Tower Issue #6 Volume 77 2020-2021 by Tower

TOWER The Masters School

49 Clinton Avenue Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. 10522

VOLUME 77, NUMBER 6

Editorial After a school year of vigilant restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Masters should consider loosening guidelines for the sake of the educational and social well-being of the school.

APRIL 30, 2021

tower.mastersny.org

Community reacts to Derek Chauvin verdict

ELLEN COWHEY/TOWER

PROTESTERS IN DOBBS FERRY last summer kneel in honor of the lives lost to police violence. In May of 2020, the murder of George Floyd sparked protests across the nation. Now, almost a year after Floyd’s murder, the community is once again reflecting on systemic racism within the criminal justice system.

KATE SIBERY Editor-in-Chief

f the 16,000 times that an interaction between a police officer and a civilian led to a civilian death since 2005, only eight have resulted in an officer being convicted of murder. Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who murdered George Floyd last May, was the eighth. The jury deliberated for 10 hours over two days, following an emotionally-charged

Cárdenas leaves Masters TIM MATHAS Lead Opinion Editor Upper School Science Teacher Andrés Cárdenas left the school on Monday, April 5, according to an email sent on April 5 to the Masters community by Head of School Laura Danforth which outlined an explanation for his leaving. Danforth noted that the reason for Cárdenas’ sudden departure was due to “a pattern of boundary-violating interactions” in which “his communications with students strayed far beyond expected and professional boundaries”. Details regarding the situation that led to Cárdenas’s separation from the school have not been disclosed in an effort to maintain the privacy of the student(s) involved. Danforth wrote in the email that at the time of her writing, there was “no indication at this time that his behavior was malicious or illegal,” and that Cárdenas behavior “did not involve physical boundary violations with students.” Cárdenas, who was a faculty member for five years taught general physics (electricity, magnetism, and mechanics), general chemistry, honors chemistry and both sections of AP Physics C this school year. Additionally, on his own time, he taught an unofficial seminar called APX, in which he would meet with ten students from his advanced physics classes after school to discuss theoretical concepts outside the scope of AP physics. Cárdenas worked with and mentored students on research projects in science research and independent studies in physics classes, as well as other student-led independent research projects. According to Upper School Science Department Chair Frank Greally, the school has opted to enlist science teachers already employed at the school to cover his classes for the remainder of the year. In addition, outside tutoring help has been provided for AP students. Dean of Students Jeff Carnevale has taken over Cárdenas’ duties as a ninth grade advisor. The school is currently interviewing potential replacements for his position.

three week trial that ultimately resulted in Chauvin’s conviction on the charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on April 20. The following day, Head of Upper School Peter Newcomb introduced Upper School History Teacher Selas Douglas at Morning Meeting, who reflected on the implications of the verdict. “Having knowledge of how policing has been done throughout the country, what it felt like was a pebble in a pond–there’s finally justice in this moment, but it is a long, uphill battle to climb,” Douglas said. Douglas will be stepping into the office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion next year as the Associate Director of Equity and Inclusion.

For many, including sophomore Claress Bahamundi, the conviction came as a surprise. She said, “The day leading up to it I felt like I was holding my breath and when it was announced I was shocked.” That feeling of mounting anxiety in the days and hours leading up to the announcement of the verdict was collectively felt by students and teachers. Junior Maison McCallum expressed that his excitement at the guilty verdict did not reach the level he had been hoping for. He said, “When I heard I did feel immediate relief, but at the same time. I think unfortunately this is just a very small step because it has taken nearly a year for the case to close.”

Floyd’s murder fueled masses of protestors to take to the streets in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement throughout the summer. Rather than viewing the verdict itself as a historical turning point, Douglas said that the protests and global visibility they attracted were the most important and felt more akin to a point of reckoning. The prosecution argued that Chauvin acted outside the bounds of normal policing, and the first week of the trial was nearly filled by hours of tearful witness testimony. The defense presented an alternative narrative wherein complications from Floyd’s drug use were the main cause of his death. The verdict comes 30 years, almost to the month, after the murder of Rodney King under a rain of police batons in Los Angeles. The officers in that case were acquitted of all murder charges. Douglas saw striking parallels between this moment and the national uproar 30 years ago. “The reality is this isn’t a unique moment, this is part of the American brand, and we have been fighting this same struggle for civil rights for the entirety of the country’s history,” Douglas said. A resounding sentiment among many students has been that while the verdict is holding Chauvin accountable for his actions, it is not by any means an act of justice. Sophomore Amaris Asiedu felt that mentions of justice being served were well-intentioned, but misplaced in light of the centuries-long history of systemic racism in the nation. Asiedu found Senator Nancy Pelosi’s statement thanking Floyd for “sacrificing [his] life for justice,” to be particularly problematic. “I don’t want people saying it’s a sacrifice for justice, because nobody’s life should be sacrificed for justice. It should be viewed as a tragedy that opened up people’s eyes,” she said. Junior Annie Fabian echoed Amiedu. She said, “Lives have already been lost, there’s no getting justice for that.”

Inside this issue: MITCH FINK EXPLORES THE implications of the ongoing Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. Supreme Court case on the freedom of student press. Opinion, Page 4

LOGAN SCHICIANO TAKES A deep dive into the pandemic’s effect on the Masters School finances. Features, Page 8

ETHAN SCHLAPP GIVES AN ode to the sport of golf, which he thanks for getting him through the pandemic. Sports, Page 12

Increasing vaccine elibility gives students hope for return to normalcy KWYNNE SCHLOSSMAN Web and Social Media Manager

unior Briana Diaz recently received the COVID-19 vaccine after months of quarantining, distancing and masking. She reflected on the vaccination, saying, “It was so relieving finally getting the vaccine after almost a year of chaos. Knowing things could get back to the way they were soon is extremely uplifting after all of this.” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted on March 29 that, “On Tuesday, April 6 at 8 a.m., all New Yorkers age 16+ will be eligible to schedule and receive the COVID-19 vaccine.” A little over half of Masters Upper School students are now eligible to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, leaving many community members hopeful for a glimpse at normal life. Head of Upper School Peter Newcomb said, “As many people as possible should be getting the vaccine. It will help us all get back – as a school and wider community – to a sense of normalcy.” Junior Denis Sadrijaj said, “After seeing I was eligible, I rushed to the website to book my appointment. I was really excited to finally be vaccinated after so long.” Although as of right now only students 16+ are eligible to receive the vaccine, many students under 16 are planning on receiving the vaccine once available to them. Sophomore Will Tarica said, “I am 15 right now but I am definitely planning on getting the vaccine once I can. Everyone who can right now should go and get it.” According to CDC guidelines, two weeks after your second vaccination you are considered fully vaccinated. People are then advised to remain cautious of others who are at high risk and unvaccinated but can become more relaxed with protocols. As more and more members of the Masters community are receiving vaccines, the question of how this will affect school life is up in the air. Student performance groups, clubs and sports teams have been either heavily restricted or reconstructed to accomodate to health and safety protocols. With increasing vaccine availability, many students are saying they crave a sense of normal-

DENIS SADRIJAJ/TOWER

JUNIOR DENIS SADRIJAJ RECEIVES his first dose of the Covid vaccine. On Apr. 6, all New Yorkers 16 and older became eligible to schedule their vaccine. As of now, the Pfizer vaccine is the only option for teenagers like Sadrijaj. Many Masters students hope that getting the student body vaccinated might allow for relaxed regulations. However, for the half of the Upper School that is under the age of 16, the future remains more unclear.

cy with hope of a turn around for this year. After receiving the vaccine, senior Aiden Coleman, who is a member of multiple student performance groups, said, “I am still not allowed to rehearse in person. It’s really important we the school [try] to figure out a way to help performance groups, as the environment for music has almost been lost and I miss it.” Like Coleman, senior Anthi Likitsakos is vaccinated and has also not been able to meet in person for any of her clubs this year. She said, “There are hardly any in person meetings for student perfor-

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mance groups and clubs, if we are already together in classrooms and at lunch we should be able to meet in person for clubs. I think it’s time to reevaluate.” Along with clubs, Harkness tables have been absent from the class rooms for over a year due to guidelines. Many students, along with Junior Olive Saraf,voiced their hope that school would be able to bring back Harkness tables for next year as more and more students are being vaccinated. Saraf said, “I think at least by next year it is crucial to get the community to a

Knowing things could get back to the way they were soon is extremely uplifting after all of this.” - Briana Diaz ‘22

point where we can have live performances, games and Harkness tables in order to give some normalcy back to the community.” Newcomb responded to the debate on whether protocols will be changing as more members receive the vaccine. Though a majority of the upperclassmen are receiving the vaccine because it is only available to students 16 and over it would be irresponsible to put those students at risk as a school.” Along with the hope for a return of more consistent curriculars, many students – especially seniors – are looking for a traditional Masters spring in the upcoming weeks as more members are becoming fully vaccinated. Senior Jazmine Hudson said, “I understand the school’s hesitation to revise the protocols but a lot of us are really hoping for a sense of normalcy as the school year comes to a close.”

