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The Lodge

Vol. 4, Issue 1 Oct. 21, 2019

Living Life Online

Itâ€™s time to ask the question, is technology a hazard to society or bringing people together?

How Do We Heal? Students and faculty take the lead in the wake of racial tensions

The Breaking Point Athletes in recovery find comfort in community

About Us The Lodge and gryphonlodge.com are dedicated to serving as an authentic voice for the students of St. George’s Independent School. We at the Lodge strive to be an open forum for student expression, to act in the best interests of the student body and to embody the principles of journalistic excellence. The Lodge is affiliated with the Tennessee High School Press Association and the National Scholatic Press Association. The Lodge is funded by advertisers, donors and St. George’s Independent School and is published once every eight weeks during the school year by schoolprinting.com. The Lodge prints and distributes 300 copies of each issue to 700 students and faculty on the St. George’s Collierville campus. Bylines indicate the primary writer(s) of each article, and additional contributors are indicated in the shirttail. The Lodge provides free advertising for student clubs, events and activities and paid advertisements for local businesses. The Lodge welcomes letters to the editor and article submissions. To submit a letter, article or request for advertising, email our staff at thelodge@sgis.org.

Staff Co-Editors-in-Chief

Snowden Farnsworth ‘20, Owen Hewitt ‘21 Editorial Board

Spencer Cotham ‘20, Callie Hollis ‘21, Cary Robbins ‘20, Sierra Sellers ‘20 Staff Members

Keiara Baker ‘20, Shaun Burgess ‘20, Kennadee Carlton ‘20, Aiden Curran ‘20, Isabel Dlabach ‘20, Jacob Gettig ‘20, E’nissa Golden ‘21, Sam Kuykendall ‘20, Miles Masters ‘20, Allison Newman ‘21, Erin O’Connell ‘20, David Ogle ‘20, Kayla Sanford ‘21, Madeline Sisk ‘22 Advisor

Dr. Margaret Robertson Cover Photography by Callie Hollis

The Lodge

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St. George’s Independent School

1880 Wolf River Blvd. Collierville, Tenn. 38017

GETTING

Features

St. George’s begins search for new Head of School By Isabel Dlabach

n Monday, Sept. 2, 2019, the St. George’s community received an email announcing the departure of current Head of School Mr. Ross Peters after the 2019-20 school year. The beginning of this year has presented challenges, but Mr. Peters has made clear that his departure is voluntary. The Board of Trustees and Associate Head of School Mr. Will Bladt were informed of Mr. Peters’ decision over the summer. After that, the rest of the administration was told, and then the faculty were informed just before the community email. “I’m at the end of a five-year contract,” Mr. Peters said. “We’ve been thinking about [a] sort of next adventure and looking at some different opportunities, different ways of thinking and really sort of thinking about where we want to be for the long haul. We have a lot of career left, my wife and I.”

So how does a school go about finding a new head? The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) website provides a suggested head transition timeline. The process includes the formation of a search committee, the hiring of a search firm, and interviews with candidates. The timeline recommends that information regarding candidacy remain confidential until the field is narrowed to a few finalists. The timeline suggests for the departure of the outgoing Head to be discussed with the board in January and for a search committee to be formed that month. It places the signing of the contract with the new Head in October or November of that same year, with the outgoing Head finishing the school year. Because the beginning of the process for St. George’s did not begin until this summer, it appears that the search is behind on the NAIS recommended timeline.

Richard H. Ferguson 4

1984-2006

However, information from Chairman of the Board of Trustees Mr. Richard McDuffie, Mr. Bladt and search committee leader Rubye Knight suggests an accelerated process specific to St. George’s that will line up with the recommendation. In the Sept. 2 letter to the St. George’s community announcing the transition, Mr. McDuffie said that in the weeks following the email, “search firm interviews will commence, a company will be retained, and a national search will begin.” According to Ms. Knight, the search committee narrowed a number of firms down to three finalists, “[engaging] in three days of dialogues and reflections with each finalist,” during the week of Oct. 14. A decision was made that advances the process to the next phase – negotiations – at the completion of which the selected search firm will be named and announced. “This is a significant milestone

in our overall effort,” said Ms. Knight. Mr. Bladt explained three of the search process roles of the school’s executive team, of which he is a part, and the Board of Trustees’ search committee. “One will be to help the search firm that the board engages and hires to understand the opportunity in the search,” said Mr. Bladt, “to be able to articulate it clearly to candidates.” Vetting the candidates is the second. “That’s part assessment and part helping them to have a true, clear understanding as to who we are in an authentic way, so that they would be choosing us as we would be choosing them,” said Mr. Bladt. The third part is helping the new Head settle in. According to Mr. Bladt, this consists of “working together with the community from teachers, families, students, board members, in terms of on-boarding the new Head of School, and

William W. Taylor 2006-2015

AHEAD that starts when the new Head of School is named.” This part of the process will continue through the spring and summer. The new Head will begin work on July 1, 2020. “It will continue really all the way through the year as we help them to meet various constituency groups, various individuals in the school community,” said Mr. Bladt, “[and] if there are children or spouses, for them to be able to connect in the community in their new home.” Mr. Peters’ role, both during the search and when the new Head arrives, is primarily one of guidance. “I believe my role both before someone is hired and after he or she is hired is to provide good counsel,” Mr. Peters said. “I spend some time with Rubye Knight, who’s the board leader of the search… just downloading everything I know to provide good guidance. So I want to play whatever role the board and the search

committee thinks is helpful.” In general, the administration is seeking a leader who can understand and be engaged with the St. George’s community. “The school has always resonated with leadership that is very hands-on with the community,” said Mr. Bladt, “whether that looks like prioritizing time for community members, people rolling up their sleeves to participate in different school events that the community is doing together [or] presence at a myriad of community events.” This engagement includes ongoing conversation with students. “One of the things that kids have said to me for years is they feel like this a place where people care about what they think and what they believe and that they are invited to the table to be in dialogue about what the community could be,” said Mr. Bladt. “Students have described that as different from their experiences at

J. Ross Peters 2015-2020

other schools. I think somebody who will be able to continue to do that will be someone who will be able to motivate our community towards realizing our vision of our Strategic Plan.” The Strategic Plan is available to view on the St. George’s website. Students as well would like for the next Head to be willing and eager to connect with the St. George’s community. In particular, senior Sam Tremaine said that “someone who engages with the students” will make a good Head of School. Junior Gray Nix agreed. “I’d want [the next Head] to be hardworking, personable, and also [to] talk to students,” said Nix. “[The Head should] get to know students and know who they are, what they like, and just be really involved in the community.” According to Nix, excitement about the school’s values and goals are also an important factor. “I also want the next Head of

Features

School to really know the school and like the school,” Nix said. Mr. Peters would like to see “someone who cares deeply for the full school,” as his successor. “Three campuses, three and a half if you count the Bunkhouse, has lots of moving parts,” Mr. Peters said. “I think somebody has to be fascinated by [the] two sides of that. One [who] is fascinated and interested in and can manage the complexity of the school.” He explains the human part, which he says is more important, as “knowing and caring about not simply the mission of the school but the people who live into the mission of the school.” “People choose this school for myriad reasons,” said Mr. Peters, “and they all have a place here... It’s important that a leader, the next leader of this school, appreciates that and strives to deepen it.”

