June 2021 Index by The Haverford School Index

the index The student voice since 1888

The Haverford School · Haverford, PA 19041 · June 2021· Volume 88, No. 9 · thsindex.org

Farewell, Class of 2021

COMMUNICATIONS

The Class of 2021, pictured here on November 8, 2019, pulled through another tough school year Matthew Schwartz ’21 and Agustin Aliaga ‘21

hile more than an entire year of its high school career was plagued by Google Meets and pandemic protocol, the Haverford School Class of 2021 will be remembered by Haverford posterity for much more than the hectic year that marked its last at the school. Future students will not look back and feel sorry for it. Under the leadership of the 138th graduating class, a year that was once destined to

be difficult for all students became one of the most memorable and meaningful that Haverford has been able to offer. Each moment that upper school students were able to share with each other, while fewer and further between than in a normal year, became of immeasurable value in large part because of the organization, energy, and general sense of community that the Sixth Form injected into the atmosphere.

Large or small scale, in-person or virtual, it did not matter. It seemed inevitable that a member of the Sixth Form was there attempting to restore normalcy to an altered situation. So, as is asked of every graduating class at the end of their final year, we ask of ourselves: What is our legacy at this school and in this community? How will these people remember us and how will the yellowed

yearbooks sitting in Severinghaus Library depict us decades from now to the future generation of Haverford students? It is no secret that in one way or another our class will be remembered as one that seemed to be living through a new major historical event each week of its senior year; con’t. on p. 4

Dr. Nagl leaves a lauded legacy Jeffrey Yang ’22

inth Head of School Dr. John Nagl has shaped Haverford to form the culture, the campus, and the present-day soul of our community. After eight years and a difficult decision, Dr. Nagl announced his resignation, effective at the end of the 2021 academic year.

... a Hogwarts witch doctor staff and a leggy lamp were just a few of the signs that Haverford and the role of the headmaster were entering a new era.

Many still recall an early day at Haverford, when Dr. Nagl was officially installed. His request that all teachers choose walk-in songs—Dr. Nagl himself chose “Dream On” by Aerosmith—the Haligoluks, a faculty rock band proudly initiated by Dr. Nagl, playing music in the background; and a Hogwarts witch doctor staff and a leggy lamp were just a few of the signs that Haverford and the role of the headmaster were entering a new era. “I remember distinctly when Dr. Nagl was inducted as head of school, and he played Spinal Tap, which is an alternative rock and roll movie about this fictional band. He then got a member of Spinal Tap to speak in a recorded message, and [Dr. Nagl] himself con’t. on p. 6

JACK SUTER ’23

A portrait of Dr. Nagl

DR. MIKE NANCE

Sixth formers reflect on sports in the pandemic, p. 22

COURTESY OF DIVERSITY ALLIANCE

Diversity Alliance documentary, p. 20

Farewell to Ms. Waring, p. 8

COURTESEY OF MS. WARING

COURTESY OF JAY CROWTHER

Main Line Tennis Academy; tennis for a cause, p. 14

the index · editorial

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the index 2021–2022 Staff Mitav Nayak ’22 Editor-in-Chief Ryan Rodack ’22 Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Yang ’22 Editor-in-Chief Austin Zhuang ’22 Senior Managing Editor Senior Design Editor

June 2021

editorial

New Index staff commits to telling the whole story

s the school year fades, a new Index staff emerges with the promise to give the student body the information and recognition it deserves. We are committed to delving into

the most engaging topics on campus and providing students with several perspectives on controversial situations. It is important that the student body sees multiple sides of contentious situations before coming to an

Jingyuan Chen ’23 Managing Editor Joey Kauffman ’23 Managing Editor Connor Pinsk ’23 Managing Editor Quinn Luong ’22 Senior News Editor Ethan Lee ’24 Assistant News Editor Owen Yu ’23 Features Editor Adiyan Nayak ’24 Academics Editor Ethan Chan ’23 Neighborhood Editor Arsh Aggarwal ’24 Campus Opinions Editor Bowen Deng ’22 Off-Campus Opinions Editor Colin Stewart ’22 Off-Campus Opinions Editor Christopher Schwarting ’24 Arts Editor Jake LaRocca ’22 Sports Editor Jack Suter ’23 Staff Photographer Mr. Thomas Stambaugh Faculty Advisor Ms. Emily Harnett Faculty Advisor

The Index is a student-run publication of the Haverford School that does more than bring news: it provides the diverse perspectives of the Haverford student body. It is an outlet for student writers to take stands on issues they deem important. It chronicles the daily struggles and accomplishments of the Haverford community. The Index also provides a forum for discussion of pertinent issues, such as student culture, academic policy, and Haverford’s place in world affairs. The Index presents new ideas and aspires to influence constructive change. All opinions and viewpoints expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of The Index or the school. The Index is designed and produced digitally. Photographs may be retouched. Submissions and letters to the editors regarding any and all articles are welcomed at index@haverford.org. The Index, a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, is composed using the applications of Google Suite and Adobe Creative Cloud. Its surveys are conducted via Google Forms and are advertised on email to current Haverford students. Graphic designs are created by Index staff via Canva. Southern Dutchess News prints 200-400 copies of each issue, and its editorial staff distributes them in the upper school on the day of release. The Index serves the needs of a total school population of 1152 community members, consisting of 952 students and 200 faculty and staff members. Contact The Index: 450 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041 index@haverford.org Twitter: @Haverford_Index Instagram: @Haverford_Index Volume 88, No. 9 - June 9, 2021

CONNOR PINSK ‘23

2021-22 Editors-in-Chief (clockwise from the left, Ryan Rodack ‘22, Mitav Nayak ‘22, and Jeﬀrey Yang ‘22)

educated conclusion. Our staff will work to conduct genuine, detailed interviews with people of different backgrounds to unlock a new perspective for our readers. Although conflict and tension at school is something we are bound to cover, what brings us the most joy is sharing the success stories of those students who are most deserving—whether it is the athlete who worked hard all summer to earn a spot on the water polo team, the artist who spends every minute of his free time creating beautiful paintings, the student who spent years learning how to speak German, or even the once shy, reserved actor who emerges into a main cast member in one of our school shows. We will cover it all. Additionally, we value the opinions of our students and vow to ensure that many voices are heard. Whether it is something as light as the type of food that is served at lunch or a strong opinion about the school’s diversity, The Index is the place to voice your opinion. So, when the fall comes and it is time for the September issue of The Index, think of something exciting you want to share with the student body. Stay in touch with your peers. Ask them what they are up to. Because when September comes, we want to share the trials, tribulations, and successes of the student body so that we can reflect on the past and work towards a greater future. Enjoy your summer, stay safe, and we look forward to seeing you in September!

Letter from the student body president Cyril Leahy ’21

‘m always curious to know who reads this section of the Index. What students and faculty enjoy reading my articles about course recommendations and important life lessons? While I won’t ever possibly get the answer to my question, I thought I might speak a bit about why you should read more. Reading at Haverford is a strange thing. Some of our most revered clubs, such as the Index, attract writers and students of all demographics and share time over written word. However, reading in the classroom is frowned upon by most students; they are either bored or intimidated by the readings we see in class. Technology is diluting many young people’s critical thinking skills. Absorbing nonsensical information at a constant clip, adolescents find themselves trapped as a datapoint within the infinite binary sea. We seek to achieve excellence at everything, or nothing, because we have all the resources we ever need. With so much knowledge, students are not often asked to challenge themselves and think beyond what they know because answers lie only a click away. My final message to all students is an incredibly simple one: read a little more. It’s not a difficult task. Just find a good book, sit down, and try to read. Notice how difficult it is—I sure have. Reading The Big Short has been painful for me, as my mind races as I open the book and I don’t believe it’s Michael Lewis’ fault. However, reading seemingly brings the pace of my spinning gears to a slow turn, and my mind begins to soothe. Maybe it’s the beautiful texture of book paper (which I know is different from regular paper) or the inconsequential “thwip” the page makes as I turn it, but

Cyril Leahy ’21 reading allows one’s mind to focus on one thing: a story. Sitting and concentrating, taking the time to process information, these are skills that your Instagram feeds and mindless Snapchatting strip from you. News will not satisfy this itch, however. Its excellent to read the news and stay informed, but the news is a now constant stream of ideas that beg for attention and time you simply don’t have; pick some news to follow, but don’t make that your reading for the day. I asked who reads this section because I’m curious about a larger question: Who

COURTESY OF CYRIL LEAHY ’21

still reads at all? Who has the nerve to challenge the information age and seek knowledge beyond what the world thinks they need and just enjoy a story? To those that read, I hereby give you the authority to claim superiority over your nonreading compatriots... but with great power comes great responsibility. I ask you to put this article in someone’s hands and give them a simple command: “Read.” See what a world of difference it makes.

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the index · news

June 2021

news

JEFFREY YANG ’22

An empty administrative suite

Intensive search for tenth head of school concludes Ryan Rodack ’22

fter Ninth Head of School Dr. John Nagl announced that he would be departing, the search began for the tenth head of The Haverford School. The Board of Trustees commenced the process by hiring a search firm to assist in creating a large pool of applicants to choose from. After interviewing several companies, the board went with Carney Sandoe & Associates. Once the Board of Trustees selected the search firm, Carney Sandoe & Associates were tasked with building a strong applicant pool and working with the search committee to develop a process to select our tenth head of school. The search committee was made up of current board members, former board members, and two current administrators. One of the main objectives of the search committee was ensuring that the student body, faculty members, parents, and alumni had input in what they wanted in a new head

of school. The Haverford search committee sent out multiple surveys to students, faculty, alumni, and parents to gain insight into what the community wanted in a new head of school. Once all the surveys were completed and the committee had an idea of what characteristics they wanted in a new head of school, they worked with Carney Sandoe & Associates to develop a position description to attract prospective applicants all across the country. Carney Sandoe received over 120 applications for the job and used their data, analytics, and knowledge about the desired attributes of the type of candidate Haverford was searching for to narrow down the pool to about 22 applicants. At this point, the Haverford Search Committee took over. “We would read all the resumes, have extensive conversations, and we eventually narrowed down the pool of 22 to three fi-

nalists,” said Search Committee member and Director of Admissions Mr. Donta Evans. The finalists came on campus, each for a two-day visit. They met with Haverford’s Leadership Team, Department Chairs, along with some other faculty/ staff members and other Haverford constituents before the search committee ultimately decided on the best candidate.

“This was a long process. It started back in late summer and literally just ended a couple of weeks ago.” MR. DONTA EVANS Mr. Evans said, “This was a long process. It started back in late summer and literally just ended a couple of weeks ago.”

Although the search was prolonged and intensive for all involved, the search committee is confident that they came out with the right candidate. “We had a lot of amazing candidates, and ultimately the person that was selected was someone who we felt was a tremendous leader and the right person for the job,” Mr. Evans said. “He has served in a number of different leadership roles at his other school. He’s someone who understands all-boys education and believes very heavily in the importance of community, and I think he’ll do a great job of representing Haverford. His leadership ability, his thoughtfulness, and core values were really impressive, and he’s going to be someone who will be engaged in all areas of the school. He is a school person at heart, a community builder and someone who will be present throughout the community.”

Gormley and Kreider close out their robotics tenures Ethan Lee ’24

obotics team 169, The Cavalry, has been one of the strongest VEX Robotics programs for many years. Sixth Formers Owen Gormley and Maxim Kreider have worked hard to lead the team through the difficult 2020-2021 school year. Even with all of the COVID-19 restrictions and other obstacles, they were able to produce some of the best robots in the world, along with teaching some underclassmen the basics of robotics.

“We lost a lot of the team structure because everybody was separated. I mean, we had guys in China that couldn’t come here to compete.” MAXIM KREIDER ’21 “This year was tough for 169,” Kreider said, “We lost a lot of the team structure because everybody was separated. I mean, we had guys in China that couldn’t come here to compete.” Generally, the team works in the shop, where teams can share ideas and work to-

gether to produce high-quality robots. This year, most of the work was done at home, where students had brought parts and tools from the shop. “It was rough,” Gormley said, “but our teams still learned a lot from this season.” Both Kreider’s team and Gormley’s team got knocked out in the semi-finals of their divisions in Worlds, an incredibly high level of competition. They also competed in a signature event in Kalahari which was also a high level of competition. Kreider and Gormley said they learned valuable lessons from VEX. “Learning how to work with a team is really important,” Gormley said. “I learned how to trust my teammates to do good work. I also learned just how to put work into the robot, just spending hours tuning and building.” “Being able to work on an engineering project collaboratively is really important, especially if you want to go into that field,” Kreider said. Both believe that the team can still be improved. “We need a middle school program for VEX, not just VEX IQ,” Gormley said. “We need a feeder program,” Kreider said. “We need to make this program worth it for students to join.”

MS. VICTORIA KRIEDER

Owen Gormley ’21 and Maxim Kreider ’21 preparing their robots

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June 2021

Farewell, the Class of 2021 cont. from front page but, hopefully, whether through the memories we created, the evidence we left behind, or perhaps this very article, we will also be remembered as that class that unified a school when it was hardest. Photographs of this era will show the massive masked student sections present at the few spring sports games allowing spectators with a row of Sixth Formers spilling over the bleachers’ barriers. They will show virtual practices for debate, robotics, mock trial and many other extracurriculars all with passionate and energetic Sixth Formers smiling in the top left corner of the screen. Projects left behind will show the Notables’ music video broadcast to the whole school, a creative adaptation to an environment devoid of performance opportunities. In any of these cases or in the many others not mentioned, a constant theme of versatility arises.

