VOLUME 78, NUMBER 7
XAVIER ROLSTON/TOWER
49 Clinton Avenue Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. 10522
CELEBRATING REUNION WEEKEND
DANCE COMPANY TAKES THE STAGE
RYAN GUAN/TOWER
TOWER The Masters School
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@masterstower
MAY 26, 2022
Supreme court draft threatens to FC shut down after strike down abortion protections repeated misuse Kira Ratan Lucas Seguinot
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
T
Features Editor
he United States Supreme Court is one step closer to overturning the historic 1973 Roe V. Wade decision that gave constitutional protection to a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. The initial draft majority opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito and leaked to media company Politico on May 2. Though the Court’s decision is not final until it is published, which will most likely be in the next few months, the implications of the decision are extensive. The ruling would effectively end federal protection of a woman’s right to a safe abortion and empower states to create their own specific laws on abortion. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 26 states have preliminary laws and/ or amendments in place to ban abortion if Roe V. Wade is overturned. The Roe V. Wade decision, made on Jan. 22, 1973, ruled that a state law banning abortion was unconstitutional under the 14th amendment after Norma McCorvey, under the alias Jane Roe, tried to have an illegal abortion but was stopped by Texas authorities, and subsequently sued the state. The basis of the decision drew on the “zones of privacy” the United States Constitution was obligated to protect. In the 98-page initial draft document, Judge Alito wrote, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.” Along with Alito, four of the other right-wing justices have endorsed the draft opinion, and three of the leftwing justices are drawing up their dis-
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FIBONACCI BLUE/FLICKR
FOLLOWING A LEAKED SUPREME Court decision on May 2 that threatened abortion rights, prochoice protests have erupted around the nation. There are many calls for Democrats to codify Roe v. Wade, the historic 1973 decision that ruled abortion bans unconstituional, into law. sents. Chief Justice John Roberts has not made a decision to vote one way or the other, yet, and after the leak said that the draft was in no way a final decision from the Court. New Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was not a part of the draft opinion, as former Justice Stephen Breyer had not stepped down when the matter was discussed. The decision has already garnered significant outcries from the country’s left-leaning activists. In a poll conducted by NPR, 64% of Americans are in opposition to the strikedown of Roe V. Wade, as of May 19, 2022. Though, roughly 70% of American adults are in favor of some level of restriction on abortion, including 52% of Democrats. The decision has prompted Democrats, particularly, to mobilize as local elections take place and with larger elections around the corner. The poll indicated that around two-thirds of
Democrats said that the contents of the leaked draft opinion make them more likely to vote in November. After the draft was leaked, protesters were outside the Supreme Court within hours, and demonstrations across the country followed for the rest of the week. Sophomore Madi Brown has been an outspoken advocate for women’s rights, and said she felt “terrible” after the draft opinion was leaked. She has spent the last two weeks compiling resources and educational materials on abortion rights that she hopes to share with the Masters community. “There is always a way to help. This isn’t a cause where you can just throw money at it, but there are so many places that need volunteers and help,” Brown said. Planned Parenthood has been a hub of resources and outreach in favor of the right to a safe abortion, and
their team has been very vocal ever since the possibility of Roe V. Wade getting struck down came to a head. Planned Parenthood has been an organization at the forefront of lobbying efforts in favor of pro-choice legislation on the federal and state levels. In a press release the day after the draft opinion was leaked, CEO of Planned Parenthood Joy D. Calloway said, “This is not simply a draft of a devastating and politically motivated Supreme Court opinion, it is a roadmap for dismantling our fundamental right to safe, legal abortion, a right codified nearly fifty years ago.” Note: The survey, mentioned above, of 1,304 adults, including 1,213 registered voters, has a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points when adults are referenced and +/- 4.1 percentage points when referring to voters.
n Monday, May 9, Head of the Upper School Peter Newcomb and Head of School Laura Danforth announced that the Fonseca Center (FC) will be closed indefinitely due to improper clean up by the students. Repeated actions disrespecting the space and ignoring reminders prompted the closing. Newcomb and Danforth said that the FC will only open with the approval of a student-proposed idea by the Executive Committee (EC). “I think this is an opportunity for us to take collective responsibility for our shared spaces,” Newcomb said. The news prompted a quick response. Three proposals were sent to Newcomb on Monday after the email was sent. He expressed his excitement to see what EC has produced. During the following Wednesday’s EC meeting, plans were discussed on how to approach this situation. Sophomore class president Arjun Ratan focused on how the underclassmen should treat public spaces in the future. Ratan as well as others believe that the FC is utilized more by the underclassmen lead-
ing to this responsibility falling on them. To combat this issue, sophomore class presidents Oliver Kreeger and Ratan spoke with the freshman class presidents Sophie Moussoupar and Bobby Ding on ways to address their grades. Out of this came ideas such as a monitoring system overseen by seniors. In the EC meeting on May 11, students recognized that this isn’t only an FC issue, but rather a problem that takes place in the dining hall too. In regards to both situations, the committee focused on ways to hold students accountable such as possibly “punishing” the inconsiderate with clean up after lunch. Edward Gormley, Upper School student activities & transportation coordinator believes that there aren’t many solutions that would work except one: self-policing. “The only thing that would work and it would take complete buying from the students is to self police. If someone says, ‘Hey you are leaving a mess behind’ that person might clean up,” Gormley said. Gormley expressed how he feels about the quiet of the empty cafe, “I miss everybody so I hope they come up with an idea soon.” As of Wednesday, May 25, EC has not released an official solution.
LUCAS SEGUINOT/TOWER
EMPTY CHAIRS, EMPTY TABLES. The Davis Cafe of the Fonseca Center is no longer open for student use, due to repeated instances of students not cleaning up dishes and food wrappers. Executive Committee is taking proposals for future solutions.
SCEEM barbecue celebrates community members of color and commemorates two years of mentorship
MATTHIAS JAYLEN/TOWER
Matthias Jaylen
S
Social Media Manager
tudents of Color Empowering Excellence Mentorship (SCEEM) was founded during the 2020-2021 school year. SCEEM started with three members, co-founders Caleb Jakes and Maddy Blake, and faculty advisor Shelly Kaye. Since then the program
has grown to have 60 members. The program offers a lot to students of color such as speakers and workshops. It also provides a safe space for all students of color on campus. SCEEM had its second annual spring barbecue on Thursday, May 12. The co-founders organized the event such that it was open not just to all program members, but to all community members of color, including faculty, staff and security. The barbecue was held in front of
the hill dorms with food, music, dance and even an ice cream truck. Jakes was on the grill cooking up chicken, cheeseburgers and hot dogs. He said, “This feels so rewarding, we had our first barbecue of the year back in October and it really had the students of color engaged with our program and now here we are eight months later. We’ve had a successful program with workshops, barbecues and speakers and we’re so happy to be together for this last and final time
before me and Maddy graduate.” Blake said, “I feel extremely elated and content with the progress that SCEEM has made and it fills me with so much joy to see all of the students of color come together and enjoy food, laugh and sing.” Kaye said, “This feels amazing, there’s nothing better than to see students of color coming together like this and sharing joy. I’m really honored that they asked me to be a part of this and
MATTHIAS JAYLEN/TOWER
SCEEM CO-FOUNDERS CALEB JAKES and Maddy Blake pose with their advisor Shelly Kaye. SCEEM, which stands for Students of Color Empowering Excellence Mentorship, began in the fall of 2020 to support students of color on campus. Two years later, they sponsored a barbeque for all community members of color (pictured on the left). it’s something I’ll never forget.” Sophomore Elijah Brooks who is a mentee in SCEEM spoke about his experience in the program. Brooks said, “The amount of care and love that I received from other people changed who I am as a person.”
The barbecue’s turnout was massive as it was packed with community members of color coming together enjoying food, music and dance, and their own time together in a safe space.
TOWER/ MAY 26, 2022
2 NEWS
Yeshiva student regulations receive mixed reactions
Sophia Van Beek
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Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
aftuli Moster, executive director of Young Advocates for Fair Education (YAFFED), spoke to the community in a school-wide Morning Meeting on Thursday, March 10 about substantial equivalency and new guidelines being passed by the New York State Education Department. Substantial equivalency refers to a law that was first passed in 1894, mandating that nonpublic schools had to provide an education that was similar in quality and scope to that of public schools. In recent years, a number of Hasidic private schools called yeshivas have been accused of providing substandard educations to
their students. YAFFED supports efforts to ensure that New York yeshivas comply with substantial equivalency rules. These yeshivas have pushed back against attempts to regulate them. The New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), to which Masters belongs, also lobbied against initial New York State Education Department (NYSED) proposed rules on substantial equivalency because they would have required independent schools like Masters to be overseen by local school districts. In light of revisions to the proposed rules announced after Moster’s visit to NYSED, NYSAIS now supports the plan. Moster was introduced by senior Clyde Lederman, who has engaged with past Hasidic issues in Rockland County. As part of Masters Interested in Sharing and Helping (MISH) scheduling, stu-
dents were invited to donate to YAFFED. That afternoon, following the speech, which called upon independent schools to advocate for substantial equivalency, Lederman was called into three separate meetings with various administrators. These meetings discussed Moster’s speech and the School’s stance on substantial equivalency, allegedly criticizing Lederman for invited Moster to speak. MISH was also asked to remove the ability for students to donate to YAFFED, according to Lederman and MISH co-chair Natalia Shane. Posters containing QR codes to donate to YAFFED through MISH were also removed from around the School, according to Mia Romanoff, who co-wrote an open letter along with Lederman regarding the issue.
Educational Inequity in Yeshivas
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oster attended Hasidic yeshivas his entire life, specifically belonging to the Belz sect of the Hasidic community. Like many boys currently in Hasidic yeshivas, he received little to no secular education in school. Between the ages of seven to 12, he received 90 minutes of secular study a day, after ten hours of Judaic studies. When he entered high school, he received no secular study at all. “As a young adult, I had this draw to pursue psychology as a degree and as a career. So I walked into a local college which caters to ultra-Orthodox Jews, but not necessarily Hasidic Jews… I quickly learned that I didn’t get even the education that would afford me a high school diploma or a GED. They wanted to give me an entrance exam, which consisted of writing an essay and doing an easy math quiz. I
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that, in the opinion of myself and many others, are worse at preparing those students for the world than their local public school,” he said. In his senior year of college, Moster began researching laws that pertained to nonpublic schools to better understand how and why his education, and other yeshiva students’ educations, were so limited. In yeshivas, specifically Hasidic ones, which are some of the most limiting within the ultra-Orthodox umbrella, boys are educated and prepared to become rabbis. This is why they receive a nearly entirely religious education. Girls, on the other hand, often leave school better prepared than their male counterparts. They are expected to financially support the family, and are often not allowed to study the Judaic texts taught in boys’ yeshivas. Moster emphasized that of
As private school students we have an Wobligation, both as citizens but also as people
in priviledged positions, to ensure that all students are guaranteed an education.
- Clyde Lederman ‘22
hadn’t heard the word essay before, let alone written one,” he said. According to YAFFED, in a survey done of 127 ultra-Orthodox schools, 19.5% of students scored proficient in math and 19.7% proficient in ELA, compared to roughly 47% and 45% of students in New York public schools, respectively. In math, 66 yeshivas had at least one grade where 0% of students scored proficient; in ELA, 53 schools had at least one grade where 0% of students scored proficient. Senior Matthew Williams, who has been invested in the issue since 2021 when he attended a public comment on the original regulations, explained the level of inequity experienced at some yeshivas. “We often only associate private schools with the very high quality, college acceptance extreme. In reality, there is this whole other group of private schools, a whole other group of people our age living nearby, that are on the opposite end – where people go to private schools
the roughly 160,000 students in yeshivas in New York, not all attend Hasidic yeshivas. YAFFED estimates that there are roughly 65,000 students who are receiving no education in yeshivas, eliminating non-Hasidic yeshivas and girls’ yeshivas. A school like Ramaz in Manhattan, which is a Modern Orthodox day school, prides itself on providing “the gold standard in Judaic and general studies education.” Sascha Harris attended Ramaz from preschool through eighth grade. “It was pretty intense. Half of my classes were Biblical studies or relating to Judaism and the other half were secular,” she said. Harris now attends Columbia Prep, a college preparatory school, and she believes she was well-prepared for high school. “I learned how to go between two different languages, because the Biblical studies are done in Hebrew. I learned a lot of analysis skills and how to analyze texts
in my Talmud class,” she said. “I think certain schools prioritize the Jewish subjects over the secular subjects more than others, so I think it depends on the school. But from my experience, I feel like it was pretty equal.” “I think I understand where [these regulations] are coming from to make sure that you get a holistic education that prepares you,” she said. “I believe they think the government is trying to control their curriculum. And they want freedom of expression and religion,” Harris said. Moster said, “The fact that there are some yeshivas, in fact some ultra Orthodox yeshivas, that provide a decent balance of Judaic studies and secular studies proves that it’s possible.” In 2017, YAFFED began lobbying for more government intervention in the education and yeshiva schools. The intent of the regulations was to mandate that certain subjects be taught by qualified teachers for an adequate number of hours. Moster emphasized that these regulations do not specifically intervene in nonpublic schools’ curricula. “The state doesn’t technically dictate curriculum. Even if these new regulations were to pass, it doesn’t prescribe what the curriculum should look like. It only outlines what are some subjects that must be taught,” he said. “I don’t know how much the state should get to dictate curriculum, but I’m saying at the moment, the state doesn’t.” Lederman believes this subject is of critical importance to students at independent schools like Masters. “As private school students we have an obligation, both as citizens but also as people in privileged positions, to ensure that all students are guaranteed an education. And we are in a position [of privilege] as a member School in NYSAIS – which has unfortunately in the past played a part in obstructing access to education for other private school students,” Lederman said. Moster reiterated what Lederman said: “I think it is incumbent on everyone, when you see injustice of this scale and magnitude, to do something about it.
