The Coat of Arms issue 50.1

The Coat of Arms The Coat of Arms

Serving Menlo’s Upper School Since 1973 50

GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL KICKS OFF SEASON

by DEVON SCHAEFER

A group of Menlo girls, ranging from freshmen to seniors, huddle together with their arms around each other. Eye black toughens their faces and green fags hang from their waists. Senior captain Paige Miller yells during one of her routine pre-game speeches. TV cameras from CBS surround the huddle, adding to the exciting and nerve-wracking environment.

Finally, the team cheers and runs onto the feld to take on rival Sacred Heart.

Girls fag football has offcially arrived at Menlo.

It has been a rapid rise for the new team — the California Interscholastic Federation voted just in February to add girls fag football as a sanctioned sport in California. Working on such a shortened time

Freshman Laila Young runs the ball past Gator defense during a game against Sacred Heart on Sept. 13, 2023. Staff photo and illustration: Devon Schaefer and Amber More

frame was no small feat and required substantial collaboration across the state. Locally, the CCS asked schools in the section, like Menlo, if they would be interested in having a girls fag football team. In order to gauge interest in the program, Assistant Athletic Director Buffe Ward and Director of Athletics Earl Koberlein held a meeting for Menlo girls in May.

“We had over 30 girls show up –– and they were extremely excited and serious –– and from there we knew there was enough genuine interest to add a girls fag football program,” Ward wrote in an email to The Coat of Arms. Ward quickly reached out to athletic directors at other schools to set up games and jamborees for the fall.

The team is led by John Paye (‘87), Steve Young, father of Laila (‘27) and Summer (‘24), varsity baseball head coach David Trujillo and Ward herself. 32 girls ended up joining the team; because the games are very short with two 20-minute halves and a running clock, the coaches split the roster in half to maximize playing time.

Junior Mary Mahe is a quarterback for the varsity girls fag football team. She attributes her brothers as one of the reasons she chose to play fag football. “Growing up with brothers played a signifcant role in my interest in football,” Mahe said. “So once it became a sport at Menlo, I was really excited to play.”

Flag football, pg. 13

Healy Celebrates 10 Years at Menlo

by LUCAS KAWAMOTO

“The frst word that comes to my mind regarding my time here is ‘joyful.’ The second word that comes to mind is ‘busy.’”

After former Head of School Norman Colb’s departure from Menlo in 2013, a committee of experienced faculty members was assembled in an effort to fnd his successor. Out of numerous candidates to replace Colb, the standout choice was Than Healy, recalls CFO Bill Silver.

This past summer marks ten years since Healy began his tenure as Menlo’s Head of School. Throughout his decade at the institution, Healy has overseen a major schedule change, initiated the MTerm, Borderlands and Menlo Abroad programs, while also navigating the tumult of a global pandemic. Despite doubts he possesses about the implications of new education factors such as artifcial intelligence, Healy still has faith in the resilience of the school’s community to overcome future challenges.

look into students’ sustainability efforts, commutes and Menlo kitchen

Healy’s Institutional Mission

Since the very beginning of his tenure as Head of School, Healy has emphasized the need for teaching ethics as a core focus of Menlo.

While part of Menlo’s mission as a college preparatory school is to prepare students for their next four years, Healy believes that the years of life after college are more relevant. “They’re going to make a positive impact, which means that they have to have the tools and the ethical foundation and the resilience and the grit and the stamina,” he said.

Alumni feedback in 2014 expressed perceived shortcomings in Menlo’s fulfllment of its mission statement. This was a contributing factor in the creation of the MTerm program, a two-week hands-on community engagement seminar, which Healy believes provides an essential experience of

Healy's rst decade, pg. 3

Admin Cracks Down on Tardies

by CAROLINE CLACK

After the Menlo administration saw an increase in students being late to class last semester, one of their focuses this year is to ensure that tardiness doesn’t get out of hand. Talk of a new tardy policy is prevalent on campus, but in reality, the policy isn’t new. According to Upper School Assistant Director Adam Gelb, instead of a new policy, the administration is trying to hold students accountable for the existing policy.

e administration is trying to “gently remind” students about better habits.

Gelb said that rather than instituting harsher punishments for students who violate the tardy policy, the administration is trying to “gently remind” students about better habits by having staff and faculty members on the quad and in the parking lot reminding students to be on time. Gelb also notes that students who are repeatedly late may be asked to come in for a talk with him.

Students being late to class isn’t a new issue. However, Gelb has been

Staff illustration: Andrea Li

told by teachers that, starting in the second semester of the 2022-23 school year and continuing into this year, some students have occasionally been coming in 15-30 minutes after class has started. Sometimes, students even come in with a cup of coffee from Starbucks or Coffeebar in hand.

Upper School Spanish teacher

Alita Guzmán, who started teaching at Menlo last year, is disappointed by the tardiness trend. She believes that her students expect her to come into class ready to teach, but don’t hold themselves to the same standards as they do for her. Her hope is that her students will come to class on time, ready and prepared to learn. For Guzmán, it’s a matter of being respectful of both her and the other students. “[Being late to class] is a distraction that prevents other students, as well as the late student, from fully engaging,” Guzmán said.

In order to prepare students for life in college and beyond, administrators are now monitoring tardiness because they see habitual punctuality as a necessary skill down the road.

StuCo Scraps Its Committees

by LIZZIE FREEHILL

The student council has downsized by making changes to committees. In previous years, each committee coordinator had their own committee of students. This year, the Clubs, Athletics, Academic, Arts, and Sustainability Committees are made up solely of the coordinator, with the exception of the Communications Committee which has maintained its full committee. Further, the Diversity Committee was eliminated entirely.

Student Activities Coordinator Frances Ferrell explained that the committees were initially conceived by former Dean of Student Life Programs Eve Kulbieda as a way to encourage more students to be involved with the student council. However, it was diffcult to keep everyone productive, as well as hold them accountable for their work with so few meetings including all members.

“There were so many people in the student council and, you know, committee members previously, they weren’t actually even invited to most of the student council meetings,” Student Body President Jackson Deutch said. “They would come once a month and it was just a system that wasn’t really working out. It didn’t make much sense, it wasn’t effcient, so we kind of cut that out.”

Feedback from committee coordinators showed that the student council leaders felt it was more diffcult

to accomplish things because they had to fnd ways to utilize their committee rather than just getting the work done. Student Body Vice President Paige Miller explained that the coordinators have a better understanding of their roles in the student council and are more dedicated to taking action this year.

“I feel like my focus would kind of just be on, like, keeping that committee alive and interactive while my focus wouldn’t be on clubs [specifcally], trying to fgure out ideas myself,” Clubs Coordinator Desiree Ramon-Aquino said. She feels that the club leaders already serve as a committee she can ask for feedback from and consult with when she has new ideas.

This new format simplifes meetings for the student council leaders in addition to the committee coordinators. “I just fnd student council meetings to be a lot more manageable [now] just as someone that’s running them,” Deutch said.

The committees that were cut entirely this year have a presence in other ways across campus already. One such club, Knight Vision, is carrying out community engagement work across campus, according to Ferrell. Affnity groups and the Unity Club on campus already collaborate to make Menlo more diverse and inclusive. “We were strategic about which ones we kept, and which ones we didn’t,” Ferrell said.

MTerm Group Unearths Large Bones During Paci ca Trip

by GEOFFREY FRANC

Finding bones on a school trip may seem exciting, spooky, or even humerus to some, but junior Noelle Lenden said her MTerm group’s discovery of large bones didn’t exactly petrify the then-10th graders. “Everyone was pretty unfazed,” Lenden said.

Around 11 a.m. on May 22, 2023, Lenden and her classmates were helping to excavate a house in Pacifca’s hills which was hit by mudslides. As they worked, she scooped up a large chunk that

she quickly tossed aside. “Then Caroline [Herndon, another then-sophomore] picks it up, and she’s like, ‘That’s weird.’ And we brush it off the dirt and it’s like a bone,” Lenden said.

Lenden and Herndon noted that they had found other objects in the dirt, but the bones stood out. “I was just like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I’m fnding these,’” Herndon said.

According to one of the group’s MTerm teachers, Franco Cruz-Ochoa,

the frst bone found was around six to eight inches in length. “I don’t know what animal it came from, but it defnitely wasn’t like a chicken bone,” he said.

Cruz-Ochoa, an avid viewer of the TV series “Forensic Files,” began to wonder if the bones were human, especially after they found numerous other bones of a similar size soon after.

The MTerm group was working with Rebuilding Together, a charity organization that helps Americans rebuild when their homes are impacted by natural disasters. After the discovery, Cruz-Ochoa explained the situation to the lead volunteer on site who then called the police.

The Pacifca Police Department asked the volunteer to drop the bones off at the police station. The department did not respond to The Coat of Arms’ requests for comment nor for confrmation of taking possession of the bones.

The police’s lack of immediate interest in the case piqued the curiosity of fellow history teacher Katina Ballantyne, who had been texting Cruz-Ochoa as the

events were unfolding. “I was concerned because if they are human bones, that would clearly be a botched investigation and ruin the crime scene,” Ballantyne wrote in an email to The Coat of Arms. “As someone who has seen every episode of Netfix’s ‘Unsolved Mysteries,’ I’ve learned a thing or two about botched investigations.”

The bones were found amid dirt and mud that had washed down from the hill above the house during the heavy rains and mudslides that occurred in early 2023. Its owner and resident, Jack Smith, explained that the land beyond his property is owned by the federal government as a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and he said that the discovery of the bones didn’t surprise him. “There’s all sorts of stuff that goes on up there,” Smith said.

Smith had just gotten out of the hospital after being treated for thyroid cancer when the group of Menlo students volunteered at his home, and he said he was grateful for their assistance in clearing the dirt and mud on the side of his house. “They did a heck of a job,” Smith said as he walked along a concrete pathway — once covered in feet of mud — where some of the bones were found.

The consensus among the event’s witnesses seems to be that the bones were most likely not human, possibly a deer or dog. Yet for some, like Cruz-Ochoa, the prospect that they might have been human still intrigues. “Maybe one day in the future, something will pop up on the news about bones being discovered, and then we’ll be like, ‘Hey, those are the ones we found,’” Cruz-Ochoa said. “But I feel like we’re probably just never gonna hear back.”

Photos courtesey of Ochoa

October 13, 2023

Healy's rst decade, cont.

Continued from pg. 1

immersion in local communities for students.

Furthermore, upon hearing students refer to the Menlo environment as “a nice bubble,” Healy set upon establishing the Menlo Borderlands and Menlo Abroad initiatives for students to expand their horizons. “The real value of this program is that it teaches perspective and humility better than anything else we do,” he said in regards to the Borderlands initiative.

In Healy’s view, the MTerm programs have provided students with many opportunities to step out of their comfort zones and learn about various prevalent issues in both the world and the Menlo community.

However, these programs were abruptly halted as Healy’s most arduous challenge arrived.

Menlo’s Pandemic Perseverance

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020 and the school was forced

to shut down in March of that year, Healy had a plethora of doubts and uncertainties.

According to Healy, there’s often a roadmap set by other leaders which he can follow to help him navigate diffcult times. During the pandemic, however, there was no map at all. “We were all feeling our way in the dark.”

As a result, he often questioned his own decisions. “I just had constant doubts,” Healy said.