Now nine months later, we believe it is safe to say that while certainly different, this year was equally enjoyable for all upper school students. Taejon Williams ’21 poses in the Walk of Virtues, September 16, 2020

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Let us be clear, this year was exceptionally difficult for all students, especially the Sixth Form, not because of masks or the six-feet separated desks; it was difficult because of what all of that meant. It meant that students couldn’t have the occasional side conversation during class –– for better or for worse. It meant that students couldn’t enjoy long conversations over meals with their friends in the dining hall. It meant that the student section couldn’t carry out traditions at basketball games. Coming into this year, as students learned what this new Haverford would look like, an underlying sense of pessimism was prevalent. Now nine months later, we believe it is safe to say that while certainly different, this year was equally enjoyable for all upper school students. We attribute this successful year to the aforementioned versatility. The Sixth Form’s ability to find new ways to lead, entertain, and energize every space, whether physical or not, ultimately allowed this year to become what it was and what it will be remembered for. Thus, we can safely conclude that the legacy of the Class of 2021 is forever set in stone: while being the graduating class that faced a global pandemic at just about the worst time in its high school career, it persevered, it adapted, and it eventually overcame making the last few months of its time at Haverford so memorable for not only itself but the rest of the student body.

Students win awards at the Philadelphia Classical Society’s annual Art Competition

Ms. Lauren Faralli (left) and Dr. Andrew Fenton (right) stand with Latin students at the Philadelphia Classical Society’s annual Art Competition, May 22, 2021

COMMUNICATIONS

Luke Parsells ’22

n May, some middle and upper school Latin students were fortunate enough to attend and win several awards at the Philadelphia Classical Society’s annual Art Competition. Founded in 1924 to promote the teaching of Latin and Greek, the competition helps honor the creativity of Latin students in the Philadelphia area. Facilitated by middle school Latin teacher Ms. Lauren Faralli and upper school Latin teacher Dr. Andrew Fenton, Form II students Will Suter, Connor Simpkins, Kevin Covington, Xan Matuch, Braiden DeLacy, and Devon Li and Form IV student Jack

Suter attended the event without the limitations of a virtual ceremony. Students competed in the areas of model, painting, drawing, mosaic, and needlework. All of the boys who were chosen were acknowledged for their impressive understanding of ancient Latin culture and their dedication to the language. Three of the seven Haverford participants who received an award additionally received the “Best in Category” award, given to individuals whose projects stood out amongst their competitors. All who participated in the event found

pride in their submissions and found it to be a fun academic experience.

“The luncheon was very nice. We all sat together at Haverford tables and talked in Latin.” JACK SUTER ’23 “The luncheon was very nice. We all sat together at Haverford tables and talked in

Latin,” Fourth Former Jack Suter said. Suter was especially proud of his submission of a 3-D model of the Tomb of Eurysaces the Baker, a prominent monument in Rome. Dr. Andrew Fenton said, “I am especially proud of Jack Suter’s model of the tomb of Eurysaces. He worked hard researching this Late Republican Roman tomb and its occupant and made a really terrific model in the technically demanding medium of cardboard. I’m glad he had the opportunity to work on something that inspired him and that he produced something so cool!”

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June 2021

features Mr. Jobs takes a breath before leading at Abington

COURTESY OF MS. EMILY CHAHAR

Mr. Brendon Jobs singing John Legend’s “All of Me” at the Haverford’s Got Talent at the end of EA Week, November 8, 2018 Quinn Luong ’22

r. Brendon Jobs summons each class with a strike of his gong and a deep inhale of fresh air into a meditation exercise. Bringing the world into the classroom, Mr. Jobs leads each class with a unique style. For the past five years—history teacher and director of Haverford’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts—Mr. Jobs has been at the forefront of making Haverford a more equitable and inclusive space. Mr. Jobs taught in Philadelphia public schools for ten years before coming to Haverford in the summer of 2016. Being one of few Black queer educators at Haverford shaped his journey of connection and belonging. Mr. Jobs was there when the Diversity Alliance was just beginning to emerge into the organization it is today. “I have always been different from the norm. Having the Diversity Alliance as an organization was huge. Students came up to me to form all the affinity groups that exist today,” Mr. Jobs said. “I wish they were more heavily attended though. But the fact that existed meant a lot to me as a black queer educator. Connecting to one another as human beings is central.” In celebration of June’s Pride Month, Mr. Jobs spoke of visibility and personal reflection for him as a Black queer educator. “When I started teaching in 2007, I was told very clearly that in certain schools in the Philadelphia region, people would be fired if it was found out that they were gay. It was really stressful to hear that entering a classroom space,” Mr. Jobs said. “Because of who you are and who you loved, you potentially couldn’t do this job. Living into your authentic truth was seen as a criminal activity.” Mr. Jobs is well known for teaching Modern World History, the elective Modern Black Lives, and for his distinctive teaching style that is heavily emphasized on freedom. Focusing on the processes of colonization and economic transformation, the history department allowed Mr. Jobs to transform

his curriculum to adapt and apply to modern-day society and youth. “Mr. Jobs has that energy,” upper school Spanish Teacher Ms. Susana Lambour said. “Even watching him teach was really cool. He never raised his voice and always was in command of the room without being authoritarian. That was his space and everyone followed the vibe.” Despite fighting many battles, Mr. Jobs encourages everyone to dedicate time to selfreflect and prioritize mental health. “If you are a student at Haverford, whether or not you’re noticing systems of oppression or combatting them, I think that a byproduct is taking a lot of stress and worry. It creates this spirit of disempowerment within students, which is one of the worst things students can feel being voiceless,” Mr. Jobs said. “We need to keep breathing to continue to make tomorrow better. It’s not just about this fighting motif, it’s also about building awareness and a healthy sense of self.” Throughout his journey here, Mr. Jobs discovered many supportive people who fought alongside him for change. “I thought that I would be the only one working towards institutional improvement. But when I got to Haverford, there were so many thoughtful colleagues and faculty members who questioned practices that offered me direction and guidance,” Mr. Jobs said. Mr. Jobs will be the next Upper School Director at Abington Friends School. Although nervous, he is excited to make the learning experience at AFS deep, meaningful, and transformative. “Moving from this role at Haverford to be the director of the Upper School at Abington Friends School is a big leadership challenge for me,” Mr. Jobs said. “I’ve been working all these years to create more space for more people in this institution around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work, but now I feel like I get to do the same type of work but on a much broader scale, with

faculty members, parents, students, and alumni.” Many other faculty members express gratitude for Mr. Jobs’ unwavering dedication and leadership in DEI work. Spanish teacher Ms. Lambour facilitated faculty SEED sessions with Mr. Jobs and developed their friendship when they went to the NAIS People of Color Conference (PoCC). She is going to miss everything about him, from his energy and guidance to handling situations or just listening to others. “I admire everything about Mr. Jobs; he’s brilliant and humble. When he’s around, he has this calming effect and confidence that things are going to be okay,” Ms. Lambour said. “His voice is beautiful; he always is sincere, genuine, and has the best interest of everybody in mind.” History Department Chair Ms. Hannah Turlish also expressed a deep connection with Mr. Jobs. “I’m very grateful for the time I worked with him. I wanted to hire him three years before we hired him because I knew he was very special. His perspective on the world, framing issues, talking about all perspectives, was a real gift,” Ms. Turlish said. Mr. Jobs has built many personal relationships with his students, often discussing life in the hallways and asking what is new and good. “Mr. Jobs is the very reason that I am able to find peace amid the chaos of life and the struggles it will hurl your way. He would take his time to talk to me, to look after me, to ask how I’ve been feeling, and to give me the breathing space I needed and take time for myself,” Sixth Former Nachikethan Srinivasan said. “Mr. Jobs also helped fuel my desire to speak up on issues that mattered to me, personally, and to the others around me.” Mr. Jobs is seen as a role model and mentor to many of his students. “He always seems to be able to contribute something positive to any discussion he

is a part of, and I will personally miss spending time with someone like that. I have aspired to be more mindful; mindfulness being something that he has taught me and constantly demonstrates,” Fourth Former Roch Parayre said. Despite the fact that Mr. Jobs’ schedule is booked for meetings almost every day, he still dedicated time to lead tough conversations in every sphere of the school. “Running SEED sessions with Mr. Jobs was one of my favorite things, and especially unpacking what we heard after. These conversations, although heavy, felt better after we had them,” Ms. Lambour said. Through reflecting on his time here, Mr. Jobs has high hopes and aspirations for continual change at Haverford. “I hope Haverford continues to be a place that creates more space for more people. From 1967, when the first Black graduated [at Haverford], it’s been a space that has challenges of being more diverse and truly integrated in terms of policy and curriculum,” Mr. Jobs said. The more integrated a school community can be, the more welcoming it is for people who identify differently from the norm. While Mr. Jobs will be missed by many, he will miss his students and Diversity Alliance even more. “I’m going to miss my students and specifically the Diversity Alliance. All the years have been an interesting student-leadership challenge, but this group this year has been insightful, thoughtful, diligent, and engaging of the community around them. There’s so much potential for where the school can go from here. I’m going to miss seeing what these kids are going to do,” Mr. Jobs said. When asked about advice for students at Haverford, Mr. Jobs, with the unmistakable sound of his laughter, emphasized his biggest lesson in life. “Don’t forget to breathe. Tomorrow exists.”

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June 2021

Dr. Nagl, cont. from front page self came out of a [huge box] to start things,” English teacher Mr. Keefe said. “It was refreshing to see a head of school have a sense of humor about himself and be excited to be at Haverford.” The rest of his first year was relatively uneventful, save for the numerous snow days, until an alumni scandal broke out in “the Main Line Takeover Project.” This difficult episode resulted in, among other things, Dr. Nagl’s cherished Brother’s Keeper program. “I remain immensely proud of the Brother’s Keeper program, and the lives it has changed for the better,” Dr. Nagl said. Dr. Nagl was also tasked in that first year with starting plans for the new middle school. Having completed the herculean project last year, he crowns this achievement as a great success. “I am also proud of raising the money for and finishing the new middle school on time and on budget, despite everything with COVID,” Dr. Nagl said. Around the upper school, he is delighted to have spent much time promoting extracurriculars, through founding the Hephaestus Society, and the arts through his support of the faculty band. Dr. Nagl also values the funds he has raised to ensure more tuition assistance for students, and his contribution to a new strategic plan for the school from 2020 to 2025.

“This plan is focused on character and culture, with an additional focus on 21stcentury education and learning, which was prevalent because it helped us prepare for virtual learning during COVID,” Dr. Nagl said. He spent his final year battling the pandemic and is ultimately thrilled with the outcome of this year. “I am extremely grateful to have been able to have majority in-person learning,” Dr. Nagl continued, “and just recently, it all came to an end with something that looked a little bit normal.”

“It has been such an asset to have Dr. Nagl in the helm. He is always the most informed in the room and balanced the difficult meetings by always bringing a certain amount of levity.” MR. MARK FIFER In regards to this year, Head of Upper School Mr.Mark Fifer said, “It has been such

Dr. John Nagl in his oﬃce,, January 29, 2021

an asset to have Dr. Nagl in the helm. He is always the most informed in the room, and he balanced the difficult meetings by always bringing a certain amount of levity.” Despite all the aforementioned achievements, Dr. Nagl’s greatest impact lies in the community’s spirit. Two of his goals from the beginning have been, first, to have students understand and cherish the privilege of attending Haverford, and, second, to shape the school so it was a joy for the teachers to teach the boys. “I wanted the faculty to see it as a privilege, and a responsibility, to spend time with such fine men and help them grow, learn,” Dr. Nagl said. Part of this mission of fostering a group of dedicated teachers and preparing boys for life involved hiring a diverse faculty. Upper School Dean of Students Mr. Luqman Kolade said, “Dr. Nagl challenged this place in many ways, especially with the people he hired. For students, you don’t notice that necessarily, but, since I’ve been here, the staff has become much more diverse in a number of different ways from a very insular pool—we hired people who went to Haverford or were connected to Haverford.” When Mr. Kolade mentioned that he had noticed the shift in hiring to Dr. Nagl, he recalls Dr. Nagl was ecstatic. “At the beginning of last year, I went up to him and said, ‘This is the most diverse

TYLER NEAVE ’21

group of new faculty that I’ve seen,’ and he was super happy to hear that and said, ‘Yeah, that makes me proud,” Mr. Kolade said.