NEWS

TOWER/APRIL 30, 2021

Moving from online to in person Most AP exams will be administered online

SABRINA WOLFSON Opinion Editor

even faculty members and 28 students returned to campus for the first time this year, the first day of in-person school after Spring Break. Some members of the community, like Upper School Photography Teacher Rachel Langosch, hesitated to return to campus until they received their COVID-19 vaccination. “I have a family member that is at high risk so it was only when she got vaccinated, along with me and my circle, that I could even consider the possibility of a return,” Langosch said. Similarly, Upper School English Teacher Stephanie Andreassi waited until she was fully vaccinated before agreeing to teach in person. Andreassi said, “I felt that there were risks going back to the classroom if I wasn’t vaccinated, so the most important thing for the safety of my classroom, and my personal health, was getting vaccinated first.” For many new students that had spent the fall semester online, arriving on campus after Spring Break meant meeting students and seeing teachers for the first time. International student Gabi Machado awaited a visa that would let into the United States, hopeful that she could meet her fellow classmates before the end of senior year. Machado said, “It’s really hard to get to know people through breakout rooms, so being in person and meeting people has been amazing.” After the first semester, the ability to participate in spring sports proved to be an additional incentive for other online students to return to cam-

pus. In both the fall and winter, athletic games did not take place at Masters in an effort to follow state health and safety precautions. Given the newly-announced possibility for games and meets to resume, students are excited at the prospect of a normal season. Sophomore Chris Nappo, who plays baseball, expressed excitement at the prospect of playing sports this spring. “One thing I really missed while doing reKISHAN MANGRU/TOWER mote school was playing AFTER OVER A YEAR of learning or teaching remotebaseball with a team, so it has been great to be ly, 35 students and faculty returned to campus out of back playing a sport that a concern for their health or their family’s health. Now I love,” Nappo said. “I that vaccinations are more widely available, returning to wasn’t sure that it was campus has become a more viable option. going to be possible but I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season.” pretty cool seeing them in person and they were Because these students and faculty mem- also seeing me for the first time which was fun.” After their return, students also noted that bers have been online since the beginning of walking around campus revived the feeling of the school year, being back in person meant community that had been lacking while online. meeting their teacher for the first time, or vice Sophomore Jaden Bascon attended school versa. Although they had communicated virtuin-person from September to November, then ally, meeting teachers (or students) in person switched to online through the winter, but ulwas a highlight of returning to campus for many timately returned in-person after spring break. students. Sophomore Alex Nappo described Bascon noted, “Being in-person makes you the meeting experience as a very unique one. feel so much closer to teachers and students, and Alex said, “Online, you can’t really tell [the it was great to have that part of Masters back.” teacher’s] height or what they really look like. It was

Prom adapts to restrictions KYLA BARANTSEVITCH Web Editor

his year, AP exams at Masters will be administered both in school and digitally at home, due to the ongoing pandemic. For the first time, the College Board created a plan that includes a mixture of online and paper exams to be taken at home or in school across three dates, in order to accommodate students who have been remote for the entire school year. The Masters administration and AP faculty, taking into consideration accessibility and preparedness for all

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I have been working with AP faculty all year to ensure that they feel supported and prepared for what this year’s administrations will look like, and

will continue to do so as we head into exam season.” - Sara Eismont, Testing Coordinator

n March 12, Masters announced through an email that the school will hold a prom on May 29, a step towards salvaging the last of a senior year stripped of many traditional events for the Class of 2021. In the email, which was sent to families of the class of 2021, it was explained that unlike previous years, the prom will be restricted to seniors only, and no outside guests or students from other grades will be allowed to attend. The email also noted that the event will be held outside under a tent in front of Estherwood Mansion, a deviation from the prom’s traditional location inside the mansion. The theme that has been chosen for this event by a prom committee, made up of members of the senior class, has been revealed to be “enchanted forest”; and masks and social distancing measures will be enforced. While some may be disappointed in the changes that had to be implemented to fit COVID-19 safety standards, some members of the senior class said they are grateful that they will be able to have a prom this year. Senior class co-president Zachary Battleman was one member of the class to express excitement. “I’m so glad that the administration is allowing us to have a prom this year. With how hard this year has been, I know I speak for everyone in the senior class when I say we’re grateful we’ll be able to send off our time in high school with a bit of normalcy,” Battleman said. Carolyn Hohl, the other class co-president, agreed with Battleman. “It has really brought a lot of excitement back to the end of the school year. Everyone is coming together to choose prom themes and activities and it feels really great. It’s really nice that we have something huge like prom to look forward to,” Hohl said. “We had to get through a tough year to get to this point, and I

KIRA RATAN Lead Features Editor

students, decided to utilize both the in-school and remote testing options. The method of administration for each course was determined by AP faculty, working in conjunction with AP coordinator Sara Ann Eismont. Every AP class was assigned either in-person or at-home administration, meaning individual students were not allowed to choose which testing method they wanted to use. Many students taking multiple AP courses therefore have a combi-

nation of at-home and in-person exams. Junior Phoebe Radke has one AP exam this year, AP US History, which she will take from home. She said she was pleased that the digital format includes section changes as well, and feels better about getting ready for the test. Radke said, “I feel like we’ve been really preparing for the exam all year digitally, so it felt good knowing there wouldn’t be that disconnect.” In previous years, AP exams were held on paper and in-person at school. Last year, however, all AP exams were held online and remotely due to COVID-19. Eismont, who has extensive experience working with APs, said that this year’s exam format has many advantages for students specifically, and a few drawbacks, as well. Eismont said. “I would say that a big pro of offering a digital version of most exams is that students can take it from home, meaning that we have been able to ensure that students are able to take their tests, whether they are attending classes in person or remotely. A con is that the schedule is a great deal more complex than it has been in previous years.” AP course teachers have had to quickly adapt to the changes to the exam, and begin preparing students for a new testing format. AP US and European History teacher Eric Shapiro is preparing for the digital exam in both of his classes and said adapting to the new format has been relatively easy, especially because while all paper exams are being administered like usual at the beginning of May, digital testing dates have been pushed to late May. “I mean, last year in a lot of ways was harder, because everything was really unexpected for everybody. This year, they’ve pushed the exams back two weeks, so not having to do that heavy sprint after Spring Break has been helpful,” Shapiro said. Eismont said she has been communicating frequently and working closely with AP teachers in order to help them prepare for their classes and work with students. Eismont said, “I have been working with AP faculty all year to ensure that they feel supported and prepared for what this year’s administrations will look like, and will continue to do so as we head into exam season.”

GEORGE CHANG/TOWER

THE 2019 PROM WAS the last prom to take place at Masters due to COVID-19. This year, the prom will take place outdoors, and only seniors will be allowed to attend. am so glad that the administration is letting us celebrate our accomplishments in this way.” However, some members of the junior class felt disappointed to be left out of this year’s festivities. Junior class co-president Denis Sadrijaj said he, and many of his peers, were frustrated at the news that the prom would be limited to only seniors. “We have friends that are seniors and we are all together, and we would much rather have a junior senior prom and we’re bummed that we can’t,” Sadrijaj said. However, Director of Student Activities Ed Gormley explained that having a junior and senior prom would be too many students and would exceed COVID-19 safety guidelines. “If it were juniors and seniors it would be over 250 people, which is too many, so we had to restrict it to be within CDC guidelines,” Gormley said. In response to the seniors-only prom, Sadrijaj said he has been working with administrators to organize a juniors-only event at a later date, which he said would likely be in early June.

While certain specifics are still unknown, Sadrijaj said the event would likely be similar to the senior prom. According to Junior Class Dean Shelly Kaye, the school was concerned about holding two large events back-to-back with loud music, due to noise ordinances and the residential areas near the school. However, she said that she, Sadrijaj and Junior Class Co-President Kira Ratan were “planning an event to mitigate those concerns.” Kaye continued that the planning for the event has entailed the class presidents gathering feedback on a potential event from members of the junior class, and details for the event are being finalized. The planning process for the senior prom has been similar, with feedback coming from the senior prom committee, in which members have worked to select food options, decorations and work on logistical details for the event. “It isn’t going to be the same, but it is still going to be special,” Gormley stated.

ELLIE YANG/TOWER

AP EXAMS WILL BE conducted both in-person and remote, depending on departmental decision. The choice was made in order to accomodate both international and domestic students who would be taking the exams remotely.

OpiniOn TOWER/APRIL 30, 2021

OPINION

TOWER 2020-2021

EDITORIAL

editors-iN-chieF KaTe siBery MiTCh finK

School should commit to a return to normalcy I

n the eight months since the Masters community first returned to in-person learning, our community has banded together and, for the most part, successfully limited the spread of Covid throughout the community to just 66 cases, according to the New York State COVID-19 cases report card. Yet, we all quickly learned that holding Covid in check comes with significant sacrifices. Harkness Tables, the foundational piece of Masters’ educational identity, disappeared from classrooms. Conversations at lunch were foiled by plexiglass dividers on the dining hall tables. And masks, though still necessary indoors, inhibit communication and social interactions. Our community has accepted the necessity of these sacrifices, adapted to them and lived with them. But with the number of vaccinat-

ed students rising by the day, we cannot shy away from reconsidering some of the stringent guidelines which were put in place when in-person learning began in October. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Tuesday that for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, it is safe in most instances for fully vaccinated people to go outside without masks. While those under the age of 16 are still ineligible to get vaccinated, it is time for the administration to follow the science and weigh the risks and rewards of loosening some restrictions for students in the community who have been vaccinated. Fully vaccinated students should be allowed to be maskless while outdoors. When not on the crowded dance floor, vaccinated seniors should be able to take off their

n our community, getting a Covid vaccine has become an exciting new rite of passage: bragging about being a part of the “Pfizer gang” and comparing vaccination dates have become common topics of conversation. With our community’s vaccine culture, I can not imagine a mandatory vaccination policy for our school being controversial, especially after medical experts like Fauci seem enthusiastic about vaccines for children being available by this fall. But what about the rest of the country? For the average American public school, the question of mandatory vaccination becomes much more interesting.

Let’s start by evaluating the risk of a full return to school without mandatory vaccination. We could assume that a decent amount of students would be vaccinated by their own will, providing something close to herd immunity. As for the rest of the students, the risk does not seem massive. According to a National Institute of Health (NIH) study, children generally have much less severe symptoms than adults when they contract Covid. They also spread and catch the disease at a much lower rate, according to an Icelandic study from the Directorate of Health and deCODE genetics. With all of this in mind, fully opening schools--even without a vaccine mandate-seems to be much more risk-free than opening up other aspects of day to day life. And then, on the other hand, there’s the risk of implementing a vaccine mandate: some students who cannot or will not get the vaccine

News Lead editor M. Brody Leo

masks at this year’s outdoor prom. While it may be too late for this year, the school should commit to having as many Harkness classrooms as possible available for junior and senior level classes when school opens in September, and be ready to move quickly to all Harkness once all high school students are eligible for the vaccine, which will likely happen in September or October. There’s no need to wait for everyone to be vaccinated before making changes. Ninth and tenth graders have traditionally not been allowed the same freedoms as older students, so this should not be seen as an equity issue. Think of it as a new style of senior privilege one that makes sense in terms of science, safety and community well-being.