SOPHIA VAN BEEK/TOWER
AFTER THE FIRST SET of regulations were shot down in 2019, a new draft has been proposed that gives more freedom to independent schools like Masters. These regulations were developed in response to resistance from institutions like New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS).
GREGORY VAN BEEK/TOWER
PICTURED: A YESHIVA IN East Ramapo, a region of New York State with a large Hasidic population. Yeshivas are private Jewish schools which go largely unregulated by the government, meaning tens of thousands of kids graduate high school without a basic education. Groups have lobbied for greater regulation to ensure a fair and equal access to education for these students.
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he first draft of Educational Law 3204, the regulation proposing new pathways to demonstrating substantial equivalency, was released in 2017 after urging from groups like YAFFED. The 2017 proposal would have required the Dobbs Ferry school district to oversee the Masters curriculum, which is why Masters and NYSAIS opposed these regulations. While the 2017 rules required local public school districts to monitor and determine whether non-public schools in their jurisdiction achieved substantial equivalency, the newest draft of regulations, released in March, allow independent schools like Masters to be accredited by as-
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Education Law § 3204.2 sociations such as NYSAIS to demonstrate their adequacy to the state. This year, Masters is undergoing the year-long accreditation process required every ten years by NYSAIS. Multiple facets of the School’s governance, curriculum and finances are examined to determine if Masters, and other independent member schools, is up to current educational standards. Mark Lauria, executive director of NYSAIS, says that his organization now supports the revised proposed rules, saying “NYSAIS supports the Board of Regents in their ongoing efforts to create a statewide educational environment conducive to the development of world-class educational programs. The improvements
NYSAIS recommends to the draft regulations promote equity for all New York nonpublic school students to access a fair and equal education… NYSAIS supports regulations that effectively serve all students throughout the state while respecting the legally-established governance authority and curricular integrity of independent and religious schools.” Laura Danforth echoed Lauria’s perspectives, saying “I concur with Lauria and NYSAIS’ positions on the most recent draft of the NYSED regulations in promoting equity for all New York nonpublic schools students’ access to a fair and equal education.”
Masters response to YAFFED
fter the halting of MISH funding to YAFFED, Romanoff and Lederman co-wrote an open letter to the administration the next day calling for an open dialogue on the issue. The final draft of this letter was released just before spring break began, circulating on social media and gaining many student signatures. The letter criticizes the School’s actions in resisting substantial equivalency regulations, saying, “We learned of the struggle of over 150,000 students in New York, while our administration tried to persuade the state government that those children were less important than a minor regulatory inconvenience. From a position of immense privilege, they decided that avoiding an insignificant burden supersedes any social responsibility to help marginalized people, those who have no voice and no recourse.” The letter noted that in 2017, when the very first draft of regulations were discussed, the School contacted parents advocating that they submit public comments in opposition. According to the letter, “It is because we have enjoyed the privilege of a Masters education that we can write this letter. We are not only referring to the critical thinking skills nor political awareness that make us informed members of our communities, but rather the ability to write these words at all. We are referring to the act of writing in the English language, something that is denied to more than 150,000 students today.” Though the school and NYSAIS now support the NYSED rules, the letter also expressed grievances at the School’s “approach to discourse and debate”, claiming Lederman was pulled into three meetings with administrators; in these meetings he was allegedly asked to publicly recant his support of substantial equivalency and express the School’s formal opinion. “It was in these meetings that he was told that Moster never would have been allowed to come if the administration had been more vigilant censors,” the letter reads.
Before coming to Masters, YAFFED had been on the MISH calendar to visit the School since October, according to both Lederman and Shane. “The administration knew they were coming, and they’d been updated many, many times before they came,” Shane said. “Both Masters and YAFFED are 501c3s, meaning they are non-taxable, not-for-profits that are not allowed to engage in political lobbying. One of the arguments that was originally made against Masters donating to YAFFED is that tax-wise, it would have been too political,” Shane said. Shane noted that 501c3s may
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lunch. A meeting was scheduled for April 5; several administrators and multiple students were present, including Williams. “We sort of expected the meeting to be about policy. But from the outset… it was really a lot of – from my point of view – reprimanding without any clear delineation of what we did wrong. It felt like being guilted by my family, a little bit,” he said. “There was this air to the meeting that this was personally offensive and personally inappropriate and personally hurtful, whereas [we] see this as more of a student advocacy issue.” The meeting ran for about 100 minutes. Williams said, “I think
We often only associate private schools with the very high quality, college acceptance
extreme. In reality, there is this whole other group of private schools, a whole other group of people our age living nearby, that are on the opposite end – where people go to private schools that, in the opinion of myself and many others, are worse at preparing those students for the world than their local public school,”
- Matthew Williams ‘22
not donate to 501c4s, which are permitted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to engage in political activities, if that money is used towards lobbying. She said, “It is totally fine for a 501c3 to donate to another 501c3… YAFFED is fully allowed to be non-taxable and they are not political in a way that a 501c4 would be.” During spring break, there was no communication between administration and the students involved. However, the Thursday after returning to school, on March 31, a coalition of students sent an open letter to the administration requesting a public forum or meeting. They also held an informational session in the Library Conference Room during
there was sort of a happy conclusion that was reached at the end, where we said ‘this is an advocacy issue and it’s not meant to be hurtful, however this is something that we’re passionate about’.” “I think really that this issue is a compassion issue and about holding our administrators accountable,” he said.
For more information visit: http:// www.nysed.gov/nonpublic-schools/substantial-equivalency
TOWER/MAY 26, 2022
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NEWS
Cushing to become gender-expansive MISH switches from election to selection F Marianna Gu
Lead News Editor
or the 2022-2023 school year, the Cushing dorm at Masters will transition from a co-ed senior dorm to a gender expansive dorm. The transition is designed specifically for students who identify as transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, agender, gender queer/questioning, gender fluid or gender expansive in order to create a more inclusive community. Masters is aligned with the country’s most elite private boarding schools such as Phillips Academy Andover, Phillips Exeter Academy, Choate Rosemary Hall, Northfield Mount Herman School, and The Hotchkiss School to have created gender expansive dorms.
These big academies created a fying dorms have expressed how blueprint for opening gender ex- they don’t feel comfortable and pansive dorms and most proved to don’t feel like they belong. What’s important to me, be successful. and Masters’ misAccording sion in general, to previous surI made a lot of is the sense of veys, Masters has friends in Cole, which is a belonging, so afa considerable ter hearing from amount of student dorm that I lived for three students across voices petitioning years, and it is difficult the spectrum, we for the creation that now I’m moving to decided that it of a gender inclusive dorm and the a different environment, would be great to school, after carea space so but thinking of creating provide ful consideration that all of our stuand keeping a safe and dents can feel safe and detailed planning, decided to comfortable place for the and taken care make it happen. LGBTQIA+, I’m willing to be of.” Although the Jayde Bennett, the person to stand up and final dorm policy the Director of step forth. has not been set Residential life, in place, it is for commented, “I - Kathy Christie ‘23 sure that the proknow that the tocols for Cushinitiative started pre-COVID and some students ing will differ from the male/fewho live in female or male identi- male identifying dorms as students
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Photo Courtesy of Marie Kyo
CUSHING RESIDENTS HANGING OUT in the common room after dorm meeting. Currently, Cushing houses only senior students, but starting the next school year, Cushing will become a gender expansive dorm housing students from all grades.
will not be separated based on their genders assigned at birth, but their own gender preferences. Additional policies will be added, and all concerns will be addressed. After this change, the overall housing structure at Masters will include two female-identifying dorms, two male-identifying dorms and the new gender expansive dorm that accommodates students who may otherwise feel uncomfortable living in a space just designated for boys and girls. Junior Kathy Christie, the senior proctor in Cushing for the 2022-2023 school year, said, “For all my years at Masters, I have seen a reasonable amount of transgender or nonbinary kids, and I think creating a safe and respecful place is very necessary.” The creation of a gender expansive dorm is a big step Masters took towards building a more inclusive and caring community. It also proves that as long as students are willing to express their concerns, the school will try its best to make these voices heard. Bennett said, “All students, at some point, are going through a transition. During the transition period, they really need to feel supported, understood, and appreciated. So with the creation of the gender expansive dorm, the intention is just to let students know that first of all, we hear your voice and concerns, we thank you for helping us see this need, and we want to honor that in the best way we can. ” Christie said, “I made a lot of friends in Cole, which is a dorm that I lived for three years, and it is difficult that now I’m moving to a different environment, but thinking of creating and keeping a safe and comfortable place for the LGBTQIA+, I’m willing to be the person to stand up and step forth.”
Gisele Cestaro & marianna gu
Lead News Editors
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he annual Masters Interested in Sharing and Helping (MISH) election, which chooses the grade representatives for the following year, will be using a selection process instead of a general vote for electing officers of the 2022-2023 school year. The change is being made because the elections in previous years were geared toward those who were more extroverted, since candidates had to give a speech that was followed by a class vote. The new changes make this role more of a commitment, requiring attending three MISH meetings, as well as filling out a Google form application that requires the candidates to justify their choice for being MISH officer. This year, MISH has 20 candidates running for four positions in each grade. The role of MISH representativ requires students to dedicate time towards community work both inside and outside of school, as well as being responsible in arranging school activities such as funding important projects. Eunice Wang, one of the ninth grade MISH representatives, commented on the positive aspects of rebuilding the program.
“I think the selection process encourages more students who are genuinely willing to dedicate themselves to MISH to apply for the position because it’s not a popularity contest but rather about responsibility and diligence,” Wang said. Due to faculty changes, students who are running for this leadership role put in their application several weeks ago and are eager to hear back, but no decision has been reached. Temporarily, Head of Upper School Peter Newcomb and Dean of Students Jeff Carnevale, are the new administrators on the job, taking care of the selection process. Newcomb was unavailable to comment on the selection process at this time, but he noted that he and the designated faculty are in the process of finalizing selection dates and next steps for the grades. In the coming weeks, candidates will hear back about their potential status as MISH representative. Wang expressed that she believes there is a brighter, more inclusive, future ahead for MISH. “I know that some people are afraid to speak in front of a huge crowd and they are often discouraged from running for the reps, but transitioning to a selection process actually motivates more people to step into the leadership position,” she said.
Reunion weekend returns Matthias Jaylen & Xavier Rolston Distribution and Social Media Manager & Contributing Writer
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or the first time since 2019, Masters held an in-person reunion weekend on May 13 and 14. Alumni from any class that ended in the second or seventh year of past decades were invited to attend the event. All 96 acres of campus were filled with joyful alumni reconnecting with their old peers. There were several events on the weekend including a tour of Estherwood, classes hosted by current teachers, Gold Key Tours, a wine and cheese reception, and more. Head of School Laura Danforth said, “It’s fabulous. Everyone is so happy to be back on campus. We have two 50th years and we have a handful of people that graduated 60 years ago.” Danforth then talked about her
interactions with alums during the weekend. She said, “My favorite parts have been hearing the stories. I’ve heard stories about favorite places to smoke cigarettes on campus and I’ve heard a lot of stories about teachers and their favorite classes. One woman who just left said, ‘Every time I come onto campus I feel seen and heard,’ so that makes me feel good.” Dave Adams ‘07, who was a seven day boarder in Strong Dorm, loved reconnecting with his old peers but also reminisced on his experience at Masters. Adams said, “It’s amazing, everything comes in full circle in life. When I got to this school I realized how special this school was immediately.” Diana Davis ‘62 was enthusiastic about seeing the many changes Masters has undergone regarding both their classes and other services offered. She observed how boarding life has evolved since she attended Masters six decades ago, especially with the addition of the 5-day boarding program. Davis said, “I understand why so many families want their kids to have a good ed-
ucation, but they also don’t want them to be far, far away.” Davis also noted that the courses being offered today have grown tremendously. “The caliber of the courses looked to me to be almost collegiate in level. I’m so proud of that for Masters,” she said, praising the courses she sat in on by Bill Roberts and Jason Hult. Upper School English teacher Miriam Emery recounted her experience leading a demo class for
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and to hear about what they did in college,” One thing that she hadn’t anticipated was how the students would react to being back in a high school class setting. “When I asked everyone to read something and write something, I mean people were totally freaked out… they hadn’t been in a school setting or been asked to write anything formally in a long time. They’ve been out of school for a long time, so it was really interest-
It’s amazing, everything comes full circle in life. When I got to this school I realized how special this school was immediately.