2020-? 5

Sports

The Breaking Point

Athletes find comfort in community during lengthy recovery periods

By Owen Hewitt and Erin O’Connell wo years ago, Carsten Haddad took the field on a Thursday night in autumn for Mid South Futbol Club. Haddad had been playing for the club since it was created, when he was eight years old. It had been a fairly normal Thursday for Haddad, a freshman at the time. He had gone through the typical St. George’s academic day, then suited up for an evening match. The talented young striker, having been on the St. George’s varsity team the previous year as an eighth-grader, was poised to have a breakout season for both club and school. Unbeknownst to Haddad as he jogged out onto the pitch, something else would break that night. It would be his tibia, broken clean in half. “I was running onto the ball, and the other team’s goalkeeper was running at it too, so it was a 50-50 that I thought I could win,” Haddad said. “I was trying to run over the ball and he slid at the ball, and he slid with his studs up and he slid high, so his studs went into my shin.” It was immediately apparent that something was very wrong after the tackle, both to onlookers and to Haddad himself. “I was trying to walk it off, but I couldn’t walk,” Haddad said. “So my teammate came over, and he told me to lay on the ground. One of our team moms is a doctor. She knew something happened, so she ran onto the field and told me not to move my leg. And my coach ran onto the field and told me that I [was] done.” Haddad said that his father told him that the tackle “sounded like a gunshot,” likely a result of the opposing goalkeeper’s tackle breaking his carbon fiber shin guard into pieces. Injuries like Haddad’s are not uncommon among high school athletes, and can take a toll on students who are trying to juggle recovery with academics. These injuries can create mental hurdles that science can’t heal. For some, community with teammates, coaches and trainers help mend those wounds. Once Haddad got to the hospital, he was prescribed Oxycontin and Percocet for his pain.

“Knowing that I literally couldn’t practice with the team, and I wasn’t putting in the work with everybody, [it] made me feel really disconnected from everybody.” - Senior Boo McWaters 6

“I would be lying in bed in a lot of pain begging my mom to give me more medicine,” Haddad said. “She couldn’t because that kind of medicine is addictive, and she was afraid that it could mess me up.” Her concerns about the medication were not unwarranted. Opiate pharmaceuticals, such as Oxycontin and Percocet have been the center of a national crisis. According to the U.S. Department of Human Health and Services, over 11.4 million Americans have abused prescription opioids at some point. The Center for Disease Control published that between 1999-2017, over 200,000 Americans died due to overdoses related to prescription opiates. And while Haddad says that he never experienced any sort of addiction to the drugs that were prescribed to him, he did feel as though his academic performance slumped while he was on painkillers. “I was on the medicine for two weeks, and mentally, it takes a toll on you,” Haddad said. “I had an awful memory during that time. I remember nothing of what happened that weekend. When I would be trying to study I would have an awful time trying to memorize things.” Injuries not only take a toll on an individual but also can have an effect on a team as a whole, especially when many occur in quick succession. Boo McWaters, now a senior on the St. George’s soccer team, suffered a grade three ankle sprain in a game against Briarcrest Christian School during her sophomore year. “I was on defense and I was going towards the ball. It was coming in, and I collided with the girl and the ball at the same time,” McWaters said. “My ankle like rolled over the ball, and I landed on the ground, and I could hear it crackle and pop. It was really gross.” McWaters’ injury was the first in a long string of injuries for the Gryphons that year, which McWaters said had an effect on the team’s morale. “I think at first, all of the people getting injured affected the mojo on the team, and people were kind of like, discouraged,” McWaters said. “All this stuff kept happening, so I think it led to more and more struggle with mojo, but we ended up winning state so, you know, it paid off.” Mr. Andre Lott, varsity football coach, understands the struggle of having to keep a team’s morale high after an injury. “We always tell the guys one play at a time. Play every play like it’s your last play,” Mr. Lott said. “You really have to focus on that. I know nerves can get you going when something like that happens, but the guys do a good job at it.” And while the soccer team was able to overcome their issues, going on to win the state championship that year, McWaters still struggled with losing her role on the team. “I felt useless on the team, I know people say like ‘Everybody has a purpose, whether you’re on the bench or on the field,’” McWaters said. “Knowing that I literally couldn’t practice with the team, and I wasn’t putting in the work with everybody, [it] made me feel really disconnect-

Sports

ed from everybody, and that was hard.” Haddad, who was a captain of his team when his injury occurred, expressed having a similar feeling during the time of injury. “Being the leader of the team and seeing them go through struggles without you, losing games that we should be winning, or playing poorly,” Haddad said. “It was really hard for me to watch because I’m in a full leg cast, and I can’t do anything to make it any better.” Coach Lott, no stranger to serious injury, expressed that a key part of a speedy recovery is an optimistic outlook. “Through anything, you have to stay positive. I remember when I had my first surgery, I tore my pectoral, one of my old teammates Matt Bowen, he was just ‘Stay positive, it’s just an injury, you can get through it,’” Mr. Lott said. “It’s nothing to get down on yourself about, especially at this age, it’s really tough, so having the support of your teammates and your coaches is very important.” Both McWaters and Haddad echoed exactly that sentiment, as both told of having their respective communities rally around them. “[Ms. Juliet Wagner, assistant coach of the soccer team] really helped me, and was a good friend in all this. She’s the coach but she was also a support,” McWaters said. “She helped me through it, both long term and short term and hung out with me while I was on the side. She helped me try and find purpose.” Haddad said that the kindness his teachers showed to him made his return to school smoother. “I had to spend a lot of extra time working with my teachers, but they were all great, They were super understanding of what happened so they made it easy for me to get back in the swing of things,” Haddad said. “All of my teachers rallied behind me, and they put my recovery and how I [was] feeling first and me getting their work done second.” Another common thread between Haddad’s and McWaters’ stories is Mrs. Tina Cole, the head athletic trainer, affectionately known by just her first name to many St. Geroge’s athletes. “Tina is amazing. I love her,” McWaters said. “She always contacted me. I saw her almost every day during x-block after school, and she was always available for me to do my [physical therapy] and to help me to do [electronic stimulation therapy] and give me advice on what I should do. Tina is very good at what she does.” While Haddad did his physical therapy elsewhere, he said that Mrs. Cole also played a big role in making him feel secure when he got back

on to the field. “When I came back and I was getting ready for school soccer, she gave me a lot of strengthening for my ankle, because of all the extra cartilage that built up in there made it really stiff,” Haddad said. “She worked on a lot of movement things for my ankle to make sure that all that cartilage breaks up and that my ankle is strong enough to work without that cartilage in there.” Mrs. Cole said that she entered the athletic training profession as a way to stay around sports in her adult life after being an athlete herself in high school. “I enjoyed being around the health care profession, and I was wondering what ways I could still be around sports and also help people,” Mrs. Cole said. “That’s why I chose to be an athletic trainer.” Mrs. Cole said that welcoming her son into the world has given her a new perspective on the work she does with young people. “Being a mom now, it makes it a little bit easier to understand [parents’] concerns, and also having an athletic background, explaining to them that things happen but we can also work around it and make sure they’re comfortable with their children playing sports,” Mrs. Cole said. “I want to make sure that if this was my child, that I would treat them the same way.” Mr. Lott also acknowledged how helpful it is to have trainers and doctors on staff to help deal with injured players, especially in the immediate aftermath of the injury. “We’re lucky to have trainers and doctors with the team,” Coach Lott said. “Tina takes care of all of that as well as Dr. [Thomas] Gill [St. George’s football team doctor].” Overall, Haddad says that the struggles he endured during his recovery helped to set him back on the right track. “What seemed as a curse then, I look at it now as a blessing in a way because of what I learned. I learned so much about myself. I became stronger. Not only literally did my leg become stronger but mentally I can take so much more, and I focus so much more on myself,” Haddad said. “I paid attention to not only what I can do physically on the soccer field but also who I am in my own head. It helped me discover so much about myself that looking back on it, it was an amazing opportunity for myself.”