Don’t hurt those who won’t take the shot M. BRODY LEO News Lead Editor

chieF desigN editor sophie grand

will be unable to attend in-person class. I’d argue that the negative impacts of keeping unvaccinated students out of school is much greater than the risk of opening schools without the mandate. One out of four American adults do not plan to ever get vaccinated, according to a Monmouth University poll--that translates to a whole lot of parents that will not vaccinate their children. If parents do not feel comfortable with their children getting vaccinated, we shouldn’t be in a position where we punish students for it by not allowing them to get the most out of their education. The value of in-person education for a student is incalculable. It is so important, especially after this pandemic, for students to make strong connections with their teachers and other peers. It can possibly be even more important for parents: hir-

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LEO

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It’s such a rewarding experience to help these kids and to work with them and see what incredible people they are, even if they’re so young.”

ing a babysitter or staying at home for your child’s online schooling can be a massive economic strain. And for schools with little resources, the hybrid learning model can be difficult to hold up. It’s true that vaccine mandates are nothing new or revolutionary; in our state of New York, vaccines for Hepatitis B, Polio and more are all required before attending school. However, exemptions are also nothing new or revolutionary; the vast majority of states allow religious or personal philosophy exemptions from these mandates. In a perfect world, every parent would trust the science of vaccines and every student could return to school without much health risk. However, we do not live in a perfect world, and the risk of students not returning to school is much greater than the risks of the spread of the virus in the K-12 age group.

problem with unemployment. You get to advocate on your own social media and can help them [Luv Michael] with their own social media page,” Murphy said. The organization employs adults with autism across the globe, and every Wednesday, Murphy has the chance to speak with the people for which she advocates. “Before [the pandemic] you would have gotten to visit the [adults] in-person, but now we do it over Zoom calls, which is really cool because you get to meet people from all around the world,” she said. Once Luv Michael’s allows for in-person events and meetings, Murphy said she

Features editor roWan MCWhinnie sports Lead editor eThan sChLapp

web editor KyLa BaranTseviTCh

photo editor george Chang accuracy & accouNtabiLity MaNager L. Leys copy editor aNd advertisiNg MaNager CaroL QUeiroz producer, tower broadcast News Logan sChiCiano staFF photographers aNd iLLustrators isaaC Cass CharLie Cooper eLLa Tang eLLie yang arieLLa UriBe dosi Weed coLuMNists & coNtributiNg writers

would like to fundraise on a larger scale and take trips to Luv Michael’s headquarters in New York City to visit the granologists. Both Learning Links and Luv Micahel are two causes that Murphy feels especially passionate about, and urges others to get involved in volunteer work. “The more you do it [volunteer], the more you realize the impact you’re making. Do what you’re passionate about. Help with an organization that you care about,” she said.

- Alexa Murphy ‘24 With all that set aside, Murphy still finds joy in seeing the growth of the children for which she works closely. “It’s such a rewarding experience to help these kids and to work with them and see what incredible people they are, even if they’re so young,” she said. Additionally, Murphy raises awareness for autism through her work with Luv Michael, a non-profit organization based in New York City that provides training, education and the opportunity of employment to those on the autism spectrum. Almost 90% of adults with autism are unemployed, but Luv Michael offers jobs as “granologists” where they produce or-

Features Lead editor Kira raTan

art MaNager MaTTiLyn sTone

Hanna ScHiciano ganic, gluten-free and nut-free granola. “They want volunteers to spark a conversation about adults with autism and the

opiNioN desigN editor saBrina WoLfson

web editor aNd sociaL Media MaNager KWynne sChLossMan

Murphy engages in community service beyond MISH role It’s really difficult trying to get kids to listen and get really involved with the lesson when it’s virtual,” she said.

opiNioN Lead editor TiM MaThas

sports editor andreW MiTCheLL

MASTERS IN PHILANTHROPY

reshman MISH representative Alexa Murphy takes her passion for community service farther than the school setting. Every week, she spends time helping fourth graders with homework and raising awareness about autism unemployment. Murphy also recently earned a Silver Award in Girl Scouts, a prestigious honor given to those who tackle a meaningful issue in their community. Murphy has delivered food and toys to those in-need through Neighbor’s Link for the past few years and wanted to further her involvement in the organization by volunteering at Learning Links, a program that assists underprivileged children with homework after school. The pandemic caused Learning Links to shift to a full remote schedule and the Bedford School District has thus provided Chromebooks to the students, which allows them to be able to connect with their tutor online. Murphy specifically mentioned that participation has been down drastically, since the majority of the children have multiple siblings who are also in classes just a few feet away from them. “A lot of the time, you won’t get cameras or you’ll have kids that aren’t able to turn on their mics to answer questions.

News editor sophia van BeeK

NOTE: If you are interested in learning more about how you can get involved with either Learning Links or Luv Michael, email: alexa.murphy@mastersny.org.

rUsseLL WohL hanna sChiCiano noah KasseL-yoUng 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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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. Furthermore, the opinions conveyed are not those of The Masters School, faculty, or staff. Unsigned editorials express views of the majority of the Editorial Board.

OPINION

TOWER/APRIL 30, 2021

Levy’s family sued the school district, and the case worked its way through the judicial system, landing on the bench of the Supreme Court. Oral arguments were heard on April 28, and when the court’s nine justices come to a decision, a crucial precedent will be set: either that public school students should be protected from punishment for what they say about a school off school property, or that student speech off campus should still be subject to administrative discipline. For the sake of preserving the first amendment rights that student journalists rely on and deserve, Levy’s right to free speech must be protected in the Mahanoy decision. The case has wide ranging implications on student free speech, but its potential effect on student journalists in public schools cannot be overlooked. Should Levy’s legal team lose the case, off-campus speech––potentially including an independent student-run news site––could still be subject to disciplinary action or censorship.

school-sponsored student N TA newspapers.” A L EL Without the avenue o f independent publication available, student journalists would likely see administrators feel increasingly entitled to censor good reporting, because students would have no way ER

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high school cheerleader’s right to post an expletive-ridden Snapchat rant against her school won’t just set a new precedent for student speech freedom across the nation––it will define the legal validity of a crucial press freedom for public school student journalists. 18-year-old Brandi Levy, the cheerleader in question, is a former student at Mahanoy Area High School in Mahanoy City, Pa. When she was 14, Levy posted a Snapchat cursing out her school and her cheerleading team after she was cut from Mahanoy Area’s varsity cheerleading squad. The Snapchat was screenshotted and obtained by the school, who suspended Levy from cheerleading for a year.

wise b e glossed over by professional news sources. T a k e the Booster Redux, the student newspaper of Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, Kan., which unearthed its school’s soon-to-be principal’s illegitimate educational credentials, for example. Or turn to The Graphic––Amherst Regional High School in Amherst, Mass.’ student newspaper––which broke the story that its school was using incar-

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When the highest court in the land sets a precedent that could restrict rights of student journalism in public schools, private school administrators may feel more comfortable in censoring the work of student reporters.

cerated labor to reupholster seats in the school’s auditorium. Student journalism––particularly investigative student journalism––matters, and investigative student journalism is often at its best when it is reporting the stories which school administrators don’t want to be told. When The Telegraph, the student newspaper of Herriman High School in Herriman, Utah, wrote a story on the dismissal of a teacher who allegedly inappropriately texted a student, administrators censored the story. In response,

Required vaccination passports should not be mandated ROWAN MCWHINNIE Features Editor

s increasing numbers of Americans have received doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, President Joe Biden’s administration has said it was considering the usage of Vaccine Passports (VPPs). These would be digital or paper documents with proof of a person’s vaccination records, which said person would have to bring with them in order to travel internationally, go to concerts, night clubs, sporting events, etc. Because many countries have started to require tourists entering the country to have a VPP, it could possibly cause COVID-19 vaccinations to become mandatory. A VPP system would be detrimental to American society. It would force Americans into one government-determined point of view, and it would use that point of view to dictate how Americans are to live their daily lives. As of April 3rd, 28.4 percent of United States cit-

izens have been fully vaccinated––either by the Johnson and Johnson (which has now been recalled), Pfizer or Moderna vaccines; the only vaccines available in the United States. To be eligible to receive either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, recipients must be 16 years of age or older. However, we have yet to find out the long-term consequences of taking these vaccines. Because the COVID-19 outbreak was deemed a national emergency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had only approved the COVID-19 vaccinations under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in hopes that they would bring down the COVID-19 rates of infection. This is why many have decided against taking the vaccine––there is too little research done. Those in favor of VPP’s may argue that VPPs incentivize Americans to receive the vaccine, because those vaccinated would then have an avenue to travel internationally. But countries should not have the right to blackmail citizens by restricting them from international travel should they elect not to receive the vaccine. Receiving the vaccine is a personal choice, and if one does not feel comfortable taking an experimental drug with little known effect, they should not be pushed into getting

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one. With Vaccination Passports, those who choose not to receive the vaccine will lose out on opportunities that others will have, just based on a belief. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed hesitancy on the merits of VPPs. An Interim Position Paper, published on WHO’s website said, “National authorities and conveyance operators should not introduce requirements of proof of COVID-19 vaccination for international travel as a condition for departure or entry, given that there are still critical unknowns regarding the efficacy of vaccination in reducing transmission.” There is a good possibility that Masters may make COVID-19 vaccinations required in the upcoming years, considering many colleges–– including Duke University, Brown University, Cornell University, Stanford University, Yale University and many others––have already begun mandating their students to be vaccinated for the upcoming school year, and many high schools are wondering if they should be doing the same. The administrations of these schools need to take into consideration that some students may not be comfortable with taking the COVID-19 vaccination and should not be required to do so. If students are of age and able to get their vaccination it should be their choice, it should not be forced upon them by their school in order for them to get an education for that year. As of now, it seems that COVID-19 will likely continue to affect us on a global scale for another year or more. Is it really worth mandating a somewhat experimental vaccine to get a single year of partial normalcy when the vaccine may negatively affect us for years to come? This vaccine was approved quicker than any other in history, and in 50+ years from now 16 year olds who were excited to get vaccinated may potentially suffer from long term, possibly deadly consequences. Everyone who takes a vaccine is acknowledging and agreeing to a risk that others may not feel comfortable with, so those who choose not to take a vaccine should not be treated differently. A vaccine passport mandate is not the proper way to go about this situation––it forces some United States citizens to comply with something they do not want nor believe in. It will take opportunities away from people and cause chaos within the public.

the staff of the paper created an independent website to publish the story–– putting the article out of reach of administrative censorship. With the restrictive precedent that could emerge from Mahanoy, administrators could have had legal justification to shut down the independent website as well, just to keep their school’s reputation intact. And student whistleblower speech in general can be just as crucial to holding school administrations accountable. For instance, a picture of maskless students walking the crowded hallways of North Paulding High School in Dallas, Ga. at the beginning of the school year went viral, and HI