- Dave Adams ‘07
alumni to sit in on, and described how she felt seeing old students return. Emery expressed gratitude for the opportunity to reconnect with former students through teaching this class, saying “It’s really fun [seeing old students]. It’s great to see what they’re doing these days,
ing to see… none of this was normal to them.” One final note Emery spoke on was why having an in-person reunion is an important tradition. “The fun thing about a reunion is that you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I haven’t seen this person since the day
I graduated high school,’” Emery said. She added that it’s especially nice to be able to reconnect with peers who you may not have spoken to as much since leaving Masters. “When you go to a school where people are pretty tight, like Masters, it’s fun to go back and talk to the people who weren’t your best friends, but who you were friendly with.” Three awards were presented this year: The Richmond Bowl, the Anna Howe Faculty Award, and an Arts Hall of Fame induction. Each of these awards was created to “honor members of our community who have distinguished themselves through service to the School, to its students, and to the world outside Masters.” Nia DaCosta ‘07 was inducted into the Arts Hall of Fame for her work as an award-winning screenwriter and director. Among many other impressive accomplishments. DaCosta is the “first Black female director to debut a film (“Candyman”) at #1.” Upper School Mathematics teacher Michele Dennis P’21, ’23
won the Anna Howe Faculty Award, an award created to recognize Masters faculty members who have helped shape and change the lives of their students, and display excellence both inside and outside of the classroom. Dennis is known around campus not only for her work as a teacher, dorm parent, advisor, and field hockey coach, but also for her love of the community. Betsy Hamill Bramsen ‘63 won The Richmond Bowl, which recognizes an alumna who displays selfless dedication and willingness to serve, and is always willing to go the extra mile in their service to the school. Bramsen has served on the Board of Trustees, as a class agent, and has lived her whole life invested in volunteering and conservation. After its brief Covid hiatus, reunion weekend brought lots of smiles and joy to former Masters students. Whether they graduated as long as 60 years ago or as short as five years ago, everyone was able to gather and enjoy old memories, as well as celebrate the new advancements Masters has made since their graduation.
XAVIER ROLSTON/TOWER
XAIVER ROLSTON/TOWER
REUNION WEEKEND CELEBRATED MASTERS alumni with food, festivities and old traditions. Adam Gimple is showing the alumni Alex Luis 17’, Daniel Starr 17’, and Chloe Davis 17’ new changes around the campus. Returning to campus brings up old memories and the alumni enjoyed spending time together.
JO MAYER KENNEDY ‘72 graduated from The Masters School 50 years ago, when it was still all-girls. Reunion weekend invited members from all classes that ended in either two or seven. Alumni who would have attended the two past reunion weekends, which were canceled due to COVID-19, were also invited (classes ending in zero, one, five and six.)
TOWER/MAY 26, 2022
4
NEWS
Jansen and Wood to be the new class deans Hanna Schiciano Executive Producer, Tower Broadcast News After serving the Masters community for nine and 12 years respectively, Shelly Kaye and Miguel Segovia, will be saying farewell at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. Kaye was a dean for seven years, currently serving the Class of 2022, while this is Segovia’s first year in the position with the Class of 2023. The Class of 2023 will welcome their third dean in four years, En-
glish teacher Darren Wood, for the upcoming school year. Additionally, Spanish teacher Victoria Jansen will become the Class of 2025 dean, and Robert Fish, dean of global studies, will serve as the permanent ninth gradeww dean. Dean of Students Jeff Carnevale said that when there is an opening for a new dean, interested applicants go through an interview process with him, Head of School Peter Newcomb, Dean of Faculty Sam Savage, and Associate Head for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Roland Davis. “I felt like [the Class of 2023] has been through a lot of transi-
tions already, so I was hopeful that I could provide stability and continuity having been an advisor in the class,” Wood said. Wood’s advisee, Maddy Israel ‘23, said that his kindness and inclusiveness will make him an effective class dean. “I think he’s coming in at a very pivotal time in our lives, and I really think he is going to step up to the task. He always makes sure that every person has a voice and is represented,” she said. Wood said he looks forward to taking on a different role in the community and feels one of his strengths is his interest in helping
students in moments of difficulty. “The opportunity to be a class dean and to counsel and help students and families through difficult moments was exciting to me,” he said. While Wood has not been able to witness students’ growth from ninth to twelfth grade in the same way as most deans, he said that a lot of maturing happens in senior year. The pandemic began in the spring of the Class of 2023’s freshman year, and as the students enter their final year of high school, Wood said that he would like the class to acknowledge that challenge.
“I’m hoping that I can help the class make meaning of that experience in ways that it feels productive and generative, ” he said. Wood said that another one of his goals is to sustain and support the work around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) that occurs on campus as it is a meaningful part of his teaching. Carnevale said that within the team of class deans there are “conversations about how to support students, how to build advisor curriculum, create community within a class and those are the things we’re looking for in a strong class dean.” Jansen’s advisee, Matthew
Vanwright ‘25, said that her kindness, patience, and open-mind make Jansen a supportive advisor. Vanwright also said that Jansen is very involved in the Masters community, whether it be on the court coaching, or in the classroom. Carnevale noted how both Wood and Jansen bring the necessary qualities in order to be successful class deans. “I think they’re both really passionate about students, very student-centered and want to provide a really rich experience for students and be a support,” Carnevale said.
“
I felt like [the Class of 2023] has been through a lot of transitions already, so I was hopeful that I could provide stability and continuity having been an advisor in the class. The opportunity to be a class dean and to counsel and help students and families through difficult moments was exciting to me,
- Darren Wood
COURTESY OF IRVIN SIMON
*please note that Victoria Jansen was not interviewed in time for publication*
JOSH MARKOWITZ/TOWER
DARREN WOOD WILL BECOME the senior class dean starting the 2022-2023 school year. He is willing to take on the responsibility and help make the community a better place.
VICTORIA JANSEN IS GOING to be the dean for the class of 2025 starting the next school year. Jansen has always been a friendly, responsible person and a great person to serve as the new class dean.
Students present long-awaited projects at symposium Serena Sharma Contributing Writer
Masters students in the Science Research class took part in the Science Research Symposium on May 25. This was an event where the class presented projects they have been working on for the entire year, covering topics ranging from what the autistic brain looks like to different types of birds and how to save their species. The symposium took place in the Sharon Room of the Fonseca Center and allowed students to showcase their research proposals that will become full-fledged projects if they continue to do Science Research next year. Senior students have finished their work and completed their projects. Junior Amelia Von Jan’s project is about traumatic brain injuries and therapeutic hypothermia. “I’ve learned a lot about how temperature affects brain metabolism,” she said. “I’ve also learned a lot about [science] research in itself.” Von Jan was excited to show off
her project to other students and to let people know about the discoveries she has made despite the fact she cannot continue Science Research. “It’s an unfortunate circumstance, but I think I am at the point in my project where I am proud of the progress I’ve made and I know the progress I’ve made here.” Christina Moore ‘24 has developed a project centered around a Osprey nest in Rhode Island in which she will be creating activity budgets. Moore explained that because this is a class that first-year science research students take, she has no actual evidence but rather potential data. “For the lower science research class, we don’t really have much research yet, but it’s all just hypothetical results that we’re gonna be conducting over the summer, so you get to see us kickstart our projects.” Caterina Stoica ‘24 is doing her project on autism in adults in the region of the brain called the thalamus and five other regions of the brain. “I’m going to look at how signals are sent between regions of the brain and if there’s anything in the brain as a structure that sort of makes there be hyperconnectivity to see if
there is something different there in autistic individuals,” Stoica said. Kristina Gremski is the new teacher of the Science Research class, having just left her old school last year, and already has enacted plans to improve this year’s Science Research Symposium. “I know last year with COVID the science research teacher had the students record video presentations and share them with the community. I don’t know what was done preCovid but I decided that giving the students an experience of presenting posters would be valuable,” she said. “I get the sense that this will be the first year of doing a poster-style Symposium.” Gremski made participation in the Science Research Symposium a requirement, making sure that students would show off their work. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in the Somers Science Fair during the first weekend of June at Somers High School, but this wasn’t made a requirement. Gremski said the students should have the choice because of the time it happens. “I made it optional and nine students agreed that they wanted to go even though it’s the weekend before final exams,” Gremski
JOSH MARKOWITZ/TOWER
STUDENTS SHARING THEIR SCIENCE research during the Sicence Symposium, which took place on Wednesday in the Sharon Room. Students spent a whole school year preparing for their projects and were excited about sharing their research with the audience. said, proud of how dedicated her students are to Science Research. “That to me is pretty impressive that they decided to set aside that time,” she added. The Science Research students
have been happy with how the class has been and were excited to see what their peers have been doing. “I think this whole course overall has been a really nice experience and that, yes it has been challenging and
rewarding in the end, but it’s been a really good course to get to know myself as a worker and a researcher as well .“I’m just really excited overall to see what everyone has worked so hard for,” said Stoica.
New co-chairs elected “There are so many issues that me and my friends talk about but we can’t change, so I want to be in that position where I can lead the change.” - Zahali Vauclena
Zahali Vauclena
Alexis Estime
“I’ve always loved this community and I’ve always looked up to the co-chairs since I was a freshman. I want to relay that positive energy to everybody else in the community.” - Alexis Estime
Opinion TOWER/MAY 26, 2022
5
OP-ED
TOWER 2021-2022
Editors-in-Chief Maia Barantsevitch Ellie Yang
EDITORIAL
Editors-in-Chief Emeriti Sophia Van Beek Kira Ratan
Mass shootings: we can’t give up
O
n Tuesday May 24, as Tower staffers were wrapping up the final issue of the year, 21 lives were taken, 19 of them children, in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Exactly 10 days before this heinous act, 10 people were killed in a racially-motivated shooting in a predominantly Black community of Buffalo, New York. These events have shaken us and the nation as the biggest school shooting since that of Parkland in 2018, which took 17 students’ lives. We are outraged and disappointed by these acts of horror. We are disappointed that so little progress has been made in the face of continuing mass shootings, especially those targeting children at schools or specific ethnic groups. As we said in our editorial in our special issue covering Parkland four years ago, “But we cannot forget. We must not forget. It is a moral abomination and a vile embarrassment that weapons designed specifically to kill scores of people are sold to civilians.” We want to emphasize the absolute lack of regulations or acknowledgement from our federal government. No significant changes were made to gun regulations after Parkland. In fact, guns have become even more readily
available and legally carried across much of the country. The results of legislative inaction? There have been 27 school shootings in this 2022 year alone. And we are only five months into the year. These events are also a sharp reminder of the realities that exist in our world today. They are a reminder of the progress and change that still needs to be made in this nation. They are a reminder of the incompetencies and gridlock of our government. Polls show that over 80% of the American public, Republicans and Democrats, support required background checks before a gun purchase. Even with that level of support, our government is unable to bring about the most basic of safety measures. These shootings are also a reminder of the privilege that we have in just being here in this world, with heads to think, voices to speak and hands to write. It is time for us to use this privilege that we have to ensure to the best of our ability that no more innocent lives are lost as they have been in Uvalde. Buffalo. Oxford. Parkland. Sandy Hook. Unfortunately the list goes on and will continue to grow. Our Head of School Laura Danforth reminded us in a recent email that “We strive to
be a community that listens, learns and takes action toward creating a better world.” But actually making the world better can seem a hopeless goal We can repeat the message that rallies those like us to phone bank, protest, and continue the activism that we have been doing. However, the repetition of these tragedies again and again shows that something isn’t working. What are we doing wrong? Who can we hold accountable? With each new shooting comes an immense wave of helplessness, of anger. Our instinct is to throw our hands up in frustration and walk away. But the response can’t be to give up. As we move into the summer, rest, relax. Carry your beach bag. But also carry your anger. Carry your grief. Carry your frustration. And carry open eyes and look for opportunities to make the world a better place. Listen for new voices that offer new solutions. Find a candidate that reflects your beliefs. Purposefully choose to do something impactful that will make the world a better place: volunteer at a local shelter, pick up the trash along a beach. Make some change, no matter how small, with your actions. But we can’t just give up.