One observation he made early on in the pandemic was that there was no solution to satisfy everyone in the Menlo community. “Different people needed different things,” he said.

Nevertheless, Healy’s faith in the school trumped his skepticisms. “Everybody rallied,” he said. “The students rallied, the teachers rallied, the coaches rallied, the parents rallied.”

“That was not the story of every school,” Healy added. “This place just decided that we were going to be successful and everybody [was] going to play their part.”

Healy also credited the school’s ability to weather the pandemic to Menlo’s endowment and the willingness of others — such as CFO Bill Silver — to “spend against the pandemic” and maintain the student experience.

Menlo’s Excellent Faculty

In addition to providing the best possible experiences for Menlo students, the pandemic reemphasized to Healy the importance of the school’s faculty. “[Teachers’ importance] was on even clearer display as faculty members reinvented themselves no fewer than fve times in 18 months — a spectacular display of pedagogical capacity and deep commitment to our students,” Healy said.

Back when he started in 2013, Healy oversaw a change in the evaluation of Menlo’s teachers. Teachers are now evaluated periodically — in their second year at the school, in their fourth year and every four years after that — with the assumption that no signifcant concerns arise. “100% of the time [the evaluations] include areas of strength, and 100% of the time they include areas for growth,” Healy said during his annual State of the School address in May 2023.

The high pedagogical quality in Menlo’s teachers enabled the administration to implement a faculty salary higher than any other school in the Bay Area, Healy added.

Faculty Re ections

During his time at Menlo, Healy has gained respect and recognition from many faculty members as a strong leader. “He’s a terrifc listener,” CFO Bill Silver said. “Healy’s approach to Menlo is there’s always a way to make it better, and he’s always challenging us to make it better.”

Upper School Director John Schafer agrees with Silver that Healy is deeply invested in the quality of the school.

“[Healy] believes in schools [and] he believes in students,” Schafer said.

Likewise, Student Activities Coordinator Frances Ferrell appreciates Healy’s amicable nature and dedication to making Menlo a welcoming environment.

“He’s very approachable and friendly,” she said. “He does make an effort to get out in front of students and connect with them.”

Former Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Keith Wheeler said he learned a great deal from Healy after working with him for fve years. “As leaders, our jobs are very nuanced and complex, but Mr. Healy

is very deliberate and intentional in his coaching — always searching for the solution that elevates our educational promise,” he said.

Wheeler is now Head of School at a private elementary school in Seattle. “As I enter my frst headship, his continued mentorship and sponsorship will be very important to me.”

Looking to the Future

When looking to the future, Healy’s main concern lies in the emergence of artifcial intelligence. Generative AI programs, specifcally, have become more prevalent in education since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022.

In Healy’s opinion, the potential perils of an AI-focused society present a worthwhile challenge for Menlo’s learners: to avoid the crutch of access to immediate solutions and embrace the process of learning and making mistakes along the way. “You have to skin your knee before you can develop resilience,” Healy said. “Nobody becomes more resilient when everything works out for them.”

Healy believes that Menlo still needs to improve in this area. “We’ve really insulated [Generation Z] from bumps as much as possible, in part because the consequences feel so high if you ‘fail,’” he said.

Healy's approach to Menlo is there's always a way to make it better. “ “

Chief Financial Offcer Bill Silver

Part of this issue, in Healy’s eyes, is the competitive nature of the school, as well as students’ grade-centered mindset. “I think a lot of students walk around feeling like, ‘Straight A’s are the only acceptable option for me. And on top of that, I’ve got to be perfect in this other factor. [I’ve got to] be an Olympic level athlete and I’ve got to be a Julliard caliber musician,’” Healy said. “That’s absurd.”

He vehemently said that perfectionistic pressures detract from students’ growth as people. “What a stupid thing to tell an adolescent that’s trying to fgure out which end is up, and what’s for lunch and how to be an adult,” Healy said. “And yet society is sending lots of messages that if you don’t do all this, your life will be over.”

“It’s [about] supporting the development of resilience, the very resilience that we need for a more disrupted, divisive, challenging world,” he added.

Despite the challenges ahead and Healy’s worries about the constant pressure placed on students’ shoulders, he is optimistic about his time to come at Menlo, especially given his experiences in his frst decade serving the school.

“There’s a lot of headwinds that we’ve got to get through, and I have faith that this community is going to get through [them] together.”

Senior Web Cancellation on Retreat Sparks Controversy

Administration cites the anxiety-inducing nature of the tradition as cause for postponement

by CLAUDE KINGSLEY-WILLIAMS

The Senior Web tradition — which has long brought together different cliques — was postponed due to potential mental health impacts on some students.

Before the Web, Seniors were asked to pass a rock to a senior to whom they felt they owed an apology or gratitude. Then, around 12 years ago, according to Upper School Director John Schafer, the Senior Web tradition was introduced, and was aimed to encourage bonding among senior students. Today, the Senior Web is an activity which asks students to express gratitude for someone they were not close friends with. However, reactions to the Senior Web have been mixed, resulting in Senior Class Dean Justin Carunchia canceling the event during the 2023 senior retreat in Sausalito.

Carunchia said that he delayed the Senior Web was due to the lack of an available mental health advisor on the trip. “The Senior Web can be full of emotions, many of which are positive and very awesome,” Carunchia said. “But sometimes, especially with the stress

of who’s getting picked, and who’s not getting picked, and who’s being picked by whom, [Adam Gelb, Carmen Borbón and myself] did not feel comfortable doing the Senior Web,” Carunchia said.

number of activities which got us closer as a grade,” Huddleston said.

Senior Arthi Abhyanker said that she was disappointed when she found out that the Senior Web wouldn’t happen at

Menlo alum Riley Huddleston (‘22) said that the Senior Web was an important tradition in the bonding of her senior class. “I defnitely feel like it was a part of a

the retreat because she had hoped it would be an opportunity to unite the class. “My sister, who graduated in 2022, remembered it as an emotional and memorable time where she got to know a lot of people who she didn’t know,” Abhyankar said. “Not being able to experience that was defnitely a letdown.”

According to Carunchia, a recent student council poll revealed that 72% of seniors would still like to do the Senior Web this year. However, disagreement persists.

Senior Rayan Rahim said that he was glad that the Senior Web was put off since it would have singled out some of the members in the grade. “I think the Senior Web makes the last few people who didn’t get picked feel really bad since they’re the ones who people didn’t think of to pick,” Rahim said. “Then people who might not know them and might not have ever talked to them are forced to make up things about them, and that’s not fair to them.”

Despite its recent cancellation, Carunchia said that he would still like to see the Senior Web return. “We hope to build and continue on with traditions as they ft the time and the space that we have,” Carunchia said. “The Senior Web is a great activity, and assuming that we have mental health counselors on board, then I defnitely think we will bring it back next year,” he added.

Menlo Expands EDIB Department with New Position

Director of Student Belonging begins work as school searches for new department director

by JACOB REICH

Former Director of Institutional Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Keith Wheeler created the Director of Student Belonging position last year, but this academic year is the frst time it has been implemented. Carmen Borbón, who spent eight years in the history department at Menlo, including four years as department chair, has stepped into this new position.

Wheeler left Menlo at the end of the 2022-23 school year to serve as Head of School at the Giddens School, a private elementary school in his hometown of Seattle. According to the 2022-23 EDIB Strategic Plan, one of Wheeler’s goals was to expand the EDIB department, so he created Borbón’s new job that facilitates a sense of belonging amongst students.

“We realized that there was a lot of desire to have adults supporting students in feeling like they belong here in the school, and so we ultimately realized that that was probably more than just one person’s job,” Head of School Than Healy said.

According to Healy, each EDIB position has a different purpose. The

Director of Family Support primarily works with families, the Director of EDIB focuses on adults and the Director of Student Belonging will work with students.

Borbón left her role as History Department Chair at the end of the 202223 school year after being accepted to her new role. However, Borbón was already working part-time with the EDIB team when she was a history teacher. “As much as I do love teaching history and love being in the classroom, I think for me, I felt like this was a bigger need,” Borbón said.

There was a lot of desire to have adults supporting students in feeling like they belong here in the school. “ “

Director of Student Belonging Carmen Borbón

As the Director of Student Belonging, Borbón’s responsibilities include collaborating with teachers to ensure student’s needs are being met, working with the counseling department, managing summer programs such as the Kickstart program, teaching the freshmen

rotation identity course and co-teaching a human skills class in the middle school.

Borbón plans on implementing new ideas and programs over time. “[I] need to observe frst to see what’s going on and where the needs are and then address it because I don’t want to just create these things and then fnd out that they’re pointless,” Borbón said.

To many students, Borbón is not only a teacher, but also a role model. “I also see myself as a second mom to children on campus. So that’s why I made my offce really cozy. So, if you need to take a nap or if you need help, I can help,” Borbón said.

In the wake of Wheeler’s departure, the Senior Administration Team is currently searching — and offering between a base salary between $160,000$190,000 per year — for a new Director of EDIB. As outlined in a post on Jobvite by Menlo School, the Director of EDIB’s responsibilities include leading the EDIB team, delivering diversity, equity and inclusion to Menlo and analyzing admissions data that will be presented to the board of directors. According to the post, the Director would report to Healy and serve as a member of the Senior Administration Team.

Mark Aquino Has Some Big Fish to Fry Arts & Lifestyle

by TATUM HERRIN

Waves crash against ethnic studies

teacher Mark Aquino’s 12-foot kayak.

The culprit: a 6.8 pound, 26-inch halibut

“

Maybe by learning how to fsh, I could change my relationship with food, and maybe that will be something in the future that I want to pass on to my kids.

“

about going fshing,” Aquino said.

He began to consider what might come from learning this new skill.

“Maybe by learning how to fsh, I could change my relationship with food, and maybe that will be something in the future that I want to pass on to my kids,” he said. He also sought a deeper connection to the ecosystems around him and a greater appreciation for taking sustenance from another life.

It wasn’t just Aquino’s past pushing him towards fshing. In his adulthood, he grew consumed by working multiple jobs and struggled with his mental health.

“It was like [fshing] is my chance to afford myself, like, a mental escape from

adventures, including all the inevitable and comical mishaps of fshing. “My channel is pretty goofy. Like, if I fall in the ocean, I keep that footage to show that [...] it’s not always serious or it’s not always easy,” he said.

Spreading his passion didn’t stop at YouTube. Aquino began teaching his family and even his students how to fsh. He organized a fshing club at his previous school, Abraham Lincoln High School, where he would take his students out fshing on Sundays. The next day at school, he would teach them how to gut and prepare the fsh they caught together. The club’s fsh tacos were a hot commodity at lunchtime.

October 13, 2023

community if he can fnd students interested in running it.

“

I

want something to my name, so when I go out there I’m always trying to wrangle the biggest eel.

“ Mark Aquino

“ “

This could be an opportunity where I get more people involved in being in the outdoors. What if I just flmed myself?

You either win or you learn. You don't lose. “ “

Mark Aquino

Arts & Lifestyle

Menlo Students Enjoy the Sounds of the Summer

by LIZZIE FREEHILL

This past summer was flled with music for the Menlo community. From music festivals to country concerts to pop concerts, Menlo students attended a wide range of shows this summer.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was possibly the most prominent summer concert, as the show’s U.S. leg had a projected gross of around $2.2 billion, according to Time Magazine.