Editor-in-Chief

to leverage the potential for the work to be published independently. Holding those in power accountable is a fundamental tenet of journalism, and by extension, holding school administrators accountable is a fundamental tenet of student reporting. It is dangerous and unjust for administrators to have the unchecked power to censor a story that holds them accountable. Because Masters is a private school, Tower’s press rights will not be affected by this case, but the institution of student journalism may well be. And when the highest court in the land sets a precedent that could restrict rights of student journalism in public schools, private school administrators may feel more comfortable in censoring the work of student reporters. SPLC Senior Legal Counsel Mike Hiestand, who co-authored SPLC’s brief in the case, drew a connection between Mahanoy and the Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier case from 1988––a landmark case for student journalism which established that public school student newspapers which don’t establish themselves as student forums are subject to lower levels of constitutional protection than student newspapers established as student forums. Hiestand said that Hazelwood, which was widely seen as a loss for student press freedom, marked a “climate change” in student journalism, one in which administrators began feeling empowered to censor content. And while the case only legally impacted public schools, he said the effects of the case seeped into independent schools as well. Mahanoy, Hiestand worries, could follow a similar trajectory. “The fact that student journalism as a whole took a hit with [Hazelwood] did have an impact on student journalism at private schools. It emboldened them. It made censorship not quite the bad thing that it traditionally was,” Hiestand told Tower, adding that the idea of administrative censorship of student speech off campus had a “big brother element” to it. It is easy to write off student publications as an amateur form of media unable to break impactful news with real-world consequences. Countless examples prove that to be false. In fact, student publications’ proximity to the inner-workings of the institution they cover allows for a unique ability to do meaningful reporting that would other-

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So, student journalists could face the inability to publish content on an independent website when their work is censored from a print or online edition of their student publication by administrators. While not necessarily a common tactic taken up by student reporters, the ability for student journalists to avoid administrative censorship by publishing on independent sites is a crucial student press freedom. Student whistleblower speech––similar to student journalism in its ability to hold an administration accountable––could also be vulnerable to limitations should the school district win the case. The loss of these freedoms would be a devastating blow. An amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief filed by the Student Press Law Center claims that when student journalists publish censored work independently, it “sometimes leads administrators to relent on censorship threats and permit publication of student journalism in

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News Analysis: Mahanoy case must protect student

led to a national discussion on social distancing in schools. Understandably, much of the coverage and discussion around Mahanoy has not focused on the case’s potential effects on the student press––debates have more frequently centered around general student speech off school grounds. But it is important to be aware of the consequences student media may face. Stand up for student journalists, and stand up for the preservation of transparency and accountability in our schools.

INSIDE THE HERRICK ROOM

Is it time to change graduation requirements? Russell Wohl

his month in Executive Committee, members made new contributions to the constitution and circulated ideas for future possible proposals. Though there is currently no proposal on the table at the moment, there are some exciting ideas floating. The first is the possibility of exempting students who participate in Model UN and Debate from the Public Speaking requirement. While it doesn’t seem too likely to actually happen, I really think this would be a great way to reward students who dedicate their time to these activities which demand a high level of competency in public speaking. There will always be more to learn about a given topic, such as public speaking, but exempting certain students from the requirement would give them the opportunity to take another course, which can be especially difficult to do otherwise during one’s junior year. Similarly, members of Executive Committee have once again begun to question the validity of Masters’s gradua-

tion requirements. In the past there have been efforts to modify the athletic credit requirement, (ACR), expand the ways to fulfill the arts requirement, and add a possible aspect of community service into the mix. Sadly, the administration and the board won’t seem to budge on the matter, and any changes have to come through only administrators and department heads. I’d personally like to see new changes to the path to graduation, maybe even allowing students to plan their own path to graduation to some extent. And finally, a bill is in the works to remove sophomore study halls altogether, effectively giving them the same privileges as upperclassmen. I think the current rule for sophomore study halls is complicated and confusing, and reportedly has caused many attendance issues. If the goal of study hall is to improve study habits, I don’t believe an extra year of study halls will reinforce that behavior any more than just one year.

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FEATURES

FEATURES & ARTS

Craig Dunne promoted to fire captain CAROL QUEIROZ Advertising Manager

any know Craig Dunne as the Director of Facilities on campus. He is often seen around managing heating and plumbing repairs, overseeing school renovations and taking care of all buildings. But when Dunne is not working on maintaining Masters’ facilities, he is rigorously training at Dobbs Ferry’s volunteer-based Fire Department just up the road from Masters, where he has recently been promoted from Second Lieutenant to captain of Tower Ladder 23. Dunne said he has been eager to take on this position and fulfill his a range of new responsibilities as captain. “I love firefighting, I love the training, I love the fire department and I love doing this service. This promotion will put me in the lead of my own piece of apparatus–the Tower 23 Ladder–along with a crew of eight guys,” he said. Dunne attributes his successes in the fire department to his training–he spent three years working to reach the captain qualifications. His training included exterior firefighting, interior firefighting, truck operations, engine operations and

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officer training, all of which is state mandated. Now, he helps lead weekly training with his crew every Tuesday. “Training is a constant in the fire department, if you want to be an officer and continue to climb that ladder, you have to train,” he said. Vedran Mazibrada, a firefighter who has worked alongside Dunne since late 2017, expressed his admiration and respect for his newly promoted captain, describing him as a person with “excellent leadership skills, incredible life experience, loyalty to his friends and co-workers and knowledge on firefighting.” He was one of the firefighters who voted Dunne into his new position. “Firefighting is one of the most dangerous professions in the U.S., so whenever you are working with something like that, you need to have a leader you can trust 100%. And I absolutely trust him [Dunne], which is why I am really happy that he became the captain,” Mazibrada said. Dunne aims to ensure the safety, not only of the people in Dobbs Ferry, but also his crew of eight men fighting alongside him. “I’m looking forward to more training and being in charge of the apparatus and getting my crew together. I want to put together the best Tower Ladder with the best trained guys.”

I love firefighting, I love the training, I love the fire department and I love doing this service.” - Craig Dunne, Director of Facilities

Photo courtesy of Craig Dunne

MASTERS’ DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES Craig Dunne was recently promoted to captain of Tower Ladder 23 at the Dobbs Ferry Fire Department. The Fire Department is entirely volunteer-based, and Dunne will now lead his apparatus along with a crew of eight other volunteers. Dunne had previously served as Second Lieutenant of Tower Ladder 23. The Fire Department is entirely volunteeer based and has given multiple presentations on fire safety at Morning Meeting over the past several years.

FEATURES & ARTS

Earth on alert:

climate crisis localized Merrill sisters care for animals at New York sanctuaries

ive-hundred years ago, the red wolf was the prominent species of wolf in Westchester County; but now they’re almost extinct. Dana Goin, the daughter of science teacher Elisabeth Merrill and Masters alumna (‘11), is an outreach specialist at the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, N.Y. The center is home to a combination of red wolves and Mexican gray wolves (39 in total), both of which are critically endangered. There are only 300 red wolves remaining (10 in the wild) and roughly 400 Mexican gray wolves (approximately 186 of them in the wild), according to Goin, who credits their decline to a variety of factors, including hunting pressure, poisoning campaigns by private landowners and loss of habitat. Contrary to popular belief, there are very few, if any wolves living in the wild throughout New York state. Goin explained that wolves are often confused with coyotes because they are morphologically similar. One of her responsibilities as outreach specialist is to educate groups on the species’ differences, promote coexistence and dispel any misinformation. “A lot of folks really love wolves, but absolutely despise coyotes and think they [coyottes] are these killing machines who attack children and pets,” Goin said. She continued, “There are a lot of things we can do to mitigate the human-wildlife conflict and improve our relationship with them [coyotes], rather than lethally remove them–– which actually tends to cause more of an issue.” Historically, wolves have been falsely depicted as the villain in popular children’s media. “If you just think about stories that we grow up with––in Little Red

Riding Hood, the wolf eats the grandma; In the Three Little Pigs, the wolf is huffing and puffing and blowing the house down. Those are just stories that we hear as children. There is so much media where wolves are these kinds of snarling, fearsome beasts and in reality, they are petrified of people,” she said. The conservation center, founded in 1999, takes care of their wolves with the hope of releasing them back into the wild.

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There are a lot of things we can do to mitigate the human-wildlife conflict and improve our relationship with them [coyotes], rather than lethally remove them––which actually tends to cause more of an issue. - Dana Goin, Outreach Specialist

rrrrA release, which is ultimately approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is incredibly rare. The Wolf Conservation Center has only released five wolves in its 22-year existence. Goin explained the process. “The agency reviews the wolf ’s genetic makeup because you want to be releasing wolves that are contributing genetic diversity into those wild populations. You also want to release wolves that are wild in their behavior, which is why it’s so crucial that we protect their wild nature.”

The center does this by feeding their wolves roadkill deer and keeping them secluded, excluding the three ‘ambassador’ wolves, who have been trained to interact with visitors. The ambassador wolves are actually considered the most dangerous, according to Goin, because they have been trained to positively associate with humans and are thus disqualified from potential release. And while the red wolves and Mexican gray wolves still face an uphill battle in the wild, Goin explained why she remains passionate about her role. “Being able to be at the forefront of these recovery efforts and make an impact on the lives of wild animals is really exciting and important,” she said. But Goin is not the only member of the family who is working in animal conservation. Her sister, Veronica Finnegan, is the communications manager for the Catskill Animal Sanctuary in Saugerties, N.Y. Finnegan is also a member of Masters’ Class of 2006. The sanctuary rescues farmed animals, including horses, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, turkeys, chickens, ducks and geese. Over the past 20 years of operation, it has saved thousands of animals through direct emergency rescue.

FEATURES & ARTS

TOWER/APRIL 30, 2021

“It’s important to remember that animal cruelty is not confined exclusively to massive factory farms. We have rescued animals from hoarding situations, to brutal “backyard” farming operations. We’ve also taken in roosters who’ve been discarded from hatching projects, a baby lamb rescued from a live market in NYC and we’ve had baby bunnies dumped at the top of our driveway in January,” Finnegan said. “These situations are devastating and it’s our mission to make sure that those animals know only love and safety for the rest of their lives.” Different from the Wolf Conservation Center, the ultimate end-goal for these animals is not release back into the wild, but adoption. Finnegan, who has been involved with the sanctuary

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since 2017, said, “We are extremely careful about adopting out these animals. It’s not easy for a potential adopter to meet our standard of care; additionally some of these animals have extensive medical or emotional needs that mean we need to care for them for their entire lives.” Another focal point of the sanctuary is its promotion of vegan living, which is “the number-one way to help animals, heal the planet, and improve your health,” according to its website. Finnegan became a vegan herself in 2014. She said her only regret was not making the switch sooner. “Veganism is a justice movement,” she said. “It is a lifestyle in which someone commits to fighting the harm of animal agriculture by eschewing all animal products (animal flesh, including flesh from fishes, animal secretions, such as eggs and milk, as well as honey). Vegans understand that animals do not exist for our use and therefore they do not use animal products to the extent that this can be avoided.” Choosing a vegan lifestyle can also have a tremendous impact on the environment, Finnegan explained. “Animal agriculture is responsible for enormous environmental hazards, including wildlife habitat destruction, carbon emissions, air and water pollution. The single greatest impact you can have on y o u r personal footprint is by going vegan.”