News Lead Editors Gisele Cestaro Marianna Gu News Editor Andrew Mitchell Opinion Lead Editors Sabrina Wolfson Maya Phillips Opinion Editor Rowan McWhinnie Features Lead Editors Lexi Wachen Kwynne Schlossman Features Editor Lucas Seguinot Sports Lead Editor Ethan Schlapp Sports Editor Noah Kassell-Yung Social Media Manager Matthias Jaylen Sandoval Web Editor Carlos Heredia Staff Writer Aurora Rose Horn Photo Editor Alejandra Pagano
2022-2023 Tower Leadership
Advertising & Distribution Mgr, Asst. Social Media Mgr. Lily Zuckerman Executive Producer, Tower Broadcast News Carol Queiroz Hanna Schiciano Executive Producer, Tower Broadcast News Emeriti Lilith Leys Contributing Writers Oliver Kreeger Alexa Murphy Josh Markowitz
RYAN GUAN/TOWER
INCOMING EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Ellie Yang and Maia Barantsevich worked as Chief Deisgn Editor and Features Editor for Tower in the 2021-2022 school year. Entering her fourth year at Masters, Yang is a member of the Masters Dance Company, Panache and Diversity Ambassadors. Barantsevich has been at Masters since sixth grade, and enjoys robotics, tutoring for the writing center and doing hair and makeup for the plays. New Tower Broadcast News leadership for the 2022-2023 school year will be Carol Queiroz and Hanna Schiciano. They are both well aquainted with TBN, working previously as Executive and Associate producer for TBN respectively.
Bittersweet farewell to Tower leadership 2021-2022 Ellen Cowhey & Matt Ives Faculty Advisers Graduations are joyous but bittersweet occasions, because they mean that amazing people are leaving to find their way in the larger world - and we won’t see them nearly as much. This year we bid a bittersweet farewell to our editors-in-chief, a TBN executive producer and the rest of the senior Tower staff. We owe so much to Sophia Van Beek and Kira Ratan, Tower’s 2122 editors-in-chief. They took the reins from Mitch Fink (‘21) and Kate Sibery (‘21) last May amidst political turmoil and a sharp escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine. They leave with political turmoil still raging and a war in Ukraine. In between they have sheperded our coverage, from masks coming off, going back on and then coming off again, Panther sports roaring back, and changes to New York’s marijuana laws. They have done an amazing job molding a young and initially inexperienced team into a welloiled production team that has already won national awards. Kira has written so much over the past three years, and that didn’t change this year as she wrote about
the end to the one-strike drug and alcohol policy, threats to the environment, evolving marijuana laws and, of course, the curse of excessive clapping during Morning Meeting. She’s an ace page designer, willing to answer any question and always eager to help others be the best they can be. Sophia has written numerous long form articles over her career, including the most recent, this issue’s coverage of the substantial equivalency issue. She is a great reporter, able to do hard news or a more personal piece about watching football with her father. A master of AP Style, Sophia is our go-to proofreader and she is always willing to do whatever it takes to get the paper out, whether it’s a last minute article - or driving to Wappinger’s Falls to pick up the printed copies of the paper. Kira and Sophia did a masterful job leading a sometimes chaotic team and standing firm for Tower’s press freedom and dedication to excellence. We are going to miss their clear-eyed opinions, their commitment to student journalism, their laughter and their leadership. Next, we bid farewell to senior Lilith Leys, who served as one of the two executive producers of Tower Broadcast News (TBN).
Lilith helped turn the second year of video news into a big success, leaving it poised for continued growth as we move into the future. Lilith brought a keen eye for a story, an amazing sense of humor (her work for Pravda is unparalleled), much needed skills in videography and editing - and incredible patience working with reporters brand new to the world of video. She will be much missed next year as she heads off to study at Brooklyn College. Finally, we want to thank all of our seniors for their steadfast work on Tower over the past years. Ethan Schlapp is our lead sports editor. His coverage of boys soccer won national recognition, but we are going to miss his thoughtful and caring writing style and his ability to always get the job done, no matter what the circumstances. His steady character and quick laugh will be hard to replace! Andrew Mitchell, our lead news editor, has helped transform the way the front page looks - and also brought us professional level crossword puzzles. He is a great reporter, a writer of reflective opinion pieces, and a respected mentor to the juniors on the news staff. Sabrina Wolfson and Rowan McWhinnie served as lead opin-
ion editors and brought a distinctive formal but modern sense of style to their pages. Efficient and fast, they kept standards high and made the production process look easy, also continuing to write strong new, features and sports pieces. They’ve set a high standard for editors to come! Finally, Lexi Wachen and Kwynne Schlossman led the features section as lead editors. Features is the biggest section, and Lexi and Kwynne handled these pages and their team with a flair for interesting and unusual design, pushing for new kinds of stories, including reviews, that we have been missing over the past years.
We will miss Lexi’s interesting perspectives on stories as diverse as the impact of Waze on our ability to find our way, to her battle with peanut allergies in this issue. And Kwynne’s design sense and writing, especially her focus on sports issues, will be hard to replace. Thank you to the entire Tower and TBN staff for all your hard work this year. Editors, staff writers, web, photo and social media managers, bloggers, illustrators and photographers - all of your efforts have paid off for our readers. Congratulations to these graduating seniors - you have left a lasting and important legacy in Tower and TBN.
RYAN GUAN/TOWER
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF EMERITI and Tower Broadcast News Leadership are moving on this year. Sophia Van Beek, Kira Ratan and Liliith Leys will attend college and Carol Queiroz will serve as the Executive Prouder of Tower Broadcast News for the second year.
Staff Photographers and Illustrators McKarthy Grimes Charlie Cooper Alpha Zerfu Ryan Guan Ethan Yankey Patrick Phillip Haoqing Shi Tim Yang Joshua Markowitz Phoebe Radke Dosi Weed Sonali Rao Sydney Starkey Faculty Adviser Ellen Cowhey Matt Ives Online Media
For more information, follow Tower on the following platforms: Website: Tower.MastersNY.org Facebook: MastersTower Twitter: @MastersTower Instagram: @MastersTower
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Tower is hand-delivered on the day of publication to the Upper School. 650 copies are printed. A copy is sent to each of our advertisers.
Scholastic Press Affiliations, Letters and Editorial Policy
Tower is the winner of the Pacemaker Award for Overall Excellence, an award-winning member of the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), Journalism Education Association (JEA) and Quill and Scroll. We encourage Letters to the Editor, which can be submitted to the following email address: TowerEditors@MastersNY.org. Published approximately five times a year, Tower, the student newspaper of The Masters School, is a public forum, with its Editorial Board making all decisions concerning content. Commentaries and opinion columns are the expressed opinion of the author and not of Tower and its Editorial Board or its advisers.
6 OP-ED
Schools overstep with
TOWER/MAY 26, 2022
electronic surveillance
Maia Barantsevitch
I
Editor-in-Chief
n this modern day, having some form of social media is about as common as the cold. Whether it be Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Email, or some other virtual form of communication, a majority of teenagers communicate via cellular device. Having to keep up in these technologically-advanced times, schools obviously need to incorporate social media and online activity into their guidelines for students. The Masters School has certain flexibility when setting these guidelines as we are an independent school. However, I believe the School tends to be too invasive in the precedents that have been set.
Student Handbook Head of Upper School Peter Newcomb has been a part of the Masters community for over six years and has had numerous experiences with students and technology. Newcomb emphasized the student handbook, which contains social media policies for faculty, students, and administration. “The handbook gives the school a pretty broad swath of discretion when it comes to what students choose to post or choose not to post, particularly when it comes to the school culture,” Newcomb said. But what can be considered “crossing the line” in terms of school culture and its impact? Newcomb agreed that the “line” can be considered subjective. He said, “I think people will all have different perspectives as to what does or does not impact a community or an individual.” It is completely understandable that the determination of crossing the line of school culture can be considered abstract, especially when new variables such as COVID-19 overtook the world. While I do believe that protecting and ensuring student safety should be a top priority, invading student’s personal lives should not be.
The Inspection Policy After reading the entire 97 page student handbook, I stumbled across the Inspection Policy, which holds the guidelines that are particular to online presence and rules regarding electronic devices. It explicitly says,“ Masters reserves the right to inspect and conduct a search of any location or item(s) that are suspected to be in violation of school policy or otherwise
pose a risk to the school community. Inspections and searches may be conducted on a routine or random basis or as deemed necessary. This includes the right to search a student’s person, including personally owned cell phone, other electronic device, and any personal account (such as Gmail or Yahoo), any social media account, any gaming account, or other application. Inspection of electronic devices includes laptops, tablets, phones, cameras, cloud storage sites, and any other electronics, including the contents of the same, such as texts, emails, photos, images, contact lists, etc. Upon request of a school administrator, any logins and passwords must be provided. “(page 45) The problem with the Inspection Policy [as stated above] is that the school is technically allowed to intrude into students’ online and personal lives with the possibility of no evidence that there is a threat to safety. Lack of specific wording can lead to invasion of privacy and unethical behavior by administration. This would mean that the administration has violated the trust they have gained with the student by preaching safe space and confidentiality between students and the school.
Invasion into Student Lives ELLIE YANG/TOWER
The student handbook at Masters stresses the importance of safety, well-being, and reputation that are to be upheld by students both online and offline no matter the circumstance. I completely understand a school’s need to protect students and members of the community from harm, but by including harm to the Masters reputation as a reason for invasion in student privacy, it expands the boundaries between students and administration. For example, if a student messages a friend something inappropriate and the administration somehow catches wind of this, they would have full access to the student’s personal texts. This example is similar to a case presented to the Supreme Court involving the ability of schools to regulate student social media speech made off-campus: Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. Although inappropriate language was used, these texts were sent off campus. The court ruled that the student could not be punished for this on-line speech. Granted, Masters is not a public school, but it should still follow the spirit of the Supreme Court ruling and should not attempt to regulate student
MASTERS’ INSPECTION POLICY STATES that the school reserves the right to inspect and search a student’s person, personal property as well as a students’ online activities. While this may be done when a student is suspected to be in violation of of school policy or otherwise pose a threat, this can happen even when there is no evidence that there is a threat to safety, on a random or routine basis. (page 45, Masters Family Handbook). online speech that might be critical of Masters. These online interactions should not be considered a breach of the Masters reputation if the texts were just between these two students and did they cause any harm or threat to safety. The language in the handbook, whether it be deliberate or not, does not clearly state what the extent is of tarnishing the Master’s reputation, or what is considered a threat to a students safety and well-being.
Privacy The handbook section that discusses privacy and confidentiality states, “Privacy and Confidentiality: All persons, including students, have a right to privacy. This includes keeping a student’s gender identity and expression private. Such private iformation shall be shared only on a need-to-know basis.” (page 7) Masters themselves admit a students right to privacy, so I think that it should be
applicable to students’ online activities unless there is a definitive and proven breach or threat of safety. Other students have noticed the invasion of privacy the handbook allows. Sylvie Gromada ‘23 has been a part of the Masters student body for six years and disagrees with the school’s wide access to students’ electronic lives. She said, “I do not think the policies the school has are fair. There is this lack of mutual respect between the administration and the students that can breed resentment.” Additionally, juniors Morgan Young and Sophia Semzcuk have both experienced issues with the Inspection policy and the message that it sends to students. Young said, “It is really messed up how they preach having a safe space and maintaining privacy. Them taking that ability away from you places distrust in the administration and affects your mental wellbeing at school.” Semczuk agreed with this sentiment, emphasizing the hypocrisy of the ad-
ministration and the safe space mentality that they espouse. She said, “I feel that the policy is blatantly intrusive and contradicts the message that Masters preaches about students prioritizing mental health and deconstructs the feeling of safety that a community like Masters is supposed to provide.”
Solutions I understand the need to implement such extreme measures, as the safety of the students should be a top priority. When coming to Masters, every student agreed to the policies in the handbook whether they like it or not. This handbook includes the Community Standards that tell students the do’s and don’ts of social media. We are also minors, so of course we can’t control the policies that the administration deems worthy. But when students know that the administration has the right to perform random inspections of their physical and electronic belongings, it can lead
to mental stress, fear, and resentment towards the administration. The solution to this invasive inspection policy would be rewording the policy to allow more confidentiality and respect to the student body. Instead of allowing full access to online accounts, the school should only be allowed to investigate and inspect online activity when there is a confirmed threat or depending on the severity of the threat. An example of this is already in our handbook. As I mentioned previously, Masters has the ability to rewrite and revise policies as they see fit. Compared to public schools that have certain set rules for online activity based on their district and the decision of the Supreme Court, independent schools have greater freedom in what they can allow students to post or say online. Masters should take advantage of this. privilege and reexamine their policies that would allow less invasive activity and better connections between students and supervisors.
The Death Penalty: revenge doesn’t equal justice Gisele Cestaro
D
SONALI RAO /TOWER
THE DEATH PENALTY HAS become a controversial issue. Gisele Cestaro argues that when it comes to the Eighth Amendment all capital punishment should be abolished due to human rights violations.