But far beyond the changes that Dr. Nagl has made around the school, his presence, his character, and even a mere subtle greeting have impacted those with whom he has interacted. But far beyond the changes that Dr. Nagl has made around the school, his presence, his character, and even a mere subtle greeting have impacted those with whom he has interacted. All the students and faculty interviewed for this article, aside from Dr. Nagl, without fail, detailed the genuine care that Dr. Nagl has shown toward themselves and everyone in the community. Fittingly enough, when Dr. Nagl was asked for the one thing that he wishes students will remember about him he said, “I want to know that I cared deeply about every one of them.” Sixth Former Student Body President Cyril Leahy described his first few close interactions with Dr. Nagl. “He can be intimidating at first, but once you get to know him better—because when you’re talking to him, you have to kind of ease into conversations—and you’ve made your way through the official stuff, he is very caring and often asks if there’s any way he can help with any of the ventures I’m currently involved in,” Leahy continued, “I was surprised that someone of his stature would ask those types of questions, but he really has created a strong connection with the students and the student body.” For one, Leahy recalled how Dr. Nagl supported his effort to suggest a book to the English department in early 2021. “I was afraid that he would be too busy, but he was so supportive,” Leahy said. By the time of his final meeting with Dr. Nagl, Leahy had formed a close connection with the head of school. “He gave me some really great advice and was basically an open book. We have a more mentorship relationship rather than a strict work relationship, which is really cool,” Leahy said. Both Sixth Formers Drew Loughnane and Kieran Dias-Lalcaca interacted with Dr. Nagl in a different sphere: as his students in the Modern Middle East history course. For Dr. Nagl, teaching students was something he was only able to do this year. “I was really fortunate this last year, with the middle school built, with the Character at Our Core campaign completed, and the strategic plan done, to be able to teach full time. I really enjoyed doing that; I like engaging with boys as scholars,” Dr. Nagl said. For Dias-Lalcaca, this interaction was what pushed him past that boundary of acquaintance, into getting to know Dr. Nagl and enjoying a shared interest in international relations. “Once you get to know Dr. Nagl beyond as headmaster and move into teacher and student realm, he’s someone who’s extremely caring about each and every student, but also cares beyond your understanding of the material, uses the material to develop you as holistically as a person.” Dias-Lalcaca said, “He makes you a better thinker and more adept at understanding the world around you, pushes you to question what assumptions you make, and to draw out the nuance behind what you see.” con’t. on next page

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June 2021 Mr. Keefe said. Mr. Kolade found Dr. Nagl was someone who he could always talk to about anything. More recently, Dr. Nagl advised Mr. Kolade on his future career. “When I go into his office, I always mean to stop in for a bit, but always stay a while, until I have to go teach or something. His door is always open,” Mr. Kolade said. “He encouraged me to think about my career and encouraged me to be dean. I had a tough time balancing time and commitments, he worked with me to sort it out. He’s told me that the highlight of his day is talking to people.” This relationship is unlike any other that Mr. Kolade has experienced.

“He cares about his faculty, he told me something like, ‘If you didn’t know, if you ever need me, I got you in the future.’ He cares for the place, and he cares for the boys.” MR. LUQMAN KOLADE

COMMUNICATIONS

Dr. Nagl speaking at the Thanksgiving Assembly, 2019 Loughnane found himself often staggered, but not at all surprised—for Dr. Nagl is, in fact, a Rhodes scholar and retired Lieutenant Colonel—by the knowledge Dr. Nagl possessed. “He is one of the most knowledgeable teachers I’ve ever had,” Loughnane said. “And he never tried to force his ideas on anyone but did rebut and encourage dialogue. He did not let anyone get by without them doing their best.” Mr. Fifer, Mr. Keefe, and Mr. Kolade knew Dr. Nagl as a colleague, a leader, a friend, and even a career advisor. Working alongside him in various leadership teams, Mr. Fifer described the density of knowledge that Dr. Nagl brought to meetings, but always balanced it with a lighthearted joke. Aside from other things, Mr. Fifer listed Dr. Nagl’s jovial character as one of the things the community will miss. “He is a well-known public figure in the world of national security, and he brings intellectual vibrancy and credibility, but never lets that get in the way of having fun. The community will miss the deep relationships, fist bumps, jokes that only he thinks is funny, and the granular mundane moments. It will miss EA Days when Dr. Nagl has been present and so invested in the community,” Mr. Fifer said. It can be difficult to have an appropriate mix of seriousness and levity, but Dr. Nagl has done so. “He has found that balance between thinking and laughing very well. I’m going to miss his sense of humor and the way in which he cared for his team members,” Mr. Fifer said.

“We will miss his speeches. Dr. Nagl is one of the best speakers, not because he always has groundbreaking ideas, but more because of his tone and his grasp of the stage. He has this cool and utter confidence, especially with his ‘ladies and gentlemen, faculty, and staff ’ opening. He gives insight in his speeches and shows that he cares through the speeches,” Leahy said. “He believes in the students, faculty, and the school mission.” Mr. Keefe will miss him like missing a friend. Over the years, he has grown to connect with Dr. Nagl over a shared interest in unpacking movies to analyze various themes. “It’s difficult to be at a place and see people who you care about move on to other opportunities. I will remember him as someone who brought humor to faculty events that are usually dusty and dry events with the faculty band. I will remember him as just trying his best to make a community in this place,” Mr. Keefe said. Beyond work-related conversations,

Mr. Keefe described how they were close in the way that they would share about their families. But even the little things that made Dr. Nagl a close friend of his, Mr. Keefe will miss.

“On my end, I’d like to say, ‘Dr. Nagl, you’ve done great work for the Haverford school, and you’re a handsome man.’” MR. DANIEL KEEFE “Dr. Nagl consistently would say something to me along the lines of ‘You’re doing great work Dan Keefe and you’re a handsome man. On my end, I’d like to say, ‘Dr. Nagl, you’ve done great work for the Haverford school, and you’re a handsome man,’”

“Dr. Nagl is always himself—he doesn’t know how to be any other way than being an honest person. He cares about his faculty, he told me something like, ‘If you didn’t know, if you ever need me, I got you in the future.’ He cares for the place, and he cares for the boys. He’s the first head of school that I’ve formed that close of a relationship with,” Mr. Kolade said. As he returns to public service—in a currently confidential position—with a concern for the direction of the nation, Dr. Nagl has left behind a legacy that will extend beyond his tenure. For Dias-Lalcaca, that legacy is shaping the values of Haverford students, and, effectively, their future roles in the world. “His focus was not only developing smart, athletic, and successful men, but also men of character,” Dias-Lalcaca said. For Mr. Keefe, that legacy is transitioning the school into a place of greater diversity, equity, and inclusion. “He has left a faculty that will continue the work that he has started in terms of making the school safe and equitable,” Mr. Keefe said. This is his greatest legacy, and he has celebrated people who were moving us in that direction. [Dr. Nagl’s leaving] is bittersweet.” In a final message to the students, faculty, and staff, and everyone in the Haverford community, Dr. Nagl said, “Life is a joy, enjoy it. Take care of each other.”

“Dr. Nagl is one of the best speakers ... He has this cool and utter confidence.” CYRIL LEAHY ’21 Leahy echoed Dr. Nagl’s grasp of the stage and his easily distinguishable speaking style, and his passion for the community.

MR. THOMAS STAMBAUGH

Dr. Nagl addresses the impeachment process during a “History beyond the headlines” session in the library, Thursday, December 5, 2019

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June 2021

Ms. Waring departs to pursue life-long goal Tyler Zimmer ’21

ining the Lower School halls are sculptures you could find nowhere else. Every year, Ms. Jenny Waring’s first project for her students is a collaborative monster. Made out of PVC pipes, cardboard, and papier-mâché, students from each grade create the annual sculpture. This year’s monster is called “JW Fang,” named by her protégés to commemorate Ms. Waring’s final year at Haverford. “In 1999, some of the kids were finishing up early, and I had a bunch of junk in the corner that I hadn’t decided what to do with,” Ms. Waring said. “My third graders wanted to do something with it.” Twenty-two monsters later, Waring’s project has become a hallmark of lower school art. Students love this project, but they really love Ms. Waring. “All of the art teachers here are actually artists on their own, so the school trusts us to teach in the way that we like to teach and whatever fires our inspiration,” Ms. Waring said. One of Waring’s teaching strategies is

COURTESEY OF MS. WARING

Ms. Waring in front of one of her drawings

incentive-based. Each time students have a productive and transformative class period, she rewards them with a jump up the “free drawing day” ladder. Former lower school students remember the excitement of reaching the tenth rung of the ladder, when Ms. Waring would announce their prize.

“Mr. Fink and I, we spend a lot of time together between classes. We’ll just visit and bounce ideas off of each other.” MS. JENNY WARING Complementing her own creativity, Ms. Waring learned new teaching methods from two fellow artists: lower-school colleague Mr. Antonio Fink and her husband Mr. Jeff Waring. “Mr. Fink and I, we spend a lot of time together between classes. We’ll just visit and bounce ideas off of each other,” Ms. Waring said. “My husband has been teaching lower school art at Westtown as long as I’ve been teaching here. We’re very different artists, so I see what he teaches and thinks. That’s so amazing.” Ms. Waring’s students appreciate her energy, creativity, and willingness to expand her curriculum; the warm feelings are mutual. “This is an amazing place to teach,” she said. While Ms. Waring helped her students mature both personally and artistically, she noticed similar development in herself. “I’ve kind of grown up a little bit. In my relationships with people and my un-

Ms. Waring, with one of her papier-maché sculptures derstanding of myself, sometimes you don’t really understand yourself until you’ve got to be there for someone,” Ms. Waring said. She also made an impact amongst her colleagues, who reciprocated the love she filled the hallways with every day. “I had a crisis myself a few years back where I had breast cancer. Both the kids and the teachers really rallied around me. Some people that I had not gotten to know yet were some of the biggest supporters that I had.” Her 1996 through 2021 tenure at Haverford has come to an end, but the encouraging, creative energy she brought will remain a staple for the art room. Now, she will pursue a goal that sparked her love for art, bringing her professional career full circle. In 1985, Ms. Waring graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a bachelor of fine arts in illustration. She worked as a freelance illustrator, a skill she’s still working to perfection.

COURTESEY OF MS. WARING

“I’m a little wary of having a specific goal, but writing and illustrating a children’s book has definitely been in the back of my mind for a long time,” Ms. Waring said. “I’ve done clay and multimedia, but my big love is drawing. I really connect to my creativity the strongest is when I’m drawing with a simple pencil.” She has created several rough sketches on the side during her time as a teacher, but the time has come for her to pursue this lifelong goal full time. “I would tell my younger self to just be open and really try to break out of those traditional ways that you’ve always gotten a pat on the back about,” Ms. Waring said. “Don’t be afraid to try new things.” Ms. Waring is tackling this new chapter with determination, but only after a relaxing outdoor summer in the Adirondacks with family and friends. “Keep your focus,” Ms. Waring said. “Think towards the future, and remember to enjoy yourself along the way.”

Mr. Akkari returns to learning, now for a Ph.D. Jeffrey Yang ’22

Tucked in a mini-wing, just beyond the stairwells on the first floor, is math teacher Mr. Anwar Akkari’s learning sphere. After joining the Haverford community in Fall 2020, Mr. Akkari has decided to pursue a doctorate in philosophy next year at the University of Virginia. Despite his short time at the school, Mr. Akkari has learned much about teaching, as he joined after recently obtaining a bachelor’s degree at Yale University. But he also added how the pandemic made it difficult for him to engage with the community as much as he wanted.

“I really felt that my students were identifying with me as the youngest teacher at the school.” MR. ANWAR AKKARI “When I was hired, I wasn’t able to meet people and visit the campus because of COVID. It was weird, and at first, it was hard. But I adapted and got much support from the math department, which is such a close group of people. It was also super complicated with getting involved around this year. I wanted to coach,” Mr. Akkari said.

Regardless, Mr. Akkari is grateful to have had the opportunity to work at Haverford and teach his students. “I enjoy teaching and have loved every bit of it. This community is special. I saw the smiles through the masks and warm faces every day,” he said. His experience has taught him, among other things, how to handle some of the difficulties of teaching and how the pandemic has complicated pedagogy. Mr. Akkari said, “I’ve learned about dealing with the amount of stress that you have as a teacher. It’s just been hard to teach in person and teach virtually, and I’ve been trying to keep the [classroom] community together.” In his math classes, he has made the effort to create an exciting spirit every day. “Sometimes you have to provide the energy to get it back,” Mr. Akkari said. As things returned to some sense of normalcy nearing the end of the year, and as classes rounded to an end twice in the third and fourth quarter, he was able to engage with his students as a friend. “I will remember the ‘two last days of school,’ when I brought the boys outside to play dodgeball and kickball. I really felt that my students were identifying with me as the youngest teacher at school. It was all more friendly and more relaxed, and it just warms your heart,” Mr. Akkari said. At the beginning of the year, Mr. Ak-

kari certainly did not expect to stay for just one year. In fact, after the first day, he saw himself staying at Haverford for a long time. But, with the difficulties of hiring in the pandemic, the school was searching for a teacher who could teach both biology and math. “I could teach other sciences—physics, chemistry, or whatever—but not biology. I wanted to be competent with teaching my classes, so I declined,” he said. At the University of Virginia, Mr. Akkari will also conduct research in aerospace engineering and continue to help students in the classroom as a teaching assistant. In a message to the students, he encouraged them to look at this past year with a bright mindset.

“Take this year and don’t think bad about it. Think about all the things you’ve learned.” MR. ANWAR AKKARI “Take this year and don’t think bad about it,” Mr. Akkari said. “Think about all the things you’ve learned. It feels like it’s been a tough year for students, but I know they will grow to be one of the most resilient generations.”