Mrs. Tina Cole, the head athletic trainer at St. George’s, works with junior Khalil Moore while junior Zion Boggan provides moral support. Many athletes at St. George’s have found that the athletic resources available can provide much needed support during lengthy recoveries.

Photograph by Callie Hollis

Features

How Do We Heal?

Students, faculty take the lead in the wake of racial tensions

By Isabel Dlabach and Snowden Farnsworth n the dawn of the school year, St. George’s has faced challenges that have prompted difficult discussions. Racial tensions have thrust the school into the public eye and pushed its community to face them head on. How exactly does a school deal with this kind of conversation? We’re finding out. On Tuesday, Sept. 17, the school day was interrupted so that Head of School Mr. Ross Peters and Chaplain Mrs. Jessica Abell could deliver an apology in the wake of a chapel talk given that morning by the Reverend Thomas Momberg of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, which contained troublingly negative characterizations of young black men. Concern, anger and disappointment defined the response of much of the student body in the aftermath of the initial sermon, and many teachers took class time to allow students to voice their thoughts. Just hours later, the students and faculty were summoned back to the gym to hear apologies from Mr. Peters and a tearful Mrs. Abell. “It was wrong to stereotype young black men. It was insensitive. It was not helpful to our

community. It is not what we believe,” Mr. Peters said. “At St. George’s, differences are sources of strength. They build upon our shared experiences and deepen our community. And they enhance our growth as helpful, caring, contributing human beings.” Visibly crying, Mrs. Abell voiced her own feelings about the incident. “I am heartbroken by this morning,” Mrs. Abell said. “I am heartbroken for all of us.” The Lodge reached out to Rev. Momberg in the hours following the sermon and received an apology letter on Oct. 3. “I failed to make clear my point about trusting God, no matter what our fears may be,” wrote Rev. Momberg. “Instead, I offended and even scared some of you. Hearts were broken, mine included, because of what I said.” In the days that followed the initial sermon, Associate Head of School Mr. Will Bladt spoke about the pain the incident caused. “It breaks my heart that people had to be in that space and experience any questions about what he meant,” Mr. Bladt said. “I think some people were giving him the benefit of the doubt. I think he

was talking about the fact that his thoughts at that point in time in his life were wrong, but he didn’t come out and say [it], and so then it left other people wondering.” Mr. Bladt did not place any blame on those, like Mrs. Abell, who have responsibilities over the all-school chapel services, as Rev. Momburg’s remarks came as a surprise to them. “I feel like those charged with [vetting the talk] did their due diligence and communicated proactively about what was OK and what was not,” Mr. Bladt said. “The article that had come out [in the Commercial Appeal] was a known piece to this person [Rev. Momberg], and the fact that they proceeded with the talk that they did was disappointing and infuriating.”

Mr. Bladt was referencing a piece published on Aug. 28 by Daniel Connolly in the Memphis daily newspaper the Commercial Appeal about an incident that occurred in the middle school last spring involving racial slurs directed at a teacher of color. Many members of the St. George’s community said they felt the timing of the chapel made it all the more troubling, particularly for students of color. “We still had that Commercial Appeal thing hanging over our heads,” sophomore Iris Delahoussaye said. “That chapel talk on top of it was just another gut punch.” Junior Alicia Hardrick agreed. “I just feel like with everything that’s going on with school right now, like with this article that came out, that this did not make it

“It breaks my heart that people had to be in that space and experience any questions about what he meant.” – Mr. Will Bladt

Features any better,” Hardrick said. “This whole apology thing [from Mr. Peters and Mrs. Abell], it’s a step towards the right direction, like doing something about it right after it. But the fact that he [Rev. Momberg] even came to our school and said that to us really hurts still.” Recent events may have brought matters to a head, but racial tensions prevalent across the nation have been manifested at St. George’s before. Last year, Lodge reporter Cary Robbins covered some of the challenges faced by students of color at St. George’s in “Colors you can’t ignore.” “[Racism is] a very real thing,” current senior Jada Hines said in that article. “Just because we’re more sheltered in a private school doesn’t make it invisible. It’s still there. It’s still going to be there for a long, long time. And it may affect some people more than others.” In a Sept. 1 email to the larger school community following the publication of the Commercial Appeal article, Mr. Peters acknowledged that while racism is widespread in American culture, the school can and should do better. “I have heard many people say, when offering some comfort during this trying time, that incidents of racist or hateful language occur in all corners of our national culture,” he wrote. “While I appreciate all offers of support, we should not find this comforting. St. George’s has so often risen, and will continue to rise, to a far higher standard than the mean of the larger culture.” But how do we do that?

The incident during chapel served as the catalyst for a formal effort to address serious issues. Students took immediate action to repair the recent damage. One of the most outspoken among them was senior and active member of MySpaceAlliance club Keiara Baker. She emailed administrators the night after the chapel talk. “I emailed [Upper School Dean of Students] Ms. [Kalyn] Underwood, [Upper School Director of

Student Life] Ms. [Emmy] McClain and [Upper School Director] Ms. [Pamela] McCarthy, and I was like, ‘Basically our school needs a break,’” Baker said. “To me it was a huge distraction for all that to be happening and then us to go back to classes.” Baker initially wanted the school to act immediately to address the chapel talk incident. “I met with Ms. McClain. I wanted it to be literally the next day,” Baker said. “I knew deep down that that was a lot. But Ms. McClain, Ms. Hardy, Ms. Underwood, Ms. McCarthy, a lot of different teachers in our school were working really hard on it. The first night, I heard them saying that that they stayed at somebody’s house till 1 am. I literally saw my teachers working hard to get it done. They were missing lunch.” Baker wasn’t the only one calling on administrators and teachers to take action. Athletes, student government, members of the Honor Council and individuals all spoke up to insist that something be done. As a result, on Monday, Sept. 23, St. George’s students partici-

“While we expected something that was deeper, we got something that was very on the surface and not enough. I was left kind of unfulfilled.” – Junior Kynnedy Armstrong pated in a day of conversation and communication, a “House Day on Pause,” to take a break from normal activities and heal from the recent controversies. “We found that teachers were saying that ‘Hey, I have a bunch of kids who asked if we could do something like this, and I had another group of kids who asked for something like that,’” said Ms. McClain. “We pulled them all together to say ‘Hey guys, we’re thinking we’re going to do something like this.’ It was cool to see them looking around the room and being like ‘Oh, your group cares

about this?’ It was a cool moment to see that [realization].” Instead of four classes, there were four activities that the school houses rotated through until lunch. In the senior dining hall, students took a quiz to find their love languages, watched a video on the difference between empathy and sympathy and acted out examples to practice empathetic responses. In the Agape Chapel, Reverend Cedrick Jackson gave a sermon about an encounter with racist remarks when he was younger, and students participated in a few activities focused on inclusion and

Illustration by E’nissa Golden In this illustration, students gather in the library to watch Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TEDtalk on the danger of the single story. The Lodge was asked to refain from photography during the Day on Pause in order to make students feel more comfortable participating.