Lead News Editor
ating all the way back to eighteenth Century our governmcnt would create an idea that would carry through to the modern world today. This was to sentence those who committed a severe crime to death. Because of the evolving standards of decency, which bases execution decisions on the Eighth amendment, I’ve come to believe it’s an outdated practice that should be completely abolished. Punishments such as the electric chair, firing squad, and lethal injection are all violations of the Eighth Amendment which forbids cruel and unusual punishment. In addition, the judicial system has severe bias and discrimination built into it which leads to false sentencing, allowing innocent victims to find themselves on death row. Crimes that result in death row tend to be first-degree murder, which is intentionally planned. The system arbitrarily targets those of poor socio-economic status, racial minorities, and those with developmental disabilities; some of those disabilities include pyschotic
disorders such as schizophrenia and severe bipolar disorder. Yet, retribution has been the continual force behind why the death penalty is still in usage; the belief that society seeing these defendants behind bars for life isn’t enough. What people overlook is the death penalty has failed to bring the rate of crime down, and doesn’t give those who committed an offense the chance to rehabilitate. When it comes to the general attitude of the death penalty at Masters, most students and faculty
“
Systemic racism might not be written into the Constitution but, in almost all cases people of color are more likely to be convicted of a crime with their punishments tending to be worse.
- Jake Lefort ‘23
are against the practice. This fits the trend of the general consensus nowadays with many people believing it’s outdated; execution rates go to show this decline due to how little it’s been practiced in the past decade especially.
Jake Lefort, a junior, feels that the death penalty should not be practiced because of its harmful nature. He maintains that allowing the government enough power to take away a life is too extreme no matter the crime. “It doesn’t make sense that we give the state the power to execute people when so many [people] have been proven to be wrongfully convicted and exonerated later on,” Lefort said. He argued that the justice system continues to be targeting certain groups of people, and is especially unfair to people of color. “Systemic racism might not be written into the Constitution but, in almost all cases people of color are more likely to be convicted of a crime with their punishments tending to be worse,” Lefort said. When it comes to class, the justice system tends to pick on those who are poor and are unable to afford a quality attorney. A public defender is less likely to be able to protect their client from receiving such a harsh punishment, as opposed to a qualified lawyer who is able to provide a strong defense. In reality, both those defendants could be equally as guilty but one gets sentenced to death because of wealth disparity.
Freshman, Alex Williams, is pro capital punishment and maintains that if a criminal commits a heinous crime, then they should be punished by death. “I’d say it’s a case-by-case standard. If an act is so egregious that it needs the death penalty, assuming the families want that done, then yes I think it should be mandated,” Williams said. Although he doesn’t think executing people is a crime deterrent, he believes it gives people a sense of relief knowing that their perpetrator can never be released into society again. Williams doesn’t believe that taking a criminal’s life would be a violation of human rights because it would be equal. “I think when a person intentionally went through with that crime, let’s say killed several people, then we get into new circumstances where the death penalty is now justified,” he said. When it comes to criminals who have committed odious crimes, I still maintain that the death penalty gives no chance to those who might have the ability to rehabilitate. On top of this, it is ineffective at deterring crime, and is too biased to be practiced.
CLASS OF 2022 ETHAN YANKEY
TOWER/MAY 26, 2022
Noah Kassell-Yung
A
Sports Editor
fter two years at the Masters School Ethan Yankey will leave, having left a lasting impact on the community. Yankey comes from Dominica, a small island in the Caribbean where the lifestyle could not be more different than that of Westchester. His background has brought a unique perspective to the community and he has shared that perspective with students and faculty alike through passionate speeches at morning meetings, in the classroom, and on the sports field. Yankey completed high school and was able to get his associates in building and civil engineering at a community college in Dominica. It was during this time that an opportunity arose through fencing. “I was a national athlete for Dominica’s fencing, and what happened was that one of the members in my club got into this program that a father of a student at Masters ran that helped get kids into boarding schools in the United States,” Yankey said. Yankey’s friend, in her interview, mentioned that her friend was a star in athletics and academics and suggested that the interviewer give Yankey an interview as well. The interview went well and Yankey eventually was able to look at school in America. He looked at over ten schools but was especially drawn to Masters due to the fencing program. “I just loved the school, the way it looked, the community, I just loved what they offered, their fencing, and I just felt like that’s the place I wanted to go,” Yankey said. Yankey joined Masters his junior year which coincided with the hybrid learning of the 2020/21 school year. Because of the pandemic, he was forced to remain in Dominica and zoom into classes from a school 2,577 miles away. “It was very difficult, I got frustrated many times, I felt like quitting many times because things were just so hard. It was a new teaching technique, a new education system, I didn’t have any friends like that, and I was always on my laptop inside,” Yankey said. After online classes were over, instead of spending time with friends, Yankey would take a bus into the city and work at his local barber shop, trying to learn how to cut hair and get clients.
Over the summer, Yankey took a prerequisite world history class. The first day of class, the proctor asked everyone to introduce themselves which included their country of current location. Yankey mentioned that he was from Dominica in the Caribbean and a day later he was contacted by the school telling him that there was another student from Masters stuck in Dominica. That student was current junior, Christopher Gatty. “At first I was very hesitant because it’s a new person, I don’t know how it’s gonna go, but we met up and had lunch and ever since we clicked,” Yankey said about his relationship with Gatty. They were able to spend a lot of time together as Yankey would visit Gatty and go to the beach together. “I would say he became a really close friend in just a short period of time. Him being on that same American history class, it’s like winning the lottery. It’s like a one in a lifetime kind of thing to meet someone who’s actually stuck in your own country-a country so small compared to other countries, just 60,000 people in population- who’s going to the same school you go to, that’s crazy to me.” Yankey and Gatty’s families also bonded, as a real connection grew between the two boys and their mothers. Stacy Tisdale, Gatty’s mother, volunteered to be Yankey’s host parent when he arrived in the United States. “To be honest, most of my successes here would not be possible without them, me going to college with [Tisdale] helping me and telling me to put myself out there and break barriers down and push myself, I don’t think I’d be going to college. I’d be taking a flight back home trying to find another job or going back to school so they have not only been leaders of my success but they have given me a new family and a support system.” He continued, “They come to my games, we go out all time, at family gatherings, I’m there, I never miss a beat, I never feel like I have my family 1000s of miles away because anything I need? They’re always there for me.”
7
FEATURES
When Yankey stepped onto Masters campus, he immediately recognized the amount of opportunities available to him. With talents such as photography, dancing, arts, he embedded himself into as many programs. He was able to join multiple clubs, including SCEEM, MISH, the International Club and many others. On a more personal level, he has shared his knowledge, power, and wisdom with many members in the community. Yankey delivered a passionate speech at a Morning Meeting about his life. “Speaking at Morning Meeting was very powerful to me because I come from a different world from most that will attend here. I come from a different reality than them and I’ve been through a lot so me sharing that wisdom was very influential,” Yankey said. “I was happy that I
Photos Courtesy of Ethan Yankey
DURING HIS TIME AT Masters, Ethan Yankey has participated in a variety of clubs and athletics, including soccer, lacrosse and fencing.
could give everyone a sense of who I am, not just this Caribbean kid, but really what made me, what really made my character, what made me resilient.” His speech was greeted by a standing ovation from the students participating as his message and story seemed to resonate with the larger student body. Yankey was also a player on the boys varsity soccer team that won the NYSAIS championship in the fall. While he did not play many minutes for the team, his contribution came off the field, on the morale side.
For both lacrosse and soccer teams, Yankey was arguably the loudest and most important voice on the field. Whether joking, motivating, or delivering a passionate speech, his energy was infectious. In the winter, Yankey fenced for the varsity team and was one of their captains and highest scorers. Yankey acknowledged that his training back in Dominica was more rigorous as he would fence for four hours on average versus the two hour practices at Masters. Masters has taught him a new perspective on fencing however. “Masters really showed me the team dynamic, even though I was a national fencer and I was on the national team, I never felt like I belonged to a team. I always felt like I
stood out like I was just a black sheep in my club, but when I came to Masters I just felt at home, I felt like I had a team that I could depend on that could also depend on me,” Yankey said. “The next step for me, I want to go to college and do architecture. I’ve always been in love with architecture and design and just construction as a whole,” Yankey said. He dreams to do both projects in the United States and in Dominica where he can give people jobs in construction and motivate children to do something right. “Masters showed me the real world, I came from a different world, a survival world and Masters showed me a world where you embrace the world, you don’t try to survive it but you embrace the beauty in it.”
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TOWER/MAY 26, 202
CLASS OF 2022
New York University
Goodbye
Frank Yang, Allen Ning, Marbod Faure, Andrew Han, Andy Liu, Natalia Curnin-Shane
Masters...
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NOTE: The students included responded to a survey sent out by Tower to the class of 2022, asking for their permission to be included on the college map. Those not shown did not respond.
Designed By: Editors-In-chief emeriti Kira Ratan and Sophia Van Beek Data Collection By: Editors-in-chief Ellie Yang and maia barantsevitch
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TOWER/MAY 26, 2022
FEATURES & ARTS
N I S0N
A RUB
M E M
Fashionista alumna makes waves Maya Phillips
S
Opinion Editor
ince the age of ten, Emma Rubinson, ‘17, has always been making things. “It’s kind of just been the thing forever. I never considered doing anything else,” Rubinson said. At a young age, Rubinson began manipulating T-shirts. This involved painting them, making slashes in them, and weaving them together. Her interest only grew from there. While attending sleep away camp a close friend of hers had a fashion sketchbook. This prompted Rubinson to start sketching. While in high school, Rubinson remained interested in fashion but pursued other creative outlets. She began developing her portfolio as a junior and started taking classes at the New England Fashion Design Association. “The owner of that Studio is a Parsons professor and has since become one of my mentors,” Rubinson said. While at Masters, Rubinson organized an interactive installation on the third floor of the Fonseca
Center. “I was really interested in exploring lighting and sound design in addition to creating garments … It was various different interactive activities so that the inspiration for the fashion designs wasn’t just manifested in the fashion designs. I wanted people to contribute to the experience.” Rubinson spent a total of six months working on the project. “I hosted it like a party. I think there were about 300 people.” Rubinson organized three different rooms where she displayed her handmade garments. Rubinson asked people to donate their colorful T-shirts to her in order to make the dress. “It was such a great experience to bring people together and create an experience where people could step into another world and be a part of the work,” Rubinson said. Rubinson’s interest in psychology has been a big inspiration. “A lot of my collections are visually inspired by installation art, and conceptually inspired by psychological concepts. My entire thesis collection at fashion school was inspired by lucid dreaming,” she said. Rubinson researched artists who tried to capture that ethereal other-
worldly experience. “The end goal is creating something outrageous,” Rubinson said. I want them to embrace that feeling of discomfort, but still express their personality and their true color.” Rubinson graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2021 with a degree in fashion design. She studied abroad in 2019 at Central St. Martins in London, UK and Santa Reparata International School of Design in Florence, Italy. Once Rubinson graduated from university, she moved to New York City. “I was working at a textile studio, dyeing fabric and color matching, which is very cool and very intense.” Recently Rubinson has taken steps to create her own personal brand. She has become a content creator. Her TikTok account @EmmaRubinsonOfficial has 240,000+ followers. She uses her account to share content on pattern making and sewing. On average she receives 30,000 views per video. In total she has also received 3.5 million likes. “I started making content with little to no effort thinking it’ll go viral. I very quickly realized that that
was not the case. It was going to take learning and effort. It was the middle of a pandemic and what else did I have to do – nothing.” Rubinson was going into her senior year of college knowing she would work on her thesis collection. With this in mind, she thought she might as well develop a following so that she had an audience when she launched her collection. Rubinson started posting in around April or May of 2020. She hit 10,000 followers by August and by January she reached 100,000. “I kind of just kept growing from there. I posted one tutorial video and that got me around 80,000 followers,” Rubinson said. “My whole thing has always been wanting people to come for their own experience. You want to gather an audience of people that are going to support you. And who wants to support you more than people who understand what it’s like to put in the work that you’re putting in? If you’re giving them resources and knowledge to help them achieve a similar thing, they’re going to be more likely to invest in you,” she said.
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TOWER/MAY 26,2022
11
FEATURES
Farewell...don’t forget to
W RI T E
TIM
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E T S CU
”It’s a bittersweet time for me to leave New York and be with family but I’ve appreciated my time here.”
SUE ADAMS
ew t a f g I a d e in w o rk e th “I’ve s, but on the stuol ce at scho e d is th inely ni u c noti are gen I see an s t e ually th r. den ch o ally act r. I a e to re the ch o y imrt to a o e f f r e to a ve ind ent be k spect as he stu d s T re ue.. tand l s see r a v e und ant .” p o rt eally ues here r y d l a o b e v thes
L A R B A C A ANN “Af t rea er thi lly s y ea b sel f: h een a r, I h tea ski o ave w c n c me hing a an I g mypar mak can dical t e this I con caree of m y r? H tin j o y a ue ow exc n t erg iteme d rew o hav y in nt o e a f t rding I a th for m re e clas he en a war s d t lly lo room o fi oki ? ng n ans wer ding t .” he
NOR A SP ADO NI
. . . . . . . . . . ..
vmo ce I’m pla o l g h ew ho u ho a n t sc t l x “A to ne ll be rs ti te ing ting I s Mas nd, r sta ear, hat y ki ly t el we d ve qu lie uni , and , an e y a is endl plac ly im i ng real ing.” fr mi co t’s a nt th tha orta p
“I t is t hink th h pen at ch e me beg . The anges ssage r you ining e are haps . w it take And new er y h you some then t life thing f rom hing . y ev o A we can nd, h u do eno pay opef in att ully go o ug h t d l o ta entio ke n ess o th us.” ns w i e th
EILEE N DIE CK
the are up s t ro n de l g t in stu erfu me eals ter ond I’ve ’ve r nna as w nts I go ve “M ost d e m stu d r, an . I’m h. I’ nt e c e of care them mu stu d so as my oved em s ver y a cl int. l e o ly iss th ost l in e p I m alm ho o som s. So a c h t e S d t a i d ha the ow gra s w in m n the tion ts.” n c o ro l of nne tu de o f s Al c o ve ha lot
e y a K y l l e h S
“It’s bitterswe et because it’s a change and I’ve really enjoye d my time here. The pan demic has made it more d ifficult to connect a s much w ith people, but I hope to spend so me time w ith the friend s I ’ve made o ver the years .”