COURTESY OF MR. ANWAR AKKARI

Mr. Anwar Akkari in front of Yale University’s Sterling Memorial Library

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June 2021

Fifth grade English icon Mr. Lignore returns to his teaching roots

CHRISTOPHER SCHWARTING ’24

Mr. Joseph Lignore at his desk in his lower school classroom Christopher Schwarting ’24

am a Fifth Grade student at The Haverford School. I am respectful and committed to everyone I meet and everything I do. For those who have navigated the Lower School, this pledge may hold a sentimental weight. Situated in the right-end classroom of the fifth-grade pod, one will find a classroom bustling in support of the student who has worked on a newly-sung rap to memorize his prepositions. Next, you might find students collaborating on an ingenious public rendition of the theme from Gilligan’s Island. Or, maybe, the room will be filled by the wideeyes of awe, following a masterful storyteller bringing to life the physical struggles and verbal strain of surviving Fever 1793 . Mr. Lignore’s mission to inspire a passion for English and a greater respect for community has remained unwavering. For many students, the joy one feels when entering this English class is like no other, and this sentiment is similarly shared by its teacher, Mr. Lignore, who will bid farewell to the Haverford community. Mr. Lignore will return to the school where he first taught before coming to Haverford.

“I came [to Haverford] after thirteen years and worked here, taught here, for thirteen years. It changed my life even further.” MR. JOSEPH LIGNORE “I started teaching in Saint Andrew School in Drexel Hill. It literally changed my life there. I came [to Haverford] after thirteen years and worked here, taught here, for

thirteen years. It changed my life even further,” Mr. Lignore said. “Now I would like to go back to Saint Andrew—so it’ll be like bookends.” For an individual so passionate about literature and writing, Mr. Lignore’s path to teaching students in the classroom was not direct. “I went to school to be a teacher,” Mr. Lignore said. “After college, I first started out in pre-med. I was putting myself through school and couldn’t work as much as I needed to work and study as much as I needed to study, so my advisor said I had to make a decision, I’m either one or the other, so I changed majors. I loved it for the rest of my four years.” After graduating as a teacher, there was a problem. It was 1976, and America was facing one of the largest birth-rate drops in its recent history. Fewer babies, in turn, meant fewer students attending elementary and secondary schools. With available teaching jobs dwindling, Mr. Lignore found himself charting a different career path: management. Mr. Lignore said, “I got a job at Kmart, where I had worked all through high school and college, part time. They gave me credit for all my part-time years and it took me two to two-and-a-half years, [at which point] I finally had my own store. I just went around the East Coast; Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and back to Philly.” While cementing himself in a stable managing position, Mr. Lignore still thought of teaching. “Two things that I always had a problem with [at Kmart] was people didn’t know how to speak, and then they didn’t know how to write. And it would make me crazy—especially the writing part. I told my wife that if I ever get in the position to teach kids how to write, that’s what I would do. I would teach them how to write and then how to speak,”

Mr. Lignore said. And that is exactly what Mr. Lignore chose to do. When the opportunity presented itself, he knew it was a move worth making: teaching young students the values and intricacies of the English language. “I had an opportunity to teach, so I took it,” Mr. Lignore said. “It made me so happy. I discovered things about myself that I had forgotten about. What I loved to do was write. It was just a great thing and off I went.” From that point onward, Mr. Lignore committed himself to his students. His thirteen years at Haverford alone have left him with fond memories. “The kids are often lost in September, and watching them get it—just watching them explode on the scene. They just blossom, and their success is rewarding,” Mr. Lignore said. “It is just so hard to push through the soil and then they finally get it. They get a taste of sunlight and they just open right up. They bloom and they are off to the races writing.” Above all, Mr. Lignore asserts that the relationships he has nurtured are the highlight of his time at Haverford. “The relationships are what I will always remember,” Mr. Lignore said. “The boys that I correspond with, boys in middle school and upper school, the boys I keep in touch with. I like looking in The Index, seeing an article by someone I had before, and dropping them a note that I enjoyed the article.” And for students, it can be those checkins that make the difference. As Mr. Lignore looked to the future, he reflected on his time at Haverford. “I’ll certainly miss this place, that’s for sure. I’ll miss the kids the most, and the faculty. The teachers are inspiring, [and] the kids are inspiring,” Mr. Lignore said. “This is the crux of why I’m teaching: Be self aware,

be humble and do for others.” And for many who have passed through fifth-grade English, Mr. Lignore has remained an inspiration for them, too. Each day, a bright smile would await a classroom that would teach so much, yet appear so playful and fun. From the carpet readings to the occasional lemon drop, or even a traditional farewell of “Peace, love, and Bobby Sherman,” Mr. Lignore has left an imprint on the community he has contributed to and the students who have sat in his room.

“Mr. Lignore was the first teacher who really taught me how to write a strong essay.” RUSSEL YOH ’24 “Mr. Lignore was the first teacher who really taught me how to write a strong essay,” Third Former Russell Yoh said. “That has helped me throughout the rest of my Haverford career thus far.” And while Mr. Lignore is leaving for the Saint Andrew School, there is still much he wants to accomplish. He plans to write a book about his hometown of Yeadon, keep up on his fishing, continue model and diorama building, and take some time to spend with his family. Mr. Lignore said, “I am totally grateful for everything. I have become such a better person, a better man, a better teacher, better friend all from here. It has been a wonderful ride. But I am not like Roy Rogers yet. I am not going off into the sunset. I’m still riding my horse on the range. Just a different range.”

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June 2021

Mrs. Higgins bids farewell to her former lower school students Connor Pinsk ’23

ong-time students will no doubt remember Mrs. Jen Higgins–a first grade teacher who has devoted twenty-three years of her career to the school. For many students, Mrs. Higgins was the one who taught them how to read, one of the pillars in education. “It has been so gratifying watching my students come in stumbling to get through a three-letter word, and by the end of the year, they are reading on their own and picking up books.” Mrs. Higgins said. “I love the excitement at the beginning of the year when we have our back-to-school meetings. I love the support that my colleagues give each other and the interesting people that I have worked with at Haverford.” After spending ten years teaching kindergarten, Mrs. Higgins switched to first grade in 2008.

“[Haverford] has taught me stamina and discipline. It taught me how to get along with people and accept peple and their differences.” MRS. JEN HIGGINS “Ron Duska was the lower school head at that point, and a first grade teacher was leaving, so I decided to try first grade,” Mrs. Higgins said. “I was all about teaching read-

ing, and I loved how much fun it was. It was just great.” Haverford has taken up such a large part of Mrs. Higgins’s life, and she has learned alot from her tenure. “[Haverford] has taught me stamina and discipline. It taught me how to get along with people and accept people and their differences.” Mrs. Higgins’ has taught what she learned from her experience to her three children, who are all now adults. “I passed these lessons down to my kids. These things that I have learned have helped me be a better person,” Mrs. Higgins said. Through her long teaching career, Mrs. Higgins has seen many former students graduate. “It really is amazing. Every year I think about how the gauntlet is the most emotional experience to watch them go across the hall and hug people, and they remember my name,” Mrs. Higgins said. “It is wonderful to watch them grow up.” After her twenty-three years at Haverford, a new chapter of Mrs. Higgins’ life will begin. “I am retiring from Haverford. I don’t think that I am retiring completely yet. I am leaving because my husband got a job in Florida,” Mrs. Higgins said. “I think that I will sub for my first year there and get certified to teach.” While Mrs. Higgins looks forward to her bright future, she will miss this school. “It will be a slow and sad process saying goodbye to all the people that I have worked with for so long,” Mrs. Higgins said. “I sup-

pose that I am going to miss my Haverford friends the most.” On the bright side, due to the rise of COVID, Ms. Higgins knows there are other

Mrs. Jen Higgins in her classroom

ways to catch up with her Haveford family. “With the explosion of Google Meets, we will have gatherings together and stay connected.”

COURTESY OF MRS. JEN HIGGINS

Ms. Bond remains “happily curious” Joey Kauffman ’23

orm II humanities teacher Ms. Hilary Bond has never failed to convey her curiosity for the world during her five years as an English and world history teacher. Ms. Bond has undoubtedly led students to improve their analytical reading and writing skills while also mentoring them in the arguably more important journey of seeking out and appreciating other peoples’ stories. “Of course it’s very satisfying to see people improve their skills, right, like, ‘He started out as a crappy writer and now he can organize things; he’s got his paragraphs well-done,’” Ms. Bond said. “But really, I want [my students] to leave being excited and curious about the world and … I guess just encouraging people to be happily curious about the world.” Through her unique position as both an English and a history teacher, Ms. Bond has worked to foster this curiosity in both areas of the humanities. “Really, [teaching history and English] is about empathy, learning about other people and other perspectives and coming to understand them. That is where my curiosity lies: and hearing other people’s stories, whether it’s your historical story or just, like, your memoir, or a story that you invented.” But as she finishes her fifth year here, Ms. Bond is preparing to leave for California. Although she is a Seattle native, she says she has lived in California’s Bay Area longer than she has lived in Seattle. She is returning to the school where she taught before Haverford. “It’s like going home, I guess,” Ms. Bond said. “I have a lot of great friends there, former students, and a lot of my relatives live in the area as well, including my sister and her kids.”

Ms. Bond champions the idea of traveling. As a Brown alum, she spoke of going to college on the other side of the country: “I am a big advocate for taking those kinds of risks and exploring the world in general.” At Brown, she was an international relations major, which strengthened her love of learning by allowing her to “dabble in a million different areas.” “I could take courses in almost every field,” she said. After college, she engaged with her love of traveling by spending half a year in Nepal, a country where many Tibetan refugees live. While also studying the Tibetan language, she met a group of Tibetan refugees who made a living by weaving and selling rugs. “They would bring in these massive bags of raw wool and they’d hike them in, and then they’d card them and spin them and dye them and weave them into carpets. And then they’d have to march these giant carpets out of the mountains to be sold,” Ms. Bond said. “It’s a hard life.” This was the beginning of Ms. Bond’s life-long interest in the refugee experience. She is interested in the process of immigration, as she knows that her family, as well as most Americans, immigrated here for a specific set of reasons and underwent a wide range of experiences as immigrants. She believes that when dealing with these types of issues, which can be very political, we all often forget what our motives should be. “Something that we haven’t talked enough about is this, like, working towards peace. And to do that takes compromise. And compromise is something that is not being modeled for us very well, anywhere, right now,” Ms. Bond said. “And it’s seen as being a weakness to quote-on-quote ‘give in’ instead of acknowledging somebody feels a

INDEX STAFF

Dr. John Nagl (right) says goodbye to Ms. Hilary Bond (left), June 4, 2021 certain way because they’ve had this experience.” Ms. Bond’ sees her time here as an extension of her advocacy for exploring the world. She has explored the Haverford and Main Line world, and learned from those experiences. “Coming [to Haverford] at that specific time really forced me to [be open minded],” Ms. Bond said. “It was hard, but at the same

time, sometimes the things that are hard and painful for us are what help us to grow and really come clear with what our values are.” Community members who care about academic curiosity and open-mindedness have benefited from Ms. Bond’s dedication to the school. “I’m going to miss my colleagues a lot, for sure. I love my colleagues,” Ms. Bond said. “And my students too.”

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June 2021

Mrs. Schroeder leaves to pursue Ph.D. Matthew Schwartz ’21

re-pandemic you may have found Señora Schroeder roaming Wilson Hall’s third floor before returning to her class off of the Big Room. Now, she resides in Virtue Village. Soon, she’ll be home, taking online classes from Temple University as she completes her Ph.D. in Spanish. This isn’t Mrs. Schroeder’s first time departing Haverford. Back in 2014, she was a language teacher in the upper school for one year. Since returning in 2018, she has noticed many improvements during the four years she was gone. “I think the school is doing a great job in educating the faculty and giving them resources with diversity training and support groups, so we can respond to what’s happening in the world today,” Mrs. Schroeder said. Even though her time at Haverford has been relatively short, Mrs. Schroeder has made a large impact on the students who have come through her Spanish classes.

“I’ve never felt nervous or hesitant to ask her a question in her class, and that relationship clicked extremely quick.” RYAN NGO ’21 “I’ve never felt nervous or hesitant to ask her a question in her class, and that relationship clicked extremely quick,” Sixth Former Ryan Ngo said. “I will definitely miss her, and I anticipate myself moving forward in life with a greater love for learning because of mentors like her.” A recurring theme from students on Mrs. Schroeder’s teaching style, was how

engaging it is. They talk about her ability to teach information in an exciting and approachable way.

“I love what I’m teaching, I love teaching in general, and I love the students here.” MRS. CATHERINE SCHROEDER “I love what I do. I love what I’m teaching, I love teaching in general, and I love the students here,” Mrs. Schroeder said. “I think that when you really are passionate about something it energizes you and makes you do your job better.” Deciding to pursue her Ph.D. in Spanish was a tough decision for Mrs. Schroeder, but it’s been a long-term goal. She considered staying for an extra few years when studying for her master’s at Georgetown but felt it would be a large commitment and instead immediately went into teaching at a private school in New Jersey. Now, with the pandemic opening the door to virtual classes at many universities, in particular Temple, Mrs. Schroeder has the opportunity to earn her Ph.D. while still caring for three children at home. In terms of what’s in store for her after Temple, Mrs. Schroeder isn’t completely sure. “I definitely want to go back to teaching, whether that’s at the college or high school level, I don’t know,” Mrs. Schroeder said. “It will probably depend on my kids and what their needs are, but that being said, I absolutely love teaching high school.”