“

People around me were screaming and they were showing articles, posting videos to social media, and it was just crazy.

9. There, Swift announced that she will be releasing “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” on October 27. “I kind of really wanted to be there on a monumental day where something kind of exciting was happening, and I heard rumors about a 1989 announcement on that fnal date,” Little said. “I was like, that could be such a nice full circle moment. I went to the original 1989 [tour] –– that’s my favorite album — so I spoke to my mom and she agreed that we could go to the last night in LA, so that was really fun.”

At the fnal show of the U.S. leg on August 9 in Los Angeles, Swift announced that she will be releasing “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” in October by wearing blue versions of her outfts for each era of the show, something that Little, along with many other fans predicted she would do. “When she came out [in a blue dress], I think she started with ‘Speak Now,’ and then did it for ‘Folklore’ as well, I was freaking out. People around me were screaming and they were showing articles, posting videos to social media, and it was just crazy,” Little said.

making it a time when most people reunite after being apart over the summer. “It was a really nice way to reconnect with my friends before school started because I hadn’t seen a lot of them,” senior Nikhil Chopra said.

Chopra went all three days; his favorite acts were Lana Del Rey, Cigarettes After Sex and Zedd. “I’ve been a longtime fan and went to Lana Del Rey. I loved how she brought [a lot of] energy to the crowd, and Cigarettes After Sex, again, I’ve been listening to their music,” Chopra said.

In addition to seeing some of his favorite artists, Chopra was excited to see some new artists. “Conan Gray was right before Lana Del Rey, and I had no idea who he was — I was just there so I could get to the front [for Lana Del Rey] –– and by the end of the set, I was like, ‘Okay, there are a couple of songs that are actually pretty cool,’” Chopra said.

Shoreline Amphitheater holds a variety of concerts over the summer, and its open-air venue provides students a unique opportunity to enjoy the concert from its lawn area. Senior Parker Brown attended a Luke Bryan concert at the venue in July. Brown enjoyed running into people he knew at the concert. “It was pretty fun because it was like a melting pot of high school students from different high schools, and we all got to talk and I got to see some people that I hadn’t seen in a while,” Brown said. “It was pretty cool.”

Zach Bryan, an artist who has more recently risen to fame, was also on tour this summer, performing at the Oakland Arena at the end of August. Bryan’s music is a unique mix of country, folk and rock.

Senior Sage Huddleston attended Bryan’s concert in Oakland with her mom, her mom’s friend and fellow senior Summer Young. Huddleston said the experience was special to share with her mom because she introduced her mom to Bryan’s music last year while they were touring colleges together, so it’s become a favorite memory for them.

“I was looking forward to [the concert] all summer and when the day fnally came [...] and we’re waiting because opener took forever and then, fnally, he comes on and I watch him walk on stage, and I just thought, like, I’ve loved his music for so long and have been listening to him.” Huddleston said. “And then, when he walks in and I see

him realize he’s very much real — I was like, maybe like four heads from the front — and he’s like right there, and I just started sobbing. He was playing all my favorite songs. I knew every single word to everything.”

I've been a longtime fan and went to Lana Del Rey. I loved how she brought [a lot of] energy to the crowd. “ “

For Huddleston, Bryan’s lyrics mean a lot. “I was listening to ‘Burn Burn Burn’ because that’s the frst ones I played for [my mom], and I’m not really a lyricist, I don’t listen to the lyrics of songs most of the time, but, I was listening to the songs as he sang it at the concert and it just resonated with me, and that made me start crying so much," Huddleston said.

Swift’s last tour was for her 2017 album “Reputation.” Although she has released four new albums since then — “Lover,” “Folklore,” “Evermore” and “Midnights” — she was unable to tour any of them due to the pandemic. Additionally, over the last few years, Swift has re-recorded three of her albums in order to gain full ownership of the music she made while under contract with Big Machine Records. Due to her many recent releases, Taylor Swift designed the Eras Tour to be a journey through her music career with different segments of the show being dedicated to her different ‘eras,’ or albums.

Menlo students attended some of Swift’s 53 shows over the last several months, with junior Kate Little attending the fnal show of the U.S. leg on August

The Eras Tour has been an exciting experience beyond simply attending the show. On TikTok, #erastour has been used on over 22.7 million videos, with people posting clips from the concert. Fans were also extra creative with their concert outfts, dressing as characters or lyrics from her songs and representing aesthetics from all of Swift’s eras. Little was inspired by Swift’s “Lover” era bedazzled bodysuit and created a dress based on the look.

Over the summer, she would be texting her friends, speculating about what Swift would do next and looking for Swift’s notorious “easter eggs” — hints about announcements and new music.

Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park is another summer music event that many Menlo students look forward to each year. The festival takes place for three days in early August,

Arts & Lifestyle 7

Fall Flings: e Future of Casual Dances at Menlo

by SIENNA LEW

Menlo’s two fall dances –– the Back to School Dance and the Homecoming dance –– have been long-standing school traditions, according to Student Activities Coordinator Frances Ferrell. “This is my ninth school year [as Student Activities Coordinator] and [Menlo] always just had the Back to School Dance held on that frst Friday [after school started],” Ferrell said.

For the Homecoming dance, Ferrell works with the Athletics department to determine when it happens, which is typically on a Friday night. “It’s usually always slotted somewhere in October, but the specifc date is more led by Athletics and when they pick the Homecoming game itself,” she said.

However, there are questions about the necessity of having two casual dances in quick succession, especially with the Back to School Dance’s recent lack of attendance. “I’m not sure why these past two years, the Back to School Dance has seen a signifcant decline in participation,” Ferrell said.

Ferrell had brainstormed with the student council about potentially moving the Back to School Dance to a Saturday and having more publicity and promotion around it, or even getting rid of it altogether if students aren’t going. “It’s a

lot of time and effort, [especially to fnd teacher chaperones],” Ferrell said. “If a lot of kids don’t want to have it, we could eliminate it or move it. It’s a little tricky.”

Freshmen Zoe Chuang and Kai Chung both thought that this year’s Back to School Dance was a bit lackluster. “I just couldn’t get into it,” Chuang said. “It was fun as a social experience, but I didn’t enjoy the dance itself.”

“ “

I didn’t enjoy the dance itself.

Freshman Zoe Chuang

According to Chuang, as soon as the dance was over, everyone left immediately, part of which was due to the students not particularly enjoying the music. “[The students] really tried to get into it,” Chuang said. “They clustered and [cheered], but it didn’t really bring the energy up.”

Menlo’s other casual dance, the Homecoming dance, has never been

formal, which is uncommon among other schools. “A lot of other schools have a Homecoming court, right? But we don’t do any of that,” Ferrell said. “We do the grade-level foat paintings and the halftime show, so we focus more on all of the students [instead of just those selected for the Homecoming court].”

After discussing dance themes last year at a student council meeting, they decided that it would be best to keep the frst two dances of the year as lowstakes dances. “You can go with a group of friends, and there’s no pressure to fnd someone to [take] until the second semester,” Ferrell said.

Along with the Semi-Formal Dance and Prom in the second semester, Menlo previously held a casual Sadie Hawkins dance in mid-March. A Sadie Hawkins dance gives girls an opportunity to invite boys to come to the dance with them, unlike the traditional custom where the boys invite the girls. However, the administration has since gotten rid of the dance. “There was some pushback from some retired administrators, [...] they wanted to get rid of that gender binary from the title of ‘Sadie Hawkins,’” Ferrell said.

While some students saw no issue with the dance, the administration’s

October 13, 2023 resistance discouraged its revival. “[That confict] just killed the energy. It was a low-attended dance anyway, so we eliminated it,” Ferrell said.

To bring back any type of casual dance in the spring, even without a Sadie Hawkins concept, is also unlikely due to the annual Dance Concert, parent auction and Prom that all loom during the same season. For now, the casual fall dances will occur as scheduled.

Staff

Menlo Abroad Attendees Re ect on Costa Rica Experience

by SONIA DHOLAKIA

Engaging in service work, living with homestay families and interacting with locals: these were just a few of the ways that a group of Menlo students immersed themselves in the local culture on their 18-day trip to Costa Rica at the end of the 2022-23 school year.

Senior Bella Quezada viewed the trip as an opportunity to expose herself to a different culture as opposed to Menlo’s steady environment. “At an environment like Menlo it’s really easy to stay where you’re comfortable,” Quezada said.

This was not Quezada’s frst experience on a Menlo Abroad trip. Both she and junior Joshua Marks attended the Menlo Middle School’s trip to Taos, New Mexico and were encouraged by their positive experiences there to continue traveling with Menlo’s abroad programs.

Several students were initially nervous about the three-week duration of the trip. “I thought it was going to be

tedious, I thought three weeks was going to be a really long time,” Senior Marco Cassani said.

Marks was also a bit nervous as the only then-sophomore on the trip, since he didn’t know many of the juniors he was traveling with. Other students had anxiety about the language barrier that would come with being in a Spanish-speaking country, as not everyone felt confdent in their Spanish abilities. However, Cassani’s initial worry about the duration of the trip went unrealized. “I think three weeks was the perfect amount of time,” Cassani said.

Although there was a communication barrier, students were able to bond with their homestay families over a more universal language: long games of Monopoly and living room dance parties.

Spanish teacher and Senior Class Dean Justin Carunchia was the faculty lead for the trip and witnessed these connections

being made frsthand. “There were houses where the students may not have had a very strong command of the Spanish language, but they had dance parties every night or were singing karaoke,” he said.

“ “

It’s going to be such a valuable experience. Take advantage of it.

Junior Joshua Marks

During the Costa Rica trip, students lived with homestay families, typically in a setup of two Menlo students per family. “Everyone was madly in love with their host families and it was great,” Carunchia said.

“[My homestay family are] the most generous and nice people I’ve ever met,” Marks said. “They act like they are literally your family; I’m still in contact with them today.”

Cassani lived with his homestay family alone and grew close to the younger kids in the family. “The kids deserve so much,” Cassani said. “They’re so smart, but they don’t have as many resources to go further.”

While providing resources and service work were important aspects of the trip, it was also crucial to avoid certain mindsets. “The number one thing we look to avoid when doing service, especially in foreign countries, is this white savior or American savior mentality,” Carunchia said. “We look for projects where we believe the students can help, but what we’re looking for primarily is that the students are learning.”

The students made English learning

materials at a local school, planted almond trees at an organic farm and volunteered at fve women-lead farms in the area. At the organic farm specifcally, students were able to sit down with a farmer, Daniel, to learn about his life. “The most important aspect of all of those was that they were working side by side with actual Costa Ricans and forming relationships,” Carunchia said.

On the fnal night of their stay in Costa Rica, the students and their homestay families all had a large celebration to commemorate the end of their trip, complete with a potluck dinner by the families and a dance party. “It was a beautiful moment to see everyone together,” Carunchia said.

When the students refect on what they learned while in Costa Rica, many remember the attitude of the Costa Ricans. Cassani thought the Costa Rican culture emphasized relaxation and enjoying life; Quezada agreed. “There, the culture is kind of more, ‘Whatever happens, happens,’” Quezada said, “I wasn’t really expecting to learn how much you can shift your mindset.” Marks echoed a similar sentiment. “One of the biggest things I take away is the ‘live in the moment’ attitude everyone has,” he said.

