly 30 minutes before my AP Calculus BC exam, I got in a very minor bumper-to-bumper car accident. I couldn’t help but notice the timing. Though it may have been a complete coincidence, I believe the absence of my evil eye is directly related to my fate in the accident. The breaking of the evil eye protected me from something more fatal. The talisman did its job.

Yes, this superstition is silly. It might even all be in my head. I created a belief system I whole-heartedly identify with because I see the connection to personal experiences. I do not believe in my superstitions for same religious and cultural reasons my grandmother does. In that sense, my superstition seems contradictory. But we are complex creatures. My fender-bender called for explanation: instead of worrying about how much the repairs were going to cost, I pondered what message the accident was trying to send me. I, like all humans, was in need of justification. Over the summer, my grandmother got me a new, heavy-duty evil-eye keychain, complete with thick, durable glass and even a prayer etched onto the back. At times, I feel like I’ve taken this superstition too far, but it makes me feel more safe, protected and at ease. So I use it. Just as, every morning, I put on those three necklaces and two rings. This may sound a bit crazy, but I’d rather not take the risk of not wearing my necklaces and finding out the hard way. Perhaps, I am more superstitious than I thought.

One Direction Back

Home on the Range

To say my family likes the Rangers doesn’t begin to cover it. My dad used to be a partial owner of the Rangers, so we’ve had the same seats (Row 2 behind home plate) since the stadium opened 20 years ago. I’ve been sitting in those seats since before I was born (with a pretty terrible view from inside my mom’s stomach), and attended my first official game at four weeks old. I’ve grown up watching the Rangers play

The Talismans I Trust

Snooze button. Snooze button again. Crawl out of bed. Late. Brush teeth. Change five times. Really late. Put on necklace. Put on another necklace. Put on last necklace. Slide on ring. Slide on other ring. Fasten watch. Super late. Out the door. Everyday since sophomore year, I have had the same morning routine. Though I am neither religious nor superstitious, the most sacred part of my routine is clasping on my three necklaces and two rings, all of which have meaning and, I believe, protect me from evil. I have been wearing the middle necklace, two interlocking rings, since my

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Evergreen

“You aren't too cool for clubs.” Hudson Fernandes, sophomore

“Don't think so far into the future. Take one step at a time. No need to rush.” Sarah Kim, senior

“I wish I had known that it wasn't okay to friend everyone in the entire high school on Facebook.” Megan Nguyen, junior

“Don't push a pull door, because everyone will laugh at you.” Sydnie Schindler, senior

“Don't take life seriously. Have fun with it.” Stern McGee, senior

“Use your time wisely. Academics come first.” Brianna Kessler, senior

"’Yes’ and ‘no’ are not the only options in life. There’s always a way to get involved. If you want to do something, do it. The pieces will always fall into place.” Harris Chowdhary, senior

“I wish I had known that everyone is always struggling with something, and the least we can do for others is to at all times be kind, understanding and patient.” Alex "Danger" Raphael, senior

“I wish I met with my teachers more to figure out their teaching style.” Elise Andres, sophomore

“Pay attention to where the air vents are in classrooms and always keep a sweatshirt in your locker.” Mitali Mathur, senior

“I wish that I took more chances and tried new things, things that I'm not comfortable with but probably would have liked.” Brianna Houston, senior "Socialize. Go to parties." -Chandler Notley, senior “Teachers want to help you. Form some sort of relationship so they know who you are.” Hayley Isenberg, senior

wednesday, october 8, 2014

“Make friends with upperclassmen.” Brooks McCormick, senior “Grades are not as important as you think they are.” Julia Fulbright, senior

“I wish I had not been afraid of the seniors and those who were older.” Rachel Carp, senior

story by Catherine Leffert graphic by Andrew Friedman