Mrs. Catherine Schroeder in her room, September 2018 Mrs. Schroeder has had experience teaching both in a high school and college setting through her work as an adjunct professor for Saint Joseph’s University for two years prior to returning to Haverford. “Obviously teaching at the college level gives you more flexibility, however, college students are not funny. I mean they come in, they’re there to learn, do their job, and then leave,” Mrs. Schroeder said. “Something I had forgotten, which Haverford quickly reminded me, was that [high school students] can put humor into just about everything. Sometimes it’s not the appropriate time, but

INDEX STAFF

it lightens the mood, it lightens the day and makes learning more fun.” In her three years here, Mrs. Schroeder created a supportive environment for her students, where they feel comfortable asking questions, are excited about the class, and overall enjoy learning Spanish. “Señora Schroeder’s kindness is genuine and her engaged yet relaxed teaching style made Spanish really fun to learn,” Sixth Former George Lanchoney said. “Because of her, I want to pursue [Spanish] further in college.”

Ms. Barton prepares to move to the Mountain West Index Staff

ixth grade English teacher Ms. Sara Barton recently decided to move to Denver, Colorado with her family After many years teaching in both the lower and middle schools since 2009, Ms. Barton has left a lasting imprint on the institution. “Not only am I sad to know that I will not see her around campus anymore, but also that the future sixth graders will not be able to experience her teaching,” Fourth Former Jack Suter said. “Before sixth grade English my knowledge of grammar and writing was much less established. Not only did I learn grammar and writing, but I also

learned so many lessons from the different books we read in English class. If it weren’t for Ms. Barton… I wouldn’t have taken an interest in writing.” Ms. Barton gave her students a chance for independent reading as well as creative writing. This allowed students to be creative instead of writing based off of one prompt or from one rubric. Students learned how to develop ideas and communicate them effectively. Independent reading also gave students the opportunity to pursue something in which they truly showed interest. “I had the experience of having Ms. Barton twice during my time at Haverford,”

Fourth Former Connor Pinsk said. “I had her in fourth grade and in sixth grade. Sixth grade was her first year as an English teacher in middle school, and it was very cool to have the same teacher twice, especially when it was one that I liked so much.” In addition to Ms. Barton’s classroom work, she devoted much time and energy over a number of years running the parent SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) group, which seeks to strengthen the community in terms of its understanding of race, class, and gender.

“She has also been a warm and supportive colleague, eager to offer her wisdom to fellow teachers and strengthen the middle years of reading and writing instruction.” MR. THOMAS STAMBAUGH

JACK SUTER ’23

Sixth Grade English teacher Ms. Sara Barton

According to English Department Chair Mr. Thomas Stambaugh, “Ms. Barton’s unique background provided insight into the transition from lower to middle school. She has also been a warm and sup-

portive colleague, eager to offer her wisdom to fellow teachers and strengthen the middle years of reading and writing instruction.” As she prepares to move, Ms. Barton is excited for various aspects of the city she will call home. “I am looking forward to the public transportation in Denver,” Ms. Barton said, “along with trying to find the best dog parks in Denver.”

“Ms. Barton was a teacher who used grades as opportunities for feedback, learning, and helped to show what one needed more help with.” JACK SUTER ’23 But her impact on the students whom she has taught will remain at Haverford. “If I haven’t yet given you an idea of the thoughtful, wise, and kind person Ms. Barton is,” Suter said, “one of my favorite sayings of hers is, ‘Focus on the learning and the grades will come.’ Ms. Barton was a teacher who used grades as opportunities for feedback, learning, and helped to show what one needed more help with.”

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June 2021

Library weathers pandemic year, diversifying stacks, updating archives Jingyuan Chen ’23

or the past school year, everything was unusual. The school campus, bound by new regulations and limitations, felt like an entirely different place. Severinghaus Library was no exception. The pandemic has greatly altered the library’s norms. “We couldn’t have as many people in [the library]. All the students had to be supervised for mask-wearing, but we couldn’t really do that,” Head of Information Services Ms. Lisa Synder said. “Because of the pandemic, we couldn’t allow people to go to the stacks and get books. We didn’t get to function in the way that we most like to function, which is as a community hub.” Library events were also limited, but staff sustained some activities during the pandemic. “During lockdown we would have virtual Open Library Sessions for kids to come in and build connections. We were also doing the head of school’s History Behind the Headlines, where the headmaster would just come in and talk about what was happening on the headlines,” Ms. Snyder said. “This year we didn’t do a whole lot of programming. But I’m looking forward to being able to start that back up.” The new schedule and the lack of free periods during the pandemic also hindered students from going to the library. “Because of the pandemic, our room capacity had to be reduced by about a quarter. But it’s really strange, as we didn’t even get to that capacity. The thing is that everybody had class all day long. We didn’t have students here during their usual free period.

Nobody had a free period,” Ms. Snyder said. “I entered the library almost every day this whole year,” Fourth Former Jack Suter said. “The most I spent in the library this year was an hour. Not having free periods or time to work during the day, there wasn’t really any time to be spent in the library.” Although events at the library seem to be heavily limited due to the pandemic, there’s also a positive aspect to the library’s new-found tranquility.

“Now I often use the library as a place to meet people when we need to get something done or when we need to work on a project.” JACK SUTER ’23 “The library wasn’t like a hangout spot for our class like it was last year. Now I often use the library as a place to meet people when we need to get something done or when we need to work on a project, ” Suter said. “It’s actually been really nice because more students come in to find a place to study or to do some work,” Ms. Snyder said. “The other thing I noticed is when they needed to take some meetings and Zoom with a college counselor, we don’t really have those spaces readily available for kids. But they would come in anyway.” The closures of other study hubs around the school have also attracted students to the

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JACK SUTER ’23

Ms. Lisa Snyder and Ms. Cinnie Slack at Severinghaus Library’s front desk library. “Before, if you wanted to chill out and just get some work done, you could also go literally anywhere else,” Fourth Former Nathan Mirin said. “Now, the library is the only place to go when people have free time at school.” Aside from students who found this new norm enjoyable, the library staff also took advantage of their new-found free time to organize things happening backstage. “We were able to do things that were

centered around our collections,” Ms. Snyder said. “We were doing a DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) audit of our collection. We also run the archives, so we’ve also been able to work downstairs in the archives a little more,” Ms. Snyder said. “The benefit is that there have been some other opportunities like this, but we do want the kids back. We really want people who weren’t able to come this year to be able to come here next year.”

the index · academics

Page 13

June 2021

academics Teachers process the past year’s challenges Adiyan Nayak ’24

on-paper assignments and relied heavily on online platforms. As classes return to prepandemic states, the computer-based learning environment may continue. “I think we’re here to stay online,” Mr. Belson said. “It’s just a lot easier to organize online assignments than it is to collect a stack of papers. But I do recognize that screen time is an issue for students, so I’ll be cognizant of that as I balance paper and online work.” In addition to screen time, some teachers feel that the learning process is diminished by using a computer.

“There’s pretty good research that shows students retain information better when they are taking notes by hand, learning in a non-virtual way, and having a tactile experience.” DR. ANDREW FENTON A student presents a poem to Mr. Keefe and his English class

or many students and teachers, the 2020-21 school year challenged the academic process. In the summer of 2020, unknowns surrounded the status of the upcoming year. The possibility of returning to in-person learning existed but seemed irrational when considering all of the steps that would need to be taken. But as the academic year grew closer, that possibility became a reality as members of the school prepared to return to the campus. The return, however, was not complete. Teachers adjusted their methods to follow school guidelines. The new normal included ninety-minute classes in a quarter system, a virtual-learning option, and a predominately online learning system. The main restriction that hampered the educational process was the six-foot distance. Latin teacher Dr. Andrew Fenton felt that his classes changed significantly as a result of social distancing. “There were a few different projects that we weren’t able to do this year because they involved a lot of close contact and physical activity,” Dr. Fenton said. Calculus, engineering, and physics teacher Mr. Adam Myers echoed these sentiments. “All of the science classes are heavily project-based, and we weren’t able to do a lot of the group work simply because people couldn’t be close enough to work safely,” Mr. Myers said. “We had to change a lot of projects to online platforms and digital simulations.” While teachers removed many projects and group activities from the curriculum this year, there were still some positives to the altered learning environment.

teacher Mr. Keith Belson said. “It really allowed me to compartmentalize my units. For English, I find that communication’s kind of a big part of that class, so we split it up by speaking and writing in the first half of the year, and then the second half really lent itself nicely to the listening component.” The quarter system allowed students to focus on a smaller number of classes, and it served the same purpose for teachers handling multiple duties.

“I could stay on top of my responsibilities so I could better help the students stay on top of their responsibilities.” MR. ADAM MYERS

JACK SUTER ’23

“Being in two departments, it really helped me to focus on a smaller number of tasks,” Mr. Myers said. “I could stay on top of my responsibilities so I could better help the students stay on top of their responsibilities.” Another helpful element that was added to the academic system was the virtual option for students. Teachers were able to involve students in their classes that may have missed the day entirely in previous years. “I had a student who was injured and out for the last couple weeks,” Dr. Fenton said. “In past years, I don’t know what he would have done. But it’s really nice to have the option to have him there with us, even if he can’t participate exactly the same way.” For the students in class, the presence of computers dominated the learning experience. Many teachers moved away from

Dr. Fenton said, “There’s pretty good research that shows students retain information better when they are taking notes by hand, learning in a non-virtual way, and having a tactile experience.” As the next school year approaches, the value of on-paper learning may not be entirely forgotten. “I think there will inevitably be some kind of shift back towards the paper,” Mr. Belson said. “There are a lot of benefits to laboring through things as opposed to tapping on a keyboard.” The administration looks to return to some pre-pandemic academic procedures. But the effects of the past year will linger. The quarter system will continue next year, and many elements of the online approach will remain. Perhaps it is only natural that the school will continue to feel the impact of such a historic time.

“I found the quarter system to be incredibly beneficial as a teacher.” MR. KEITH BELSON “I found the quarter system to be incredibly beneficial as a teacher,” English

Students work on a project in art class

JACK SUTER ’23

the index · neighborhood

Page 14

June 2021

neighborhood Jay Crowther’s Main Line Tennis Academy: tennis for a cause Ethan Chan ’23

ourth Former Jay Crowther has had quite the year with tennis. In his sophomore year, he earned himself MVP of the eleven-time consecutive Inter-Ac winning team, First Team all InterAc honors, and played at the team’s top spot. As a high school player, Crowther has seemingly reached the pinnacle of tennis success. But he seeks more than victories on the court: he seeks community service. Over the summer, Crowther will lead the newly formed tennis initiative Main Line Tennis Academy (MLTA). “MLTA is a group of high school tennis players working as a not-for-profit group to raise money for children with special needs—like down syndrome or autism— and share their love of the game with these kids as a way to support the community, as well as provide tennis to those who want to show their support for the special-needs community,” Crowther said. MLTA is unique because of its specific goal of not only teaching high-quality tennis, but helping others.

“MLTA has a specific mission, and we are creating something unique from scratch.” JAY CROWTHER ’23 “MLTA has a specific mission, and we are creating something unique from scratch,” Crowther said. “We are not aware of anyone else doing anything like this, a mission-driven program for kids, targeted at those with special needs.” Founded by Crowther and fellow tennis teammate and Fourth Former Joaquin Arias,

MLTA sessions run on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays throughout the summer at Grasslyn Park in Havertown. “Paid clinics are offered to children and adults of all ages who want to support our mission,” Crowther said. For a reasonable price, players of all skill sets can seek help. Whether it be the casual club or tournament player, specific drills and plans are mapped out for the player’s success. “The activities for special needs will be tailored specifically for them—what they can do, their attention span, the amount of structure they need is very different from a traditional tennis clinic,” Crowther said. With such an in-depth proposal, one is not surprised to find out that Crowther has a familial connection to combating autism. “I had been thinking about how I could use my love of tennis for the community for a while, especially with kids not able to be as active because of coronavirus and it being a good sport for that,” Crowther said. “Then, I was talking to my father about a company he works with, Cognoa, that has some really cool technology to help diagnose and aid earlier intervention with autistic children and it got me interested in the topic.” Once he started researching, Crowther found that the special needs community is also a part of the Haverford, Inter-Ac community. “I found several other tennis players at Haverford and in the Inter-Ac either had relatives with special needs or had experience working at events like the Special Olympics, so I found support from them. The same with the teachers at Haverford, who have been incredibly supportive so far,” Crowther said. Encouraged by collective support, the co-founders look to donate all proceeds to a

Jay Crowther ’23 with a Main Line Tennis Academy student worthy cause. “Profits will be donated to The Timothy School to help students with special needs receive a better education and support their mission,” Crowther said. “Depending on our level of success, we may be able to expand that to other special needs programs.” The future looks bright for Crowther to cement his initiative. “I intend to continue to work on this project through my senior season to support the Timothy School, but it would be great to pass the torch to another student on the Haverford tennis team to keep the program

COURTESY OF JAY CROWTHER

going and have a more lasting impact in the community,” Crowther said. The Haverford tennis team could also make an impact on MLTA. “The Haverford tennis team has a really special spirit,” Crowther said. “I think this would be a cool part of that spirit and maybe something that can be a lasting part of the team’s identity even after I graduate from Haverford.” For now, interested players and customers can find more information on MLTA’s Instagram page (@mlta_tennis) and Facebook page (Mainline Tennis Academy).