According to Carunchia, the Costa Rica trip is currently scheduled to continue in the 2023-24 school year. When asked to give advice to future Menlo Abroad: Costa Rica attendees, the students primarily focused on expectations and attitude. “Everyone’s stressed going into it. It’s not really worth stressing a lot about it, and it’s going to be such a valuable experience,” Marks said. “Take advantage of it.”

Cassani also emphasizes going with the fow. “Don’t have too many expectations going in, because all [of] mine were basically shattered,” Cassani said.

Arts & Lifestyle

Young Drivers Take a Wrong Turn: Upperclassmen Reveal Regrets Over eir Driver’s License Journeys

by ASHER DARLING

The number of teenagers with driver’s licenses has declined over the last several decades. According to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation, in 2021, only 59.7% of 18-year-olds in the United States had their driver’s license compared to 80.4% in 1983.

There are a variety of reasons for the declining rate of teen drivers. Menlo parent Molly Kossow, mother of senior Ben and sophomore Katie, believes technology has changed the sense of urgency for teens to drive, as it’s much easier for them to connect with one another. “Today’s teenagers are connected to each other throughout the day,” she wrote in an email to The Coat of Arms. “If they want to see their friends, it’s as simple as picking up the phone and FaceTiming or Snapping them.”

“

If you have the chance to get it, do it because it’s defnitely worth it.

Senior Julian

Brooks

quite an emotional journey. Ahmed fnished California’s required Driver’s Ed course before her 16th birthday in August of 2022 and was ecstatic about the idea of getting her license.

“

Kossow also thinks that rideshare services have had a profound impact on this generation of teenagers. “Uber allows greater mobility and independence for teens,” she said. “If parents aren’t able to drive them, another driver is always available.”

For junior Saniya Ahmed, the process of getting her driver’s license has been

Unfortunately, she failed her frst attempt at the driver’s permit test, which delayed her opportunity to get her license. Ahmed explained that she was less motivated to get her license once school got busy, causing her to postpone her second attempt at the permit test.

After a year passed, Ahmed’s Driver’s Ed certifcate expired and she had to redo the course after her sophomore year. She recently passed her permit test in late August of 2023. “The process [to get your driver’s license] is very grueling,” Ahmed said. “All of the stuff you have to do is really annoying and takes so much time.”

Selected Student Pro le: Jonah Block

by CAROLINE CLACK

Q: What’s it like to be a freshman at Menlo?

Coming from a middle school where the expectations weren’t as high, Menlo’s a little overwhelming, but being given the freedom to try a variety of new things is freeing.

Q: To balance out the academic intensity at Menlo, what outlets do you have for expressing yourself creatively?

Well, I realized early on that I really wanted to do cartooning, so I made a website, jbcomics.com, where I post hand-drawn comics.

Q: What is it about comics that you enjoy so much?

Making people laugh is just one of my favorite things to do. The fact that I can sketch something down right from my imagination onto a page, and someone actually has a reaction to that – that just has immense value to me.

Q: How do you come up with material for your comics?

My comics come from small things I’ve seen throughout my day. I have a notes page called “comic ideas” so if I get something good from a funny situation I’ll make a little note that I can look back on later.

Q: Does knowing the public can see your work add pressure?

I don’t think it adds pressure; I think it mostly inspires me to make good comics. The fact that people can see my website just makes me want to do comics in a way that everyone can appreciate them and laugh at them.

Q: What do you like about running Menlo Cross Country?

For me, I love cross country because of the community. It really is a team sport because we try to lift each other up and get through the fnish line as a team.

Q: Favorite running song?

That changes a lot but I’m a big fan of AJR in general and the song “Back in Black” by ACDC.

Ahmed was able to have friends and family drive her, but says the social impacts of not having a license pressured her slightly. “It started getting

It started getting embarrassing when everyone started getting their licenses. “

Junior Saniya Ahmed

“

embarrassing when everyone started getting their licenses,” she said. In refection, Ahmed suggests

students prioritize getting their licenses so they can be more independent. “When you can drive yourself, you don’t have to wait for other people to come and show up. You have your own authority to grab the keys and go,” Ahmed said.

Senior Julian Brooks has his permit and is working towards getting his license. During his frst three years of high school, Brooks relied on his older sister, Jordan Brooks (‘23), for transportation. “I didn’t have that urge to get my license because I knew my sister could just take me to school and bring me home every day,” he said.

Brooks, who is on track to get his license in November — one month after he turns 17 — regrets not pursuing his license earlier on. “If you have the chance to get it, do it because it’s defnitely worth it,” he said.

Q: If you could play any part in a musical what would it be?

Gaston in “Beauty and the Beast.”

Q: If you could invent an Olympic sport, what would it be?

I think this may already be a sport, but competitive pun-ing, where you’re given a randomized scenario and the funniest answer wins the round.

Q: Who would win in a fght between Superman and Batman?

If there was no time to prepare, defnitely Superman because he’s pretty overpowered. But if Batman had time to strategize, he would probably have a good plan involving kryptonite and win.

Q: What are three things you want to do before freshman year is over?

One, run a personal record mile, so hopefully sub four minutes and 50 seconds. Two, go to Disneyland and three, I want to go see my friend Jacob Wang in “Something Rotten.”

Q: If animals could talk, which animal would be the rudest?

Probably owls ‘cause they’re always asking, “Who asked?”

Spread Electric Caltrain Provides Students a Greener Commute

by Lucas Kawamoto

Driving, carpooling, biking or riding the bus are often the most frequently acknowledged methods of commuting to Menlo. At the same time, a notable portion of students and faculty also take the Caltrain to and from school, making the local rail system a small but important aspect of Menlo’s commuting culture. Caltrain popularity amongst Menlo commuters will likely grow as a result of the new changes coming to the trains. Caltrain broke ground on a modernization project in 2017, which will electrify 75% of Caltrain’s fleet and update the performance, efficiency and reliability of the trains. The advancements will not only help Caltrain combat climate change, but will also improve the experiences of passengers across the Peninsula.

The modernizations will add numerous power outlets and introduce built-in Wi-Fi, a first for Caltrain. There will also be a reduction in travel time and increased frequency, heightening the convenience of traveling by train — an impact that will be especially relevant for Menlo Caltrain commuters.

According to Caltrain, most of the electrified trains are set to be in service as soon as 2024, falling in line with Menlo’s sustainability program, GoMenlo, which provides students with incentives for practicing sustainable commuting.

Freshman Dean and history teacher Sabahat Adil commutes on the Caltrain nearly every day and is grateful for the change. “I think it’s a really positive change overall,” Adil said. “And I hope it’ll increase ridership.”

Sophomore Carissa Satuito also weighed in on the benefits of the changes, agreeing with Adil. “I think it might encourage more people to take the Caltrain,”

Satuito said. “[That] would be a lot better for everyone in our community.”

In accordance with Adil and Satuito’s hope for heightened popularity, Caltrain predicts a 20% increase in daily riders, a number that could extend to the Menlo community.

Beyond commuting advantages, Adil anticipates the benefits electrification will present on environmental noise. Adil lives near the Caltrain railroad and its noise causes inconvenience for her on a daily basis. “There’s days where we’ve been awakened by the Caltrain going by,” she said. “So I think that [the change] will help a lot just with noise pollution aspects.”

Adil is also appreciative of the efforts Caltrain has been making to improve its system.

“They’re adding these little bits to make people feel en-

ticed by the upcoming electrification,” she said, citing recent updates in pricing and scheduling as small-scale but welcome changes. “It’s great how they’re making it more marketable.”

Students Spearhead Climate Initiatives

by Miki Kimura

Issues around food waste first sparked the interest of junior Izzy Klugman during MTerm in her freshman year. The freshman MTerm curriculum focuses on a range of topics related to sustainability, including agricultural sustainability. Klugman connected the topic of food waste, in particular, to her everyday life. “I thought of [...] the food waste, [the] food insecurity that I see in my community, and my impact with that,” Klugman said. MTerm inspired her to learn more about food waste and make a difference in her community.

According to Klugman, food insecurity is more widely discussed than food waste despite both issues having similar global impacts. Klugman reached out to professors from UC Berkeley, UC Davis and American University, as well as startups and nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area to learn more about how they were working to mitigate food waste. She hoped to use this information to start her own project.

Klugman initially partnered with Community Engagement Coordinator Ava Petrash with the aim of creating a community fridge, where community members would be able to share produce and other foods. However, this idea did not come to fruition.

Klugman then moved on to a new project: writing a paper on the relationship between socioeconomic status and the amount of food waste in households. Her goal is to publish her paper in an academic journal. Petrash put Klugman in contact with Aly Beveridge, a freelance private chef who works in food sustainability. Beveridge is a master’s candidate for a degree in food and resource economics at the University of Copenhagen. With Beveridge’s guidance, Klugman finished the paper and found that households with an annual income of

over $250,000 typically wasted 20% more food than those with an annual income of below $200,000, according to data collected from 17 jurisdictions in San Mateo County.

Klugman is also starting an internship with a Bay Area food waste management startup called Replate. Replate transports food leftovers from companies to nonprofit food banks. “I’m going to be contacting companies and doing outreach to help Replate increase the scope of their impacts,” Klugman said.

Replate’s website currently states that they have recovered 3.7 million pounds of food waste from large corporations such as Netflix and Amazon and have sent 3 million meals to nonprofits, food which would otherwise be

“I thought of [...] the food waste, [the] food insecurity that I see in my community, and my impact with that.”

Junior Izzy Klugman

placed in landfills. “It kind of simultaneously helps with food waste, and also food insecurity,” Klugman said.

Senior Tyler Mitic also spearheaded a sustainability initiative during MTerm in the 2022-23 school year, creating a documentary that focused on sewage pollution in Southern California. A regular surfer with friends in Big Sur, Mitic noticed that many of his friends were getting sick after spending time in the water. “I had a number of friends [in Pacifica and Half Moon Bay] starting to get sick from the water, and I was hearing horror stories about people who couldn’t get out of bed for months after

paddling out. And I even knew a couple of people who had gotten staph infections, which was really scary to me,” Mitic said.

Many sewage pipes, some of which are over 100 years old, have been cracking, which causes harmful bacteria to leak into rainwater runoff, according to the Surfrider Foundation’s website. Mitic worked with former creative arts teacher and Journalism Advisor Tripp Robbins to help him create a documentary about the sewage runoff into the ocean. Mitic interviewed a surfer who is part of the Surfrider Foundation about this issue and learned about the reasons behind sewage runoff contaminating waters.

The atmospheric rivers in early 2023 caused an influx of rainwater to pass through drainage pipes and leaked more sewage into the ocean. According to the Surfrider Foundation’s website, sewage spills and infrastructure failures release more than 900 billion gallons of sewage into the ocean every year.

“So there’s a bunch of these water quality reports that are done, mainly by Surfrider, and they were reporting these insanely bad numbers for Enterococcus, which is a bacteria in fecal matter which they use to see how much sewage is in the water,” Mitic said. “It’s a pretty scary and gross issue.”

“These are the problems that we’re facing in our lifetimes and our kids are going to be facing in their lifetimes,”Mitic said.

“And Menlo encourages us to make our voices heard.”