BILL ROBERTS
a wo n n e e b s nd “It ha six years a h it l derfu ving on w o m e I’m m ond m me f f o et so a lot ’ve m N othI . s e or i e. peopl great but lo ve.” ing,
Photos by staff an Tower dM Commu asters nication s
AN V I L L U S ’ NEIL O to ing . o g .. ents l, I’m “ Wel the stu d w up miss uys sho yo ur g th yo u y w i yo ur a d y ever gy and nd I ener iasm, a iss us m enth w ill I k thin at mos t.” th
E L D D I B D E
Read th e fu these te ll profiles of achers online a tower.m t astersn y.org.
PETER M ILHALCI K
TOWER/MAY 26, 2022
12 FEATURES
Community members react to Mandarin resignations
that way. It’s kind of interesting. Sometimes we wonder if it’s our Lily Zuckerman fault.” Zinaman added, “I think it’s been eye opening to have a variety Ad Manager & of different teachers because we’ve Assistant Social Media Manager gotten so many different learning styles. Us seniors have been taught he language department at Mandarin in three different very Masters offers a variety of different ways now, and I know options including Manda- which style is my favorite and have rin, Spanish, Latin and French. been able to adapt. I would like to Many of these languages have mul- choose my favorite teacher to stick tiple teachers, except Mandarin, which has one teacher for many sections. Within the Mandarin proA new teacher every year gram, there was a new teacher for means a new teaching style. It is two years, until the 2021-2022 diffiuclt for our teacher to get us ready school year, when the department hired Peter Mihlacik. Although for the next level, without knowing many students loved him, he will what we will be learning next year be leaving after this school year. with a new teacher. Senior Stella Zinaman, who has been enrolled in a Mandarin class - Konstantin Miebach 24’ all four years of Upper School, has had a new Mandarin teacher in ninth grade, tenth grade and senior year.. with for all four years because then She said, “It’s a little harder I would’ve learned a lot more.” to build a close connection with Similar to Zinaman, junior a teacher... It just happens to be Cameron Lovett has been practic-
T
“
ELLIE YANG/TOWER
SOME STUDENTS MAY STRUGGLE with homework as diffferent teachers may vary in their expectations. These struggles mentioned in the article can greatly effect a student’s acedmic endeavors.
ing Mandarin since sixth grade. He plans to continue learning this language next year even though he will have a new teacher. Lovett said, “I’m fascinated by Mandarin, not just learning the language but the culture. And one thing about the culture we learned in class and our teacher this year, still does a great job of indulging us in that.” He continued, “It’s kind of disappointing when you have a teacher making a bond with helping you learn a new language and you get kind of close to doing that, and then leave and then you have to adapt to a new learning style, it’s kind of difficult like that.” The language department has chosen their teachers with consideration; they have hired a new Mandarin teacher, one that students hope will stay for more than a year. Sophomore Konstantin Miebach has had a new teacher every year of high school. He said, “A new teacher every year means a new teaching style. It is difficult for our teacher to get us ready for the next level, without knowing what we will be learning next year, with our new teacher.” Jonathan Karpinos, who has been the head of the language department for two years, has not only been hiring new teachers but trying to grow the Mandarin program. He said, “I think one interesting challenge with Mandarin teachers is that there are a pretty large number of people who speak Chinese in the United States, but there are many fewer people who have studied language teaching, and have experience teaching the language. So sometimes it can be hard when you’re looking around for a teacher, you can find someone who might speak the language and know the language well and be really enthusiastic. But if they don’t have a certain amount of training as a language teacher, it might be hard for them to be successful in the job.”
Masters Dance Company’s Spring performance processes healing one step at a time
RYAN GUAN/TOWER
JUNIOR NICO RILEY STANDS surrounded by fellow dancers in the dance “Help me make it through the night”. This was the dance program’s second performance of the 2021-2022 school year.
Lydia Ettinger
D
Contributng Writer
ancers in The Masters Dance Company (MDC) took their final bows for the school year in their Spring Performance. The concert ran from May 12-14 featuring pieces by two guest choreographers: Josh Zacher and Juan Michael Porter II. Additionally, there was a three part ballet by MDC director and dance teacher Shell Benjamin and a student-choreographed duet,“We Met”, by juniors Ellie Yang and Haile Coore. MDC used this performance as an opportunity to address the process of healing wounds from COVID-19. In the fall Benjamin and dancers were grateful to get back on stage for their first live performance since the outbreak of COVID-19. Now, Benjamin is viewing this concert as a part of the process of healing. She said, “You don’t just jump
back into business as usual. There is a healing process that has to occur.” In order to present this theme through dance, the company had to dissect different phases and methods of recovery, Benjamin said. It was decided that tranquility, liberty, and freedom were the ultimate releases from pain. To present this artistically, Benjamin incorporated a diverse array of healing modes into her choreography such as yoga mudras (hand movements connected to different chakras) that were deconstructed and embellished. Ever since rebranding as The Dancing Advocates, MDC has supported a charity of choice for each performance. Kindred Collective was chosen for this season because of its mission of addressing healing injustice and inequality. Moreover, for sophomore and MDC member Keira Burgos, the performance was a reflective experience. She said, “I’ve learned that healing is about growing and becoming a better version of yourself.” The show had a variety of tones
and mood reflecting each step of the process towards health. The first dance “Human Healing” included dancers dressed in white, moving like water. There was a brief intermission preluding the second dance which interacted with the audience. Benjamin instructed “The Power of Breath”, telling the audience to close their eyes before beginning. She said, “allow yourself a few moments to simply be....If you have any negative thoughts, drop them off at the side of the road.” Audience members opened their eyes to dancers swaying to the rhythm of Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work”. The fourth dance, “Lift me up”, featured dancers decked out in neon costumes and audience members were encouraged to dance in front of the stage. Sophomore Christina Moore said, “It was so incredible seeing all of my friends dancing on the stage. I was dancing in my seat in one of the numbers. It was absolutely fantastic.”
TOWER/MAY 26, 2022
FEATURES
Dobbs Ferry high schoolers are hungry
Ally Pagano Photo Editor
R
ecently in the Masters community, five students from Dobbs Ferry High School snuck onto the campus a few moments after the lunch period had ended to enjoy a nice Masters meal. Though it was sometime after lunch, a few teachers in the dining hall at that time had their suspicions that the five kids didn’t belong to the Masters community. This resulted in them being led off of campus. A few teachers involved in the incident were willing to speak a bit more about the situation. Adam Gimple, a college counselor and the administrator on duty during lunch, received a phone call stating that there were a few kids lingering in the dining hall after most kids had gone to their classes and that they weren’t believed to be Masters students. While on the call Gimple said,
“I’m going to come to you right away, to address it. In the meantime can you also call the dean of students office to see if Mr. Carnevale is available?” From that point, Gimple and Jeff Carnevale, Dean of Students, made their way up to the dining hall, and upon entering they could both tell that none of the five students attended Masters. Gimple had a lot of different emotions about this incident but one thing was how open our campus is to the general public. Gimple said, “ One thing I’m pretty consciously aware of is how porous our campus is, there are a lot of points of entry, we don’t have a fence around campus, we don’t have a security gate that we need to check in at, and we have key card access to all of our buildings but we have very friendly students that hold the door for people.” Carnevale had the same feelings towards our campus stating, “It was surprising that we’re a school, close campus, and the Dobbs kids know we’re close campus so it was surprising that they would come here for lunch.”
The dining hall is used by every grade on campus so it’s hard to know everyone who attends and every student in every grade. Gimple thought that it was no surprise that something like this would happen. Though Gimple didn’t address the students directly he was sure that the kids knew that what they were doing wasn’t right. He said, “I’m pretty certain they knew they were doing something they weren’t supposed to be doing.” Gimple also believed that their actions weren’t meant to be malicious in any way and it wasn’t terribly shocking about how it all went down. He thought they genuinely did just come to try the food that the Master staff provides. Though he could see why it would be alarming on the security side and that we should be a bit more cautious. Jeff Carnevale, the Dean of Students, had also been called in to handle the situation. Like Gimple, Carnevale had received a similar phone call from faculty saying that there had been kids in the dining hall and they weren’t sure if they
were Masters students. Once Carnevale got to the dining hall he was certain that he didn’t recognize the kids. Being the Dean of students Carnevale said, “I know our student body pretty well as the dean of students, I can recognize most people and I didn’t recognize any of them, that’s how I knew.” Carnevale believed that they didn’t have any bad intentions and had just come for lunch because he was aware that they go to town usually but instead thought they could come to Masters. Carnevale had also believed because our food is good, that’s why they did it. He said, “ I mean our food is awesome and so it’s possible they have some friends who go to Masters and said the food was great, I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.” Though Carnevale said that in all of the time that he had been here, he hadn’t experienced anything like this, which is also what added to his surprising feelings. He had never heard of Dobbs kids doing something like this be-
fore and that they knew we don’t have outside visitors. His main concern in this situation was also our security because they want to be able to do what they can to ensure our safety and make sure that we as a community feel safe. We really just have to be particular about the security inside the buildings. To get a look at how security felt about the situation, Victor Seguinot was generous enough to speak his thoughts. The reason Seguinot felt they got it was because people that attended the school spoke very highly of the food and they wanted to see for themselves. Holding the same feelings about our open campus he stated, “It’s an open campus, that’s why security, you see us mostly around students in the dining hall, coming out of the middle school, when parents are picking up their kids, or events.” Seguinot believes it’s good to be within the mix of the student body to make sure we’re safe and the campus is safe. The security staff has a website that allows them to see who is swiping their card and trying to
get into the buildings to allow them to keep track of our safety. On top of that Seguinot states, “ My thing is as a supervisor, that my guards are interacting with the community. We just can’t be sitting inside a car all day long or stand in the same corner.” He continues, “ We want them to walk around, walk into the buildings, visit each floor, look into each classroom, say hello, say goodbye, and talk to the students.” From each perspective, we can deduce that the students that got into the campus had no malicious intentions of any kind and just came here to enjoy a nice meal. Alongside that, we as a community can also be a little more cautious about holding open doors because we don’t know everyone and we don’t want something like this to happen in the future. Everyone is doing their best to keep our community, our student body, and our campus a safe space but there are a few things we can improve on to ensure that safety.
Gisele Cestaro News Lead Editor
M
ercy College adjunct faculty were prepared to strike on May 2 due to the low pay and minimal benefits that were being offered. Adjuncts are part time professors who make up a large portion of the Mercy College community; many of those faculty members felt as if they weren’t receiving the proper income to live sustainably. In the past, there had been bargaining sessions between the union committee and the administration to come to a fair deal, but they all ended in disagreement. Many adjuncts did not want to cause a work stoppage because of how it would affect the students, but they felt they had no other choice. Fortunately, during a bargaining session on April 28, 2022, there was a contractual agreement reached. The new agreement consisted of a payment increase, greater bonuses, more stability, as well as tuition remission to help alleviate the cost for families. Although adjuncts teach part-time, they typically balance more than one job in order to provide for themselves and their families. Elisabeth Merrill used to be an adjunct science teacher at Mercy college for several years before leaving in 2016; she is also a faculty member of the Masters community but is currently on sabbatical. Merrill had little interaction with other teachers because she taught night classes such as Biology, Anatomy, and
along with working other jobs,” Flaherty said. It is difficult for adjuncts to be able to give students the proper time and energy because of what they have to balance. Flaherty is currently working three jobs, and at her most she was working six jobs several years ago to receive more income. “Our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions, and improving those conditions for adjuncts will lead to better student success,” Flaherty said. When taking success into consideration, some students might care about the portion of adjuncts that make up a college community. Since adjuncts are only part-time, this could affect students’ abilities to be able to be in touch with their teacher when needed. Communication issues are not a question of the adjuncts’ dedication to their students but rather their commitment to other jobs. Esperanza Borrero has been a college counselor at Masters for 5 years, and firmly believes that it is a students personal decision to decide whether or not having adjunct faculty is an issue. “I don’t place a value for a student to make; that’s an individual decision. For some it may be a factor, but I think it’s important that they know before going to that college,” she said. Borrero maintains that the learning experience will be different when students are being taught by adjuncts because of communication barriers, such as limited office hours, but they can still have a successful educational experience.