Camp Tecumseh’s disconnection from modern distraction Thomas Pendergast ’23

n the evergreen banks of Lake Winnipesaukee in Moultonborough, New Hampshire rests

Camp Tecumseh, an all-boys sports camp founded over a century ago. 300 acres of unspoiled nature set the scene for lifelong

COURTESY OF THOMAS PENDERGAST ’23

A day of activites at Camp Tecumseh

friendships, and memorable experiences that allow for a break from the stress of the modern world. Once at camp, all technology is taken from the campers, many of whom rarely go a day without electronics, let alone multiple weeks. Since technology-deprived boredom cannot be resolved by mindless finger tapping, camp forces people to bond with the 200 other people that surround them. Unlike the school experience, a brotherhood is created among people of all ages throughout the camp. Jeff Pendergast ’19, a lifelong camper/ counselor, said, “There is no better feeling than jumping in the cool lake after a long day of competition with your friends, watching the sunset over the White Mountains. It’s truly a special place to have grown as a person.” When kids are first dropped off at camp at a young age, they are forced to use their social skills to adapt to the new environment. This skill speeds up maturity as learning this flexibility early on allows individuals to act and live with confidence. Hunter Gillin is a Haverford secondgrade teacher and Tecumseh counselor. From Tecumseh, he has learned the importance of community

Mr. Gillin said, “Tecumseh’s community has given me a sense of belonging, and has supported my growth into becoming an educator and coach.” The Tecumseh values help all who attend grow up and live using sharpened social skills and the community in times of need. Seven-year camper Wells Flinn said, “Watching the older campers and counselors interact and handle situations, they became role models for me and my cabinmates.” Camp is structured to teach the campers to persevere through hardship while staying calm and confident.

COURTESY OF THOMAS PENDERGAST ’23

Sunset at Camp Tecumseh

Page 15

the index · neighborhood

June 2021

One Ardmore Place, out of place Tripp Ronon ’24

s one of the more densely populated local areas, Ardmore is an important part of the broader Main Line. It offers retail, restaurants, public transportation, and attractive, walkable neighborhoods. Over the past decade, stakeholders in Ardmore and Lower Merion Township have applied significant energy, thought, and resources into planning Ardmore’s future. Visible outcomes of the recent zoning and planning include the continued transformation of Suburban Square, a new train station complex underway, and the development of an eight-story luxury apartment complex, One Ardmore Place. Suburban Square is the centerpiece of Ardmore’s walkable retail and dining offerings. As a popular evening spot for countless high school students on the Main Line, it can expect a lively summer with plenty of foot traffic. Led by Kimco Realty, the site has gone through a tremendous transformation since its time as a department-store-anchored strip center. More and more tenants fill up the newly constructed retail buildings, from Shake Shack to a Boyds Pop-Up Shop. Suburban Square is an appealing spot for shopping, dining, work, and entertainment activities. The Lower Merion Zoning Board and popular opinion would agree that it is a success. Adjacent to Suburban Square, a $35 million redevelopment, the Ardmore Train Station, is underway. This is an important project, enhancing public transportation and Ardmore’s connectivity to the Main Line, Center City, and even New York City. Passengers can board a train at Ardmore, and

arrive at New York City’s Moynihan Train Hall. By investing more in public transportation, Ardmore can reduce carbon emissions and decrease reliance on cars.

An uncreative and bland facade towers above all other buildings and creates an unaesthetic skyline. Across the train tracks to the south is Ardmore’s historic district. This area includes small businesses, single-family homes, and the two-year-old One Ardmore Place. What catches the eye first in this area is the tall structure tucked tightly among the narrow streets of Ardmore. An uncreative and bland facade towers above all other buildings and creates an unaesthetic skyline. The combination of its height, mass, and proximity to adjacent structures blocks the sun and casts a wide, and inescapable shadow. As a seventeen-year Ardmore resident, Director of Information Services, Ms. Lisa Snyder was curious about early announcements of One Ardmore Place. “I was intrigued about how they would fit it in,” she said, referring to the surrounding dense neighborhood and narrow streets. The building is set atop the former Cricket Lot, a public parking lot used for the small businesses on Lancaster Avenue. This parking lot offered a buffer between businesses and single-family homes. The mass of the new structure removes the buffer and

One Ardmore Place looms over central Ardmore blocks daylight. Put simply, the building seems misplaced on the streetscape and disrupts the context of the community.

One would hope that this massive structure on narrow streets is an aberration and not a portent of future development. Launching the development of One Ardmore Place was not easy, as the Save Ardmore Coalition filed a lawsuit in opposition to the construction of the building on mul-

TRIPP RONON ’24

tiple grounds. They cited parking concerns, the use of public funds for private development, and the building’s diminishment of the neighborhood’s historic integrity. Despite the protest from residents of the community, One Ardmore Place was completed and opened. One Ardmore Place offers a cautionary lesson. Is this the beginning of a trend, or is this an outlier? One would hope that this massive structure on narrow streets is an aberration and not a portent of future development. Ms. Snyder said, “I like how Ardmore feels neighborhoody, but One Ardmore Place feels weird because it is so big.”

Service Board connects with local Jamaican church Jack suter ’23

he Service Board has continued to find ways to stay active throughout the hardships of the pandemic. Most recently, the Service Board has been leading groups of Haverford students over to a local Jamaican church, the Memorial Church of God and Christ. Oftentimes, Mr. Brian McBride leads the group over to the church, which is just a couple of minutes away from campus. This makes it a great place to participate in service during lunch, which is when most of the groups go over. Some groups have also gone early in the morning on Wednesdays.

food pantry is located. “We then have our temperatures checked while we all put on gloves to handle the food,” Fourth Former George Vollmer said. A typical job is unloading truckloads of produce on Wednesday. Students form a line to pass boxes into the basement. From there the boxes are unloaded and sorted into canned goods, fresh produce, desserts, bread, and other categories.

Even still, premade boxes are prepared to keep the line moving. Some days the pantry will have upwards of 20 cars, with multiple people moving through the pantry in under an hour, proving Pastor Miller’s point of “how important and how necessary the work we are doing is.” Next year, the Service Board hopes to keep this connection with the church and become more involved, having more and more students come out to help. It is impor-

tant to see new faces, as this kind of work is beneficial to anyone who is involved. Seeing students giving back to their community working alongside the workers at the church is truly heartwarming. If after having read this article and you are not already interested in helping out at the church, Ms. Loos has been working on organizing a system so that rising Fifth Formers will have more options for parking in the Church lot.

“It doesn’t matter where people come from or why they are coming for the food, it just matters that people get the help they need.” PASTOR DAREN MILLER These early morning trips are important because the mornings on Wednesdays are when the Church receives about 2,000 - 3,000 pounds of produce. The church runs a food kitchen where people from any zipcode with any background can come get food. “It doesn’t matter where people come from or why they are coming for the food, it just matters that people get the help they need. That is the important thing,” said Pastor Daren Miller of the Jamaican church. Arriving at the church, the group of boys funnel into the basement, where the

Students assist the Jamaican Church food pantry

JACK SUTER ‘23

Page 16

the index · campus opinions

June 2021

campus opinions The new head of school should embody...

Previous heads of school’s portraits lining the hallway by the administrative suite

JEFFREY YANG ’22

Colin Stewart ’22

s the 2021 school year comes to a close, so does Dr. John Nagl’s tenure as Head of School. His surprising resignation part way through last summer left many Haverford students asking the question, “Who will be our next headmaster?” Dr. Nagl’s love for Haverford and its community was felt and appreciated by all. Ever since the day of Dr. Nagl’s resignation, Haverford’s administrative body has been searching for a new leader. Little information has been thus far communicated to the student body about this search and its possible candidates. There has been little perceived effort on the side of the administration to ask and understand what students

Haverford needs a head of school who will make an effort to facilitate healthy discussions.

want in their next head of school. Therefore, for better or for worse, I will do my best to speak for the student body and what it wants and needs in its next head of school. The three most necessary characteristics: bipartisanship, unconditional love for the school, and empathy. In a time of polarization unseen since the 1960s and federal party platforms inching farther and farther to the extreme every day, Haverford needs a head of school who will make an effort to facilitate healthy discussion. A good example of this would be not taking a side on hot political issues such as the impeachment of a president or large social movements skewed to one particular ideology. Some may feel that it is the head of school’s responsibility to further certain agendas that they deem to be moral, but any furthering of an agenda that clearly skews to one side of the political aisle ostracizes a group of students and families. Though this is easier said than done, a few ways a head could facilitate discussion in a bipartisan manner is by not making outward statements of one’s own view, by bringing in speakers of all political ideologies, and by taking action against teachers who make

a clear and dangerous effort to teach their opinion rather than make their best effort at offering both sides of the argument.

The next head needs to have an unconditional love for Haverford, its students, and its community. Second, the next head needs to have an unconditional love for Haverford, its students, and its community. This does not mean an inability to criticize Haverford because, as James Baldwin said best, “I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” The next head should want to right the wrongs in Haverford, all the while wanting the best for every boy that has walked through the school’s halls, every teacher that

has taught a lesson in Wilson Hall, every parent that has sacrificed for their son to receive a great education, and every staff member who dedicates time to running the parts of the school students rarely see. This type of unwavering love is the only kind that will facilitate the creation of a true brotherhood. Lastly, the next head has to be empathetic. He should not only be able to understand but want to understand each boy that he comes in contact with. He should understand that we, as a community but also as individual students, make mistakes and that no one wants more than the student body to correct these mistakes. Most importantly, he needs to understand that each boy is different, with his own life, problems, feelings, and beliefs, and that the only way he can truly lead them through their lower, middle school, and upper school years is by doing his best to understand each facet of as many boys’ lives as he can. What we, as a student body, stand for is what our leadership should represent to the wider community—we should thoughtfully consider and discuss that image to the outside world.

Page 17

the index · campus-opinions

June 2021

Reflections on learning during COVID, a speech to the Hephaestus Society Matthew Schwartz ‘21

think we are all still assessing what we’ve been through in the last fifteen months. Our Haverford experience was different in every way. None of us could have predicted that new terms like: “I’ll share my screen” or “you’re muted” are now permanent additions to our language. I’ve come to realize that my most profound learnings during COVID weren’t just in the classroom, but were lessons learned from the adaptations we all made to our altered lives. It will take a while for teachers, staff, and students to have enough quiet moments to come to terms with all we have experienced. And I’m not sure we’ll fully grasp how profound and unique it was for years to come. We owe ourselves a little time for looking back, but we owe it to one another to keep looking ahead. First, I want to acknowledge how much more other school communities were affected than Haverford. It’s been a very hard year for so many students, educators, and parents across the world. Children living in low-income communities have been disproportionately affected by the abrupt shift to remote schooling. Many of these families still don’t have the job security, stability, means, or computer and internet access necessary to provide a safe and consistent environment for their children to get a quality experience. People have been hurting—badly—and in some cases students slipped away from school entirely. We also know that for younger kids, social interaction at school or playdates is an important part of their development and this past year

was filled with social deprivation, replaced with virtual get-togethers and pandemic school. It may take some years to get those students back on track academically, physically, mentally, and otherwise. I worry that this lost year for some could impact racial and economic equity for a generation. At Haverford, the school did everything in its power and more to preserve all that school should be. We pushed the boundaries of what society, politicians, the county and even some parents thought was acceptable for teaching in a pandemic. More than most, the school did its best to preserve all the elements that make up this place since we aren’t here just for the academic lessons. If we were, school could be reduced to a series of on-demand videos on Khan Academy. We’re also here for the interaction: the interaction of challenging each other as we learn together, the interaction of friendships being built with classmates and teachers, the

This year, more than ever, we learned that the word “school” refers to much more than just academics—because we realized what was missing when it was no longer there.

MR. JAMISON MALEY

Matthew Schwartz ’21 alongside former Head of Upper School Mr. Matthew Green (left) and Franklin Dai ’21 (right center) and Kethan Srinivasan ’21 (right) at a mock trial tournament at the University of Pennsylvania, January, 2018

The Hephaestus Society logo interaction of sports and activities allows us to expand our bodies, competitive spirit, and minds. In other words, not everything in the curriculum matters and not everything that matters fits into the curriculum. For me, learning has always been a communal experience. There’s something special about seeing those around you get inspired, and it finally clicks how to solve a problem or understand a concept. Or, it can even be comforting to feel that shared sense of confusion, when you simply don’t know what’s going on. We lost many of these experiences when going virtual, as the excitement or disorientation on a student’s face doesn’t translate the same when it’s occurring in a twoinch by two-inch box over Google Meet. This year, more than ever, we learned that the word “school” refers to much more than just academics—because we realized what was missing when it was no longer there. I’m glad the school understood this and worked to make sure our informal education was preserved as much as possible. This pandemic unfolded slowly. I remember hearing that things would be back to normal in a few weeks. Then by summer. Then by fall. Then by Christmas. Maybe a dozen deadlines missed. And guess what: it isn’t back to normal yet, and we’ve all come to realize it never will be. And that’s okay. Some of us stressed out every time the “new” normal date was pushed out. More plans to be canceled, expectations to be adjusted. But at some point, I stopped wondering and started accepting the new normal. Accepting that our world doesn’t have to be perfectly predictable like we’ve been trained by Amazon Prime or the ending of Marvel movies. I also learned that we can take the best of COVID and bring that to post-COVID. Prior to COVID I often found myself overscheduled. From interviews for The Index to writing arguments in mock trial, I always push myself to accomplish too much, but when COVID gave me the opportunity to step back and reflect on all my efforts, I realized my life had become more about doing than being. This recognition was long overdue, and I’ve used it to focus more on what matters most to me, such as friends, family, and ertain activities at school. It’s also helped me de-stress and better appreciate living in the moment instead of spending the present contemplating something I’ve scheduled for the future. Staying committed to my schoolwork during COVID was strenuous, but eventually, as time wore on, school represented a

COURTESEY OF HAVERFORD.ORG

break from the mundane. It allowed me to do something else besides sitting around inside all day.