Menlo Kitchen Cooks Up Eco-Friendly Solutions

by Miki Kimura

The Menlo kitchen brims with locally sourced food from the Pacific coast, fruits and vegetables from the Garden Club and repurposed meals made using ingredients that would otherwise go to waste.

According to FLIK Director of Dining Services Thien Hoang, the company tries to purchase all of Menlo’s food within 150 miles of the school. Roughly 80% of the produce comes from the Salinas Valley and Monterey Bay areas and all proteins are sourced locally. “We do pay a higher premium for that [food], but it’s better for the environment and [...] greenhouse emissions aren’t as bad and we’re buying locally,” Hoang said. Buying local foods also ensures freshness as opposed to buying food abroad. “Not only is it not as effective to buy beef from Australia [than to buy locally], when you get beef from Australia, you gotta pack it, ship it, send it, you know, so it's just never going to be as fresh or as good as we can get it here,” Hoang said.

Meanwhile, foods that cannot be mass produced in California, such as mangoes and avocados, are sourced from Mexico. Most foreign food is sent by produce companies by plane, especially those based in Mexico, while local food arrives by truck.

In terms of seafood, FLIK also only buys seafood that is listed as green or ‘Best Choice’ on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch list. This list displays the most sustainable options for seafood and endan gered marine animals. Hoang believes that most of the fish they buy is native to Alaska, like codfish, while salmon is locally harvested up and down the West Coast in

places such as Oregon.

The Garden Club gives some of the extra fruits and vegetables that are grown in their garden to the kitchen. According to Garden Club leader and senior Arthi Abhyanker, the Garden Club provides the kitchen with more produce during the fall when more of their fruits and vegetables are in season. “The last thing we gave to

“Everything [...] we can’t save is repurposed.”

the kitchen was potatoes, which they used to make home fries,” Abhyanker said. FLIK also practices sustainability when it comes to food waste. Menlo has very little food waste in the kitchen due to FLIK’s program, Waste Not. In this program, FLIK weighs the amount of the food that is not used so that they know how much is wasted from the amount of food bought. The excess food trimmings are composted

Unused food does not go to waste either. Some excess food goes to a program called Chefs To End Hunger, which takes food from chefs and delivers it to those in need. According to Executive Chef Ken Sligar, the kitchen has also repurposed food into parts of other meals; for instance, extra chicken from making chicken parmesan sandwiches is added to the chicken noodle soup and offered as deli meat. “Everything [...] we can’t save is repurposed,” Hoang said. “We have a blast chiller that brings everything down to [a] temperature that can be turned into soups or anything like that.”

FLIK will purchase more pre-cut food in order to increase their food yield and lower their food waste, according to Sligar. “I can go and say, well, ‘here’s a better way to trim peppers so we get more yield out of it, and make sure we’re using all of it,’ or ‘are we cutting as much of the romaine lettuce as possible?’” Sligar said. Sligar only buys the hearts of the romaine lettuce rather than a whole head because the outside leaves are often wasted.

The cafeteria also uses biodegradable utensils and plates alongside reusable ones. While Sligar tries not to use disposable dishware, when he’s short-staffed and his team is unable to clean everything or the dish machine malfunctions, he needs to use paper plates. The biodegradable dishware can be made from cane sugar or bamboo. “It’s not just the food but it’s anything that the food may go on,” Sligar said.

Sustainability Survey Results

The Coat of Arms administered the survey to four randomly selected advocacies per grade level; however, one sophomore advocacy did not participate. A total of 176 students completed the survey. An N/A result means that either the student did not answer the question or selected multiple responses instead of selecting one as instructed.

How do students commute to school most of the time?

On a scale of 1-5, how dire do you think the climate crisis is?

1. Not a major issue 5. The most significant issue

On a scale of 1-5, how sufficient are Menlo School’s sustainability efforts?

Girls Flag Football, cont.

Mahe highlights the team’s culture and the amazing coaches as one of the main reasons she has enjoyed playing so far. “We have a really good bond with each other,” she said. “The coaches make an effort to help us out because it’s still something new to a lot of us.”

At the same time, while Mahe enjoys fag football, she has always wanted to play tackle football. “There are times in fag football when I wish we could’ve tackled or I wish we had the rules that regular football had.”

Sophomore Carissa Satuito decided to play fag football because she enjoyed the fag football unit in her middle school PE class. Satuito also chose football over volleyball, which she played last year, because it is less of a time commitment and there are no cuts.

Besides passing a football around with her sister and cousins, Satuito has not had that much experience playing. “I’m not the greatest but it’s been really fun,” she said. “Everyone is super supportive of each other which is really nice.” Her main goals for the season are to improve as a fag football player as well as an overall athlete, both on the feld and in the weight room.

Ward has been impressed with how the season has gone so far and attributes that to the passion and enthusiasm of the players as well as their willingness to learn. “What strikes me most is the pure excitement and effort from the girls,” Ward wrote. “They really are dedicated to learning the sport and they want to do well.” Ward hopes they continue to bring their positive attitude throughout the season.

Flag football is just getting started at both Menlo and across the United States. There are currently eight states that have sanctioned fag football as a girls high school sport. “The future of fag football at Menlo and in this country is through the roof,” Ward wrote. “I am sure that within a very short time –– maybe even next year –– our team will be competing in an offcial league and for CCS playoffs.”

On a global level, the sport is up for consideration for the 2028 Olympics and is already offered at some NAIA colleges. Ward hopes that girls can realize how big this sport is becoming. “I’d love for a few of our girls to catch the bug and realize that dream,” she wrote. “We have some truly great athletes out on the feld.”

New Sports Performance Team Changes Weight Room

by ELEANOR KINDER

The new school year has brought changes in the weight room, with new technology, equipment and staff working to build out the training plans of Menlo student athletes.

Daniel Hicker, now in his second year as director of sports performance, is overseeing many of the developments. Assistant Director of Sports Performance Cole Marmor and Assistant Sports Performance Coach Raphael Whittingham join him this fall in guiding student athletes and helping them improve.

According to junior lacrosse player James Wernikoff, it’s going to take some time to get to know the new trainers, who he has enjoyed working with so far. “They

defnitely make us work hard and push us to do better,” Wernikoff said.

Several new pieces of technology have been integrated into the daily weight room routine. An app called TeamBuildr Training is used to organize and track the activities and repetitions students perform. It also is used to log the amount of weight each student lifts, which can be referenced in the future.

“[The technology] enhances the athletic experience because it provides feedback for autonomy and individualization,” Hicker said. The sports performance team can also use the app to look at the work that athletes are doing, as well as their progress.

Each athlete logs their information onto iPads in the weight room as they exercise. “The iPads get crowded sometimes, especially with JV and varsity [...] I feel like the tech slows me down sometimes,” senior volleyball player Aaliyah Sanders said. Despite this, she believes the iPads are more organized in comparison to using paper last year.

Another change in the weight room are the dumbbells. Previously, athletes have used traditional dumbbells. This year, they are using PowerBlock dumbbells, which have clips that can easily adjust the weight. “They provide us with more mobility and versatility to our programming,” Hicker said. “There

is a greater selection of weight and more opportunity for selections based on need.”

The PowerBlocks are on carts in the middle of the room along with kettlebells, which are at the bottom of the cart. “[The PowerBlocks] take up a lot less space, which I like,” Sanders said. Wernikoff agrees that the new adjustable weights are a good addition to the weight room.

However, according to Sanders, because there are fewer individual weights than before, it can be harder to do the workout in a shorter amount of time.

Every morning and evening, the sports performance team sends out wellness and rate of perceived exertion checks to athletes. The wellness checks in the morning are used not only to see how athletes are feeling after the practice or game the day before, but also to assess their mindset and physical wellbeing. Meanwhile, RPE checks are to tell the staff how hard each session was. “The concept of wellness checks is cool, so they can be in tune with where you’re at that day,” Sanders said.

Force plates are another new technology for student athletes. Students jump on the force plates during lift sessions; the plates then record various aspects of athletes’ jumps such as jump height, force on the ground, accelerations and vertical displacement.

Some players on the football team are using GPS devices that were also used by boys and girls soccer last year. The device allows the sports performance team to look at students’ movements during practice. “Basically we are looking at the work you put in for that particular workout session,” Hicker said.

“The actions relative to your sport and position such as a sprint or change of direction is a specifc type of load on the body. We want to learn more about these physical demands and how we can better prepare, manage, and increase impactful levels of performance,” he said. With these more detailed assessments, the trainers can adjust their exercise regimens to push athletes in a certain area.

Menlo Coaches Juggle Several Jobs

by DEVON SCHAEFER

It’s still pitch black outside when varsity volleyball and lacrosse assistant coach Quinn Holland wakes up to the sound of her alarm. The clock reads 3:00 a.m. as she quickly packs her bag for work, stuffng in a variety of Menlo athletic merchandise and a bright green apron. By 3:45 a.m., she’ll be on her way to Starbucks with three free espresso shots and a seven hour shift waiting for her. Holland won’t be home till 10:30 p.m.

Many coaches at Menlo don’t just coach. Several work with local club teams and give private lessons, while others may also pick up shifts at a coffee shop, coach at a local college or teach. Although it can be diffcult for coaches to manage several jobs, they emphasize the importance of staying organized and how their players energize them.

“I’ve been working at coffee shops since I graduated college in 2021,” Holland said. After her Starbucks shift, Holland drives to Menlo to coach middle school PE, followed by high school volleyball or lacrosse and then coaching both boys and girls at Red Rock Volleyball Club.

Holland coaches volleyball in the fall and girls lacrosse in the spring, meaning she coaches after-school sports for the Upper School during two seasons. When volleyball has a game, Holland leaves Menlo with the freshman team after school but doesn’t come back with varsity until around 8:30-9 p.m. “And if I don’t have a game, then we have practice right after school,” she said. “And then from practice, I go straight to private lessons until 7:45 and then from 7:45-9:45 have practice for the club teams.”

On a good day, Holland goes to sleep at 11:30 p.m. With a 3:15 a.m. wakeup, she needs lots of caffeine. “It’s really hard to get up in the middle of the night,” Holland said. “Usually in a [Starbucks] shift, I’ll only have one coffee drink and then one tea.”

Holland thanks her players for providing her energy since she doesn’t get much sleep. “[The students] provide a lot of my energy, like, when [they] are energetic, I can feed off of that energy, but when [they] are tired, then I’m defnitely tired,” she said. “Some days are better than others.”

JV girls soccer head coach Mert Ergene coaches at Stanford Strikers FC and the women’s soccer team at Foothill College. Ergene views club, high school and college soccer as three different periods. “Club is kind of the beginning, high school is the decision-making period and college is if you want to keep on playing,” Ergene said. “Club is technically a little bit more serious. A lot of effort and money are involved too from the players,” he said. “For the JV

team, I’m not super strict. I try to keep it fun but at the same time try to keep it competitive.”

Volleyball and middle school PE

coach Della Trimble is currently in graduate school getting her teaching credential in education at Notre Dame de Namur University and will be teaching at Hillsdale High School in the spring semester. Currently, she works for Mountain View Volleyball Club’s beach volleyball program and observes classes at Hillsdale High School.

Trimble’s day also starts early.

