Harvard-Westlake • Studio City • Volume 34 • Issue 1 • Sept. 4, 2024 • hwchronicle.com
New phone restrictions outlined
Visiting policies updated
By Luca Gonzalez
By Alex Lee
The upper school administration recently reaffirmed their commitment to enforcing a phone policy, which was introduced in the spring of last school year. The policy states phone caddies will be enforced in all classes and that phones are not allowed to be taken during class breaks. Headphones are also prohibited unless students are listening to videos assigned by teachers. Head of Upper School Beth Slattery reaffirmed the policy in an email to students before the first day of school. The middle school’s rules state that phones are not allowed at any time of the day until the last period, Head of Middle School Jon Wimbish said in an email. Slattery said she has not planned on introducing further restrictions on phones such as a full ban on campus because she has confidence in students’ ability to use their devices responsibly. “I don’t think there’s anything we’re going to impose on day one, because this is an issue where I would like to have input from kids’ lived experiences,” Slattery said. “I’m just not ready to do anything yet because I feel like I haven’t gotten input from all of the stakeholders, and I don’t like making decisions banning something like [phones]. [Students] are going to be in college in short order, and so they should learn how to use it responsibly. It is probably not in their best interest for us to say they can’t have [their phones] when they can have it the rest of their life.” Slattery said phone use has become an issue since students struggled to readjust to class after a break last year. “The thing that I would like to start off with is enforcing it in classrooms because that has gotten really lax,” Slattery said. “People don’t use the caddy anymore. Teachers have talked to me a little bit about how it is problematic when [students] go on break.”
The school is implementing a new set of security measures including a visitor management system and two new campus ambassadors who will take the responsibility of greeting guests from security. The new policies were designed in collaboration with Pangaea Consulting, a private security firm. The new safety policies and preexisting guidelines were presented to Upper School faculty and staff before the first day of school. Director of Operations Dave Mintz led the presentation alongside Head of Communications and Strategic Initiatives Ari Engelberg ‘89 and CEO of Pangaea Consulting Cory Wenter. Wenter said the new visitor management system would ensure student and faculty safety during a response to a potential disaster on campus. “The visitor management system is common at schools and there are some huge benefits,” Wenter said. “The most simple one is knowing who is on campus at any time. If you have to evacuate this campus, knowing who was here first is critical information, and you don’t want to send firefighters back into a dangerous building to look for someone who’s not there.” Head of Upper School Beth Slattery said facial recognition would be required for visitors a part of visitor management, expediting the check-in process for frequent non-student visitors. “The first time that somebody comes to campus, they have to sign in and go through all of that,” Slattery said. “But for somebody who’s been on campus, there will be facial recognition so that it doesn’t take as long every time. I do think the idea of knowing who’s allowed to be on our campus is being on the safe side.” While other security measures are being expanded, staff members were also made aware of procedures for reporting harmful social media content.
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PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ALEXANDER HUDLIN
A MESSAGE TO AMERICA: Alexander Hudlin ’26, pictured left, stands onstage at the DNC in Chicago, IL on Aug. 21. As Vice President Kamala Harris’ godson, Hudlin was invited to speak about her family values and character.
Junior speaks at Democratic National Convention during Harris campaign
By Chloe Kim and Nathan Wang
Alexander Hudlin ’26 spoke to millions of viewers at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago on Aug. 21. Hudlin is Vice President Kamala Harris’ godson, and referred to her as his “auntie” multiple times during his minute-and-a-half speech. Alongside Harris’ nephew and niece, Jasper and Arden Emhoff, Hudlin spoke about the Vice President’s strong family values. The DNC featured a different theme for each night of the convention, which lasted Aug. 19-22. Monday was named “For the People,” and Tuesday was “A Bold Vision for America’s Future.” Hudlin, Jasper and Arden Emhoff spoke before the convention on Wednesday night, which was themed “A Fight for our Freedoms.” In addition to Harris’ nephew, niece and Hudlin, former President Bill Clinton and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spoke that night. The last night of the convention was themed “For our Future,” where Harris
and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted the Democratic presidential nomination and the vice presidential nomination, respectively. Hudlin said in his speech that he recognized the importance of Harris’ political career at an early age when he recalled her appointment to the U.S. Senate for California in 2016. “She’ll lift us up,” Hudlin said to the crowd. “In 2016, when we celebrated Auntie’s Senate win, we saw Trump winning [president]. I was only nine, but I knew enough to be concerned. Auntie said, ‘Do you know what superheroes do? They fight back. And we will too.’” Hudlin concluded his speech by calling Harris “a baller,” a remark which caught the attention of news outlets and social media. In an interview with The Chronicle, Hudlin said he felt supported by those around him when he spoke at the convention. “It meant the world,” Hudlin said. “I just felt blessed being in this position. I have a great base of friends around me. It was really an incredible experience for me, and I’m so proud of [Harris] and just
so proud of how far she’s gone. I’m pumped for November, and I’m really excited about the election.” Harris has significantly increased her support base over President Joe Biden after he dropped out of the running, according to U.S. Presidential Polls. Harris’ improvement over Biden is in part by reason of increased support among young voters. Hudlin said he is optimistic about young people getting involved in politics. “I would hope that they’re excited for the future,” Hudlin said. “Young people are really excited for [Harris] to be president. The future is now, and it was such an honor to be so young and to represent our generation, Gen Z.” Hudlin said he wants his peers to cast a thoughtful vote in November. “I’m encouraging everyone to vote to think about the future and just try to make the right choice,” Hudlin said. “This is a very important election, and a lot of our classmates can contribute to it and make an good impact.” “Every vote matters.” • Continued on A2
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IN THIS ISSUE
A3
A11
B7
D2 C2
D3
Supporting Students: Two newly hired deans will decrease the student-dean ratio and give more attention to sophomores.
Instilling Integrity: Editors-in-Chief Eden Conner ’25 and Connor Tang ’25 outline their aspirations for this year’s paper.
Joining The Ballot: Students and faculty discuss how to be politically informed and involved ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Gambino’s Farewell: A&E Staffer Zara Groves ’27 reviews Childish Gambino’s final album “Bando Stone and the New World’.
Starting Adjustments: Following the injury of starting quarterback Aaryan Mehdi Williams ’27, the team looks to pivot in week three.