PHOTO CREDIT SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION
MERCY COLLEGE FACULTY AND students gather to support adjuncts and the fight for better wage conditions. Mercy College is in Dobbs Ferry. The college is within walking distance of the Masters School.
SYDNEY STARKEY/ TOWER
From anaphylactic to adaption, Adjuncts: overworked and underpaid OIT saves lives A look into the lives of part time professors Physiology. Merill was juggling other jobs at that point as well as having four kids. “It was not financially prudent to take that job because the pay was very low. It was around $2500 for a semester, which is fifteen weeks, but for a class of 24 to 30 kids, it’s not much money,” she said. She also went on to talk about the effects that the low income had on the students’ ability to learn because of what the adjuncts can offer equitably. “I believe what made me different as a teacher was that I taught like I would teach in high school. I gave weekly quizzes, and also allowed for test corrections, but for other adjuncts since the pay is so bad, they did three tests per semester,” Merill said. Since there are so few tests per semester, it puts a lot of added pressure on students to perform better academically. Katherine Flaherty has been an adjunct faculty member at Mercy College since 2015 and teaches critical thinking and junior seminars, as well as previously teaching in the English department. She maintained that the biggest issues are job security, wages, and benefits; the lack of these is what pushed the adjuncts to potentially strike. “If you’re teaching there for one semester or more, there’s no guarantee of longer employment. Due to this we have been proposing two year long contracts, renewable based on job performance and security. It’s not too much to ask because it’s so hard to plan your life when you don’t know if you will be teaching the next semester
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PERSON BEING EXPOSED TO allergy during OIT (Oral Immunotherapy) treatment session. The treatments will help the person gradually become immune to their allergy by increasing the dosage of food each session.
Lexi Wachen Lead Features Editor
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very Tuesday, I wake up at 5:45 am, leave my house at 6:15 am and drive 27 miles north for exactly one teaspoon of peanut butter. The peanut butter has to be room temperature, “smooth” and the brand SKIPPY, precisely. And, these aren’t my guidelines, they’re the preferences of PalforziaTM For most people, this probably seems pretty peculiar, but for me, and 15,000 others, it’s life changing. For the past five months, I have been enrolled in Oral Immunotherapy(OIT), which is a system that helps desensitize anaphylactic patients by gradually increasing the dosage of their food allergen, building resistance and tolerance, with the goal of outgrowing the allergy as a whole. Anaphylactic reactions differ depending on the severity of the allergy as well as the concentration ingested. Anaphylactic shock occurs when blood pressure drops significantly and the airways narrow, ultimately restricting the ability to breathe. However, the progression isn’t always sequential and could worsen within seconds. One reaction could result in eye swelling while the next results in anaphylaxis. The Epinephrine Auto Injector(Epipen) is an emergency device used during a severe reaction that injects epinephrine, or adrenaline, into the system, attempting to open the airway and overtake the reaction.
However, if not used in time, and the brain is deprived of oxygen, the results can be severe, or fatal. OIT was first introduced in 1908 when AT Schofield successfully desensitized an anaphylactic child to eggs by gradually increasing the quantity administered. On the first day, Schofield gave the patient 1/10,000 of an egg, “the starting dose”, and five months later, he was able to freely consume eggs with no reaction. One century later, OIT has grown tremendously in popularity and become a savior for people all around the world. With around 32 million Americans currently diagnosed with food allergies, OIT reduces the risk of harm tremendously. While OIT is still not widespread, with only about 200 allergists offering this program nationally, and success in a program is not guaranteed, nearly 80% of patients, specifically with peanut, milk and egg allergies, will outgrow their allergy completely after leaving an OIT program. Depending on reactions and duration between appointments, this process typically takes five to six months. Lauren Whalen, physician assistant at the Allergy and Asthma Care of Rockland County, has worked directly with allergies and immunology for the past five years where she has grown really passionate about OIT. She mentioned that seeing the way food allergies disrupt so many of her patients’ lives is “heartbreaking”. She said, “Prior to OIT, so many children feel so isolated--not being able to go to sleepaway camp, sit at the ‘normal’ lunch table in school or even go to birthday parties--so trying to help make a difference for them and their families has been a huge motiva-
tor for me.” Isaac Keiser, a rising sophomore at the Washington University in St. Louis, was born with severe allergies to eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and dairy. In fourth grade, he was enrolled in an experimental trial of OIT at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to desensitize him to eggs. In this trial, Keiser was first exposed to foods with baked eggs, like meringue cookies, and gradually was exposed to foods cooked less, like French toast, which would help build tolerance and resistance. Eight months later, Keiser had outgrown the allergy, being the first person across the globe to receive this treatment. He said, “I know it gives my family and myself a lot of peace of mind knowing I won’t accidentally eat something with eggs in it and might need to go to the hospital.” OIT isn’t always linear; sometimes when patients struggle, the reason as to why they are experiencing a reaction isn’t clear. And Whalen reflected how observing a patient not get the results they wanted is challenging to watch. However, when a patient reaches a point of ‘normalcy’ in their life, it is incredibly gratifying. Whalen said, “Months later, seeing one of my patients come back after graduating and just hearing how much their life has changed is the most rewarding part of all of this.” Years later, as a college student, Keisner reflected on the way that OIT has given him this sense of safety and comfort in his everyday life. He said, “I cannot stress how much OIT has impacted my life. The biggest thing I gained from it was freedom.”
TOWER/MAY 26, 2022
14 FEATURES REVIEW
Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” is to die for Carol Queiroz
Executive Producer, TBN
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ow far would you be willing to go to uncover the truth about a mysterious murder that occured in your building? For three true-crime podcast obsessed strangers from Hulu’s original American mystery-comedy television series “Only Murders in the Building”, the answer is: they will go to any lengths to find the truth. The ten-episode first season of the show, created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, premiered on Aug 31, 2021 and became an instant hit. It was the most-watched Hulu original comedy on its premiere day, earned a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 93% audience score and was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Series. With all the love the show has received, Hulu is making a second season that is set to come out this summer on June 28. Taking place in the Arconia, an affluent Upper West Side New York apartment complex, “Only Murders In the Building” follows a group of true crime obesessd tenants: semi-retired televison actor Chareles Haden-Savage (Steve Martin), financially struggling theater director Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and young apartment renovator Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez). One day by coincidence, the three of them meet on an elevator along with another tenant, Tim Kono, who is making a frantic and angry
phone call about a very important package that hasn’t arrived. Later on that same day, an alarm sounds in the building instructing everyone to evacuate, and the trio meet again outside the building and bond over their love for a murder mystery podcast. When they return to the Arconia, they learn that there has been a murder in the building, and when they sneak into the building to find out who it was, they find Tim Kono dead in his apartment. Even though Kono’s death was ruled a suicide by the police, the three neighbors begin harboring suspisions about the death and decide to team up and create a true crime podcast documenting their own investigation of the death entitled “Only Murders in the Building”. The investigation of this case causes the trio to get into all sorts of trouble, as they break into their neighbors’ apartments in search for clues, interrogate tenants in the building and even receive mysterious death
threats for not leaving the case alone. The show is a brilliant blend of suspense and comedy with acting that does not disappoint. Not only are the acting performances beautiful, convincing and impactful from the show’s main characters, but performances from guest actors such as Sting, Tina Fey and Mandy Gonzalez really push the show to be as great as it is. Additionally, the individual episodes in this series are all wonderfully unique, drive the plot forward and incorporate masterful cinematography. One of the show’s most creative, format-breaking and standout episodes is a silent episode entitled “The Boy from 6B” that is entirely shot from the perspective of one of the primary suspects who is deaf. Even though silent episodes are nothing new in the world of cinema, the way this episode builds tension and thrill is everything a mystery show needs. “Only Murders in the Building” is the perfect show to get into over the summer. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and laughing at the brilliant comedic writing. All episodes of season one are available on Hulu and the second season is coming soon
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Heartstopper: the show that’s taking the internet by storm Aurora Rose Horn
Staff Writer “Heartstopper.” Even if you don’t know the show by name, there’s a chance you may have heard about it on your Instagram Explore page or TikTok For You page. Judging by the fact it hasn’t even been out for a month and already has a rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.5 out of 10 on IMDb, it’s a smash hit. “Heartstopper” came out on April 22, and since then it’s garnered a cult following. The show, based on the graphic novels of the same name by Alice Oseman, is set at an all-boys school in England called Truham Grammar School and follows two boys, Nick Nelson (played by Kit Connor) and Charlie Spring (played by Joe Locke). The former of the two is a sophomore in year 11, and plays for the school’s rugby team and is popular, The latter is in year 10 (the English equivalent of freshman year) and is quiet and reserved and has a small group of friends. The show begins with the resumption of school after winter break. Nelson and Spring are sitting
next to each other in homeroom, and we see their unlikely friendship grow into something more. Part of why the show has gained so much popularity among the teenage demographic is its relatability. At the start of the show a member of Spring’s friend group, Elle Argent, is a new student at Tru-
able to be herself as a transgender female, so many members of the LGBTQ+ community can find themselves represented in the series. There are so many things that keep me coming back to this show. I read the first of the graphic novels before watching the series. I quite enjoyed it, and a part of me was worried that the show would not be true to its source material. I have never been happier to be wrong. There are a few minor deviations from the graphic novels, but for the most part it is an accurate portrayal. This is due mostly - Aurora Rose Horn ‘24 to the fact that Oseman was heavily involved in ham’s sister school Higgs, and her the production of the show. Anexperience as a new student is very other thing I love about the show is relatable. She is more reticent at the soundtrack. I am a huge fan of the beginning of the series for fear music, so I was very happy to hear of not making friends, and at some songs from some of my favorite point in all of our lives we’ve been artists such as Beabadoobee, Orla a new kid, so it’s very easy to put Gartland, Girl In Red, Frankie Cosyourself in Argent’s shoes. There mos and Waterparks. Overall, everything about are also a lot of different LGBTQ+ storylines, from Spring having to Heartstopper is perfect, from face people bullying him after he the cast, to the soundtrack, to was outed as gay to Nelson realiz- the pacing. I fell in love with it ing and coming to terms with his from the moment I started watchbeing bisexual to Argent switching ing it, and I’m sure you will too. to a school where she feels more
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Overall, everything about Heartstopper is perfect, from the cast, to the soundtrack, to the pacing.
Grade:A-
STEVE MARTIN, MARTIN SHORT, and Selena Gomez(left to right) star in this new hit series streaming on Hulu.
CAROL QUEIROZ/TOWER
MAIN CHARACTERS NICK NELSON and Charlie Spring fall in love at an all-boys grammar school where they face challenges about their love, friendship, and more. Here they meet for the first time when they are put together at the same table. As of May 3 the show received almost 24 million hours viewed and continues to trend.
TOWER/MAY 26, 2022
Field day cultivates school spirit Oliver Kreeger Contributing Writer
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Community celebrates spirit week in style Web Editor The Dobbs Athletic Association at Masters, better known as DAA, hosted another Spirit Week for the Spring season which ran from May 9 - May 14. The week featured a variety of events which generally included some form of dressing up. Monday’s theme was “Anything But a Backpack”, during which students carried their school materials around campus in obscure items and containers such as cones, baskets and shopping carts. On Tuesday there was “Dress Like Past You” and a baseball match going up against Green Farms Academy. Thursday and Friday also featured sports matches with other schools, with the girls lacrosse team playing on Thursday and the boys lacrosse team on each day respectively. The week ended with Friday, “Senior College Shirt Day”, when seniors gathered on Graduation Terrace to take pictures. “What I really enjoy about Spirit Week is the variety that everyone brings in some sort of way whether it’s the backpack day with different types of backpacks or Beach Day seeing how everyone else is dressed differently than I am,” freshman Velizar Lazarov said. He continued, “My favorite day this year definitely has to be Backpack Day; me and my friends carried around shoe boxes and laundry bins, it was just a great time.” “It just makes campus look much more fun and lively than before and it really does just change the overall atmosphere and way that Masters is as a whole,” Lazarov added. As indicated in the name, this week’s events were run with the hopes of boosting student participation in activities and building energy for Masters’ sports games.