“Observing at Hillsdale High School starts at 7:30 a.m., so I wake up at 6:30 a.m., where I work zero, frst, and second period,” she said. “I then go straight to Menlo to coach middle school PE from 12:30-3:15 p.m.” After that, similar to Holland, she coaches high school volleyball for approximately two hours.

“After work is done, I drive to school at NDNU where class goes from 7:15-9:45 p.m.,” she said. Finally, Trimble tries to work out after her class for about an hour from 10-11 p.m. before going to bed.

In order to manage several jobs, the coaches prioritize staying on top of their schedules to avoid conficts. Ergene cites being organized, planning practices and communicating with players, parents, coaches and the school athletic department as vital to his success as a coach.

Trimble agrees with Ergene’s sentiment. “Being organized is very important to me,” Trimble said. “I played collegiate volleyball so having a schedule and being organized was a must for me.”

While these coaches all have a variety of jobs, there are often similarities between each of their jobs. “All of the jobs I have are hands-on,” Holland said. “I’m not sitting on a computer or in an offce where I can multitask.” Additionally, Holland notes how all of her jobs are, in a way, customer service jobs because they all involve paying for a certain service with an expected outcome.

Like Holland, Trimble constantly works with other individuals in her jobs. “All my jobs allow me to work with and support students and athletes,” she said. “Whether it’s teaching math or coaching volleyball, we are role models for the students and it is our job to teach and coach them life skills they can use in the future.”

Ergene enjoys coaching more than other jobs he has had. Meeting new people, teaching the game he himself played for a long time and social interactions are some of the reasons why he loves coaching so much. “From six to seven-year-olds all the way to 30-yearolds, you can always learn different things,” Ergene said. “To have a very enjoying and fun environment that you can call a job is the important thing.”

Ergene emphasizes the importance of fnding a job one enjoys. “You don’t want to dread for Mondays or look for a Friday,” he said. “You want to do it seven days a week.” He encourages Menlo student-athletes to coach younger kids since he has enjoyed coaching so much. “Hopefully I will [coach] for another 1012 years.”

Menlo Community Re ects on College Conference Changes

by ASHER DARLING

For over a century, the Pacifc Coast Conference — known as the Pac-12 since 2010 — has excelled athletically, garnering the nickname the ‘Conference of Champions.’ The conference has won 553 NCAA Championships, outpacing other conferences by more than 200 titles. Despite its stature, the 2023-24 season will likely mark the last year of the Pac12’s existence, at least in its current format.

Athletic conference realignment over the past two years has greatly shifted the landscape of college sports. The biggest changes have been among the top football conferences in Division I, known as the Football Bowl Subdivision. The most dramatic has been the demise of the Pac12, which has seen 10 of its 12 members defect to other top conferences.

Six other Pac-12 schools also decided to depart, leaving Stanford and Cal with major decisions for their athletic programs. Their options included going independent, joining another conference or rebuilding the Pac-12. Junior Audrey Hochstetler believes the ACC, though not ideal, made the most sense for Cal and Stanford. “I think it was the right choice given the options they had,” she said. “The ACC aligns with their competitiveness and academic standards.”

Sophomore Zach Reynolds, an Oregon and Stanford football fan, acknowledged that there will be benefts that come with realignment. “It’s going to be good for many of the [former Pac-12 schools] to strengthen their competition rather than being a part of the weakest Power Five conference,” he said. On

the other hand, Reynolds was surprised to see so many West Coast schools opting to play in East Coast conferences considering how far the student athletes

I feel like [college realignment] isn’t going to stop here. “

Senior Evan Burnett

would be required to travel

Koberlein pointed out that Stanford baseball players will potentially miss

changes as controversial, albeit positive for college football. “I think it’s overall for the better, but I defnitely understand why there’s a lot of pushback to it,” he said.

Burnett is committed to playing tennis at the University of Texas at Austin. In the summer of 2021, Texas and Oklahoma, two schools with highprofle athletic programs, elected to leave the Big 12 Conference and join the Southeastern Conference starting in the 2024-25 academic year. Burnett is looking forward to playing in the SEC because he says it’s one of the best conferences for tennis, but also knows it will pose new challenges. “Over the course of a season, it’s going to be super draining mentally and physically,” he said.

The Bay Area has been particularly impacted by conference realignment as both Stanford University and UC Berkeley left the Pac-12 to join the Atlantic Coast Conference. Menlo Director of Athletics Earl Koberlein, who played college basketball at Stanford and worked in its athletic department for 25 years, views conference realignment as a disappointment. “I think it’s a decision based on football and greed,” he said. Last year, West Coast athletic powerhouses USC and UCLA decided to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten Conference. Koberlein believes that the two Los Angeles schools left because they lacked confdence in the revenue and viewership that the Pac-12’s future television deal would bring. “They saw the writing on the wall and were proactive in making the jump. So that really caused the dominoes to fall,” he said.

I think it’s a decision based on football and greed. “ “

Director of Athletics

Earl Koberlein

Fall Sports Update,

*As of Oct. 7, 2023

many more classes due to travel. “That’s where I see it’s unfortunate: the collateral damage for all the Olympic sports on a decision that was really made for football,” he said.

Hochstetler is hoping to play soccer in college and empathizes with the increased demands that these studentathletes now face when balancing academics and athletics. “It’s already really hard to be a student athlete,” she said. “You are missing lots of classes, your sport is basically a full-time job, and now you have to travel even more.”

Senior Evan Burnett, an avid college sports fan, described the conference

Koberlein has heard interest in creating a system for college football like professional soccer’s English Premier League, where teams are divided into tiers with relegations and promotions. Koberlein likes the idea of this type of system strictly for football so that other sports could compete in their regional areas. “Football is a different beast,” he said. “It should do its own thing nationally because football teams travel a lot less [since] you’re only playing 12 games.”

As the legacy of conference realignment unfolds over the next few years, fans continue to hold optimism for the future of college sports. “It’s going to be exciting and maybe even bring newer fans into the sport,” Burnett said. “I feel like [college realignment] isn’t going to stop here.”

COMMITTED CORNER COMMITTED CORNER

Evan Burnett, University of Texas at Austin

by LIZZIE FREEHILL

In November 2022, senior Evan Burnett committed to play Division I tennis at the University of Texas at Austin.

Burnett began playing tennis around the age of six. “My dad taught me when I was young, but I chose to really start focusing on it. That was my decision,” Burnett said. He played other sports through middle school but decided to devote all of his attention to tennis when he got to high school.

Burnett has played for Menlo’s varsity tennis team since the spring of freshman year. “When he was a freshman playing these older kids, they would try to get in his head, and he would just fght back and then he would kind of look at them with a strange, like, ‘don’t mess with me’ kind of attitude,” Head Tennis Coach Bill Shine said.

Burnett frst visited Texas in September 2022 and

Cleo Hardin, Yale University

Senior Cleo Hardin committed to Yale University to play Division I volleyball in October 2022.

Hardin began playing volleyball in third grade and started on her school’s team in fourth grade. Then, she moved on to a beginner club team and kept playing club volleyball from then on. “I wanted to join the school [volleyball] team, because it seemed like a fun sport,” Hardin said.

During her eighth grade year, Yale began showing interest in Hardin. At the end of Hardin’s sophomore year, Yale was one of several schools that reached out to her. While picking a school wasn’t an easy decision, Yale stood out to her for many reasons. “I really loved the campus and the girls,” she said. “I saw myself there more than any of the other schools that I had offers or offcial visits from.”

Growing up, Hardin played club soccer as well as volleyball. However, she had to make a decision when one of her club coaches in middle school asked her to choose between continuing to play volleyball or soccer. “I really loved volleyball and felt more passion towards it, so I had to quit soccer,” Hardin said.

Hardin never made a defnitive decision early on to aim for recruitment; instead, it just felt like a path that was created for her. When schools began reaching out to her, she gained interest in being recruited.

Hardin appreciates the strong bonds between her team and the pace of the game. “I really love the individual aspects of each person’s game, but then how we all work together in a really positive team environment to make a common goal a reality,” Hardin said.

loved the school. “I had a great visit the weekend I went to Texas,” Burnett said. “I really like the coaches and the facilities, and I just had a really good time and really good feeling when I went.”

Burnett will be graduating high school early and beginning at Texas for the spring semester. He will redshirt this upcoming season, meaning he will train with the team, but not participate in any matches. The season will allow him to get used to working with the team and coaches so that he can be better prepared to contribute to the team during his freshman season. “It was a super hard decision. Obviously, I don’t want to miss second semester senior year, but I think it was probably the best decision for me and my future,” Burnett said.

This summer, Burnett played in a match in the ATP Challenger Tour which allowed him to have a pro ranking. “It was a very fun and super unexpected thing that kind of just happened to me, and it was an amazing experience to have,” Burnett said. “I was super lucky to be able to do it. I got in the night before the tournament, so I’m super, super grateful for the experience.”

While Shine is sad to see Burnett leave, he’s proud of him and grateful for all he has done for the Menlo tennis program. “You know, I think that he’s a once-ina-generation kind of player. And I’ve had a lot of them since I’ve been here, but he’s right up there at the top,” Shine said. “He’s gonna do some good things in college, so I’m really happy for him.”

Eric Yun, Princeton University

by SONIA DHOLAKIA

Senior Eric Yun is committed to play Division I golf at Princeton University next fall. Yun will be joining his older brother Jeremy Yun (‘21) on the Princeton golf team.

Yun initially played both baseball and golf, although it wasn’t until he hurt his elbow in baseball that Yun decided to really focus on golf. “I decided it’s a lot harder to get injured playing golf, so I stuck to it and then it kind of took off from there,” he said.

Yun credits his older brother Jeremy for inspiring his love of the game. “I probably would not have gotten as into it if my older brother Jeremy wasn’t as into it. Because he loved it and I loved it, we kind of kept each other going,” Yun said. “We drive each other forward which is really special.”

The summer before his sophomore year, playing collegiate golf became a real option for Yun. He played in many tournaments that summer, which according to Yun, is the prime season for the recruitment process. Yun is also often ranked in the top 40 of boys amateur golfers by the American Junior Golf Association.

Yun wasn’t offcially able to talk to college coaches until June 15, 2022, the summer after his sophomore year. However, Yun had met the Princeton golf coach before as a result of his brother being on the team. “Knowing the coach earlier helped a lot,” Yun said.

Yun communicated with other coaches starting on June 15, but he received his offer from Princeton just two days later.

Princeton appealed to Yun as a result of his brother’s experience on the golf team there. “I was very lucky through the recruiting process because my brother, who is a great golfer and an amazing human, he got recruited to Princeton as well,” Yun said.

Yun and his older brother will overlap at Princeton for one year. “One of the things [I’m most excited for] is freshman year, being able to overlap with my brother,” he said.

In addition to playing with his brother, Yun is looking forward to playing at a high level on the Princeton team. “The team they’re building is starting to look really strong and we have a chance to be really great,” Yun said. “I think we’ll have a good chance to make the national championship and win [the Ivy League].”

As he refects on his journey to playing Division I golf, Yun feels especially grateful for the guidance of his older brother. “I don’t think I’d be here if it weren’t for Jeremy,” Yun said.