ONE OF THE WOLF Conservation Center’s critically endangered Mexican gray wolves sits in the leaves. There are only 186 Mexican gray wolves left in the wild (most located in the American Southwest) and only 10 red wolves – the other species of wolf at the conservation center. The conservation center cares for their 39 wolves with the hope of one day releasing them back into the wild, though releases are extremely rare – in the ceneter’s 22 year history, they have only released five wolves, acording to Outreach Specialist Dana Goin. Most of the wolves are kept away from visitors, to ensure they maintain their wild nature.

Indian Point closure: shifting towards a more renewable future

fter a long and contentious process, Indian Point Energy Center is finally pulling the plug on its last reactor today, April 30. The nuclear power plant located on the Hudson River in Buchanan, N.Y. once supplied 25 percent of New York City’s power, but local environmental groups have been pushing for its closure for years, citing the risk of a catastrophic meltdown, as well as on-going negative impacts to the Hudson ecosystem. Richard Webster, the legal program director for the environmental organization Riverkeeper, expressed his support for the shut down. “It [Indian Point] is on earthquake faults which were unknown at the time it was built, and the evacuation plan is seriously flawed, so on the safety side it is very challenged and on the environmental side, it sucks in billions of

gallons of water every day, and kills billions of fish on a yearly basis,” Webster said. According to a local 2015 report, “Fish mostly die at Indian Point in two ways: larger-sized ones are sometimes trapped on bars blocking debris from the cooling water intakes and smaller fish, larvae and eggs can get sucked into the plant itself. “ Indian Point is also just one mile south of the Stanford-Peekskill line, which is part of the Ramapo Fault Zone, and while the risk of damage from of an earthquake in this area is extremely low – about 1-in-10,000 each year––the scale of potential damage from an accident at the nuclear plant is simply unacceptable, according to Riverkeeper. The organization’s website highlights several more reasons behind their push for the closure, including leakage of toxic radioactive water into the soil

along the Hudson, the withdrawal of roughly 2.42 billion gallons of water per day for the plant’s heating and cooling system and a history of shutdowns due to faulty “baffle bolts” that hold the reactor core together. In July 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which commits the state to 100 percent zero-emission electricity by 2040. With Indian Point officially shutting down, officials at Riverkeeper, including Webster, expect to see a heightened reliance on renewable energy in the greater New York City area in the years to come. “There's been quite a bit of progress made recently and the pace is accelerating,” Webster said. “What's happening now is that there's contracting going on for offshore wind and something that’s called Tier 4 credits which are basically renewables that are brought in from outside the New York City Region – we’re hoping it’ll be upstate renewables. So, I would say that we are not satisfied with the progress to date, but we are hopeful that we will be satisfied in the near future.” Indian Point has three total reactor units – Unit 1 was retired in 1974, Unit 2 on April 30, 2020 and the final one on April 30, 2021. Roughly one reactor’s-worth of Indian Point’s energy has already been replaced by renewables in the last three years, according to Webster, but in the short term, New York’s NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION/FLICKR gas-fired power plants will need to inINDIAN POINT ENGERY CENTER is pulled the plug on its final reactor on April 30, crease their output by almost a third to 2021. The nuclear power plant once supplied 25 percent of New York City’s power. New cover the loss of electricity. York state is committed to shifting to 100 percent zero-emission electricity by 2050.

Environmental expert provides update on sustainable initiatives

n Westchester County, a climate crisis task force––formed by County Executive George Latimer back in December 2018––has taken several steps to move the area toward a more sustainable future, including electrification of the county’s buses and other vehicles, installation of public charging stations, solar panels and more. Peter McCartt, Westchester County’s

director of energy conservation and sustainability and the task force coordinator, said that currently about 60 percent of the Bee-Line buses across the county are either electric or hybrid. He also explained Westchester’s phased implementation of solar energy. “In Phase One, we’re adding solar panels to five of our largest buildings, to the tune of about nine megawatts.

COURTESY OF VERONICA FINNEGAN

And then Phase Two is our buildings, facilities, parking lots that didn’t make it into Phase One. We have about 35 other sites and that totals up to about 25 megawatts of electricity,” McCartt said. According to the county website, the five buildings in Phase One are the Yonkers Bus Depot, Valhalla Bus Depot, Westchester County Courthouse, Parks Administration Building and County Archives Building. The project is expected to begin this summer. Another major piece of the county’s environmental efforts is encouraging composting through the installation of county-run food scrap facilities in local municipalities, through a program called R.F.S.T.A.D.––Residential Food Scrap Transportation and Disposal.

AVIVA MEYER

WESTCHESTER COUNTY EXECUTIVE GEORGE Latimer cuts a home-made, compostable ribbon to officially annouce the opening of Westchester’s new Compost and Education Center in Valhalla, NY on April 22, 2021.

By 2100, the Atlantic Ocean along the coast of the Northeastern U.S. is expected to rise up to 4.5 feet, according to the NOAA.

COURTESY OF DANA GOIN

VERONICA FINNEGAN, THE DAUGHTER of science teacher Elisabeth Merrill, hugs Tucker, a cow rescued from a petting zoo. Tucker is one of many farm nimals that have been rescued by the Catskill Animal Sanctuary in Saugerties, NY. Tucker was saved and brought to the Sanctuary, where he has been given space and freedom to grow, Finnegan said. In the past, the Sanctuary has also rescued animals from hoarding situations, to brutal “backyard” farming operations. The Sanctuary also promotes veganism as an important step towards helping animals, the planet and one’s health.

Written and designed by Sophie Grand and Logan Schiciano

ew York City has been discharging turbid (cloudy with sediment) water from the Ashokan Reservoir into Esopus Creek, sparking backlash from residents and local environmentalists. The creek flows through Ulster County, NY and meets the Hudson at Saugerties, NY. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) releases hundreds of billions of sediment-filled water into the creek to take pressure off of the Ashokan Reservoir when it gets overfilled. Riverkeeper Staff Scientist William Wegner explained the reason for controversy between residents and the Department of Environmental Protection. “It’s kind of an ongoing battle between the New York City and the local residents because local residents don’t want the lower Esopus to be contaminated

“There are 22 municipalities that set up their own food scrap facilities and are part of the Refuse Disposal District. We collect and dispose of their food scraps in the normal way that we would with garbage. Before we did that, municipalities were doing this and they were paying up to $100 per ton to transport and dispose of it. Now that we took it over, it’s about $28 per ton.” April 22, Earth Day, a l s o

marked the grand opening of a compost education facility in Valhalla, N.Y. to teach residents about how to properly compost.

A murky mess: Esopus Creek with sediment from the tion in the future will cause floodwater Ashokan reservoir.” Wegner spreading into the Ashokan Reservoir. said. He continued, “The city on “Due to climate change, we’re going the other hand, is saying that you’re to have more frequent and intense rain going to have episodic turbidity events events and snow melt that’s going to that are going to overwhelm the system cause these turbidity events.” and they’re going to spill from the reserLocal environmental reporter and voir or go through the release channel founder of The Other Hudson Valley and get to the lower Esopus regardless.” Roger Gilson explained how there isn’t The DEP makes three kinds of dis- a simple and feasible solution to this charges through the release channel: problem. community discharges, operational re“A water filtration system is leaning leases and spill mitigation releases. Op- at the extreme far end, as far as expenserational releases and spill mitigation es goes. There are other solutions that, releases are the most controversial. while costly, would be nowhere as exThe DEP released a draft Environmen- pensive or as great an undertaking as a tal Impact Statement last year that said the filtration system.” discharges had no impact on the creek, but Riverkeeper and other local officials have disagreed with the claim, arguing that the discharge has made the creek shallower with the deposited sediment and has harmed MICHAEL NELSON wildlife. A BIRDS-EYE VIEW of a turbid Esopus Creek. The New Wegner expects York City Department of Environmental Protection began reincreased precipita- leasing turbid water into the creek back in December.

FEATURES & ARTS

Earth on alert:

climate crisis localized Merrill sisters care for animals at New York sanctuaries

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FEATURES & ARTS

TOWER/APRIL 30, 2021

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Indian Point closure: shifting towards a more renewable future

Environmental expert provides update on sustainable initiatives

COURTESY OF VERONICA FINNEGAN

AVIVA MEYER

By 2100, the Atlantic Ocean along the coast of the Northeastern U.S. is expected to rise up to 4.5 feet, according to the NOAA.

COURTESY OF DANA GOIN

Written and designed by Sophie Grand and Logan Schiciano

marked the grand opening of a compost education facility in Valhalla, N.Y. to teach residents about how to properly compost.

TOWER/APRIL 30, 2021

FEATURES

Co - Chair Elections 2021 ETHAN ROSENBERG

FINN ALEX ANDER

“Next year will be a pivotal year for our school. We are emerging from the grasps of a global pandemic and there is no one better equipped to lead our student body through these diﬃcult times than me. I will push tirelessly to ensure that every one of you has the opportunity to experience high school at its fullest.”

“I want to be your co-chair. I’m all about making student-led change more accessible and eﬀective. I believe that community-based action can bring leverage to change that wants to be made. I want to be an entertaining leader of morning meetings, a catalyst for change, and a positive presence on campus.”

A N NA D R AT T E L L

CLYDE LEDERM AN

“I’ll lead not as the “person in charge,” but as a representing member of this team as a whole, and I believe everyone is an invaluable part of this community and deserves equal recognition. If we want to build on our progress, sometimes all we need is a new, fresh face and perspective.”

“I am here to work for you. I see morning meeting and student government as forums that need to be built around what most serve students. I will look to allow all students to vote in Executive Committee and use our school gatherings to reflect the interests of our community.”

CA L E B JA KE S “When you learn about me you would find that me being a leader doesn’t start with a capital L. My leadership has the capacity to translate vision into reality. My goal would be influence and not authority and I will fulfill this vision with passion.”

ANNIE FABI AN “I would absolutely love to be co-chair. Masters is a great place but there is always more to be done and I have so many ideas. I want to support the student body and be a voice for their wants and needs. If elected, I think I could make real, meaningful change.”

*Candidate Ryan Israel did not participate in our coverage.