Features

“We chose to be here rather than other independent schools. We’re willing to do the hard work. It’s in our mission to do the hard work that’s needed in the area of inclusion, diversity, equity and all those things.” – Ms. Emmy McClain

exclusion. In the library, students watched a TEDtalk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and then used the active listening skills they learned to discuss pictures and photos in small groups. In the Slatery Gym, advisories grouped up to play a game called the “Box Talk” where students stepped into a box if they self-identified with a statement read by one of the game’s leaders in order to recognize the many underlying connections between students that are not easily seen. After a lunch break, students gathered together by grade level to break down what they wanted from their peers and faculty and what they needed for a successful year. During the time usually occupied by x-block, the student body had a release to end the day, choosing between study hall, meditation and mindfulness, coloring, journaling and reading, a MySpace Alliance storytelling meeting, basketball and other recess activities. For Ms. McClain, it came as no surprise that teachers responded to student calls for action that resulted in taking the House Day On Pause. “Teachers are very empathetic people, and that’s why they choose this profession: because they want to nurture kids,” Ms. McClain said. “We chose to be here rather than other independent schools. We’re willing to do the hard work. It’s in our mission to do the hard

work that’s needed in the area of inclusion, diversity, equity and all those things. It’s needed, and this is the school that has purposefully said that we are trying to get there. But it’s super hard. On some things we’re not going fast enough, and on other things to some people it feels like we’re going way too fast. There’s a wide range of emotions.”

While students were generally happy to have their concerns addressed, not all thought the day went far enough. “I think it was a little watered down. It was too diluted for me,” junior Kynnedy Armstrong said. “I think a lot of people who were most affected by the situation that occurred with the racial incident, we all expected something that would have more impact, that would go deeper into the issues that our school has had for many, many years. While we expected something that was deeper, we got something that was very on the surface and not enough. I was left kind of unfulfilled.” Sophomore Iris Delahoussaye said she also felt that the day’s conversations could have delved deeper. “I feel like they were trying to get an open discussion about it,” Delahoussaye said. “But, I feel like they were, a lot of [the] time, snaking around the issues.” Junior Dean Campell agreed that the day needed to go much

further than it did, but he said he found the inclusivity activity in the chapel productive. “It went the most in depth in terms of issues that we’re facing,” Campbell said. “We do face quite a bit of exclusion at our school and in our school community. I think that was a pretty effective way of voicing to everybody because everybody had to sit there and everybody had to listen – hopefully they had to listen – to what people needed and how people felt excluded and how people should be included in the future. I think that’s important.” However, he stressed that more is needed. He has advocated specifically for a diversity council and hopes that the administration will continue being more responsive to student proposals. “With the diversity council, it has been proposed in the past at a junior retreat, but it got denied,” Campbell said. “But I think it is just another idea that we need to keep pushing, and I think will hopefully get pushed through. Part of me thinks that it’s not going to happen and it’s never going to happen. But we’re still trying at least, trying to find something that’s going to work, something that’s going to stick, something that’s going to create some actual change at the school.” While some students felt the day did not go far enough, others may have felt that it wasn’t needed at all. Ms. McClain acknowledged the possibility that some students may have felt the day was wasted. “Some students are probably like, ‘I want to go to my classes, and I want to do my academics.

Then I want to go home, and that’s why I’m here,’” she said. “For those kids, they may not need it, but there was a big enough group of students that said that they really needed this right now. It was reasonable that they were asking for the pause, so we took it.” Upper School English teacher and MySpace Alliance club sponsor Ms. Leanne Ricketson, who helped with planning the day and helped to lead one of the activities, stressed that the range of student readiness and understanding presented a challenge. “If I’m teaching an English lesson and I’m looking out at 17 faces, they’re in 17 different places,” Ms. Ricketson said. “And we can group however we want to group and we can differentiate [and] scaffold however you want to differentiate and scaffold, but at the end of the day, it’s still 17 distinct places. So we have all these students, and they are each in a unique position.” This also crosses over to social education, as in the context of the House Day on Pause. “I think my answer to those who say that this didn’t go deep enough for me,” said Ms. Ricketson, “is that it didn’t go deep enough for a lot of kids, [but] it may have gone too deep for some.”

For students and faculty, one common theme was that the work begun during the House Day on Pause should not stop there. Ms. Ricketson emphasized that the faculty and administration have a

“I’ve seen a lot of people unite together against all of the negativity that’s been arising... It’s almost developed a sense of maturity in certain members of the student body. – Junior D.J. Loynes

Features plan going forward. “Now that Monday [the House Day on Pause] has happened, we’re going to get feedback. We’re going to read those notecards that y’all wrote us, we’re going to listen to kids,” Ms. Ricketson said in reference to the notecards that students wrote expressing suggestions for further actions the school could take. “I’m going to take information from MySpace Alliance. We’re going to circle back up and we’re going to say, ‘These are the recurring trends.’ And we’re going to figure out when that happens.” Whatever happens, it seems likely that MySpace Alliance will have a role to play. Senior Aiden Curran started the club, whose mission is “to provide a safe space where students from all walks of life can share their experiences,” last year. Faced with disruption in their academics and emotional well-being, many students, including

Armstrong, turned to MySpaceAlliance club for support. “Our leaders in that club, if you have an idea, an action to take, they will take it to authority. That’s a big reason this whole Day on Pause thing happened,” Armstrong said. “[Baker] had an idea, and she introduced it, and we had been talking about it in MySpace. It just goes to show how much you can do when you have a community of people ready to take action, talking it out, coming up with ideas on how to do things. ” In addition to seeking conversation in official clubs like MySpaceAlliance, some students, including junior D.J. Loynes, are finding informal community in the wake of recent challenges. “Fortunately, I think I’ve seen a lot of people unite together against all of the negativity that’s been arising,” Loynes said. “Friendships have been forming or people [are] encouraging each other or even students [are] saying to other

students, ‘Hey that’s not okay. You shouldn’t do that.’ It’s almost developed a sense of maturity in certain members of the student body.” It’s a maturity that he thinks students will need going forward. “I would hope that my classmates are very wise in how they handle this. Many are capable leaders and are in student government or in MySpace Alliance,” Lyons said. “I hope that they are wise about how they handle it. I hope it’s not just based on impulse or a quick knee-jerk reaction.” While students are taking the lead in healing their community. Armstrong sounded a note of caution. “With a lot of the things that have happened, it’s student led. The people in MySpace are the frontrunners of making a lot of these things happen, so you’ve got so much weight and burden on students,” she said. “It affects mental health as well. It puts stress

on students because instead of worrying about their schoolwork or their well-being, they’re just trying to figure out how to make their school environment a better place when that shouldn’t be a student’s job. That should be a professional’s job. That’s the administration’s job.” Campbell likewise emphasized that there is a very long road ahead and that the challenges facing students, faculty and administration are significant, but he acknowledged that there has been some forward progress. “Even though it is baby steps,” he said. “It’s still a step towards something.” Full Disclosure: Keiara Baker is a member of the staff of the Lodge. Miles Masters, Cary Robbins, Madeline Sisk and Callie Hollis contributed to the reporting of this story.

Features

Living Life Online Spending hours staring at a screen? It’s time to ask the question: is technology a hazard to society or bringing people together?