Freshman Rotation Is Menlo’s Most Underappreciated Required Course

by ALYSSA McADAMS

Virtually every Menlo student has participated in freshman seminar, a required semester-long course for ninth graders in which students rotate through six courses that explore unique topics relating to Menlo’s mission and values. Each student spends seven class periods exploring either ethics, human sexuality and sexual health, identity, community engagement, human behavior or design thinking before transitioning to the next block. The course, which allows freshmen to connect with their peers and teachers, develops key skills, eases into the fast pace of high school and explores interests they may want to pursue deeper in the future, is the most benefcial course Menlo offers.

The seminar encourages freshmen to bond with their peers during their often overwhelming frst year of high school. Groups of ninth graders who might not otherwise have the opportunity to get to know each other are given a consistent group of people to build connections with, which can help to alleviate some of the social pressures associated with freshman year. The class sizes are kept to around 12-13 students, according to Upper School Counselor and sexual education teacher Jake Fauver, who contributes to logistics and scheduling for freshman seminar. “[The classes are] small enough that you get to hear everyone’s voice and talk, but it’s not too tiny to the point that it feels awkward,” Fauver said.

You get to give your opinions without judgement, which is a good way to put yourself out there. “

Sophomore Bianca Putanec

“

Sophomore Bianca Putanec, who took the seminar during her second semester of freshman year, said that she appreciates how freshman seminar classes gave her opportunities to get to know new people. “Ethics was a highlight because I got to know people through, like, debating with them, which was different,” she said. “You get to give your opinions without judgment, which is a good way to put yourself out there.” She also particularly enjoyed the Identity course because she was able to listen to other classmates speak vulnerably about themselves.

Both Fauver and Community Engagement Coordinator Ava Petrash, who teaches Community Engagement, explained that students are sorted into classes strategically. They consider the students’ gender identity, whether they have an older sibling already at Menlo and whether they went to Menlo Middle School. Their goal is to blend freshmen with different perspectives and varying levels of familiarity with the school. “We even make sure there aren’t two students with the same name in one class, because that can make it challenging when it comes to building their own identities,” Petrash said.

As students rotate through the courses, they form valuable connections with teachers and faculty whom they can turn to throughout high school. For instance, they get to know Fauver as well as Human Behavior teacher Stefe Dominguez, who is an Upper School Counselor. They also meet Petrash and Director of Student Belonging Carmen Borbón, who teaches Identity. “[Students] get to meet six or seven teachers [who are] key people in the school and become friendly faces on campus,” Fauver said.

For Ethics teacher Jack Bowen, who originally was hesitant to take on the class, getting to know students was one of the factors that convinced him to say yes. “I loved the idea of getting to teach every single kid [...] on campus in some way, shape or form,” Bowen said.

Initially, Bowen was concerned that students wouldn’t put effort into the subject because the seminar is ungraded and discussion-based. However, he found that the freshmen are generally interested, engaged and eager to discuss ethical issues. In fact, there being no grades or homework is benefcial in that it serves as a comfortable introduction to high school. “It’s meant to be a chance for [freshmen] to practice some of the skills of being a high schooler in a lower stakes environment,” Petrash said. Students can prioritize learning and asking questions without the pressure of receiving a grade.

Another value of freshman seminar is that it helps freshmen develop key skills that they will be expected to demonstrate during the rest of their time at Menlo. “What we’re teaching is certainly academically relevant [...] but you’re also being welcomed into Menlo’s culture,” Bowen said. “We’re trying to connect the classroom experience to the mission and values statement, because it’s truly the foundation of our school.”

Perhaps the most important value that these classes strive to teach the students is empathy, according to Petrash. “Talking about healthy relationships and learning about identity and issues like redlining all help build empathy in some way, and that is, I think, a really crucial skill for success both in high school and out in the world,” she said.

In addition, freshmen are able to both explore courses and topics that they might not otherwise encounter. Freshman Noa Levav, who is in her frst year at Menlo, said that her Design Thinking class in Whitaker Lab has inspired her to consider engineering electives in the future. “[The rotation] gives you ideas about what you’re interested in for the next four years and what you want to sign up for,” she said. “You probably would have never known what you wanted to explore if you hadn’t tried it.”

Ninth graders are also exposed to topics that don’t ft in other places in the curriculum — sex education and community engagement, for example — yet still are important topics that Menlo wants them to be aware of. While the individual classes change infrequently, each serves as a foundation for success at Menlo.

Freshman seminar has been constantly changing and improving since its inception over a decade ago to address student feedback and make the course feel more cohesive. For example, a mindfulness class was the predecessor to Design Thinking, and a frst aid and CPR course transitioned to Human Sexuality and Sexual Health. These decisions are based on comments and requests from students, as well as judgment on what subjects should be prioritized. Most teachers also make minor modifcations to their syllabi in order to iterate on the year before and improve their classes, according to Petrash.

“

[Freshmen get the chance] to practice some of the skills of being a high schooler in a lowerstakes environment.

“

One subtle adjustment that went into action this school year was keeping frst-semester rotation students in freshmen rotation for three more A blocks at the start of the second semester rather than simply fipping after the new year. “The frst semester is always shorter than the second semester so kids in the rotation frst semester get fewer classes,” Fauver said. “That way, everyone gets seven classes with each of the rotations and everything is a little bit more consistent.”

Because it encourages bonding between freshmen, strengthens teacher-student relationships, allows for a seamless transition into a high school environment and gives students a glimpse as to the subjects they may want to pursue later on, freshman seminar is, without a doubt, one of Menlo’s most valuable required courses.

e SAT turns 100 in 2023. Here’s Why It’s Time the Test Becomes Fully Digital

by AARON WIDJAJA

The Scholastic Aptitude Test, a standardized test widely used for college admission in the U.S., is soon to transform completely. The most recent offcial SAT consisted of two math sections, one reading section and one grammar section for a total of 3 hours and 15 minutes. However, the test has recently undergone frequent changes, with the most signifcant change set to occur in the spring of 2024.

The Digital SAT will help make the test more accessible to people all around the world. According to Prep Scholar, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many restrictions were set in place to prevent the spread of the virus. Thus, there were few accessible sites that provided pencil and paper where students could sit down to take the actual test. This issue was the main motivation behind creating the DSAT, to make the SAT accessible for students around the world regardless of the circumstances. Technology is becoming extremely prevalent and widespread in our world, so turning the test digital will open the test to many more people than before.

The College Board, the organization that develops and administers the SAT,

has continuously evolved the test to best evaluate students’ aptitudes since it was frst designed almost a century ago. Schools are adapting too: the test used to be mandatory for high school students applying to American colleges and universities, but now more and more colleges are no longer looking at the scores during the admissions process.

Next year promises to be a groundbreaking year for the test, because its digital version, the DSAT, will come out during March 2024. This change will make the grading process signifcantly easier, decrease the amount of paper used and reduce stress, while making it accessible for students all around the world.

Adapting the DSAT allows for the incorporation of exciting modern technology into traditional testing systems. Before the DSAT, every individual paper SAT needed to be graded manually by a person or machine. Over 1.7 million students’ test materials had to be individually placed in a sealed bag, then securely delivered to a scoring facility. The bubble sheets were then scanned by a machine that counts the number of correct answers, while the

SAT essays are withdrawn for separate scoring by College Board employees. This arduous grading process usually took around two weeks.

Although there’s no offcial estimate of the amount of paper that the traditional SAT burns through, the fact that two million students take the test globally each year suggests the amount is nothing to scoff at. The adaptation of modern technology therefore has the potential to make SAT not only easier to grade, but also more environmentally friendly.

Lastly, another beneft of the DSAT is that it’s a lot shorter than the paper version. The paper SAT would usually take students around three hours to complete, but the DSAT shortens the test to around two hours. Making this change will allow students to feel less stress, because according to a study from Education World, shorter tests produce less anxiety than longer tests. The longer the test, the more the students' mental focus will break down to eventually hinder their testing capabilities. Even with the shorter test, students’ abilities are still being assessed accurately.

Overall, the DSAT has changed the world’s perception of standardized

testing. This new innovation is a fantastic application of contemporary technology, saves more time while precisely measuring students' abilities and also increases accessibility for students all over the world. Throughout the next few years, there is no doubt that the SAT will continue to transform and improve and it’s exciting to imagine what the future holds.

Class-Wide Communication Must Be Made More

Inclusive and Accessible

by ALYSSA McADAMS

While Menlo School seniors must face the harrowing journey of college applications, they also get to enjoy beloved traditions and exciting social events they’ve been anticipating for years. But what happens when communication for these events falls short?

This year’s president’s council is composed of the Upper School class presidents and assemblies and activities coordinators. Upper School President Jackson Deutch and Vice President Paige Miller, spend an extensive amount of time each Monday planning events, themes, retreats and other bonding activities, especially for those of the senior class.

The senior student council releases these plans each Wednesday; however, a recent struggle has been ensuring that all students catch wind of these activities. Although an effort is being made to include all seniors in class votes, discussions and messages, the council must fnd an alternative form of communication with the student body.

While senior and Communications Coordinator Lucinda Schafer handles Upper School communications, Deutch and Miller focus on relaying information relevant only to the senior class. Currently, the two main methods of communication are through a senior Snapchat group chat and through stories posted

account. However, Miller acknowledges that these methods have their challenges.

Specifcally, though this year’s senior class has 146 students, Snapchat only allows 100 participants per group chat, leaving 46 seniors completely excluded from the conversation. Miller, who works closely with Deutch to create an inclusive environment within the class, shared that she wishes there was an alternative to Snapchat that allowed all seniors to participate in one group chat.

Miller believes the app’s convenience when it comes to spreading information quickly and casually justifes its use. “Snapchat gives us an opportunity to still be a class together but to get away from the formality of school and to be able to talk about things that are too casual to be worth putting in an email,” Miller said. “It encourages casual conversation, which truly is what bonds a grade.”

Miller said that student council members rely on word of mouth to reach the rest of the students with information, as she acknowledges that a part of the class is being left out of the loop when the council relies solely on Snapchat. “We want everyone to know what’s going on and we want everyone to know that they’re invited to all the events,” she said. “The issue is just actually getting the message out there.”

was a better system for spreading information to seniors, she agrees that social media is a useful platform.

Miller and Deutch considered email, WhatsApp or iMessage as alternate methods of spreading information. However, email is too formal and doesn’t enable casual conversation like social media platforms do. “When people receive an email they either ignore it or assume it’s just some school-affliated event, so they’re not really hyped about it,” Miller said. Additionally, only administrators of the class of 2024 email list are able to send emails to the list, so the student council would have to individually type out all names into their emails.

WhatsApp proposes two challenges: most seniors would have to download the app and create accounts, and there is no guarantee that students will remember to check it in the frst place. The iMessage application only allows 32 users per group chat and thus is not an option.

Attempting to reach more students, Miller and Deutch had seniors vote for their frst day of school theme via a poll on the story of their class Instagram page. Because the page currently has over 160 followers, they had hoped that almost the entire senior class would see the poll and vote; however, only a little over half of the grade ended up interacting with the story.

Senior Melanie Lascarez is one of the 46 class of 2024 members not on the

Student council does an exemplary job at planning themes, traditions and events that are designed to include every student in the senior class and at expressing them to the students in a lighthearted manner. However, I, for one, know that I am hoping for an inclusive senior year flled with activities that every person will be able to participate in. In order to achieve this, we must explore new social media or messaging platforms that offer the same benefts as Snapchat group chats or Instagram posts in order to truly involve all students in these decisions.