Outspoken hosts open mic MATTI STONE & SOPHIA VAN BEEK Photo Editor and News Editor

ast Friday, April 23, Masters’ spoken word poetry club, Outspoken, held their first in-person performance since the COVID-19 pandemic first sent the school remote over a year ago. Club presidents Carolyn Hohl and Mattilynn Stonesaid they felt that holding an outdoor open mic was an important opportunity for club members to share poetry with each other, and with a small portion of the student body who were permitted to attend. The event was a RSVP-only open mic with a max of 35 attendees. Outspoken members were allowed to invite their peers, as long as they were within the student body. Some spots were also reserved for English department faculty. The time and location of the evet was only disclosed to the 35 people who were attending, in an attempt to keep the event private and safe from a larger crowd. Everybody was required to socially distance and the mic was sanitized between each person using it. These safety protocols were set by the Department of Performing Arts in order to ensure the health of everyone in attendance. Junior Oliver Peterson felt that attending the in-person event was a refreshing change of pace after a lot of virtual meetings and performances. Peterson said, “I had a great tim. It was awesome hearing from people I knew, and people I didn’t. With the lack of on campus events this year, it felt so great to finally be able to go to one.”

The event was inaccessible virtually, because those in Outspoken wanted to create an intimate and welcoming environment, where the poetry performed would not be shared outside of those attend-

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There were a lot of complications due to COVID-19 and social distancing, so to finally get a chance to have an open mic with such a supportive group of people there… it felt really good. Almost normal again.”

- Dillon Graham ‘21 ing. However, performers had the option to have their performance recorded, in order for it to then be

shared with a wider audience. The club had been workshopping the poems that were performed for a few months prior to the open mic. Senior Dillon Graham, a member of Outspoken, reflected on the experience of reading his work and listening to other club members’ poems. “I felt really good about it. It was great to finally get a chance to perform and hear some of the poetry we’ve been working on,” Graham said. Although Covid presented some challenges and obstacles, the open mic was a valuable experience for Graham. He said, “There were a lot of complications due to COVID-19 and social distancing, so to finally get a chance to have an open mic with such a supportive group of people there… it felt really good. Almost normal again.”

KATE SIBERY/TOWER

SENIOR DILLON GRAHAM RECITES a piece at Outspoken’s Open Mic, held last Friday, April 23. This was one of the first times an arts event has been held on-campus since the pandemic.

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Pandemic Finances: Part Two June-December 2020 Persevering in a pandemic world: Masters’ Covid crisis finances June - Dec. 2020 Being the price taker, not the price maker

n economics, there’s the concept of the price maker and the price taker. Price makers are able to influence the market price and enjoy pricing power but price takers must accept the prevailing market price. Independent schools are used to being the price makers, according to Masters’ Chief Financial Officer Ed Biddle. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have been forced to be price takers. “When you’re a price maker, you can go out to five people and say ‘give me your best price’ and you can choose the best deal,” Biddle said. “But with Covid, we [Masters] have had to be a price taker. If we need 15 sheets of four by six plexiglass and we find one place that has it, we have to do it right away.” This new role was uncomfortable for Biddle, who is used to planning out the annual budget far in advance.

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“When you’re a price taker, that control over the expense lines vanishes. You can’t put plexiglass on five out of eight tables because you only set aside $6,000. You have to do all the tables,” he said. “So, you thought that the budget was only going to be $6,000, but it’s actually $10,000. You don’t have a choice. You don’t have time to call five other suppliers and get a better price. You have to be bold enough to act proactively and recognize that this is an incredibly unusual circumstance.” As the school began to make arrangements for students and faculty to return to campus in the fall of 2020, Biddle and his team could not predict the cumulative effect of all the ‘price taker’ actions outlined in this report – and he admits, at times, it was difficult to watch them pile up – but he knew that they were necessary to support the academic program to the highest standard possible amidst a global pandemic.

You don’t have a choice. You don’t have time to call five other suppliers and get a better price. You have to be bold enough to act proactively and recognize that this is an incredibly unusual circumstance.”

- Ed Biddle, CFO

Dorm delays and deficits

ringing boarders back to campus was a far more complicated task at Masters than at traditional New England boarding schools; the financial impact of delaying the return of boarders was a significant one, according to Biddle. “Many schools that have primarily boarding students were able to accommodate their day students as boarders and create, to the maximum extent, a bubble,” Biddle said. “Because at Masters our boarding program is small compared to our overall day program, that was never really an option for us unless we were going to create some completely separate school within a school.” He continued, “The fact that we could not create a bubble meant that we had to really wait until we felt like we had sufficient understanding of Covid and the right responses in a residential program to bring everyone back safely.” Director of Residential Life Dena Torino noted that several administators including herself spent much of the summer consulting with boarding schools across the country and figuring out plans for re-entry in the dorms. “There was a lot of real time spent figuring things out and then having to adapt as the landscape changed quickly,” she said. As noted in Part 1 of this feature, boarding families were credited the difference between boarding and day tuition when boarding was not offered at Masters. The lost revenue due to these

boarding credits totaled $628,000 for 2019-2020 fiscal year and about $1.4 million for 2020-2021 fiscal year. Initially the school had hoped to bring boarders back shortly after day students returned in early October. Then, the date was set for after winter break, and was eventually pushed back until early February when senior boarders were permitted to return. Biddle said the delays were not because of a lack of preparedness, but due to the winter surge in Covid cases across the U.S. “We were monitoring the situation at other schools and there were a number of instances where there were spikes in residential populations in higher education,” Biddle said. “I think we were being appropriately cautious and I do not have any regrets about the costs of any of the precautions that we’ve taken.” There are approximately 60 boarders (mostly domestic) who have returned to campus since early February.

GRAND

Food service reimagined

uring the pandemic, Masters’ food service operations were dramatically altered, with all items having to be prepackaged. Breakfast and dinner were also not offered until boarders returned to campus in February (and those meals are currently only open to boarders and residential faculty and staff on duty). Masters has a contract with Brock and Company, Inc. – the school’s food service provider – that allows for considerable flexibility; therefore, Masters did not lose money due to the limited menu options this year. “There are two forms of contracts,” Biddle explained. “There’s a fixed-price contract where you have to pay your food-service provider [a certain dollar amount], and they produce your food for that year. And then there’s a cost-plus contract where you agree on a budget, but if you add or remove something, they are happy to serve you, but will increase or decrease the price accordingly. We have the latter, which means Brock prepares food per our request and we pay them.” Biddle referenced the weeks that Masters chose to shift to virtual learning after the Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks as examples of instances where Masters did not pay a food bill because no food was offered on campus. He said that the money saved

on food has been reallocated to help pay for some of the other expenses required for a safe in-person return. Annual food service expenses at Masters typically range anywhere from $2-2.5 million, according to previous years’ 990 forms, but are only projected to be around $1.5 million this year, Lee Bergeslon, Brock General Manager, said.

“

When everything is individually prepared and individually wrapped, it’s going to cost more.” - Lee Bergelson, Brock General Manager

However, with meals having to be individually-packaged, the average cost of feeding each person at lunch has actually increased, from roughly $6 per day pre-pandemic, to $12-13 per day this year, according to Bergelson. “When everything is individually prepared and individually wrapped, it’s going to cost

more,” Bergelson said. “Another driver of that is the fact that because we are serving in multiple locations, the number of staff it’s taking to serve at school is actually increased, which again has a direct impact on the cost.” Bergelson has also faced challenges this year purchasing food, serving supplies, and personal protective equipment for his staff due to the limited supply of various items throughout the pandemic. He said at times, the menu was directly impacted by factory farms shutting down for reasons such as Covid outbreaks and staffing shortages. “A lot of times, we were expecting an order to come in, only to be told the night before that the truck isn’t coming,” he said. Certain items also suffered from ‘pandemic inflation.’ “There was a situation where the compostable containers we had been using for many, many months were suddenly not in stock – a case of those containers was about $30. The only other compostable container we could find wound up being close to $80 [a case] and we had to be flexible and go with it for a little while.” LOGAN SCHICIANO/TOWER Nevertheless, Bergelson said the dining hall has been able to operate without any ma- BROCK, MASTERS’ FOOD SERVICE provider, has had to adapt to many new jor ‘hitches,’ a feat of which he is quite proud. changes due to COVID-19. Now, food must be individually pre-packaged to avoid cross-contaimation, which has made expenses increase significantly.

Pooled testing – a major new expense

The Covid Classroom

key trademark of Masters is the Harkness classroom; but this year, the learning environment has become the ‘Covid classroom.’ After considering the viability of continuing with Harkness, Masters’ administration quickly eliminated the idea of a makeshift Harkness table – outfitted with individual plexiglass ‘booths’ around the perimeter – and began considering alternatives. Individual desks and other ‘Node’ furniture were purchased over the summer for $225,000; additionally, the Doc Wilson Hall and Strayer gym were converted into middle school classrooms before the first day of in-person learning for $205,000. Harkness tables have been stored away across campus, but are available for immediate deployment when circumstances permit, Biddle said. Following the school’s announcement of an October reentry, Masters permitted employees to submit requests for accommodation to work remotely during the pandemic. With faculty connecting with students via Zoom, the school realized the necessity for in-person teaching assistants to monitor classroom activity and enforce Covid-protocols. As a result, 15 teaching assistants have worked at Masters over the course of this year. Full-time teachers’ workload also increased during the pandemic, as faculty were asked to supervise common spaces such as the Fonseca Center and the quad and enforce COVID-19 protocols during periods where they otherwise would have been free. Biddle contextualized this uptick to Masters’ payroll by noting that money directed toward “nursing staff, teaching assistants, and other

Covid-related payroll categories” is second behind surveillance testing as the school’s greatest COVID-19 expense category. Another major aspect for reentry was the improvement of technology infrastructure across campus. “There was a huge technology piece to this. One of the most difficult things was having to prepare for having a bunch of students in

the room and their instructor on Zoom, or a bunch of students on Zoom and their instructor in the room. We needed to be ready for all those situations,” Biddle said. Biddle projects that all Covid-related expenses will total between $1.85-2 million (or 7% of the annual operating budget) by the end of the year.

s the summer months progressed, it ley and Rye Country Day) to provide self-adbecame clear that weekly COVID-19 ministered nasal swab test kits to community testing for all community members members. was a critical component to a safe and susThe entire weekly operation costs Mastainable return to in-person learning at Mas- ters anywhere between $12,000-17,000 a ters and at other schools across the country. week, which includes a laboratory processing Masters’ inaugural round of testing took charge, transportation, and an administrative place from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2, 2020 and was fee, according to Biddle. facilitated by St. John’s RivThe weekly costs will erside Hospital. The PCR amount to a projected tests were administered $500,000 by the end of on campus and were billed the year, a large porthrough insurance. tion of which has been But there were several drawn from a surplus bumps in the road. Some of $450,000 that was insurers didn’t cover the carried over from the cost of tests, in which case 2019-2020 fiscal year. Masters stepped in to pay This surplus was due to the expenses out of pocket, savings in several areas - Ed Biddle, CFO Biddle explained. in the spring, including “It ended up not saving food service, end of year the school any money, and there was a lot events, transportation, and more. of administrative headache associated with Biddle explained the thinking behind what it,” Biddle said. “At that time, it was kind of he dubbed the emergency COVID-spending the ‘Wild West’ for testing and after that first reserve. one, we certainly did not think we could do “I believe in preparing for the worst and that weekly, particularly with the insurance working for the best. We did not want issues.” an expense to keep us from doing Following the initial blunder, Masters the right thing,” he said. began considering three alternative options o for testing: pooled saliva testing, pooled naian hic Sc atan n R a sal swab testing, and throat tissue testing – a og ira yL yK nb db method that is more common in Europe and itte igne r W es D would have required Masters to ship specimens to Frankfurt, Germany each week. The school ultimately chose to partner with JCM Analytics (the same firm utilized by neighboring independent schools Hack-

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I believe in preparing for the worst and working for the best.”