By Aiden Curran and Cary Robbins

“

was kind of slacking off in my classwork,” senior Silas Rhodes said. “I mean obviously Snapchat was something like two hours a day, but Instagram, when I got that, I spent like three hours or so. It was just ridiculous.” Rhodes is not the only teenager who felt that the introduction to social media took over their free time. According to a 2018 teens, social media and technology survey done by Pew Research Center, 95% of teens have access to smartphones, and 45%of those teens say that they use social media “almost constantly.” But Rhodes made a decision that most young people don’t. He quit. He signed out of Snapchat,

Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for good. At the beginning, Rhodes felt the pressure of trying to stay connected with people through social media because it seemed like that was where everyone was. Indeed, many young people use social media to connect with their peers. Eighty-one percent of teens said they feel more connected through social media. Sixty-nine percent of people say that they feel like they’ve been able to interact with more diverse groups of people, and 68% percent say they found people who helped them through times of need, according to the Pew Research Center. But Rhodes said that getting away from social media was a

great decision for him. “You just kind of feel kind of different, but then again, I wouldn’t give it up, you know? I’m fine with being a little bit outside if it makes me do well in academics,” Rhodes said, “and because I have a plan, there’s a purpose for why I’m doing everything I’m doing, I’m fine with it. And it doesn’t make me depressed or anything, which is, I think, the main reason I’m fine with it.” Overall, Rhodes said he is glad he made the decision to disconnect. “I absolutely feel happier,” Rhodes said. “I don’t compare myself [to others] anymore.” Social media makes those kinds of comparisons easy and can make

teens feel competitive with one another. Another 2018 survey done by the Pew Research Center about teens social media habits and experiences reports that 43% of teens who were surveyed said that they feel pressure to only post what they think will make them look good. Forty-five percent say that they were feeling overwhelmed by the drama of social media, and 37% say that they are concerned with getting a certain number of likes and comments on their posts. St. George’s Educational Technology Specialist Ms. Pam Lewis has seen this first hand. “I’m noticing that a lot of kids are really concerned about their whole appearance on the internet,

Features

“Social media makes me feel excluded, more so than included, and often makes me regret my decisions.” – Junior Latimer Stoddard especially social media,” Ms. Lewis said. “There’s a lot of girls especially that worry about how they look, and so they will alter some of the images before they post them.” It’s not just girls who feel the pressure of social media. Junior Latimer Stoddard says that the pressures of social media have also made him feel left out. “I am not a fan of social media,” Stoddard said. “Social media makes me feel excluded, more so than included, and often makes me regret my decisions.” Although Stoddard is not a fan of social media, he does feel more sense of community in gaming, which is why he prefers it. “[Gaming is] an easy subject to talk about, I think, for the most part, especially for guys,” Stoddard said. “I think it’s definitely a very inclusive platform, just because everybody can come together and play their favorite game. It’s just a blast most of the time.” Stoddard isn’t alone in feeling the connections that can come from gaming. According to a 2015 teens, technology and friendship survey by Pew Research Center, 78% of teen gamers say that when they play games with their friends, they feel more connected to them. However, it’s not just teens who make connections through online gaming. Upper School math teacher Mr. William Whipple said that he even met some people through gaming, who he was later able to connect with in real life. “There was someone who lived in my town, I never knew him, he was four years older than me, so we never met in school,” Mr. Whipple said. “When he was a

senior, I was a freshman, so I never really knew him. But he and I have become very close friends. He was at my wedding. And that came through gaming.” Because the gaming community is so broad, Mr. Whipple said that it was easy for him to make connections with many different people. “I think there’s a community in gaming,” Mr. Whipple said. “A really unique community in gaming, where a lot of people who come from different backgrounds, whether that’s boys, girls, black, white, whatever. There are people all across this world who play video games and can find something they can bond over, and I think that’s unique.” Gaming is far from an egalitarian utopia, however. The prejudices

that exist in the outside world can enter the world of gaming as well. Senior Natalie Murrah has been a gamer for her whole life. She was introduced as a kid and has played video games such as “Borderlands 2,” “Dishonored,” “Mark of the Ninja,” “Dead Cells” and “Hollow Knight.” Playing for so long, Murrah has encountered and heard of the harassment of the gaming community. “There’s this stereotype that female gamers will primarily play support roles, and I have seen times where people try and push me towards being in a support role instead of a tank [fighting] role or a D.P.S [a character that heals others]. But it’s never been something extremely blatant for me,” senior Natalie Murrah said. “I have heard different stories from other people I know, though, of them - it’s usually often in shooter games, that the moment they use their voice chat for instance. Voice chat is sometimes seen as a little bit risky for girls because the moment a guy – or sometimes a girl – hear that female voice they are already jumping to conclusions, and I’ve heard of regular harassment and sexual harassment.” Based on a 2014 online harassment survey by Pew Research study, 26% of women asked re-

ported that they have been stalked because they were active online, while only seven percent of men reported the same. 25% of women reported being sexually harassed, compared to 13% of men. The 2014 GamerGate Scandal made it clear the degree to which women were vulnerable online, when online debate regarding sexism in video games resulted in many female gamers falling victim to harassment, having their personal information made public and being threatened with physical violence by frustrated individuals who disagree with changing gaming culture. Murrah, however, thinks that the harassment is not just evident for girls trying to play video games, but it also is seen even when men play. “Within the gaming world, harassment is common. And while there is definitely sexual harassment directed towards female gamers, I think harassment in general has been a problem for everyone,” Murrah said. “If you pay attention to how some maleto-male interactions go within the gaming community, they can be extremely hostile towards each other or whole sections of the team will gang up on one person, blaming them for everything and

Photography by Callie Hollis Sophomore Madeline Sisk poses for a photograph while scrolling through Snapchat on her phone. Forty-five percent of teens say they use social media “almost constantly.”

Features

“Here a lot of people who come from different backgrounds, whether that’s boys, girls, black, white, whatever. There are people all across this world who play video games and can find something they can bond over.” – Mr. Will Whipple starting to get into personal insults. So while I do think that there are some sex-based issues when it comes to girls in the gaming world, I feel like harassment as a whole has been pretty universal, just the subject matter changes.” Murrah does see how video games can be isolating for people in these situations, but she still loves to play. She says that it can even be beneficial because sometimes it is easier to connect with people when their physical features like race and gender do

not pose the barriers that they may in other face-to-face situations. “The interesting thing about video games is that you, at first, you never see that other person’s face,” Murrah said, “You can’t see their race. You don’t know what their sex is, what their creeds are. All you see is their gamer tag and what they choose to play as, and then you hear and see the personality through their voice or through text chats and such. And while, of course, that anonymity can lead people to be more harsh

towards each other, it also keeps you from making any preemptive judgements about that person. I think it’s a great way to bring people together.” Bringing people together is what senior Caleb Lindow has in mind for his new “Gamer Club,” which has just found a sponsor, Mr. Julien Vincent. The purpose, according to Lindow, is to get people of all ages to come together to play video games. Some people play video games but feel like they don’t have people to talk to about their games, and Lindow said he wants them to have connections with people who feel the same way. “I think the biggest problem that people who play video games face is trying to connect with someone because not everyone wants to sit and talk about it because if I’m at lunch, I’m not going to be like ‘oh, I played this sick game last night.’ And someone’s going to be like ‘oh, I played that game too,’” Lindow said. “I’ve already seen that happening a lot [with the club]. I’ve played with a ninth grader playing “[Super] Smash [Bros.]”. I didn’t even know who he was, but he was like, ‘Hey, I heard you play “Smash.” Do you want to play?’ And so it’s trying to harbor those connections between

grades.” Lindow also wants to stress in his club the healthy amount of time someone should spend trying to play video games or improve their skills. “I think it is important to stress healthy amounts of playing because frankly - and the same thing with sports too, like if you practice for like 10 hours a day, you’re going to hate it eventually,” Lindow said. “That’s super unhealthy. Not in the same way that gaming would be unhealthy for you, but emotionally that’s not healthy.” Stoddard agrees that when it comes to spending time online, moderation is key. “You know, choosing social media and playing video games should be done in moderation, so just don’t let it be the only thing that you do, you know?” Stoddard said, “You still have to study and do homework, as boring as it is.” Isabel Dlabach contributed reporting for this story.

Met someone online? St. George’s experts weigh in...