As I reflect on the expirience of COVID learning, I can’t help but think about what lessons and actions we can take forward to improve the plight of future students. As I reflect on the experience of COVID learning, I can’t help but think about what lessons and actions we can take forward to improve the plight of future students. We’re at a moment where problems have been exposed, new challenges have emerged, and communities are experimenting with all kinds of new ideas and models. I believe that learning how to use new technology, more flexibility in location and time, and more creative teaching methods will have a longterm, positive impact on teaching and learning, here and beyond. One victim of change is standardized testing. As one of many school rituals, it was completely abandoned last spring. Tests play a critical role in education, but the current form of standardized testing—for example, paper-based multiple-choice SATs—is outdated and doesn’t accurately reflect what students from all backgrounds and learning styles know. Haverford has high-potential students of all kinds and yet standardized testing didn’t recognize that. Maybe the future of SATs will now recognize that more. While we have all been pushed far out of our comfort zone in the past year, we also should realize that we liked some of COVID’s school changes. For example, the student body has overwhelmingly supported the quarter system introduced this year, and I hope keeping it next year makes the entire learning process more accessible and easy to navigate for students going forward. With our senior year ending, many people seem to be despairing over this fact, yet I can’t help but feel hopeful. To me, high school was a stepping stone on a longer journey of discovery. Although it didn’t exactly end as I thought it would, I learned more about resiliency, compassion and self-sufficiency than I ever expected.

Page 18

the index · off-campus opinions

June 2021

oﬀ-campus opinions Partisan polarization is a danger to the country’s future Bowen Deng ’22

he United States Congress is perhaps in its most divided era since the Civil War. Almost every form of meaningful legislation is proposed along party lines and will likely not pass thanks to the filibuster and in certain cases, an unwillingness to compromise. While disagreements are inevitable and the partisan divide between congressional Democrats and Republicans is far from a new revelation—one can trace this polarization back to the presidency of Bill Clinton—the rate at which this division has accelerated in the past four years is alarming. Our generation will be (and already is) directly affected by the increasingly partisan nature of Congress, and the future looks grim if something does not change soon. I am writing this article not to claim that bipartisanship is always a good thing or that every significant legislative proposal should always have bipartisan support; I simply wish to point out how the staunchly partisan nature of Congress can be extremely detrimental to the future of the United States of America. In a way, one could argue that this level of polarization was inevitable; the Republican party shifted towards conservatism, while the Democrats remained staunchly supportive of the big government ideal espoused by FDR and LBJ. While there was a fair share of liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats in the past, they are now virtually nonexistent. Conservative Democrats have joined the Republican party, while liberal Republicans have shifted to the Democratic party — the states of New England

The U.S. Capitol’s west side

and the Deep South demonstrate this shift the best.

The current disagreements between both parties go far beyond social or economic issues. However, the current disagreements between both parties go far beyond social or economic issues; our elected politicians cannot come together to investigate an incident of domestic terrorism. The January 6 Commission failed in the Senate, with just six Republican senators voting in favor of the commission, far from the 60-vote threshold needed to break the filibuster. The proposal was far, far from partisan. Republican Representative John Katko and Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson modeled it after the 9/11 Commission: five Democrats and five Republicans chosen by their respective leaders would create a report on the events of Jan 6. Even after Susan Collins proposed compromises to make the bill more appealing to the Senate GOP, it failed. There are many adjectives to describe this: puzzling, disappointing, but more significantly, worrying. If we cannot trust our elected officials to work together and make sure the events of January 6 do not happen again, what can we trust them with? This should not be a Republican vs. Democrat issue, but it has turned into one; Republicans

seem more concerned about their standing in the 2022 midterm elections than the safety of D.C. It was not always like this; meaningful and necessary proposals were not thrown away for the sake of partisan gain. The Civil Rights Bill of 1964 would not have passed if it weren’t for bipartisan efforts in both chambers of Congress. President Kennedy worked with Republican Representative William McCullough for the foundations of what would later be the Civil Rights Bill. After Kennedy’s assassination, President Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield knew that without the support of the Republican party, they would never overcome the Southern Democrats’ racist filibusters and get enough votes for passage. Thus, they turned towards Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirkson to court Republican support. Dirkson knew that it was an election year and the Civil Rights Bill would be a significant legislative victory for Johnson’s re-election campaign, but still put country over party and did the right thing. Senate Republicans worked with the Democratic Party to create the strongest piece of legislation (at that time) addressing racism that both parties — save for the Southern senators — could support. Even Reagan’s tax cuts were able to overcome a gridlocked Congress, with many House Democrats supporting them (there are strong opinions associated with Reaganomics, but the point remains that they could not have been enacted without the help of Democrats). However, there is no point in

reminiscing about the past or looking at it through a rose-tinted lens. So, is bipartisanship dead? Yes, and no. Despite Biden pledging to restore unity, he faces staunch opposition from the Republican Party on whatever he proposes. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that “100% of my effort is on stopping this current administration.” Some progressives see no point in negotiating with the Republican party and are encouraging the President to press on without them. However, there are the likes of Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Lisa Murkowski in the Senate; both have actively tried to seek policies that both parties will agree upon (for example, both have called for a reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act), but it may not matter. There will always be those who advocate for bipartisanship, but they may just drown in a sea of voices. The United States of America cannot continue like this. At the moment, Congress is a danger to the Union itself and the issues that America faces. As it stands, any meaningful legislation will happen along partisan lines, with the majority chamber ramming it through. While this is not always a bad thing — for example, the American Rescue Plan has been deemed a success by the American people, despite no Republicans voting for it — Congress will continue to grow increasingly partisan and politics will grow nastier and nastier. And what will happen when an issue arises that should not be a partisan one? Can we trust a partisan Congress to keep that issue nonpartisan?

MARTIN FALBISONER VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

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June 2021

arts Mr. Raeder, beyond the school’s studios Ethan Lee ’24

any students are unaware of the lives of the teachers that roam the halls alongside them. As one of the creators of an artistic practice called Better Lovers, Mr. Jacob Raeder has a business and artistic life that he does not often share with his students. “I have been working with Layla Marcelle for about six years,” Mr. Raeder said.

“There are two sides to this company. One is the business side, where we make functional ceramics to fund the other side, which is focused on other stuff like cinematography and other such mediums.” Better Lovers produces functional ceramics. “Designed ceramics,” on the other hand, are intended to be mass-produced and sold.

While Mr. Raeder sells his work, it is all handmade. “We have siloed parts of our practice into two categories that help each other,” Mr. Raeder observed, “One part of our practice helps to fund the other side of our practice.” Better Lovers specializes in creating pieces with crawl glaze. Crawl glaze has a bumpy texture that is not conventional in mass-produced ceramics.

“We generally think of glaze on ceramics as not having texture. ... I became interested in crawl [glaze] because I wanted to make ceramics that were not only visually interesting but also interesting to the touch. MR. JACOB RAEDER ’2#

Mr. Jacob Raeder poses in the ceramics studio

COURTESY OF MR. JACOB RAEDER

“We generally think of glaze on ceramics as not having texture,” Mr. Raeder said. “I became interested in crawl [glaze] because I wanted to make ceramics that were not only visually interesting but also interesting to the touch. That knobbly, rough texture was just as appealing as the way it looked.” One of the ideas he considered was how a visually impaired person would react to the cup. “Would it be an interesting object to use?” Mr. Raeder asked. “Would it be an at-

tractive object to use or a repulsive object to use?” Mr. Raeder chose the name “Better Lovers” for a number of reasons. One key factor was the emotional attachment people have to oft-used objects. “We wanted to think that the objects in our lives were anthropomorphic,” Mr. Raeder said. “We were interested in thinking that the ceramics we made had emotions and attachments.” Another reason was the obstacle of finding a name that was not already being used. “We had to make sure that this name wasn’t taken,” Mr. Raeder said. “Marketing is a part of the business that we understand is important.” Aside from the functional ceramics, Better Lovers also produces experimental hypnotism films. “The films have no plot as they are experimental,” Mr. Raeder explained. “The end goal of the film is to teach you how to throw a pot on a pottery wheel without you ever sitting at the wheel.” The idea came from an audiobook on how to improve your tennis in your sleep. “The idea that you could listen to this tape and be in a trance that it would actually impact me was interesting,” Mr. Raeder stated. “I’m not sure of the efficacy of this, but we are interested in the visual language around hypnotism.” Mr. Raeder does not discuss the business side of his ventures outside of school with his students. “I don’t want students to focus or even think about how much their project is worth monetarily,” Mr. Raeder said. “But I think there is still value in talking about this kind of stuff—talking about teacher’s lives outside of school.”

Artist spotlight: Charles Witmer ’22 enters virtual vocal competitions Austin Zhuang ’22

hether he is playing his cello before school for the orchestra, rehearsing with the Notables, or attending private singing lessons, Fifth Former Charles Witmer spends a large part of his free time with music, honing his vocal and instrumental skills. Witmer’s first exposure to music was when he joined a choir after his mother encouraged him to participate. “I like [singing]. I’ve done it since third grade. If I hadn’t got at least moderately good at it by now, I would feel kind of disappointed,” Witmer joked. His humble assessment fails to show how good of a singer he is. Last year, Witmer was able to advance all the way through the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) competition from the district level to the All-State chorus, where he had the chance to join the National Chorus. Unfortunately, it was cut short by the pandemic, something that continued to cause difficulties for Witmer in competitions this year. Normally, competitors audition in person, but the pandemic forced singers to record videos and send them to the PMEA organizers, something Witmer disliked. “I just don’t sound that good online,” Witmer said. “I mean, like, no one really does, but it obviously didn’t help [my chanc-

es for success].” Besides the PMEA competition, Witmer also received an Honorable Mention for Senior Voice at the Tri-County Concerts Youth Festival, an impressive achievement. And despite the effort put in behind the scenes to reach his level, the reason he attends all these competitions is simple. “I heard about it [from my private teacher] and thought, ‘Hey! Why not try?” Witmer said.

His willingness to put his skills to the test and showcase his singing abilities comes from his enjoyment of the activity. His willingness to put his skills to the test and showcase his singing abilities comes from his enjoyment of the activity, and it shows his unique approach to music. Witmer’s achievements speak for themselves, and despite his lack of boasting it is clear that he is a major part of Haverford’s performing arts program.

Charles Witmer ’22

COURTESY OF CHARLES WITMER ’22

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June 2021

Diversity Alliance premieres Our Truth documentary Lucas Harrington ’24

ou have probably heard about the new Diversity Alliance documentary Our Truth. It focuses on the Diversity Alliance’s (DA) successes and setbacks throughout the last school year, with filming and production having started in December 2020. The documentary premiered on Friday, May 28, with over thirty-five people in attendance. It currently has over 500 views. The film is now available on the Our Truth YouTube channel. The group hopes to shed light on what the DA does beyond the social media presence. Personal experiences of oppression, discrimination, and communal culture make up a core part of the film, as these are the experiences that most motivate the Diversity Alliance mission. “We can’t pretend that it’s [acts of discrimination, hatred, or oppresision] not happening, because it is,” Fifth Former Diversity Alliance Co-Chair Quinn Luong said. Sixth Former Diversity Alliance ViceChair Nachikethan Srinivasan said, “We want the student body and the wider Haverford community as a whole to understand what role we [Diversity Alliance] serve in the realm of the upper school and what our goal is: to help make Haverford a just and equitable student environment for everyone by means of education, of dialogue, and of outreach.” While the documentary’s premiere and release went smoothly, there were many emotional burdens on the cast throughout the production period. When asked about the hardships while making the documentary, Srinivasan said, “It felt taxing to rely on each other’s support on whether the personal encounters we had gone through were acceptable to include in the final edits. While I was confident, others

were somewhat conflicted about what they felt comfortable sharing.” The difficulty in sharing such personal experiences with the school was echoed throughout the documentary, especially in incidents that involve other students. The hurdles were not strictly emotional, however. “It was much more difficult than we had initially expected to make this documentary,” director Russell Yoh ’24 said. “We didn’t realize how much time and effort it would be. I spent a lot of really late nights on calls with other members of the Executive Team trying to get it done in time.” Fourth Form Diversity Alliance ViceChair Roch Parayre said, “The entire film was difficult because of the time commitment.” The DA Executive Team expressed the immense difficulty of the production, yet they are all happy with the end result. “It was often very stressful and tiring,” Yoh said, “but we’re all really proud of how it came together in the end.” The upper school community has had a largely positive reaction to the documentary, expressing interest in learning more about the DA. Third Former Tripp Ronon looked forward to the film. “I had initially seen the announcement on social media, and I thought it was a unique way to show what they’ve done,” Ronon said. “The DA has impacted my daily school life with speakers and events, but I was interested to see what else they did.” Our Truth explores the often unmentioned aspects of the school community and follows one of the most prominent student groups throughout a challenging school year. Diversity, equity, and inclusion work is cur-

rently very popular worldwide, and the Our Truth documentary brings it to Haverford

for students to see, as Russell Yoh puts it, “our passion and dedication to this work.”