ISAAC CASS

A CLASS OF MIDDLE SCHOOLERS sit socially distanced in newly-purchased chairs for this school year. Due to the pandemic, Masters was forced to temporarily remove the Harkness tables and use desks instead in adherence to CDC guidelines and protocols. Harkness tables are currently stored across campus.

FEATURES

TOWER/APRIL 30, 2021

DMX leaves lasting mark on local community mother, nestled between a major parkway and the more serene woods, was only a very temporary chapter in his life. Instead, Simmons would grow t was 1982 and Earl Simmons was 12 years up there, as attending classes and performing doold when he arrived at the Children’s Village. mestic chores became a part of his routine. He thought he was only visiting. He thought Children’s Village was established as an exthat the building he was brought to by his tension of The New York Juvenile Asylum, which housed homeless youth in the city. Now, the organization has residential programs for undocumented, homeless or runaway children, therapy-based alternatives to detention for young adults and community homes for foster children or teen mothers. Masters has worked with Children’s Village in the past. Every year, Masters Interested in Sharing and Helping (MISH) holds a toy drive during the holiday season, and this year the food drive raised over $6,000. The non-profit, with campuses CHILDRENS VILLAGE and offices all over the New York IN 1901, THE CHILDREN’S Village was a 277 acre area, ended up being what young farm. On the opposite side of Dobbs Ferry, NY, a Simmons needed to find his voice. mile-long walk through the woods, was The Mas- It was at Children’s Village where ters School, established just 24 years earlier. Earl Simmons would become

SOPHIA VANBEEK News Editor

DMX. On April 9, 2021, Earl Simmons tragically passed away. He is survived by 15 children, four of whom he raised with his now-ex wife Tashera Simmons; his connection with the remaining children is unclear. His music had a tremendous impact on the music industry. By far, Simmons is the most famous alumnus from Children’s Village, achieving commercial success in the 90s. His first major album, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, released in 1998, reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart and sold five million copies. His most famous album, ... And Then There Was X, debuted in 1999. In 2001, the album and its famous single, “Party Up (Up in Here)”, were nominated for the Best Rap Album and Best Rap Solo Performance grammys, respectively. In 1999, he revisited his roots and returned to Children’s Village to give a concert to the residents. Because of their proximity to the program, Masters students had the opportunity to attend the concert. In an unlikely way, this DMX concert brought together teenagers who inhabited the same town, but lived in different worlds–one group in a residential program for at-risk youth, and the other attending a private boarding school. An MTV mini-documentary, Pain and Persever-

ance, captured his concert – from the awed looks of concert-goers, as he delivered a tearful rap as tribute to his late grandmother (“I Miss You”), to his small speeches between songs about staying in school and loving your family.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

“Just because you’re here, take it as a blessing; if I wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have went to school. I wouldn’t have even learned half [of what] I know,” he said before transitioning into “Slippin’”. “On the real, between me and whoever was here: just because you’re here, don’t mean you can’t fly… Cause sometimes, our parents don’t know what they got. Sometimes, they don’t know what they’re holding.” DMX felt abandoned by

his birth mother, but was able to find his own family at Children’s Village, according to the documentary “No matter how hard we are, no matter how gangster you are, no matter how thug you are, you need that mama love,” Simmons said, reflecting on the value of Children’s Village staff member Lena Santos, who DMX affectionately called “Mama Santos” throughout the concert. In the spring of 2018, Masters alumnus Oladayo Thomas ‘18 and Director of Student Activities Joe DiDonato met DMX while on a trip to White Plains. While checking out in a store, they realized the person in front of them was DMX; Thomas approached the rapper, accompanied by a bodyguard, in the parking lot, according to DiDonato. “Thomas knew him, and introduced him and said hello and they were really cool, [but] he was drunk. He was engaging, a great guy and took pictures and was friendly, but he got behind the wheel and smelled like alcohol. As much of a good guy as he was, I always took that away from it too,” said DiDonato about the interaction. Simmons died, surrounded by family, in the White Plains Hospital, 11 miles from his birthplace of Mount Vernon and less than ten miles from Children’s Village.

New Marvel show tackles issues but lacks flair CAROL QUEIROZ Copy Editor and Ad Manager

he season finale of Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has arrived, carefully building up Phase IV of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and ending Steve Rogers’ legacy by introducing a new beginning. The show takes place post-blip months after the events of Avengers: Endgame, and follows Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), known under the aliases Falcon and The Winter Soldier, as Wilson begins stepping into the role of the new Captain America and highlights the hardships he encounters in doing so. Together, the duo is on a mission to defeat a rebel organization made up of super Keyboardist soldiers known as “The Flag Smashers” led by Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman). The six episode series includes beautifully choreographed action-packed fight scenes, the return of characters such as Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl) and Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp)

and addresses real world issues such as racism in the United States, income inequality, mental illness, global refugees and more. While the show does a flawless job in setting up for future MCU movies, maintaining a comic-accurate version of the characters and incorporating important talks of race, many aspects of the show fell short to fan expectations. Firstly, the plot of the show felt like territory Marvel has already explored. It was the traditional superhero story filled with long fight scenes and drawn out speeches, and while this can be exciting at first, we have already seen this done in previous movies. We have seen the creativity Marvel is capable of, as proven in the show that jump started Phase IV of the MCU, WandaVision. WandaVision gave fans a breath of fresh air with a captivating story told in a unique way, and thus forever changed superhero media. Once WandaVision concluded, Falcon and the Winter Soldier was next up to bat, but it simply was not as original and exciting as some would have hoped. Additionally, some parts of the show were simply predictable. The show attempted to

create a mystery regarding the identity of the Power Broker, the powerful force in control of the lawless and sketchy island of Madripoor that Wilson, Barnes and Zemo take refuge in during the third episode. However, it seemed obvious that this “mysterious force” was none other than Sharon Carter. When Carter was in fact revealed to be the Power Broker who is prepared to undermine the U.S. government in the final episode, it was underwhelming and less thrilling than it could have been. Overall, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is still a show that created excitement for the new episodes coming out on Friday. While it did stick to the typical superhero storyline, viewers still got an insightful glimpse into Wilson’s struggles with becoming Captain America and witnessed the introduction of new characters such as John Walker becoming the U.S. Agent. To watch this show, context from movies such as Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame are needed to fully understand the content of the show.

FLICKR

ANTHONY MACKIE AND SEBASTIAN Stan star in Marvel Studios’ new Phase IV show ‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’. While the show had incorporated exiting moments for the MCU, it lacked originality and did not meet fan expectations overall.

NFTs cause friction in crypto community L. LEYS Accountability and Accuracy Manager

ven those who aren’t active members of the cryptocurrency or art communities have likely heard the term “NFTs”, or non-fungible tokens. NFTs are an identifying code given to a digital work of any kind. Through the use of the Ethereum blockchain, a virtual ledger of trades and transactions, these codes are made nearly impossible to replicate. Essentially, they are digital stamps that can be given to a piece to verify its legitimacy. The most common use for this, so far, has been art collection: several storefronts have already been set up online where people can buy and sell artwork. Since late February of this year, when a series of high-profile sales grabbed the attention of the public, NFTs have been a topic of constant debate. Common threads within the debate vary widely, including concerns about environmental harm brought on by ‘mining’, a process of creating new tokens that requires tremendous

Everyone seems to have an opin- a whole. That manifests itself as either a desire for ion on them. But what is it about NFTs innovation or a protectiveness towards the craft. that makes them so singularly frustrating? Those who are most enamured with the In a recent poll conducted by Tower concept of NFTs claim that they are the future of through social media, folart, and that they empower lowers were asked to rate artists to have full control their stance on NFTs on over their work by removing Some want NFTs a slider. The majority of the need for middlemen who respondents placed themcan ensure the safe, non-piintegrated into everyday selves at either of the two rated distribution of it. life, while others would extremes, with only a few Detractors of the Ethetaking a moderate stance. reum blockchain often cite find them better suited to a The reason for this the energy consumption asmetaphorical scrap pile. divide might vary, but it sociated with cryptocurrenmight have something to cy at large, but also note the - L. Leys ‘22 do with the importance art several cases where artists holds to so many people, have had their art stolen and especiallyinthedigitalage. turned into NFTs against Art has always been something deeply emo- their will as an abuse of the system’s power. tional, both for artists and consumers. The process NFTs have divided the art commuhas become even more expansive as creators grad- nity, and hopefully, both sides will find ually lean more towards online spaces to host and their interests aligning in the near fushare their work. Entire communities have sprung ture- with or without new technology. up around the art these people have created, and with that comes an attachment to the medium as

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L. LEYS/TOWER

amounts of computing power. Chris Precht, an Austrian artist who previously attempted to sell NFTs of his own, found that “creating the 300 items of digital art that he had planned to sell… would have burned through the same amount of electricity that an average Euro-

pean would otherwise use in two decades.” There are also questions regarding its economic viability and whether the market truly is a bubble. Some want them integrated into everyday life, while others would find them better suited to a metaphorical scrap pile.