Illustration by E’nissa Golden

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Guide to Internet Friendss Miles Masters and Madeline Sisk named the conversation “Guide to Internet Friends” Mr. Will Whipple Internet friends can take a bunch of different routes. An internet friend, I would like to think, is someone that you know at least on some level whether that’s through a mutual friend or know directly and have had direct contact with. I think a friend you’ve never met before is a friend you’ve never met before. It doesn’t matter the way in which you connected. I don’t think one is better than the other necessarily. I think they both present risks. Ms. Pam Lewis Unless you know somebody in real life, you don’t really know them, and a lot of times kids will say they’ve got a best friend, but they’ve only talked with them via Snapchat. Mr. Julien Vincent You can meet wonderful people all around the world [and] have different experiences. People you can find that have the same feelings, same ideas, same hobbies as you, and they could be on the other side of the planet. I found that gaming can provide an amount of emotion that is hard to hide sometimes, so you tend to get to know people in a very different way than you would in social media. Mrs. Traci Osterhagen-Brock A child should never meet an online friend without a parent being involved. We don’t know who that person is, and there is no way to really validate that. An online friend should never be given an address, a phone number, [or any] personally identifiable information. Mr. Will Whipple

Predators will groom, and they’ll build trust. They can do that through finding things that are similar of interest to you. [They] get you to trust them into giving them a piece of information that you really shouldn’t be giving a stranger. I would try and keep all communication online in the same forum. I wouldn’t move to a text message or something that’s private.

There’s no such thing as anonymity online. There’s just not. I mean someone can always find your identity even simply through like your IP address. They can find your location if they really wanted to. If you’re posting something anonymously on a website from home, someone could track your IP address to your exact location. That’s a reality that everyone needs to know, and it’s a really scary reality. Not everyone has that power or that skill level, but it’s possible. Mr. Julien Vincent Highschoolers are definitely way more prepared because they have a better knowledge of the world in general, but at the same time I do believe that highschoolers sometimes are more at risk in certain areas because they sometimes tend to think that they know everything and that everything is OK because they’re used to it. Middle schoolers usually try to take what their teachers and parents [say] more seriously than what highschoolers do. Mr. Will Whipple You have to be very keen and aware of why. Why are they friending you, why are you friends with them when you don’t necessarily know them? You’re not mutual friends with anyone else and they’re not someone who’s there for like, entertainment value. I think the worst thing you can do is not talk to someone about it. It doesn’t necessarily have to be your parents but if you feel like there’s an online relationship that’s growing, don’t let it be private. I think that’s when danger comes in. Design by Owen Hewitt

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The Lodge

Satire: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Disney Announces New LiveAction Remake of “Bambi” with a 25-minute Death Scene

Like This Story? You Also Might Like...

By Spencer Cotham n the latest roundup of resuscitated entertainment ideas, Disney executives announced a new live-action remake of “Bambi” at the D23 Expo in August. In this remake, audiences are forced to watch Bambi’s mother die for an excruciating 25 minutes, as well as seeing the hunter dress and stuff her lifeless corpse. “We just felt that we should traumatize a new generation of kids,” said Disney executive Mark Conrac. “We polled children after watching Mufasa’s death in “The Lion King” remake, and some still had hope for the world. So in this remake, we are going to be sure we get it right.” Disney has always had a knack for breaking the hearts of children and forcing them to confront the cold desolate wasteland that is reality, and it looks like they aren’t going to stray from that line of thinking anytime soon. The grim reminder that the world is a waking nightmare is an important lesson for kids to learn, and Disney is hoping to bite the bullet as soon as possible. Also announced at the D23 Expo, Disney gave us a glimpse into a new fall release, “Finding Nemo: BP Oil Spill,” as well as a new “Princess and the Frog” remake, but this time it’s set in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. “We want kids to understand that magic isn’t real, and that life is terrible,” said Conrac. “Having a frog that can sing is great, but wouldn’t it be better seeing New Orleans deal with a hurricane?” Only time will tell if their attempts of causing childhood depression pay off.

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Is This a Pile Of Cat Vomit Or Scrambled Eggs? The Answer Will Surprise You! (We Can’t Figure Out Which One It Is Please Help)

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Not the Lodge is dedicated to providing the view of whoever wrote this article. We at Not the Lodge don’t care about anyone else’s opinions but our own. We do what we want, whenever we want and strive to embody the principles of satire. In case you haven’t realized by now, this is a joke article. Satire is when you write something so ridiculous, that it’s clearly a joke. So this is satire. Did you enjoy it? Did you hate it? Did you think we could have gone a little farther? No worries! If you have opinions about our articles, be sure to submit them to the overflowing recycling bins behind the school.

Reviews

Taylor Swift’s “Lover:” Return or Repeat?

The cover of Taylor Swift’s most recent album, “Lover.” The album was released on Aug. 23 of this year.

A Review by David Ogle

aylor Swift’s “Lover” is a dreamy return to the radio that many fans will enjoy, but it does not demonstrate much significant musical growth. Since her first album release in 2006, Swift’s sound has evolved with each new record. Her old albums, like 2008’s “Fearless” and 2010’s “Speak Now,” are more relaxed collections of country songs while her more recent albums like “1989” (2014) and “reputation” (2017) have been exploring a new pop sound. Like her past three studio albums, “Lover” demonstrates major changes in Swift’s sound. The new album has a dreamy, airy feel, and all of the songs follow the same nostalgic concept of young love. The album’s sound is dominated by synthesizers that give a unique and delicate feel to the record. That is a major improvement on her sixth studio album, “reputation,” which was dominated by loud, obnoxious

kicking bass. She both returns to her old sound with songs that are dominated by real, less mixed, acoustic instruments such “Lover” and “Soon You’ll Get Better” and brings in a new, bright sound filled with reverb on songs like “The Archer,” “Paper Rings,” and “The Man.” Personally, I liked the shift back to an older sound. “Lover” feels like a pop crossover of “1989” and “Fearless,” which in my opinion are two of her better albums. And there’s no doubt that lyrically, Swift has matured since her debut album. For example, the lyrics in “The Man” explore the topic of love more deeply than the lyrics of earlier pieces, like “Love Story.” “Lover” returns to the sound of the “old Taylor,” who seemed to be dead following the preceding record “reputation.” I thought it was an intriguing choice to make a return to what sounds more like her old music right after making a record dominated by newer

sounds. There is no doubt that her fans will appreciate a return. For me, I’d still like to see more growth and variety in her songwriting. All of the songs off her previous three albums are three-to-four minute long pop songs that could all easily get radioplay. As far as this new album goes, this is no different.

David Ogle listened to every single Taylor Swift song in the making of this review. Want to listen to the ones he didn’t hate? Scan the QR code!

Still, this is one of the better additions to Swift’s catalog of music. The music is less intense than her past record and returns to the sweeter sound she had in her country albums while maintaining a pop sensibility. Swift continues to make quality music over a decade later, and “Lover” is no exception.

Arts & Entertainment

You’re In For A Wilde Ride! Oscar Wilde was known for a unique style of satire on society. His first popular work, “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” took a more serious tone, but “The Importance of Being Earnest” is widely considered the funniest play of all time. Its lighthearted tone led one contemporary critic to say, “better nonsense, I think, our stage has not seen.” There are many words to describe Wilde’s great work: farce, satire, comedy and triviality are among them. People of all ages and levels of education enjoy his work, and could come together knowing they were in for a Wilde ride. Sophomore Nicolas Gutierrez, senior Miles Masters and junior Caroline Hill rehearse a scene for the upcoming play. The cast of nine has been practicing their lines and British accents since the beginning of September.