The oﬃcial poster for the Diversity Alliance documentary

COURTESY OF DIVERSITY ALLIANCE

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June 2021

sports

Sixth Formers reflect on the lasting impact of Fords athletics after pandemic year

N18 PRODUCTIONS

Geordy Holmes ’21 in a 15-11 win against EA on May 20, 2021 Mitav Nayak ’22

ports are an integral aspect of the Haverford experience: they encourage brotherhood, camaraderie, and discipline—the quintessential qualities Fords pride themselves on. The spring sports athletes of the class of 2021 are a truly special group who embody these attributes central to the school. Although they faced a number of challenges—no Fifth Form season, new protocols and restrictions, and abrupt changes in schedules—they made the absolute most of every moment they spent on the field, water, or court.

“Our student-athletes have shown a tremendous amount of resilience and grit.” MR. MICHAEL MURPHY “Our student-athletes have shown a tremendous amount of resilience and grit,” Director of Athletics Mr. Michael Murphy said. “I also think they’ve displayed a great attitude and appreciation.” For Sixth Former and first-team all-Inter-Ac catcher Eric Genther, the 2021 season was unique in a number of ways. “In the beginning of the season, it was tough,” Genther said. “We had a new dy-

namic among the team because a lot of the guys hadn’t played together, and we had a lot of young guys. It was a bit of an adjustment at first, but once we got everyone to really buy-in, we banded together as a group.” While the team has had success on the field, Genther explained that some of his favorite moments occurred off the field.

“Once the season’s over, you realize just how special those moments are.” ZACH GENTHER ’21 “I’m going to miss the camaraderie with the guys and our bus rides after a big win,” Genther said. “Just all those memories that you make as a team—as a high school athlete. It’s something that I think I’ve taken for granted before, and once the season’s over, you realize just how special those moments are.” Similar to the baseball team, Fords Ultimate was also forced to pivot after last year’s canceled season. “Last year, we had a lot of potential,” Sixth Form captain Drew Loughnane said. “We had a bunch of seniors who had played soccer, and I’d gotten them to come out and learn the game, but after COVID hit, they all graduated and our team lost a lot of the

more athletic kids. So this year, it took a lot of—not only conditioning—but just recruiting and finding younger kids who were willing to run around and learn a sport that a lot of them didn’t know.” Still, the team adjusted well and managed to have a successful season. Loughnane established that the lessons he learned through ultimate go far beyond the frisbee. He has played ultimate for years outside of school, but he did not join the Fords team until he was a Fourth Former. Right away, he has helped grow the program.

“Being the one who has the most experience on the field has really helped me especially with my leadership skills.” DREW LOUGHNANE ’21 “Being the one who has the most experience on the field has really helped me, especially with my leadership skills by putting me in a position where I’d never been in before—where I’m the one who’s running the practices and doing the drills,” Loughnane said. “Especially stepping in this year where I got to take a pretty big leadership role was something for me and I think for the team

that was really nice. We had a team that listened so well and worked so well together.” Sixth Form Trinity-bound rower Bryson Bernhardt also found his athletics experience impactful.

“Rowing for Haverford changed my life.” BRYSON BERNHARDT ’21 “Rowing for Haverford changed my life,” Bernhardt said. “It showed me a lot of things I was lacking, like discipline and hard work, and it showed me how dedication to something can result in success. I highly suggest it to anybody who wants to try it because rowing is a good long-term thing for your life . . . A lot of kids who come through the program end up continuing with it, which shows you how much people fall in love with the sport.” Bernhardt believes the school’s rowing program will continue to flourish moving forward. “To the juniors, I would say go after it next year—because they’re fast and can legitimately win, they need to really buckle down,” Bernhardt said. “This year, with covid and everything, it kind of set back almost con’t on next page

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every program, but next year, they have a serious opportunity to make a legacy as a really good class.” This theme of the Sixth Form caring not only about the success in a given year but also laying a foundation for the future is constant across every sport. Sixth Form lacrosse midfielder Geordy Holmes said, “What we tried to do was keep that brotherhood. We lost a year of it, and since you lose a year, there are a lot of young guys that don’t really know yet what it means to be a Haverford lacrosse player, and the biggest thing about being a Haverford lacrosse player is buying into the brotherhood, loving being out there, loving your teammates and loving the game . . . granted, we lost that last game, but I would like to think that we made Haverford lacrosse better just because of that brotherhood.”

“There are so many life lessons that I’ve learned—not to say that I haven’t learned in the classroom— but I just don’t think I would have learned as much without lacrosse.” GEORDY HOLMES ’21 Holmes reflected on his emotions after the Inter-Ac championship. “After that last game, you turn around and you’re just defeated. And then you see all those younger guys crying and coming up to you and hugging you and thanking you—it’s a special thing because you feel that you made it better than how you found it,” Holmes said. Overall, Holmes believes lacrosse has

COURTESY OF BRYSON BERNHARDT ’21

Bryson Bernhardt ’21 in a single boat during a race

had a tremendous impact on his life. “This year, the biggest thing for me was just being grateful for having a season and being able to just go out every day and practice and do what I love with the guys that I love,” Holmes said. “Over the past four years, I’ve just learned so much and I’ve become such a better person through Haverford lacrosse. There are so many life lessons that I’ve learned—not to say that I haven’t learned in the classroom—but I just don’t think I would have learned as much without lacrosse.” Unlike the lacrosse team, the track and field squad was relatively small this season. However, Sixth Form jumper Chris Sims explained that he viewed this as a positive. “We had our own little family,” Sims said, “and we really just stuck together. It benefited us in the end because we all got to know each other really well. With all the training that we were doing, it made it very

easy to just talk and have fun.” Still, the season did not come without its challenges. “With COVID, it was a lot more training than anything,” Sims said. “For me, I had to take every day and push myself to make sure I was getting the experience that I wanted, so when it did come time for meets, I was ready to go.” Similar to the other Sixth Form athletes, Sims affirmed that athletics has been a fundamental part of his upper school experience.

“I’m really grateful that the track program pushed me to be who I am today.” CHRIS SIMS ’21

“The last four years have been unforgettable,” Sims said. “Starting off freshman year and not knowing if I wanted to run track at all, to by the end of the season being a guy who scored at Inter-Acs—to my senior year being one of the leaders for the jumpers—it really just came full circle for me. I’m really grateful that the track program pushed me to be who I am today, and I’ll always remember that the track team is really what pushed me to make myself better.” For Fords tennis—another tightly-knit team—this spring season was special. In late May, they secured their eleventh straight Inter-Ac title, a feat that Sixth Former George Laveran credits largely to senior leadership and head coach Mr. Antonio Fink. “In the fall, we came back and Mr. Fink was able to get us back in the tennis zone,” Laveran said. “Everyone was a bit rusty, but being able to play and be with the team in the fall was very beneficial because by spring, everyone knew who was on the team and we’d already gotten back into it a little bit.” Laveran reflected on his Fords tennis journey.

“With the leadership and camaraderie, I liked this year’s tennis team the best of all the teams I’ve ever played on.” GEORGE LAVERAN ’21 “Even last year, I hadn’t really grown yet and I was pretty small, but Mr. Fink gave me some opportunities to play on varsity as a junior before Covid struck. I used to play a lot of tennis when I was younger, and the program at Haverford got me back into it,” Laveran said. “And honestly, with the leadership and camaraderie, I liked this year’s tennis team the best of all the teams I’ve ever played on.” Mr. Murphy had high praise for the class of 2021.

“They’ve had an incredible attitude to go out and capitalize on the chances they had to compete...” MR. MICHAEL MURPHY

Eric Genther ’21 in a game for the Diamond Fords

DR. MIKE NANCE

“Leadership starts at the top with them,” Mr. Murphy said. “The way that they’ve handled everything, with the grace that they did and the resiliency to say, ‘we’re going to make the best out of this,’ that carried all the way through the school. They’ve had an incredible attitude to go out and capitalize on the chances they had to compete, so I’m really impressed with that group.”

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June 2021

Tennis team’s historic season - 11 and counting...

The tennis team poses after winning the Inter-Ac Championship, May 22, 2021

COURTESY OF JAY CROWTHER ’23

Ethan Chan ’23

hen one considers dominance in the history of sports, Tom Brady’s seven Super Bowl wins, Rafael Nadal’s unmatched record of thirteen Roland Garros titles, and Bill Russell’s eleven rings with the Celtics often come to mind. Despite these individuals’ astounding accomplishments, how many of them have been consecutive? Here at Haverford, the tennis team continues its reign over the Inter-Ac with its historic eleven straight (and counting) Inter-Ac titles. Given the circumstances for the team, title number eleven proved to be quite the challenge. “Most of the adversity that the team faced was due to COVID-related restrictions—like all other Haverford sports faced—like transportation issues, zero or limited fans, etc.,” said assistant coach Ms. Stephanie Kantor. “We play and practice at Baldwin, so we had to be careful to follow their protocol in addition to Haverford.” With the tennis courts being used for Virtue Village, the players had to make the daily commute to Baldwin after school. At a new facility, the team as a whole was quick to adapt to their temporary home court. Despite the challenges, the routine and mentality remained the same and evident: emphasis on the fundamentals.

“Showing up to practice every day—when it rained we went into the gym and worked harder—to get fit and strong.” MR. ANTONIO FINK “Showing up to practice every day— when it rained we went into the gym and worked harder—to get fit and strong,” head coach Mr. Antonio Fink said. “Coach Fink’s philosophy is to make us the ‘fittest’ team in the Inter-Ac, because that’s ‘how we win,’” Fifth Form captain Ad-

amya Aggarwal said. “So we saw a lot of drills and shadow swings early in the season when we didn’t have access to courts. Although it may not seem like it, these drills and workouts helped shape us and give us skills that we can use on the court.” From a grueling pre-season, the outcome was apparent in the team’s results. “We won 17 out of 22 three-set matches, a clear testament to our fitness,” Fourth Former Jay Crowther said. In many of these split-set battles when the match was on the line, the Fords garnered their mental strength and energy, the reason why they were able to close out matches against opposition. “It comes back to diligence during practice and the energy we brought to the games. The Fords wanted the wins more than the other teams and we made it clear through our intensity and how hard we fought in the big moments in our matches,” Crowther said. Throughout their seventeen matches during this season, the energy of the team remained the same as they journeyed to number eleven. Most importantly, the overarching notion of brotherhood, deeply rooted in Haverford’s values, was at full display with the tennis team. “The varsity team was extremely supportive of one another during matches, constantly cheering for one another while playing and watching. I think this support created a real camaraderie and encouraged everyone to do their best for the team,” Coach Kantor said. “No matter where we were, we were the loudest team when it came cheering each other on and the support from the other boys is unmatched,” Fourth Former Neil Sawhney said. On the logistical side of things, the structure of the season differed from previous years. Normally, teams would play each other once or twice a season but the Fords played each Inter-Ac team twice: home and away. Even with this, the major change for the team, and spring sports, was the newly introduced IAAL Tournament. Similar to a

playoff fashion, teams based on the overall record in the regular season would face each other in an elimination bracket format.

“I thought the Inter-Ac tournament was a great idea to define the winner of such a unique season. It will be interesting to see how things remain in the league once there is more normalcy in the things we do,” Coach Fink said. The Fords received a bye in the first round, given they were the second seed. In the semi-finals, they faced Germantown Academy and comfortably ousted them 5-2. In the final, they met none other than school rivals Episcopal Academy, for the Inter-Ac title. “I remember thinking that I had to give everything left in the tank for one final match and it was all-or-nothing—and so was everyone on the team,” said Crowther. In spectacular fashion, the Fords clinched their eleventh consecutive title with a statement win of 6-1, avenging their 3-4 loss prior to the IAAL Tournament. Looking back at this notable season, the players took away many lessons. Aggarwal said, “Use your losses to motivate you to win the next time. We as a team did that multiple times. But I took this lesson to heart playing the EA’s first doubles team in the finals. Christian Crowder and I had played them twice before and lost both times. I remember just constantly telling myself, ‘We are not going to lose a third time.’ And we didn’t.” Likewise, within the tennis team, the saying, “you either win or learn” was representative of Aggarwal and the collective efforts of the team. As they were able to manifest this, the Fords look to come into the 2021-2022 season with high hopes. Coach Fink said, “The goal is always to win every match we play, to win the Inter Ac, and to represent Haverford to the best of our ability.”

MR. WILLIAM CROWDER

An EA player’s view of Christian Crowder’s serve in doubles action from the Inter-Ac chapionship vs. EA, Saturday, May 22, 2021