Despite the fact that students would have to download the app and remember to check it for updates, an app like WhatsApp or GroupMe both offer solutions to the number issue and the formality issue. Because WhatsApp allows for 1,024 group chat participants, and GroupMe allows for 5,000, both are commonly used by schools and companies who need to get messages out quickly and casually. Utilizing a different messaging app will ultimately best allow us to include and form bonds with every single member of our Menlo community. AmberStaffillustration: More Snapchat group message, though she is a Snapchat user. As a result, she missed information on the traditions, such as the senior sunrise. “My friends are on the [Snapchat group chat] so they tell me about different events,” Lascarez said.

“But if it weren’t for that, I would have no idea what’s going on.” Though Lascarez wishes there

13, 2023

TikTok Shop is Not Sustainable

by ANDREA LI

Napkin holders, lip stains and portable blenders. These three seemingly disparate items contain two common links: frst, they were popularized on the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt. Second, they’re based on wants, not needs. When these facts are combined with TikTok’s wide reach –– the hashtag has racked up over 70 billion views and, according to a survey from Statistia.com, 56% of TikTok users said they had bought an item based on TikTok promotion –– it’s diffcult to deny that TikTok infuences shopping trends.

TikTok Shop, which was released on September 12, capitalizes on this infuence and amplifes it. Through the feature, merchants can promote products in videos and provide a link to the product listed in the app’s marketplace. Users can then buy those products directly from or through TikTok, with a small commission going to the merchants if buying from an external retailer. Without the need to navigate out of TikTok, it becomes far easier for consumers to purchase anything they see instantaneously. Moreover, becoming a seller is easy: in the US, sellers only need to fll out a short application and wait one to two days

before certifcation.

From an economic standpoint, these nonstop opportunities to shop help creators fnancially and offer the luxury of convenience to consumers. But from a sustainability standpoint, the feature is insidious at best and downright catastrophic at worst: by making it easier to buy products based on one video, TikTok Shop’s design tacitly encourages impulse buying. Forget what you need and buy what you want, the feature implies.

According to UN-Habitat, 99% of what we buy is thrown away within the frst six months. The New York Times states that 85% of textile waste is sent to landflls or incinerated, with over 60% of fabric fbers being synthetic. Impulse buying therefore also promotes pollution, as discarded clothes bought on a whim languish in landflls or seep into our water as microplastics.

Of course, it’s not just TikTok that promotes impulse purchases through app design. But TikTok Shop’s business model seems especially sinister, as TikTok’s made-inChina manufacturing model that it uses for its own products has invited comparisons to brands like Shein –– a brand notorious for violating workers’ rights and contributing to carbon emissions. While it’s impossible to know TikTok’s

exact manufacturing process without confrmation from the company, the app’s suspicious lack of transparency makes it all the more important to think before buying.

It may feel absolutely necessary in the moment to buy the trendiest water bottle, makeup palette or graphic tee promoted on TikTok. Considering the impacts of such purchases, though, leaves a sour

taste in the mouth, as our waste continues to accumulate in landflls and infect our planet. Willful ignorance also hurts the workers that continue to be exploited by large companies. So, before you click on the “buy now” button, I leave you with one question: do you really need it?

e Bene t of Scheduling Menlo Retreats Early

by AARON WIDJAJA

Retreats are an integral part of the Menlo experience, with each grade having one retreat each year. The most recent group of annual retreats took place at the end of August, where freshmen

slept overnight on the quad, sophomores roamed the Santa Cruz boardwalk, juniors participated in leadership and bonding activities at the YMCA Camp Jones Gulch and seniors connected on

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the beach for their fnal retreat. The school’s decision to schedule the retreats at the beginning of this school year, as opposed to the end of the school year like previous retreats, was the right decision because doing so helps facilitate new friendships, starts the year off strong and builds teamwork.

No matter your grade, the start of the year is the best time to make new friends; you have new peers in your classes and everyone is open to forming new relationships. Following a summer away from home, students are enthusiastic about reuniting with their friends and embracing the exciting transition into a new phase of their lives. The Menlo administration has always encouraged students to form as many relationships as possible, arguing that these are connections students can carry with them throughout their whole lives. Menlo retreats usually involve team-bonding activities, games and group discussions, which provide a relaxed and informal setting for participants to get to know each other and ultimately break down social barriers.

Furthermore, these retreats aim to

generate school spirit within students. During this time, students get excited for the school year. This energy and enthusiasm, when built up at the beginning of the school year, can start the year on a positive note and continue to increase as the year progresses.

Teamwork is an important aspect of Menlo’s culture, and a lot of the activities are focused on team-building, helping students in each grade practice collaboration in diffcult circumstances. Beginning the year with these activities emphasizes the importance of teamwork and fosters a strong sense of unity. By gaining insight into each other’s strengths and working styles early on, grades are well equipped for a year of enhanced productivity and successful collaboration. In addition, pitting students against each other allows classmates to see peers as teammates early in the year.

As planning retreats for the beginning of the school year allows for new connections, sets a positive tone for the year and cultivates a sense of teamwork, Menlo should continue to schedule retreats this way in years to come.

The Coat of Arms is an independent, student-led open forum for student expression. All decisions relating to the management and content of The Coat of Arms are fundamentally the responsibility of students. Coat of Arms reporters strive to acknowledge their internal biases and tell meaningful stories with empathy, fairness and journalistic integrity. The Coat of Arms staff is committed to building on the legacy of past staffs while setting the foundation for future members.

20October13,2023

Barbie was inescapable throughout the summer. Mattel’s pink Barbie logo was around every corner –– appearing on billboards, in advertisements, and in commercials. Due to promotional partnerships, the Barbie franchise painted the world pink. Since the doll carries complicated emotional baggage, it’s ftting that a movie about it would also be complicated. But the way the movie addresses the doll’s complex past makes it a fun summer blockbuster with an inspiring message that all ages and genders should watch.

Originally, Barbie and what she stood for was complicated. On one hand, Barbie and her various accomplishments presented an aspirational image of a fashionable, young woman. On the other hand, Barbie’s unrealistic and sexualized appearance –– a high-heeled, swimsuitwearing, blond woman with big breasts and a tiny waist –– led critics to question the doll’s impact on a girl’s self-esteem.

Over the course of the doll’s existence, Mattel has failed to separate Barbie from the stigmas surrounding the doll. As the company continued to face scrutiny over Barbie dolls, CEO Ynon Kreiz proposed a plan to pull the company out of its dire fnancial situation: "Barbie," the movie.

Because of the controversy surrounding the doll, producers of the movie needed to approach the flm carefully. The movie couldn’t be a satire. because Mattel needed Barbie dolls to sell, but it couldn’t be a shameless advertisement either.

To increase the flm’s credibility, Mattel selected a director, awardwinning actress and director Greta Gerwig, who formulated multiple goals after signing onto the project –– she wanted viewers to experience laughter and joy while also feeling challenged emotionally. She also wanted viewers of all gender identities to feel partially relieved of the pressure that comes with walking on an impossible tightrope of perfection.

Gerwig accomplished her vision for the flm in two ways: by exploring the damaging effects of patriarchy and perfectionism while also encouraging women to embrace the struggles and joys of being a woman.

The Barbie movie’s exploration of the social construct of patriarchy sheds light onto societal issues viewers should focus on. When Barbie frst steps into the real world she is instantly dismissed, a scene female viewers connect with and one that allows male viewers to see what it’s like to be overlooked because of gender. Despite progress, patriarchy’s presence still affects today’s culture. By

(America Ferrera) is a Mattel employee struggling to connect with her daughter, Sasha. The movie uses her character’s perspective on womanhood to recognize the fact that women should embrace the unfair, understand they are not alone and live happily while rejecting the expectations of a complicated system.

Despite all of the valuable lessons Barbie teaches its viewers, the movie initially faced signifcant backlash. The Barbie movie playfully explores modern social issues, including the problematic aspects of the doll’s history. Many critics took the acknowledgement of the persistence of certain social problems as the movie’s tacit perpetuation of these structures. These perspectives miss the point of the flm, which was not to present a perfect world so much as it was to explore a complicated one.

Barbie encourages viewers to celebrate successes achieved in a complex society. Though Gerwig emptied the paint company Rosco’s worldwide stock of pink paint, she did not attempt to simply paint over Barbie’s past faults. Instead, the movie succeeds in making women feel empowered by their female

editing, meaning there’s no CGI so the flm stock doesn’t lose quality when converted to digital.

There’s also a wow-factor to the beauty of each frame –– how did they produce this shot?

Cillian Murphy’s performance as the titular character rightfully received praise long before the flm hit theaters.

It’s the little things: the way his voice ages along with his character, his body language and posture –– even his hands-on-hip slouch is telling –– and his frozen blue eyes conveying the troubled psychology of Oppenheimer.

Nolan and Murphy capture the chilling, inevitable essence of any good tragic hero, one whose fate should be readily omnipotent. Oppenheimer was always careful of his genius –– even in his college days –– and the bombings merely revealed his true self. The similarity between the opening and closing shots (both of Oppenheimer staring into raindrops hitting water, the ripples resembling atomic explosions) convey that the fear of his genius was always within.

The supporting characters are

as well: Jason Clarke, Robert Downey Jr. and even Gary Oldman as Harry Truman for 90 seconds were all captivating. But where are the

Emily Blunt, who played Kitty, or Oppenheimer’s wife, and Florence Pugh, who played Tatlock, his mistress, turn in fantastic performances, but are ultimately stunted by Nolan's greatest weakness: writing female characters. In one scene, a married Kitty drunkenly firts with Oppenheimer; in the next, they have a child and the next, Oppenheimer comes home to fnd her drunkenly screaming over their baby. The movie spends little time exploring her perspective or motives, leaving us with a singular impression: she’s unhelpful, a drunk and her character only serves to progress Oppenheimer. In the fnal act, during the climax of the court scene, Kitty delivers a monologue satisfying enough to garner applause, but it feels out of place. Nolan didn't care to explore Kitty earlier, therefore the audience doesn’t care to connect with her. Her scene is only satisfying because it directly benefts Oppenheimer; we’re cheering for him, when ideally we should be cheering for both of them.

Unfortunately, Kitty’s character isn’t even the shallowest of the female characters. Through research, I discovered Jean Tatlock, a prominent supporting character, is a physician and psychoanalyst. In the movie, she’s nothing more than Oppenheimer’s side piece. Who hates fowers. It is true that supporting characters are there to, yes, support the main character, but without thorough exploration, they come off as fat.

Yes, the flm has its few troubles, but ultimately, Nolan’s precision and talent creates a classic, but what truly elevates any work of fction is its awareness. Why does this story need to be told? Why now? Why to this audience?

Technology is the atomic bomb of our times: while universally accepted as dangerous, it’s largely unregulated. Silicon Valley geniuses create new, scary, brilliant programs weekly. Those in charge must be aware of the power they hold and the devastation they can cause.

Oppenheimer is a cautionary tale, one warning us of the power of extreme intelligence and drive, one warning us to honestly explore intention versus output. It’s not just a wildly-entertaining, visually-stunning theater experience, but also a story of a hero relevant today. But, seriously, go see this while it’s still in theaters.