A Play On Words

New production takes on Oscar Wilde’s classic

By Jacob Gettig

he school is nearly empty. Students have gone home and teachers are leaving, but one boisterous group remains. The cast of the play awkwardly reads through their lines, not quite comfortable with their characters yet. Karen Dean, the director, gives critiques, slowly turning their stilted reading into acting. Over the weeks to come, they will practice for hours after school, first in the dining room, then in the performing arts center at the Germantown campus. The cast of nine high school students began rehearsals for Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” in the first week of September on the Collierville campus. The play is a famous comedy written in 1895 about a convoluted love story. “It’s about two gentlemen who

live in England,” Mrs. Dean said. “They are friends, and they have each fallen in love with two ladies who don’t know each other, but the ladies only want to marry someone whose name is Ernest.” The two gentlemen decide to pretend to be named Ernest, but doing so is not very earnest (Get it, play on words?). “The kids are all speaking in British accents, and I just want to see the reactions of other people,” Mrs. Dean said. She is confident that the famous comedy will be a change of pace for the theater. “The Importance of Being Earnest” is widely considered to be the funniest play ever written, and she hopes the production will do it justice. The cast is just as excited as she is, and they think this play will be especially entertaining for the audience. “It’s interesting, it’s really fun-

ny. I think we will hold attention,” said Caroline Higley, who plays Merri, a servant. Entertaining the audience is important for a production’s success, but a happy cast also leads to a good production, and this one has the actors excited. “I think it’s a good cast, so we’re all going to have a lot of fun at rehearsals and backstage,” Nicolas Gutierrez, a sophomore who plays Jack, one of the male leads, said. “It’s just a really good show.” By the time the play runs, the cast will have spent over eighty hours practicing together, so it’s important that they all like each other. “You’re going to see something that you’ve never seen your friends do, and you will like it, and you will be amazed at how talented your friends are,” Mrs. Dean said. “It’s funny, and you will have an awesome time!”

Where: SG Germantown Chapel When: Oct. 24, 26, 28 7PM Oct. 27 3PM Students: $5 Others: $10 19

Opinion In recent years, production companies have produced remakes of myriad classics films. According to the British online newspaper the Independent, Disney alone has created 10 remakes since 2010, which have grossed over $7 billion in the box office collectively. These remade films have garnered a wide range of opinions, ranging from disgust to disappointment to praise and sometimes a loss of words. Some have succeeded at the box office and others haven’t, while receiving both commendations and critiques. Our critics say...

If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

By Keiara Baker n July of this year, I, along with 10 million fans of the original film, packed into our cars and bombarded the doors of every theater, excited to see the live-action remake of “Lion King.” I personally was especially anticipating the portrayal of the characters that I refer to as my parents (Simba and Nala). Unfortunately, I was very disappointed by the changes Disney made and resented them for creating the remake. Disney, Nickelodeon and other big-name production companies have decided to remake classic movies, television shows and produce spin-offs to classic sitcoms and movies created in the past instead of coming up with new story ideas for our entertainment, and this is cheating the children of the magical experience that we once had. This demonstrates a huge lack of creativity, and it eliminates the overall message of the original projects. According the British online newspaper the Independent, Dis-

ney has created 10 remakes since 2010, earning over $7 billion from films that promote the same ideas, yet take away some of the key messages. The remakes use the titles to create a buzz about them, and then they fail to meet the expectations of the viewers. Even small changes can make a big difference to fans like me. In Disney’s live action “Lion King,” the writers and animators stripped Rafiki of his walking stick. Although the prop might seem minor in the production, the walking stick was important to Simba’s character development. In the animated production, a scene displays images of Rafiki beating Simba up-side the head, but this scene was changed in the live-action version. The new depiction of the character does not beat Simba on the head. In that moment the idea of Simba having to remember his identity was essential to the development of his journey. The scene is significant in displaying how everyone needs to be reminded of who they are.

Of course, it’s not just Disney that’s ruining classics with remakes, and it’s not just movies, but classic sitcoms. For instance, Nickelodeon’s “Full House,” which originally began airing in 1987, was revived as the Netflix Original “Fuller House” in 2016. The new show brought back most of the original cast, excluding the character of Michelle – previously played by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. In the remake of this show, the character is replaced by the character of Kimmy Gibbler. Kimmy still brings comedy to the show, but a fan of the original can’t help but think what different aspects the third sister would bring to the show. Any fan growing up in the late ’80s and early ‘90s watching that character develop and grow in sisterhood and maturity would be very disappointed with the change. New remakes are appearing every day. Disney alone is planning to release at least 12 more remakes in the years to come. Although the films are more realistic and the

idea seems exciting, I am highly fearful of how the next film will ruin the magic for my generation and many others.

OPINION POLICY: The Lodge opinion section is a venue for the free expression of the student views at St. George’s Independent School. The opinions represented in this section are those of the authors alone and do not necesarily reflect those of the Lodge staff or of the St. George’s community at large. The Lodge strives to be an open forum for the thoughtful and deliberate exchange of comment and criticism and therefore welcomes letters to the editor. Letters to the editor will be printed in the opinion section of the newspaper, should not exceed 300 words and must be signed and accompanied by a verifiable email address. These letters will not be printed if the content is judged obscene, violates the privacy of others or encourages physical disruption of school activities.

Opinion

It’s a New Spin on a “Tale as Old as Time” By Sam Kuykendall

By Sam Kuykendall

ince when is reusing an old idea a bad thing? Corporate giants such as Disney and Universal rose to power in the global economy on the basis of the ideas they are now reusing, so returning to them is acceptable. Recently, Disney has been receiving both criticism and praise for their live action remakes of their classic stories, such as “Aladdin,” “Beauty and The Beast” and “The Lion King.”

These remakes maintain the same story, but by using innovative technology such as CGI (computer generated imaging), they are more lifelike and realistic. This kind of technology and realism is good for movies because it engages the audience with something that is more relatable to them, creating not only a box office success, but also legions of new fans along the way. Most fans would jump at the chance to see a movie they like fitted to the modern film taste. According to Business Insider, both the “Beauty and the Beast” and “Cinderella” live action remakes released in 2015 and 2017 outperformed their original counterparts at the box office. Both films made over $500 million apiece, with Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” being the second highest earning film of 2017, behind “Star Wars:

The Last Jedi.” In short, remakes make money. money that can be used to create original movies. Yes, there have been many remakes of popular stories, but they bring revenue that can be used to increase the budgets for movies with original stories. “Moana” and “Zootopia,” two of Disney’s recent major successes, required money to create. This might not have been as easy to do without surplus money from successful movies that grossed more than they cost to produce. Because CGI and other technology are expensive, movies that are successful need massive gross profit in order to be considered successes, making unpredictable original concepts all the more boom or bust, and in turn making remakes a safer bet. If films do well, the money will come back around for the next remake or the next big, original story in a cycle that benefits the fans of originals and remakes alike. Lots of people rate a remake poorly because it tweaks,

changes, or leaves something out from its predecessor, but many of those changes are improvements. For example, the 2017 version of “Beauty and the Beast” improves upon the the character of Belle’s father, who existed for comedic purposes in the original. However, the remake makes him a character with much more depth, including loyalty to his daughter and a pivotal role in Belle’s development as a protagonist. Best of all, remakes bring in new generations of fans. Take the original “Cinderella” from Disney, for example. For kids born after 2000, that movie is over 50 years old. Remakes provide modern views and modern HD quality to classics that keep the popularity and nostalgia of classics going. Continuing to support your favorite movies is the duty and responsibility of a fan, and hopefully, they can make it something fans and their kids can continue to enjoy for many years to come.