TOWER/APRIL 30, 2021

SPORTS

Athletic recruitment: a detailed look inside the process can bring to the community as a whole. “We’re looking at grades for the acaGEORGE CHANG AND demic piece but that’s not all of it,” Custer NOAH KASSELL-YUNG said. “We’re also looking at what you’re involved in outside of the classroom.” Photo Editor and Unlike some high schools or Contributing Writer universities, most families that apply to Masters aren’t looking to very year, Masters brings in stucome to Masters just to play sports. dent-athletes through its “recruit“We want students and their famment process,” an undertaking ilies to be all in on the whole experience which Director of Athletics Logan Conand not just one element,” Custer added. don said relies heavily on communicaAlong with working for Masters athtion with local coaches of independent letic teams, many coaches are also affiliatclub sports teams, some of whom work as ed with local clubs. These connections are coaches of Masters’ teams simultaneously. often how potential student-athletes learn According to Condon, potential stuabout the Masters community and athletdent-athletes will ics – they are referred either reach out to the school through to the admissions their club coaches. We’re looking at grades office, or directDakota Daniello, ly to Condon. for the academic piece but that’s a sophomore and memFor all students ber of Masters’ girls’ not all of it. We’re also looking at with specific invarsity basketball team, what you’re involved in outside terests and skill said she learned about sets, admissions of the classroom.” Masters through her will direct them club basketball coach. to talk with facul- Tim Custer, Associate Director of Ad“I knew about ty in those fields. the [Masters] basketmissions and Varsity Lacrosse coach For example, a ball team since my student that is inAAU coach was also terested in playthe Masters coach. I ing soccer at Masters will be knew the team was successful,” Daniello put in touch with the soccer coaches. said. “Masters has contributed to my inIn some instances, coaches have dividual success because the teams that I approached the admissions office and have played on taught me the importance Condon to suggest a student-athlete of communicating with my teammates. for the school to consider. While MasSince we see each other everyday, ters considers and acknowledges a stucommunication on and off the dent’s individual talents, Associate court is so important,” she added. Director of Admissions and Varsity LaWhen crosse coach Tim Custer said the main Masters focus is on academics and what a student alumnus

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Taha Dinana ‘20 rose to the top of the Egyptian squash rankings, he said he was connected to Masters through his personal coaches, some of whom knew members of the squash coaching staff at Masters. “My coaches recommended Masters [to me] because [Masters] has several Egyptian coaches,” DiPHOTO COURTESY OF TAHA DINANA nana said. Afterwards, Dinana MASTERS ALUMNUS TAHA DINANA ‘20 hits a backhand in a pre-COVID boys’ varsity squash match. said he reached Dinana found out about Masters through his squash coaches, who had mentioned that the Panthers’ out to the Egyp- squash team had multiple Egyptian coaches. tian squash coaches at Masters and applied. mitted as a member of the community. added. “One of the first questions that I Condon said, “If sports are a strong ask any prospective lacrosse player that The process through the years has always been the same regarding One of the first questions that I ask any prospective lacrosse athletes. Potential stuplayer that comes to an interview has nothing to do with lacrosse. We dents always talk about academics because it’s a school, first and foremost. have and will need to meet - Tim Custer, Associate Director of Admissions and Varsity Lacrosse coach the admission office’s academic standards suit, then it helps with the comes to an interview has nothing to do to be adwhole recruitment process.” with lacrosse. We talk about academics Like Custer noted, ath- because it’s a school, first and foremost,” letic ability will add to your Custer said. He continued, “Now, laresume and will be consid- crosse can be an important part of your exered by admissions but aca- perience at Masters, just as any other sport demics will always come first, or co-curricular activity, but at the end of Condon the day, you’re spending a lot of time in the classroom and that’s the top priority.”

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OW /T

I PH

SOPHOMORE DAKOTA DANIELLO, NOEMIA Massingue ‘20, Seniors Brooke Tatarian and Allie Koziarz and Gwenn Sabato ‘20 (pictured left to right) made up the core group of the 2019-2020 girls’ varsity basketball team which made its third consecutive run to the NYSAIS Championship game. Daniello, Tatarian, Koziarz and Sabato all were introduced to Masters through a connection to the Empire State Blue Flames, an AAU team coached by Nick Volchok, who also coaches the girls’ varsity basketball team. The team’s rise to recent success was in large part due to players’ recruitment to the school through their relationships to Volchok.

SportS

TOWER/APRIL 30 2021

SPORTS

A green calm in the midst of chaos

COVID-19 pandemic hit last spring and my fami- grew fond of a place for its serenity and beauty in ly relocated to our summer house in Connecticut, a time of noise and ugliness in our world. While golf remained as one the news highlighted Sports Lead Editor of the few ordinary the political division parts in my life. in our society and very time I walk down the 18th fairShennecosthe ongoing tragedy way, wind at my back, sun setting, I sett Golf Course, of the pandemic, golf am reminded of the good things in or “Shenny” as the allowed me to escape my life. As the geese roam the grass and the sky Groton locals call the negativity and ofturns pink, I feel at peace within myself and the it, became an outlet fered me something I world. When I am there, I forget the stresses of evfor me during a time could look forward to eryday life with ease. But it wasn’t always like this. where I didn’t have every day. Just 14 months ago, I never would have thought much else to do. AlOn top of havthat a 6,500-yard municipal golf course in the most every day of the ing the opportunity sleepy town of Groton, Conn. would become my week, I would grab my to continue getting favorite place in the world. - Ethan Schlapp ‘22 clubs after school and outside, golf has conI’ve always loved golf. It’s a sport unlike head over to 93 Plant nected me with new most others in that it requires two opposite charStreet, where I felt people––from retired acteristics to be successful - power and finesse. recreational players to a golf team member at a local From driving the ball down tree-lined fairways to some aspect of normalcy in my life return. Though I’d known the course and played college. Not only was it nice to meet new people, sinking mid-range downhill putts, there’s somethere many times in the summers over the previbut just having the ability to talk to people face-tothing about the extreme difficulty and challenge of ous few years, I began to love the spot in a way I face during a time of isolation was really important. the game that has drawn me in since the first time hadn’t before. From the tricky uphill par 3 fourth Along with becoming a member at Shenny, I picked up a club at age 3. And hole to the picturesque par 4 16th hole overI also signed up for the Connecticut Junior PGA when the looking the Thames River and Long and had the opportunity to compete against other Island Sound, I players at a few new courses last summer. I got to experience what it’s like to play in 18-hole tournaments and, like at Shenny, I met a number of new people as well. Even more importantly, though, golf allowed me to become closer with my dad. I have really enjoyed the small moments we have had together, walking down the fairways, joking Golf Baseball and laughing together. I - 5/22 Home v RCDS 1p.m. - 5/17 V RCDS 4p.m. AT will forever cherish all of Apawamis GIRLS LACROSSE the numerous memories - 5/19 Home v RCDS 4:30p.m. Track we made together last - 5/16 Home v Hackley & RCDS BOYS LACROSSE summer. - 5/2 Home v Hackley 3p.m. 1pm-Girls & 4p.m. Boys When school startBOYS TENNIS ed up this fall, our family - 5/2 Home v Hackley 3p.m. returned to New York and I had to continue remote

ETHAN SCHLAPP

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UPCOMING

GAMES

I grew fond of a place for its serenity and beauty in a time of noise and ugliness in our world.

Boys tennis smashes competitive athletics hiatus ANDREW MITCHELL Sports Editor As the Boys Varsity Tennis team huddled up for their first match of the season against Rye Country Day School this past Saturday, two years of anticipation flooded the courts. The match marked the first inter-school competition for any Masters team in over a year and the first match for the tennis team in nearly two years. In the huddle, Captain Andrew Hack acknowledged this pressure, but also encouraged his team to make the most of the opportunity. “It’s half of our season in one day. We have to make it count,” Hack said. Due to restrictions on the distance athletes are able to travel by bus and the limited number of schools Masters is safely allowed to compete with, the boys’ tennis season, as it currently stands, con-

sists of only two matches. Senior Ryan Thompson expressed his gratitude to have even those few matches, but expressed his intentions to make them count. “We only have two games to prove ourselves. We have to make the most of those matches, especially for the seniors who may not have the opportunity to play again,” Thompson said. Though the team lost the match, coach Greg Lesser commented on the high level of play the athletes were able to attain, despite the extraneous factors of a missed season and limited practice. “Everyone we know is in the tough situation of not having played a match in two years. Despite that everyone gave really good efforts and had really great shots,” Lesser said. Lesser specifically highlighted a dynamic duo on one of the doubles teams. “Andrew Hack and Richie Boxer, who have been playing together since they were on the JV

team, play some really enthusiastic and exciting points. It’s incredible to watch,” Lesser said. Junior Tag Vales echoed the same sentiment. “I love seeing Richie and Hack play together. They have such a great synergy and compatibility on the court. The chemistry is undeniable,” Vales said. Vales noted that while this game was an exciting component to the season, they have to get back to work in preparation for their next match this coming weekend. “We have Hackley this weekend, so it’s time to get back to work and train hard this week,” Vales said. Captain Max Miller expressed his excitement for the rest of the season, regardless of what it may look like. “Going out and winning for individual pride alone is definitely something to get the team hyped up about,” Miller said.

ETHAN SCHLAPP/TOWER

JUNIOR ETHAN SCHLAPP HITS his approach shot into the ninth hole of the Lakes course at Colonial Spring Golf Club in August 2020. learning. And even though I felt cooped up in the same four walls of my bedroom, visits to the local driving range gave––and still give––me an hour or two of the day to take a breather and return to some sort of normalcy. Getting the chance to hit a few wedges or even just a breath of fresh air proved to be my favorite time of the day. But whether it was at my local course, at the driving range, or in a tournament, golf has gotten me through the COVID-19 pandemic. In a period filled with constant stress and negative news everywhere I looked, golf was my sanctuary during the chaos. If it was going to play a quick early-morning round at Shenny with my dad or just getting a

chance to say hello to the friendly starters at the pro shop window, golf gave me a break from the world. In a year of loss, I am so grateful that my family has remained healthy, that we have financial security, and all the essentials in life. But at the same time, I must also acknowledge golf for the special place it holds in my heart. I’ve always loved the sport. The excitement, the challenge, the highs, the lows, the wins, and the losses. I’ve felt it all. But this past year, golf became more special to me than I could have imagined. It helped me get through the lowest and hardest year of my life unlike anything else did or could have. And to that, I say this: thank you, golf.

Varsity Golf teeing it up for the first time this year

GREG SCHLAPP

ISAAC CASS

CAPTAIN MAX MILLER PREPARES to serve the ball. This past weekend, the Boys Varsity Tennis team once again returned to the courts after an over two year hiatus. This occasion marked the first game against another school since the spring of last year.

GREG SCHLAPP

THE GOLF TEAM TOOK to the links for the first time this year, falling to Hackley at the Sleppy Hollow Country Club course