MBA preps for finals Carlos Heredia
n Friday, May 20, the upper school held their second annual field day. A field day in late May has recently become a new tradition for the upper school - the first was just last year, and held as a joint Founders Day-Field Day event, as the original Founder’s Day event often held in the fall had been postponed due to COVID-19. However, a spring Field Day has long been a tradition of the Middle School, which inspired the newer upper school Field Day. Ethical Leadership Coordinator Megan MacWilliams and Athletic Operations Manager and Track RYAN GUAN/ TOWER Coach Juan Cobos helped coordiJUNIOR CHRISTOPHER GATTY GETS tagged by junior Adul Samon. The two were competing in capnate Field Day. ture the flag on field day May 20. Each grade was split into four teams: white, purple, red, and blue and “The biggest goal is just to have competed in four seperate events. fun! Coming out, being outside, you know, is a great way to end the teams had to use their bodies to Field Day activities. fun, if not more fun, here,” Benson year, or at least start the end of the “spell out” words. Julia Orton, ‘22, has been at said. year,” MacWilliams said, of their Founder’s Day, a celebration of Masters since fifth grade. Now a Of how he views Field Day from goals while planning Field Day. Masters’s past, and Field Day are senior, Orton has participated in his perspective as a DAA co-presi“There’s definitely this bal- quite similar in both the way they some form of a field day (in both the dent, Benson said, “This is one of ance - a lot are celebrat- Middle and Upper School) for the the final acts for school spirit for of these ed and their better part of the last eight years. DAA in the year, so this is a very grades still activities. The “I’m kind of sad, but also cel- important moment for people to Field Day is a very new idea, key difference ebratory. I want to make this one come together as a community, like have finals and proj- so we’ve had a lot of fun in the past is that Found- count,” Orton, competing for the Founder’s Day but it’s at the end of ects comer’s Day is a Purple Team, said. the year, so it’s about celebrating few years with it - last year was my ing up, and Delta-Phi comOne person who had a unique getting rid of the stress of APs and it’s a way first year being introduced to DAA as a petition, while distinction of both helping plan finals.” to release president, and I’m having as much fun, Field Day is and then participating in the field As people milled around the field s t r e s s , ” if not more fun, here between teams day events is senior Kyle Benson. day stations, participating, rallying Cobos addunique to the Benson is one of the three tri-pres- people and leading activities, or just - Kyle Benson ‘22 ed. event. idents of the Dobbs Athletic Asso- watched, everyone in the communiThere This year, ciation (DAA), the official student ty was having fun in their own way. were four Field Day fea- organization involved in athletics “[My favorite part of Field Day] is activities that the grades rotated be- tured four teams across all upper and events like Founder’s Day and the end of it,” MacWilliams jokes. tween throughout the afternoon of school grades (the concurrent Mid- now Field Day as well. She is only kidding, but notes that activities that ran between 1:20 and dle School Field Day used a com“Field Day is a very new idea, so “there is a lot of work that goes into 3:35. The games were an egg toss pletely different system). The up- we’ve had a lot of fun in the past few preparing for it, and so once every and gaga pit, a four-way capture the per school teams were red, white, years with it - last year was my first class is off…and watching all the fun flag match, various relay races, and blue, and purple. In the end, the year being introduced to DAA as a that is had, that’s my favorite part.” a “spelling bee” where competing Purple Team proved victorious in president, and I’m having as much
Carlos Heredia
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SPORTS
“[On Senior College Shirt Day] it was nice to see where everyone was going. Kind of bittersweet since you’re happy for everybody but there’s also only a few days left before graduation,” said senior Chris Barnaby. Similarly, senior Tavin Staber said, “My favorite day was Anything But a Backpack Day, we got to see a lot of buckets, with the one that stood out to
me being the Home Depot bucket.” DAA has enjoyed seeing the community participation in the daily activities. Senior Kyle Benson, one of the DAA presidents, said, “Spirit Week is a really fun time where the whole community gets to come together in these activities. The energy the school brings is awesome, and I just love to see the blend.”
MATTHIAS JAYLEN/TOWER
FRESHMAN VELIZAR LAZAROV AND Ernesto Bautista Luna carry their school supplies in containers on “Anything But a Backpack Day.” “Anything But a Backpack Day” was held on Monday, May 9, in which students brought items to carry books and other schools supplies instead of backpacks.
Web Editor The Masters Basketball Association, a recreational basketball league, will hold its finals on May 26. Commissioner Charlie Cooper, will be running the event. Cooper created the association at the start of this school year, hoping to replicate the league in his hometown. “In my town of Harrison we have a rec basketball league, and when I got to Masters there wasn’t something like that… I wanted to try to create a league where everyone could be united and show school spirit and have fun playing basketball during lunch. I’m excited to keep going,” Cooper said. Initially twelve teams, the finalists have been narrowed down to Pope Star and Bishop Sycamore. Seniors Daniel Medina, Nate Dyott, Aiden Lothian, Dennis Sadrijaj, and Owen Higgins will be playing for Pope Star. Senior Chris Barnaby and Juniors Chris Gatty, Dakota Daniello, Jack Borwick, and Josh Barshay will be playing for Bishop Sycamore. Playoffs mostly took place during the start of the year, but games were postponed for the winter basketball season to avoid injuries. Delays also came from
games being shut down by school administration due to players not wearing masks. Semi-finals and the remaining play offs took place during the spring, with the final game scheduled for Thursday. Nate Dyott is optimistic about Pope Star’s prospects for the final, saying “We’re mentally prepared, we’re physically prepared; we just need to execute.” “[Bishop Sycamore’s] got talent, they’ve got respected players, perennial MBA all-stars. It’s a dog-on-dog matchup, we just gotta see. It’s just who wants it more, and at the end of the day we want it more,” he added. Pope Star’s coach, Amechi Aduba, said, “We’ve grafted, we’ve grinded for so many years. We’ve been having this in the works since 6th grade, me and Nate we’ve been here a while. I’ve known this guy forever and I know he’s talented, I know what he can do. He’s been our best friend these last few games. We’re just gonna need something from everybody, everybody’s gonna have to chip in, everybody’s gonna have to put in the work, we’ve been manifesting this for years. We need to win.” “I’m looking forward to a big win, can’t wait to go and compete, beat the Pope Stars, and win the first ever championship,” said Bishop Sycamore player Chris Barnaby, “Once you stop Aiden Lothian you kinda stop the whole team.”
JOSH MARKOWITZ/TOWER
JUNIOR ZACH SHERMAN PREPARES to take a jump shot in a fall MBA game. While Sherman isn’t playing in the championship game, the MBA plans to hold its finals on April 26, as teams Pope Star and Bishop Sycamore will face-off.
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TOWER/MAY 26, 2022
Boys team brings new life to the tennis courts But then, as the time rolled on, something special started to happen. With the arrival of the opposExecutive Producer, TBN ing team from Dalton, an immediate raport formed between the ith the spring athlet- Masters team and them. ic season drawing to Greg Lesser, history teacher a close, senior games and boys’ tennis coach, started have slowly started to creep into chatting with the Dalton coach the schedule. A time-honored tra- about nothing in particular. The dition, senior games are an event conversation drifted, moving from dedicated to the legacy left behind their recent performance to their by senior athletes. They almost al- practice methods. A laugh echoed ways take place during the penul- from the fences they’re positioned timate or final game of the season. against. With a plentiful stash of snacks and Athletes from both teams start drinks available for athletes and practicing with each other, beginaudience members alike, everyone ning a slow process of acclimation packs the den to bid farewell to the to each other’s company. They senior athletes of Masters. grow used to each others’ quirks May 11 is a slow day for every- through their sparring, learning one. With APs dominating the the difference between their backlives of many, and the sun beaming hand and their forehand. down hard on the “Tennis is a Masters campus, it game about playis a difficult day to ing smart,” said Individual games be doing anything. leave you too in your own Lesser. “You need And so, the lack of to learn those head, but in a doubles match, things about the immediate excitement for the boy’s you have to think about the players. Some of varsity tennis se- other person on the court with our best games nior game is to be you. have been the ones expected. The den where our players is not packed, at got really into the Taggart Vales ‘22 least not at 4p.m., minds of their op30 minutes before ponent.” the start of the One such playgame. Tennis players are engaged er, senior Taggart Vales, was enin a rally with one another, and the gaged in a doubles game with fellow hills arching before the courts are senior George Chang. “I wanted to empty. play this game because of how nice “This is the last home game of it feels to play with someone else. the year, and it’s really dedicated Individual games leave you too in to celebrating the commitment and your own head, but in a doubles leadership of our seniors.” said match, you have to think about Stella Simonds, Boy’s Tennis Manager. the other person on the court with Lilith Leys
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CAROL QUEIROZ/TOWER
SENIOR GEORGE CHANG SETS up to hit a forehand in his match against Greens Farms Academy. Chang’s leadership and talent landed him the captaincy for his last sports season at Masters. Along with captain, Chang was assigned the number 1 seed for the team for the varsity tennis team. The team was defeated 7-0 on aggregate to GFA.
you.” said Vales. As captains of the team, they represent the team at its best. And besides from their stellar performance, and ability to take their 3-2 loss in stride, there was a simple moment that portrayed the best parts of the tennis team.
The Masters Panther had shown up during the game, doing their ordinary routine of jazzing up the crowd. The Dalton players remarked aloud to each other about the uniqueness of this Masters tradition- they didn’t have a tradition of their own like that. What was
special, however, was that Vales and Chang joined in conversation with them, talking about their own thoughts on the Panther. A simple moment that communicates that trademark Masters friendliness.
To read more sports stories and more, visit tower.mastersny.org
Final track meet of the year turns classmates into competitors meters, Anna Shub took first place over fellow freshman Alyssa Wang and sophomore Christina Moore. In the 10-man heat for the boys 400 meters, veteran Aidan Lothian ‘22 took his second first place of the meet, followed by junior Jesse Xu and senior Amechi Aduba. In the girl’s first heat for the infamous 100-meter dash, freshman Immanuelle Kennerly finished first just ahead of senior Ava Dilorenzo, who was followed by juniors Gisele Cestaro and Ashleigh Woodruff. In the girl’s second heat, senior pair Sabrina Wolfson and Sarah Wu tied and each scored 10 points for their prospective teams. In the final 100 meter heat for the girls, freshman Sarah Christie placed first in front of second place senior Alexa Wachen and third place finisher, junior Rachel Mafuru. In the first
or timed 100s and I’ve slowly seen more people join me in working after practice, behind the scenes, so Contributing Writer that they can see rewards of their own.” n May 20, coach Juan CoIn the second heat for the boys, bos led an in-house track senior Aidan Lothian took first meet between two teams, place once again, meaning he finpurple and white, that are entireished first in all three of the races ly made up of Masters students. he ran during this meet. In this During the meet, Cobos sorted race, Lothian finished over junior both teams into heats for individual Peter Vega and senior Christopher races of 100 meters, 400 meters, Barnaby. In the third and final heat, 800 meters, one mile, and teams of sophomore Charlie Milward finfour for the 4x100. ished just ahead of freshman Brian The races started with one heat Wolfson and Michael Popa. for the girls 4x100, followed by a Overall, the boys category was separate heat for boys 4x100. In led by three-time first place finthe girls’ heat, a team of Immanuisher Aidan Lothian and two-time elle Kennerly ‘25, Gisele Cestaro second place finisher Jesse Xu. For ‘23, Sophie Moussapour ‘25, and the girls section, Sabrina Wolfson, Maddy Blake ‘22 placed second Sarah Wu, Immanuelle Kennerout of three teams ahead of the ly, Sarah Christie, Anna Shub, third-place team of and Elaina Spencer, Anna Shub ‘25, Lauwho all won at least ren Allendorf ‘24, one race in their givThrough the long hours of excruciating Lainey Spencer ‘24, en heat, all tied for workouts, mind numbing long runs, and exand Christina Moore first place. In total, ‘24. However, a team treme hill sprints, came blissful moments like this. A the white team beat of seniors made up group of kids all running to have fun, all chasing after the purple team in an of Sarah Wu, Saincredibly close race, brina Wolfson, Ava one another. It was a truly beautiful moment that I will winning by a combined Dilorenzo, and Le- never forget.” score of 139-136. high soccer commit In the end, all the Camille Smith, took seniors were happy first place. with this last hoorah, - Aidan Lothian ‘22 For the boys especially the number 4x100, a powerhouse one leader in points team of Peter Vega ‘23, Demi Oni heat for the boy’s 100 meters, ju- in the entire meet, Aidan Lothian ‘23, Aidan Lothian ’22, and Nate nior Demi Oni took his second first when he spoke for all parting runDyott ‘22, took first place over a place finish of the meet over senior ners. Lothian said, “Through the team of Christopher Barnaby ‘22, Nate Dyott and sophomore Jake long hours of excruciating workJake Mason ‘24, Maison McCallum Mason. outs, mind numbing long runs, and ‘22, and Clark University soccer Lots of upperclassman like Oni, extreme hill sprints, came blissful commit Amechi Aduba ‘22. The who placed 3rd in the 100 meters moments like this. A group of kids longer races of the meet finished during the FAA Championship, are all running to have fun, all chasing with a 1600-meter race between happy with the way that the future after one another. It was a truly Ramzi Hikmet ‘23 and Tozai of Masters track is looking, beautiful moment that I will never Kawabata ‘25, with Hikmet taking Oni said “Throughout the sea- forget.” 1st place. son I’ve on occasion stayed after For the only heat of girl’s 400 practice to do extra block-starts Josh Markowitz
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JOSH MARKOWITZ/TOWER
JUNIOR OLUWADEMILADE ONI AND senior Amiche Aduba run in the 100 meter race on Friday, May 20. The purple versus white meet allowed the team to compete aganst themselves with a mixture of celebration for the departing seniors, and competition between teammates. Both Oni and Aduba will compete at the NYSAIS track meet on Wednesday May 25.