Illustration by E’nissa Golden

Opinion

The Case for Sex Education

Missing program leaves students without protection

By Miles Masters

verybody remembers the scene in “Mean Girls” when the lazy Coach Carr delivers his sum total of sex education: “Don’t have sex, because you will get pregnant and die!” While the depiction of sex ed in movies and TV is laughable, having nothing at all may be even more so. Last year, St. George’s Collierville campus had no formal sex education at all, and it’s been over two years since the middle school has approached the topic. To be fair, sex ed has not been neglected on purpose. Ms. Elizabeth Bran, Director of Counseling and Guidance for the Upper School, attributed the absence to the program being “in a place of transition.” According to Ms. Bran, the disappearance comes in part due to the departure of Mr. Sam Abrams, the former biology teacher at St. George’s, who used to teach the science portion of the program, but the course has long posed a challenge because of its dependence on guest speakers and lack of a long-lasting curriculum embraced by the school and faculty. Ms. Bran mentioned that time constraints are also a concern because an certain amount of space would need to be made for this course within the limited time already allotted for programming. While many sex ed programs are available for adoption by schools, Mr. Bladt, Associate Head of School, believes that any program St. George’s uses should be unique. “I think it’s actually important for a curriculum to be developed to be individual to a school,” he

said. Mr. Bladt also stated that sex ed has a place in the plan for St. George’s immediate future: “Our Strategic Plan states that we affirm that promoting personal wellness helps students achieve academically while simultaneously attaining health, balance, and well-being.” So what should a sex education program at St. George’s look like? There are three prevailing approaches that characterize sex ed in the United States: abstinence, “abstinence plus,” and comprehensive. Abstinence is a method of teaching centered around the belief that teenagers should not have sex, and that information about sex could lead to more teenage sex. Abstinence sex ed programs primarily encourage students not to have sex, sometimes using scare tactics and using a religious perspective to highlight negatives of sex before marriage.

Illustration by Sierra Sellers

Alternatively, “abstinence plus” programs generally give more information than abstinence-based programs, providing practical and scientific knowledge about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases. These programs vary widely in how much information they give, but teachings are still rooted in the belief that teenagers should not have sex, but that information about it will keep those who do have sex safer. At the opposite end of the spectrum from the abstinence-only approach, comprehensive sex education covers topics about sex and sexuality with an emphasis on a general understanding of sexual and gender identity. Comprehensive sex ed typically provides the most information, covering the facts of biology alongside the culture and relationships that may involve sexual development. In the past, St. George’s has

used a curriculum modified to be closer to the comprehensive approach. Now, as we consider developing a new program specific to St. George’s, comprehensive is the best, and only viable, approach for the school. Abstinence-based sex ed is too narrowly focused on denying teenagers knowledge about their bodies and the decisions that they will face in the present and near future. It is the focus on identity and sexual health that makes comprehensive sex education so important. Teenagers in middle and high school are developing rapidly both mentally and physically, and developments in their identity often come too. Teens deserve information relating to sexual health and decisions that may have lifelong consequences, and too few are receiving that guidance and information. When it comes to challenges that a new sex-ed course will face, there is nothing that should stand in the way of a good program. For example, ample time is found every year for a recurring guest speaker to come and cover subjects of substance abuse and addiction. This is the structure that sex education needs, too. When the students and faculty feel that a subject, such as sexual health or addressing prejudices, is important enough for students to learn before their days of school are spent, then the time and resources can definitely be found to support it. St George’s, with the support of its community, has the power to make a positive impact on the lives of the students who walk from these halls into the arms of life.

Editorial STAFF EDITORIALS represent the opinion of the editorial board. Letters to the editor in response to the editorial are encouraged. The Editorial Board: Spencer Cotham, Snowden Farnsworth, Owen Hewitt, Callie Hollis, Cary Robbins and Sierra Sellers.

Telling Our Own Stories Together we can combat the single narrative

By Editorial Board f you’re in the upper school, you’ve seen the TED talk on “The Danger of a Single Story,” likely multiple times. In her talk, author Chimamande Ngozi Adichie focuses on the pitfalls of presenting only one narrative, either of cultures or of individuals. She states that receiving a single-story closes out the possibility of understanding the nuances of that culture or individual and creates a one-dimensional image of them. There is a single story in the greater Memphis community about St. George’s right now. We have felt the effect of outside judgment in recent months, with the Commercial Appeal reporting on racially charged incidents occurring on our campus within the past year, most recently, with a story on Rev. Thomas Momberg’s controversial chapel talk, which used articles published by the Lodge as sources.

In recent weeks, outsiders to our community have passed, and will likely continue to pass, judgment on our school and on the stories that have an effect on everyday life here. Sometimes they may be right. Sometimes they may be wrong. Passing judgment is a staple of the human condition, and St. George’s exists in a unique space that may make it an easier target. As a relatively young independent school with ambitious goals, the larger community may be tempted to try to define us, more so than they would be inclined to with a more established institution. But no matter how well those trying to find a label for our community think they can see within our walls, they’ll always lack the experience of actually being a part of this community. But with your help we can tell those stories. With your help, we can tell stories about what it was like to be in the room for the House Day on

Pause, as we do in “How Do We Heal?” (page 8). With your help, we can tell stories about what it is like to be a minority student at St. George’s, as we did last year in “Colors You Can’t Ignore.” With your help, we can tell stories of colorism and prejudice, as Lauren Purdy ‘17 did in her nationally award-winning feature “Pretty Privilege.” We tell the stories that matter, including the stories of those minorities whose voices are most likely to be lost in the noise right now. We have a strong record as a student voice for St. George’s, and we will continue to report the stories that the student body cares about. That’s why what we do here at the Lodge is important. We can report the stories happening here within the walls, with voices from within the walls. Using our platform to tell all the stories that make up our community is our paramount responsibility as a publication.

We cannot control the narrative that outsiders create, but we can and will do our best to present the many different stories and sentiments that exist within our community to create a more complete view of life at St. George’s. Stories we present can help to give those outsiders a more complete perspective on the community we have here. St. George’s has many stories. It is vital that we embrace this and refuse to confine ourselves to a single story or let the single story currently being told about us influence how we view ourselves. But we can’t do any of that without your voices. We invite you to continue sharing your truth with us. Students, faculty, administrators, staff, families: your voices are what we use to present what we hope is much more than a single story. We are much more than that.

CORRECTIONS AND RETRACTIONS: The Lodge strives for accuracy in all articles. However, mistakes are sometimes made. When this happens, you will see corrections here. FOLLOW US @NewsGryphs on Twitter, NewsGryphs on Intsagram and find us online at www.gryphonlodge.com

Dissecting the Dissecting the

Memphis Accent

Story by Aiden Curran, Design by Owen Hewitt, Illustrations by Spencer Cotham and Sierra Sellers

“Y’all” “Coke” “Ma’am” “Bless Your Heart” “Fixin’ To”

“Ope!” “Pop” “Junt” “Bubbler” “Finna” “Hotdish” “Mane”

“I Reckon”

“Gym Shoes”

“You Betcha!”

The Memphis Memphis accent is a mix of the Midwestern accent and the Southern Southern accent. “Memphis was a naval location in the Civil War. The influx of first Southern people from the Deep South, and later an influx of Northerners – Memphis was held Northern, for a while. That might have influenced some of those features.”

The word “Finna,” “Finna,” a mutation of the phrase “Fixin’ “Fixin’ To,” To,” likely originated in Memphis. Memphis

- Dr. Rebecca Adams, Adams Assistant Professor, University of Memphis

The St. St. Louis Louis accent is the closest accent to the Memphis accent, but it has more Midwestern features.

Almost all Southern Southern accents descend from the Charleston accent. “There was a distinct Southern accent, and a lot of the Southern accents descended from Charleston.”

- Dr. Rebecca Adams